Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Celestia wasn't one to be honest about herself, she was the self proclaimed Queen of Liars after all. Poker Face that went unrivaled by anyone and the poor fool who dare try and knock it down did not have a pleasant experience. The one time it fractured a bit everyone was too afraid to try and get past the blockade of masks she had adorned, other then her brother and sister of course, however they're her family. Celestia wouldn't dare snap at those she held so dearly to her heart, imagine if she were to snap at her precious Grand Bois Cheri Ludenberg. It is unimaginable.

Hope's Peak. An academy full of successful and rich students, Celestia would love to just see how many losers she could persuade to gamble against her. Hopefully a quick game of Blackjack with thousands of million yen on the line would suffice, she just needed an opponent. Celestia did quite a considerable amount of research on her peers, such as Byakuya Togami, Heir to the Togami Corporation. Perhaps she could snag a couple million from him, if Togami happened to have the mindset of the many rich brats with the ego to challenge Celestia.

Yes, he was the wealthiest out of all her classmates. A far from close second would be Leon Kuwata, third Toko Fukawa. Celestia knew her prey, knew secrets they believed were well hidden, at this point she was confident she could predict their behaviours and actions to the T.

Taeko couldn't help but mumble that people weren't always wearing their heart on their sleeve, Celestia shut her down with her poisonous snarl. Taeko squeaked out a warning to be careful before hiding back in the depths of her mind, where she belonged. Personal weakness was not what the Queen of Liars possesed, and never will.

Celestia liked to think she was great at reading people, so once she lay her gaze on her class she knew. believed. That she would have them at her call, whether they were aware or not. Especially the boy who already looked infatuated with the lolita when she strolled in. A difficulty may be the girl with the cold gaze and greying from stress lavender locks that framed her own rather impressive poker face, Celestia felt a flame of a challenge, a true risk that she'll very willingly take.

Her brother and sister confort her as she rants about the feeling of conflict of the risk she regrets taking yet loves the result of stemming from her impromptu decision. The question is, who was the one truly talking?

A year in, and it's a mess. Celestia underestimated the fools. She's snapped at her class a handful of times, three in actuality, and each time the class gave her proper time to call down and those who felt at fault apologised. Celestia couldn't believe why, she's shown she was not one to care, so why would they treat her in a caring manner. Gundham had warned her that her classmates had very little darkness in their hearts, that she should prepare for the souls of her classmates to entangle into her life the way his classmates did. Ibuki summarized it; to prepare for affection and found family. Celestia grew up with these two and still had yet to truly be on the same page as them, she was scared. Scared of people knowing her. Why weren't they afraid? maybe they used to be.

Celestia internally sighs, it's the first semester of her and her class as second years. And she's in a handful of social groups that she wasn't sure how she was incorporated into. Ibuki very cheerily hugged her and told her how proud her and Gundham are for her coming so far.

Kyoko Kirigiri was the daughter of the headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, she was known as just that. The daughter of the headmaster. Celestia didn't know why, the detective truly was really interesting, she knew that Kyoko was awkwardly kind to everyone and would talk about the things she liked for a more prolonged time. Kyoko also knew a bit more about the history of coffee and caffeine then others, she fell asleep quickly if given green tea and a hug, she likes bunnies and did not like being referred to as Kirigiri. Kyoko never actually confirmed that last bit, however Celestia would notice how uncomfortable she got being referred to by her family name. So her given name was a must.

"My dear Kyoko, my apologise. My mind is fleeting, could you repeat what you said?" The detective, tilted her head at the gambler. She blinked in sync with the slight twitch of her ear then moved to push a lock of pale lavender hair behind it. She was leaning her side against the wall of the slightly busy hallway of the dorm, students walked past the pair to their designated buildings.

She was surprisingly playful, it was a cute attribute about the detective.

"Of course, Ms. Ludenberg. Hifumi has asked me to inform you he had left the design for the outfit he has been creating and that he'd appreciate any suggestions and critique you have. And also to mind the slight cuts or scratches, he and Toko were collaborating when she sneezed and Syo appeared." Celestia felt her eyes widen a tad bit, she also felt the brewing of fear at the slight show of excitement. She hummed a tune that Ibuki had been working on for weeks, and Kyoko stood indifferent.

Kyoko was also patient, although Celestia supposes that was expected.

"Why thank you Kyoko-san, I'll be sure to help the storytellers of our class." Kyoko nodded, her lavender eyes bore into Celestia's red ones. She wanted to say something, so the gambler waited patiently with a small smile. Unlike the one she made sure was painted onto her mask.

"Celes, I hope you know it's alright to be excited. I know you have an interest in fashion, it's surprising to see you appear frighten." Kyoko. Ever the observer.

"Frighten? Ma Cheri, don't tell me you believe that I am frighten over a little chemical reaction in the mind." Giggle and raise of her hand to float over her bottom lip, Celestia knew she couldn't prevent the inevitable. Yet lies tend to choke you at moments, either from being caught or the way some gamblers get a crazed look in their eyes that was enhanced by the obsessive frizz of their hair.

Taeko learned from the nights while being bandaged by Gundham and Ibuki that the choking feeling was the addiction that could fall upon anyone. Gambling and Lies happened to be quite similar hand in hand.

"Were you aware that your proximal interphalangeal joint tends to bend when frighten or uncomfortable?" Kyoko suddenly informed. oh so she genuinely was worried. 

What?

Taeko very annoyingly and informatively remembered the middle joint of her finger. Celestia made sure to straighten her fingers. Any longer and the exhaustion of the day was going to catch on and make Celestia slip up.

"Really? I must fix that, I applaud you Kyoko for noticing." Celestia needed to leave, why wouldn't her body move. Stupid Taeko. Why is the loser keeping her here with Kyoko?

Blasted. she knew why.

"No one is out late at night other then the upperclassmen with jobs, it's rather peaceful to roam around alone." Ms. Detective, why must you be so oblivious to the internal conflict within the person standing before you?

Celestia knew the caffeine addict was in the right, not many tended to understand Kyoko's tendency to bluntly yet ominously offer advice. And for once, Celestia wished she didn't. Yet she understood what Kyoko meant to get across.

A chance to be Taeko, without fear of appearing weak to everyone else. To the people she found herself respecting the opinions and thoughts of. To be Taeko. Taeko Yasuhiro.

'It's better to prevent the identity crisis now then have to actually go through that shit in the future; plus our class already knows our real name. Trust them.' Taeko remarked. Such a smart girl she was. Too bad she was weak.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Kyoko, your presence is always enjoyed. Bonne nuit, ma ciel." Celestia. Taeko? The gambler offered a smile, pas une autre fissure. Maybe that crisis was happening now.

Celestia Ludenberg. The ultimate gambler, Queen of Liars, and one of the go to for fashion tips and... other specific safety tips.

She delicately combed her fingers through her hair, reminiscing of when she used to brush out her black locks that once fell into an ocean of black waves from their imprisonment. Celestia was grateful she convinced Fukawa to cut her hair, her drills were a pain to do in the morning.

It was also good that Fukawa was getting less nervous about being around scissors with others.

The gambler trailed her index finger across her cheek as if she were able to feel the light dusting of freckles that decorated her face like stars, she was a lot less pale then the others had suspected when they forced her to wipe off her makeup before sleeping. If the squeals from Asahina, Junko, and Maizono were anything to go by that one dreaded sleepover in Ikusaba's room. At least the soldier's room was pleasant, smelt faintly of citrus and the dim lighting made it comforting.

She squinted in the mirror, staring at her eyelashes. They were longer and thicker then the last she checked, Celestia disliked the fluttery softness they had when she blinked. Taeko adored them however and hadn't trimed them in ages.

The gambler reached and took out her earrings, then she admired the little ruby gems in the centers. Always a habit of hers, the earrings held a dangerous secret that she worried would accidentally be revealed. She did worry about the health of her classmates after all, Taeko wouldn't want them to get poisoned, violent losers after poker tournaments however...

Taeko. Taeko wasn't so sure who she was, she knew what she was, she's a little sister to a musician and animal breeder; the Lolita Vampire that was rumoured to drink blood for her gambling abilities, and the fact she's weak.

Celestia was so much better, confident and feared by the weak .

But Taeko knew, that the line between her and "Celestia" was blurring into an ocean that's currents lead you one way or another and lost you in the sea. She's glad that "Celestia" was willing to face that fact too.

Taeko tugged at her hoodie, she liked wearing them. They were comfortable, and if they happen to have cat ears or cat designs well that's for her to live with. Gosh she'd never hear the end of it from the twins, Gundham would chuckle at her obvious fondness for the little felines while Ibuki would say the cat ears reminded her of her own horns and try to get Taeko a cat headband. Not that she'd decline.

A deep meow erupted from behind her and Taeko turned to Grand Bois, who strolled to her side and pawed at her feet. Taeko smiled "Hello my big honey tree, I hope you weren't too lonely." He meowed and began kneading at her leg, Taeko really couldn't see why people disliked cats. Grand Bois was a sweetie honestly, even if he tends to get jealous occasionally.

Taeko kneeled down and scoped Grand Bois into her arms, she made her way over to her bed and layed down cradling the spoiled feline. "My little raisin, I have a question. Do you think I should walk around at the dead of night as Taeko?" she placed a soft peck on the cat head and chuckled at the immediate rumble from the cat. "That may have been worded a tad wrong, sorry if I worried you. Kyoko suggested I build up confidence in the empty public." At the name of the awkwardly functional detective Grand Bois mewed, a whisper at his liking towards her.

Taeko smiled and hummed in agreement, Kyoko was certainly a... good person.

Chapter Text

"Fucking shit, I just wanted wagashi and green tea. Why is Kuwata and Hagakure up this damn late." Taeko was pouty, she was so sure everyone had gone to sleep. Aside from Kyoko who she knew was awake, and should be asleep right now, which was the point of the green tea in the first place.

Now she didn't dislike the two boys, Taeko, well technically Celestia, got along fine with Kuwata and Hagakure was actually a really sweet dimwit once you accept the fact that you will get poked by his hair. But for fuck sake she wanted green tea and midnight cravings are an annoyance, she was impatient.

Taeko went back to her dorm, quietly however she didn't want to wake Grand Bois. It's only been three days since she's started this schedule of taking a break and being Taeko for awhile, and she's already dealing with these predicaments and frankly it's a pain in the ass.

The gambler wasn't so sure why she was so impatient, the day had gone relatively well. Yet here she was pulling on her hoodie and grabbing a mask because she knew it would be cold in the communal kitchen. This entire situation could have been avoided if Taeko had just walked past the boys and ignored their presence while making tea for her and Kyoko, and getting the wagashi too but now she'd have to wait for the fruity treats tomorrow.

She closed her door and walked towards the staircase that lead down to the communal hallways, Taeko knew she was terrified about being seen by someone in the communal area and that the fact she was going down there anyways was a heart stopper but sometimes the energy of a pissed off lesbian is all anyone needs to get shit down.

It was dark, and cold. Really cold. Taeko was kind of regretting not putting on a pair of sweatpants or another pair of shorts, actually scratch that she only owns really short shorts that she uses for sleeping only. She could just feel the bumps form on her legs as her body makes an effort to warm up, Taeko is reminded of a lesson from first year. About the homeostasis of the body, but sadly next generation science class was not going to fix the temperature of the dark hallway. She pulls her hood up then pokes the cat ears at top before continuing her trek.

Finally she makes it to the communal kitchen, Taeko didn't like the communal one much anymore only because the first years would hang there a lot and they tended to be loud. She wasn't used to them yet, she liked the two girls who wore red though, they were calm.

Almost immediately Taeko goes to the cabinet just besides the fridge that holds all the tea any student could ask for. It's still rather dark but the pale green light from the kitchen appliances were enough for her to know where things were located, she didn't want to turn on the lights and risk someone seeing her better. she was always more comfortable in the dark, maybe because she spent most of her life awake with the moon and the dark sky. That is when the real games take place anyway.

It's quiet, except for the faint sound of steamy water. It's enhanced by its temporary prison within the teapot as it fuses with the loose green tea leaves, the smell wasn't so prominent but was a nice scent that increased in aroma slowly. Taeko felt herself relaxing, the aroma may be the reason behind that, she'd have to keep that in mind for next time she goes gambling. she wouldn't want to be caught off guard during a poker tournament.

The scent is off now, Taeko knows the tea was done, it should smell stronger so why didn't it? There's a frozen churn in her stomach, the middle joints of her fingers bend. Kyoko was right. Sudden changes in atmosphere never gets past the mind of a gambler of her caliber. Someone else was nearby.

It smelt like, weed actually. Was someone smoking weed? the freckled girl turned around to see if she could spot the origin of the smell. Standing before Taeko was a tall boy with a pale neon green hair, he was reaching for the handle of the fridge when he froze and stared back at the shorter girl.

They stared down at each other for what felt like hours, red eyes meeting "red" eyes. He slowly opened the fridge and pulled out a entire liter of melon soda, the light of the fridge illuminated his face enough that Taeko recognized him as her underclassmen. Amami Rantaro. He also looked paler then the last she saw him, which was earlier in the day while she spoke with Ouma. Amami slowly closed the fridge and mumbled an apology before scampering off like a frightened puppy.

The interaction was off in a way that the gambler couldn't put a finger on it, was he scared that she'd report him? Taeko was literally an underage gambler why would she care about a minor charge, plus the school was harboring criminals. Celestia might have used it against him if he truly was scared of being caught though. She stared at the spot her kohai once stood at before going back to gathering the kettle and tea cups.


12:25 am Makoto was hungry, he had gone to their class' dorm kitchen but was informed by Leon and Hiro that they had ran out of pickled plums. Which were Makoto's favorite night time snack, he was a bit sad at that information but then Leon told him that the communal kitchen always had his brand of pickled plums in stock. So now he was on a quest for pickled plums!

He'll be sure to bring Kuwata and Hagakure snacks from the communal kitchen as thanks, Makoto made his way down the hallway in his pajamas and slippers. The shuffling of his clothes sounded in his ears, as he walked. Ahead he saw a figure around his own height, Makoto smiled and waved at the figure.

The figure kept moving forward, Makoto wonders who it was. Barely anyone came down to the communal areas late in the night, and now that he thought about it the figure had red eyes. Makoto began to slow down his steps, the figure only had red eyes, why couldn't he see the rest of their face?

The figure walked past Makoto, a quick glance at him with their glowing ruby eyes. Two points poked out from the figure's head as they passed, Makoto was lost. Who was this? What were those spiky things on their head? Why did he just realize it was actually really dark at the moment?



So many people she didn't think would be out and about this late, maybe she just picked the wrong day to be herself. Taeko glanced curiously at Naegi who had slowed his walking speed to stare at her, he waved at her a bit ago. Perhaps he was still feeling sluggish, she's a bit surprised he hasn't tripped yet.

There was no time for small talk though, Taeko was on a mission, and if she didn't get Kyoko to sleep this time Taeko will commit arson and set fire on the home of Kyoko's boss.

Makoto was freaking out. What was that interaction, was he dreaming?

oh gosh.

oh no.

Was he being haunted???

Makoto had gotten his plums and random snacks before running back to the dormitories, his mind was whirling with theories. He'll mention this to Kyoko later in class, she was always one to come to a conclusion.

The lucky boy ran up the stairs, only tripping once. He scrambled towards the kitchen and bumped into Yasuhiro, they both watched as Makoto fell onto his back with the addition of Leon's laughter.

"what's up egg my man, you look like you saw a ghost." Leon held out a hand for Makoto to grab then proceeded to pull the smaller boy up with ease, Yasuhiro leaned down to examine their resident luckster. He stood back with a concerned expression "Yeah dude, did ya see something? You seem pretty pale Makoto"

Makoto held a hand to his chest and took deep breaths to calm his racing heart, he pointed towards the staircase "I saw... saw something while. going to the kitchen..." Leon chuckled and patted Makoto on his shoulder before messing with his fluffy hair.

"haha and what you saw a demon?" The baseball player teased, Makoto shrugged in response. Leon let out an nervous huff "Dude don't shrug, you're supposed to say just kidding dude." Hagakure held Leon back "Leon I don't think he's joking, Makoto c'mere tell us what happened."

Makoto followed the two down the short hallway where all their dorms were while recounting his experience, Leon made off handed jokes lighting up the mood while Yasuhiro listened to makoto.
"... And they just kept walking past me, I couldn't even see the rest of their face except for their eyes. It was really odd considering it being really late at night."

"Makoto I think you just had a run in with a, I dunno, a god or something." Hiro said seriously before laughing at the wide eyed expression from Makoto, "Chill mako maybe the deity just wanted some of your luck aura or something."

"Whatever old man. Makoto, it's probably one of our underclassmen from class 79 don't fret about it" Makoto nodded, that made sense. Now that he thought about it Harukawa had red eyes and, according to Akamatsu, she had a tendency for roaming the night when she couldn't sleep. Plus she was around his height.

Makoto will text Akamatsu, he'll get his answer in the morning.

Akamatsu K: Ohayo Naegi ! Sorry, Maki said she had slept earlier and didn't wake up till 5. I hope that helps, have a nice thursday. 6:28  *
Akamatsu K: btw would you happen to know why Rantaro is freaking out ? 6:53  *

Chapter Text

Celestia was good at reading people, she knew things about her classmates that they themselves didn't know. She knew their ticks and their nervous habits, the gambler was even aware about what made them uncomfortable or scared as well as what they liked and the small actions their body performs in a burst of happiness.

So for the love of everything, why was half of her class acting skittish and falling into their paranoid ticks. The rest of her respectably smarter peers; consisted of Togami, Fukawa, Ogami, Owada, and Kyoko were sending the others concerned glances from their current positions. Celestia likes to think she knew her classmates, but if herself and her other competent peers weren't cued in on what the rest were on about then something terrible must have taken place or they were up to something.

The last bit wasn't so out of question for her class.

The gambler made her way towards Yamada who was  being interrogated by Fukawa, his lower eyelids appeared to be sinking into themselves and his dominate hand was gripping at the straps of his bag. His glasses were also a bit slanted meaning he hadn't made an effort to fix them, odd considering he had a habit of straightening them every time he spoke with a different person along with his routine of greeting everyone in the morning.

Fukawa huffed in frustration, "Hu huffy! what th what the hell is up uup with al all of you tod you today?!" Fukawa's hands were planted on the desk but the gambler couldn't help but notice one hand laying closer to her thigh.

"Sorry! I'm just... worried? worried! about the designs for the main characters for the new series." Yamada stammered, Celestia was a bit disappointed that such a poorly covered up lie is what got Fukawa to soften her stance. She decided to step in.

"Hifumi. Don't tell me you believe there's a flaw in the clothing designs that I, personally, recommended and critiqued? As if I'd ever lower my standards for anyone, to think I recommended a prototype with inadequacy. Unimaginable." The unwavering smile at her lips almost wanted to curve up at the look of realization both Fukawa and Yamada had at the lie shattering in their faces.

Yamada made a quick glance at their class' luckster. See, buying the pot with only words is always the simplest way to win a game. Celestia chuckled and laid a hand on Fukawa's shoulder "Relax, cher écrivain, he's in doubt. Keep in mind he only had a week to put everything together and submit it, Yamada is clearly showing signs of worry don't you agree?" The prodigy took a glance at the lolita then at the weeaboo, before huffing out a fine and walking towards her desk.

Now. To the problem at hand. Naegi Makoto, possibly the sweetest person in their class was behind the entire downpour of the usually bright and cheery mood. He spoke with his surrounding deskmates and Kyoko about something, his hands held out in a claw like way and his soft brown eyes wide unlike his shoulders that seem to have shrunken in. Behind him stood Hagakure who wore a serious expression and in front of him was Togami with a look of utter disappointment. Festive.

Celestia strolled over with as much poise as she has every other day before now, her red heels letting off an elegant tap to announce her presence. Kuwata, who sat on his desk, grinned at her before flipping her off. The usual greeting. "How's our resident vampire playette doing today? You here to claim Makoto as your play thing? didn't take you as the possessive type. Then again you are a sadist."

The gambler gave him a blank expression before rolling her eyes, "I'd call you a himbo but the only thing you'll be able to attract are magnets." Kuwata raised his hand towards his chest feign offense, before he could retort and start their friendly bickering Togami scoffed. Loudly.

"Cease your flirting," he looked back at Naegi and Hagakure "repeat that again. Slowly. And see the flaw in your statement." Hagakure, wrapped an arm around Naegi and spoke in the most serious tone Celestia has ever heard.

"Kay. So Egg Boy here, is being haunted by a demon. We already have proof it was not an underclassmen playing a prank, or anyone else. Makoto even said there was points on their head. Obviously that means they were horns AND they had red eyes with a face of a shadow, it's basically the classic signs of demon."

"Yasuhiro, point me in the direction of genuine proof and not just what Naegi said he experience at -too early to be conscious- o'clock in the morning."

"I'm being for real dude!"

How childish. Demons? Did she have to live with the ramblings of demons from her classmates now? No thanks, her brother was enough. Celestia won't bother trying to get straight answers from them, maybe Maizono or Kyoko, they were trusted and both within Rank C and B. Thankfully the two were very close.

Celestia tapped the shoulder of the pop star —who quickly turned around with her kind smile— then asked "Sayaka, What are the boys arguing about?" Maizono turned towards the boys who were arguing before turning back towards Celestia "Mako saw something a bit unpleasant early in the morning, then Yasuhiro got him roped into believing it was a demon of sorts. I'd think it were cute if it didn't actually worry our class."

Celestia sighed, disappointment coursed through her veins. worry. The gambler had better things to attend to then watch her childish peers "I cannot fathom how ridiculous this class is at times, such as now, my expectations for this class has been burn at the stake a long time ago." Maizono smiled with her soft sunlight smile, her eyes flared with a knowing glint. Celestia respected Maizono, the way she's convinced their student body that she was psychic.

"Well I'll make sure they don't bother you about the underworld stuff but I'll be sure to tell you if they figured out their little scandal! Wouldn't want to worry the mom of our class~!" Of course, she was still on about that. The gambler tells everyone that sleep was important and force them to adapt a remotely healthy sleep schedule and suddenly she's the designated class mom.

Maizono stared at Celestia with her sapphire eyes, the pop star reminded Celestia of a squirrel. A squirrel who very much is crawling on a thin line. Celestia nodded in appreciation though, she didn't want to have been included in listening to the ramblings of a mad man. Celestia knew better.

"Merci pour ton aide, Sayaka." The pop star smiled, she began to twirl a strand of hair. Maizono rarely ever played with her hair in any manner, only ever when confused. The resident mind reader couldn't even hide her own tells. "Thank you for your help, Sayaka."

"Oh!... uh. pas de problème?" Maizono responded slowly and unsure, it was sweet when the class would attempt to speak with the resident gambler in french. Even if last time Ishimaru asked if Celestia knew any avocados, she knew he meant lawyer however she didn't fail to correct him. It was a bit unfortunate that the conversation at the time was about avocados.

She wonders how soon they'll figure out Naegi's situation, Celestia wants to avoid having to deal with a god or demon related subject falling upon the betting pool within the 70's, 20's, and 40's classes. That reminds her, she should reach out to the her underclassmens and the 20's and 40's underclassman to include them in the betting rink.

1. 
   cher écrivain= dear writer ( i firmly believe Celestia/Taeko has the habit of calling others dear/darling so expect to see cher a lot)
2. Merci pour ton aide= thank you for your help
3. Pas de problème= it's no problem (but in a like causal sense)
   The joke about the avocado stems from...
   un avocat- an avocado.
   un avocat- a lawyer

"I'm being serious, when have I ever went out on an adventure and claimed to see a demon? even when i'm high?" Rantaro was applying foundation to cover up his eye bags while he debates with Shuichi in the middle of the 79's lounge area, the detective sat besides Kaede who watched with concern for her boyfriend and permanently exhausted best friend. Although she was still concerned for her boyfriend, even if his short freak out had just ended a while ago.

"Rantaro, there is no way you saw a demon at 1 in the morning while high. Sure you've never done it before, but like previously stated, you were under the influence!" Shuichi tried to convince him that his otherworldly experience was just a influenced vision, the assassin who turned away from watching Kirumi turned to glare at the adventurer as if she had been personally offended.

Rantaro met eyes with Maki when she finally spoke "What the fuck were you doing up at hell o'clock in the damn morning?" Rantaro shrugged and handed Kaede her compact mirror and putting away his emergency make up in his bag, where a small amount of his personal stash was likely located. "Look, whenever I'm high I crave Melon soda and our local gremlin refuses to let that shit in our dorms so I headed to the communal dorms to get some."

Shuichi finally stood up and sighed before walking away to probably investigate this himself anyways, Kaede understood why he did so but she found this all really funny.

"What was the demon even doing? you hadn't mentioned that" Kaede encouraged, her boyfriend ran a hand through his hair in an admittedly cute manner. "Damn, um... So i just walked in the communal kitchen saw a person standing there in the dark, as any normal being would, so I opened the fridge and stared at them while getting my soda. It just stood there with their horns and shit then stared into my soul with it's red eyes before I got my soda and dipped. I think they were like making potions or something, eating the souls of the innocent whatever the gourmet shit is in hell now'a days." He was, truly freaked out.

That... lines up to what Naegi sent early in the morning, but Maki said she had went to bed early per Kirumi's request. Kaede doubts it was Gonta, he was an entire foot taller than their upperclassmen. Plus Makoto said that the person he saw was just an inch or two taller then himself so it couldn't really be anyone in their class.

"I know what I saw, I saw a demon in the communal kitchens and I'm going to get out of here and ask around before Kokichi wakes up and tells Kork and Himiko about what happened." The adventurer holds his ground from Maki's stare for exactly four seconds before he gives up on convincing her and turns to Akamatsu. "I might stop by the cafe and pick up some sweets, got any requests?"

"Could you get konpeitou? if they have any left." Rantaro smiled and leaned down to hug Kaede, who still sat on the couch, before placing a kiss on her head. "For sure, don't blame me if I snag a couple tho." Kaede returned the kiss to his cheek and smiled at Rantaro before he pulled away and started off on his journey.


Then Kokichi popped up out of nowhere like the weasel he was.

"Ewww imagine getting kissed by a girl!"

Automatically Maki responded, "Not a single person, let alone a girl, would ever imagine kissing you Kokichi."

"That was so uncalled for... I was just teasing Kayayday," Kokichi began to sniffle and squeezed his hands into fists, the pianist chuckled at the two picking at each other. What's next? they tease each other on who they like? "WAH YOU'RE SUCH A BULLY. MOM, YOUR GIRLFRIEND IS PICKING ON ME." Nevermind. Kokichi cried beginning to dramatically make his way to Kirumi; who had already stopped reading her book before standing up to deal with whatever scene Kokichi had for today, Maki also stood up and moved to intercept the criminal prankster.

"Do you want to die?"

"WAAAAAAAAH!!! NOW SHE'S THREATENING ME! I refuse to let you marry her!!"

Chapter Text

Celestia sat besides Kyoko as they watched the class play a round of Uno. So far and unsurprisingly to everyone, except of course Naegi, the ultimate lucky student was winning.

The class had offered for everyone to play of course, especially the gambler. After all she was genuinely a good player and only banned from playing Karuta and Hanafuda, but she refused to play this game despite the pleading. Togami even tried taunting her to join, Kuwata also tried bribing her with placing bets, Asahina and Hifumi attempted getting Naegi to use his luck to get her to accept.

Celestia Ludenberg would rather be crushed by a tractor then willingly play Uno.

So now she sat with Kyoko, who as it turns out would rather spend game night looking over a new case her boss had asked her to take over. Celestia although appreciated and cherished the detective's presence besides her, really wanted to pester Kyoko's boss for subjecting her favorite classmate to an extra workload.

"My dear Kyoko, is subjecting yourself to reading files your idea of fun?" The detective looked up her eyes widen slightly, Kyoko has the tendency of squinting whenever reading for longer then a few minutes. Perhaps the gambler could ask their upperclassmen, Tsumiki, if she happened to have any reading glasses available.

"I'm just going over some cases, I'm alright doing so." The fine lady turned back to her files, a gloved hand turning a paper full of text to it's back. Celestia couldn't help but also notice the tension in the diligent detective's jaw, and the scrunching of her brows.

Not that Celestia would admit she's stared at Kyoko enough to automatically know she was clenching her jaw.

What a bother.

The gambler turned her body slightly to face the detective before snapping her fingers to grab her attention, "ma chérie, direct your attention towards me." Taeko cringed at the tone that was used, Celestia kept her composure and closed her eyes in a sweet manner.

She heard the moving of fabrics before opening her red eyes and meeting kyoko's own. The detective's eyes were still squinting however slowly they became adjusted to her sight, Celestia let her adjust.

Her hands surged forward and lightly cupped Kyoko's face, the detective's eyes bounced from staring into Celestia's eyes to her hands back to where they began in confusion. Her jaw only tighten even more, that wasn't expected.

"Unclench your jaw Dear, you'll only give yourself a headache and facial pains." The two stared at each other, the sudden touching was new, it was true that Kyoko and Celestia were commonly found close together but they had yet to really actually intrude, if you could even refer to it as intrude, each others' personal space. Once more this wasn't a haphazard nor erratic action, this was Celestia, all of Celestia's movements were never subjected to any whims nor impulses.

The two kinda just sat there, staring at each other for a bit. Celestia felt warmth erupt from her chest, that wasn't good. Probably. Quels sont ces sentiments? j'ai l'impression que mon cœur a de la fièvre.

Kyoko finally let her jaw untighten, she had yet to see why she needed to do so. That was obvious to Celestia, the gambler proceed to examine the taller girl. There wasn't a particular reason. Celestia already knew what she was potentially going to do next, as long as Kyoko gave consent, examining the detective wasn't necessary.

Although she had to admit, Kyoko was visually appealing.

Her hands still had yet to lift themselves away from Kyoko's slightly hollow cheeks, Celestia would have to figure out if it was because Kyoko wasn't actually sleeping or was forgetting to eat. The lolita allowed her hands to slowly trail themselves upwards leading to the joints of Kyoko's jaw, then as if Kyoko could surprise her any more than she already has.

Which honestly was quite a feat.

The detective leaned into the touch. Her face closing in enough that Celestia, if she quieted her wicked heart enough, could feel Kyoko's slowed exhale. She was quite glad she had decided to leave her claw in her dorm, otherwise this experience of having a constantly weary girl nuzzle ever so slightly into her fingers would be an uncomfortable experienced, as well for the detective.

"Kyoko-san?" The girl raised one brow in acknowledgement, likely tried to open one eye but then deemed it too much effort. Taeko was confused, when did the two get comfortable around each other. Kyoko used to actively tell her that she would have her arrested given the chance, Taeko used to avoid her so her own secrets wouldn't be snuffed out, now here they were with Kyoko behaving like a cat and Taeko not being able to simply ask if she could massage her jaw.

It was a miracle that she had fantastic self-control. Actually not even a miracle, of course Celestia Ludenberg would have perfect control over herself. Celestia Ludenberg was perfect.

Of course.

"mon ciel étoilé, you've been rather stressed lately." Celestia murmured, of course even if Celestia wasn't capable of being fazed by such a moment with the detective, she knew her dear would rather prefer the gentle approach. "Would you accept being given a massage? to the joints and pressure points of your jaw." Kyoko only hummed in response, the vibrations brushing Celestia's finger tips. Perhaps the question wasn't blunt enough?

No. No, Kyoko would have definitely understood what she had asked. Then this was the taller girl's way of declining her offer, very well. Although the girl would normally verbally voice her opinion of such topics, Taeko wouldn't want to, no it's not the right time. Celestia wouldn't want to assume.

"My dear, if you liked to refuse you must do so properly." Kyoko once again hummed, no real response to what she wanted. She was a difficult girl to perceive. "Are you not going to use your words my dear bat? What good is your pretty little mouth if you don't use it."

"You're distracting me from my work."
"She talks, and yet still doesn't answer my question. Would you like another try?"

Distracting she says, she had every opportunity to reject their interaction. Kyoko knows exactly what she's doing, and here she was still resting her pretty head in Celestia's hands as if knowing the gambler wouldn't dare crush it. She's right, however it feels a bit odd that Kyoko had immediately made herself at home in her hands. Don't tell her. Did Celestia lose her touch? Had she gone soft?

She has hasn't she? it was the whole class' fault, Celestia knew it. After all before interacting with them on a daily basis her grip on her bluff of an identity was as perfect as her self-control. She's grown soft, she's grown very soft. Taeko was probably having a blast though, deep down she's always wanted to come out of her damn shell. And Celestia let's her, dammit. How does she react to this. Was no one intimidated by Celestia any more? Celestia can't tell who was more at fault, was it their balls of sunshine Naegi and Fujisaki? Was it Sakura the sweetest in their class? or perhaps it was finally meeting someone who Celestia could finally say was on equal terms.

"Kyoko, I shall have you know that I will not move until you answer properly." That was enough to evoke a reaction from the girl, although still not a verbal answer. Celestia's eyes instantly bore into Kyoko's own when she revealed them, unsurprisingly the detective's eyes remained droopy as if in a trance of some kind.

"Distracting." The detective responded, a small smile playing at her lips. It was a shame that she withheld her smile from the world.

Silly. きれい(kirei). Was the detective really playing games now? Well Celestia wasn't opposed, it was truly a rare treat to witness the ever profesional detective acting playful. Perhaps Kyoko was warming up to her more, it was a nice thought. Unlikely unfortunately.

"oh my, look at the time, I should be preparing myself for another exploration. I'll have to take back my offer, Dear." Kyoko nodded understandingly, she lifted her head and after a bit picked up her once forgotten files. "Aww don't tell me you're disappointed dear?"

"It was pleasant but no, how long will you be taking this time?" Point proven, she's honest about her feelings. Celestia wasn't so sure how long she'd take, the night before she spent so long wandering that she hadn't even slept and she had to rush back to the dormitories to avoid being caught and to get ready. Thankfully Celestia had a been excused for the final class of the day and she took the time to nap.

"I'm limiting myself to... perhaps two hours. I hope you're actually asleep by the time I return, I'll be leaving at twenty-four." Her red eyes took a glance at the digital clock.

22:14. The class 78's game night was to be ended in 6 minutes so everyone could have time to put away the games and clean up any mess, meaning everyone should be back in their own dorms by 22:30.

"I ask of you to not wait again for me like you did the night before through the early morning, neither of us slept." Kyoko lifted a hand that hide her mouth, a action she made when feeling even a little guilty or worried.

"Sorry, I got worried when you didn't return after awhile. You were out for a longer period of time." Celestia sighed and smiled at the detective.

"No need to apologies darling, but next time just message me. I'll be taking my phone with me from here on out," Celestia stood up from her seat and brushed off the invisible dust off her skirt "I'll be taking my leave now. I'll see you tomorrow."

Kyoko nodded, she opened her file and allowed her eyes to skim over it before looking back up at the gambler "We'll still have our conversation about your departures thus far right?"

"Of course, good night darling."

"おやすみ(oyasumi)"

Quels sont ces sentiments, j'ai l'impression que mon cœur a de la fièvre= What are these feelings, I feel like my heart has a fever. (I'm not sure if it's accurate or if i used the correct grapheme)
mon ciel étoilé= my starry sky (or possibly; my star-studded sky)
きれい=
(^now why would I go ahead & reveal that? hmm?)
おやすみ= goodnight (But more casual)

Mukuro sent a glare towards Leon who was snickering, it was annoying honestly. She could hardly move too, but she couldn't exactly find it in herself to move either. The dilemma.

The pop star who had latched onto Mukuro's arm started giggling and placed her glittery phone down, Sayaka leaned more into the warmth of the soldier "You guys wonder if those two are going to realize they like each other?" The remaining uno players stayed concentrated on their game while the rest turned to sneak a glance at Celestia and Kyoko who were talking six meters away from the group. Junko who had practically sat herself on Mukuro's lap let out a cackle, immediately Sayaka elbowed the fashionista.

Junko laughed, more quietly, as her lips morphed into a wolfish grin. "Oh it's despairing how those gay idiots wouldn't realize they're so fucking gay for each other unless they literally fucked."

"Woah woah woah. Don't diss my girl like that, Celestibitch can get er girl!" Leon defended, it was a admittedly a poor attempt.

The soldier didn't really see why the class was so interested in each others' love lives, even Mukuro, who is very protective of her sister, didn't give much of a care for whom ever the girls Junko whines about wanting to date.

"Wait... they aren't dating?" Aoi asked, she was leaning over Sakura's shoulder. "I mean Celestia kisses her cheeks a lot... Although Celes does do that with a lot of people" Chihiro giggled and answered Aoi "That's because it's a french greeting, Celestia asked us all at the beginning of the year if we were comfortable with it. For like the second time. Remember Hina?"

"Ooh right, okay that's fair BUT are we sure those two aren't dating? Like a lot of us aren't on the same page, right?" The martial artist hummed in acknowledgement as she was skipped her turn, Byakuya who was also still participating in the game scoffed.

He was also annoying to Mukuro but at least he wasn't someone she had to be concerned for, Byakuya was smart enough not to get in trouble unlike the rest of these self destructive idiots.

"No, Kyoko and Celestia aren't dating, that much is obvious. Even to an idiot like Yasuhiro." Junko snickered while a look of offence flooded Hiro's face, Mukuro thought the weird bickering between the two was odd. If she hadn't spent a whole year with Byakuya and Hiro she would've never had guessed they were actually best friends. Mukuro's sister began reaching forward towards the low table the group was using for their game. "Bya-Dude, I may be an idiot but I'm not stupid! That's still an insult richie rich."

"I hope you walk face first into a door- Junko stop trying to add more cards to my hand or I will sue you for everything you own." Junko stopped in her tracks, an innocent look playing on her face. The same face that would, on occasion, result in Mukuro calling her Baby Sister much to the secret genius' embarrassment.

She didn't know what to expect from her classmates at first, but it wasn't this.

"Who? wittle ol' me? I would never byakuya-san~" The heir glared at the blonde, his unrelenting gaze causing Junko to turn around and lay her body facing Mukuro in a flopped hug. "Neechannn... Byakuya-san is threatening meeee, defend your sisteeerrrr. He isn't feeling the despair!" She whines in a way similar to a younger sibling's whining, fitting, the soldier glances at the heir who was now playing his turn then back to her twin and at her lack of available movement.

Mukuro feels a tingle that spreads throughout her body, an obvious reminder of her lack of movement over the last hour and a half. She knew fairly well that she could do something but...

"That's unfortunate sister, however I can't" Mukuro answered.

"oooh the despair. How come?" Junko whined.

Sayaka chuckles from her position, her arms still hugging Mukuro's other arm. "We're using her as a hot water bottle right now."

"Damn I knew it, Stop hugging my sister and go back to eye fucking her legs blueberry!"

"You're the one laying on her!"

Mukuro wants to go back to Fenrir.

Mukuro watches the group who are still playing Uno, Makoto who sits in her line of sight looks up and meets her gaze. His eyes widened, as if he got a sudden reminder. And knowing the boy he probably did.

"Hey guys y'know what I just realized. You've never gave me an answer to what I could've seen last week." Seen? Did Makoto catch a glimpse of her and Junko breaking into the school. Surely Junko would've told her if so. Hiro stood up suddenly and points towards the lucky student "Egg boy is right! Explain who the hell could've been the demon he saw in the commons! and remember today that Kokichi kid was yelling something about his classmate meeting a demon?!"

Mondo glared at the clairvoyant, he lifted a finger to flipped off the older classmate "Dude if ya don't shut ya fucking mouth I'mma shove yer ball into your god damn fuckin mouth bitch, Taka is sleeping." Said class president had fallen asleep on the biker's lap.

"Demon?" Mukuro asked, she was curious. Who could Makoto have seen, her and Junko hadn't been anywhere near the commons. No one in their dormitory was prone to leaving their dorms past curfew either.

Hagakure grinned and walked behind Makoto who, still had yet to win surprisingly.

"Okay run down, Mako bumped into a demon-" Byakuya butted in "A fellow student." Mukuro ignored him. ",and our underclassmen the... adventurer I think? also said he meet the demon the same night around the same time! Both of them and the demon were in the commons"

Mukuro soaked in the information, well they at the very least have two witnesses. Was this the kind of thing she missed out on?

"Description?" Byakuya sent her a disappointed stare along with the confused one from Mondo.

"Ughhhh Red eyes, face was shadowy even in the light, just a bit taller than Makoto but shorter than Rantaro, oh and they had horns. Y'know the stubby ones."

"Have you considered Harukawa?"

"She was sleepin' in!"

"That's unfortunate. How about Ibuki? her hair style is similar to horns." Plus her eyes appear red in certain conditions.

"Pekoyama's. plus she's the same height as Makoto"

"Kiibo? Miu installed an eye changing color feature a while ago."

"He creaks, plus Rantaro said they were in the kitchen. Kiibo doesn't like the kitchen."

Those were the only people that fit the description Hiro gave and would roam at night. Celestia also fit that description pretty well actually. Mukuro didn't know about the horns but Celestia was around the lucky student's height and possessed natural red eyes, setting aside that Celestia was known in the entirety of the 70's class for being the only one with a proper sleeping schedule that never was disturbed. It was plausible.

And Mukuro discovered recently that Celestia had a considerable amount of dark clothing and black face coverings, and she was Ibuki's sister and seeing how their upperclassmen loved styling other's hair it wouldn't be too surprising for her to give her little sister a similar hairstyle.

Sure the connections were a tab bit lose, but it's all plausible considering how unpredictable the twins and celes was.

"And you have yet to figure out who? That's despairing." Mukuro tried, Hiro, the literal adult mind you, pouted at her.

"Course not! cuz it's a what we're looking for, not a who! No one else fits our demon." Except Celestia, who was the only other person with red eyes who was also slightly taller—in heels— than Makoto.

No other person.

The soldier glanced around the いま(Ima), the living room, Byakuya and Mondo looked tired. Sakura seemed unaffected but knowing the martial artist she already knew who else it could be, Junko seemed to be having a blast while Sayaka was amused, yet everyone else seemed to agree with the adult. Excluding Toko who was texting who ever on the couch and didn't particularly care about their subject.

Mondo raised his phone, carefully avoiding waking up his... buddy.

"Aye it's 21: 49. How long were we supposed to play these fucking games?"

Hifumi adjusted his glasses while placing his cards down in surrender before answering "in about forty minutes. I think Kiyotaka put up an alarm."

"Shit that reminds me, weren't Kyoko and Celestia like an hour late to class? They looked tired as fuck." Was Mondo hinting at something for the rest of the class, Mukuro think so, so did the rest of the more knowledgeable kids.

"Queenie and Rogue? Kyoko always looks tired Mondo, although Celes did seem more quiet today but she went back to normal when we came back from class." Hifumi answered, Mukuro was going to jump out a window if they didn't connect any dots.

Leon snickered, he gave them a smirk as if he knew what had happen.

"I told you that vampire wannabe could get her chick!"

Chihiro stared at Leon before making a show of standing up from their seat next to the baseball player then making her way towards Mukuro to prop herself besides the soldier. And hugging her remaining free arm effectively trapping the mercenary.

Great, the one limb that hasn't fallen asleep.

"Chihiro, dudette. Why?" Leon asked as he, equally as dramatic, stood up and reached his hand out. The programmer's eyes glazed over and stared at all of their classmates "You're all fucking idiots."

Mukuro was glad at least one person in their class wasn't this naive.

"Okay ignoring the fact Taka and Celestia are going to kill us for that, Why even bring that up Mondo?" Aoi asked, she was still hugging Sakura and playing with the taller's hair.

"Y'know, she's always telling us to have a better sleeping schedule every fucking time we sleep in. and makes us sleep afterwards, I think it's bullshit." Mondo explains.

Sayaka nodded in agreement, "He's got a point, Celestia would never go to class still tired unless something had kept her up at night, maybe she was doing something like walking outside?"

Everyone should see where the gang leader and pop star are trying to get at right?

"Only thing I can think of keeping her up is Kyoko to be honest." Aoi remarked.

Mukuro is going to jump out the window.

"Leon c'mere, it's time to enact plan S. I'll get the knife." Sayaka started to get up, Mukuro pulled her down. "No premeditated murdering of yourself." The pop star groaned in disappointment.                                 

"Sorry you can't kill me just yet Leon, Some other time."

"Bummer."

Chapter Text

"Would you like some tea my dear?" The gambler offers,  she moves from the entrance of the room to where a tray of teacups and a porcelain teapot lay, carefully passing the cat who makes his way towards the guest, steam escaping from the teapot's snout. Kyoko closes the door behind her, not bothering to lock it knowing whose dorm this belonged to. In one swift motion she leans down to swallow Grand Bois in her arms, Grand Bois mews in satisfaction of the attention from his other favorite human.

"Caffeinated?" The hopefulness in the detective's voice was sweet, and it could be said that her tone was quite cute and innocent. Fortunately Celestia was not a fool, she knew better than to fall for the caffeine addicts' charm.

'Only when caffeine is involved huh?' Shut it.

"If I remember correctly, didn't Kiyotaka limit you to three cups of caffeine a day?" The way the light in Kyoko's eyes had moved to power the small disappointed sigh that played at her lips made the lolita feel an ounce of guilt, however she held strong. After all she had the strongest self-control out of the school.

Kyoko sat at one of the open seats while stroking Grand Bois and letting him nuzzle into her, her expression was calm but Celestia could see the sour look in her eye. "Limitations were created as a way to prevent the people from reaching their true potential." Kyoko stated.

Celestia made her way towards her two favorite beings with the tray in her hands, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe that was accurate, my sweet little bat." The gambler places a cup in front of the detective, Kyoko stares down at it. As per common greeting, Celestia leans forward and places a light peck of both of the detective's cheeks. Kyoko still stares at the tea. Thankfully the 77's class all had a liking towards tea, as the gambler had learned pretty early on in their first year. So of course Celestia, made it a point to learn their favorite ones, the caffeine addict in front of her as well as Hagakure's happened to be the most difficult to figure out, she did this all so they would be more willing to gamble with her if she offered tea along with the game.

And to show that she cared. But she wouldn't admit that, not yet.

Celestia smiles at the girl, the smile she tended to give when she knew there was a guaranteed win, only then did the look of realization cross Kyoko's face. Houjicha was a surprising discovery, of course the sly girl knew of its differing brewing style and sweet taste, she just wondered why it happened to be Kyoko's favorite. "Is something wrong, ma ciel?" She was very aware of the situation, after all Celestia made the tea just to see how Kyoko would react.

Kyoko allowed Grand Bois to crawl out of her arms to get to Celestia then reached for the tea, her eyes shifted towards the shorter girl whose smile radiated her close victory. The gambler knew she didn't get it wrong, and Celestia be damned if the first tea she made for Kyoko didn't happen to be the girl's favorite. Kyoko brought the reddish-brown liquid towards her lips, the gambler watched fondly as a smile made its way towards the ever calm detective's pretty face. "Would it... be proper to ask how you found out my favorite tea?"

"Can't I just know from deep within my icy heart what tea my darling Kyoko favors. We're friends after all, aren't we?"

"You're cute but that isn't enough to distract me."

The gambler raised the cup to sip, to hide her genuine smile, before meeting the detective's lavender eyes. "My dear, you act as if I read it off a classified document. It was simple, most teas and drinks you consume tend to have a higher measure of caffeine if you could help it and well Houjicha tea virtually has no caffeine yet you still went out of your way to consume it. Wasn't too hard to figure out." Celestia raised her finger to trace a shape on her cheek "And you put a bit of effort to ask if anyone had charcoal when it was your birthday."

"So you cared enough to learn my favorite tea?"

"But of course my dear."

"Would that also imply I'm possibly higher up your ranking system, Celes?"

"ごろごろ(gorogoro)" Grad Bois purred, Celestia reaches out to stroke the feline and takes her opening of escape "That's right Ma poupette, we should get to our planned topic of discussion."

"Celestia."

"If I remember properly, we were meant to discuss me taking your advice from weeks prior."

"You're ignoring my question."

"And I shall keep deflecting, Mon rêve"

The two held their stares for a bit, the tea had probably already cooled enough to drink without accidental burning.

Kyoko was the first to blink, thus she brought it upon herself to change the subject as per her loss. "Has taking a stroll been helping you feel more comfortable being yourself? or is it not helping you as I thought" Straight to the point. Celestia considered that, was the theory of a solution working instead of was there a problem with the solution, but of course she knew Kyoko wouldn't just assume that the gambler would continue taking her advice just because.

"It's been quite nice actually. I've always felt solace in the dark of night, even if I've limited myself to stay confined in the west dormitory building." Celestia watched as the outline of Kyoko's eyes softened, and her gloved hand moved closer to her mouth while the remaining hand placed her cup down. The gambler could already tell what Kyoko was about to point out, as soon as the detective parted her lips to speak Celestia stopped her "I'm sorry for interrupting, and I apologise for not answering your question properly."

"Three apologizes?" Kyoko raised a brow. Did the detective not notice how she was the only person Celestia would willingly apologise to? Or was she suspecting the shorter girl was feeling guilt? Unimaginable. Ridiculous even.

"Mon plaisir quotidien, surely you've noticed that my sleeping arrangements have been a bit off since I started heeding your advice. And as such I've been a bit off today."  The endearments are also getting out of hand.  At least Kyoko didn't understand or know the meaning of a majority of the endearments Celestia has given her. "Rest assured my dearest detective, I'm quite alright."

"I don't believe that's all but continue." Kyoko responded and once again reached for her tea. Celestia bit her tongue. Une autre fissure.

"Like I said, it's been pleasant although I can't help but feel like I'm being cramped into this building. And it's oddly a bit... invigorating, walking around freely, without my drills and makeup." She admits, Celes can't help but feel it's a bit vague but the feeling she's gotten was also vague to her so any sense of understanding was already out the window.

Kyoko nods, the corners of her mouth turn upwards "Yes it must be nice going out in your natural beauty" the comment makes Celestia smile, with an ache. For such a wonderfully smart women, it was a surprise that the detective was playing these games. Even if it was unconsciously.

"Darling I'm always beautiful, however that would be the wrong way to view it. Personally I don't agree with what your comment, it's simply nice having the chance to truly be myself. Only downside to roaming is that the time tends to have cold temperatures." Celestia looks up from her empty cup to see Kyoko staring deeply at her, the slowly growing warmth in her eyes, suddenly gone.

"Mon préféré? My darling, is something the matter?" Perhaps something the gambler said reminded the taller girl of a case.

"Detective~," Kyoko still stares at her, a debate is happening within her. That's odd, possibly not related to a case. A sudden train of thought perhaps. " don't tell me you've realized something important? Care to share?"

"Actually I did realize something, I'm sad that I hadn't realized sooner." Celestia could see Kyoko's body lean forward, and one of her hands pushing against the small table. She was getting up, so of course Celestia did too.  You just started talking honestly and now you want to run away? You can't just fold when there is nothing to lose.

Lose. Losing. That wasn't the feeling Celestia got, it was warmer. Lightly simmering in her gut, a flame of caution she was oh so familiar with, that warmed up the rest of her body as she was the quickest to stand up between the two. As the two stood, they stared into each other's gazes, trying to read each other's mind. Celestia for the first time since 1st year; has found it difficult to read Kyoko.

The detective's lack of words proved that she was experiencing the same problem. Unfortunately between the two of them, she was truly the boldest.

Kyoko walked towards Celestia, and she reached out her hand. "Celestia..." she asked softly, Celestia began to back up. This was new, Kyoko was taking a softer approach. She wasn't sure why, her mind was foggy suddenly. The gambler needed to clear her mind before saying anything more, she could only imagine what would happen if she were to slip up even further. "Celestia, do you truly not believe that you are beautiful?"

That, "Don't be foolish my precious bat, did I not a few moments ago state that I am always beautiful. Why would I not believe in a definite fact." That was forced. The urge to curse loudly was growing steadily.

"I'm not denying you saying that, however as of late you've disagreed with my attempts to compliment you as beautiful or pretty, the other day you even out right denied any mentions of you being cute" Kyoko verbally pushed, Celestia felt the back of her knee-joint meet cool velvety fabric that she knew was her bed. "This has been going on for a while."

Celestia had to tilt her head up to meet Kyoko's gaze, the latter wearing her boots while the gambler chose her flats for that day. The lolita was momentarily stunned by the height difference, it was only an inch or so of difference but with the different footwear. "I'm not cute, nor do I need reminders of my attractiveness. It goes without saying my dear." She prided herself with her self-control, with her ability to keep her composer. Who did the girl with lack of self-preservation skills think she was just stripping Celestia of her pride, and with little effort!

"Then," her knees buckled, they buckled to prevent herself from falling onto her bed, they buckled for balance, they buckled to move her already warming face away from the tickling breath of Kyoko's. "you wouldn't find it too hard to say it yourself. Unless of course the infamous reine des vampires lolita is too... afraid?"

A taunt. Of good nature, but a taunt nonetheless. The last time Kyoko called her by her title, was when Kyoko had her cornered in Yokohama. After a big secret game that she had won, after her victory her opponent got violent which was what led to the detective catching her. It felt like years ago since it happened, and it left Celestia irritated. For reasons she couldn't bring herself to explain, ever.

"Fine. I, Celestia Ludenberg, am beautiful. Better detectiv-"

Kyoko cut her off by placing her hands in a soft grip around Celestia's forearms, which instinctively caused Celestia to further back up. And unfortunately brought them both down.

Of course the landing was soft, not at all uncomfortable. Celestia has allowed her body to crash into her bed plenty of times, this time was no different. Other then the fact Kyoko was above her, faces mere inches to each other, lavender hair blocking out the world and framing Kyoko's pretty face,  two dips on either side of Celestia's head that was logically Kyoko's arms, and finally a weight on her body.

How was she supposed to react? What was she to say? Fortunately Kyoko's eyes were closed.

"Taeko." Crap.

This is rather pleasant. Correct, but why would she admit that and further bring herself to her inevitable downfall.

"Kyoko." How long were her eyes open?

"Was I not clear enough? I want you to say you're beautiful Taeko." Her breath tickles Taeko, the faint scent of houjicha dances under her nose and the gambler feels a burning white flame explode throughout her body.

"You're pushing the Taeko thing." She attempts to push.

"Just as you've requested of me and along with that, the request to not listen to you if you try to resist when I do." Kyoko pushes back.

She was right, but she really didn't have to say it. Taeko was(?) Celestia was(?) always steps ahead, and she has herself cornered. Here she was resisting, and for what? what did she have to gain from refusing Kyoko. It was a simple request, to admit something. Something false. To admit something so easy, she was a good liar, she was amazing at lying. So why couldn't she do it now, lying was so simple. Not with her. Not with her.

Ultimate detective, Kyoko was just too good at finding the truth. "I will sit up and then watch you fall with no remorse." It was an empty threat, they both knew that she would not have told Kyoko if she truly meant it.

Thankfully Kyoko lightened her weight distribution so that Taeko had room to move, and at once Taeko pushed her body up to recline with the help of her arms. Now she realizes how close she has gotten to Kyoko, Taeko refuses to breathe too hard. So she watches with burning ears and a tightness in her chest as Kyoko properly straddles her lap and stares her down expectantly. "I will not be getting off until you admit you are a beautiful and wonderful person Taeko."

More?!

"Kyoko, pardon, what's with the additions?"

"You're taking too long and I'm getting impatient, say you're wonderful and beautiful then I'll be satisfied."

"Absolutely not. Darling, you're being absurd." Why did she say that?

Kyoko tenderly grasped one of Taeko's hands into her own while the other snaked around to press her back forward to fix the sudden loss of support and balance. Similar to dip in dances. Oh and to whatever deities that Gundham rambles about, did Taeko want to thank them for the weird but heart soaring embrace her and Kyoko were in.

"Taeko, if you don't do as I ask, I will push you until you do." Kyoko murmured. Taeko could easily guess, from the light flush that had taken Kyoko, that she was getting embarrassed.

"And what, pray tell, would you do to push me? hmm? You're not exactly intimidating, Ma chérie." Why was Taeko pushing it, and she called Kyoko the one with a lack of self-preservation skills.

Kyoko leans just slightly closer, then her lips part "Do you want to find out." She whispers darkly. Fuck.

On second thought...  "I, um." The detective hums patiently, despite how she's behaved. "I'm wonde-"

"Properly."

Her voice shakes before returning to its regular tone as she continues "I, Takeo Yasuhiro, am a. A wonderful person and... I'm pretty." Kyoko smiled. She fucking smiled at Taeko. "Better... Taeko?"

There's a sound, like multiple thuds. Taeko's senses are too overwhelmed by Kyoko to distinguish where it came from, but it seems like it was caused by Grand Bois playing around. Not that she could see through Kyoko's long hair.

"Yes!" Taeko winces at the volume "Sorry. Yes, Kyoko?"

"Taeko, I-"

            
              きいきい~
            
          

They both froze. They already heard the twisting of the doorknob, and the unlocked door opening too quickly for the pair to move.

"Hey Celestia, Ikusaba-san said you'd be in here..." Kyoko and Taeko's underclassmen trails off as the three of them all asses the situation, Maki eyes widened as a fierce flush of embarrassment washes over her. "oh atua, you're fucking." The young assassin turns around and stammers out an apology "Shit, fuck, I'm so sorry! I'll come back later, when you're done."

The detective and gambler separate quickly, both embarrassed.

"Harukawa, this is not what it looks like. It's not as intimate as you think it is" Kyoko assured. Taeko makes a noise of agreement, or that's what she hopes was the sound that emitted from her throat.

"Was there something you needed Maki-san?" Celestia tries, quickly collecting her composure and silencing Kyoko before the poor girl starts nervously rambling. Maki still has her back turn, she looks about ready to run.

"I came to ask about your earrings, the ones with the hidden compartments, but I'll ask tomorrow when you both get it out of your systems."

"Maki-san."

"Do you want to die?"

ごろごろ(Gorogoro)= purring noises? (like how a cat's meow is nya but it's their pur.)

Mon plaisir quotidien= my Daily pleasure

Mon rêve= woman of my dreams

Ma poupette= my Doll

Mon préféré= my favorite

Une autre fissure= Another crack

Sonia watched her underclassmen and Gundham with an affectionate smile, she thought is was sweet how excitedly the group was talking to each other. The princess hadn't a clue on what they were discussing, she was helping Chisa-sensei when the underclassmen cornered her and Gundham and started asking for advice. Gundham had assured her that he would handle them, and he was. Happily so.

She liked seeing his wide smile. "Hello everyone!" Sonia greeted with a wave, practically flowing besides the ultimate breeder. Gundham pauses mid monologue, and grins at the princess. Sonia could feel the happiness radiating from him, and in turn she begins to share the same happy energy.

"Greetings my dark queen! I suppose Yukizome doesn't require our assistance for the time being?" Sonia nods, and turns towards the underclassmen with interest. "She sends her thanks. Now does anyone care to fill me in?" A tall teen bows his head politely, his height further empathize by the smaller redhead that stands besides him. Korekiyo and Himiko. 1st years of the 70s classes, the two were on the calmer side of their excitable peers, if Sonia recalled correctly.

"Hello Ms. Nevermind, We would like some help looking for the demon that Naegi-san and Amami-san has encountered a while ago. I assume you've heard of it?" demon?

Demon!

No wonder Gundham was excited. Sonia would be too, and she is.

"In fact, I haven't heard of it. Makoto? Rantaro? Are you both okay?" Both boys nod, Rantaro gives her a polite smile "We're fine, but we kinda wish to look for them. It was a really weird encounter. Hiro, Himiko, and Kork wanted to help us too then Kork suggested looking for you two."

"And help you will recieve young mortals!"

"Aren't I older than all of you" Himiko looks up at Hiro.
"We get it you're a grandpa," The small mage looks back to Sonia and Gundham with a cute smile— the one she learned meant the small mage was really excited(Thanks Tenko)— as she fixes her pointed hat "will you actually help us?"

Sonia beams, her underclassmen were just so adorable and sweet "Of course Yumeno-san, would the lot of you mind if I told the rest of the 77th class to see if they're interested in helping us?"

"Of course, the more the merrier right! We'll get more done and it'll be more fun!" Naegi agreed with a look of determination, Sonia smiles. She excuses herself from the conversation while she pulls out her phone.

____________________________________________________

-=+In this house we love & appreciate Peko+=-

SHOTSHOTSHOT: guys,,, maybe we could arrange a

SHORTSHORTSHORT: A what bondagewrap
SHORTSHORTSHORT: I MEANT BANDAGE

GorbanRamsFav: Sure hiyoko~~

SHORTSHORTSHORT: stfu u fuckin perv, let mikan talk

SHOTSHOTSHOT: than u hiyoko,
SHOTSHOTSHOT: i mean a cuddle party like we did with Satoshi and Ryota

Imposter: yes that was nice. (Ryota says thank u for it btw)

Bo$$Bith: Throw all the fucking parties this entire damn week. Peko deserves that shit

ShreddingwithStrings: wait not friday tho (;^^)

SHORTSHORTSHORT: Why the fuc not

ShreddingwithStrings: Ibuki remembered Peko is getting her smart tteth taken out

Acandi: smart what

Bo$$Bith: Wisdom teeth

Acandi: oooo i like the name smart tteth

Imposter: ffs what does that mean for friday n saturday?

>SnowQueen: Demon hunting!

Bo$$Bith: wtf hunting????

>SnowQueen: I'll discuss it in a bit bt what's going on?

ShreddingwithStrings: Ibuki n everyone r plannin a weeek looooong event to appreciate pekopeko (｢`･ω･)｢

Bo$$Bith: as she desrves.

>SnowQueen: Oo I agree with this plan but couldn't Peko just see the chat? I still see her in the group/

Red: Actually I'm curious too (Hiyoko, sato says she needs her bag back)

SHORTSHORTSHORT: give me a few, i'm goin

ShreddingwithStrings: Ibuki has

>SnowQueen:?

Red: Ibuki has what?

ShreddingwithSwords: Peko's phone
ShreddingwithSwords: dang really broke the flow of ibuki's message train (｡•́︿•̀｡)

SharkboynLavagirlsson: What's with the demon hunting tho sonia-san

>SnowQueen: Makoto and Rantaro saw a demon and wanted help from others to help them look for it!

Acandi: oh shit yeah I heard about that from Hina and Sakura! That's crazyyyyyy

Imposter: it is, but they're asking u now right?

>SnowQueen: Yes! in fact they are here discussing it

Imposter: how long will the hunt be going for then?

>SnowQueen: A while i assume.

ShreddingwithStrings: Peko's been into that lately tbh, she even got a book about it from korkiboi
ShreddingwithStrings: smthin about her bff callin her a demon when they were kids (ㆁωㆁ)

Bo$$Bith: she remebers that still?
Bo$$Bith: bet hell yeah count us in

>SnowQueen: (＾＾)b

Chapter Text

------------
-=+We either sexy gay or stupid gay there is no inbetween (leon's a himbo so of course he's excused)+=-

IKISSEDAGIRL:
@Celestibitch he's here
vroom:
who?
Celestibitch:
leon so I kno you saw that chat name but before u do anything else send a hi
LionKing:
hi for what? Himbo?
o my name
aww you care, where are you i'mma go give you a bro kiss
Celestibitch:
I will cut your loin off
That'sUnfortunate:
He's in the lounge
LionKing:
hey wtf
Celestibitch:
:)
LionKing:
@GirlBoss come get your girl before she kills me
Cherry:
Celeste is already on her way
LionKing:
Bet. I'll give her a bro kiss here then
blahcuteyass:
Imbecile. Have you not realized that Kyoko will also attempt to punish you for your "bro kiss." She will not be stopping Celestia.
BigEggiBro:
Byakuya is right y'know. Btw kyoko looks like she's in a bad mood??
Kiyotaka:
I believe that is my fault, I hide the coffee maker and I asked Mondo to prevent her from leaving the dorms. It was all so she could get better rest, she hasn't had any form of caffine for two days.
vroom:
ya did good bro an yea i took her handbook so she can't leave
BigEggiBro:
Oookay! that explains it
OceanPriest:
omg guys Kyoko is straight up glaring at Leon
IKISSEDAGIRL:
oh shit give her celes
Love that the suggestion text was coffee, celes, and caffeine
That'sUnfortunate:
Celestia has scissors and noe Leon is scared
Kyoko really just loves things that begin with C huh
Ojiisan:
Wait what explai
That'sUnfortunate:
Celestia, Chibikku, Coffee, Caffeine, Cabins, Cake, Camping, Cars, capes(idk), and those are the few I could think of off the top of my head
IKISSEDAGIRL:
>:(

-That'sUnfortunate has been changed to TeddyBear-
-lovemedespairtho has taken away admin powers from 10 users-

TeddyBear:
I am a mercenary. I have killed a man. Many in fact. I constantly have a weapon on hand and could fight everyone in this chat right now without it. Why is my name this.
Cherry:
wurm
IKISSEDAGIRL:
Cuddly and cute
lovemedespairtho:
despair :)
TeddyBear:
Thanks I hate it.
IKISSEDAGIRL:
:(
TeddyBear:
but I will keep it
IKISSEDAGIRL:
(:
Celestibitch:
Chibikku has wrapped himself around my arm and now I shall return the little python to his mother
You live for now scottish himbo
LionKing:
Hells yes
GirlBoss:
(￣ヘ￣)
LionKing:
what
GirlBoss:
I might change your life expectancy Kuwata
LionKing:
what does that mean
Kyoko
Kyoko
Kyoko pal what does tht mean
GirlBoss:
idk n idc
Kiyotaka:
Hello Kyoko!
GirlBoss:
no
vroom:
wtf was that for
GirlBoss:
bc ur S/O won't let me drink coffee and give myself heart palpitations
Kiyotaka:
S/O?
GirlBoss:
look i don' have the energy to deal w/ ur guys' romantic tension where is the coffee maker
Zippy:
kyoko really woke up and chose violence
GirlBoss:
AFAIK you really woke up to flirt with Makoto's sister
BigEggiBro:
WUT
Zippy:
I DID NOT
GirlBoss:
screenshot your dm with komaru then
OceanPriest:
dear atua did Toko fucking die?
Zippy:
No the fuck, we're just talking about taking the kids to the zoo
GirlBoss:
Prove it.
Zippy:
No.
GirlBoss:
suffer
Ojiisan:
im getting so much whiplash wtf
lovemedespairtho:
it's so despair inducing
Celestibitch:
Kyoko.
GirlBoss:
Celestia.
Celestibitch:
Behave yourself.
GirlBoss:
idw
Celestibitch:
too bad ur not getting coffee anytime soon
GirlBoss:
OX?
Celestibitch:
Don't push it
vroom:
what is even fuckin happening
GirlBoss:
it be like that owada
LionKing:
Don't kill anyone detective gadget
GirlBoss:
it appears as tho I need glasses dhmu
blahcuteyass:
you do need glasses you heathen
GirlBoss:
and u need dick but you don't see me saying that
LionKing:
aye celes come get your girl
Celestibitch:
Calm down she doesn't bite leon, ur being dramatic
LionKing:
rich coming from you
GirlBoss:
(¬ ¬ )︻デ═一
LionKing:
YES SHE DO BITE
Ojiisan:
y'all wild lmao
Celestibitch:
Kyoko what's wrong, u never come in this chat unless needed
GirlBoss:
dad has made a mistake and keeps making it
blahcuteyass:
we are aware, we've met you.
Celestibitch:
I'm not above murder bakaya
BigEggiBro:
everyone is choosing violence whyyy
chihiro help
Cherry:
no, celes is right, kyoko?
GirlBoss:
oh yea this is very important for school
Kiyotaka:
really? Could you share please.
GirlBoss:
I want the coffeemaker first
Celestibitch:
Kyoko.
IKISSEDAGIRL:
tell us and we'll get Celestia to curse
GirlBoss:
You've got my attention
bt it's not enough.
Celestibitch:
pardon?
TeddyBear:
doesn't celestia have chibikku
GirlBoss:
I know,,,,
Kiyotaka:
We shouldn't be bribing our classmate, especially with another classmate!
OceanPriest:
But don't you wanna find out what Kyoko figured out?
Kiyotaka:
well yes
IKISSEDAGIRL:
we got this ishimaru, celes youre camrea shy right
Celestibitch:
I am announcing that I have poison
GirlBoss:
I'll sleep too if u let me take a picture of u and chibikku together (´꒳`)
Celestibitch:
would you actually sleep?
GirlBoss:
You could come with me too if you wanna be sure
LionKing:
O_O
hella smooth tho ngl
OceanPriest:
OwO
Celestibitch:
Just the picture?
or do I need to curse too
vroom:
your actually considering?
GirlBoss:
the two yeah
Celestibitch:
fine
GirlBoss:
wanna swak?
Cherry:
swak?
Celestibitch:
i take the offer back
Girlboss:
wait no no im sorry please
Celestibitch:
fine
lovemedespairtho:
tfw those 2 gay bicthes arent togethr yet
whoopsh
OceanPriest:
whoopsh
LionKing:
whoopsh
GirlBoss:
what noise is that supposed to be
TeddyBear:
whoopsh
whip
Kiyotaka:
What is the important news Kyoko?
GirlBoss:
@everyone
Family day.
vroom:
fuck
Goddess:
family day? isn't that only at the end of each term, we're still not done with this one.
GirlBoss:
Headmaster thought is was a good idea to have another one. in two days.
Zippy:
fuck fuck TWO DAYS
ALPHAnomega:
calm down even if it is soon, there's no way most of our parents or guardians will be able to make it on short notice
blahcuteyass:
Yamada is correct. Only families who live near here and have no prior appointments will be able to attend, although it is suspicious how unprofessional this sudden event is.
GirlBoss:
Right. But
It was a surprise.
for the students.
Our families were already informed a week prior and they were strictly asked to not tell the students
Ojiisan:
so what does that mean, it's not gonna be any diffrent
Kiyotaka:
Actually, unfortunately, it might be even more packed. During this time is when work is quite in lower demand so more people have more time to spend.
GirlBoss:
Yes, which is why I hope you could all spread the message as soon as possible. I only recently found out and we don't want a repeat with last years disaster.
lovemedespairtho:
Couldn't me and muku just y'know fuck up the event like we did with teacher parent introduction for the underclassmen
TeddyBear:
I have more material then last time, it would be quite effective
blahcuteyass:
That time the both of you got hurt and landed yourselves in the infirmary.
lovemedespairtho:
to be fair Izuru threw me off a roof
blahcuteyass:
Izuru threw you off the roof because he was directly ordered to watch over the area you vandalized.
lovemedespairtho:
awwww u care
blahcuteyass:
Perish.
Kiyotaka:
I have forwarded the message to my fellow student council members, I've also asked them to keep it on the down low to avoid complications.
IKISSEDAGIRL:
I've shared it with the other classes.
OceanPriest:
Me and Sakura are going to go help out students with the sudden preparations
Goddess:
Yeah, I wish you all good luck
GirlBoss:
cool yeah thanks everyone
Celestibitch:
kyoko.
GirlBoss:
First what i was promised
BigEggiBro:
Leon, Hiro, Chihiro!
want to go tell the reserve course with me?
Ojiisan:
heck yeah egg dude
LionKing:
for sho, chihiro says yeah too
she's asking what does swak mean?
IKISSEDAGIRL:
Seal/swear with a kiss

Hajime's head was pounding, and Izuru was not at all helping. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, the... the professors had told him that sleep was required for healing after his operation. More like experiment. It's been so long since then, Hajime doubts it's the need to sleep, even if it sounds nice.

'Kuzuryu is about to trip.' Izuru informed broadly, they weren't all that bothered by the operation that happened a year ago. That makes sense though, since otherwise Izuru wouldn't exist without it.

Oh, wait Natsumi!

Hajime surged forward to hold an arm out to prevent the blonde girl from losing her balance and dropping the bags of goodies they carried, and that Hajime payed for, Natsumi stopped when he grabbed her arm and looked at him. "Hajiwhore, what the fuck?"

"You were going to trip Natsumi." The blonde girl scoffed at the prospect, she did gymnastics there was no way she'd just fall. Natsumi stuck her tongue out at the taller boy "As if, I'll trip when Sato fucking admits she likes Mahiru and that other blonde bitch from the ultimate course." She continued their walk towards the entrance.

"Hiyoko Saionji?" Hajime questioned. Natsumi nodded and pulled out her phone. It was 1:04, barely 1 in the morning.

"That's the bitch. Anyway, where the fuck are we meeting up with that pinning idiot? It's getting hella cold." She complained, jacketless, since Natsumi stubbornly said she'll be fine.

The pair were walking towards one of the gate entrances to the campus, it was really late for them to be out of their dorms and coming back for a late snack run. Then again Hajime and Natsumi were in the reserve course so they aren't a priority when it came to safety when it came to the more important students. A gentle whisper of cold air brushed against Hajime's exposed wrist as he looked around the area, they were supposed to meet up with Sato here at the gates.

"Pretty sure we were supposed to meet up at the gates up ahead, maybe she's just past it? I don't think Sato would just not bother to come." Hajime could hear a faint noise, a noise from an animal or something.

"Ugh, you good? You've been spacing out a lot today, we kinda need you to finish the rest of Peko's party planning Mr ultimate party planner." Natsumi questioned, she had slowed down to walk besides Hajime. Ultimate party planner? Nah, Hajime was still as talentless as ever. 

"You mean Izuru is the ultimate party planner?" 'Don't bring me into this, it's boring.' Hajime rolled his eyes, but it was fair. Izuru had to go through some testing earlier, they were probably exhausted. Hajime could slightly feel the effects of the exam on his body.

"Tomato potato and all the other shit Mioda says, I don't give a fuck. I already did most of the work, all ya gotta do is put that shit together." Hajime internally winced, more work. "Fuck, where the hell is she? Don't tell me she got kidnapped by those demon fuckers."

Hajime raised a brow at Natsumi when she turned back to face him, she was rubbing her arms. Hajime began taking off his jacket "What do you mean demons?" He held his jacket out for Natsumi to take, She smacked his hand at the offer. He still held it out, now it was a matter of Natsumi giving in.

"No, those, ah fuck, those fuckers who're going around looking for demons. Fuyu told me how his class and some of his underclassmen were going to go hunting for some demon for part of Peko's surprise party. Anyways they probs thought Sato was a demon." Oh.

Hajime saw the Demon Hunt on the party plan, but he had assumed that it was a game or something. Not an actual event of sorts, he made a mental note to ask Chiaki when they meet up to play games later.

The shorter blonde took the jacket when a particularly harsh cold breeze passed, "Hey did you hear that?" Natsumi asked, she had stopped to look around cautiously. He hadn't heard anything, his headache made paying attention to his surroundings harder than usual. "Should we hurry to the gates then?" The blonde scanned their area before nodding reluctantly and holding Hajime's jacket tighter.

"Maybe we should text Sato?" He suggested, Natsumi scoffed. 

"I already tried that dumbass, She left her phone at the dorms like you. Damn, why am I friends with two idiots?"

Hajime sighed, "You thought it was funny how most of class 77 thought Sato and I was hot,"

"That was a rhetorical question you ass-"

Natsumi froze in midstep, she stared at the gate entrance with furrowed brows. "This is creepy as fuck. Fuck fuck fuck, the shit was that??" She looked creeped out, like seriously creeped out. Hajime wasn't sure why she was scared, but he could try to at least ease her. Too bad he was shit at comforting people.

"Natumi, we should hurry up and get Sato so we could go back to the dorms. We'll get a cold if we stay out longer." They were only a bit away from the gate, and there was a lamp at the entrance that'll make it easier for them to locate Sato or the other way round. 

Natsumi glanced at Hajime before looking back at the gate, 

"There's creepy-ass noises coming from there, it creeping me the fuck out. Sounds like someone scraping their sword against metal." Well the comparison was oddly specific, but it wasn't doubtful. 

There was no sound for Hajime to listen to other than the cold breeze brushing past his ears, he walked just a bit faster than Natsumi, to stay besides her while having the ability to put himself in front of her. Maybe that would comfort Natsumi. Who knows?

"I swear to... are all the fuckers in the ultimate course just that random."

"What?" Hajime looked back at Natsumi who had stopped to look past the gates. There was someone in... a cat hoodie? Yeah, a cat hoodie with the ultimate course's mascot on the sleeve, they were crouching down and petting a ginger cat and entertaining another cat with their other hand. Around them, from what Hajime could see, was more cats. "Oh. Cool."

"Is this the kinda shit they do?" "To be honest? That's like 50% of their behavior" "Kinda glad I'm not in there, props to Izuru."

Hajime could see the person was using their phone to illuminate their little area, their screen also made their face somewhat visible from their distance.

They were wearing a mask, maybe they were sick. Hopefully not, this was the stupidest shit they could be doing at the moment.

'Isn't that one of our underclassmen.' Hajime didn't know. He watched as Natsumi went through the five stages of grief before settling on disappointment, in what, He didn't know either.

"Lets. Lets go." 

"Alright"

They continued on, the wind biting at their clothes and unprotected skin, with a bag full of snacks.

Natsumi led them through the entrance towards the courtyard, there was only two sources of light that Hajime could see amongst the four that was supposed to be working. The overgrown bushes were casting less than prefered shadows, not great with the dim light Hajime could barely see where the edges of the pavement they were walking on. "Hey, isn't it weird? we haven't seen Sato yet."

A sharp jab to Hajime's side reminded him that it probably was, Natsumi hissed "Are you trying to scary me you socially lacking prick?" Most of the people Hajime interacted with were socially inept compared to him, Natsumi included. "Look-"

ｶﾞﾘｶﾞﾘー

Maybe these kind of situations was why the ultimate course was as weird as they were, they all seem to have some experience with danger or safety, sometimes Hajime wonders. Was this school really safe?

The scraping of metals was a singular, long and dragged on, noise. Then it's light scratching dragged on, again and again, for awhile.

It stopped.

Hajime went back to focusing on Natsumi, only to find her pale to the point her usually rosey cheeks were barely, if not, there. That was not a preferable situation.

Hajime was not soberーhe's never drank, but it felt like he had and was suffering the unfortunate resultsー enough to handle anything tonight. Morning? Whatever, he didn't really care.

"Natsumi, not much longer, we'll probably see Sato on the way-"

This school was by far the weirdest place Hajime has ever been to, the close to second, the one he just visited now, was hell.

He did not expect to be sucker punched in the face, at 1 in the morning, on his snack run. Nor for it to leave his vision effectively dark and his eyelids heavy.

Slowly he had drifted away from consciousness with the last thing he hears being,

"Hajime- I'm sorry!"

Chapter Text

"Celestia?" Kyoko softly closed the doors to their designated dorm building's library. It was just a little passed the 'Nighttime' curfew and she had already been looking for the gambler for almost 2 hours; no one has seen Celestia since the evening she returned from inviting their underclassmen into the gambling rink she hosted weekly. It worried the detective. Kyoko knew Celestia could take care of herself, knew that she wouldn't do anything drastic or get herself into trouble. Yet...

It didn't hurt to check on the girl.

Kyoko wandered between the 17th and 18th shelves to get to the very back of the small library, towards the five enormous shelves that lined the back of the room. The detective couldn't help but notice some of the book titles: A history of German theatre by Simon Williams and Maik Hamburger, Deutsche Wanderbühne by Kiara Jäger, An Actor Prepares by Constantin Stainslavsky, La Celestina by F. de Rojas, Macbeth by Shakespeare, and many more relating to theatre Kyoko assumes.

Sometimes Kyoko wonders why her father never got to changing that student's schedule to their class. Were they still unable to attend...

Each row of bookshelves was specifically stocked with books and texts relating to someone's talent, so said ultimate could further improve their talent without instructors. Everyone had one ーdespite how expensive it was considering most students didn't use themー and admittedly Kyoko hated them, she found that none of the texts were remotely helpful, and she had donated most of them to instead add her well-used journals on her own cases. Unlike a majority of their classmates, Kyoko's shelf was one of the five in the back along with Sayaka, Chihiro, Makoto, and Celestia. Out of the five of them: only herself and Sayaka ever used them or read the texts.

Despite this, Celestia and Kyoko often found their paths meeting here at the end of most days during the start of their first year. Kyoko would visit the back of the library to work on her cases in peace, Celestia would visit the back of the library to avoid the others. Since then, they would occasionally meet here, especially after Kyoko found the room hidden behind the shelves. It had become the pair's hide-away.

"Celestia?" The detective walked towards Chihiro's shelf, some of the book's titles were heavily obscured by layers of dust. Her hand instinctively reached for a book (Like how you would a doorknob), with a title she only remembered by how many times she's seen it.

-_Bimyouna machigai he no puroguramaa gaido_- by Dareshimo

Programmer's guide to subtle mistakes by anyone

It was an accidental discovery; the title simply intrigued the detective enough that she pulled it out (Celestia had made fun of her for standing there for so long without grabbing it). It was hard to ignore too, since it was close to her own shelf. She never would have guessed that it opened up to a furnished rec room, of course Kyoko had told Chihiro who simply responded that they knew and that she was already using a room (there were even more apparently) hidden near the bathroomsー soon the two claimed it as their own.

The shelf lifted from the floor a few inches before leaving open a thin crack between the right end of Chihiro's shelf and the start of Kyoko's own shelf. Kyoko brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear before pulling the shelf more to reveal the entrance to the hidden chamber; the lights were on. The gambler was finally located.

A relieved sigh left Kyoko's mouth as she softly closed the shelf shut and placed the book atop a special compartment to open the entrance to leave later on. Or maybe tomorrow. It was pretty late.

"Celestia, it's Kyoko." She calls out to put a cap on her singular search party.

"Who else my darling bat." The gambler answers, Kyoko follows the direction of the voice to a small lounge area. 

There Celestia sat without her drills and make-up, her shoulders tense, one of Kyoko's journals set on the coffee table along with different colored pens. It's title line left empty; it was one Kyoko hadn't used yet. She walked towards Celestia and took her place beside her on the couch, the gambler responded by gently grasping Kyoko's dominate hand and placing a kiss on her gloved fingertips.

"Scheming, Taeko?" The gambler takes in a sharp breath, she was expecting it. Taeko shifts in her seat as she slowly, struggles, to meet Kyoko's eyes; there was a smile. A fake one. Kyoko was used to them. "What's got you worried?" 

Taeko's smile reverts into a frown, she glances down to the journal and pens laying on the table before she looks back at her detective. "For one, I'm learning that I'm not as strategic as many people think I am." Kyoko nods, that would make sense, although Taeko was smart, calculating, and admirably analytic; she was not used to having to prepare a strategic plan for much. Kyoko had believed this at first too, then she learned gambling was more so based on risks and luck rather than strategy. "Two, fairly sure one of our underclassmen are in danger. The kind of danger I'm not so sure of it's... severity but worrisome enough that I do think something should be done soon." Taeko leans her head on Kyoko's shoulder, the worry must have exhausted her. The gambler seemed to have a struggle keeping her eyes open.

Kyoko let's herself process the information. Hope's Peak Academy has been praised for the immediate responses to danger and any threats against students, an normally incredible reputation. Lately, the praise has dwindled ever since Komaeda senpai blew up a building. Not to mention reserve course students trying to speak out on the clear favoritism —that even a majority of the ultimate course agreed on the fact and supported the reserve course— or even the break ins her father has been trying to solve as of late. The detective had been counting down the days something would finally tip the iceberg. She hated it.

Kyoko gently scooped Taeko's hand and gave it a comforting squeeze, she also leaned her own head atop Celestia's. "Well, as the ultimate detective I'm pretty positive I can be of help. If you'll have me that is?" She feels Taeko shiver and chuckle a bit. They really did need to buy that area heater.

"Kyoko, you are literally the only person other than my family who I let call me by my real name. You really got to stop asking me if I feel comfortable with you doing shit." Taeko leans forward and grabs the journal before sitting closer to Kyoko again.

"It doesn't hurt to ask Taeko, after all I wouldn't forgive myself if I had hurt someone I care so much about." Kyoko gently opens the journal to peer at the first page already filled with notes and snippets of information.

Taeko moved the journal for Kyoko to read it better, her face was radiating warmth. 

'Cute.' The detective thought. She directed her focus back to the written notes.

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Two nights ago, at 11pm, Taeko had gone on a walk inside the school. She saw two students on her stroll, both she barely recognized as underclassmen. She dons her a black cat hoodie with red accents, a black mask, black sweats, and a pair of boots she has borrowed from Ibuki. It was around 3 when she had started making her way back to the dorms. On her return, she saw a student jumping down from their spot in the trees outside the 708-dormitory building (the dorms completely occupied by the 77th, 78th, 79th, 87th, 88th, and 89th classes; both subgroups from the ultimate course.) with a weapon similar to the ones Mukuro owned, there was a scope on top of this one. They seem to be holding a camera. They had run off before Taeko could question them, but she recognized the student.

Unogasai Rui of the 27th class, Taeko doesn't know her exact talent, but she was aware that it was related to the girl's accuracy. The upperclassmen also happen to drop a couple papers in her rush, Taeko retrieved them. No ill intent, originally, she wanted to return the dropped items.

Not anymore.

They were photos of their own underclassmen, Tenko Chabashira (clearly candid photos, thankfully not anywhere close to blackmail material) that seemed to be taken throughout the day judging by the changing light sources and positioning of the sun. 

Taeko went back to the dorms and turned in for the rest of the nighttime. The photos she kept on her person up until this moment.

Throughout the day, Taeko had made an effort to be around their underclassmen playing it off as if she was avoiding doing the day's work.

Kyoko faintly remembered handing Taeko the notes during lunch to review while they ate, surrounded by the 79th class. Shuichi also said he wanted to discuss something with her, it slipped her mind to write it down.

She had volunteered to watch over the 79th class until their teacher returned since Monomi had caught a coldー the timing was perfectー leaving her unfit to teach her rowdy class. Taeko had spent a lot of time with the underclassmen in hopes of her initial concern was just a misunderstanding; it wasn't.

While she and Maki were discussing jewelry (The ones that made it easier to hide poison, it was a nice discussion and even Maki seem intrigued by the many designs.) Maki had mentioned that she feels that their class was being watched. Unfortunately, Kaito and Kokichi had dragged Maki away with them before she could elaborate to settle an argument.

While Taeko discussed safety tips with Miu, Korekiyo, and Kiibo; Kiibo had commented that his sensors as of recently were detecting the presence of another person when the class went out on mini trips. Miu dragged the robot to give him a look over, followed by Korekiyo who was asking if it were related to demons.

While the class was collaborating: Tenko, Rantaro, Gonta, and Kirumi were discussing a concern of privacy. When Taeko inquired about this, Tenko had practically hissed out that Tsumugi and Angie had seen someone holding a camera and quickly walking away from the girls' changing room after their class's physical activities, so the four of them were plotting a way to catch the perv while making sure something like that wouldn't happen again.

Soon after Takeo had left them to their own devices, not without telling the class to be careful and be sure to stay safe, it was weird to hear her underclassmen talk about demons. Maybe they were referring to the perv as a spawn from hell?

Surely, something like this shouldn't have been going on for a while. Feeling watched, sensing others who weren't supposed to be there, privacy being breached; this should've been investigated by now. Even if these actions seem to be the media, all students were required to report such signs and activities. It was alarming that their underclassmen immediately assumed it was from within the school, it was the people on the campus they lived in, the campus they should've expected to be safe. What the hell was the school doing? What the hell was Kyoko's father doing?

The next day (Today) Taeko sought out the underclassmen again, along with the 29th and 49th class during dinner. She had excused herself from the rest of the class to return the four devas to Gundham (They had been scurrying around their class's feet interrupting their return to the dorm) and using this time to go see her juniors, a majority of the students seem on board on joining the small gambling circle. 

Unogasai was there. Watching her, Taeko wasn't stupid, she could feel the burning gaze while she explained to Gonta as well as Hashiba from the 49th class that the gambling circle was all fun and games with nothing really at stake. Unogasai was there helping a student from the 29th class study, Taeko pretended not to see her, even when she went to speak with the student Unogasai was helping, she didn't acknowledge her with anything but a fake smile. Unogasai had attempted to speak with her, but she had received a call and promptly left, not without sending a glare her way.

While she was gone Taeko took the chance to leave, it was already late after all. She had gone to their dorms avoiding being seen by anyone before making a pit stop at her own room and stopping at the library. Now here they were. 

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Kyoko squinted at the notes detailing Taeko's encounter with their senior and concern with their juniors, she could understand where Taeko was coming from. 

'She really is the mom friend.' Kyoko fondly muses. She watches Taeko from the corner of her eye, the gambler was reading the notes she wrote, her fingers bending in the nervous way she did. The shorter girl may not believe it, but she was very compassionate, maybe not towards strangers but definitely to her peers and children. Attentively, Kyoko hoped that Taeko could see she wasn't alone, in her passion and empathy to her stress and burden, as well as her fears and dreams. 

Affection aside; this is a serious matter.  

Unogasai Rui, a senior in the ultimate course, was a dangerous teen. Unogasai's sister even agreed, the upperclassmen is to be avoided entirely if you were likely to irritate her. 

"Unogasai, the girl with heterochromia and vitiligo?" There was a small hope in Kyoko, that maybe Taeko confused the stalker with another. Although, the chances of someone confusing Unogasai with someone else was unusually slim. The senior has a surprisingly prominent presence despite her talent being more efficient without, and her preferred style of clothing wasn't doing her any good in the stealth department. 

Taeko struggles to capture her yawn into her mouth while nodding, the stress must be finally taking its toll on her. "Yeah her, honestly it was stupid of her to try and sneak around without covering her hand and neck, not to mention she looked like a blue highlighter. It was a dead giveaway that it was her." So, it was their senior, that was a problem. It made the situation even more unpleasant to handle, although it would certainly be a more interesting one.

"Do you," Kyoko kicks off her indoor shoes. " Not know Unogasai's talent?" The detective reclines ever so slightly into the couch they sat on. From the corner of her eye, she could spot Grand Bois sleeping on the couple seat besides the lamp that lit up their area. The domestic feel was calming despite the seriousness hanging over their heads like the Sword of Damocles, it was inevitably going to end up bad. For whom, it is unclear.

"I only know that she is our senior from the 20's class, why?" 

Kyoko decided it was useless to try and sugarcoat it. "Unogasai is the Ultimate Sniper; there was also a case from last year, about a kidnapping, she was the prime suspect. I was taken off the case after the 2nd victim." 

Taeko sighed, she was nervous. "Why in the world would you be taken off a case? You still suspect her to be the culprit?" Kyoko was unsure why she had been laid off, she had reluctantly brought it up with her grandfather (who was also asked to help on the case and was the man behind the decision to remove those working on the case); he refused to elaborate and said she was just under qualified ーwhich was odd since Shuichi(neither were aware he was an ultimate yet) was also brought into the case and he along with other experienced detectives were transferred to instead handle other cases (Kyoko never brought it up after finding fellow investigator Amelia unconscious and her office trashed; the blonde begged her to stop their peers from interfering.)ー the whole case screamed that it was tampered with. "Many of the Detectives and Investigators who were taken off the case, along with me, agreed that the culprit was surely Unogasai. However, we were taken off the case before we could legally prove it."

"Legally?" The gambler inquired.

"The proof was there, we needed only to fill out the paperwork, none of us did unfortunately and even if we did, they would regard it as tampered with."

"Hmm, thought our legal system was better than that." Taeko comments, her tone lightly teasing. Neither bother to add anything to that, they both knew that the legal system was about as easy to manipulate as paper. One was a gambler, the other who considered the law: in the same class with a gang leader, criminalized hacker, serial killer, occasional con-artist(That's not even considering that their upperclassmen had a yakuza, vigilante, and arsonist in their ranks or how their underclassmen had a leader of a crime organization, assassin, vigilante, escaped convict; the school clearly did not give a fuck about the law.). The law was really just a suggested guideline at this point.

Back to the point of this though. "Unogasai is dangerous. Can I ask why you never just told Tenko? or the rest of them." It worries Kyoko that their underclassmen might just take the stalker problem into their own hands, not that it was a bad response, however, the last time they did... Gonta almost got arrestedー thankfully, he didn't but after what the class did afterwards to get him out of trouble...ー... This problem was not going to end without pain.

"Ignorance is bliss, Mon préféré~" "Ignorance is what that answer is, mon beauté."

"You mean ma belle?" "Answer the question."

No answer. It was an act of passion Kyoko deducts, it's now only a matter of whether they do tell them. 

Kyoko knows it's only going to work out better in their favor if they told their lowerclassmen, when they work together it usually turned out in their favor. "Taeko. I do hope you reconsider not telling them, I think they deserve to know, especially Tenko." If anything, if they did decide to not tell the lowerclassmen at least Chabashira deserved to know she had a stalker, who probably (hopefully notー Kyoko may enforce the law at times but she did have the ability to look away if something -truly- terrible happened to the perpetratorー but it was likely.) went as far as to follow her into the changing rooms.

"Hmm. I'd rather avoid any injuries; we know how quickly our classes tends to take physical confrontations. I'd rather avoid any fights unless we have to, especially considering that Unogasai is the ultimate sniper and seems to regularly carry firearms." Taeko defends, her reasoning wasn't bad but... Kyoko knew that there were flaws.

"I understand but isn't that more reason to tell Chabashira that her stalker has a firearm, she may tend to immediately get physical, but she isn't stupid. Will you not have as much faith in her as you do our class?" Kyoko knows Chabashira wouldn't put herself in danger so recklessly, if anything she'll try to put herself in safer situation so others wouldn't get hurt.

"The most faith I've ever put into our class was when we left with little Naegi and Fukawa to visit the primary school and I trusted Hina with my tea candles. They proceeded to leave multiple burns on the windows, which I don't need to remind you are fireproof. " Taeko was being a little dramaticー although those events did happen and left Kyoko with questions on what chaos her class was capable ofー and was clearly finding some reason to not tell their lowerclassmen.

Kyoko, with a sudden burst of confidence and energy, swiftly tackled Taeko. Her rewardー not from pinning but from Kyoko wrapping an arm around Taeko's sidesー was a squeaky yelp and the immediately flushing gambler, the one who hated how ticklish she was. The younger girl whined hissed at the other, "Kyoko!" Kyoko admits maybe it was a little wrong that she found the flushed, squirming sight of Taeko beneath her a little too entertaining. "Kyoko, I'm going to bite you. Unhand me."

Cute. "Go ahead and bite me. But I need your entire attention so listen to me."

She stops squirming to look Kyoko directly in the eye, something causes her eyes to widen ever so slightly. "Fuck.... Fine." 

"Like to have a word in before I start? You look like you want to say something." Rather considerate of Kyoko despite pinning the other girl into the couch just to make a statement.

Interestingly enough, Taeko does consider the offer. Her eyes scan Kyoko intently, before she takes a cold breath in. 

"Tu inteligente tenaz idiota, te amo."

'Huh...' Kyoko moved her hand a bit, an unconscious movement she tended to do when pondering something that stumped her, she would normally have her hand near her face when thinking.

Without understanding the meaning of the sentence, Kyoko continues. (Much to the relief of Taeko.)

"Listen, let me at least tell one of them." Taeko, who was quietly trying to hear Kyoko over her racing heart after another impulsive trip up, squinted her eyes at the detective. She already knew who.

"It's going to be Shuichi isn't." Right on the target.

"Would you rather it be Kokichi."

Taeko hums. "The goal would still be achieved either way." 

"You have favorites." Kyoko comments.

Taeko yawns this time. "Other than you? sometimes. Like you're any better."

"Is that a yes, or no?"

...

"Fine." Taeko groans relentingly. She was tired, and Kyoko knew very well that the gambler was most susceptible when sleepy which was only true in the right conditions. i.e. if you were Kyoko. [i.e. can be read as "that is" for individuals who didn't know. I am individuals too.] 

Because Kyoko does have respect ーand may lose what remains of her self-controlー, she moves to get off Taeko. Also to grab anything to combat the cold, her coat was not going to do either girl any favor. However, before Kyoko could push herself off, the gambler pulls her closer. Now the detective does not know what to do with herself.

"Taeko? Is something wrong? I was about to get up to get some blankets but... if..." Kyoko slows down when she sees Taeko glaring at her, no maliciousness, but it's something Kyoko sees directed towards her class and she worries if she offended the younger girl. "Kyoko. You are not going anywhere; you're sleeping with me."

...

"Pardon?" Kyoko may be mature (not to say she hasn't had her moments), and she may not be as impulsive as people paint her as, but, she does not have the best control on where her thoughts go.

Taeko rolls her eyes, "Now that I have you here, I'm making sure you actually sleep. I'm not letting you out of my arms." her hold around Kyoko's waist tightens ever so softly.

"Have you no trust in me?"

"None when it comes to your well being, my dear bat~"

Moving away from the initial panic and perhaps a little disappointment, Kyoko looks down at Taeko and at their situation.

They were in a hidden room behind a bookshelf, that was closed off from the heating from the library. Kyoko is now essentially laying atop Taeko, on top of a rather large couch which a lamp stands besides just a little out of Kyoko's reach. Along with them is Grand Bois who has taken over the love seat a few feet away; he naps peacefully and has surprising not awaken despite the commotion a minute or so ago. Besides the loveseat there is a box; with blankets inside since the two had yet to move a space heater in. "If you let me go get us a blanket then I will try to go to sleep."

Thankfully she considers, Taeko moves so the two could lay on the couch besides each other; it was likely already a confirmation. "You'll try? I'm going to need more than that, Ma chérie."

"I am cooperating, Ms. Lundenberg." Taeko smiles.

"Fair enough detective, on you go. Don't keep me waiting." Kyoko returns her tease with a relaxed expression.

"Wouldn't dream of it..."

"Ah! Kyoko-senpai! Could you hold on to a moment?" Kyoko turned around to watch Shuichi stumble behind her, a note pad held tightly in his hand. The two were promptly kicked out of their respective classes for a task of sorts, she suspected it had to do with the supposed 'demon' rumors going around their school. The ultimate homicide detective halted just before Kyoko and started catching his breath, the older student let him, after all, he did have to run up a staircase. 

They weren't the only ones that had been kicked out: Tenko, Sakura, Peko, Mukuro, and Maki have been taken out of class for special training; Miu, Chihiro, and Kazuichi have also been dismissed for a project the three were working on.

"Senpai... Good afternoon..." Shuichi stood up right, his cheeks a little flushed and his hat removed. He had insisted that he would be the one to meet up with her despite him having to come from physical activities, which was all the way on the ground level, and her class was History, on the 4th floor. They were meeting on the 6th floor. "I guess you already know why we were pulled from class?"

With little prompting Kyoko nods. "Staff decided we were best for the job." and they just didn't care. She gestures down the hall. "Shall we?"

Shuichi smiles at her and proceeds to walk with her in their shared direction; Kyoko just remembered; he had something to discuss with her.

"Yeah... You don't happen to know who the 'demon' is do you? Or even a lead?" He inquired; his hands moved to fix his disheveled appearance while trying not to seem like the entire situation didn't bother him.

'Would it be beneficial for Taeko if people knew she was their demon?' It's a quick and passing thought. One that the older, and more experienced detective doesn't have to mull over.

"No. Do you have one, Shuichi?" Her dismissive answer and flat question cause Shuichi to look at her differently, it seems he knew better. Good. However, he can't tell what this difference means.

Apprehensive, he speaks again. "Sorry, my class has been putting a lot of their time looking for this person. Although the other senpais have been helping each other it doesn't seem like most of them have realized that this was just a regular student, it pretty weirds how many of them came together." He mutters a few extra words Kyoko doesn't catch. It's not too far off to assume Shuichi has heard of the situation with the girls' locker room or even Maki's suspicion of being followed; maybe now was the best time to tell him. 

"You don't need to apologize Shuichi; we need to work on your confidence." He nods and looks down at his feet, before noticing that his hat was still in his hands. He shyly fixed his hat on top of his head and looked at Kyoko with curiosity. Kyoko meets his eyes with the usual, knowing, stare. "Our peers are a bit gullible at times. Though they seem to be having fun getting along..." Shuichi chuckles and nods in agreement. "They sure are, I heard they were incorporating it into Pekoyama's party week that's starting tomorrow."

The two share a comfortable silence as they walk down the hallway to their shared room, they were meeting Amelia and Shinsou; The Ultimate Undercover Detective and Private Investigator. Kyoko does however move her attention towards the younger detective, he notices fair quickly. "On that note, I wanted to tell you something."

The two slow their speed when approaching the door to their meeting room. The door's frame was made entirely of bronze and had gold paint graffiti over the plate that numbered the door, the number was not visible, and Kyoko could not remember what digits laid beneath the paint: along with the plate was a mini whiteboard that Shinsou had brought one day that had their names written on it. Well did have their names written on it. The plate now read "SMOL AME WAS HERE" in bold and sloppy English; but the small doodles that the four had left on the board remained spared by the text (although their self-portraits did have drawn on mustaches).

"Did something happen?" Shuichi asked, his eyes traced the text on the board, he was still all ears. 

"Yes. Your classmate, Chabashira, has a stalker."

The taller detective immediately turned to look at his elder. His eyes were eyed in shock and his lips pouted in worry; he was surprisingly reactive. He studied her face hoping it was some attempt at a joke.

It was not.

"Has? You know who?" Shuichi fished out a pen from his uniform's pocket and opened his notepad, staring at Kyoko with an ignited spark of confidence. 

"Unogasai." The spark immediately dimmed. Instead, his confidence was replaced with nervousness, he knew where this was going, and the best Kyoko could do was be entirely honest.

"Riri Unogasai or Rui?" He was hopeful, for the younger sister clearly.

"Rui."

"Oh... that's a... problem."

"It is."

Shuichi lifted the pen to his lip, pondering. "I don't think Tenko has done anything to set Unogasai off, if anything the two get along. Tenko gets along great with Riri too, so I don't think it's that..." 

Kyoko nodded. "It doesn't seem Tenko directly has anything to do with it, but she is the main focus. Unogasai had pictures of her, and they were clearly taken from a distance or without her knowledge. Either way it is playing out how it has in the Ehime prefecture kidnappings, although I suspect it won't end in anything bad happening to her... it's still incredibly off putting." Wordlessly Kyoko puts her hand on the doorknob, now that she was closer to the door she can hear screeching. 

Nothing out of the ordinary.

"I know springing it on you like this is not preferred but I believe you would have liked to hear the news immediately. And although our assigned goal is to put an end to the demon rumors even though I've given you a bigger, more important objective; I trust that you will keep Chabashira safe. I can take over your part of this investigation but if anything, knowing the four of us, we won't be taking this case seriously." Shuichi nods slowly, letting the heavily obscured advice wash over him.

"Can I ask one thing before we go inside?"

"Go ahead."

"Why me? Why not Shinsou or Ame?" What a cliche question, but an appropriate one.

"Well," Kyoko spares her junior an understanding glance. "Honestly I have more faith in you than Amelia and Shinsou; plus, Chabashira trusts you." She turns the doorknob and pushes the door open allowing Shuichi to step in.

Knowing the four of themー and the mess in the room was a good exampleー they were not going to take this case seriously. Especially when Shinsou was napping on a hammock and Amelia was staring at them (dressed formally, -revealingly-, and overall, not at all like she was staying at school) from across the room with a leg out the window and a knife in one had looking like a child caught with sweets they weren't supposed to have. She opened her mouth.

"So... uhh... ya like jazz?" Amelia's voice is heard, but it doesn't come from the Amelia that is trying to escape, instead it comes from a pile of books. A small familiar hat sits on top of the pile, and a small foot pokes out from the middle of the pile.

'Oops,' Big Ame mouths.

Shuichi takes a moment to cover his face with his hand, and muffled groaning can be heard. He reveals his face one more time, this time it looked more exhausted. 

"Kyoko-senpai... I understand now." 

Shuichi still needed to talk to Angie, Miu, Maki, Kokichi, Himiko, Kirumi, Kiibo, and Kaede.

Everyone had said the same thing. 

Tenko had not rubbed anyone the wrong way, especially not the Unogasai sisters.

It made no sense. Nobody wanted harm done to Tenko, and Tenko was a pretty open person so of course it wasn't to extract information of sorts, and no one dared mess with anyone in their class since everyone was unforgiving and were really vengeful. It made no sense.

So why was Unogasai stalking Tenko?

She would gain nothing from it, if anything Shuichi suspects that she probably got caught a couple times, the sniper held no regards for stealth. Rui Unogasai actually got along really well with Tenko so he was a 100% sure that she held no ill intentions towards the Aikido master...

'Why would Unogasai stalk Tenko?' Shuichi wished he knew.

"Shumaiii, Konichiwaaaa~~" Shuichi felt arms wrap around him as a sudden, and unfortunately, familiar weight crashed into him from behind.

"Kokichi!"

The attacker makes himself known by climbing off the detective and using his momentum to swing himself in front of Shuichi to garner all of his attention.

He was wearing, clearly stolen, an olive-green jacket (Korekiyo's), a horned beanie (Ryoma's), and one of Shuichi's hats (also stolen); he also has a empty napkin in his hand, Shuichi could see crumbs. The attacker-thief grinned at him, before pouting and his eyes started to become teary. "I've been looking for you foreveeeeerrr. And I hear you're talking to everyone but me? How dare you! You have to remain loyal to your leader aka ME, as my right-hand man you must listen to the Ultimate supreme LEADER of DICE! Leader of Evil- Holy shit you look like... shit."

Shuichi was missing his blazer and his first two buttons had been ripped from his white button-up, and his hat hung loosely on his head revealing a small sample of messy hair. He also had a blonde colored mustache loosely hanging from above his lip.

Honestly. Shuichi completely forgot about it.

No wonder everyone was really nice so far about his questions, they thought he had a bad day. He did, but not to the extent they probably thought.

"I'll clean up later. I have a couple questions and I wanted honest answers, this is important. You will not be recorded for the sake of privacy of all involved." Shuichi repeated, for the 7th time.

Kokichi, grins again, but this time it looks a bit concerned... or maybe amused. Shuichi was tired, he hadn't slept properly since Ranatro was freaking out.

"I did not attempt to poison Miu."

"Has Tenko gotten into a fight with anyone? Unogasai? Ryoku? Hakos?" Shuichi dismisses Kokichi's 1st comment.

"Nope, NoPe, Nopity no. Me and her had a fistfight this morning though! She threw me into a sofa!" All answers Shuichi expected, not the last one but that did happen.

"Has she, Maki or anyone with fighting experience been seen involved in suspicious activity?" Shuichi was going to need new ways to redirect the subject of each questioning, Gonta had already asked if Tenko was okay and Kaito asked if any of the girls was being bullied.

"No- OH wait! Maki roll was sneaking into Kirumi's room last night, I think they're lighting it up or, even worse, they're in there necking each other! Tenko's calling dudes degenerates like usual and Rantaro was taking a post-pot nap."

"Have you noticed anyone following our class recently? or the same person taking photos whenever we're around?" Kokichi expression freezes on its usual fennec-look.

"Shumai."

"Yes?"

"What the fuck is going on."

Before Shuichi could try and redirect the conversation, Kokichi grabs his loose tie and pulls him down to stare the mastermind directly in the eyes. The detective knew better than to keep Kokichi away from his current worry. "Shuichi Saihara. If you don't tell me whatever the fuck is happening about this suspicion activity and following and taking pictures shit than I will find out and bring everyone into it." Ah... full name. Kokichi was in strict leader mode, he may have accidentally hit a nerve.

"Look it's for a case I'm working on-" "Does this have to do with why you look like shit?" Kokichi interrupts.

"Hmm? No, entirely separate thing that's been handled, you can ask Kyoko she was there."

"Shuichi if this has anything to do with that than you need to be honest."

"No, it doesn't-" 

"Kokichi stop bullying Shuichi, he looks dead..." The two boys turned to their right to see their local magician having just woken up from another nap, she was rubbing her eyes watching the two with exhausted concern. She had changed out of her uniform(a new feat that Shuichi will congratulate her for) in favor of a white collared shirtー she hadn't completely changed out of her uniform but still!ー that had a green oversized sweater hanging off her shoulders, what seemed like a skirt but otherwise black shorts or something and tights, she wore worn-out mismatched slip-ons(red and black), and of course to top it all off. Her pointed hat.

Kokichi released Shuichi and ran towards Himiko with open arms, he was going in for another attack. "Himiko~! My beloved!" At the last moment, Kokichi tripped and topped just short of reaching Himiko, who moved even further from him and closer to Shuichi. "Kokichi we're both gay."

The supreme leader scoffs and gets off the floor with a pout and hands on his hips. "As if you made that obvious, pretty positive Tenko and Miu don't know and they're both gay magnets." Logically Himiko ignored Kokichi.

She scanned Shuichi's disheveled appearance and hummed. "What happened?"

Shuichi winced; it was exhausting to even remember that. "Too much."

"Amelia-senpai?" She knew?

"Kind of... how'd you?"

"I read your mind..." she yawned and looked between the boys as if trying to get a read of the situation from that.

She gave up. "What's going on?"

"Yeah. What's going on Shumai!" 

The homicide detective wanted to get this over with. Yet he wasn't sure how to break it to the two, their reactions would be wildly different.

Maybe he should just be blunt about it? Kyoko was always doing that, and so was Shinsou and at times Amelia too. 

"Tenko has a stalker." That came out easier than it should've probably, no wonder his senpais were blunt when it came to sharing information. Shuichi should probably also tell them who, it only made sense. He looked at the two who had stayed speechless at his reveal, Kokichi expression was blank in surprise while Himiko was entirely unreadable. Kokichi was the first to come back from his state of silence.

"Funny, I know, her stalker's pretty terrible at throwing cards. Now what cool undercover cop stuff are ya going to do?" Kokichi jokes, the red head besides him however moves forward, quicker than Shuichi has ever seen her move unprompted. Himiko stands in between the liar and detective, glaring at the latter.

"This better be a joke, Saihara."

Although she was glaring her eyes are wider and very clearly awake despite them dropping with tiredness not even a minute before. Her stance was firm and commanding like how she stands performing in her own shows, but even than she has never looked at someone so defensively before. Her brows were furrowed, her lips drawn into a line, her patience seemingly nowhere. The mage wanted her answer.

"Why would I be joking about that? Tenko has a stalker."

Himiko huffs softly at the answer, not satisfied. And Kokichi, with no self-preservation skills it seems, proceeds to wrap an arm around Himiko's shoulder unaware of the clearly peeved mage.

"OooOooh girl~ your like, hella mad. You need to, like, chillax and like speak like a normal person, you are stressing me out! gurl ur gonna give yourself wrinkles! " Himiko grabs the hand that had laid on her shoulder, Kokichi stops for a moment before proceeding onto his behavior waiting for Himiko to speak.

And that she does. "Kokichi. I'm going to ask a question and I want a serious answer." She states.

"Umm what the faq r u doing? You already did that bestie? duh?" Kokichi says in the oddest accent Shuichi has heard. 

Himiko is having none of it.

Her grip on Kokichi's hand tightens, which amuses the prankster even more, and she still has yet to bother to look at him. Instead, her sight was directed towards Shuichi, and it was not very pleasant.

"Ugggh. for Sure, sup? You askin' for datin' tips or somethin'?" 

"Do you know who Tenko's stalker is?" She asks. For a moment Shuichi is relieved, Kokichi didn't know who it was.

"Of course, I know who We're like besties and shit, oh, gurl what about thuh three of us go out to brunch?" 

For a while Himiko was silent, from what Shuichi could tell she was calming down. She didn't look as angry(scary).

"Kokichi."

"Yes ma'am!"

"..." Her message was passed; she wanted an honest answer.

"Fine, gurl I don't know whose stalkin' Tenko Now stop my hand is burnin'." Kokichi relents, he takes his arm off of Himiko and rubs at his hand mumbling something about girls not being fun.

Shuichi was not having a bad day; it was just really, really, hard today.

"Shuichi." Himiko is still staring at the detective, she looked wide awake. It would've been a nice sight if not for the fact he was getting a great reminder that short people can be dangerous or scary when you least expect it.

"Yes, Himiko?"

"I'll handle it. You go look for the demon for me, okay?"

"I... Okay?" 

"Thanks..." Her stern voice goes back to normal, but her unusually energetic stance does not, and Shuichi watches her walk away. He is utterly confused.

"Hey Saihara. Hey, hey hey, hey, shumai, hey." Already getting used to not having control over this situation Shuichi looks at Kokichi, who seems oddly alright with having a charred napkin in his hand. The higher edges of the napkin were still glowing orange. "So, it looks like Himiko has a... smokin' temper."

"I didn't mean to upset her."

"Well, I, for one, wanted to upset her greatly."

Shuichi has just had a physical reminder that sometimes the little ones are terrifying when they want to be, and it wasn't Kokichi being the reminder this time.

Chapter Text

"Who knew you were good at painting nails, Pekoyama. This pattern is absolutely beautiful." Celestia purred, she held Maki's hand in her own studying the elaborate curls and well-hidden silvers among the red and velvety black polish.

Peko nodded as she closed the bottles of nail polish. "Thank you, Celestia. Although I was surprised to learn you wear press-on nails." She placed the polish on the small silver tray Celestia had taken out. "I always believed they were manicured." Maki hums in agreement, although her attention seems more drawn to her nails than their conversation. Celestia could even go as far as to say the child magnet was memorized. 

Celestia smiled her friendly masked smile. "Well, of course, I do get them manicured, however, I've been busy as of late, and I can't exactly find the time to schedule an appointment. So, I compromised with press-ons I've made." The gambler loosely gestures towards the school-given desk, her orderly cluttered desk, on the desk was a small kit used primarily to make her beautiful press-ons. "Although for someone who has never done this before, it's quite impressive. Don't bring down your ability, Pekoyama." The three sat on her bed, avoiding the mess that was their classmates. 

Nagito, Teruteru, and Nekomaru were tasked with distracting Peko since Ibuki (her girlfriend) had left to get her special present for her, and Fuyuhiko (her best friend) was doing last-minute check-ups with their planned event, so neither could provide the distraction needed. Unfortunately, the boys had lost Peko, then Maki had instead offered to invite her to her and Celestia's relaxation hour. So now the three red-eyed gals sat in comfortable silence. "So, are we going to talk about our love lives now?" Maki jokes somberly, staying late to care for kids, it was inevitable that the little ones had incorporated her into enough 'sleepovers' to know the next ーstereotypicalー step.

Poor Harumaki. "Actually," Celes grins. "That isn't a bad idea. Let's catch up, shall we? How have your romantic endeavors faired?" The gambler opens the floor, the spotlight on the underclassmen, as she, was the only other single one. The caregiver huffed, she held her hands limply as to not ruin the drying polish, although the two upperclassmen could see the strain to not fidget with one of her black twin tails. 

"I refuse to be attracted to anyone," Maki states firmly, her slowly flushing cheeks stating she was lying. 

"... weren't you on a date with Tojo the other day? To the... Shinobazuno pond in the Tokyo prefecture?" Peko commented, genuine cluelessness in her words. Maki turned red and shook her head.

"No! No, no-no. I wasn't on a date with Kirumi, when did you see us, I haven't seen you around." Peko shrugged.

"Ibuki had seen you when I went to get us snacks."

"Well, it wasn't a date. It's weird to imagine me going on a date with anyone in this school."

The gambler pitched in her own memory. "Actually, there was that time at the Park. You and Kaito were strolling through, he even gave you a flower. How sweet~" She teased. Maki only fumed.

"Do you two keep tabs on me? Why do you know this?" She interrogated.

Celestia smugly chuckled. "You know... I just happen to stroll around. Japan is a wonderful country with many sights, after all, it'll be a shame if I didn't indulge in its beauty."

Peko simply shrugged. "Ibuki."

Maki leans against a couple of Celestia's pillows with a pained sigh. "Why are you picking on me? Shouldn't you be complaining to each other about Ibuki and Kyoko?" 

At the mention of the detective's nameー of course she knew enough about Ibuki's relationship, they were siblings dammitー Celeste froze up, and Pekoyama nodding in agreement was not helping. "That would be true, but there isn't really anything to complain about in regard to our partners." Good answer, then again one shouldn't complain when their partner's sibling was within threatening distance. That still left one thing to worry over.

"Maki, clear up my confusion dear. Kyoko?" Maki shuts her eyes in feigned pain.

"I literally walked in on you and Kyoko about to... get it on. And you're both always out on dates, did you really think no one was going to know about you two dating?" Celestia was incredibly glad that her makeup didn't show her flustered state, she wasn't embarrassedー Of course not, why would she be? It's just Kyoko, and they were just close friends, it happens. This wasn't the first time they were mistaken to be in a relationship. "Did you want to keep it a secret? If so, sorry. I didn't go telling anyone that you two were, I just thought-"

"We were not engaging in any sexual act, Maki. Kyoko and I even explain what had transpired; we are simply friends who spend quality time together." Celestia explains smoothly, there should be no doubt in her statements, after all, she was being completely honest. "If anything, I'm quite sure Kyoko isn't looking for any romantic partner." 

The looks of pityー gosh did Celestia hate those looksー directed at her fueled her with a special type of annoyance the gambler was all too used to. Peko opened her mouth only to immediately shut it, she was hesitating to say something; Celes could tell with how the swordswoman held back a sigh and turn her body away. Maki stared straight into her upperclassmen's eyes with disbelief. "Celestia, I did not walk into this fucking room to see Kyoko pin you downー on this very fucking bedー the same girl who practically threatened that stalker of yours in public; who's constantly looking at you, for you to tell me that there is nothing between you two." 

Celestia let out a sigh of exasperation; what was this girl on about? Kyoko. Kyoko harboring feelings for Celesー Taeko even. How insulting that was, even Celestia knew Kyoko had better standards than that despite her odd interests. As if... 

If only.

No; no-no, as if that'll ever happen. A criminal and a detective, that only ever happens in media. Kyoko even tried arresting Celestia once upon a time, they simply couldn't.

"That's suggesting my own feelings are reciprocated, dear. Most likely than not she's interested in someone else." Celestia closes. That should be the end of that discussion.

"Doesn't Kyoko flirt with you consistently? She's asked for a kiss a handful of times if I remember correctly." Peko pondered aloud.

Maki, who has sat up upon realizing the polish has dried, pinched the bridge of her nose. "Not to mention she has referred to you as 'wife', she only lets you actually caress her and shit, and Kyoko has on multiple occasions rambled about how special you are when she rarely speaks over three sentences."

"Let's not read too much into "flirting" amongst the 70's classes, we've all seen Leon, Akane, Junko, Miu, Kaede, and like most of the nonsensical side of our classes flirt with each other. Would you really be surprised to see any of our classmates flirting with one another? Mahiru and Hiyoko even flirt with Satou Ou from the reserve course."

Peko sighed. "Although that is all true, we all mostly flirt with our person of affection, it's usually platonic intimacies like hugging and holding hands that are actually widespread." Maki hums in agreement.

"And don't use the excuse 'our intimacies are platonic', sure the kissing on the cheek thing I can look over, but the constant flirting??? Friends don't just tell each other that they'll bite your ear if you don't pay attention to them, they don't fucking say shit like 'let's play strip poker, I'll be careful not to rip your clothes'ー the both of you are horrendously down bad for each other." The babysitter rants. The target of the verbal assault felt like her face was going to melt off, but she held strong.

Celestia countered. "Why do you, of all people, know what down bad means?"

"Kokichi, hypocrite. Ready to admit there's romantic tension between the both of you? Hell, I'll even accept sexual tension."

The two glare into each other's eyes, Celestia adorning her famous Poker Face and Maki with her own, more exasperated, Poker Face.

Before they could continue their stare-off, Pekoyama clapped her hands to grab their attention. "On that positive note, I'd like my own curiosities answered before either of you get heavily distracted." The more reasonable upperclassmen offered, her years of experience in aiding in rounding up her own class came in handy. Once Peko had their collective attention she asked. "Have you guys understood any of why our classes have randomly gotten along with each other?"

Maki was the one to answer. "More than usual? They bonded together to find some 'demon'; honestly, I think Rantaro and Hiro are pulling a prank on everyone." 

"At least they aren't damaging anything, remember the first week we had gotten along by 'planning' the most elaborate murder mysteries. Everyone not only hogged Kyoko, Shuichi, and Izuru to themselves that entire month, but they also ended up breaking the: dormitory doors, the roof of the school 'garage', the entirety of the art floor was in disarray." Celestia comments, she remembers rather well, Junko had even convinced her (read: "persuaded" with funny photos of the class in avant-garde makeup*ーshe totally didn't keep the ones of Kyokoー) to join them. 

"True." Pekoyama sent a wary glance towards the door, which had been left slightly ajar since Grand Bois was roaming the building, it was as though she was worried someone was going to barge in. "Honestly, although I'm not all caught up with this recent..."

"Dumbass-ery?" Maki remarks.

"Fad?" Celestia offers.

"Craze." Peko finishes, a look of amusement painting her features. She picks up her statement. "I do wonder if perhaps the person they're calling a demon isn't, how do I put it, offended? Scratch that, I hope our classes don't do anything brash to accidentally hurt them." Celestia was inclined to agree. 

Although she trusted (hoped) her class wouldn't hurt anyone for a reason as childishー irrationally stupidー as being a supposed demon; Celestia wasn't going to put it out of the realm of possibilities that her peers would attempt to set traps. "I doubt they'd do something so irrational; we do have logical people amongst us."

"You'd think." Maki comments. 

She doesn't elaborate further.

The babysitter checks her nails thoughtfully, even offhandedly showing them up to the others. "That reminds me, I should go. Uh- If you guys see Himiko, could you shoot us a message where? Or even tell her to meet up with our class? She disappeared yesterday. I'm sure Kirumi warned some of you, but there's a pervert running amok. If not, maybe a rogue journalist, but still- we wanted everyone accounted for and we haven't seen Himiko." 

Oh. 

"I'll be sure to keep an eye out, if you'd like, I could ask mas- Fuyu to help keep an eye out too." Peko stutters out.

That was certainly concerning. Celestia would have to speak with Kyoko about this.

"That would be appreciated, Pekoyama."

Perhaps she'll go out tonight again, see if she'll spot Unogasai. Celestia doubts the sniper would care for someone who had been going out to strolls regularly anyways.

The gambler does her best to give Maki a reassuring smile. "I'll let you know if anyone sees her, I sincerely doubt someone would try to hurt le petit magicien lest they want to face Tenko and Angie."

* If you have no idea what avant-garde make up is, just look it up real quick (if you do or already know... just now Junko forced most people to apply the make up)

"Chabashira is going to cry." Korekiyo points out.

Angie winces, "Nooo." She turns to look in the direction of the aikido master, only to see her teary-eyed friend listening half-heartedly to Miu tinker with Kiibo's sensors. "Ahー, it does seem that way, perhaps Auta could provide some comforting words." 

Korekiyo continues to observe Angie swing herself off the chest-level bookshelf, and make her way to her oblivious girlfriend, Kiibo, and the distressed Tenko. After that, he directs his attention to Kaito who stood, although shaking, strong beside Gonta and Ryoma. If Korekiyo remembered correctly, they were supposed to prepare themselves as the first wave of scouts to look for their elusive demon. The three, along with about seven of their upperclassmen were to roam around Hope's Peak in hopes of catching or at least getting a better glimpse of the demon so they could piece together a more effective plan.

" I, for one, think dumping a ton of paint on the demon would be a better idea. Like, everyone would notice that, no-think about it!" Kokichi jumps on top of the coffee table in the lounge area, Korekiyo could hear Kirumi sigh, and cups his hands around his mouth. "Yo, if we dump paint on that demon thing, it'll leave a trail, right? Not to mention if they don't get it out quick enough, the paint will stay on them so they can't possibly shapeshift themselves out of demon form, right? ALSO, this is the important part! Guys! We could like use glow-in-the-dark paint, throw in a bit of glitter, and use the demon as a disco ball! We could throw a party! When are you ever going to meet someone who had a demon-disco-ball? NEVER! So be the change you want to see in the world friends!" Kokichi claps for himself ーwhich, in turn, causes Gonta to clap tooー and proceeds to bow.

"Thank you! Thank you! I've been waiting all my life for this." 

Kokichi's idea immediately earns a round of boos from Miu.

Although, he does make some good points. Korekiyo knew the class wouldn't go along with it, after all, Kokichi had repeatedly proclaimed he was either, the demon this whole time or wouldn't be participating since he had 'undercover investigation stuff to do' and frankly, this was the 17th time he had stood on the same coffee table to put in his own word.

Korekiyo knew who the demon was. After all, Korekiyo had seen them after he stayed late at the elementary school near the academy.

On that note, on his next outing, he should dress in a less intimidating outfit, that would make supervising kids with their teachers easier. Not to say the experience was fruitless, he learned a lot that day. 

For example, children, when they put their minds to something, will do anything they can to achieve something. From pizza parties to connecting the most markers together; it was cute, to say the least.

Although, Korekiyo could apply this example to many situations. Civil Rights movements were started because people put their minds together to get their cause off the ground, the Anpo protests as well lasted for a whole year and an additional year against the US-Japan Security Treaty (although ultimately failed), or even earlier in the school year when the reverse course started a protest for better treatment that had more than half of the ultimate course and staff participate in the marches and boycotts (that still go on).

Even now, although on a smaller, sillier scale; their collective mission to figure out who the demon was that has been roaming their campus. 

It's such a small, insignificant event. But it's a similar clockwork as any other large-scale event that brought people together.

Yet still intriguing. 

Quite a bit of people already connected the dots, excluding the few who didn't care, while the rest were still not getting the hint.

Amusing...

Korekiyo should probably apologize to Celestia, just in case.

He perked up when Angie and Miu got into one of their back and forths, Kiibo and Tenko beginning to look uncomfortable. He hummed.

"Yonaga, I have an inquiry. Wouldn't Atua be able to tell you who the demon could be imitating? If we believe it's shapeshifting."

"Nyahaha! Well, you see, Atua.."

Just in case, in the long run, Korekiyo should apologize to Kyoko-san as well.

Chapter Text

The conversation with Peko and Maki from earlier hasn't left her mind since the two left her room. It implied a lot. It brought a couple of issues to her attention.

1. Celestia Taeko wasn't doing a well enough job hiding her infatuation with her detective
2. This was so bad in fact, that a majority of the people in the 70s classes knew???
3. Kyoko was clearly(?) not romantically interested in Celestia 
4. Celestia was very interested in Kyoko.
5. She does not know how to proceed with this information.

Celestia's first decision for this time of day was to take a stroll around the dorms, not without debating whether or not to wear a new outfit she had almost finished entirelyー she figured she could do without the head accessoryー, then take the chance to properly think about the next moves she chooses; perhaps even observe her class for ideas. It was a good way to empty her mind.

That was until she found Chibikku hiding under the coffee table, poking his snout from inside a slipper. Was Fate teasing her? Reeling her in with everything but Kyoko to see her potentially mess up. Slip up with the smallest of things. Regardless...

"Oh." This was odd, she looked around in confusion to see anyone in the lounge. 

No one was around, although she could faintly hear Hagakure and Owada talking in the dining area.

She knelt and cupped her hands in front of Chibikku, the little python headbutting her hands. "C'mere Chibikku, I'll be escorting you to your mother lest someone accidentally tramples you."

He sticks his tongue out in response, before slithering into her warm hands; Celestia would like to think Chibikku knew what she was asking him, but she was sure he was only seeking more warmth. He's lucky he's cute. Otherwise, she would've just left the serpent there...

That was a lie, she would've done this anyway.

Getting up, Celestia couldn't help but ponder. Why was Chibikku out here alone? 

No one left their pets alone without at least one person acting as supervision in the common areas, especially not Kyoko. Not with a small fellow like Chibikku.

Celestia looks down at the small python in her arms. 

"Why were you alone?" she whispers curiously.

He answered by attempting to burrow into her sleeves.

She smiles kindly at him. Of course, she wouldn't be caught dead doing so, though it wasn't so out of the ordinary; she was the sister of Ultimate Animal Breeder. Taeko She had been practically raised to care for small animals such as Chibikku. "Do you like my new outfit? I worked very hard on the coat."

Chibikku does not relent in trying to slither into her sleeves.

Celestia hums merrily before adjusting the python in her arms then begins making her way to Kyoko's dorm room.

"Perhaps I'll show you the hat that goes along with this, once it's completed. I still have some finishing touches to make," she comments. "I hope..." she trails off. Celestia hopes what? That Kyoko would like it? She didn't need her approval.

... but she did want it.

"Never mind," she glances back up to see just how quickly she reached Kyoko's room. "hmm~ would I be setting Kyoko up for failure if I chastised her for not sleeping again?"

Chibikku doesn't answer.

Perhaps Celestia should just change back into her regular outfit, after all why change perfection?

Now that she thinks about it, wouldn't this be the first time she dressed in anything other than her dresses? Uniforms of any sort and casual wear ーa very select few people have seen thisー aside, she doesn't wear anything so... princely. That was to be expected with Kodona-style Lolita clothing.

She was a queen, and she dressed as such: make-up cold and sharp enough to kill, her frills cute enough to feign innocence, and her outfit dark enough to wear to their funerals after falling victim to her beauty. But, to dress like this? Was new. Not that she didn't look gorgeous, Celestia could probably charm her way out of a few plights with a few winks and chuckles. Would she be able to sweep Kyoko off her feet? No. Kyoko had more elegance than to be charmed by mere outfits and a pathetic fairy-tail prince.

Deep breath in and out.

She knocks on the door, and Chibikku takes the opportunity to finally slip under her sleeve partially. Celestia could feel him wiggle in satisfaction.

The door opens slightly, letting the gambler catch a glance at Kyoko peeking through. It's cute.

The detective's brows are ever so slightly scrunched up adorably, worry highlights her unreasonably pretty eyes making Celestia wonder if Kyoko was aware of how easily she could bring someone to their knees just to see her free of care, see her pleased, see her try and hold back a bright smile only to feign its existence by coughing only to see her fail soon after. 

Kyoko's eyes widen when she notices the two, doing a double—quadruple take at her and Chibikku. Suddenly, the door is thrown open by a disheveled detective, similar to the half-dead detective that refuses to take a break from a big case. "Chibisuke!" She cries. Oh my, Chibikku's actual name.

Celestia cannot prepare herself for teary-eyed Kyoko. Nothing could've prepared her for this Kyoko. So, she tries to pull references from the other sides of Kyoko she has experienced.

Serious Kyoko was amusing and perhaps at times brought out Celestia's own seriousness; she could be dealt with.

Sleepy Kyoko was the dearest thing she's ever bared witness to, she could handle that.

Texting Kyoko was a menace to her tranquility, entertainingly tolerable.

Sleep-Deprived Kyoko was also a menace and deserved to be deprived of any caffeine; she could be dealt with.

Worried Kyoko. Oh, so very distressed Kyoko. Kyoko, who was almost brought to tears. Celestia didn't even react when she was pulled into the detective's room. And all in one smooth motion, Chibikku was carefully swept into Kyoko's arms before the detective hid her head in the crook of her neck ーa devastating blowー murmuring repetitive (yet very genuine) 'thank you's. Not a single flinch or peep. Her body felt frozen. For crying out loud she was a gambler! Where the hell was her cool composure?!

"Seems my handsomeness has brought you to tears, ma moitié." What the hell was she saying??? The gambler might as well pass away now to avoid any further embarrassment.

Kyoko buries herself further into Celestia's neck. "I will tear every single thing you're wearing right now to mess with you," she murmurs.

Celestia opts to not picture that for the sake of her sanity.

She chuckles, lifting a hand to brush through Kyoko's graying (from stress) hair. "I'd rather you not, I recently finished this masterpiece. I'd like you to admire it more than see it on the floor of your room." 

Kyoko lifts her head, wiping at her eyes and smiling sweetly down at Chibikku. "I've been looking for him everywhere since I haven't left my room today, I got so worried." That would explain the sloppy organization of the room.

Was it weird that she could admire Kyoko for hours on end and never lose her (genuine) smile, which is odd that it's there but would refuse to leave regardless?

Maybe.

"He was simply resting in the lounge area, under the coffee table. Chibikku chose the perfect napping spot." Celestia informs, Kyoko glances at her before looking back down at Chibikku.

She raised the little python, so their eyes were of equal level. "You went on an adventure by yourself? Chibisuke, you're surprisingly reckless." 

Celestia raises a brow, before laughing tauntingly. "I wonder~ Just where did he get that from?" She takes a seat on the edge of Kyoko's bed, watching the detective and python bond. 

Kyoko is placing Chibikku in his terrarium when she finally responds. "Funny, I'm not reckless." She flicks on the little heater of his home and leaves one final message for Chibikko as if he would understand her. "Wifey is very mean to me Chibikku, you won't take after she, would you?" she coos earning a scoff from the gambler. 

"How rude, I'd make a wonderful wife, and role model."

"Can't wait for you to prove that."

The detective turns around to face her, rubbing at her eyes to wake herself up more before focusing on her guest. Scanning Celestia's new outfit with an appreciative look. "Wow."

"Speechless? C'mon. Use that pretty mouth of yours, Detective~" Celeste taunts. Kyoko's cheeks redden, as she walks over to the gambler; the audacity she had, to be flustered right now. The closer Kyoko got the more her ears began to burn, there should be no reason for the detective to be flustered.

This was ridiculous.

Kyoko stands over her, reaching out a hand to rub at the material of her coat. "You look... amazing, Taeko. Wow, the coat must've taken a while to make. It looks nice on you, paired with the ruffled tie." Taeko wants to correct her, 'it's a Jabot tie' she would say but she couldn't bring herself to do that. When Kyoko's slightly flushed cheeks only brighten Kyoko's, already too close, face. 

Did she mention that Kyoko smelt like a sweet mixture of laundry and blueberries?

Hopefully not. She was already on the edge with her self-control around the detective.

"Why thank you, and here I thought you preferred me in dresses and skirts." Teases the gambler. 

Kyoko sits down beside her with a fond gaze, the same loving gaze she gives her pet python with more light and playfulness. Now Taeko sees how people could think that Kyoko may harbor feelings for her, it is a shame they're incorrect. Perhaps the look was one of gratitude instead. "Those are certainly nice. Personally, I'd rather see you in other things." oh?

Taeko hums carefree. "Such as~?"

"Nothing much," she pauses, before chuckling to herself. "If you're taking requests, I'd love to see you in your birthday suit." 

No, Taeko was not blushing, it was just the slight rosy blush she applied after the girls left at noon. Nothing more, it wasn't that deep. She shoves Kyoko playfully, the detective trying hard to suppress her grin. A particular gambler fails at that. "You're such a pervert! Here I thought you were a gentlewoman. Where did my loveable quiet detective go?" 

Kyoko fails too. "You think I'm loveable?" Taeko groans and turns away from the detective, in a poor attempt to give her the silent treatment. "Taeko? please?... look at me?" Kyoko whispers, in a stupidly sweet tone. 

Taeko remembers the time she beat herself up for having a bit of a soft spot for her classmates, for her immature and or downright insensitive peers—she wasn't that innocent either, but ya know— and here she was. Downright mush in Kyoko's hands. It was selfish of her to be the only one to see Kyoko this relaxed. To have the detective plead for her attention like a spoiled pup. It would be greedy to turn and indulge the taller girl.

But was she not a gambler? A sinner of greed. "What?"

The detective tucks one of her wild strands of hair behind her ear. "I love you." 

Taeko answers immediately before she could process any of the words she heard. "I love you too, my dear bat."

Kyoko's words finally hit her.

She was not ready for anything anymore and Taeko (including Celestia) could die right here. No need to travel to heaven when you found her yourself.

She sighs, earning Kyoko's attention. "No wonder people think we're dating." Taeko said, taking Kyoko by surprise.

Kyoko's eyes widened. "I... Does that make you uncomfortable?" Oh fuck.

"No! Far from uncomfortable actually," Taeko stammers, she struggles with finding the right words to continue this line of conversation without giving away that she was very fond of, lowkey in love with, Kyoko. "Just, you know, when people repeatedly say something about the same thing. It gets bothersome? Especially when neither party said anything hinting towards it."

"I understand..." Kyoko pauses, raising her hand thoughtfully to her chin. "How....often do you hear people saying we're dating?" Oh, only a couple of times a day when she lingers her pecks on Kyoko a little longer than most.

"A few times a week, have you not heard the same? Are they specifically targeting me with this?" Taeko would be beyond embarrassed if that were the case, usually, your peers only teased you in this manner if you happen to like the other person they were teasing you about. She's seen it among her past classmates, chatrooms, and even between her and the twins; Taeko wouldn't be surprised if Kyoko didn't make the connection. 

Oddly enough, Kyoko doesn't seem too bothered by this. "I knew our class teased us whenever we're close together, but they haven't tried saying anything to meー other than Byakuya and a couple of our underclassmen."

Taeko hated that. "Oh, they're scared of you, but not of me? The soft, bunny lover over the girl who carries poison in her earrings."

"To be fair, they still don't know I stopped carrying my taser around." Defended Kyoko.

"No, they do. It's the only reason our local himbo and airheads have been increasingly reckless around you." 

"Not all of them are airheads."

"Would you rather I call them jesters." Kyoko chuckles and leans against Taeko, using her shoulder as a cushion.

The two of them enjoy the comfort in the contentful silence.

"You know. I get it too." She finally says.

Taeko's face flushes again, her hands feel like they're burning, "... You... You finally get that our class is full of clowns?" Taeko asks, pulling off the cloth glove on her hand. She bites at the fabric, since Kyoko has taken possession of her other arm, that hugged her fingertips and tugs them back. Kyoko observes her for a hot minute before continuing. 

"No; I mean, how people think we're dating."

"Oh? What helped you reach that conclusion." she lets one glove fall onto her lap, then proceeds to pull off her other glove with her free hand.

...

Taeko looks at Kyoko from the corner of her eyes; the detective is looking at the ground, her cheeks are a bright pink which is slowly taking over the rest of her pretty face. It's really cute, she's kind of mad at herself for leaving her phone in her room. "Cat got your tongue?"

The cute detective glances at her. An attempt at a blank expression was very clearly made; Her cheeks were still flushed, and her lips curved down ever-so-slightly into an adorable pout, and she was looking somewhere behind Taeko to avoid their eyes meeting properly.

"Kyoko-tan? Ma Fraise?"

"st...."

"Pardon?" Taeko watches as Kyoko accidentally makes eye contact with her, her cheeks flushing a bright red now. Oh, she clearly gets how people think they're dating. A warmth spreads throughout Taeko's chest, and a rush of excitement courses through her, she feels herself gaining confidence. "妻(Tsuma)?"

"Stop... my face feels like it's going to melt off," Kyoko grumbles, she loses her normal boldness. Well, well well, How the turn tables. "aren't I the one who calls you wife??"

"Well, who's the one wearing pants in this relationship?"

The two stared each other down. Kind of makes Taeko want to be bolder and just kiss her.

"You say that like I'm not willing to pull your pants off right now." Kyoko reasons.

"Darling, you're not petty enough to do that." Taeko rolls her eyes. Kyoko was a coward in this regard, the most she's done was steal her drills in retaliation at the start of the year.

"You're oddly calm whenever I express that I want to strip you." Kyoko voices, a reasonable observation.

"But of course, dear, words are much more different than actions. If you truly wanted to do so, then you would've acted long ago." Kyoko slightly squints at Taeko, a bit of bewilderment on her face, she lifts a fist to her lips as she clears her throat.

"Are you suggesting if I were to get up now and attempt to strip you, you wouldn't be bothered?" Celestia closes her eyes and similes ever so sweetly at the detective, she leans her head on knuckles. For the sake of her sanity, she lets it go in one ear and out the other.

Celestia winks. "When you do decide to go through with you're threats, just know you've had prior consent, ma cheri~"

Taeko screams, luckily, internally. 'I CAME HERE TO SEE IF KYOKO KNEW ABOUT THE RUMORS NOT TO MAKE IT OBVIOUS THAT I'M ATTRACTED TO HER!!!'

Byakuya presses the button to the highest floor of their building: Floor 107. For good measures he presses all the buttons from 107 to 86.

They needed to be on floor 27.

This elevator was the slowest in the school. It would take them a while to get to the top, stop at each of the other floors he pressed and return to their class floor.

It certainly didn't help that her father told her they were reworking the elevators in this wing so they would be even slower, and their emergency open door button wouldn't work.

"Are you aware that you've just made us late by over half an hour?" Kyoko comments, not bothering to look up from some bland yellow folder likely with another one of the many cases she goes through.

Byakuya scoffs then removes his glasses once he notices a slight smudge at the edge of his lenses, he takes out a cloth. "Are you aware that you've been playing our... /peers/ as fools by refusing to confirm that this so-called demon is your girlfriend."

The two stood in silence as they went up a good eight floors past the floor of their next class. Byakuya watches as her eyes follow the sentences of the last paragraph of the paper and when she reaches the end, she flips the page to the other side.

"I fail to see why you don't confirm it yourself, Togami. I thought you had the best credibility on campus." She looks up with a blank glance. The blonde glares at her, Kyoko can't really take him seriously with how off he looks without glasses. "Celestia isn't my girlfriend." She adds.

He rolls his eyes. "Your wife then," he corrects. "You're the only one who has been seen with her and unless I waste my time to be in the same position, every one of those nitwits would simply ignore my words and call me something immature. They would rather listen to the ultimate detective; not that it takes a genius to figure this out." The detective brushes a loose strand of hair back behind her ear.

"Well maybe you should grow a pair and do it anyways, you've bragged about the honor and reverence you've brought to your family's name and claim to live up to it, reap what you've sowed; while you're at it why don't you start improving your relationship with Makoto." Byakuya freezes. 

Up another floor, two and four more, the sooner he answers the more the detective will pinch at his nerves.

"My credibility doesn't hold any reverence to such a lowly crowd of lummoxes. Remarking on my engagement with Naegi when you're in the same position is rather hypocritical." Byakuya doesn't expect the girl beside him to respond immediately. His eyes follow as she takes a step back to lean against the wall of the elevator, the edges of her lips curl up ever so proudly while Kyoko side eyes him. 

She shakes her head and huffs in amusement, Kyoko hasn't even opened her mouth and Byakuya already felt insulted. "I thought the Togamis' was a common household name?" The snarky comment leaves her as naturally as it would the person she was enamored with if the roles were switched, perhaps Byakuya will arrange another one of his and Celestia's old meetings just to spite Kyoko— as well as speak to the gambler about something. "Not that it matters but to compare my situation with yours is grossly inaccurate, at least I don't intimidate Celestia." 

Byakuya holds back an eye twitch. He rolls his eyes instead.

"Following her around and flirting like a junior high student is anything but impressive, if she wasn't scared, she'd certainly be put off by it." He counters.

Kyoko turns her hands and flexes her fingers towards herself to check for any chips or dirt. "Perhaps, but she doesn't suggest such, you know she wouldn't still let me /hold her hand/ or talk to her if that was true. Not to mention I've slept with her and we're close enough that honorifics are completely unnecessary."

"Holding hands is common among friends, don't get too cocky. I didn't take you as one to value sleeping with someone important." Byakuya bites back.

Kyoko glances back at the folder in her arms. "Yes well, cuddling is a very intimate activity between people who aren't so with others normally, unlike those who immediately arrive at sexual acts at the mention of /sleeping/ with the other." She points out.

Byakuya holds back a grunt, he bites back a crude comment (because she was correct on his interpretation of her comment) and instead. "I could name multiple occasions in which you've made sexual remarks to Ludenberg." he reminds.

She mirrors his words. "I can also name multiple occasions in which you've intimidated underclassmen trying to befriend Makoto. Jealous much."

"Didn't you attempt to cut Leon because he joked about kissing Celestia?"

"Your point?"

Ten floors passed in silence. They were barely halfway to the last floor of the building.

"You're a messy homosexual."

"A messy homosexual who gets to see the one she loves smile and happy and have the opportunity to be the reason for that." Kyoko responds with a sickening sweet smile, a satisfied smile even; Byakuya gags. 

The two return back to silence. Kyoko opens another folder and Byakuya reads and responds to emails. 

_____________________________________

Kyoko glances above the elevator door displaying the current floors, they had started returning back down and were already going under floor 59; at this point even if she did return to the class professor monokuma wouldn't mark them present, she might as well just go to the 6th floor and finish reports on a couple cases in the investigation meeting room. She still needs to make sure Amelia and her smol Ame cleaned up the mess they made a while ago.

The detective looks at the blonde.

"Did you hear about how Toko was asked out by Makoto—" Byakuya grips her phone tight and when he turns, he wears the most confused and irritated expression Kyoko has ever had the sadistic pleasure of seeing even though he very much interrupted her at the worst moment of her sentence, her intention wasn't even that, but this was still amusing.

Byakuya fumes. "Fukawa w h a t? She's a lesbian why would Naegi-"

"—'s sister Komaru…" she finishes slowly but loud enough to break him from his angry feline mode.

The two stare at each other with amused (Kyoko) and frustrated (Byakuya) tension.

"I would hope you know that a lesbian being asked out by another sapphic woman isn't out of the ordinary if anything completely welcomed and supported." Byakuya pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I hate you."

The doors ding with a sharp chime. Byakuya is the first to walk out.

"Yet you stayed in an elevator with me for almost an hour when any person with a good sense of logic could've just made this a couple minutes, I'm truly honored." Byakuya doesn't miss the stab, he turns to retort but is cut off by the doors closing.

Kyoko got the last word.

'Damn her.' Byakuya sighs and walks back to class, fashionably late as appropriate.

Chapter Text

"THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS." The professor snarls, his presence entirely unwelcome in the room.

Their senpai stands between him and the rest of the underclassmen, Kyoko has a hand on her hip— the ghost feeling of her taser just as annoying as the man whining— while Shinsou holds back Amelia's project(?) and Shuichi reaching into his pocket; Kyoko could already see the outline of his taser gun.

Amelia glares just as hard at the professor, slowly she starts shouting back. " You don't get to tell us how to do our jobs, just because your uh- son was trying to sneak into a window instead of taking the entrance to his fuck- girlfriend's dorm!" Her shakey Japanese seems to only further anger the guy. 

Kyoko has to hold back verbalizing all the curses swirling in her mind. The professor was hired back last school year after the "necessary" layoffs her father was unfortunately forced to resort to—from the reserved course, the professor clearly cheated his way to the job, with no teaching credentials to speak of, he was one of the many staff that had tried to dim the spark that led the first years to join in the resistance that the reverse course students started (their rage so grand that even more staff and student body from both courses have joined); Kyoko sometimes regretted going through staff resumes. Though, she had to admire the defensiveness the man was showing in response to his son getting caught in a barbed trap of vines, God knows the number of violent men she faces who're so for spoiled ideals, it was hard to deny that the trap was planted there on purpose, after attempting to use the roof to sneak into his girlfriend's dorm in the ultimate wing. Albeit grossly entitled and misplaced, considering there was no actual need to sneak into said dorms and the trap was likely placed to keep a specific person out, that wasn't even mentioning it was simply inappropriate to be yelling at students instead of other staff. 

Knowing better than to reach out then tackle him to the wall and snap his jaw, she instead steps forward next to Amelia. "Listen, Professor-"

"Professor Onizawa!" He barks. Annoying.

Kyoko's stare only hardened. "- This is not our responsibility to handle, if you'd like aid, may I suggest you talk to the front desk of the dormitory and go from there, I will hope you'd have the thinking capacity to at least not confront a homicide detective, let alone minors who are busy studying and working with the talent performance evaluation approaching soon." The professor scoffs, and he gets into Kyoko's face, he opens his mouth to retort but is quickly pushed back by Ame who uses her arm to shield the taller girl. He simply flares his nose in anger.

He points fingers accusingly in the girls' faces, an angry shriek is heard from ame (smol) and a grunt from a struggling Shinsou and Shuichi who has resorted to helping him— his hand still in his pocket. "Well listen here, Kirigiri. As the headmaster's daughter you ought to get off that high horse of yours and be a good daughter and help around your father's school. I shouldn't have to get harassed by some stammering foreigner who can't keep herself in line! While these young men play with a toy like they're children." 

For someone with the title of professor, the Onizawa was foolishly ignorant to not be understanding the situation at hand. Shuichi tackles the vibrating ame. Shinsou holds both down to ensure the angry mini detective doesn't go and attempt to place a hit on another person (or attempt murder, again) then yells at the old man.  "Dude, we don't handle that kind of stuff! Nor do we get paid by the school to do this! We have jobs outside of this place and frankly I'm not gonna deal with some overgrown child— even though that would be an insult to children— who can't see beyond his fat entitled nose. I'M NOT GETTING PAID AND THEY AREN'T EITHER GO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO'S PAID TO BE NICE TO YOUR PIG ASS" The ground is littered with their stationary, loose staples and push pins among torn papers and ripped red thread from the corkboard the four share and use for their cases— it was fortunate that someone had taken the liberty to take an updated photograph of the more recent case— that the staff member had torn in a fit of rage. What were they to do? 

They're teens who have stared down murders and criminals of the like, taunted them, interrogate them, even at times had to fend off incredibly violent suspects; Four experienced investigators put up against a privileged, incompetent at his job, professor.

And as much as Kyoko would rather keep to herself, first and foremost, they were students, and this was a teacher; the power structure ingrained so deeply in their culture meant more than their real capabilities and strengths they should be respected for. So, while they should command respect for themselves, to intentionally hurt their elder— even with the reason of self-defense, despite the possible danger here— is frowned upon and a step closer to worse issues: They'll be suspended from participating in real cases for the rest of the school year or even school career amongst other privileges like their room and their plentiful contacts. To defend themselves and lose everything? 

There was a reason Kyoko stopped carrying her taser around.

"You're going to handle this! All you kids do is look at a folder and write in another," Mr. Onizawa spats, abruptly he grabs the blonde's wrist, deliberately tightening his grip before throwing it away roughly and jabbing a finger into Kyoko's chest— maybe Kyoko should hand those binders of information she knows the twins have been snooping around for, oh how many staff members would lose their jobs(she's sure Monokuma-sensei will get out of his nieces' path of destruction). "The least you kids could do is work after all the time we put into you lot." Ironic, considering he doesn't actually teach a single ultimate class. Kyoko could hear a group of people walking down the hall, and a ever so familiar click of heels that don't match the other's, clearly different footwear to the school issued indoor shoes.

Kyoko continues to stare the professor down, she expects the immediate and protective shove that Amelia had been using on the ignorant man when he continues to dig his finger into her chest— she doesn't expect the blue javelin that rips and cuts into the professor's clothes and shoulder yet somehow, as if remote-controlled, curves at the last minute and avoids Kyoko entirely. The only window in the room was not as lucky. 

She prays that the Javelin hits the ground without hurting anyone.

Completely ignoring the pained choke from the old man, as he retracts his hand from Kyoko to nurse his shoulder— a familiar someone cheers. "Woah! Nice shot! As expected from the Ultimate Javelineer, now I get why you carry around that large murder stick!" Kyoko doesn't have to look over the man to tell who it was, after all, Kokichi always found his way into Shuichi's tutor lessons, she does however immediately tilt her head to look for the very person she could hear coming down the hall as well as the others with her. 

"Thanks." The Javelineer accepts dryly, her blue eyes darkening with anger, despite her petite stature, Kyoko knows the short girl is not to be messed with. She has seen the girl pierce a car with a single warm up throw of her javelin, and the many times she's seen the girl in detention for fighting; both her and the other petite girl, although taller with a crowbar in hand (why did she always seem to have one), look ready to march in. Despite Kokichi not looking as visibly agitated, the way his hands clench way more tightly at his sides than necessary shows the thread of self-control he has left. A surprising but welcomed trio.

Celestia has a hand, specifically her clawed finger, inconspicuously inching closer to her earrings holding the most strained poker face that Kyoko has ever seen her wear— the gambler's body is tense, her jaw clenched with anger, and the fire radiating from her eyes has Kyoko feeling a bit warm (she's seen the girl mad, but this feel of rage…). "*Sous-merde; I suggest leaving the room before they hurt you," the gambler steps forward, "and I kill you." She threatens through clenched teeth. Celestia's usually smooth and composed and wonderfully peaceful voice that she likes to polish with an accent around others, the accent gone now, is instead a deep and intimidating hiss.

The ultimate supreme leader nods his head eagerly. "You should listen to us! Gura-senpai and Ina-senpai look very scary right now, plus Celestia has probably killed many people at this point! So, you should take the girls seriously. I won't hurt you though! Scouts Honor!" In his hand he balances another crowbar, identical to the one the tall girl has. Kokichi smiles sweetly before he looks directly at Celestia. "Wait, am I a Scout?" She shakes her head without looking back.

You could just hear how thin her hold on to her anger was. "I don't believe so, dear." His mouth mimics a 'o' as he turns back to look at the professor who seems too stunned to speak.

Kokichi shrugs. "Whoops! Guess I lied." He sticks his tongue out innocently; he glances back up at Celestia like a curious chick. "What should we do?"

She smiles. "Perhaps you should return the javelin and crowbar you borrowed from Gura and Ina, while your Senpais have a polite conversation with the Professor." Gura and Ina perk up, both wearing smiles of varying degrees of murderousness. The professor, snapping out of his silence, begins groaning. 

"More brats?" He mumbles in irritation.

Amelia grins. "Gura! Ina! Heyy~" 

Onizawa straightens his posture, as if trying to make himself look bigger. "I don't have time to deal with you children, leave or else." he says coldly.

Completely unaffected, Kokichi snorts and the three girls look more amused than intimidated. Gura smirks, her unnaturally sharp teeth on display. "Else what? Giving out detention, bozo?"

Much more smoothly, Ina adds. "Detentions are after school and we have work then, we're always excused from it; not to mention if you have the time to be here, you're likely off the clock and have no authority to hand out any punishments."

Completely glossing over the proud "whoop!!" from Amelia, Celestia walks even closer to the professor. She allows him no time to back away or talk, he stumbles back only to be pulled down by his tie to look straight at the gambler. 

Onizawa raises his hand. Kyoko raises a fist. 

"Touch me and I'll have you blacklisted from all casinos and bars from Okinawa prefecture to Hokkaido before my Kyoko has your throat under her heel. Listen or else." Celestia mocks his earlier threat, tightening his tie as she speaks. "Let me make it clear that we aren't above murder, and some of us will do worse even; I guarantee you the board won't give a damn if you suddenly disappear, nor that they fucking care that you're a teacher. They'll replace you with someone worth more of a shit than you— you work for the school to serve the students not the other way around, so get that high horse dick out your ass, stop bitching and leave with whatever tantrum you're having before I make good on my promise of killing you myself." She gives him a closed-eye smile then releases him and gestures loosely to the three behind her. "I've said my piece, you could do what you deem fit for yourselves?"

Celestia walks past the professor and smoothly hooks her arms with Kyoko as the detectives and investigators in the room stare in surprise. Kyoko is the only one to hear the faint sigh of frustration from the gambler; she makes it a point to subtly shield Celestia as she collects herself.

The three focus their attention on the professor as he tugged at his tie to finally be able to breathe, his throat red and face pale. The two troublemakers grin and are practically ready to get their hands on the grown man before the priestess cuts them off with her arms, Onizawa bolts in their direction, Ina pulls them back as the professor hurriedly stumbles out of the room heaving and heavily breathing. 

"*頭がおかしいっ…彼は 狂っていた(atamaga okashii…karehakurutteita)" he gasps to himself as he flees. 

Kokichi snaps his fingers in disappointment. "Man! I couldn't even snap a finger!"

The professor rushes even faster away from the scene.

Shinsou lets go of his hold on the small creature and lays on the ground. Smol Ame— suddenly given freedom and with nothing meaningful to do with it yet— simply sits there, no longer screaming for the time being. They collectively begin to collect themselves and gather in the room, checking up on each other; Kyoko and Celestia branch off to the side, with Kyoko leaning against her desk.

They watch the others; the way Amelia stands tower over smol ame as she silently praises her genmates for their deduction skills, or how Kokichi plops himself on the ground and drags Shuichi down so he can rest his "pretty head" and Shinsou melts onto his stomach on the floor. The pair slowly turn to each other. Celestia lays a hand on Kyoko's chest where the professor had jabbed her and begins messaging the area, the detective faces Celestia's barely scrunched brows and slight pout. "*Es- tu blessé quelque part?" 

Taeko is so kind, Kyoko almost blurts. Perhaps she has yet to fully process just how genuinely protective the gambler is, to feel so passionate (in the rage sense) on the behalf of others but still so considerate and refusing to snap at anyone besides who the anger was directed at. If they were back to the first month as first years, this would've never happened, maybe even that entire first semester, it was obvious early on that the gambler was selfish and would be willing to use others as she saw fit but despite all that, Taeko cannot deny her kind nature— Kyoko's seen that with how she snapped at Byakuya for his treatment of Toko and her viewing Hifumi more as a peer even though she religiously denied such ally-ship (friendships in other words) especially with their class or the plenty of times she's intimidated students who insulted Ibuki or Gundham. Kyoko still can't get enough

"...Kyoko, dear?" Celestia glares at the door back to the hallway. "I'm going to set that *Gilipollas on fire next I see that fool."

A lovely little cat protective over its family, Kyoko muses. Putting aside that her heart beats faster at the thought— for the sake of her sanity, Kyoko hums. "That's not French." She says as if she had lost the ability to properly think or speak (she did). "I'm okay." she whispers quickly.

Celestia scans her face for any pain, before cupping Kyoko's face with her other hand, the one on her chest feels warmer. "Your heart's beating fast, are you sure, my dear?" she whispers back. What secret were they trying to keep anyways?

That does absolutely nothing to help. She traces the edge of the frills around Celestia's waist and continues their little secret conversation. "Kiss it better?"

Sometimes, it becomes Kyoko's peeve that Celestia wears makeup: you barely see her freckles, how her cheeks flush a light pink when she's happy or perhaps a full red when flustered considering how bright her ears get when so. When she's without her makeup she's much more expressive and willing to allow what she's feeling show on her face; what Kyoko would do to be able to see how cute Taeko is now, pupils slowly dilating and the cute barely (by standard of Kyoko's years of people reading skills) noticeable struggle she's facing to keep her poker face. In a trick of the lights, for a moment, it looks like Celestia stares at her lips.

Celestia uses the hand that cups Kyoko's face, the thumb specifically, to trace at the detective's bottom lip. "Behave and I'll consider it, *Ma Lapin. For now though, tell me, should I set the school a flame so that wretched man is sent to a burning grave."

Kyoko feels lightheaded. "I wouldn't be able to prove you innocent on an arson charge, Ms.Ludenberg."

"Oh," Celestia jokingly muses. "What of murder?"

Feeling that her lips are chapped, Kyoko licks them. "Perhaps it was an act of self-defense, however I'd need to collect some evidence. Are you willing to give what I request?"

Celestia chuckles. Keeping her thumb on Kyoko's lips, she cups the detective's chin with the same hand. "Is that a lawful request, Detective?"

Kyoko boldly licks the thumb on her lips. She stares into Celestia's eyes, gravity pulling her closer to the gambler, or maybe the other way around. "As long as it's a secret. Wouldn't that be ideal for you, Miss?"

"Kyoko and Celestia are doing weird things on the desk~!" The two turn to look at the others, as most of them automatically turn to look at them— with the exception of Amelia, armed with a crowbar, trying to hit Smol Ame (seriously what is smol Ame?), who is now laughing maniacally as she runs on little feet. "♪Celestia and Kyoko sitting on a tree♪! K-I-S-S-I- AAAACK" Amelia kicks the tiny sound maker under her own desk, before dusting off her skirt and sending a nervous and apologetic glance at the couple pair.

In response to the two's silence, the blonde clears her throat. "Sorry."

"Man, I feel single." Shuichi jokes, clearly trying to redirect the mood. Odd with his position.

Kokichi ever the opportunist. "Damn, shawty, me too. We the only single people in this room, let's change that right now, yeah?"

"Huh?" The youngest detective is rendered completely confused, he glances at Shinsou and the two girls who've yet to disconnect. "We aren't the only single- how would we even change that if we were the only ones?"

"... Shumai."

"Detectives are oblivious." Ina comments; it's the only statement ever really. Kyoko feels Celestia hum in agreement.

As a counter, Shinsou sits up. "As a witness to all the tension, anyone trying to romance or being romanced by a detective is either dumb or oblivious themselves. Good luck." He lays back down. "I call dibs on cleaning, but first, *昼寝だ~(hiruneda~)" 

Gura nods solemnly in agreement with both her tallest girlfriend and her other girlfriend's kouhai. "*Soudesunye."

Finally parting from each other, despite definitely having time to do so earlier, Celestia reminds Kyoko while intertwining their hands. "Ishimaru's class bonding activity starts in two hours. I'd like to shower before then."

Kyoko nods, no offense to their class president but she had originally opted to skip it. "That's a good idea, I should do the same. Am I your plus one?"

A giggle escapes from the gambler. "My plus one is solely reserved for you."

"Are you aware I have the same invitation?" Kyoko questions, clearly not serious.

"Am I not yours?"

"As long as you permit it."

Celestia raises their joint hands to her lips. "Set in stone, *Ma Lapin."

The two leave the room, but not before Kyoko and Shuichi glance at one another and nod in unspoken understanding of what to do next.

Those reported traps were on his class's dorm building after all.

1. Sous-merde: less than shit
2. 頭がおかしいっ…彼は 狂っていた(atamaga okashii…karehakurutteita): out of one's mind.... they're insane
3. Es-tu blessé quelque part: Are you hurt anywhere? (correct me tho as I double check french with my Spanish)
4. Gilipollas: like the Spanish equivalent of dickhead
5. Ma Lapin: My bunny
6. 昼寝だ(hiruneda): very very casual Japanese, basically "I nap"
7. Soudesunye(そうですにゅィ): silly cute way for soudesune, which means "I agree" or "Isn't that right." which is what I was going for

Also for the next part since it comes soon.

1. Calculito: Calcul is one french word for stone, the -ito at the end is a way Spanish people affectionately call things (or people| ex: cat → Gato, lil cat → Gatito); means little stone or pebble
2. Je suis au bout de ma vie: I'm at the end of my life, dramatic way of communicating that you'd rather not.
3. Koneko(こねこ): I'm sure you know what neko means (cat), the ko(子) at front stands for kid; this means kitten.

Celestia would be lying if she said she was concerned, worried, or bothered at all by the—not at all— problematic situation at hand. 

If she were honest, she'd even say she was quite pleased with the situation.

"I apologize for the complete inconvenience this is to your sleep schedule, Celestia!" Ishimaru says once again, as he gets off the phone with the dorm's maintenance department, of which has been on their 5 day quarterly break and will not be returning till late tomorrow morning. "If I had known-"

"Kiyotaka-san." She interrupts, raising a hand up to catch his attention and stop him from boiling. When he calms down, she continues. "You hadn't locked me out of my room on purpose nor with any intention of malice. You need not apologize to me, it's already late and I'm aware you are very peculiar about messing with your own sleep schedule. Sleep, *Calculito, I can have other arrangements made easily."

Just a little down the hall, Oowada greets the two. He comes to stop beside them. 

"I put Chihiro to bed, underneath all that computer nerd, hacker or whatever energy they've got it's surprising how easy it is for her to fall asleep. Kid's limp like a flat." He looks down at Celestia. "You gonna be good for tonight?"

She chuckles, such a ridiculous question to ask. "Of course, I suggest getting Kiyotaka-san to sleep before he works himself up over nothing serious."

Ishimaru, so dutiful; she appreciates the concern however misplaced it may be. "Where will you sleep?" 

"Kyoko's room." She answers bluntly. "Now I must bid you both a good night, knowing my Kyoko, she's probably got her head deep in another one of those folders or doing paperwork God knows already so late in the night." She bows and makes her way to said detective's room.

"Before you go." Ishimaru calls out, not so loudly however, after eight it's inside voices in the hall— because everyone constantly forgets that each dorm room is completely soundproof (from both outside noise and indoor noise) when the doors are locked. "Would you like me to fetch your sleepwear from the storage room?"

Celestia would sooner give up gambling or share her private social medias than wear those things.

"*Je suis au bout de ma vie~ I have some in Kyoko's room. Fair well, Good night, boys." She quickens her pace.

She couldn't escape quick enough and had to hear Ishimaru's innocent question. "Why would Celestia have her nightwear in Kyoko-san's room?"

"Uh- Well… I dunno dude."

"I mean, you leave clothes in my room simply because you nap there quite regularly but neither Kyoko-san or Cel-" 

Mondo caught the glance Celestia sent their way, he chuckles nervously and turns Ishimaru around then nudges him forth. "Well maybe it's a chick thing?? Back home the girls always had clothes everywhere: in their bags, a friend's place, lockbox, my ma and sisters did…"

As they walk away, Celestia speed walks the rest of the way to Kyoko's room. She presses her handbook against the door's scanner and lets herself in as soon as the door unlocks for her, and in all honesty, she was not expecting anything, which is why she's disappointed that Kyoko was indeed still working. Kyoko greets her with a smile, on her desk is her work laptop, the horribly bland document application on screen. 

Celestia sighs and locks the door as she carefully removes her heels. "It's past nine, Kyoko."

The detective nods, she glances back at her laptop. "Is that right…"

"You aren't even dressed for bed." She points out as she removes her last heel and places it beside Kyoko's boots.

Kyoko gestures to the blazer in her closet. "I've stripped enough for comfort.

The two stare at each other, scanning the other. 

Kyoko turns her chair to fully face Taeko. "Locked out?"

Taeko nods and removes her own blazer, she walks towards the closet. "App malfunction. Maintenance won't be back till tomorrow." The gambler hangs her blazer for the time being, removes her drills, and hangs them in the hair clip storage bag she's left in Kyoko's room while working on her tie. 

"Chihiro was still asleep then?" Kyoko removes her ribbon and starts undoing her own braid, influenced my Taeko's actions. Now if only she'd be influenced to have a decent sleep schedule and ate three meals a day.

Taeko hums in confirmation, she looks back at the detective as she removes her skirt and stockings. "So much worry for a temporary issue. Did I leave my black bag here?"

The detective nods with uncertainty, though she stands up from her seat. She raises her arms and stretches before walking to her bed, she takes her phone from her pocket and tosses it on the bed before kneeling on the ground. "With the *konekos? I think it's still here." She disappears under the bed.

Taeko masks some stray giggles, she wasn't in some cutesy shoujo series, and walks over to the detective. "Is it?"

A rustling answers her. Kyoko pulls out the bag, handing it to Taeko before standing up. She gratefully accepts the kiss the gambler presses to her cheek for the hard work. "I know you dislike leaving your makeup in the bathroom, so I moved it here." She happily accepts another kiss on her other cheek.

"Do we know why that is~?" Taeko teases, she walks to the bathroom to remove her makeup and substitute her facial routine with whatever she had in the bag. "I'll steal your bathroom for the time being."

Kyoko hums in acknowledgement, and she continues to ponder the question.

"Well?" Taeko removes her eyeliner, lipstick, and mascara before the rest.

"Moisture ruins makeup, since I shower with warmer water most of the time, there's definitely moisture in there. Among other things." Kyoko answers.

She smiles. "*ぴんぽん(pinpon)! And to think you didn't know bronzer and contour were different things before."

"Plus, makeup is expensive to throw away without using it all before its expiration date." 

The gambler rinses her face off. "Would you like a prize for answering the bonus question?" 

Silence comes from Kyoko, so she begins to hum while drying her face. 

Finally, she hears. "Don't get mad."

Reasonably, she was a little suspicious, Taeko puts away her items and walks out of the bathroom. Kyoko is still sitting at her desk, her hands on the keyboard, giving her a soft smile (so sweet that Taeko would've been persuaded to let the workaholic continue), and she continues to type. As much of a gay little mess Taeko was, she wasn't pathetically so. "Kyoko…"

Caught red-handed, Kyoko attempts to save face by being unashamedly honest. "You're distractingly gorgeous."

Taeko places her things down on the extra seat in the room and walks back over to Kyoko. "Darling, it's almost ten-" she notices the time on the laptop. She also notices how small the scroll bar to the side of the document is. "It's literally past ten. Let's get ready for bed."

Kyoko turns her seat, clapping her hands together and raising them in a pleading position, she stares up at the girl. "Can't I complete two more sections? It's not that late, I'm almost done."

"When's it due?" Taeko rests her hands on her hips.

Kyoko doesn't meet her eyes.

"You're not even trying to hide it."

Kyoko leans back in her chair, resting her cheek on her fist. "It's next month. I could work another hour; I barely feel tired."

With that Taeko nudges Kyoko's legs further apart and places a knee between them to keep the detective from spinning the swivel seat to prevent her from getting to her work and reaches over Kyoko to access the laptop, she uses her plentiful computer knowledge to save the document without using the trackpad. "Ta.. Taeko?" The gambler ignores her. Taeko shuts the laptop and pulls away only to grab onto both sides of the backrest and look down at a surprised looking Kyoko. "You didn't."

Taeko smiles. "Definitely did. Now then," She reaches for Kyoko's tie with one hand, not without brushing back some of Kyoko's loose hair behind her ear and begins unraveling it. "Be a good girl for me." 

Kyoko nods slowly and stares down, her ears becoming red and face a bit pink. Her right-hand presses against the knee Taeko have on the seat and her free hand shyly touches Taeko's arm, gripping with a feather's touch. Wordlessly, the gambler removes the tie and carefully tosses it on the laptop behind the chair; ignoring the sudden warmth from her face as it slowly dawns on her how this could be seen, if she says anything weird it's going to make this whole thing awkward, she pinches the zipper on Kyoko's shirt. 

"I cannot properly convey how satisfying it is to remove the weirdest part of your wardrobe from you, why do you have these?" Taeko starts to unzip the shirt, slowly. She said and she'll say it again, she cannot emphasize how glad she is to be removing the taunting article of clothing, Kyoko stifles a chuckle before freely giggling and laughing. This enticed Taeko to begin smiling with how silly the thought was before chuckling a bit herself.

"There's nothing wrong with it? It's a collared shirt, I've yet to be dress coded for it." She yelps when Taeko's cold fingers brush against her clavicle, in retaliation for that comment, Taeko blows directly at the side of Kyoko's neck earning a… little too interesting an exhale of her name from Kyoko.

"You should be," she mumbles, her face feeling like it was burning. "This is incredibly easy to remove, it could be so tempting for others to strip you." She disconnects the zipper from the other zipper track and pushes the two sides apart.

Shakily, Kyoko asked. "Could be?"

Taeko meets Kyoko's eyes, and oh wow was she reminded how attractive the detective is; the softness of her eyes was deliciously entrancing, her faint blush tantalizing and the slight parting between her lips and the almost panting exhales brought forth could only be described as the tempting allure of the rumored absolute territory. She leans forward, because humans are always drawn in by beauty. 

"Like I'd let anyone else even think about having the honor so long as I possess the intention to kill. I have poison and I'm quite crafty." She blows cool air at Kyoko's face. 

Kyoko raises a brow at her. "Admitting so freely an intention to murder to a detective of all people? I thought you knew better, Taeko"

Taeko sticks her tongue out, she's tempted to lick the corner of Kyoko's lip in defiance (but that'll just make this whole thing seem a lot more romantic than it really is). "Wouldn't you like to know, ma bella?" instead, she touches their noses together, her eyes flutter shut. "Isn't it damning for you if the media finds out you were close with the killer?"

She removes the hand Kyoko has pressing her thigh and raises it to lay on her shoulder. "So close that this killer could remove your shirt with no complaint?"

"ma? me?- *me dérange pas(?) non plus que tu.. enlèves ma skirt?" Kyoko murmurs through her stammered French, it's a miracle the racing of her heart doesn't deafen their breathing. This was all totally normal.

Taeko uses her thumb to lower Kyoko's bottom lip. "You are just deliciously precious." 

Taeko feels Kyoko lift her arms from her shoulder. "Isn't it a bit unfair that I'm the only one being stripped, Takeo?" The detective blurts underneath her. Taeko could only yelp and throw her arm around Kyoko's shoulders as she's lifted from the seat, followed by Kyoko standing up. She wraps her legs around Kyoko's hips, and hisses at the detective. 

"Kyoko! If you so much as lose your grip I'm going to burn all your clothes! Drop me and I'll drag you to hell with me." Clearly for the sake of revenge, Kyoko blows air in her face. 

Kyoko carries them over to her bed and stops just by the side of it. "Flame, fire, arson; Am I witnessing the beginnings of Taeko the pyromaniac? You were threatening to burn things since noon," she points out as she gently places Taeko down on her bed, pauses, then continues speaking. "Correction. This morning, I heard that conversation you had with Ibuki." She pushes her hair back, momentarily using one arm to stabilize both her and Taeko, not long to strain her muscles but long enough to let the memory ingrain in Taeko's pathetically enamored brain. This was all just playful fun between friends, besties, and.... what other excuse for the word.

The detective uses the same hand to unbutton Taeko's own shirt, fluidly and easily with the bigger and less buttons. Taeko has half the mind to kiss Kyoko senseless, how couldn't she? 

Watching the detective genuinely work hard at something had always made her heart flutter and body warm, but this? Kyoko's eyes, looking like it was satisfying a craving and pupils blown, while her hands lowered down her body. Taeko feels hot to the touch, her gut felt like magma, and like she couldn't overwhelm her senses enough: Kyoko was so warm against her, the sweet exhales felt and sounded addicting, the smell of blueberry perfume and the coffee cake Kyoko had early made her salivate, the whole scene was just a delicious sight, and well… taste… 

That wasn't her only sense begging and fatally lovesick, her common sense doesn't bring up anything that wasn't Kyoko and Kyoko and how she was with Kyoko, her last sliver of any sane sense was the devil of greed, all gamblers had that, telling her if she doesn't see this chance through, could she really claim to love gambling, to be a true gambler? How far could she push her luck?

Taeko grabs the sides of Kyoko's shirt and tugs, taking them both down once Kyoko loses stability. It was just like that one time in her dorm, on her bed, except no walk-ins this time. Though there's a sudden spot, it felt like it was sided, of coldness on her lower back.

"*Mon coeur~ Mon Kyoko, would you like me to tell you a secret?" She teases, Kyoko pushes back her own unbuttoned shirt, down her shoulders– dear gods did Taeko feel like some teenage boy getting redder at the sight of the flexing muscle on Kyoko's shoulders, Kyoko already had a hand ready to pull of Taeko's unbuttoned shirt. She raises herself up by her elbows, which are on either side of Taeko's head may she add, and studies at Taeko.

"Depends, will I be the only one to know?" She plays into her hands.

Taeko promises. "Just for you and me."

"Only if I can tell you one in exchange." Kyoko whispers.

She accepts. "Well," Taeko tilts her head to whisper in Kyoko's ear. "I- KYOKO" 

The gambler squeaks as not only a sudden alarm sound plays, but her lower back assaulted with cold vibrations on top of additional vibrations from the audio takes her completely by surprise. Taeko jumps and clings onto Kyoko. 

Kyoko fumbles as she swipes whatever was under Taeko; they're a fumble of limbs as the detective properly sits on the bed while Taeko has her burning with embarrassment face in her hands. The detective stops the noise and exhales in relief— mostly frustration, she turns to Taeko who faces back. "My sleep alarm." 

Taeko tilts her head to see the time on the phone, her face still felt like it was going to melt off, she gulps down the embarrassment anyways. "Your alarm is 23:50? Didn't you plan to jog at four in the morning tomorrow??"

Kyoko nods, a bit bashful. She scratches at a spot beneath her lip. "I… I thought I would've finished my work by now." she smiles shyly before groaning. "Shit, now neither of us are getting a proper rest." 

The gambler let's her shirt fall off her shoulders and scoots off the bed, before gently pulling Kyoko's shirt off then placing a peck on the corner of her lip. "I appreciate that you included yourself in that, considering you set yourself up to sleep later. It's charming how cute you are." Taeko leans her head against Kyoko's, collecting herself before pulling away to have their eyes meet. 

"I'll… I'll put these away, could you lend me a shirt to sleep in?" Kyoko nods and gets off the bed too. She raises Taeko's hand to her lips. "Anything and everything for you." 

Taeko's heart leaps to her mouth and she scurries off to hang their shirts in the closet, she hopes they don't wrinkle from the friendly play... thing they did. She couldn't help but notice the black cover on the leucistic ball python's serpentarium, before she could get anymore embarrassed Taeko hangs the shirts and goes back to the bed. Suddenly colder now that she's aware that she's in only her bra and spandex shorts.

Kyoko returns wearing just pajama pants and her bra, her face is still unfairly pink, she hands Taeko a slightly longer than usual hoodie, the gambler resists staring. "I've just discovered I barely own tops to sleep in." Taeko meets this with an amused huff and immediately slides on the hoodie and starts dragging the detective onto the bed— well she lets her shut the lights off— and under the covers.

"Kyoko, my dear, I love you truly but I'm too cold to be walking around." The detective doesn't complain as she's pulled into her own bed, it's only till Taeko moves to open the detective's bedside drawer that she becomes slightly flustered.

She removes her gloves carefully while waving down the wordless offers. "Taeko, I've already taken care of my hands." The gambler retracts her movement and watches in awe of Kyoko removing her gloves and placing them to the side, she doesn't call attention to the detective's slowly budding development of doing some self-care. This was a huge improvement! 

She presses a kiss to Kyoko's cheek, gently raises both freed hands and kisses the back of them, then their wrists, and her palms and fingertips. Taeko yawns and places a last kiss on one of Kyoko's knuckles, before laying down beside Kyoko. They lay there together, still slightly flustered from before, but knowing them they'll chance the last bit to a fever dream.

After a few more moments of calming their hearts down, Kyoko turns into her side then lays her arm just above Taeko's head, "Will you tell me a secret?"

Taeko turns over to face Kyoko, keeping her arms to her chest. She could feel soft fabric graze closer to her bare legs, she doesn't even try to stop what she knows is going to be tangled legs in the morning. "Any?"

"Hmm." She thinks about it, the two adjust themselves more comfortably, maybe inching closer together, the detective's strayed arm almost acting as an arm pillow. "One that's barely a secret."

One that's barely a secret, huh. " I…" Her eyelids feel heavy, she stifles a yawn.

"*Ich glaube.. ic. lie.e dich…."

1. ぴんぽん(pinpon): This is an onomatopoeic word in Japanese, like that ringing "ding ding!" when someone is correct. it's usually written like ピンポン, but as Taeko verbally says it, it's written as above.
2. Me dérange pas non plus que tu enlèves ma skirt(jupe): "I don't mind you taking my skirt off.", i replace jupe with skirt to convey Kyoko's lack of complete fluency.
3. Mon coeur: means my love, this is the more poetic term of Mon amor
4. Ich glaube: I think.

as i didn't finish the rest of that line I will not be translating it, good luck 😉

Chapter Text

Walking— more dragged, into the common area, Shuichi did not expect to see Kirumi flushed red as Miu and Angie ran around the room away from her laughing freely; actually no, that doesn't surprise him as much as the sight of Rantaro and Kaito hanging from the ceiling in only their underwear does.

Shuichi rubs at his eyes then pushes his hair back in order to collect himself and reestablish that yes, he hadn't accidentally gotten a concussion and was currently badly hallucinating. "What?"

Kokichi snorts and immediately pulls out his phone. "Hey!"

The astronaut looks down at the clown and immediately tries to grab at the rope hanging him by his feet— why were they both hanging by their feet?? 

Shuichi looks towards the other in the room for some kind of explanation. Of course, Kaede shrugs and gestures that she's calling for help (likely Gonta) before jogging off, Ryoma is keeping Miu and Angie from bolting to the exit, Tsumugi is furiously sketching at a notebook while occasionally looking at Kirumi and Rantaro, and the others are just nowhere to be found.

Kokichi points his camera at the boys hanging from the ceiling. "Yeah! Keep struggling, maybe my fans on Onlyfans will enjoy seeing another man's ass crack for a change- don't worry tho! I'll compensate!"

Kaito shrieks. He drops back down, hangs limping from his ties and stares in horror at Shuichi. "Dude, please tell me you couldn't see my butt."

"Uhh-" He thinks about the full couple seconds view of Kato's back and behind. "No. Not at all. What the… why???"

Besides Kaito, Rantaro waves. "Hey."

In an impressive feat of athleticism, Rantaro hangs from the rope upright despite the rope tied at his feet and ankles— a result of having the physical strength to lift his upper body to grab the rope then pull himself up. Shuichi knows he isn't as fit as most of the guys in his class, nor most of the class in general, but he can't help but feel kind of bad for Kaito as he struggles while Rantaro sways himself on the rope (while upright unlike Kaito); Shuichi doesn't even know why Rantaro is still up there, he's in the perfect position to untie the rope himself and climb down the rope without risk of a concussion or passing out due to lack of oxygen. 

"C'mon man! Help a bro out?" Kaito shouts out to Rantaro, he lifts a hand to feel at his forehead. "I'm feeling kinda lightheaded." Dear God.

Kokichi has at some point turned on the flash on his phone. "That means you're floating, idiot, you gotta spin yourself around." He explains with not an ounce of sense.

Without a moment to breathe, Shuichi gets twirled around by Angie to face Kirumi pursuing Miu as the blonde runs around with a leather notebook clutched desperately in her hand. Miu then rushes over to Shuichi and uses him as a human shield from the increasingly flustering Kirumi, it's surprising that she hasn't caught the inventor yet, the maid was much more athletic than the inventor, definitely faster too. Angie simply laughs before snakingly snatching the book from Miu, using Shuichi as cover to do so— Miu the amazing actress she was, doesn't give the fact away in the slightest. "C'mon, it's just a diary! No need to get your grandma panties in a twist- Eeh!!" She ducks behind Shuichi, seconds away from Kirumi almost catching her. 

Kirumi would send looks of guilt towards Shuichi the entire time. And with that Angie runs off, journal in hand, slipping past Ryoma using her love child with Miu: Auta's Will. A glitter bomb.

Shuichi weakly points in the artist's direction. "Uh-" Miu shoves his hand back down. "Put a cock in it, Snitch!"

She pushes his hand too late as Kirumi had already caught a glance of where he was pointing, Kirumi backs off and looks in the direction, then back at Shuichi before bowing. "Thank you, I apologize for the discomfort I may have caused, I'll do my best to make it up to you." She then turns and makes her way in the direction rather quickly, her expression still a bit flustered from whatever was happening here.

The blonde curses and rushes after the maid, not without shoving Shuichi.

Although her shove wasn't enough to force him to the ground, not even close to the strength she has to carry around heavy machinery, the detective drops to the ground out of his own will and sits. He begins to think, might as well anyway considering he had yet to truly process everything that had happened the last few minutes.

Rantaro and Kaito are hanging from the ceiling— the admittedly very high ceiling, red ropes that connect to it via a dark red plate, and down at the tied knot at their feet are also three separate handkerchiefs: a blue, a red, and a yellow. No explanation given how all that happened nor any comment from them about being in only their underwear; Shuichi should ask about that. Miu and Angie stole something, whether that journal belongs to Kirumi or not is unclear, however it's likely to be Kirumi's with how flustered she's gotten as a result of them having it. The others are still out, and Ryoma is, thankfully, perfectly fine though he's gone towards the dorms to get rid of the glitter. Himiko seems to still be missing, it's been a long while already. 

He looks up at Rantaro, who poses elegantly as Kokichi continues to snap photos. Shuichi calls out to the adventurer. "Hey, Rantaro, why… are you guys hanging upside down?"

The adventurer laughs. "Well, uh, you see, ya know how you told us to look out for Himiko? Me, Kaede, and Kaito came up here just to do a little look around before going back to our rooms and we saw these colorful handkerchiefs, obviously Himiko's since she's the only one who owns 'em like that, so I picked it up. And I got caught."

"You got caught." Shuichi parrots.

Rantaro nods. "Yeah, then Kaito came to try and help me, but I think he stepped on the other hankies and got caught."

The detective nods slowly, before tilting his head in confusion. "Can't you untie yourself?"

Immediately Rantaro shakes his head. "Nope. Tried, doesn't work at the knot. I'm pretty sure you just need to disconnect this," he points up to a red diamond that's on the ceiling, this is where the rope connects to the ceiling. "But as you can see, no one currently here is tall enough to reach and it's gonna hurt if I remove mine and definitely hurt Kaito if I did his." A flash causes the two to turn to the side.

"Y'know if the stripping was the trap's fault wouldn't your guy's clothes be here? Where are they then? I see no clothes here." Kokichi points out with a grin. Appearing out of thin air, had neither of them noticed?

He was right, where were the clothes they were wearing originally? Logically they couldn't have just disappeared.

He puts away his phone, and smugly admires the work. "Oh~ This is definitely Himiko's! I've been showing her how to make booby traps and she's gotten really creative; I have like no idea how she had these on the floor then BOOM on the ceiling! Nothing underneath. Impressive, impressive indeed." The serial prankster cackles his playful evil cackle. "She's got even me blown away, although I'm not half naked. A student should beat their master and the master becomes the student, now I gotta learn how she did this!"

A huff behind them forces them to redirect their attention again. "I'll kill you if you teach him."

Coming from down the hallway, Kiibo waves at them and Korekiyo nods in greeting while Maki carries both Angie in one arm against her hip and Himiko by the back of her blazer like a cat.

The mage yawns. "Nyeh… okay.." 

Kokichi dramatic cheers. "MY LOVE, YOU'VE RETURNE-" He runs with a spring in his step to the group.

Ruthlessly and immediately, Himiko glances back at Maki. "I won't tattle to Kirumi if you bruise him a bit."

"Tempting."

He halts to a stop, pouty and his hands on his hips, then gasps loudly. "Rude! This is why gay women are evil! They aren't here to impress men, they're here to impress the men's wives."

Maki lets Himiko down gently and flips off Kokichi with her now free hand. "And thank kami-sama for that, I'd rather not settle down with," she gestures to him, "anything like this."

Kokichi tuts while following her. "You've no taste, just because I can't be like Tenko."

This earns a look of confusion from Himiko and one of intrigue from Korekiyo. 

Maki rolls her eyes. "I wouldn't date Tenko, but her over you? Absolutely. Literally anyone over you."

"Kii-boy!" He counters.

Kiibo crosses his arms. "Hey!"

"Many people would choose Kiibo over you." The robot starts to retort before immediately backing off knowing better, obviously Kokichi is an exception to this common sense.

Kokichi pouts, he continues to push. "Korks then?

Angie looks up then smiles innocently at Maki. "Can you put Angie down now?"

"No." She stares at Shuichi— the question of what the heck happened ever so clear on her face— then up at Rantaro and Kaito while she responds. "Like I already said, anyone over you."

Kokichi throws his arms around in annoyance. "C'mon just tell me who you like! I'll find out sooner or later!"

"Then figure it out yourself." She snaps before looking back up at the boys, her question is once again silently asked. 

Rantaro points behind him. "Already tried cutting them earlier, Kaede is bringing help." After a beat and continued staring from Maki, who looks too exhausted to ask, he continues. "I have no idea how we got into our underwear, or where our clothes are for that matter."

Happily, Kaito grins at the girl. "Maaakii roll~" he slurs, face bright red. She closes in on the pair while studying the ropes that keep them hanging from the ceiling, before Maki could inquire Himiko about releasing the boys the mage clicks her tongue in pity.

Himiko guiltily looks away from Kaito and Rantaro. "Uh… I may not have figured out how to disable those… my bad."  She apologizes to the boys, Rantaro waves her off in understanding while Kaito gives her a dopey grin and a thumbs up.

It's a concerning thought though. Kokichi had mentioned teaching Himiko how to make traps, while yes, she liked the occasional trick like colorful finger traps, she was rarely interested in the types of traps Kokichi planted. Shuichi doesn't doubt the mage went willingly to learn from Kokichi, she went through the effort to make these and immediately took them out? Perhaps she dropped these ones by accident, but what was their original purpose? 

He'd still have to find out why she had outright disappeared for the last few days. As if reading his mind, Himiko glances towards him and lifts her finger to her lip to silence him before she looks back at Maki. Who has currently pulled out a folded pocketknife, another reminder of how easily it would be to sneak in weapons into the dorms, then she walks towards the boys hanging from the ceiling. 

Maki looks down at Angie, who is still secured in her arm. "If you leave this room, I'll cut Miu's hair off." Is a threat Shuichi didn't think he would ever hear among the many Maki uses but he isn't surprised that Angie's immediate reaction, after Maki had released her, was to hold her hands in front of herself and obediently smile at the girl. Although, likely not satisfied at all, Maki walks around the artist; a quick hand removes a book from Angie's pockets before walking away towards the boys. Angie temporarily none the wiser. 

Harukawa studies the way the boys sway, in a moment of pity she lifts Kaito's head as best she could to help with the blood rush to his head, and then firmly tugs at the rope. She nods to herself then whips out the actual blade from its confines.

Behind her Kokichi whistles. "Damn, who's getting circumcis-" 

On an unrelated note, Angie has now just realized that the book she had, undoubtedly stolen, was confiscated. Though she only huffs and turns towards Korekiyo and Himiko to start a conversation with them while Kiibo stares on nervously.

Shuichi turns back towards the four in front of him, Kokichi holding his stomach in pain whilst Maki reaches up to cut the rope that Rantaro hangs from; he notices that she has a stepping stool. Shuichi wasn’t even sure where she had gotten it so quickly. Maki cuts the rope closer to his feet, Shuichi sees that this would've been the safest way to release him and the adventurer could use the rest of the rope to slide down, however the moment the rope falls off his ankle and the three handkerchiefs fall to the ground the rest of the rope releases from diamond that connected it to the ceiling. Rantaro yelps as gravity does its job and is suddenly pulling him down without so much of a warning, he quickly twists his body so he would land on his back instead of his arms; after making sure that Rantaro was indeed still alive, Maki goes up to cut Kaito's restraints. With more caution as to avoid the astronaut in training from freaking out, it seems his slightly delirious state is keeping him from thrashing around. 

After getting a secure grip on the rope in one hand, she slowly cuts at the rope; Kaito is none the wiser as he looks over to Shuichi then nods over to where the others stood finally noticing the girl he had been looking for earlier. “Looook, sidekick! She’s right over there! Now you can pull your detective moves and check up on her, see if shee’s alrighhhhty.” He slurs out, a dopey look of confidence and relaxation on his face, he too had been worried about the disappearance of their local magician. While Shuichi, nor Kokichi for that matter, hadn’t really told anyone what had happened for Himiko to be avoiding everyone like the plague, most of their class had been worried for the magician, some more than others.

Kaito finally takes notice of Maki getting ready to cut the rope. He glances down at Rantaro who lays on the ground calmly in his underwear, the adventurer shooting the astronaut a thumbs up when their gazes meet, it is then after a few moments that Kaito realizes he’ll probably meet the same fate as Rantaro.

Though it's likely what he believes was Rantaro's fate is perhaps not a good one.

As if he was finally sobering up, Kaito looks back up at Maki with a concerned look. “Woah, Hey! What if I fall?!” He yelps now that he realizes that the shorter girl had already been cutting at the ropes, the blade of her knife closer to finishing its job; Shuichi has to take a step back as Kaito shoots his arms out in a panic to keep himself balanced since the threads connecting his rope to the ceiling was rapidly decreasing in numbers. 

Shuichi could hear Kokichi in the background failing to cover up his snickering.

Perhaps he should’ve slept last night…

Or gotten the help of his peers, perhaps to gain some insight from his Senpais. Shuichi knows that while Kyoko had entrusted him to handle this 'case', he also knows that the older detective wouldn't blame him nor see him any less if he had gone for help. She probably expected it. 

Ah… oh well, it's better now than never, even if he was a little delayed.

Having missed Kaito’s descent due to his tuning out because of his exhaustion, Shuichi glances down at his friend in their other friend’s arms— a casual reminder that Maki was inexplicably strong for her size and lack of visible muscles through her long sleeves, not that she didn't, she certainly did though you'd never be able to tell unless the girl wore short sleeves. Kaito's eyes are shut tight and his face pale in fear, Shuichi’s fairly impressed that Kaito was protectively shielding the back of his neck and cradling his head; something quite a bit of people forgets to do when they fall. 

The astronaut in training whimpers loudly. 

“My life flashed before my eyes…” He mourns, his body occasionally shivering. Shuichi notices Maki glance towards the couch off to the side, likely considering putting Kaito down. “I could’ve died.” 

Maki sighs. “You would not have died.”

Shuichi inches closer, awkwardly leaning over Kaito and lightly tapping his shoulder. “Um… Kaito? You’re down now, Maki’s holding you right now.”

“If you don’t open your eyes, I’m going to open them for you.” Maki adds in, her threat empty but enough to encourage the astronaut trainee to stop shaking. 

Kaito’s eyelids relax as he slowly opens one eye cautiously, Shuichi offers him a small wave when his eyes fall on the detective. He turns away from Shuichi to glance up at Maki who stares at him, finally, he opens his other eye and chuckles to himself. “Ah! I- uh- Hey, sidekick, Maki-roll. Could’ve given me a warning.” He stumbles on his words as he plays off his fear of near death, Shuichi leans back as Kaito looks over and at the floor before whistling appreciatively. “Damn, Makiroll. You’ve got gains.”

He looks back up at her with a bashful smile. Shuichi’s glad that Kaito was already feeling okay, he was a bit concerned that his friend would suffer the consequences of lightheadedness for a while considering how easily sick he gets. He watches Maki offer a nod to Kaito’s compliment. “Sure.” She responds simply. Maki begins to walk to the couches, the sudden movement causing a fairly jumpy Kaito to, well, jump in her arms. Kaito relaxes as he sees that she is walking towards the couches, he looks back at Shuichi, a light twitch to his movements and his eyes simultaneously wide with dwindling adrenaline and clenching in irritation; a minor effect of being lightheaded.

“So what’s up with- oh fuck.” Kaito bites his tongue when Maki drops him on the couch, he parts his mouth slightly to stick his tongue out before having the muscle retract as the pain quickly subsides. “Thanks, Maki! I owe you one!” He raises a hand to fist bump the girl in appreciation. Maki, not without a look of momentary contemplation, accepts the gesture before sitting down beside him, taking the book she had taken from Angie out from wherever she had kept it then placing it on her lap. Kaito continues. “Damn, too bad Tenko’s out, she’d probably start crying tears of relief. What was up with Himiko anyway? Shuichi?”

“She wanted to take care of something, I’m not sure what exactly, but since she’s been gone for a few days without any contact… Well, y’know, me and a few others got concerned.” The detective answers vaguely, Shuichi was certain Himiko would rather not let people know why she had left. He still had some questions on why she reacted so abruptly to the situation at hand, or how exactly she had intended to handle it. Shuichi had his suspicions that the magician was the one who had set traps around the school, Kokichi had mentioned when he was collecting some of the trapsー for the sake of gaining some kind of clue on what Himiko could be doing, Shuichi didn’t even attempt to address why Kokichi was collecting themー that he had noticed that the way they were made were similar to how Himiko had been making them when he was teaching her how to make prank traps, he had convinced her they could be used as a surprise magical trick. He could make the assumption that she was attempting to catch the stalker herself, or at least make them identifiable by putting them in certain places judging by how many of the traps that have been set up had covered trespassers and would-be peepers in paint, feathers, and other items.

Maki lifted her eyes from the journal in her lap and raised a brow towards Shuichi. 

Kaito was not as aware, he nods. “Guess since she’s back she already handled it huh.” He remarks before looking back at Maki and glancing down at the journal, his eyes widen in familiarity. “Oh hey, it’s that book Kirumi writes in. Did she lose it? Ah, wait.” Kaito raises a hand to rub at the back of his neck. “That’s not very Kirumi like tho…”

“Angie and Miu probably stole it, knowing those two.” She grumbles, Maki tilts her head to the side to look past Shuichi’s head at the aforementioned artist, she glares. Maki keeps a hand on the book, her thumb gently stroking the spine of the journal, Shuichi wisely chooses to not mention it.

Kaito eyes clearly land on the hand that’s caressing the notebook, he looks towards Shuichi before gesturing back to Maki with his eyes like he was asking if the detective noticed, Shuichi grimaced. Maki looks at Shuichi, having noticed his uncomfortable expression. The detective could see the gears turning in Kaito’s head.

“What?” Maki asks. Chuckling to himself, Kaito sat up and leaned into the couch, throwing his arm around Maki’s shoulder and shaking her gently. She reaches up and pinches under his upper arm, he jumps and pulls his arm away from Maki, instead resting it on the back of the couch. For a short moment, Shuichi wonders why the academy had their dorm’s furniture drilled to the floor. What had the last class who lived in this dorm before them done?

“Don’t worry about it!” Kaito tries to reassure. “Now that Himiko’s back, we can probably ask her to put up a protective circle around the dorms!” 

Shuichi wonders what kind of conclusion Kaito had reached earlier. “But I thought you didn’t believe in the demon?” 

Kaito freezes. “Uh.” He grins nervously. “I don’t! I don’t, but what about the others? Maybe it’ll ease their nerves, y’know? Safety from the Cat demon.”

The demon… The demon was still roaming around campus at night, mostly inside the dorms of the ultimate courses and outside the building itself; Shuichi has heard a report of the “Demon” being seen behind the main building and that lately the cats on campus, a mixture of strays and student pets, have been following the Demon around; enough sightings of this has had the students begin to call the “demon” a Cat demon. Some students say that the supposed horns on the demon's head were not horns but, in fact, cat ears; their proof being the apparent claws the demon possessed that you could hear during the witching hour: the hour after midnight or three in the morning to four is also debated on the meaning. Shuichi wonders why so early in the morning. When the students weren’t allowed to be out unless submitting a form, Shuichi had asked the school if anyone had submitted any forms for this time; no had, of course, students sneaking out to roam campus hasn’t been a big issue so the school never bothered to do anything about it.

“FUCK FUCK ANGIE RUN!” 

Miu ran into the lounge area, her hair wild and her face flushed in exhaustion. She stumbled into Angie, who held her arms out and caught the taller girl, only stumbling back a bit before holding Miu and patting her blonde strands down. “Nyahahaha, Miu, I don't have the diary anymore.”

The blonde was panting, clearly tired from running around, she pulled away from the hug, “What?! She already got it?!!-” Angie chopped the top of Miu’s head, she wrapped her arms around the inventor’s shoulder and smiled.

“Nope! Maki took the diary from me. I don't know where Kirumi is. It seems Auta is displeased with my behavior as Auta won’t tell me, maybe she’s looking for me in my lab?” Angie brushes strands out of Miu’s face before adding. “Does Miu need help breathing~?” She teases, though the double meaning goes over Miu’s head as she leans her head back on Angie’s shoulder.

Near them Korekiyo giggles into his gloved hand, Kiibo looks away awkwardly while Koikichi stares on with a look of feign disgust on his features.

Shuichi hears a bit of shuffling; he turns away from the scene and watches Maki stand up with the diary in hand.

It seems like Angie picks up on it too. “Uh oh. Maki has a scary look.”

Kokichi cheers the angry girl on. “Yeah! Beat the sapphics up!”

Miu perks up. She meets the glaring gaze of the resident babysitter, slowly taking out the knife she had used to cut Rantaro and Kaito down. In a moment of panic, Miu points behind Maki. “SHIT HEY TOJO.”

Inconvenienced, Maki starts walking towards them. Behind her, where there was clearly no one, Kirumi quietly walked into the dorm’s lounge area holding folded clothing in her arms; wearing a scarily polite expression as she stood behind the couch, she gently placed a set of clothing in Kaito’s arms before speaking. “Miu Iruma. Angie Yonaga.” She starts, earning a squeak from Miu and Maki turning around in surprise. “I left some refreshments in Yonaga’s room, now if you’ll please.” She closed her eyes and bowed her head politely.

Kirumi walked around the couch and towards Rantaro who remained on the ground, he looked up at her from where he sat and gratefully accepted the clothes she offered him; then Kirumi made her way to stand beside Maki. 

Angie pouted for a moment before letting go of Iruma then immediately grabbing the blonde’s hand and pulling her out of the lounge area as quickly as possible, she offered a harmless smile towards Maki and Kirumi. “Atua smiles at your mercy, Atua wills that your goal reaches fruition! Angie guarantees it.” 

Shuichi notices the way Kirumi’s grip on her own hands, of which were folded at the front of her skirt, tightens at the notion of her goal.

The maid doesn’t bother sending them off with a look of displeasure, a look Shuichi has mentally noted was primarily reserved for Kokichi and people who insist that she take a day off when she’s in a bad mood. Instead, she turns her head to look at Maki who has long since hidden her blade, she smiles at her.

“Thank you, Maki. I apologize if this created any annoyance for you, I’d like to make this up to you, if you’d let me.” Kirumi offers, leaning her head down 

Maki shakes her head with a huff, she pushes the diary into Kirumi’s hands with an embarrassed flourish, though she makes no effort to push or step away from Kirumi. “It’s not an issue, those two shouldn’t have been messing with you, just… put that somewhere safe, I could change the lock to your room to stop them from breaking in again.” Maki’s gaze slips away from the girl in front of her, and it lands on anything that isn’t the maid. She shoves her hands into the pockets of her skirt.

Kirumi shakes her head. “I couldn’t burden you with that when you're so busy with your occupation and personal activities. I’ll be sure to keep it in a safe place,” The maid tilts her head, the movement catches Maki’s attention and Maki looks back at Kirumi. “You’re too kind, Maki.”

“Kirumi.” Maki responses. “You shouldn’t tolerate disrespect…”

Kaito pulls a shirt on with a thoughtful hum. He wears a happy look on his face, almost proud even, he beckons for Shuichi to come closer. 

Shuichi, not one to deny an offer to hear someone out, steps closer and away from the conversation between Kirumi and Maki. “Yes?”

Kaito leans in closer to Shuichi. “Y’know how I was going to start coaching you on raising your confidence and charisma with Kiibo?”

The detective has to admit he was praying that Kaito would forget, he wasn’t sure what had prompted Kaito to feel that Shuichi needed help with his confidence and charisma, but Shuichi couldn’t bring himself to deny Kaito’s help. After all, Kaito’s first offer for the two to workout together had indeed helped; Shuichi doubt he needed help with his confidence compared to his growing tolerance for allowing his peers to commit crimes with his permissionー Shuichi was certain that time Korekiyo had hypothetically asked what would be the punishment for breaking someone out of jail was before asking if Shuichi would be okay with it was definitely related to the recent jailbreak not even a week ago.

Instead of explaining he had no need to build up charisma, Shuichi nodded. “Yes, you said after our next training session.” 

“We should totally invite Makiroll. Maybe even Rantaro, if he’s free, we’re gonna need more hands-on deck.” Shuichi couldn’t help but feel a little offended, Kaito needed more people to help him build his charisma? The notion that he hadn’t at least a decent amount of charisma concerned him, what had Shuichi done to convince Kaito that he needed this.

Perhaps it’s been too long since someone has come into the seventy-ninth class’s dorm floor, as yet another group enters the dorms.

Kaede walks in with a neutral expression, following her is a concerned Gonta and a senpai from the seventy-seventh class, Shuichi couldn’t forget Nidai-senpai’s name, his introduction was very memorable. The pianist looks around the dorm in confusion, relieved that Himiko is here, then finally settling on looking content with the situation; she claps her hands and politely bows her head towards both Gonta and Nidai-Senpai. 

“Sorry for bringing you two here without actually having to do anything! Especially you, Nekomaru-Senpai!” Kaede apologizes.

Gonta steps farther into the lounge, before speaking loud enough to be heard. “Is Rantaro and Kaito okay?” Rantaro, now fully clothed though with messier than usual hair, offers Gonta a thumbs up then waving at Kaede who mouths something towards him. He shrugs at her. Kaito raises an arm to flex, to show off his well being, he even says the same. Gonta’s shoulders fall in relief.

“Gahahaha! Don't worry about it! Stuff happens, I’m glad you could come to me to help with an issue! By the way!” He turns to look around the room, the others’ attention land on him. “Are you guys' busy tonight? Mahiru’s hosting a movie night for Peko-san! and invited you guys to come!”

Kokichi responds with an interested coo. “Ooh~ Is there gonna be horror? Thriller?” He questions excitedly. Nidai-senpai looks pleased at the enthusiasm.

“YEEEEP! COURTESY OF HIYOKO! Of course, there’s comedy and all that other stuff if you're interested! Chiaki is even opening her room to play games if a movie is too much to handle.” He explains, next to Shuichi, Kaito shivers; whether from the cold, as he was still in his boxers, or from the promise of horror, Shuichi isn’t sure.

A giggle comes from Korekiyo. “What considerate Senpais we have… kehehe, I’ll come if you’ll allow it.” Beside him, Himiko also nods.

“I’ll go too.” Shuchi guesses he has to save his question for the mage for another time. If anything, he could try to compromise with sharing information he found for any Himiko knew.

“Of course!” Nidai exclaims joyfully.

Ibuki pouted as Peko followed Fuyuhiko and Sonia into the kitchen area to help them bring snacks, her source of heat now gone, Ibuki slouched into the couch. Next to her, separated only by a soft blanket that was used to hold up a bowl of popcorn to shareー of which was taken by Sonia, Gundham turned to look at her.

Right now, everyone was taking a ten-minute break to grab snacks, drinks, go to the restroom, or move to Chiaki’s room for Mario Kart instead of watching the horror movie Hiyoko and Miu were insistent on. On top of Gundham’s head, rested Jum-p, the other devas being spread out through the large lounge area, Ibuki was pretty sure San-D was with the underclassmen that Peko and Celestia hung out with. Harukawa? Ibuki wonders which meaning the girl had for Haru, was it hazelnut? Maybe spring? Ibuki personally thinks the spunky girl fit the hazelnut kanji more than spring, she kinda reminded her of a hazelnut in a way.

“Will you be enduring your incoming torment for the sake of your paramour?” He asks, it was an odd thing, for Ibuki to be utterly terrified of horror movies but for her twin, of which she shared much in common with, adored them; Gundham was possibly the most versed, aside from Celestia, in Ibuki’s discomfort with all things frightful.

Ibuki yawns and offers her brother a single finger gun. “Ibuki’s alright, I’m going to take this opportunity to nap on Pekopeko, instead of..” she gestured vaguely at the screen and at the silent amusement radiating off Hiyoko as she helped Mahiru put the movies they had already finished away. “This freaky shit.” she affirms, earning a hum from Gundham. Ibuki adores Peko, from how cool and badass she could be as well as how silly and awkward the swords lady is; she also finds it really cute and cheers on Peko with Fuyuhiko as the girl started taking up interests and hobbies recently. When Peko started developing an interest in the supernatural, specifically ghouls and demons as well as supernatural horror, Ibuki was very glad even getting her books and cute toys related to thisー but horror? That wasn’t for Ibuki to consume, in any media, she’s more than willing to sit with Peko as she reads a new horror novel while Ibuki does whatever her brain feels like working on, mostly lyric writing, but watching it? Watching something where people did their best to make you feel terrified, where they designed everything to make you feel absorbed in the horror; Ibuki would cry.

Seriously, she’d bawl her eyes out. Pop the ears of anyone near her with her bloody screeches. For good measure, she’ll wear an ear bud and listen to music while the others watch. “Do ‘ya have your phone? Pretty sure mine’s ‘bout to die.” Ibuki whimpers when Gundham shakes his head. “Fuck, *verdammte scheiße, I’ll just die I guess.” Well, it wasn't like she was gonna survive anyway with how good her hearing is.

As if listening to their conversation, Ibuki feels her phone vibrate against her thigh. She sighs, her battery was probably already in the single digits now. The musician shoves her hand on her plush blanket and into her pajama pants to fish out her phone, oddly enough her phone vibrates again, not at all like the way it would if her battery was low. Ibuki turns the device on and swipes down on the screen to read the notifications she had received; her phone at a healthy forty-eight percent surprisingly.

It was a message from their grandpa, his little trumpet icon next to his unread message. “Shit, *jiiji-chan sent me a Line message. Did we forget to call or something?”

Gundham scoffs. “We always call, anyone be damned to the circles of hell for forgetting. Perhaps *ojii-sama is simply checking in on us spawn.” Ibuki doesn’t miss the way her twin leans over slightly on his side to look at her screen, she adjusts herself so they can both see, scooting closer to him. “Will you heed his call?” Gundham asks simply.

He watches Ibuki mirror his own scoff, like the idea that she wouldn’t respond to their grandfather was laughable, she unlocks her phone and immediately goes to the bright green messaging app and responds to their grandfather with a happy sticker. The message he sends is simple: he wonders what day specifically their school break begins and if they’ll visit them then. Ibuki’s eyes halting on one word specifically. 

“When does… shyu- shyulferin? Start? Shyurufirin? Shuruferien?” Ibuki’s nose scrunches up in confusion. “We’ll visit when break, OH, *Schulferien!!” The musician gasps loudly as she finally pieces together what word their grandfather had tried using, actually, why is it that their grandpa found German easier to speak than Japanese? His birth language. “Damn, gramps might as well just write the word instead of using katakana. When does it start… Monday, right?” She begins typing back, Ibuki lets out an evil giggle when their grandpa responds with a mischievous looking sticker.

“You must appreciate our elder’s mastery of languages, ojii-sama must have found it bothersome to change keyboards to write in romaji. I wouldn’t have been able to substitute with katakana as easily.” Gundham praises. “That would be correct.” When he finishes, Ibuki sits up to adjust herself and leans back closer to Gundham to let him read the screen.

Their grandparents had been busy for a while, with their freelance tutoring service being their most laxed work as of late along with their grandmother’s efforts to help conserve historical lands; and since their family of five have finally had a time to reunite they were feeling impatient to see their grandkids. Grandpa Hyozan was checking in to ease the nerves of their grandmother, who was working on a small project. He mentioned that she was hoping they'll come by Monday so they can visit the re-opening of a local Pachinko parlor they used to frequent on Tuesday. That’d sure be nice, Ibuki wonders if the same gangster couple still ran it, last she heard their son finally entered junior high; it's been a while since the siblings have been in Utsunomiya, Celes probably missed the parlor. Ibuki certainly missed the gyoza and bulging the parlor served.

Suddenly, an idea struck Ibuki. Her twin recognizes the light in her eyes immediately, well he felt the girl vibrate with excitement first before that but still. Gundham could make a guess on what she was thinking. “There is nothing you can hide from me, Amdusias’ protégé, but very well! You have my support, my dear sister, let us first seek permission before we delve any further in your plot!” 

Ibuki grins and rubs underneath her nose sheepishly. “Muah-ha ha! Maybe use your mind-reader skills on everyone else instead of targeting me! Man, think it’d be okay to ask tho? Like I’m sure Sonia wouldn’t mind if you ask but I don’t wanna pressure Pekoko, not that I’m worried about *Obaa and *Jiiji saying no.” She worries, she had already been typing in the question, not yet wanting to send it, it would be kinda embarrassing if she asked if she could bring someone only to like not end up bringing them.

“I see…” It’s a curious thing, to be able to witness the gears shifting around in Ibuki’s head behind the scenes, to hear how loud and deafening silence can be without Ibuki’s casual screams and screeches. Gundham wonders how the other perceive his sister, so sure in her actions whether they be erratic or not, her words landing with each person with such precision meant to traverse through cracks of one's walls and bring nothing but good will and comfort. Leading Hiyoko to avoid rude language with offhand remarks, calming Kazuichi's anxieties with bad jokes, doing the right things at the right time, wrong things at convenient times, right things not meant for the time but fitting so well. Blunt and loud in the most powerful way possible, so effective with every word and chord she plays, it surprises Gundham sometimes that his sister was merely a master of instruments, what of her words? Of her timing? of her kindness and consideration? Gundham remembers not a single moment when his twin hadn't been considerate, even he who cared little of the lowly occurrences of the mortals around him couldn't find it in him to always consider the feelings of others before acting. Sometimes it was necessary, life was cruel, and some mortals simply gave up too soon; A wake up call and call to action for oneself is important but at times it's too much for some. It is a timing he cannot recognize, but his twin seems to read it as easily as her music notes. Is Gundham familiar with Peko's situation, no, but he can feel it, sense the awkwardness and unfamiliarity of living from the swordswoman; Ibuki has an even better understanding of the feeling, but she willfully doesn't dig for more, she simply loves and helps. Cooperates with Fuyuhiko once the blonde trusts enough with her, cheers with him for Peko, it's a familiar feeling for his sister. To help someone you care for, even as acquaintances, someone who accidentally becomes more deeply precious than previously thought. Gundham needs no words to understand, words simply don't do justice to the situation, the word situation doesn't even come close to being the proper word for this. But it is one, there are so many he can use, and none feel right. He may ponder in any language, consider but nothing can give him any enlightenment of the predicaments here. He understands that the idea of pressuring Pekoyama holds a grander significance to Ibuki that no mortal word could properly communicate, perhaps she could explain it with her music, nonetheless it's woefully important to Ibuki. Gundham, unlike his twin, has no idea what he could possibly say, would his wise words hold enough meaning for his sister to draw on? What did he know that she didn't? or vice versa? "Indeed, you care much for the human you deem your equal, there is no existence more troublesome than that of another so precious to you who has experiences vastly incomprehensible to you…"

Humans. Individuals. All were so difficult to understand, complexities upon complexities, many created by and many that simply escape humanity. Why were they the species to gain such complex thought, it's too much for a poor mortal, why else do myths and fantasy exist other to explain what is too complex to comprehend. He continues. "What is one's preference when they are discovering that themselves? It is natural for all beings to have thoughts and roots in experience that make life all the more predictable; sister, you are a soul who runs amok to be experienced as all souls do. Our efforts have never been for naught, nor have our failures, do you think yourself only deserving of the stress for success instead of living as you've done our whole lives? I accept your desire to avoid discomfort for someone you care for. I've experienced being on your end and the receiving end, however at the end of the day it is not up to you to decide if it would be unpleasant, no?"

Ibuki clicked her tongue. Without bothering to re-word her message, she had already sent the text to their grandpa, at that point it was too late to delete a message he had already seen. "Welp. Really shot me in the feels with your word arrows, how could humanity have survived this long without your words of wisdom magic man." She chuckled to herself, tilting her arm away from herself then dropping the phone into Gundham's lap. She sighs. "To tell ya the truth, kinda feel like shit now. You're right tho, gotta communicate before making assumptions about the whole thing, s'not set in stone y'know. Man, shit fucks." She concludes wisely. Gundham nods in agreement, it did indeed.

Gundham picks up the phone, the uneven layers of stickers and rivets glued to the phone case just as familiar in his hands as his own device. "Did you wish for me to forward the message to the lucky maiden?" He's already swiped out of the conversation with their grandpa when he asks, looking for Celestia on Ibuki's LINE.

"Celes? Duh, she's in my favorites list by the way," she points out, making the search conclude immediately once he switches tabs. "Think she'll get mad at me if I suggest inviting Kyoko?"

Gundham hums. "No." He says immediately. "She will, of course, deny any existence of a relationship vaguely despite not making an implication of it."

Ibuki snickers, throwing an arm over her eyes and throwing her legs on the backrest of the couch. "What are the chances she does ask?"

"The probability… is greater than zero. Remember our promise well, sister, no sharing photos without reason." Gundham lectures, he knows Ibuki well enough, as he forwards the message to Celestia, who is too busy flicking Yamada and arguing with Kuwata across the room where the twins sit while a few others cheer on or laugh. He glances up to read the situation, only to watch the detective his sister was interested in hand Celestia a rolled-up magazine, of which she quickly used to hit both boys on the head. The detective looking a bit proud. "Correction. It is very likely."

"Holy crap! *Baaba is totally gonna share our embarrassing stories, think I'd have enough time to make em promise not to talk about my gyaru phase when I was a kid?" Ibuki jokes.

Gundham almost snorts at the memory. The clothes, the makeup done by their neighbor, the slang, it was admirable of Ibuki, such a boldness in identity; looking back on it, he still admired how confident Ibuki was, still is, he just hadn't admired her sense of fashion. "Kehehe… Perhaps I'll have the great ones swear to divulge such cursed secret!" He shares.

Ibuki, having ended up upside down on the couch from her moving around trying to get comfortable, takes advantage of her legs' new closeness to Gundham head and kicks his shoulder. Further playful stomping on his shoulders has he now begins to cackle, not putting an ounce of effort into fighting back.

Just wait till they realize their grandparents were definitely the type to share stories of their grandchildren, especially photos.

1. verdammte scheiße: Dammit! Shit!
2. じいじ・おじい　(jiiji | ojii): Jiiji and Ojii mean grandpa, however Jiiji is equivalent of saying gramps (considered baby speak like papa) whereas Ojii (usually followed by suffix like -san or -chan) means grandpa, grandfather, or grandad. All meaning the same thing, but the suffix is an indication of respect.
3. Schulferien: School break. The katakana that is referenced to be used is:

   シュルフェリエン. or written in romaji is: Shuruferien. foreign words or known as loan words are written in Katakana, which is different from hirigana and kanji mostly seen in Japanese. However, Schulferien is not a loan word, but it is foreign. which is why I used katakana, as you can see the way it's spelt in German and how it would be spelt in romaji Japanese is different, that is because the katakana form is how it would be pronounced. Take for instance, the name Lisa: there is no L sound in japanese so they'll subsitutue the name with a character from the R- row to write it and pronounce it so Lisa becomes リサ (Risa) or lemon becomes レモン(remon) or Lopez becomes ロペス(ropesu)

4. おばあ・ばあば (obaa | baaba): similar to above with Jiiji, both mean grandma. Obaa + any suffix like chan or san, means grandmother while Baaba is baby speak for grandma or nana. Using Obaa without a suffix, like Ibuki did, is considered very casual, I consider it to be similar to baby talk, but some may consider it disrespectful. A way to refer to your grandparents that is both causal and polite is Obaa-chan and Ojii-chan. Unless you are describing them to someone else who isn't family then they have to be referred to as Sofu (Grandpa) and Sobo (Grandmother).

 

1 & 3 are german words. 2 & 4 are japanese.

Chapter Text

Celestia was going to murder Hifumi. Taeko was going to beat Hifumi. It doesn't really matter, this Identity crisis trying to be handled as simply as possible without suffering an inevitable breakdown, because either way, Hifumi was not going to be safe from her wrath.

She could’ve sworn that she had never gone to a convention when she was aware that Hifumi would be there, and if she did she made sure to stay the hell away from his booth, if the venue fit the bar, even avoiding the floor and room all together if she had to be at the same event; all in all she's only been to six conventions he had happened to be at, all of which she avoided him as if he were the black death incarnate. Celestia would rather be shot dead than bump into anyone of these cretins she has been cursed to share classes with at any convention. It should be impossible for him to recognize her, Celestia won't admit it but she doesn't keep such strict tabs on her peers, if Hifumi were to attend a convention or event as only a guest, she wouldn't really know nonetheless he shouldn't be able to recognize her, Celestia would've been donning her cosplays. She played it safe enough, never cosplaying at his conventions in the rare case he did catch a glance of her, this was to prevent him from recognizing her in anime-like makeup and cosplay at other conventions he wasn't working at.

Celestia may have given an amused tut at the notion that Hifumi had seen her at a convention; she worked too anxiously and secretly to allow that to ever happen. He calls her over to his conversation with Makoto, Sayaka, and Junko to give him some pointers on some character’s costume design for a collaboration in one of the magazines he publishes for, in relation to this conversation he calls their resident gambler over because surely, she should know something about idol costumes with how much knowledge she has about fashion and clothing design. Which was Celestia's original thought on why he had assumed she knew about idol costumes, she did in all honesty, until he started talking about cosplay.

Now, after the defensive tone from Hifumi as he has yet to realize the danger, he put himself in, Celestia stood shakily as Sayaka and Aoi— who of course overheard the conversation considering she sat in front of Sayaka’s desk— with Sayaka humming to herself about how cute she could be as an idol. Makoto, with better — still not to say good— survival instincts, stays out of the conversation the girls are having about Celestia dressing as an idol, he even tries to stop Hifumi from further digging through his bag to pull out whatever evidence he had. For the moment, luck is not on the boy's side. 

“I swear…” The mangaka mutters, he sets a camera and pencil pouch on the edge of Sayaka's desk. “I recognized the cosplay, what was the girl's name… she's from the Love Live franchise.” He further shares completely glossing over the fact that he was talking about Celestia cosplaying of all things, he doesn't for a second doubt that it was Celestia. The fact that the others readily believe him as he continues talking about it. Celestia immediately knows what he's talking about, who he's talking about and when. She has half the mind to smack him right now, if only Sayaka doesn't snap her fingers in recognition.

The pop idol pokes at the pencil pouch, poking it till it falls on its side for her to see the character on the side, princess piggles. Aoi giggles when she looks over at the camera, recognizing the infamous fairy baby otter while Sayaka notices too with a smile then speaks. “I really liked that series, me and the girls binged it to get formation ideas back before our first performance together. Plus the songs were nice.” she admits with a bashful laugh. Finally, she grabs the camera and examines the cute design on it. “Where'd you get this Chiitan camera? It's so cute!” 

Junko, who was sitting on the neighboring desk quietly, surprisingly well behaved at the moment, hops off and leans over Sayaka's shoulder and plucks the camera from the girl’s hands. Almost causing Sayaka to fall off the desk she was sitting on. Examining the camera herself, she raises a brow before her eyes slowly slide towards Celestia with a cheeky grin. A knowing look on her face as she snorts before going back to looking at the camera. The blonde agrees on the cuteness with a dramatic gag before dumping the camera back in Sayaka's hands.

Celestia is then hit with the realization that Hifumi was likely looking for that very camera. 

He turns around before letting out a triumphant huff, Sayaka gently drops the camera into his outstretched hand. “There it is!” Which confirms Celestia's fear. “Oh, I got it custom painted in Susaki, they don't have official merchandise of Chiitan but there's an online shop and I have a friend who does custom paints over there, he offered me another custom paint in addition to the one I asked for.” He explains, Hifumi starts scrolling through the pictures he has before grinning once he finds it. 

Unsure of what to do, Celes freezes in place, instead staring at Hifumi with a mixed expression between surprise and confusion and bloodlust. “Ah! It was Yoshiko-sama!” He confirms looking up, almost flipping the camera so the others can see it. Hifumi meets Celestia's embarrassed glare then freezes on the spot, finally processing the danger he's been in; once it dawns on him, he simply lets out a nervous chuckle. He repositions the camera in his hand, keeping it pressed against his uniform so even the light of the screen doesn't leak through. Celestia really wants to hit him, despite this she promised last night that she wouldn't hit the boys, specifically Hifumi and Leon, up the head so much. Her not hitting him at all at the moment was the only thing keeping her from breaking that promise, though she could only hold back her anger for so long. 

“Yamada.” She warns, her glare sharpens the moment Hifumi tenses up nervously and looks over to the side away from her angry glare. Sayaka and Aoi look back between Celestia and Hifumi before the idol begins holding back an amused giggle while Aoi joins Makoto in giving Hifumi an apologetic look. “Hand over the camera.” The gambler orders coldly, barely able to hide the utter shame and embarrassment she was wallowing in.

The grin that splits across Junko’s face is very telling, Celestia should've expected that the blonde could not stay quiet or behave for so long. Junko cups her hands around her mouth and turns to face another group of people, the first to notice is her twin sister, who sighs already having an idea of what was gonna happen. The trio, made up of Mukuro, Kyoko, and Leon, were in charge of coming up with drills for their physical education class since their PE teacher was sick and their Homeroom teacher was the sub: Monokuma sensei was not going to teach so he handed it over to those three. Junko is only encouraged by her sister's reaction. “Hey, Kyoko! Come see a photo of your wife in cosplay!”

“Fluffy,” Junko moves one arm to lay on her hip before turning back to Hifumi and pointing towards the trio. “Give ‘em the camera.”

Celestia almost growls. “Yamada.” She hisses back again at the terrified boy; his eyes widened as his mouth gaps and tries to defend himself from the two glaring at him. “Hand. Me. The Camera.” She drills into the boy, holding a handout expectantly, Junko starts snickering where she stands. 

The damn baseball player laughs loudly and in disbelief as he walks closer, getting a better view of the scene. Aoi elbows him to silence him. 

“Uh- W… Well, um- ano.. ah-” Hifumi stammers nervously, his nerves choking him as he tries to find words to get himself out of the situation. 

Junko doesn't look all that impressed by Celestia's intimidation. The blonde then raises a brow at Hifumi. “Oi, Fluffy, Remember what's at stake.” She recalls, causing Hifumi to pause before glancing at the camera in his hands thoughtfully. He avoids meeting eyes with Celestia as he looks around everywhere and at everything except for what is in her direction. So, Junko decided to finally blackmail Hifumi, Celestia's curious on what it was, but not at her own expense.

After a long laboriously silent pause. Hifumi looks at Celestia before bowing his head apologetically then turning away from her about to get out of his seat.

Celestia pales. She rushes forward and grabs at Hifumi’s head, sneaking her fingers under his glasses and putting enough pressure on his closed eyes to keep him from opening them lest he wants his eyes stabbed out, Celestia pulls him back into the seat. Her face took on a deep and embarrassed flush. “Yamada!” She cries, keeping him down in his seat while Hifumi continues his attempts to get up. Whatever blackmail or threat Junko had over him must be horrible if Hifumi was willing to go against her wishes so easily. “Yamada, if you don't drop that camera so help me *Je vais briser toutes les articulations de ta main. Je vais te tuer.” She threatens, pointedly ignoring the cackles from Junko. Hifumi doesn't give up despite the threat. 

Fair enough, Hifumi only takes the English courses for the multilingual graduation requirement. “Yamada-!” Another laugh. Celestia pauses in her struggle to keep Hifumi down when she realizes his shoulders are shaking, he's laughing.

Hifumi is laughing. 

Celestia's gonna kill him. Oh, how Celes regrets leaving her clawed ring at her dorm.

Realizing that she weakened her hold, Hifumi, still laughing happily, actually stood up this time. Celestia pouts and angrily digs her nails into his closed eyes causing him to yelp loudly and halt in his spot which in turn sparks more laughter from Junko and sets off laughter from Sayaka. Hifumi holds his hands out in front of him, waving them a bit as if that'll help in his efforts to escape the gambler, though he's still laughing freely. Celestia suspects that he's doing this jokingly. This doesn't relieve an ounce of her embarrassment nor her anger.

Celestia manages to pull him back into his seat then reaches over Hifumi’s shoulder, he squeaks and stretches his arms out to keep the camera out of her reach. Hoping that it would help her, considering how helpless Hifumi was without them, she pulls his glasses off and throws them onto Makoto’s lap who jumps in his spot. Hifumi turns his body so his camera would be further out of reach, though this doesn't stop Celestia from trying to smack the camera out of his hand. If it breaks Celes would just buy him a new, more expensive one.

Taking this as his cue, Leon moves closer and stands in front of the struggling Hifumi and angry Celestia thoughtfully. He stupidly grins before leaning forward and making a show of plucking the camera from Hifumi’s waving hand, running his own hand through his ginger hair while looking at the photos on the camera since the photo was changed throughout the struggle. Celestia notices too late to do anything as Leon hums dancing around the classroom with the camera in hand, he keeps the desks between himself and Celestia knowing better to get close and tempt fate. The gambler releases the mangaka, though not without pinching and pulling his cheeks till he whines in pain and his cheeks a bloody red from the punishment.

Leon whistles when he gets to the start of some cosplays. “Fuck…. Look at you Hifumi, some of these are your characters! Good for you-!” Leon slides behind Mondo as he and Kiyotaka begin walking back to their desks, narrowly dodging the seething Celestia. He snickers and jumps over another desk then races back to the front of the class, holding the camera securely in his arms all the while laughing at the glare Celestia sends him. Leon goes back to scrolling through the camera. “I have no idea who Yoshiko-sama is, but I kinda wanna see Celes in cosplay too. Gotta support the bestie's career, y'kno-” As he skips over to sit on the teacher's desk at the front of class, Kyoko nudges his foot as he walks past her. The baseball player turned musician lets out an embarrassing squeal of surprise.

Kyoko catches the camera as Leon stumbles and crashes into the desk, of which his torso hits the sharp edges hard, just before he catches his face with the surface of the desk. An uncomfortable smack sounded from it earning a collective wince from the others and pleased laughter from Junko. Leon groaned painfully whilst he slid to his knees, in the process you could hear the moment he peeled his face off the desk and the metal on wood thuds as the lower bead on his goatee smacked against the side of the desk.

Kyoko cruelly doesn't offer a glance towards the suffering musician; she places the chalk in her hand back on the shelf connected to the blackboard before walking back towards Hifumi's group in the middle of the class. She holds the camera close to her side, making sure the screen had no way of being seen by the others now that the group had caught the attention of everyone, including those just barely walking in. 

Celestia steps around the desks and intercepts Kyoko's path, her arms crossed in annoyance. The two pause, taking the moment to stare at each other having their own wordless conversation, like they usually do, especially recently when they have company present. It's kind of laughable, pitiful, and frustrating to watch; I mean, the class just got done with watching the gambler and doujin artist struggle over the camera, watched Leon take said camera then painfully crash into desk because Kyoko purposefully tripped him then took the camera herself, and now the two who claim to not be dating— they must be dating, like these two could not be this obvious about each other, at this point it's on purpose or they genuinely think that their status is a decently kept secret; it's debatable which ones worse— are now having this telepathic conversation. This moment happens so often it's simply missing Junko shouting at the two for eye-fucking each other.

Before Junko takes a calming enough breath to actually yell her eye-fuckers allegations, Kyoko nods at Celestia, before raising the camera— making sure to cover the screen with her hand— and gently placing it in Celestia's hands. Kyoko's eyes return to meet Celestia's own, brimming with embarrassment and with slight tears creeping out from the corners to escape down her pretty face, the detective reaches her free hand up to wipe away the gambler’s embarrassed tear from one side before cupping the other side of Celestia's face in her hand and using her gloved thumb to wipe away the remaining developing tear. “Eyelash.” Is Kyoko's excuse for the action, like she didn't just cup the gambler's face and leave it there for a second longer than usual— usual for other people who remove an eyelash from their friend's face, completely normal touching between the two girls still just standing there looking at each other.

While those close enough to hear the excuse, already know the longer touching was just a them thing, they don't suspect that it was because the gambler was close to tears.

Still standing awkwardly at the door, is Toko and Makoto's little sister: Komaru carrying boxes into the classroom. The writer wears a disgusted expression walking into the interaction, she notices Leon on the floor. Before looking back at Komaru who looks at everyone in disbelief.

“What the hell happened?” The younger asks. She placed the boxes down besides the desk, jumping back in surprise when Leon lays himself down into the floor clutching his stomach and silently laughing in pain. Toko drops the boxes haphazardly and picks up her bag from where she left it on a desk near the door, with a tired sigh.

Junko lets her laughter die down into a slight wheeze as she catches her breath. “Kuwata fucked around and found out, now the queers are eye-fucking each other.” She answered with a face displaying her clear amusement, the blonde’s face still flushed from her suffocating laughter. The pair in question pull away, Celestia's normal unreadable expression and unchanging smile still graces her features; she holds up Hifumi's camera before dropping it in his open bag on the floor. A muffled clatter following her action.

Hifumi's attention stays on Celestia, then he notices the SD card in her hand. His eyes widened in realization. “Wait! I’ll delete the photo!” He begs; that card, a simple 128 gigabyte SD card has about ten thousand photos on it at the moment that he has procrastinated on uploading most onto his other drives and devices, on that card alone he has photos from the past three years of conventions and other events that he has attended. Many are photos he doubts he could ever take again. “I have never done anything wrong but be a fella with special interests.” He lies.

Celestia hums in feign consideration, before snapping the card in-between her fingers in a single quick motion. “I taught you to lie better and be more convincing than that, Yamada. Being a fool doesn't make you an adored jester, karma doesn't discriminate.” She lets half the card fall to the ground, specifically the top half without the pins. Celestia then turns, her free hand reaching out and tugging the string bow of Kyoko’s uniform to follow her.

“I'm coming too?” Kyoko asks, smoothly grabbing her bag from her desk, as she freely follows the gambler even after she drops the bow to the uniform they rarely wore.

Celestia answers curtly. “You are the least annoying company in this room, dear.” She was still rather irritated, doing her best not to show anything more after that embarrassing display of embarrassment. Instead of physically hurting Hifumi, she'll settle on a bit of emotional torture, less work that way, and not at all because she cared for these people. Even if she had to sacrifice an empty SD card she had on her which was coincidentally identical to the one of Hifumi's she broke moments ago.

“Annoying though.” Kyoko points out.

“Mainly to the peace of my heart.” She discloses as she steps out of view past the doorway, everyone watches the two walk out, following after Toko who had dragged Komaru to leave with her instead of watching whatever was happening in the class.

With a clap of her hands. Junko brushes the hair of her pigtails that had fallen on her shoulders back before sighing and making her way towards a window. “Well, since Kuma-Sensei isn't returning and neither is anyone who isn't in here right now, I'mma ditch the rest of today.” She opens the window with a crazed grin, she hops on to the windowsill.

“Junko, I swear…” Mukuro blankly watches as her sister winks at her with some pose, she uses in most of her model shoots. 

Predictably, Junko salutes dramatically before crossing her arms across her chest then allowing herself to fall backwards out of the window. Mukuro sighs once again, then walks up to the window. She peeks over the window and sees no sign of her twin sister except the falling of leaves and shaky branches waving against the weak breeze on the trees stories below. Mukuro shakes her head, they were practically on the thirtieth floor, and her sister was complaining just this morning that her heels were always breaking. She wonders why. “... That's Unfortunate.”

Their class needs constant supervision.

1. Je vais briser toutes les articulations de ta main. Je vais te tuer: I'll break every joint in your hand. I'll kill you.

1 is very obviously French. I also need to remind everyone that I am not fluent in French and rely mostly on GTL and the fact that I am fluent in other languages like English and Spanish (also knowing very very very basic French words and structures) which help a great deal with context clues and knowing vaguely how linguistics work.

Bored, Kyoko leans her head against her fist as she reads through some files, she highly doubts Celestia would be pleased to see her reading them in their class's lounge area at two in the morning instead of sleeping, even if the files in question weren't actually for work. Though Celestia would be a hypocrite if she got mad at her for not sleeping, neither of the two slept the night before after the movie night. Sneaking off to their hideaway in their dorm’s designated library when the dorm mother walked in and busted everyone, so they snuck off during the madness of everyone scattering to avoid trouble. The closest either of them got to a nap was when they returned from class to relax in the hideaway, despite Kyoko's best efforts she couldn't get the gambler to rest nor herself— not that she was trying to sleep. 

She tosses the stolen files of the ultimate sniper: Unogasai Rui onto the coffee table closest to her. Kyoko plans to give them to Shuichi when she gets the chance to see him, after she gives them to Amelia-Senpai to print extra copies of. She had known that Yumeno had been missing for quite some time and had only returned four hours before the movie night started, Shuichi already had some clues and hints to what was happening with Unogasai, Kyoko is certain that he possibly already had worthwhile theories to work with. She's tempted to help him, watching Shuichi stumble a bit throughout his investigation made her worry, but surely, she was in his position last year. Bubbling and making mistakes she was too late or under prepared to handle, she learned from those moments, and she knows Shuichi can learn from his own, comparatively, he works much more efficiently though heavily relying on his book smarts.

She returns her eyes to the other two files in her hand. Kyoko could at least help by giving him the detailed student profile of the person he was looking into. Though Celestia would surely tease her about babying the younger detective.

The other two files in her hands, were of students who committed crimes during the process of their scouting as ultimates and their personal ultimate projects: very few students were given this assignment before enrollment, this was to specify what their talents were, Kyoko had to do this “project” as well since her talent as the ultimate detective was vague enough to warrant specification. Compared to the specifics of Shuichi and Watson Senpai’s ultimates as the ultimate homicide detective and the ultimate undercover detective.

From the quick glance she gave each folder beforehand, the two were students who were supposed to be apart of their year's student batches, in fact the two students seemed to be highly encouraged to attend the academy as their reports detail the scouts’ and school's attempts to convince the two students and their families to allow them to attend. There was just two issues, the ultimate creator, Kounoshima Kazuho was declared expelled with only a week worth of attendance to his name before the most recent part of his file reported that he was declared missing and the ultimate actor, Geiarashi Joan has apparently been an active student this entire time despite not having even an hour of attendance on her record, and Kyoko is fully aware that Hope's Peak has rules that allow students to not attend classes if they choose not to without any repercussions so long as they pass the class— gods know how often her class, herself included, utilize it to leave class as often as they do— however the latter of the two, Geiarashi, is apparently in their class. 

Their crimes? Kounoshima’s project included making jewelry and painting with a rare mineral he had acquired—the name of the mineral, curiously, censored throughout— allegedly people possessing his handmade jewelry began suffering from hysteria and concerningly intense bouts of greed that lead to multiple murders, separately the paintings were sent to private art galleries where all except one experienced a massacre at the hands of the purchaser. Collectively, nearly three hundred people have died, investigators linked the jewelry and paintings to Kounoshima as the mineral used in the jewelry and grinded into the paint were incredibly radioactive and the only painting without the mineral was sent to a beloved friend of Kounoshima's. It has been determined that he had done this on purpose, and he refuses to reveal how he obtained the mineral as well as why he was unaffected. On the other hand, Geiarashi, in her attempt to prove her ability in acting, created an elaborate story that was to be captured in reports from real news sources— the plot she handed to her scout to follow along— which was so well performed that national security in multiple countries had put a hit on her fictional cult organization of which committed multiple “murders'' and “crimes'' throughout the globe. This cult, with reportedly thousands of members, Kyoko had even heard of and at one point was considered to look into it, was only one girl with impeccable timing and acting. While her crimes—a majority falling under war crimes and crimes against humanity— were all fake, she was labeled a terrorist when it was revealed. She was not arrested, so long as Geiarashi didn't reveal what she had done and how horribly most governments were at handling an apparent national threat. Kyoko found that the most amusing and impressive.

Mostly because Kizakura-Sensei, the scouter for Geiarashi, kept leaving comments about how funny it all was to him and the student. He has a model of his own severed head that the actor had made as a gift, now she has a story to that, made with the same precision that they had with the other “corpses” that were all deemed— after her confession and another examination— fake.

Not having favorites he claims, Kyoko has to admit he's as much of a terrible liar as he is bothersome. Though she still can't really find it in her to really hate him despite how annoying he is when checking in on her, for her father he claims. She wonders why he bothers lying about why he does it, to a detective of all people.

She sighs at the thought as her focus trails away from the files. Kyoko finds Kizakura to be a good guy, frustratingly obvious about his “long gone” feelings for her father and his annoyingly carefree attitude whenever he barges into whatever room she's into check-in, he's a bit hopeless, flirting with her dad as easily as her breaths and coming to her to whine and ask for advice. She wonders, since she's aware that Kizakura has developed a soft spot for her, if he'll answer questions about this mysterious student in their class.

Was this why Monokuma-Sensei never lets anyone else in the class do attendance despite pushing literally most other aspects of his job to the class, especially when he was hung over?

Kyoko files away that question for later, she'll ask Monokuma then go through his laptop after he predictably refuses to give her an actual answer. 

Hearing the door to their dormitory open, Kyoko perks up. She was a bit worried; Celes had been gone for three hours despite the self-imposed two hour limit she gave herself; the gambler even had her phone with her so Kyoko would at least have peace of mind when the girl went out for her late walks. Perhaps the detective was simply being impatient. 

Her excitement is immediately diminished when she hears a familiar voice yawn and another familiar voice immediately shushing the other. Kyoko sinks back into the couch, her gaze going back to the folder open to Kounoshima's file. She couldn't really find it in herself to bother looking into whatever operation the twins were doing, so long as they didn't get caught, although Kyoko doesn't know the specifics she knew enough to know that Yukizome-Sensei had a similar goal and it would work out for everyone if Kyoko stayed out of it unless called upon; depending on who called her, she'll cooperate.

Despite the insistent hushes from Mukuro, Junko slyly slides into the lounge stopping where the lounge’s polished wood met the checkered floor of the dormitory’s entrance hall in her indoor slippers, striking a pose and holding up a victory sign. On the other hand, she holds a white plastic bag with what looks like multiple glass bottles and the shape of her shoes inside as well as dark loose stains that are not blood, like the blood staining the gyaru’s sleeves and edge of her light brown sweater, most likely it was just mud that caked up on her shoes. The blonde notices her then nods her head in acknowledgement, Junko bounces over to the detective as her sister pops her head out over the corner and groans at being “caught”. 

Junko plops herself down on the armrest of the couch where Kyoko had been leaning her elbow on, she makes no move to hide the files as Junko shoves her arm out of the way and peeks at the folders, the faint scent of some kind of alcohol beneath her heavily scented perfume wafting off her, Kyoko barely picks it up. She whistles as she glances over the open pages of the file, Kounoshima's most recent photo poking out from the top. “Oh hey, I stole all of this guy's jewelry from the vault. Didn't cause any mass hysteria like I heard it would, a bunch of bullshit. I was looking forward to the despair as people got consumed in greed and massacre.” Junko shares, disappointment clear in her tone. Mukuro shakes her head at her sister as she places the box, she had been carrying down on the couch opposite to the one Kyoko sat on. Her eyes landed on the new bracelet Junko has been sporting the last week. It was a very pretty piece, gold molded into mini vines that slithered around her wrist holding up five jewels, four small gems that circled the bigger main one. The centerpiece of the bracelet, Kyoko guesses it's the censored mineral, was a swirl of colors the main being an obsidian black yet where the light hit showed an array of colors picked straight from rainbows.

“The paintings were allegedly behind the massacres.” Kyoko corrects, flipping the file and fixing the loose photo back into the paperclip on top, positioning it to sit over his student photo on the student report.

The blonde gleefully looks at Mukuro. “D’ya think the paintings are also in the vault?” Her twin looked back up from her hand, the one she used to wipe something off her face, blood, and was staring at in surprise before shaking her head.

“I didn't notice any paintings.” She admits, grabbing the bottom of her black tank and using that to wipe the blood off her face then cleaning off her hands. Kyoko wonders if she has gotten a little too comfortable with her classmates committing crimes, not a single alarm was going off in her head at the sight of the two partially covered in blood.

Junko rolls her eyes. “I literally asked you to tell me if all mister creator’s shit was in there, like it was your one job.” The sound of something being thrown to the ground is accented by wrinkled plastic and anxiety raising clattering, the sound confirming the glass bottle in the bag. Kyoko hopes they haven't broken, she knows Junko won't clean it.

“That's unfortunate, you told me to look for the jewelry not the artwork.” Mukuro corrects, she picks up the box and repositions it to sit comfortably in her arms. Kyoko notices the way Mukuro pauses when she looks down at the Unogasai’s file as she walks past the table.

“Nuh uh. You deaf or something? Eat shit.” She raises her hand to flip off her sister, the bracelet, a little loose on her wrist, aligning with gravity, the gem as it was the heaviest falls in Kyoko's line of sight. The censored mineral, instead of the black and rainbow reflective surface it had, is a reddish brown taken straight from the red hues of healthy earth.

“You’re noisy.” 

Kyoko watches their back and forth before shaking her head and looking back at the blood on both of them. “Whose blood is that?” She asks.

The two stop their back and forth, Junko scoffs and raises a brow. “Why do you care?”

She doesn't really. Well, she should, but if it's the people that Kyoko was thinking of, she really didn't have any qualms with it. Though… her morals; hurting someone and killing them were different things that she can take up with her morals and decide where they fit on her moral scale some other time. “I don't. Unless they're dead.”

“Mostly.” Mukuro shrugs and digs through the box with one arm, pushing folder upon folders to the side of the box for whatever she was looking for.

Junko whines before wrapping an arm around Kyoko's shoulder and shaking the girl as she feigns crying. “My evil sister wouldn't let me kill anyone! Can you believe her!” The gem had become a deep blue, Kyoko's first thought was that the jewelry was essentially an elaborate set of mood rings.

Mukuro’s usually preventing her sister from committing serious crimes, Kyoko isn't the least bit surprised that murder was one of those things. “A tragedy.”

“It could've been!” Junko agrees, she throws herself off the arm rest, falling directly on top of the files in her lap and of course staying on her lap to complain. Kyoko almost pushes her off, the strong smell of the blonde's perfume gives her a slight headache on top of her distaste for people entering her personal space unwarranted “Oh! The despair! I could've started a murder mystery and slowly killed off the staff and students.” The blonde catches sight of the blood stains on her sleeves before glaring in annoyance at it then she looks back at Kyoko. “Why'd you ask?”

Kyoko frees her trapped arm from underneath Junko, pulling out the two folders. The temptation to push the blonde off is strong, but she knows that Junko was trying to annoy her, she won't give her the satisfaction. “Hydrogen peroxide is in the storage room. Clean that with soapy lukewarm water, washers won't get it out by itself.” She advises, examining the now creased folders, Kounoshima’s folder having the most though they could easily be flattened out.

“Thanks, I’ll use that to clean all the blood all over my room. How much would l need for the mess all over the walls, down the steps, out to the shed, and on the power tools and some plastic bags and a big wooden box outside?” Junko inquired, a snicker on her tongue as she spoke.

“That only works for fabrics last I checked; you could try if you want. I doubt anyone would look into it.” Kyoko switches the order of the folders, moving the creator below the actor. Junko, better behaved than Kyoko was expecting considering the girl was clearly not sober judging by the smell of wine from her breath, reaches an arm out and rather gently pulls the folder out of her hands. The gyaru twists herself, she was still on Kyoko's lap who was becoming more annoyed by the second, so that she would be lying on her stomach and begins flipping through the files.

While she hums curiously, Mukuro drops two more folders on the table. Kyoko can only raise a curious brow at the mercenary as Mukuro once again fixes the box more securely in her arms. She meets the detective’s questionative stare. “His pictures are in that top one too.” She nods to the folders, then Mukuro walks over to pick up the bag Junko dropped on the floor. “Heard Saihara was investigating Unogasai, you have a copy, but we happened to have the more updated one. Maybe you'll find something there.”

Junko twists her head to stare at her sister questioningly. “Aren't you training with her? Thought you militia types had rules or something: comrades before the straps or whatever.” 

“I don't like her.” Mukuro shares.

Junko wears a suspicious look. “You like people??”

Kyoko watches Mukuro take the bag in her hand and swing it to the back of the blonde's head, before quickly walking off— noticeably walking with a bit of uncertainty in her steps— before Junko could catch up as if she hadn't just hit her sister in the back of her head. Junko though has the last hit as she sits up and takes off one of her slippers, in a quick motion she aims then throws the fuzzy slipper and perfectly hits Mukuro square in the head. Though Mukuro doesn't react to the attack, she does turn to look at her sister expectantly. 

The twins have a silent conversation between themselves, with Junko silently and very expressively reacting to the blank and barely communicative facial changes that Mukuro wore. Junko sighs exasperatedly before lazily twisting her body and dumping the open folder back into Kyoko's lap, Kyoko's glad that those files were actually stapled together otherwise they definitely would've gone all over the place, the model picks herself off the couch before pointing an authoritarian finger at her. 

Junko winks suggestively. “Hey, Detective, tell me if you find this chick’s contact info. She seems like a crier. Sankyuu~” She casually orders before walking off to go bother her sister, Kyoko only gives her another nod. She most likely won't, for the sake of the actor, although she's an ex-wanted criminal, no one really wanted to be bullied by Junko. Even if the blonde was more verbally vulgar and disrespectful than she was outright abusive.

With a tired sigh, Kyoko fixes the folder, picking up the recent photo that had fallen onto the couch and slipping it back under the paperclip that was holding it before, then begins to read it through properly after reaching out to quickly fix the folders into an orderly stack. She'll have to remember to ask Mukuro about the vault, and to examine the jewelry herself, Kyoko didn't expect that she'd actually be able to gain more information about the missing student without having to sneak back into the Student Archives, Pupil Hall, or any of the other offices for more files. Kyoko was pretty certain that the staff there were starting to catch on that people have been sneaking in, it really speaks to Watson Senpai's counterfeit copies of the files they keep borrowing that they haven't suspected they've swapped. On second thought, it was more likely staff were aware of these two sneaking in than them.

“Oh hey!” Junko calls out from the hallway leading to the dorm rooms, Kyoko doesn't turn around towards the noise. Instead, she collects the three folders on the table and stacks them on her lap below the folder of the actor. “Bee-tee-dubs tell Celes she can keep the champagne! Our thanks for scaring off that weirdo stalker, girl should be here soon! bai-bai!” The sounds of her skipping soon follow, growing quieter the further she moves down the hall. 

Kyoko pushes the folders off her lap, and haphazardly shoves them to the empty seat on the couch beside her. She pauses. Her body felt too idle, like it needed to move, too uncomfortable in her skin, but something, something in the rational part of her brain keeps her cemented in her seat. There was nothing to be afraid of, worried about, but damn Enoshima for not elaborating. She quickly lists off the potential stalkers in her head, checking off the unlikely. There were always journalists, they were harmless even the most stubborn and more of a nuisance than anything— they hate coming at night so it's unlikely, peepers and borderline stalkers were always harmless and were easily intimidated, other students who were simply roaming were of course no threat or friends of students who were trying to not be caught trespassing also no threat. Anyone who was even remotely a concern wouldn't exactly be outside at night, they were mostly out in the day, not that those obsessed amateurs were actually good at spying on people— or at least from Kyoko's experience. 

Well, there were the outliers. None of which would be in the area at this time, or still out at all if Shinsou was doing his rounds.

Also, the fact that it was Junko who used the word stalker. It was entirely possible that someone had merely recognized the famous gyaru girl, and Junko, being Junko, was purposefully saying that to rile the detective up.

As if on cue, the door to enter their class's dormitory clicks open before being shut gently. Then came oddly heavy steps, down the wooden floor. 

Kyoko finally finds the strength to stand now that her worry was irrelevant, she walks over to the corner where the entrance hall opened into the lounge, able to feel the coldness of the tiles despite her feet being separated from it by the soles of her slippers. “Celes, Are you alright?” She calls out before turning the corner, knowing that Celestia was highly cautious about letting anyone see her during or after her late walks. She can't help the cool relief that overcomes her as her eyes land on the gambler.

“Kyoko?” Celestia holds a champagne bottle close to her chest with one arm, with her other free hand she's tugging her facemask down, her lips curiously thinned out. Kyoko finds herself watching Celestia's eyes widening just a bit in surprise before they slowly relax into a slightly annoyed stare. The detective walks closer as Celestia fixes her a disappointed glare, the detective can guess why. 

“Kyoko.” Celestia grumbles, now fixing the hoodie on her head. The black hoodie was just a tad bigger than the gambler's body, the helm of it reaching to just below her mid thigh, the two strips of ribbons that hang from the side fall just below the knee, the fake cat ears on her hoodie casting an odd shadow onto the floor. No wonder Makoto thought the gambler was a demon if all he saw was the vague shape of her in her hoodie. In a full black outfit in a lightless corridor. “It's two-thirty, I told you not to wait for me, *Ma Lapin. You should be sleeping.” 

Kyoko hums and stops right in front of Celes. Quickly looking for any sign of harm, thankfully she doesn't find any, not that there would be anything to harm Celestia, this was just the remnant worry that Junko set off in her with her dramatically worded assurance. “I couldn't sleep. I decided to wait for you since I wasn't going to bed soon.” 

“Yes, I told you that would happen if you kept drinking your damn energy drinks. Which, I should remind you, is much more caffeine than is healthy to consume— and definitely higher than the limit Ishimaru put in place.” Celestia chastises, the gambler raises a brow at the detective as she leans her face closer towards her own. She swallows, before reaching a hand up to caress Kyoko's face, using her thumb to gently pull down the detective's bottom lip; the detective, always the boldest between the two, blows at her thumb before pushing her lip back against the gambler's thumb to give a small kiss.

“I only drank four cans.” Kyoko casually counters— like one of those cans she drank didn't already contain the daily caffeine intake for a grown man— while she leans into her touch, another comforting hum escaping as she stares into Celestia's eyes. The look in the detective's eyes is too loving to remain mad at her, so instead Celes lowers her hand, which invokes a greedy huff from the girl, then she securely grips Kyoko's chin in her hand. 

“That's the equivalent of sixteen cups of your coffee in one sitting, I'm surprised it hasn't killed you.” Celestia releases the hold she has on Kyoko's face, ignoring the slightest of pouts the detective wore, to lower her hand to the side of her neck. Her vocal disappointment in Kyoko's lack of self-care dies on her tongue as she takes in the sheer frequency of Kyoko's heartbeat.

Celestia quickly places the glass bottle on the ground against the wall before cupping Kyoko's face in her hands and examining the girl's pupils. Which of course are wider than what should be normal. “Your heart’s racing, Kyoko!” She frets, her brows slightly creased with worry. “C’mon, *Mon amour, did you drink water at all today? It'll help, what the hel- how are you so calm don’t you feel restless?” Kyoko stares at her with an amused expression, she had too high a caffeine tolerance for it to make her heart race even after five or so hours. 

It wasn't the caffeine; she'll confirm that much. “I have the irresistible urge to kiss you, but I don't think that's what you're referring to?” Kyoko can't help smiling at the light blush that finds its way across the gambler's face, although the gambler was probably also flushed with worry. Celestia sighed deeply before grabbing Kyoko by the hand and tugging her down the entrance hall, leaving the expensive looking bottle behind.

“This is not the time to be joking, Kyoko. This could be caffeine poisoning, if you die so early due to something as stupid as that I'll bring you back and kill you myself.” Kyoko stopped in her tracks, incidentally, causing Celestia to halt as well, before the gambler could reprimand Kyoko, as she turns to face the detective, Kyoko smoothly places the hand Celestia wasn't gripping around the gambler's waist before pulling Celeste towards her into a hug. 

Kyoko makes sure Celestia's head rests on her chest, enough to hear her heart even if the very idea of her little action was causing a light flush to decorate her own face and perhaps makes her heart race just a tiny bit faster. “I'm not joking, it's not the caffeine either. I can calm my heart.” She places the top of her chin on the gambler's head to rest her own head on, the pointy foam cat ear of Celestia's hoodie that presses against her cheek providing a welcomed distraction to help still her racing heart. She almost chokes as she takes in a slowed, relaxed breath. 

She wordlessly continues this rhythmic slow breathing, hopefully to calm her heart as well as the concern plaguing the gambler. In the coldness of the early morning, Kyoko can't particularly tell if the tingling warm sensation she feels throughout her whole body was because she was still fairly flustered or because she was becoming much more aware of every detail around her than normal. Like the bittersweet taste of her own saliva from the piece of dark chocolate she had stolen earlier from Celeste. The faint smell of lavender from Celestia’s hoodie and the gambler's normal scent of flowers and cherries, though usually hidden beneath expensive perfumes of citrus and cloves that Kyoko is used to resisting the urge to follow after ever time Celestia walks pass, not that she had the same control whenever the two sleep over in Kyoko's and her pillows and blankets end up smelling of the gambler for the next few days. The sound of Celestia’s breathing has always been quiet, silently existing, you wouldn't notice it even if you were looking, Kyoko could hear their clothes’ fabric move against each other as her chest rises and falls better than she does the gambler's breathing; she wonders if this is why she finds herself breath taken by each and every audible exhale and sigh escaping the gambler, each murmur and whisper. The feeling of Celestia shifting herself as she relaxed her body into Kyoko's, almost snuggling into her body if it weren't for the fact neither would want to separate if she did, the light pulling at her pajama top that Celestia held in her grip with her free arm trapped between their bodies, and of the way the gambler's shoulders finally relax and fall to a proper slouch. Kyoko hopes they don't have to return to their individual rooms alone, she hopes the gambler will focus on her; Kyoko fears, finds herself hopelessly surprised and smitten and willing, that she has gotten greedy and spoiled by Celestia's attention.

She hopes her heart is calm too, by now, the irrational, size of a rat, beating muscle that's surprisingly obvious when it feels it needs to be. Would it work with her for once?

The girl, the gambler, Celestia, her Celes, tenses up. Concerned, Kyoko removes her head then angles her head down to look at the gambler curiously as she looks back at her. Her unreadable stare is boring into her heart. “Taeko?” she whispers. 

She feels the girl adjust her arm between the two. Said girl then proceeds to pinch her.

“Not here.” She lightly hisses, she lowers her glare from Kyoko's face to her shoulder, she huffs. “You really need to hold back on caffeine otherwise you'll give me a heart attack instead. Don't tease me when I'm concerned about you, *Liebchen. Du dummes echo….” The gambler sighs, before leaning her head back to face Kyoko once again. 

“So, it did slow down…” Kyoko murmurs thoughtfully, she knew she could calm herself down, considering how much practice she has with how often she's thrown into— and purposefully joined— stressful and dangerous environments. 

Celestia stares at her again, a blank stare with a hint of disappointment in her eyes. “I’m going to kill you.” She sighs.

Kyoko chuckled. “I breathe for you, I'm not against dying for you too.” She admits, not at all aware of the internal conflict that she set off in the gambler. Again.

“You're…” Celestia starts, leaving behind her last train of thought and jumping to the next since it crashed after the eloquently dropped confession from the detective. She can't even find it in herself to remain frustrated at the detective, despite her earlier heart attack and the strong, horribly contrasting smell of someone else’s perfume. “You're coming with me; I don't trust that you'll leave the other energy drinks in your room alone and not work till class starts again.”

Before Kyoko can remind her that she had no other drinks, because she drank all four, Celestia pulls her gently towards the lounge to get to the doors, this time without Kyoko holding her back and properly following her; as if by second nature, knowing Kyoko too well and knowing that the detective was going to work every moment she gets, her eyes automatically find the thick folders sitting on the couch. Stacked neatly though some angled out, organized in a way she's seen Kyoko stack folders she was actively working on.

She looks back at Kyoko, who has the gall to look off to the side, suddenly interested in the mural their underclassmen Angie had painted on the wall when she was hiding in their dormitory after last night's fiasco.

For Kyoko's well-being, and not entirely because Celestia wants the detective all to herself, she decides she'll invite Kyoko to join her during break— get her away from work and keep her away from work if she can help it. She releases the gentle, firm hold she had when she joined her and Kyoko's hands, silently giving Kyoko permission to collect her folders. Her eyes follow the detective as she walks over to turn off the lamp she had been using before collecting the folders. “Kyoko, *überarbeiteter Hasi, after you shower, we need to talk about your schedule.”

The detective looked at her curiously, following after Celestia before speeding up her pace to catch up. Instead of questioning why she needed to shower, Kyoko ponders aloud. “I don't have any of my bottles in your room.”

“You'll use mine,” Celestia says firmly. “We're not speaking until you get rid of that stench.”

1. Ma Lapin: My bunny
2. Mon amour: My love
3. Liebchen: Sweetheart 
4. Du dummes echo:  Du dummes means you dumb/stupid/idiotic/ect. echo means echo (like how a voice echos in a valley.) Celes is calling Kyoko a dumb echo
5. überarbeiteter Hasi (Häschen): overworked bunny (Hasi taken from Häschen— last I checked anyways— is a cuter way of saying bunny as an endearment, it's also a hell of a lot easier to pronounce too)

1 & 2 are French. 3-5 are German. Similar to French, I am not fluent in German either, however I fairly have an understanding of it even if it's grammar and certain words are trying to fight me everytime I decide to practice writing and speaking.

Chapter Text

Of everything that Sonia has heard about Sato Ou, not a single one was negative— when you ignore Nagito’s passive aggressive comments about her being from the reserve course— and she was very nice according to the two closest to her, Hiyoko and Mahiru, Hiyoko praising anyone was already in itself surprising even if she has become more kinder than she was their first year; Peko, Fuyuhiko, and Hajime have vouched the same thing as well, although Hajime being friends with Sato had a bit more to say about her, specifically about her being blunt enough that it has caused some issues in the past and not to get offended by it. Completely noted! Sonia loved interacting with blunt and honest people, it was a refreshing change of pace compared to the dull, heavy, and indirect interactions she had back home. 

Then again, all interactions at the academy were a welcomed change of pace, even with the strange happenings— and suspicious activity— that's been going on, Sonia has had such a genuinely enjoyable time these last three years she fears these might be the last years she'll experience such a feeling. A thought she wishes not to dwell on.

The oddness, especially as of late, aside, of all these three years Sonia has never actually met Sato before. She recalls mentions of the girl in group chats and conversations involving either Hiyoko or Mahiru, a faint memory of seeing the back of wavy green hair following after the familiar backsides of their resident photographer and dancer finally falls within her reach along with other faint memories. Sonia turned her head to the side to glance at Sato curiously as they both waited for whatever their reason was, it was actually the first time she’s seen the girl’s face now that she was thinking about it.

She had long wavy hair and surprisingly deep violet eyes, Sato is very pretty, her resting pout and light frow of her eyebrows were also cute, though no freckles on her face like the ones Hiyoko spoked about, weaponized in a way to get Mahiru to stop trying to cover her own, Sonia’s wonders if they were considered an unwanted trait. Seemed a bit unreasonable, she’s also seen people use makeup to give themselves freckles, and here this already cute girl was covering them up. 

Noticing the silent staring from the princess, Sato turned her head to face Sonia, her brows furrowing further that made her look like she was frowning at the attention. “Do you have a question or did you just want to stare at me?”

Sonia smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. This is the first time I get to talk with you, so I’m a little nervous, especially with all I’ve heard about you from Mahiru and Hiyoko, Hajime too.” 

Her eyes widened in surprise before her face went back to neutral. “Is that so? Hiyoko is usually dragging me and Mahiru off, so I don’t really have the time to stop and chat.” Her pout deepens into a scowl as she continues to speak. ” Don’t worry about being cautious, ignore whatever complaints Hajime makes or Natsumi, they’re both vulgar so I need to keep them in check.”

Hajime vulgar? That was a first, Sonia couldn’t see him that way, sure he had a short temperament when it came to his irritation but that was less vulgarity and more, so the boy lacked the energy to effectively deal with his mostly energetic and eccentric peers. Last time the boy was done helping Kazuichi he had laid on the floor of the dorm’s communal lounge area and slept for two hours. Sato must have noticed Sonia’s confusion as she shrugged and glanced back into Yukizome’s office where Chiaki, Hiyoko, and Mahiru stood around talking with Yukizome; It seems they were talking about an event; Chiaki had promised her that she would explain afterwards, Sonia was simply happy to help but she admits her curiosity was piqued if her classmates were so invested in it. Sato looked back at Sonia. “Natsumi is a god-awful influence on Hajime, but they tire themselves out, so it is easier to handle them. If you’re waiting to talk with Yukizome-Sensei, you might as well go and butt in.” She advises, giving her a way out of the conversation if need be.

On the topic of Hajime, Sonia hopes he’s feeling better, when she visited him this morning he wasn’t allowed to have visitors.

The blonde smiled politely. “Ah, no, I only came here to help Chiaki with something after Yukizome leaves for a… meeting, I believe.” Sonia glances down at the casualness of Sato’s outfit, noticing that most of her hair was tucked into her shirt despite the hair ties and bands around her wrist, she focuses specifically on the oversized green cardigan that she remembers Mahiru wearing last week. Well, at least it looks like Hiyoko’s efforts are working decently, or perhaps Mahiru and Sato were already so close that sharing clothes was normal. “Are you three going anywhere?”

Sato hummed, reaching a hand up to pat down her light bedhead. “I wanted to treat them so we’re going to lunch…” She glances back into the room, Sonia glanced too. Hiyoko was snickering, a devious expression on her face as Mahiru placed a hand on the girl’s shoulder and pulled her back to keep the girl from causing further issue judging by the panicked look on their Sensei’s face while Chiaki looked wholly unprepared for whatever Hiyoko just dropped on them. “How often do you talk with Hiyoko or Mahiru?” Sato asks out of nowhere.

“Not as often as I like, though me and Mahiru have casual conversations usually, and when we can, Hiyoko and I do our hair together, she teaches me a lot of traditional hair styles.” Sonia shared, unsure where Sato was going with this, honesty was best for now, she doubts the girl would beat around the bush. “Why do you ask?”

They both kept their gazes into the office, as Yukizome picked up a folder and laptop while handing Chiaki a note as she talked with Mahiru and Hiyoko. “I’m trying to gauge how they feel about each other, I’m thinking of setting them up but I’m not sure if Hiyoko already has someone, she gets smug whenever I try to ask.” 

“Ah, I see. That may be because Hiyoko is trying to set some people up, I think she called it her duty as a cupid?” Sonia paused briefly after those words came out of her mouth, Hiyoko was definitely single, and she was definitely trying to set up two of her friends; the princess resisted the heavy urge to look back and forth at Sato and Hiyoko. Sato… was thinking of setting up Hiyoko with Mahiru… when Hiyoko… is trying to set Mahiru and Sato up to date. Sonia almost gave into the urge to shout in surprise, perhaps she has gotten ahead of herself when expressing herself, releasing the awkward bite of her lip, Sonia added. “Hiyoko is single… Do either of them know? That you’re trying to set them up?”

Sato gaze immediately landed on her, a look of borderline displeasure. “Of course not, Hiyoko would be on my ass and Mahiru would give me the silent treatment, but you can’t disagree with me that they would work well.”

Curiously, Sonia asked. “Is this for fun?”

She nodded. “Partially. I do think they would be happier when they start dating.” Sonia must admit she admires the confidence, she didn’t really understand the appeal of setting people up when they had the freedom to choose whoever they wanted, though perhaps she’s used to it with the arranged marriages she hears and reads about in reports. What was Sonia supposed to do with this knowledge? Should she tell Hiyoko about Sato or Sato about Hiyoko, or all three of them, does she help them? Both of them? Pulling her from her thoughts, Sato added in partial annoyance. “This is actually the only time I have to take them out this week, did your class destroy another room? Why are their schedules blocked?”

Oh, right, their class had detention didn’t they. Sonia completely forgot, no one actually attended the detention besides her, Chiaki, and Gundham, and even then, it was on a technicality as they were already going to meet up with Yukizome before the detention to study in her office while Chiaki helped her out with lesson plans and class activities. Sonia was sure it wasn’t being enforced, why would it reflect on their scheduling? Her confused face must have communicated something as Sato sighed to herself as if expected the issue. “I don’t think anyone destroyed anything recently,” Besides some tables from the dining comms, Sonia wasn’t even certain if their class had caused that, Souda was most likely in the wrong place at the wrong time.  “Though the 70 classes got caught going over curfew, so we got detention.” Sato's eyes widened ever so slightly in recognition and surprise, before immediately returning to a knowing look; Sonia understood that feeling, it’s incredibly improbable that a single class would get into as much trouble as they did on a regular basis and only getting reprimanded on something as minor as a curfew? The oddness still surprises Sonia whenever she lets herself think about it, her adaptability is undeniably one of her strongest traits. She tries to reassure Sato about her plan on setting up their shared friends, Sonia from experience knows better than to interfere too much. “The detention isn’t being enforced though! I think the faculty simply added it to our digital schedules for preventative measures, like from extracurriculars, Pekoyama has been banned from the sports center and Souda isn’t allowed into the Tech building till the detention is over.”

Sato sighed deeply. “I’m surprised there’s any repercussions, why would there be with you guys?” She sarcastically asked, before tilting her head curiously towards Sonia. “It was because of that movie night right? How was that before getting caught?” Sato quickly nodded towards Hiyoko and Mahiru after the photographer signaled that they were almost done.

Sonia hummed contently. “It was fun, I had seen some adaptations of the older movies that were played so it was really enjoyable to see the originals. I’m surprised you weren’t in attendance, since Mahiru had hosted it.” She had taken quite the liking to horror movies, Gundham having recommended some of her favorites, Sonia hopes they hold another movie night, it was a great way to spend time with her classmates and her underclassmen, it was equally exciting knowing that Pekoyama had developed a liking towards mythos related to demons and spirits, Sonia hopes she has that book on Demons of Ars Goetia she’d be more than glad to lend it Pekoyama.

The girl shrugged. “I had an exam today, so I was studying for that. I heard Hiyoko played a lot of horrors, sorry about that, she finds pleasure in the discomfort of others.” Sonia shook her head gently.

“Don’t be! I deeply enjoyed all of the ones she recommended, in fact I was hoping she’d give me some of her recommendations and the title of one of the movies she couldn’t play. She had mentioned it was a foreign movie about religious horror and it piqued my interest.” Sonia doesn’t notice the confused stare she earns from Sato as the girl looks her up and down once again reevaluating what she thought of the princess. 

“Right… That’s good? I’ll ask her if you want?” Sato offers with a light yawn. 

Sonia smiled. “Would you? I’d be very grateful. I had thought she would only show it if we had another movie night.”

Sato hummed then after a pause nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that sounds like her, she’s not really into horror so I doubt she’d watch it unless there was someone to scare.” She looked back towards the office, her eyes following Hiyoko and Mahiru. She only spared Sonia another glance to confirm she was still a part of the conversation. “What’s the reason for Peko week, is it her birthday or something? Hiyoko just told me it was a spur of an emotional moment, Mahiru just gets this look of determination before going into bestest friend mode and I haven’t gotten an actual answer from them or even Hajime and Natsumi.”

“Peko Appreciation Week.” Sonia corrects politely. She bowed her head politely. “Well, the reason that sparked us into planning PKSー ah, Peko *Kansha Shuukanー seems too personal to share without Pekoyama’s permission,” Sonia had been a part of the group when it happened, though the moment that set everyone off she had missed when she went to get a drink, she had gotten the gist of, the look of pain shared amongst the group especially Ibuki and Fuyuhiko had pushed everyone into a vulnerable mood, that only highlighted the look of genuine confusion from Peko despite the immediate heart-wrench she inflicted on everyone. It’s a special kind of pain to know someone you care deeply for had gone through such a painful experience without realizing it was painful, well it was undeniable that she deserves to know that she deserves happiness, certainly explains much more of Ibuki’s and Fuyuhiko’s coaching of Peko. “What happened had gotten shared with the rest of the class and we all wanted to show Peko that we care for her, and we’ll give her our undying support, originally it was going to be a Peko day, but we all felt it wasn’t enough to show even a fraction of our feelings for her, so we settled on a week. We’re doing a lot of bonding activities and doing our own smaller things to show Peko we’re here for her. It’s been fun, especially since the underclassmen are warming up to the class and Pekoyama; It was one of her goals for this year before graduation to get along with them.” Sonia summarized, barely masking the soft wince at the mention of graduation.

The green-haired girl nodded. “That’s…” Her gaze momentarily falls to the ground in a distant manner before she hummed thoughtfully. A soft look at her expression. “That explains a bit, that’s pretty sweet of you guys. I’m surprised your class is so close to each other, I don’t even know half the names of my classmates and I’ve had most of them all our years here. Right before break too, that’s essentially two weeks for Pekoyama.” The chatter in the room grows louder as Mahiru and Chiaki appear to be arguing about the arrangements of something whilst Hiyoko eggs them on and Yukizome watches them endearingly while offering her own advice.

Sonia nods. “Perhaps…” She pauses as a buried memory of a conversation with Mahiru resurfaces, before asking. “Aren’t you your year’s class president?”

“Have been for three years, each semester, without campaigning.” Sato confirms, then adds. “I keep getting voted on to spite the admins since I endorsed the reserve’s protests everytime it started and I talk back. They ignore the fact that I don’t remember most of their names.”

“Isn’t the purpose of being president to do things that would benefit your peers?” Sonia inquiries.

Sato simply shrugs. “Not in this society.” She answers vaguely before letting out another yawn then raises a brow at the sudden pouting Hiyoko that leans against Mahiru. “Are you a part of the planning team?”

“Everyone is! I do help out whenever I can however.” Sonia nods, Sato hums before bowing her head casually towards Sonia in a lighthearted manner.

“I’m sorry then, I already said it a couple times but y’know sorry if concussing Hajime put a dent in any efforts for PKS.” Sonia smiled understandingly, she still had no idea how Hajime ended up with a concussion, just that he wouldn’t be allowed to attend classes for the rest of the week. She had been able to build a bit of a theory on how that happened, but now she was given her answer. 

Before Sonia could say something, Hiyoko had popped in between them, shooting Sonia a cheeky smile as she greets them. “Our shits over, Sato; Hey Sonia.” As if to show off her taller height to Sato, she wraps her arm around Sato’s shoulder’s and leans her head against the top of Sato’s head. The story behind why Hiyoko was insistent on flaunting her new height, her growth spurt having completed last school year, for the sole purpose of annoying Sato, Sonia didn’t know; nonetheless she thought it was sweet, it’s always a pleasant surprise to see Hiyoko being so affectionate with others despite her way of going about it, even if she stubbornly denies it.

Sato’s neutral expression morphs into a slight pout of annoyance, as she gently jabs a finger into Hiyoko’s side, causing a sharp wince to erupt from Hiyoko and a familiar shutter coming from Mahiru’s everyday camera as she, Chiaki, and Yukizome walked over to the doorway to Yukizome’s personal office; Mahiru offers the two a knowing, obviously affectionate smile. “You’re early, Sato! Sorry, we must’ve taken up a lot of your time.”

Sonia watches with mild amusement as Hiyoko releases her teasing hold on Sato and steps aside to leave room between her and Sato, silently asking Mahiru to be between them, Mahiru unconsciously slots herself between the two. Sato pats her hair down where Hiyoko’s head had caused a few strays. “The time I set aside for you two specifically? Stop apologizing, makes me seem like a jerk or something.” She catches Mahiru naturally when the redhead stumbles into her; Sonia had watched as Hiyoko bumped her hips against the photographer for the purpose of getting the two closer. “Girl.”

Hiyoko raises her hands defensively, a feigned annoyed look painting her features. “I just wanted to look at the photo Mahiru took, sue me.” She’s leaning over Mahiru ever so slightly with a hand ghosting over the girl’s shoulder that it genuinely seems that she was intending to look over Mahiru’s shoulder at her camera. Sonia thinks Hiyoko is too good at acting, it’s no wonder she gets away with many of her pranks. “It’s not my fault she’s so light.” Sato raises a knowing brow at the blonde, well versed in the actions of Hiyoko’s. Mahiru sighs as she stands straight, her cheeks lightly flushed, she holds up her camera to show Hiyoko it’s gallery, not making a move to brush off either the hands on her shoulder, Hiyoko’s, and the arm around her waist, Sato’s. This is the first time Sonia’s seen the three together beyond a shadow of a passing moment, she knew that they were close, but to be so physically close was pretty new to her. She only knew her underclassmen, Akane, and Ibuki to be so openly touchy with their affection.

“Ara, how sweet.” She takes out a small pair of keys and drops them into Chiaki’s hands. “Sorry for kicking you two out, I have a meeting and I can’t have too many of you guys in there alone.” Yukizome quickly apologies, her laptop and a few folders are held securely in her arms as she steps further away from her office door, allowing Sonia to step under the doorway beside Chiaki. She begins walking away, brushing off Hiyoko’s childish provocation on Sensei's trust in them with a gentle laugh. It was a silly question to ask really, Yukizome had as much trust in their class as she did faith and patience, which was comparable to a saint. “Don’t bother locking my office, have fun. You three, don’t stay out too late on your date!” She hurries off, her heels clicking away rapidly into faint echoes of steps. As Sonia and Mahiru waved her off, she held back calling out and asking why they shouldn’t lock the office up; she knew Yukizome well enough to know that once their sensei left for the day she was not returning till the next, though it probably wasn’t important if she didn’t feel the need to address it in a hurry.

Sato takes the tease in stride unlike the surprised blonde and redhead, she looks towards both the photographer and dancer before holding a handout... “Guess, I’m taking you both on a date now.”  With a slightly amused look, Sonia hears the word ‘boyfriend’ muttered under Hiyoko’s breath, she had no doubts it was both a tease and a compliment for the green haired girl. “Let’s get going, we might as well catch the closer train. I wanted to try the restaurant Mahiru was eyeing.” 

Hiyoko’s perked up at the mention, so does Mahiru though in a pause to recall what Sato was talking about. “The place with the cute bear drinks?” She nudges Mahiru to take Sato’s hand before accepting the arm Sato proceeds to hold out for her. “Have fun with your teacher's pet activities.” 

They watch the trio walk down the hall, opposite of the direction Yukizome sensei went down, Sonia holding back a giggle as she hears both Mahiru and Hiyoko gush at how gentlemanly Sato looked and acted moments ago. Perhaps if she had better eyesight, she’d spot a growing redness in Sato’s ears. Sonia directs her attention back towards Chiaki who studies her with a knowing look, Chiaki spares a look back towards the trio before looking back at Sonia and leaning closer to the princess. “You know something.” She states instead of asks.

Sonia smiles politely. She hopes she can befriend Sato in the future, and she wishes the three luck on everything that was going on between them. “Of course, we all know something.” She gestures for Chiaki to walk back into the room first, which the gamer girl accepts although cautiously as she continues to eye Sonia with curiosity.

“The wise should indulge the questions of the wisen’t.” Chiaki speaks majestically, raising her head in the manner she does when she wants to be taken seriously and listened to; she even closed the handheld console she was holding throughout the whole conversation, full attention on Sonia in hopes that she shares what was essentially gossip. 

Sonia followed her, playfully twirling around Chiaki before making her way towards the folder Yukizome had prepared on her desk so the two may make their suggestions for the next lesson plans. Sonia settled in the red seat across from Yukizome’s desk, knowing Chiaki preferred Yukizome’s swivel chair as the motion helped her focus. “Wisdom does not come from knowing things, it comes from knowing what you don’t know.” She answers instead, earning a light huff from Chiaki as she walks around Sonia and makes her way to the swivel seat, her cheeks slightly puffed out to signal her annoyance. Sonia is yet again resisting the urge to inform Chiaki of her semblance to Jum-P, although Chiaki’s favorite of the devas, she’s certain Chiaki would be even more annoyed with herー Sonia was aware that it won’t be genuine annoyance, it was simply more polite.

Chiaki sat across from her, her cheeks barely returning to normal. “Stop with the filler dialogue. What does that even mean?” She tilts her head curiously at Sonia. “Is this about the cupid act in the traffic trio?” Sonia drops her playful secretiveness at the question; while Sonia did, personally believe, Hiyoko would deny it citing her impeccable skills, that Hiyoko playing cupid was a tad obvious; she didn’t think anyone would really pick up on it so quickly. Though it wasn’t really a surprise that it was Chiaki who found out, she immediately realizes what Sonia could’ve found out only with whatever expressions she was making earlier. With her new knowledge though, Sonia wonders who specifically Chiaki was talking about in the Traffic Trio, Sato or Hiyoko? “I see, you’ve already noticed the…” How to word the thing that was happening without giving away too much to confirm what knowledge was shared between them. Issue? Activity? There really wasn’t an eloquent enough word Sonia could use, that she remembered at the moment at least. “Situation between the three of them.”

Chiaki doesn’t even wait for further elaboration as she turns to Yukizome’s desktop to access their lesson modules and textbooks. “Don’t worry I know about those two,” Sonia should really take Hajime at his word when he says that Chiaki was practically a mind reader. “It’d be hard not to; did you know they spent a whole lunch break today trying to ask each other if the other liked Hiyoko? I don’t know Sato well enough to know why she would be interested in setting those two together, maybe their flirting finally got to her? But Mahiru is insistent that setting two of her best friends up won’t end with the both of them teasing her, or that her own flirting would be turned on her.” Chiaki looks away from the screen and back at Sonia after hearing the choke that strangled out of the blonde as she looked wide eyed at her. The gamer hummed thoughtfully at her shock, she reached over the desk to place a comforting hand on Sonia’s shoulder, with only the slightest struggle to reach. “Don’t worry they’ll figure it out, if those two don’t realize what the other is doing then Hiyoko absolutely will. I know it’s going to work out.”

Quick to compose herself, Sonia anxiously cleared her throat, gently coughing into her fist before meeting Chiaki’s eyes. Chiaki’s expression morphs from her comforting air to her more normal nonchalant face, having quickly picked up on Sonia’s shock. Sonia could just see the calculations and checks Chiaki was going through mentally as the girl looked back at their conversation. “Wait.” Chiaki begins, hesitantly retracting her hand away from Sonia. “Are we not talking about Mahiru and Sato?”

“I…” Sonia begins, Chiaki’s eyes immediately shut already knowing what the answer was going to be. “I was under the impression that we’d be talking about Hiyoko and Sato.” The gamer’s mouth separated into a round ‘o’ as she slouched in her seat. 

The two sat in that silence, the revelation that all three of them were trying to set each other up immediately dawning on them, what were they to do with that knowledge? Sonia would only help Hiyoko by letting the dancer bounce ideas off of her, and she only just found out that Sato had similar intentions to Hiyoko, now she finds out that it wasn’t just those two but Mahiru as well. Sonia shares the feeling with Chiaki as the gamer groans then facepalms. “Oh, this is going to be so funny to watch but…”

“It’s going to be so painful to watch.” Sonia finished off with her own expectant sigh.

Chiaki nodded solemnly. “Our senpai’s last year told us that the seventy classes would always have a couple like this, guess they were right.”

1. Kansha Shuukan| 感謝 週間 (かんしゃ しゅうかん): Appreciation Week, Appreciation and Week respectively.
   
   
   1 is Japanese.

Tenko Chabashira is a cheerfully boisterous girl who wears her emotions on her sleeves and her fighting spirit in her grin, she is loud and proud and everything she puts her mind to be. Her need to be active spurs on her helpful attitude and her anger is simply a symptom of the density of passion the aikido practitioner possesses. The girl is humorously a mixture of strength and weakness to the point it was pathetically endearing, one wouldn’t be surprised that such an individual has caught the attention of the local sadist Rui Unogasai and her little sister who may even share similar interests, Riri; one would be worried if either Unogasai sister approached you for friendship, sure, if the younger of the sister approached you it wouldn’t be so bad, but where one sister was, the other would surely be. They came in a pair, the sniper and the reserved student, independent from each other but always standing side by side, if a sister was struggling it was guaranteed the other sister would come to their aid.

And Tenko, adored by Rui as her favorite underclassmen and gym partner, tended to be doted on and picked on by the older girl. Squirming under the mismatched eyes of the ultimate sniper even when seeking comfort and reassurance from the girl, finding comfort in the familiar shapes of vitiligo around her right eye as if the hazel eye and the splotched swirl that went down the notch of her neck to other lighter patches of skin all the way to her abdomen. Well, Rui was protective of her as well, though maybe not to the same degree as her fierceness of protecting Riri when need be, of course she’d extend comfort and safety towards her underclassmen.

Perhaps that was why Rui found herself staking out campus in the areas Tenko frequented, noticing the way Tenko started looking around at their environment as if she was looking for someone, of course the girl would play it off, she saw herself a protector too, Rui understood; As a protector you protect the protected and give them the gift of being safe and hopefully without the worry of keeping it, if Rui felt there was danger she’d try her best to direct the people she felt the need to protect away from it as inconspicuous as possible. Tenko is observant, not paranoid like she’s been recently, Rui picked up on it quickly.

She’s told Tenko what she’s been doing, that she wanted to check the security of their campus for students, that Tenko would be her “target” for this. Armed with a camera and her poor photography skills she set out to alleviate Tenko’s unconscious paranoia, to excuse it as her, a dangerous but trustworthy person. To say it was overwhelmingly easy was an understatement, she was certain even Tenko’s little magician friend knew about it with how she started setting up traps around campus, notably where Rui agreed they would be more effectiveー perhaps the magician was a strategist. Unfortunately, it seems whoever was stalking her friend was still around, one of Rui’s own traps had been set off and she found a photo, although slightly water damaged as it had rained the night it happened, was still clearly Tenko. Honestly, who is using those kinds of cameras nowadays? They had phones! No printed photo camera needed, if for whatever sick reason needed a physical photo you could get them in your own room without dropping them out here. 

If you were going to be a freak at least be a smart one, damn.

Tenko’s stalker had to be a bit stupid, if not stupid they had to definitely be dense, which is says a lot that she was the one saying it considering how ignorant she could be if she didn’t care much for the activity she was doing.

Rui has decided that the best course of action was to train Tenko to not only be able to take down her stalker if there was ever a physical confrontationーnot that the girl needed much, she was of course a martial artist, the most talented aikido practitioner evenー but also to give her the willingness to do it, with the girl’s fear of pain and torture she needed the help to confront the, very low, risk of that happening and continue on.

That’s where she was now, doing yoga to cool down after the endurance training, she had pulled Tenko into doing with her. Rui thinks she should maybe increase the intensity of her normal workout since Tenko collapsed into the mat in the spar area of the sports building while she was off to the side, Rui enjoyed the sight of Tenko exhaustedly slumped into the ground with a visible sheen of sweat layering her face like skin, mostly because it was funny and partially because it made her feel more athletically superior despite the fact her talent didn’t really require it. She didn’t release her pose until she felt a satisfying ache as she stretched a particularly tense muscle, Rui twisted her body, so she landed into a sitting position in front of Tenko, she normally would’ve just thrown herself at the floor when no one was looking alas she has a reputation to uphold. Tenko rolled herself onto her stomach and lifted her head up off the mat, her hair was loose and falling out of the unique hoops she wore them in, Rui, the merciful senpai that she was, gave Tenko her bottle to drink out of. The girl more than happily accepted. Sitting up to properly enjoy the cold refreshment.

Rui, not to the offense of Tenko, doesn’t really think the girl is really “stalked’ material. She’s cute, sure, not exactly Rui’s taste but she can admit the girl was decently attractive. But attractive enough to be stalked? Didn’t really make much sense to her, then again, she wasn’t sick enough in the head to consider stalking someone, was it admiration? A twisted sense of entitlement to the girl’s existence? Thorny attraction? Some kind of feeling turned to obsession? 

This really wasn’t her forte, this investigation work, she was better with her guns, it would take her less than a week, hell a day to find the stalker in the middle of their crime and take them out. 

But Rui knows her sister would be disappointed if she killed someone. 

Again. 

Tenko would feel guilty too if she found out she killed someone for her. 

“Rui-Sensei.” Tenko calls out, her face slightly tense as she hasn’t yet fully relaxed. “Tenko… can’t believe you do this regularly.” She sucks in a short breath. “Tenko should discipline herself more.”

“Rui-Senpai.” The sniper corrects, she’s not fit enough to be a mentor, too much work and she’s too nonchalant for her to be mentoring anyone let alone someone like Tenko. “What is it?” She asks curtly, Tenko silently hands back the bottle, in its bright and loud colors with spots of dried glue from where it used to have spikes that she hot glued onto the bottle. 

Yeah, Rui thinks as she watches the exhausted flush leave Tenko’s face. She couldn’t possibly see anyone wanting to stalk the girl, with the traps of the girl’s magician friendー what was her name… Himeko?ー has been setting up around campus. Rui wonders how on earth such an oblivious girl noticed someone was following Tenko around, maybe under all that chronic sleepiness was actually a very observant girl? Well, Tenko was always raving about the girl and how people underestimated her so maybe there was some truth to those words. Rui tunes back into the words coming from Tenko when she notices the girl’s mouth was moving. Whoops.

“... scouting, so I was curious on how you were scouted, Rui-Sama.” Rui-sama had half the mind to tackle the girl and tickle her till she cried, how could her underclassmen refer to her as someone above her and still use their given name, even despite the fact the sniper is insisting to call her Senpai! “Maizono-Senpai,” oh, she respects the pop idol but not a mercenary? “Said that they don’t tell you how they scouted you unless you ask during your second year.” Well, that had some truths to it.

The sniper shrugs and grabs her bottle to take a couple sips of her own. “That’s because Maizono is too polite, if you annoy your sensei enough, they’ll tell you, but yeah ask, they’ll give you some summary of how you were scouted next year so it can help you practice.” She took a sip of her bitter and cold drink. How is she going to explain that she was a pathetic fool who attempted to kill her scout because she was drugged by her employer. She stared Tenko directly in her eyes, watching the girl’s lips purse awkwardly before her eyes shifted to the safety of the large mat they sat on. The sniper scoffed before laying her bottle down, she pushed her dyed pink hair out of her face in a way she deep down hoped looked mysterious if not at the very least cool. “Why would you want to know mine? Shouldn’t you ask Ogami or Pekoyama? Asahina would be even better than me.”

Tenko pouted, her exhaustion completely gone unfortunately to Rui’s amusement, Rui’s fairly impressed the girl can compose herself so quickly despite the fact she looked near dead a minute ago. “I already know about Ogami and Asahina senpai, and Pekoyama doesn’t want to talk about it. I thought yours would be more interesting.”

Rui raised a brow at the girl, like it should be a given what Her’s was like. “Kid. I’m a sniper, what do you think happened?” Rui doesn’t like her past much, or her talent. She's a bit disappointed in herself, so good at taking the lives of others from a distance, a coward who wouldn’t know real danger. She’s far from it, meant to hide in the shadows and take the lives of whoever she was paid to take out from a distance. She doesn’t let Tenko verbalize what they both knew anyway. “Look, Tenko, I took out about twenty people while drugged and basically incapacitated without a scope, almost took out my scout before I realized he was too weak to come take someone out with a gun within reach. Said he noticed me on the roof and watched me take them out before giving me that damn handbook.” It was incredibly lazy, maybe they had done research on the highest valued sniper available, the guy seemingly hadn’t even stuck around after, as if scouting her was a chore he checked off, sometimes she thinks he had hired the other snipers she noticed on the floors and roofs of the surrounding buildings where she had been hired to take out some rat. Her above average environmental awareness and aiming accuracy shouldn’t warrant her some talented individual whose skills had to be focused on. “Do you want me to detail how they each died by my rifle? Describe it like some edgy teenage *kusogaki?”

Tenko’s brows furrowed. “But we are teenagers?” 

“Is that really the part we focus on?” Rui deadpanned; she noticed some first years from the corner of her eye. She can slightly hear them too, them all perking up at the mere mention of death by her bullet, daring one particularly skinny guy to inch closer and be their little eavesdropper. 

With a pause, Tenko’s eyes widened before she leaned closer, whispering. “You were drugged?!?” She asked, her whisper dripping with concern.

“Your generation is too accepting, I just admitted to murder.” Rui sent a glare over to the group of first years, her eyes immediately meeting the twink who was sacrificed to get nearer. Her heterochromia staring daggers into fearful black ones. She doesn’t spare another millisecond on the guy as he collapses to his knees, Rui looks back at Tenko, catching her pensive hum. “Yes, I was drugged by the woman who hired me, pumped me full of some substance, she was hoping to off me after taking care of the target, sucks for her though, she was found choked to death and I’m alive and kicking.” A shame really, Rui wasn’t particularly the vengeful type but the need to see the woman cry and grovel before her was too tempting a sight after she woke up half-dead and into the cremation box the following afternoon; Rui’s seen the photos of the scene a week after she heard it happened, the streaks of expensive mascara and eyeliner melting down her client’s face was gorgeous, there was also a bruise to the side of the woman’s jaw that made her look positively pathetic. Fucked up for sure, such beauty wasted by murder, Rui wasn’t into it. “It wasn’t me by the way. I’m not that extreme.” She barely defends and brushes off her short daydream of the day, she was a sadist not a necrophiliac or… well, she is a murder, she didn’t kill for pleasure though. 

Tenko’s nose scrunches up. “Tenko did not want to know that.”

Caught again it seems. “Reading my mind so early in the day, what a naughty underclassman.” Rui says blandly. Tenko’s cheeks flushed a bit in embarrassment, her brows deepening in annoyance.

“It’s not my fault that you're a pervert! Riri-San knows too much about your tastes.” The sniper shrugs, Tenko picking up on her tendency was a weird side effect of sparing with the girl, it was why she stopped doing so after the umpteenth time the first year suggested that her upperclassmen needed therapy, she’s surprised Pekoyama was still doing it, the girl clearly had her flavor of an inferiority complex festering. 

“So long as she doesn’t tell you my types that I’d like to rock me, I don’t give a shit.” Rui loves her sister, but the girl was a bit too much of a PR manager, she can understand a bit of praise here and there but to have her painted as the best sister in the academy. Was Riri aware of how many freaks were bothering her about the title, she was certain that one crazy blonde that was in the seventy classes with Tenko “joked” about killing her one time, a welcomed threat but not the way Rui wants to go out. Like c’mon, at her hands? How boring, her disappointed reactions weren’t even entertaining.  “How’s life going?” Perhaps if the sniper gets a better idea of Tenko’s schedule compared to the most likely time for her stalker to, well, stalk her, especially during the day.

Tenko stares at her, unconsciously raising her arms before stretching them as far as possible, considering the girl’s flexibility, pretty damn far. She continues speaking normally. “Good. Nothing to complain about besides the workload, I’m not very good at writing, I get distracted too much…” Tenko remarks simply, her lips thinning at the idea of her writing assignments, Rui can’t give her much advice there, she just does her assignments and passes, there was not a day she spent studying. 

Rui nods. “Girl, I’m pretty sure I’ve told you but maybe you should ask your sensei or guardians if you have any behavior shit going on that they forgot to tell you or ask about.” She throws out there causally, the sniper leans back when she notices a pressure in her mid-back, Rui didn’t particularly like being that person but, she’s helped out Tenko enough to do some research and notice many certain parenting advice helped out with keeping Tenko focused. “Aren’t you weirdos’ celebrating Pekoyama’s birthday? Everyone’s talking about how y'all got all of your asses in detention again.” Rui doesn’t really focus much on the things going around school, unless Riri tells her but most of it really wasn’t worth her time, Riri mentioned the rumors of a demon haunting the dorms and frankly Rui thinks everyone here regardless of their talent or intellect are moronic children.

“I didn’t, Chiaki-Senpai hid as many of us in her dorm as she could, apparently there’s secret rooms in many of the dorm areas so Chihiro-Senpai hid us when the adults were looking for us. It was mostly our senpai’s in the seventy classes.” Tenko matter of fact-ly explains, Rui’s head touches the mat and a satisfying crack caught Tenko by surprise before earning a slightly bothered look from the underclassmen, not that Rui cared for it, Tenko was a bit old school. “Don’t do that, Rui-sama, that’s bad.” She chastises. Rui reaches over and pinches the exposed underbelly of Tenko’s calf, she enjoys the yelp from the girl as her hand is smacked away. Right, what a way to drop that their school had secret rooms, oh what were the chances that Tenko’s stalker knew about them?

She was gonna have to speak to that hacker chick, wasn’t she?

Tenko kicks herself away from Rui, using the sniper's exposed side to not only retaliate but to push some space between them so the upperclassmen would stop messing with her. Tenko continues. “It’s not her birthday but we just want to show her that we appreciate her! I really look up to her!” She chirps. The consideration is sweet, with Pekoyama’s obvious inferiority complex, maybe Rui should send her card. From one dangerous, cool person to another dangerous, cool person, maybe she should buy the girl a drink, get so for everyone else and play it off that it was acknowledgement of their rivalryー not that they had one. Rui notices the sudden pout from the girl, before she can ask, Tenko continues a little whine in her words. “Are you saying Tenko has some kind of behavioral thing with her?”

Rui lazily sits up after her prolonged back stretch, she raises a brow at the aikido practitioner. “Kid, respectfully, I think you have ADHD.”

“That’s not even a behavioral disorder, that’s a cognitive disorder! That’s not for you to decide about me, Rui-Sensei.” Tenko corrects, Rui’s brow only raises in response.

She stares into Tenko’s soul as best she can. Watching the girl squirm but not pull away her gaze, Rui could almost see her reflection in the girl’s eyes.  “Well, do you have ADHD?”

“...” She opens her mouth but says nothing, a win in Rui’s opinion.

Rui shakes her head. “Kid, no one knows the difference, all you hear about is the focus and movement aspect of that. I wasn’t even trying that hard to ask.”

Tenko continues to pout. “I’m going to ask Riri what your type is.”

The sniper shakes her head, grabs her bottle and twists it open for her to take a sip from. “Easy. Whatever the fuck that *ハーフ (Haafu) in the seventy classes got going on for her.” She ignores Tenko’s bewildered confusion, Rui doesn’t care that Tenko knew her type she only cared if she knew the other things that were wrong with her, the girl was sheltered and frankly Rui didn’t want to have the conversation with her. Although…

Hopefully that shocked Tenko enough that she didn’t ask more questions because Rui had her reputation to uphold, she can’t go having girls talk about well… people she’s attracted to.

She watches Tenko mentally go through everyone in the seventy classes as Rui drinks from her bottle. When Tenko’s eyes come back to the normal world and return to Rui, she gives her the kind of look you’d give someone when you had no idea what they were talking about. “We don’t have anyone like that… Do you mean Sonia-Senpai?”

Please, who didn’t know that the princess was a foreigner? “I thought you were close with your Senpais in the seventy classes?”

“Well, enough to know everyone minus Sonia-sama were born here. I doubt you mean Junko and Mukuro Senpai, or Kuwata-Senpai…” That baseball player was half-Japanese? Rui thought all those jokes about the punk being Scottish were jokesー also no offense to Mukuro, and by extension her sister, she’d rather slam her dick in a car door.  “Tanaka… No, Ibuki-Senpai said he was Japanese…” Rui let the girl mutter to herself about the racial backgrounds of all her classmates. She’s kinda glad actually, imagine word got out of her thinking that one girl was hot to her partner? Rui would never live it down, even if Tenko accidentally gave it away in one of her zoned-out rants. “... I guess, Kaede-san and Rantaro… but they aren’t directly haafu?” The girl quickly arrives at that conclusion, which surprises Rui, they were what? A few months into the academic year and the girl knew the racial backgrounds of her upperclassmen. How often are they talking, Rui’s only talked to her underclassmen in the forty classes maybe thrice since the year started? Damn.

Tenko then thoughtfully looks up at her. “No one else in our class is considered Haafu-” Her eyes widened with a silent gasp. “Unless you mean Celestia-Senpai?”

Was she not? “You thought I’d confirm?”

Tenko ignores her, because she knows her Senpai well enough. “Celestia?!” She whispers. Her eyes flick between Rui and the ceiling as if considering the possibility, despite the girl having no chance with the goth, regrettably. “But…” Tenko stumbles, and Rui’s a bit hurt that Tenko didn’t think she had that dangerous flavor of charisma and aloof charm. “Aren’t you…” Tenko simply gestures at her, as if that was a fucking explanation, she could’ve used the ‘You don’t date taken people.’ or even ‘You like pathetic people.’ but no.  “I refuse to let you talk to her.” She says firmly, like she wasn’t talking about an upperclassman who admits murdering and tax evasion as some trademark joke about herself.

Rui shrugs, after pretending to make a move to pinch Tenko again, the girl squeaked and prepared to kick her again. “Personally, I like challenges. Admit it,” She leans in, bottle ghosting her lips but not covering it so the martial artist sees her smirk. “Don’t you think she’d cry a lot if you broke her? To degrade a degrader is-” she tilts her head to the side as Tenko throws something at her. It misses her head and lands with a single thud.

“Pervert. How does Riri tolerate you?” Tenko remarks in disgust, she removes one of her hair ties and aims at the sniper, she doesn’t bother moving, Tenko’s aim was off. 

Rui lets out a deep chuckle before getting up just as the hair tie flies past her torso. “I tolerate her k-dramas, she tolerates my sadism.” She places her bottle back down, before placing a hand on her hip and staring down at Tenko. “I don’t go after taken women, and I don’t like her either, so don’t get your rocks.” Although, Rui would admit the girl was absolutely her type, lucky detective, when would it be her turn? It pisses Rui off a bit and makes her want to hit the shooting range. “Get up, it's time to get to the real workout.” 

Tenko silently groans but follows Rui’s example. “Tenko will still make sure you don’t get near Celestia-Senpai.”

Rui smirks. “Challenge accepted, Chabashira.”

1. kusogaki (くそがき): a brat, or ig if you're a prude, the equivalent of son of a bi+ch.
2. ハーフ (Haafu): Derived from the word Half, refers to someone who is biracial, specifically someone who is Half-Japanese. 
   1. 1. 1. Although its actual connotation is debated, Haafu can be seen as derogatory as it implies someone is less, so I feel it is important to say the more positive/appropriate term I've noticed being use is ダブル (daburu) which means double and is derived from the word... double! I recommend watching some videos on it if you're interested, they have plenty on YouTube under the term haafu!

Chapter Text

Souda yawns big and loudly. Tears pricked at his eyes and the corners of his mouth stretched to accommodate his full yawn. 

It was late, he’d admit, all he wanted to do was strip out of his jumpsuit and his sweaty t-shirt, jump into a quick cold shower and pass out the moment his head hit the bed. He’d been stuck in his garage since early in the morning, where the AC was broken and the windows that hung over where he mainly worked in there was beaming sunlight directly to the back of his neck. Kazuichi was pretty sure he had developed a tan by the end of the day. 

He yawns again.

Kazuichi had dragged himself out of the dorms to come get some prototype that he had worked on for his underclassmen after the kid asked for his opinion and input, he got so invested in  looking at the blonde’s prototype he even made his own prototype to show her what he thought would make it a more viable projectー he totally forgot to bring the prototype with him after being kicked out by the tech building manager so they can fix the aircon. Which blasted him the moment he had walked back into the garage with a full blast of cool air.

He promised the kid that he’d return it tomorrow morning, he wasn’t entirely sure why, but Iruma had requested, practically insisting, that he had the box to her directly. So, he will make good on his promise, even if it means walking in the chilly air with his dried sweat leaving an uncomfortably sticky feeling on his skin or the fact, he was walking out here so late. With the demon he’s heard endlessly about.

The mechanic found out directly from Ibuki, who was excitedly informing everyone of a scare one of their underclassmen had when going to the communal kitchen shared amongst the seventy's classes despite the fact each classes’ dorm had its own fully decked out kitchen, with one of the younger underclassmen supporting the sighting since he had also seen the same entity as Naegi. Honestly, Kazuichi wasn’t really one to believe ghost or ghoul stories, don’t let his jumpy nature fool you, most of his fears came from his own vivid imagination; and also, that really traumatizing movie he saw as a kid where a poltergeist possesses this car-mecha and went on a murder spree and a bunch of really, really gory stuff. But besides that, he didn’t believe that so easily, especially because he’s a bit of a skeptic, like he’s not afraid of ghosts. Murderers? Stalkers? Things that are real and dangerous and possible? Absolutely. He knows too many facts about these things. Which he attributes the more recent bits of unfortunate knowledge to the girls plus Gundham gathering to watch that one program about murders and cold cases and just general things that make him queasy to think about literally every other night in the lounge area while he sat under some lamp trying to diagnose an issue with some kind of mechanical system like the mechanical drawing of the HVAC system of a train that he offered to look at this week. What’s with that? Were girls just naturally interested in murder? Gundham he understands and Hiyoko being the demon spawn she is, it also made sense of it piquing her interest, but the other girls??

He yawns again. Thankfully he remembered about the prototypes when he noticed the group had gathered once again for a new episode of that murder program, by the time he gets back they’ll be done. Hopefully. He was pretty sure they had their night earlier because of the detention thing placed on them that prevented them from leaving campus, Kazuichi was pretty sure it was easy to sneak off, just through the entrance the reserved course used to get to a nearby konbini since day and night watch gave up carding students for those runs.

Kazuichi looked around at his surroundings nervously. That said, he wasn’t a scaredy cat per se. Yet with eyewitnesses and people vouching for the demon’s existence made him nervous, especially when you remember that Hajime was given a concussion after encountering it. Like the grim dogs being a symbol of death! Was the demon an omen of seriously bad times?

He had his hopes- doubts that it was really just some student playing a prank; it was likely that it was his underclassmen Junko and Mukuro going around haunting people, it seemed in character for the gyaru. 

Which is why he doesn’t stop when he hears a single set of meows. No, he freezes when he’s met with a wall of warning meows and hisses as he stops dead in his tracks. Staring at the one and only demon that’s been prowling the campus grounds for a while, surrounded by many cats ranging from cute to intimidating. The cats were hidden well in the shadows of the trees surrounding the path, most were off to one side of the path and while many were facing that side there were some scattered across the walkway; and in the center of the cat gathering was a figure that the mechanic can barely make out in the lack of light that the night allowed let alone when the trees were acting as a type of veil over them. Like a vehicle having a low VLT percentage, the night having about a thirty but the shadow casting over the… person a ten, maybe even less.

Kazuichi nervously eyes the cats, he’s about to call out to the person when his eyes trail to the top of its head.

Two pointed shapes poking up from out of its body, and Kazuichi can only think that this must be what the school has been gossiping about, he jumps when their head flicks up immediately. The demon, clocked in black and shadows perked up from where it was hunched over, was towering over a group of cats who all had turned to face him with angry hisses, the demon’s face was nonexistent, perhaps it had no face, though Kazuichi remembers hearing about glowing red eyes. Incredibly alarmed, he backs away from the cats as most flee to cower and hide behind the demon, a few more brave ones crept closer, their tales flickering in a way that made Souda uncomfortable, like he knew he shouldn’t bother them further. He wasn’t sure what to do, he was barely able to see the cats in front of him let alone the demon, person, student, kid whatever the hell they were. 

A cat yowls and the others growl, a noise Kazuichi didn’t even know they made, he swallows down the totally not a scream noise he was about to let out. He turns his attention back on the demon, not really able to mask how frightened the felines’ agitation made him feelー also the unnerving way the… entity? was just standing there. Menacingly.

He opens his mouth.

It is, apparently, then that the demon chooses to open their eyes. Their bright red eyes seem to be stealing the light from the area to make them not only look like they were glowing but deprive Souda of his ability to properly see into the area. It may not have been just the trees.

He closes his mouth. 

The yowling cat’s ears fold back flat against its head before turning tail and zipping past its feline comrades to climb onto the demon, who continues to stare at Kazuichi with their wide red eyes. The cats hiss at him again; Souda didn’t even do anything!? Unprovoked!

He continues backing up, trying his best to walk around the irritated and madden critters, Kazuichi wasn’t gonna be one to kick a cat or something, that was fucked, even if they were mad at him for no reason. Seriously, what did he do to piss off a couple of cats? Did he spook them or something??

The demon takes a step forward, its dark hand reaching out. Kazuichi notices a singular claw on the shadow covered hand. 

Now what the fuck did that mean?

Kazuichi does the only thing that would be logical in that moment, with his dear kouhai’s prototype and his own, with a reputation of being a good reliable senpaiー at least to his knowledgeー to uphold, he fixes the box in his arms securely and takes large steps away from the cats till he was at a good distance that he couldn’t scare the cats. 

Then he hightails it out of there, he doesn’t bother looking back. 

“SORRY FOR THE INTRUSION!” He screams.

__________________________________

Upon opening the door to the seventies’ dorm building, or well, at least their floorsー what the hell were they called? He’s heard Fuyuhiko call this their dorm arrangement a quadplex condoー he kicks off his shoes, mostly because the front of the building and the path leading to their dorms was still wet from some recent late cleaning, and slips into his designated dorm slippers, then a shoe is thrown at Kazuichi. 

He stumbles back and raises a hand to grab at his head where he had been hit, though making sure that the box with the prototypes was properly balanced on his knee and secured between his stomach and other arm. “What the fuck?” He curses with a groan; the mechanic looks up to see Junko and Mukuro standing in the entrance of the seventies’ shared lounge area just beside the entrance to their seventies’ dorm floors. The blonde was holding a bag, with some glass bottles he can see the silhouette of and some red sludge in there, probably some sauce she didn’t care for. Next to her was Mukuro who was carrying a box in one arm and a set of keys in one hand, Souda recognized them as a set of faculty keys by the signature gold janitor key ring and the leather strap with the academy’s emblem engraved into it.

“What the hell bus boy?!” Junko complains, holding a hand to her face to pinch her nose, Kazuichi probably wouldn’t have taken the implication of his smell to heart if it hadn’t been for the fact that even Mukuro’s nose was visibly scrunching. “You fucking smell like rat's ass, what kind of Image club were you at?” The gyaru drives home their body language’s message. 

The mechanic scoffed. “I don’t smell!”

“You’re sweating… It’s an… unfortunate smell,” Mukuro gestures to his jumpsuit. “Wash that.” She suggested. Silently she walks over to a small cabinet in the communal lounge area that they held the first part of their movie night, before getting caught then sneaking away again and into whichever dorm lounge, they had escaped to, to continue through with a smaller group and sharing the experience via discord that was apparently available on their large tv.

“Should’ve gone to a damn Soapland.” Junko remarks distastefully.

“I don’t smell!” He goes to make his point by lifting his arm and taking a whiff of his sleeve, he pauses for a moment before adding. “I’m not that type of guy man!” Kazuichi properly lowers his head and immediately flinches back at the smell of his sweat that had been accumulated all day. He blows out a stream of air to clear out any remnants of the smell that lingered in his nostrils and lungs. “It can’t be that bad.”

“I can smell it from here.” Mukuro comments before Junko could probably rip him a new one for the smell. 

Kazuichi was going to kill himself, he couldn’t possibly smell that bad. “Give me a break!” He relents, the mechanic learned quickly that opposing the blonde gyaru was like the last thing anyone should do if they valued their emotional and mental healthー he had a hard first semester when the blonde started her first year, he was just trying to be a good upperclassman. “I just ran from that demon everyone’s been yappin’ about!” He explains, before leaning down and picking up the shoe that was thrown at him. He notices the red stains on it but knowing Junko she probably got done with a prank involving paint or even fake blood. ” The thing had a fucking army of cats with them! I literally walked near them, and they immediately started hissing and growling at me, demon was pratically acting like their mom or something and covered in shadows like some fucking final grim reaper boss, damn cat demon, shadow demon? Demonic shadow cat? Demon shadow cat? Some fucking Demonic shadow cat god.” Kazuichi tosses the shoe towards Mukuro who catches it with ease with her free hand and drops it into the bag Junko was holding without so much of a glance. 

Mukuro opens her mouth. Junko is the one to speak. “Fuck pinkie, wouldn’t want to mess with that shadow cat god. Maybe they’ll use their horn-looking ass cat ears to hear the sins you’ve committed and drag you all the way to hell to torment you with the wrath of a thousand pissed off cats.” The blonde jokes, leading him along and blocking her twin’s attempts to point out that it was probably his smell that irritated the cats.

The mechanic pauses as if considering the gyaru’s words. Of course, he was too tired to really remember that he shouldn’t be taking the blonde’s words to heart. “Holy shit- Does the demon even have horns? Fucking hell maybe it is a cat.” Kazuichi doesn’t even mask his yawn, earning another audible sound of disgust from Junko.

“I’m going to my room, good luck with whatever you did, I’m not going to deal with this demon- cat demon god or whatever.” He fixes the box carefully in his arms and hurries back to his dorm’s floor, the faster he gets to his room, shower then into bed the better.

Kyoko wakes up feeling the most well-rested she has ever been, not that it was a surprise, she barely sleeps. She’ll admit it, she does sleep though, so she’s got that going on for her. Kyoko gently moves her hand underneath the pillow to pull out her phone before her alarm ruins Taeko’s rest. Kyoko would rather miss class than wake Taeko up, it doesn’t help that the gambler only goes to class when she’s bored, maybe she was rubbing off on Kyoko, Kyoko has way more absences than she originally planned for. She turns her alarms off and turns on do not disturb before powering off her phone; she was not taking chances. 

The gambler lays in bed beside her, using the detective’s forearm as a pillow. She fell asleep relatively quickly after last night. By the time Kyoko finished borrowing Taeko’s shower and drying her hair, the girl had fallen fast asleep while stroking Grand Bois. A cute sight, Kyoko even secretly took a photo; she wasn’t sure what possessed her to do so, she never takes photos with her phone unless it was for work or some appointment she had that she couldn’t add to her planner immediatelyー there was some photos of Chibikku but that was a good few and most of them were photos from her classmates when they spotted Chibikku, not even including the ones Celes had sent her since the girl saves them herself and shows Kyoko when they’re alone. Kyoko only fully realized that the photo was taken when she was changing her wallpaper to that very photo. At the time she felt bad she took it without Taeko’s permission, but now that she had rested and could think about it more. Kyoko knew the girl wouldn’t be mad per se, annoyed that she took it? Yes. Embarrassed that it was saved as her wallpaper? Yes. That was the main reason Kyoko hasn’t deleted the photo or changed her wallpaper back to the image of her work calendar. The possibility of being confronted by an embarrassed Taeko, flushed and lightly lecturing her in a honestly endearing manner, is too tempting to just give into the polite need to remain out of trouble, not that she cared much for being in trouble. Kyoko carefully turned to her side, so she was facing Taeko, she gently scooched closer without moving the arm trapped under the girl’s head. Although her upper arm felt weird as she pressed against it to keep from disturbing the bed too much and accidentally waking the girl, the better view of Celes’ resting face definitely worth the careful strain of effort. 

It’s warm, Kyoko thinks. Despite her being only in her sports bra and a random pair of sweatpants she had left here in case she slept over, or the fact Taeko most definitely had a majority of the comforter, the dorms had a terrible heating system since most of them turned off every hour leaving the rooms to be cold unless someone modified their room’s system; Kyoko knew Taeko liked her room cool so she never bothered attempting to fix it. Yet, her chest felt so comfortingly warm, it is that warmth that spreads to the rest of her body like it were in her very bloodstream; she studies the freckles that dust the along the girl’s nose and tops of her cheeks, mapping out constellations that Kyoko can remember off the top of her head. She’s been catching herself staring at them quite lately, especially since they’re usually hidden under foundation, she counts them slowly not really in a rush. She already knew the number. Forty-one, forty-one freckles that Celes chooses to cover up, there were a couple on her back too, two on her pointer finger that’s usually hidden by her claw ring, possibly more that Kyoko hasn’t noticed. Kyoko finds them rather pretty, she would’ve said as much the first time she noticed them, last year at a sleepover that Sayaka and Aoi pleaded with her to attend, if not for the fact Sayaka immediately beat her to the punch. It didn’t bother her at the time, but it peeved her a bit looking back on it. She removes her attention from Taeko’s freckles to focus on her entirely. 

“You’re cute.” She whispers quietly. “Adorable and lovely…”

There are so many things Kyoko wants to say, but she’s afraid she’ll come on too strong. She isn’t very well versed in flirting, though she tries to learn. She isn’t very familiar with what one should be doing in a romantic situation, she hadn’t exactly had a model of it growing upー Kyoko was pretty certain her main exposure to anything about love and romance, that didn’t involve crimes, had been from her co-workers sharing stories of their partners or spouses. This inexperience made her feel like she was dropped in some labyrinth without any hint of where the exit could be, nor entrance for that matter, not that she was too interested in going back like it never happened. 

Kyoko watches her soft breathing, finding comfort in its rhythm. A similar one to the one she fell asleep to, this one perhaps reflecting the recharge that came with being well rested. Nothing else could lull Kyoko to sleep so effectively or encourage her to rise early just to catch the soft tune of Taeko's morning rhythm; she may not ever know rest without it, Kyoko hopes she could have this everyday. She can’t help the tender smile that overtakes her thoughtful expression. “I adore you, and your impish need to be the best and perfect and beyond those expectations you have for yourself.” Kyoko can see the reaction Celes would have to being called an imp. The detective, being the reserved soul she is, doesn’t really prefer to air out what she wants to say unless it were to contribute something; feelings and emotions, especially her own, were things she was only recently learning to value as meaningful in itselfー they don’t need to contribute anything. Although she knows it would possibly be easier to just talk to Taeko directly, it’s easier said than done, so here, with the girl of her affections do not awake to hear what she’s saying, she could at least try to gather her words for when she can get herself to do so. 

So, she continues in a louder whisper. “I think you’re cool. Amazing even, but you know that.”

Taeko is still silent. Kyoko can hear her heart picking up its pace; she’s sharing some sensitive thoughts all under the risk of the gambler waking up. “You’re very cool. Entrancing, it’s hard to keep my attention off you.” She reiterates, watching carefully for any signs that Celes would wake up and send her to an early grave, on her death certificate citing that her heart simply stopped and never returned to beating. 

She continues with a bit of an adrenaline rush. “You’re smart, talented, and work hard with everything you put your mind into,” the surface of everything Kyoko wants to say. “thoughtful, and considerate of others, no matter how hard you try to hide it, you were the first one to accept Chihiro regardless of them fully knowing who they were before she even addressed it with everyone, getting mad at Hifumi a while ago and breaking one of your cards instead of his, using my given name instead of my family because it made me uncomfortable without me prompting then encouraging the others to do itー you refuse to admit it but I know it was you, always willing to watch over the kids Toko and Naegi bring over and indulge them, the same with our underclassmen and you siblings too. It’s sweet to me that you deny being so kind despite your track record, albeit a little silly.” That wasn’t even mentioning she was also one of the main reasons there was intermingling between all the classes since she started a bigger gambling circle and encouraged competitiveness at the academy’s game nights, although Kyoko also knew the idea of earning a profit inspired Celes to do these things. There were also her efforts in making sure everyone was living a healthy lifestyle, enforcing that people develop good sleep schedules even if it seemed like it was mostly targeting her. “Collaborating with Toko and Hifumi for their content, dressing people up and making them outfits without prompting too; you do so many things I sometimes feel like you can do anything.” 

“Doing the things you like and are good at makes you all the more gorgeous, I think you’re beautiful when you’re designing and even taking measurements.” Kyoko softly chuckles to herself, a feeling of giddiness overthrowing her recently aware drowsiness. “I love your smile when you're loving Grand Bois, talking to him, petting him, cuddling him, whenever I come here to check on you, I hope I get to catch you at itー whenever you’re being affectionate with Chibikku I feel like I’m loved, since I love him dearly too. I love your laugh. Gosh I wish I could hear you laugh more, you try to cover it up when you’re laughing at me, you cover it up with that posh one when we’re in public, but I’d love to hear it again, I’ve thought about asking you to play one of your visual novels since the last time you played you laughed at my reaction to one scene.” Kyoko admits, sheepishly, her heart almost leaps out of her mouth when she hears rustling from Taeko’s direction. The relief that hits her when she hears a soft, familiar meow coming from the same direction. “I like seeing you get excited, I like that I’m your good luck charm for all the gacha games you play, I always get to see your eyes light up when you get the character you want, although the amount of money you spend on them gives me a heart attack sometimes.” She remembers the girl proudly proclaiming herself to be a whale, Kyoko doesn’t entirely know what it means but she can make the jump. The detective holds back a short laugh, and another memory resurfaces. “It might be wrong…” she broaches carefully, the idea felt mean to put into words. 

Then again, the girl was asleep, and she wouldn’t know. 

Kyoko goes back to tracing shapes from Taeko’s freckles with her eyes. “I think you’re cute when you’re devastated, and embarrassed but I’d feel bad detailing that, it’s silly that whenever it happens you blame it on literally everyone else besides me, what was it that you said when you lost that character… Robin? ‘I bet that moron Byakuya was walking past my door?’” 

Kyoko felt close to tears, not something she expected. “I like seeing you display your feelings,'' she admits. “I appreciate that you feel comfortable doing so with me, talking with me and taking my advice to heart and trying it. It surprises me that you trust me, every time I’m reminded it’s like rediscovering my dedication for you.”

“I think you’re strong and soft and everything you wish you weren’t and are, I love all of it; your effort is admirable, you were already opening up to everyone but recently it’s been even more evident.” Now that words were coming out of her, it all felt like so much, all these chaotically organized feelings, there was an endless stream for Kyoko to pick from and share, but it’s overwhelmingly a lot, she wasn’t used to such intense feelings. In hindsight, she’s been sitting on this brewing, festering bundle of… feelings that she hadn’t thought too deeply about till it suddenly hit her that there was an elephant in her mental, emotional room that wanted to exit and be free. She gently takes in a breath to slow that inner storm and collects her thoughts. 

Kyoko feels the movement of Celestia’s head, the girl’s hair tickling against her arm, before she can speak. A heavy shiver of fear strikes her entire body as she freezes in place, afraid to further stir Taekoー if she wasn’t already awake.

Taeko’s expression morphs into a lightly bothered one, her eyebrows barely scrunching. Kyoko, unmoving and holding her breath, continues to watch as the gambler squirms about slightly, the black comforter being pushed between the two, it seems the girl was bothered by the temperature. Taeko scooches to the pile, shortening the space between her and Kyoko as she settles back into place. The gambler’s chin now resting on Kyoko’s chest and head tucked beneath her own chin, to the silent fret of Kyoko as she played dead; The gambler inaudibly yawned before going still once again. Kyoko bit the inside of her bottom lip, just waiting for the moment the girl in her arms wakes up and notices the redness of Kyoko’s face and awkwardness in her intonation(?? words?). 

She remains there in silence, anxiously following along with the slow breathing against her neck, tickling her and sending familiar shivers throughout her body. Kyoko avoids swallowing the nerves at almost being caught, the heart dropping moment almost stealing all the words that Kyoko would’ve spilled. “Celestia?” She murmurs nervously. Her words were caught in her throat, she was working herself up letting words spill, talking really wasn’t her strong suit.

No answer, not even a miniscule twitch. “Taeko.” She whispers again, cautiously retracting back to where she started.

After a short eternity of waiting for any sign of consciousness, Kyoko lets herself relax, her nerves melting away. It’s laughable, embarrassing and a bit pathetic. Kyoko had taken the opportunity to confess a fraction of what she feels and wants to share with the gambler without the consequences of being caught, yet she was stiffening up at the idea of the girl overhearing her.

Wouldn’t it be so much easier if she had already shared all that and Taeko had heard? Kyoko would’ve been able to actually hold herself up properly to have a conversation with Celes about it, to address her feelings and perhaps Taeko’s too. Bitterly, amusingly, Kyoko remembers a trope where a character practices confessing and the object of their affection accidentally hears, it usually works out in the end; Kyoko is a little envious. The scare left her a little drained.

She simply lays in bed with Taeko tucked warmly against her, although she’s a little saddened at the fact that she wouldn’t be immediately greeted by the gambler’s pretty red eyes.

 “I wonder…” Kyoko uses her free hand to grab the comforter and raise it so it would properly cover the gambler, she misses how her hand faintly ghosts over Taeko’s shoulder. “What kind of person do you like? That you’ll fall forー if you allow yourself to.” She whispers, a hint of ache on her tongue, a faintly sweet taste of yearning. Kyoko lightly chuckles. “I’d bet they’re a wonderful person, maybe this would be the first bet I win?” She hums, she faintly hears Grand Bois moving in the background just a bit louder than her thoughts. “Well, that might be a bit unfair of a bet, wouldn’t it?”

Kyoko lets out a light scuff of amusement. “It’s the minimum of what you deserve. The most wonderful person, soulmate, if you even want that; I’ll make sure of it.”

She hears an impatient meow from the foot of the bed. 

Kyoko tilts her head slightly to look over at Grand Bois while he hops onto the foot of the bed, she offers him a nod, he stares at her with his body facing her completely. They continue their staring before Grand Bois slowly blinks at her before meowing back again, his tail slowly swaying as he stares at his owner. Grand Bois stalks over in their direction, Kyoko lets him climb onto her. She was curious on where this was going, Grand Bois wasn’t one to join them in the mornings much rather preferring his alone time in his corner of the room. Grand bois settles on her shoulder, balancing perfectly without risk of falling onto his owner; Kyoko is puzzled when he places a paw on her face and chirps. 

Doesn’t he only chirp when he is annoyed?

Kyoko, unable to offer a comforting hand since he was sitting on the shoulder of her once free hand, simply offers him a curious hum. Grand Bois turns his head to look down at Taeko, putting a gentle paw on her head before chirping once again. Of course, she doesn’t answer. Kyoko tries to look past them, over at his corner to look for any obvious issues.

Before she could stop him, Grand Bois backs up, before pouncing on Taeko and loudly meowing into her ears. Kyoko winces lightly as the gambler wakes with a cat in her face.

Taeko groggily lifts her head, only pausing to let Grand Bois get off. She immediately glares at him, not something Kyoko sees so often, and gently uses her finger to push him away so she may sit up. She raises a hand to let out a short yawn and rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. “*Mon pousse.” she murmurs earning a chirp from Grand Bois. Kyoko can't help but watch in mild amusement, at least to distract herself from her racing heart. “... It’s not even nine yet, be patient.” She finishes off, quiet at the start causing Kyoko to miss her words. Grand Bois meows, giving attitude, a rare occurrence as he was usually affectionate towards Taeko. Kyoko lets out the breath she suddenly forgot to let out.

“*Sei geduldig.” She says firmly, Kyoko stifles a laugh as Grand Bois chirps in annoyance before parading off to the edge of the bed and hopping off the bed. Not without flicking his tail. Kyoko turns her head to offer Taeko a smile then notices the girl had buried her head in the comforter.

“Good morning, Taeko.” She greets, earning a cute grunt from the gambler. Kyoko sits up and stretches her arms out gently, she looks over at Grand Bois as the cat quickly disappears under the pile of blankets that made up his bed, the complete opposite of his owner when it comes to preference for temperature to sleep in. She glanced back at Celes, reaching out to pat the bunched-up comforter down to see her face. “Do you want me to feed him?” Kyoko’s eyes meet Taeko’s after a moment, and she immediately notices that the girl’s face was flushed. Hoping that it wasn’t what she thought it was, she swallowed her panic. “Taeko?” She asks worriedly.

The gambler looks off to the side, raising a hand to cover her face instead. She mumbles an apology, not at all calming Kyoko’s concern, if anything making her confused. Taeko’s eyes peek over her hand at Kyoko’s confused expression, she sighs. “I didn’t realize I slept on your chest; you should’ve woken me up if I was sleeping on you.” Kyoko’s confusion does not dissipate. She lets the gambler stretch herself out, she’s puzzled on what’s the issue.

“I don’t mind. Never have.” She voices with a start, Taeko looks back at her with a calm expression as if expecting the answer. “Haven’t you slept on me plenty of times?” Taeko’s light flush returns.

Taeko raises her hand to her face, this time using it to cup her face and cover her mouth and blush. Only hints of gradient peeking out. “I wouldn’t say I’ve slept on you many times, sure a handful, but we’re usually both awake. You have to be confusing it with how many times we’ve slept together.” She counters, not seeming particularly bothered by the concept of sleeping on top of Kyoko itself. 

Kyoko tilts her head at her, before offering another. “Is it because I’m shirtless then?” Taeko’s eyes shut the way it does when she sighs, which Kyoko hears, her hand seems to cup around her mouth tighter in an effort to contain the expression she was making underneath. “This wasn’t the first time either.” The detective adds, the gambler’s ears turn pinker and honestly Kyoko feels just a little bit mean, like teasing a kitten because she was nervous.

“I don’t exactly wake up with my head…” She mumbles, before dropping her hand, unveiling an embarrassed pout. “The first thing I saw was your cleavage after being woken against my will, sorry if I’m a bit flustered.” She explains, leaning her head to rest it against Kyoko’s shoulder. Kyoko automatically leans her head against the top of Celes’ then hugs the girl. Rubbing apologetic circles on her back.

“I didn’t mean to push.” She apologizes, using her other hand to calmly brush down a few of the girl’s hairs that were poking out. “Should we get ready?” She offers.

She feels Taeko shake her head. “In a bit. It’s too early. How long have you been awake?” The gambler asks, not lifting her head.

About a few hours, perhaps three? “Not that long.”

Taeko hums before lifting her head and studying her face. 

Kyoko yelps loudly, at a louder pitch than she’d willingly make, when a pair of very cold hands make contact with her abdomen. She jolts back straight, her elbows finding purchase against the bed as she falls back to avoid the coldness of the gambler’s handsー Kyoko always ran warm, so she wasn’t particularly bothered by cold temperatures herself but… direct contact against her stomach? Her one weakness.

She already knows what thoughts run through Taeko’s mind as the gambler stares down at her blankly, her hands ghosting over her stomach. Kyoko had no way to escape. Taeko had the detective’s legs trapped between her own, straddling and effectively keeping Kyoko pinned to the bed “No.” Is all she can say to, hopefullyー or well, she didn’t really mind if it was Taeko but Kyoko felt immobilizedー some sliver of pity will be given. 

Celes’ lips part, her expression controlled and impassive. “... Aren’t you too cute?” She says with a hint of concern in her voice.

Her thoughts are just so easily pulled from her. “What?”

Taeko gives her a mischievous grin as Kyoko’s only warning before placing the full palm of her hands on the detective’s stomach and cheekily dragging them to sit on the sides of her waist. All of which sends shocks of ice to her spine. Kyoko visibly shivers and chokes back another embarrassing noise, which comes out as a newer embarrassing note; the detective’s back arches to avoid the cold feeling in her spine but only serves to press herself further against Taeko’s hands who watches her intently much to her embarrassment. 

Kyoko thinks Taeko is too pretty, grinning down at her and obviously laughing at her internally; perhaps the gambler’s natural aptitude was to torment people, her natural element even. She looked radiant as she traced some kind of pattern against her stomach eliciting another shiver.

“Poor, ticklish, and sensitive Detective.” She teases. Taeko eyes shine with a glint of impishness, and her cheeky grin plays at her intention. The girl leans forward with a theatrical flourish. She’s unfairly perfect in her element, gorgeous even in small moments of enjoyment. “Unfortunately, for you, I was planning on skipping class this morning.” Actually, Kyoko might actually mind being at the, freezing, hands of the gambler.

Grand Bois chirps and is immediately drowned out by Kyoko easily flipping them over only to immediately be met with Celes retaliating with her freezing hands leading to the two semi-wrestling. The cat chirps once more, perhaps to themselves before burrowing further into his pile of blankets.

1. Mon pousse: My sapling; it really means "my sprout" but I've decided that I don't like the proper word for sapling (and while it would fit better for context and intended word and also it's other meanings) it's not as cute as pousse.

2. Sei geduldig: Be patient

1 is French, 2 is German.

“Easy. I could easily beat Byakyuya in a gamble. I wouldn’t even need to renew my play contract for the next two years, quickest way to make a hundred mil.” Leon proudly proclaims, puffing out his chest much to the insult of the blonde who gives him a look bordering disappointment and disgust, Celestia found it incredibly amusing; especially since it fed her ego that Leon hadn’t even entertained the idea of being able to come close to winning against her. The class seemed pretty energetic this noon, since they all had study hall after their lunch break this day and Kuma-Sensei was in charge of that everyone returned to the dorms for their “studying” time, Celestia doubts it was the, essentially, early dismissal from school today that made them tick with some kind of anticipation.  The gambler hadn't a clue, she and her darling detective had ditched the morning classes in favor of being in each other's company. 

It was a great morning, no regrets about her choices even if Grand Bois Cheri Ludenberg knew her too well and pounced on her face. Though… She’s glad she's recently taken to using a better foundation and base that covered her ears better, her ears burn at the embarrassing moment she caused. In hindsight, Kyoko was right but Celestia pointing it out as her attempted diversion followed by Kyoko obliviously detailing how common that… moment was made her feel a bit flustered. Before then she hadn't really thought about it, and really that entire morning she was off her game, Kyoko was sincerely too good at stealing her attention as she was attracting it. “Oh? How boldly confident, dear.” She muses.

Byakuya crosses his arms and stares the baseballer down. “And how, pray tell, would you win any bet against me, I’ve seen what kind of stocks you possess and the financial mistakes you continue to make, in what world would your insight beat my own?” He asserts, his annoyance clear in his tone. Celestia has to hold a gentle hand to her lips to mask the amusement bubbling inside her. Oh how she enjoyed an annoyed Byakuya, if only she could see him put in his place more often. Byakuya backs away from Leon as the ginger wags his finger at the heir. 

“Nuh uh.” He says.

Byakuya’s nose scrunches lightly in annoyance. “What exactly do you mean by ‘nuh uh’?”

Leon crosses his arms with a satisfied grin, Celestia was also curious where he was going from. The athlete gestures towards Celestia, further piquing her interest, before he gestures to the entirety of the agitated blonde and the gambler already knows she’ll enjoy whatever insinuation the ginger was going to make. “Dude, I just have to bet hella money on whether Celestia will get with Kyoko first,” she better like where this was going or the next time, she gambles with the boy she was going to egg him til he gambled most of his fortune. “Or you finally pull your big boy pants up and ask Makoto out.” Leon then carefully wraps an arm around Celestia’s shoulder, knowing better than to wrap one around her waist lest he suffers food poisoning, he leans forward with a cheeky smirk. “Obviously the money-making position is with the bestie here, your pride wouldn’t let you choose this side in the first place. Doesn’t matter that you can directly skew the result on your side, your head’s too far up your ass to even admit that your friends with Makoto.” 

The way Byakuya’s nostrils flared open slightly more was a dead giveaway of how annoyed Leon was making him, he fixes his glasses back to their position in a flustered way, well, flustered for him. “Naegi and I are friends. I’ve never denied that fact.” Celestia could tell how he was pushing himself to say that, resisting the urge to grit his teeth.

Leon silently holds a fist out to Celestia, she resists the urge to roll her eyes and simply gives the aspiring guitarist the fist bump he wanted albeit in a slow manner as if to say that it was a gesture below her status. “Yeah?” Leon remarks. “Have you told that to Mako?”

Byakuya can only glare at Leon and bite his tongue. Byakuya was the only one on a last name basis with Makoto, even Celestia and Kiyotaka were on a first name basis with the boy though they had their preference of referring to them in the polite form most of the time. “Forget it. I don’t entertain tomfoolery, especially not by someone with a deathwish.”

“Huh?” Leon responds, Byakuya doesn’t respond, just continues to glower at Leon. Kuwata tilts his head in confusion, he stares at the blonde for another second before his mouth morphs into a circle of realization then his eyes widened in horror before he drops his arms from Celestia’s shoulder before whistling and looking off to the side innocently. 

“Moron.” Byakuya remarks back.

Leon raises a brow; he takes another step away from the gambler and towards the blonde. “Just say you give up bro, no flavor of some advanced and articulate vocab is gonna make you sound less like a loser.”

“Oi, Kyoko!” Celestia turns her gaze away from the boys to look at Mondo who had walked into the lounge area from the hall that leads to their individual rooms. He was in his workout get up, a bottle in hand, his phone, and two towels in his other arm; an unusual sight was that he wasn’t accompanied by Kiyotaka nor Chihiro. 

Kyoko was leaning against the wall in a group with Makoto and Sayaka near the entrance to the dining room, she turned her head in his direction and nodded her head to signal that he caught her attention.

The biker threw his towels onto his shoulder and nodded back. “Want to work out with me? Taka’s out showing some new kid around and Chi-chin’s busy.”

Kyoko blinks, before glancing back towards Sayaka and Makoto with a casual apologetic bow of her head while the two playfully wave her off. “Sure.” She agrees simply with a nod towards Mondo before walking back in the direction of the rooms. “Let me get ready.”

Mondo hums understandingly. “Meet you at the gym.”

The detective’s eyes wander off to the point their eyes meet, Kyoko pauses and nods at Celestia before giving her a small, almost invisible, soft smile and a little wave. The gambler wishes she could pull her phone out and take a photo, alas she was surrounded with people who will immediately call her out and prey on that weakness, honestly she wouldn’t be surprised considering how casually up in everyone’s business everyone was, after all she would do the sameー has done the same actually, the gambler couldn’t help but notice Sayaka’s new wallpaper a few weeks back; instead of the photo, Celestia offers her a smile back and her own little wave as inconspicuous as possible.

Of course, Leon was still within perfect view of this, at least he was blocking Byakuya’s view.

He snickers as Kyoko walks out of view. Byakuya shakes his head and tuts in disappointment, the remainder of his irritation now festering and on hold till Leon was done messing with her.

Leon slyly leans over to her now that he caught that scene. He wiggles his brows and uses his eyes to gesture in the direction Kyoko had left in, barely above a whisper, Leon speaks. “Y'know, maybe we should join them, they'll appreciate the extra company.” He offers, his voice's slight quivering a poor restraint of his laughter. Nonetheless, she’ll entertain him, after all they were comrades in the sense of annoying Byakuya at any given opportunity. “We wouldn't even have to work out, we could be their cheerleaders! I have some experience.” Celestia would rather have Ibuki leak her baby photos then go into the gym, but well, encouraging her peers is something one should do.

“Or…” Leon adds on playfully, he takes his phone out and mimics taking a selfie of the two. “We can sneak in and take some photos~” He titters, barely holding back his bubbly laughter.

Celestia turns her head to look at him so that their eyes meet. “Kuwata.”

He hums. “Yes, Madam ma’am?”

She gives him a closed eyed smile. "If you even think about stepping foot in that gym while anyone, especially Kyoko, is there for a secret photo, you won't like the consequences, especially in regard to Kyoko. Trust me." A hand raises to play with the right earring, her earring filled with poison, the right one with the more fatal poison, unlike the weak one in her left earring.

Leon smoothly puts his phone away, with a playfully obedient grin. He had long learned his lesson, multiple times in fact. “Yes, Ma’am.”

Chapter Text

Ibuki and Kokichi blankly stare at one another, occasionally smirking when they felt the other was close to blinking, only for the other to widen their eyes and silently challenge the other to beat them in their staring contest. The two didn’t even twitch as the gambler leaned in to peck the musician on the cheek before going over to press her check against the younger boy in greeting. 

Celestia settled herself between her sister and her underclassman: Kokichi. She looks across the table at Peko, greeting her with a nod. She decided not to interrupt the two’s contest this time; she gives Peko an apologetic smile. “I apologize for being late, some of our kouhai can be quite elusive when they like. How have you been?”

“I understand, I can rarely find anyone on my own. I’ve been good.” Peko nodded; she was out of her usual attire, donning neither the school’s uniform or athletic clothing, but a simple maroon sweater and a beautiful skirt that hugged her well and a fashionable black belt to articulate her waist. “We only just got here a few minutes ago.”

Ibuki suddenly beamed brightly, eyes shutting joyfully, and letting out a happy, triumphant hum of victory. Beside the gambler, Kokichi huffed. “You cheated.” He remarks informatively, ignoring his opponent he turns his head towards Celestia before giving her his characteristic mischievous grin. “Hey, Celes-Senpai!”

“Good Afternoon, Ouma.” She greets, reaching out to gently tap the top of Kokichi’s peaked cap. He wears a deep purple vest on top of a white dress shirt, dressed nicer than he would usually. “What a well-dressed guest, how did you end up joining our early dinner?” Celestia watched as he politely removed his hat and gave her a sweet look.

He smiled just as sweetly. “Ibuki-Senpai kidnapped me!”

She was not surprised, Ibuki had a habit of inviting people to outings, just to be sure her sister hadn't actually just up and kidnapped their underclassmen, she looked over at Ibuki who looked proud at the young leader’s answer. She scratched sheepishly at her nose. “Picked him up and kidnapped ‘em.” Ibuki parroted, knowing her she probably meant the part where she picked him up and brought him here. The two shared a pleased expression, so instead of questioning them further she directed her attention towards Pekoyama for details. The swordswoman straightened in her seat.

“I noticed Ouma when we were on our way here. We talked with him for a while but when Ibuki found out he hadn’t eaten today yet she picked him up, literally, and we came here together.” Peko curtly detailed, her attention going to Ibuki who hummed in agreement. 

“Yup!” Ibuki confirms, sitting up properly from her slouching position, though not without stretching out her shoulders. Ibuki’s hand landed on her chest above her heart. “Ibuki called to request another seat so Koki-chii has a place, I’ll be paying too!” Hearing his name mentioned, Kokichi decides to look around the restaurant instead, his eyes settling on the tables further away from their private table. Ibuki then adds. “Oh, by the way Ibuki ordered for you, but they’ll come back to take your drink order.”

“Thank you.” Celestia glared at her sister, hinting that the musician paying wouldn’t be the brightest. Their grandparents, and apparently Ibuki’s manager, were keeping an eye on the girl’s spending after attempting to rent an music venue abroad so their agency would have to play at it, Celestia wasn’t privy to the detail of which venue aside from the fact it was incredibly expensiveー allegedly, Celestia offered to pay for it instead but was immediately rejected by their grandfatherー so their grandparents were monitoring Ibuki’s spending, only allowing her an allowance of just under two-hundred thousand yen. As Celestia had chosen the restaurant intending to pay, the prices of which she hadn’t cared for, only the dishes, after reserving did she note that it was on the costly side. The gambler hummed. “It is alright, no need to pay for our guest, I had my card on file here when I made the reservation, as per restaurant policy. They’ll be charging me directly.” She lied, she'll get up to get takeaway and pay. She considers whispering behind her teeth by masking it with an open smile, knowing Ibuki would be able to pick up on her silent whispers. Though she refrains when she feels both Pekoyama’s and Ouma’s eyes on her.

That gets the boy to perk up, a knowing glint in his eyes. “Huh?”

“Aw, is that right?” Ibuki momentarily pouted, before letting out a pleased huff. She still doesn’t seem to remember the limit she had on her balance. “Ibuki’ll pay you back later than.” Celestia was not going to remind her.

“Wait,” Kokichi starts, raising a brow at Celestia. His smile hinting at his amusement.  “But this place doesn’t have such pol- '' The boy pauses momentarily to hide the pure mischief leaking from his voice, though long enough for Celestia to interrupt him and redirect the topic.

“Payment aside.” She cuts him off, ignoring the way the boy crosses his arms like a child. How the boy always had the information to refute her lies was both an annoyance and admirable trait, his broad knowledge saving him from a couple of her past taunts when she was teasing the underclassmen when she first met them. What was the chance he not only knew what policy this restaurant didn’t have, but to coincidently be wearing an outfit suitable for the environment, when Celestia knew the boy traditionally wore his ragged outfit for after his little meetings? Perhaps she should ask if Maki happened to have any embarrassing photos of the little menace she could send to his secret base as a gift, she’ll finally be able to use her calling card outside of the gambling scene. “Our class’s lucky charm announced that the warriors are visiting before their school’s break.” She shares. 

“Warriors of Hope?” Peko inquires specifically, Celestia wonders if the swordswoman familiarized herself with the academy’s junior high athletic program. The gambler never did remember their name beyond their nickname of warriors, the only warriors that mattered to her were the ones being parented by Fukawa and Naegi’s sister.

She nodded. “Of course~ They’ll be visiting the dorms, hopefully sooner rather than later. I wish to give Kotoko a dress I designed for her.” They were leaving at the start of next week. A few days from now, the gambler didn’t want to miss the excitement from the girl since the little ones’ break started after that week; she hopes the little actor enjoys the dress. Celestia even designed a matching one since she promised to make matching outfits for the two, well threeー she was still wondering if she should make an outfit for Grand Bois or match with accessories like a new boy tie since it should be getting warmer. 

Kokichi sat up. “Who are the Warriors of Hope?” 

Ah, that was right. The first years hadn’t meet the WoH yet, their arrival tended to be last minute as of late with them stopping at the dorms before heading out on whatever adventure Junko or Komaru and Toko had planned; sometimes Junko bringing them unprompted without warning whenever the gyaru felt like it. “Oh! We met them late last year, Ibuki has some-” She pauses as she checks her pockets, pulling out a gray phone with only a single charm, one part beaded and the other woven, accessorizing the phone. Which wasn’t Ibuki’s phone much to the confusion of the musician who lets out an audible sound of surprise “Huh. When did that get there?” She shyly handed the phone to Peko, using her other hand to awkwardly scratch at her neck. “My bad, d’ya have Ibuki’s phone by chance?”

Peko shook her head, though accepting her phone and smoothly unlocking it. “You left it to charge. I’m pretty sure you sent me photos with the warriors in them though.” She reminds the musician before handing the phone back with a gallery of photos open to select from, Ibuki looking somewhat surprised that the phone was given back. She accepts it with both hands, suddenly polite; Celestia will save her sister’s dignity by not commenting on the new brightness on the girl’s face and the sudden flip to girly politeness she was displaying today. Though, she wasn’t going to stop Kokichi if he decided to comment on the more obvious things. Celestia had the advantage of growing up with the girl and recognizing the little signs of when she got flustered, she by far had more ammunition on the girl. 

Ibuki beamed then scooted her chair closer to the table, and closer to Peko. “Ooh, you’re my savior pekopeko!” Pekoyama’s eyes flicked down before looking back at Ibuki and acknowledging her thanks with a nod. It’s a sweet sight, Celestia doesn’t miss the way Ibuki’s and Peko’s shoulders move, so obviously holding hands underneath the table. “You angel, you!”

Predictably, the boy winces at their affection. “What? Are you guys married or something?” Kokichi questions, defiantly, Ibuki sticks her tongue out.

“Nuh, why? Still can’t even get a situationship?” Ibuki taps the phone, ignoring the dramatic mouth gape from the boy as he clutches his chest as if experiencing a heart attack as a result of her retort. “Zip it. These kids are the Warriors of Hope! The honorary seventies class members!” She holds the phone out with a selfie involving the musician and the warriors. Kokichi sticks his tongue out back and leaves it out as he leans forward to examine the photo. “Y’know how HP’s got the junior and primary school programs? These five are from the elementary school, left to right we got Masaru, Nagisa, Jataro, Monaca, and my niece: Kotoko.” Niece?

Celestia offered her sister a look, already knowing what the musician was going to say. “Since when was Kotoko your niece?” She inquires.

Ibuki wiggles her brow, and Celestia has never wanted to take her phone out and snap a photo of her sister holding hands to their grandparents, so they feel the need to send the older girl’s baby album more than this very moment. “I can’t believe you're denying your own child, what would Kyoko say about this?” The gambler very gently dug her heel into Ibuki’s foot under the table for that comment.

She admits to her sister one time that she wanted to adopt the girl, then all of a sudden Kotoko is her’s and Kyoko’s kid?

Well…

It wasn’t a bad thought, if she let her mind run with that information, she’d be mentally kicking her feet like a bashful school girlー the irony in that comparison isn’t lost on her unfortunately. A shame she technically wasn’t old enough to adopt a kid with legal guardians, she checked, and she knows Junko had as well. Celestia still hasn’t heard back from her informant for loopholes or anyone trustworthy to forge the documents to do so; she’s had a concern for Kotoko’s home life along with Tokomaru and Junko and judging by Junko’s own efforts to keep the WoH on their campus, she’s afraid she may be right. “I can’t claim the sweetheart to be mine, I’m working on it though so don’t fret.” She shares, Ibuki doesn’t seem surprised in the least at this admission of avidly working on it.

“Well, if you’re interested in adopting, why don’t you adopt Maki? Frankly, I don’t think I can come up with enough Batman jokes about her, she’d kill me if I throw a bat toy at her door again.” Kokichi jokes, sitting back down while Ibuki retracted the phone and silently returned it to Peko with a thankful grin. Celestia hummed knowingly. She did not understand what he was implying with the batman remark. Adopting the girl was also on her bucket list, though she never did share that fact, she was fond of the girl though she wasn’t certain on acting on it, as she was familiar with Maki’s opinion on the orphanage she comes from and her goals with the kids still there. 

“Perhaps.” She should check up on her informant, the conversation was making her feel a tad impatient.

Kokichi makes a show of relief, his shoulders slumping as he pushes his bangs up his head before letting them fall back into place. “Finally, I can sleep in peace and without fear, with reassurance that Makiroll won’t kill me in my sleep.”

“Ibuki doesn’t think that’s gonna stop Maki, Celes wouldn’t discourage murder.” Ibuki points out with a chuckle. As if she wouldn’t do the same thing as the gambler, considering it was Ibuki who told Celestia that if anyone bothered her, she should kill them or Ibuki will fight them for her every time she went out to gamble. Really, it was her fault Celestia was a tad bit murderous. 

Celestia's eyes meet Peko’s, who turns to her after Kokichi’s comment, the swordswoman opens her mouth to speak. “I wanted to ask since you’ve known Ibuki longer than I have,” Ibuki turns her head curiously towards Peko. Peko’s expression remains unchanging. “Does Ibuki usually fall off her bed?” Is not the straightforward question the gambler was expecting, even more so when the *kendoka looks so genuinely curious. Ibuki’s cheeks turn a bright red as she holds her hands up to defend herself, all that comes out is a stammer of words in Japanese and German and a few English words thrown in too. What was her sister trying to defend besides the hole she was digging herself?

Her sister did have a bit of a clumsy side, didn’t she? Knowing Ibuki she probably threw herself off the bed to get up but misjudged the force she put in or the distance and ended up toppling off the bed. “Not often, she’s more likely to fall off of a chair…” Celestia wonders where the question was stemming from. Ibuki slept like a log, albeit always moving around a lot to find a position to sleep in but she always remained in the position she fell asleep in when she woke up. For Ibuki to fall off a bed she’d have to be awake, and for Peko to use the word ‘usually’ implies she’s seen Ibuki fall off her bed many times. Ah. “Hmm, unless… I thought you fell out of the habit of throwing yourself out of bed.” She remarks instead of pointing out some things about her sister, a white fib. Oh, well, Celestia wasn’t a prude, she wasn’t going to call her sister out for sleeping with Peko. Not when the girl knew she did the same with Kyoko…

“Huh? Celes?” Ibuki reaches a hand out towards the gambler, almost falling off her chair after misjudging the distance since she scooted closer to her girlfriend and away from her sister earlier. The musician takes one glance at her before nodding her head knowingly, she leans her head on her free arm’s elbow. “Ibuki guesses something happened.” She remarks knowingly smug.

“You just want us to gloss over the fact you and Pekoyama-Senpai slept in the same bed.” Kokichi takes his own turn to observe the gambler, not really seeing anything to spark his interest. Fortunately. 

Celestia shakes her head. When is their server going to arrive? She needs something to cool herself off before her blood starts to burn. “Nothing in particular. I had an embarrassing wake up this morning, however, I don’t believe it’s noteworthy.” How should she word the exchange, she doesn’t mind Pekoyama hearing her morning but with her underclassmen next to her she feels rather reluctant to share such a moment.

“Ah, so Kyoko.” Ibuki immediately clocks her.

“I know where you live and sleep.” Is Celestia’s immediate response.

“I know where you live and sleep.” Ibuki responds before turning to look across the table at Kokichi who wears a very curious expression. “Nothing that is shared here leaves this table, alright kid. If you babble, Ibuki will adopt you legally and ground you.”

Kokichi gives her a look, and Celestia fears that Ibuki was being genuine. About the adopting part; wow they’re really taking after their graduated senpais. Celestia remembers being on the receiving end of adoption threats, and has even met with one of Ibuki’s senpais who genuinely tried adopting her sister. “You’re threatening to adopt me? I have parents.” He lies before adding. “Plus you need your partner’s permission.” 

“I promised Akane that she’d be the designated babysitter.” Peko shares bluntly, blatantly giving her approval to the clear joy of Ibuki. Ibuki throws her arms around Peko’s arm, probably hanging off the edge of her seat, as she hugs and thanks her playfully. The gambler’s curiosity was slightly piqued, she’ll remember to ask for details another time.

Celestia sighs. Ibuki wasn’t going to let her leave if she didn’t share now. She throws a glance at Kokichi, as he rolls his eyes while throwing his hands behind his head. “Fine, since nothing leaves I’d like to share that I am nonbinary and totally beat Ibuki-senpai earlier.” He shares rather boredly, his arms lightly quivering with how much force he was pushing his hands into his head. Nerves most likely.

“Did not.” Ibuki reminds.

“Did too.” Kokichi reaffirms.

“Do we refer to you the same way?” Peko asks for the table, Kokichi shrugs.

“Yeah pretty much, everything’s fine, but like terms rather than boy or girl, or kid, yuck, I’d like to be referred to as a menace, terms like dude, babygirl, and bro are chill. I believe they transcend gender.” Celestia files that away in her mind, though substituting menace with brat fully knowing Kokichi was joking and it being a more fitting term. Of course, in the endearing sense.

Ibuki nods approvingly. “Hell yeah,「based.」Gender’s overused.” Ibuki flicks her gaze back to Celestia. “Since Koki-chii shared, Celes needs to as well.”

Before Celestia could counter that, Kokichi wagged a finger at her. “Nope! Too late, I shared something SUPER personal and sensitive, so you have to share whatever you did with your girlfriend. Keep it PG tho, I'm not that invested.” He went back to reclining in his seat and using his hands behind his head as a cushion. Celestia was getting tired of people saying her a Kyoko we're dating, she wishes, she does, however Celestia truly believes that if they were together, she would not be able to shut up about it; alas they are not and having to constantly deny the accusations was getting tiresome. It really rubbed salt into her wounds, the constant reminder that they weren't together and Celestia was being a little too obvious about it. Her feelings and whatnot.

At this point should she stop denying?

She lets out a sigh. “If that’s what you want.” Celestia could handle a bit of her dying.

“You brought it up chief.” Kokichi reminds, before nodding behind Celestia. The gambler was tempted to smack Kokichi up their head. “Server.”

“When I get the greenlight to adopt Kotoko, I’ll send you papers to adopt Kokichi.” She retaliates when she directs her promise towards her sister, turning her head to the server as he approaches. He collects the remaining menu list that she hadn’t bothered to open, she waits for him to ask for her order. “I’d like the Moscato d'Asti, please and thank you dear.” He nods before going off once again.

Ibuki whistles lowly. “Wine? Ibuki didn’t think it was this bad.” The musician sitting up, pulling away from Peko in preparation to retract the order unless the gambler had a proper reasoning.

Celestia can feel the heat in her ears. She tuts at the accusation. “I’ll have you know that the Moscato d'Asti has a low ABV, I’m simply craving a bit of sweetness.” If the gambler wanted to get drunk she’d do so in the privacy of her own room with the bottles of Beaujolais and Zinfandel she had stored in her dorm, however they’re gifts for their grandparents when they return home. “This is not a coping mechanism.” She adds.

“Right, right…” Ibuki taunts jokingly before using her hands to feign taking notes, the only thing that would sell her therapist's act more is if she wore the glasses instead of her prescription contacts. “Now, tell Senpai about the trouble in paradise.” Celestia internally cringes, she does not think she’d ever be able to refer to her sister as senpai again, she immediately dropped the senpai act after a month during her first year not able to tolerate the ego her siblings developed.

She doesn’t want to get accused of stalling, that would make this all the more embarrassing.  Celestia begins rather straightforwardly. “Kyoko had slept over in my room, at my request, that girl only ever seems to sleep when I bring her to bed.” A tactic she uses often, especially when she notices a hint of eye bags or puffiness on her detective's face. Though she should put more effort in getting the detective to include naps in her daily schedule. “So of course, I would wake up beside her.”

Ibuki nods. “Naturally.” 

Celestia ignores her. “It was early, I hadn’t intended to wake up so soon so I simply closed my eyes and started listening to her breathing. It’s rather soothing, especially when she looks so peaceful.” She admits, the detective could be so quiet even in sleep, it reminded Celestia of a sleeping bunny cute and demure. The gap between Kyoko’s aloofness and moments of assertiveness in addition to how adorable her detective is behind closed doors makes her head spin with emotions. All positive, and for her sake and dignity, she will not be naming it, though she knows them well. She doesn’t want to unpack all of that again with people around.

“Gay ass.” Kokichi comments. Across the table Ibuki nods in agreement, as if Celestia didn’t have blackmail on her or the fact her own girlfriend was next to her. 

“Language.” Celestia chastises her underclassmen before continuing, speaking slowly as to not give in to the shaky feeling creeping up on her and threatening to leak into her voice. “I stayed that way but Kyoko woke up, then she started complimenting me, calling me cute and cool.” Celestia isn’t even sure what possessed her to remain ‘asleep’ while Kyoko was complimenting her, maybe to surprise her? At the start when Kyoko was calling her cute she was going to pretend to wake up but the detective, to her absolute surprise, continued. The gambler doesn’t think she has the strength to share in detail everything the detective rambled on about without fainting. “She spent such a long time just simply praising me, so in an effort to get her to be quiet and go to sleep,” she adds in to, somewhat, safe face, she did not want to admit she did it because she was blushing and didn’t want the detective to see. “I pretended to stir and hid in her shoulderー which did not work mind you, she instead jumped to wondering aloud who I’d fall for then proclaiming that she’d make sure they were deserving of me?” Celestia busied herself with studying the miniscule patterns in the tablecloth of their table, ignoring the way her sister was trying not to smile and the borderline disturbed look on her underclassmen’s face, at least Peko wasn’t making fun of her. Though she noted the very slight furrow of Peko’s brows, there was understanding in that expressive tick.

Ibuki cleared her throat, stifling audible laughter. “I mean… that’s pretty normal? Seems like that’s the norm for you two, did she like, hug you to her chest or some yuri type shenanigans?” She jokes, earning a glare from Celestia, the musician chuckles before noticing the expression on her little sister’s face. “Wait-”

Celestia turns her head to see the server return with the bottle she requested. “I don’t quite appreciate that my morning falls under… yuri shenanigans.” Oh, now she sees it, she can practically see the manga panels in front of her. An entire couple of pages of Kyoko complimenting and praising her then side panels of close-ups of Celestia’s face as her blush deepens with each praise and progressively worsens, till in the end it shows Celestia incredibly flustered with Kyoko’s attention on Grand Bois none the wiser of the emotional damage she just inflicted on the gambler. Grand Bois acts as the pairs’ tsukkomi by pouncing on the gambler and forcing her to ‘wake up’ and confront the day that started off with Kyoko obliterating her already damaged emotional barriers. Celestia hasn’t even mentioned the part of what she saw when she opened her eyes either, not that she would mention it.

In sync, Ibuki and Kokichi amusingly remark. “Gay ass.”

“Yuri?” Peko questions, beside her, Ibuki chokes back laughter as the server walks up to the table once again before confirming the wine selection with Celestia.

Ibuki whispers, hiding her words with her hand. “Y’know the girls love manga I’ve shown you? That’s yuri.” She returns to biting her lips as the server directs their attention to the table and announces their food will be out shortly, it’s when he’s a decent distance away that covers her mouth and giggles, her shoulders shaking with the real amusement she felt.

“Ugh.” Kokichi groans, he slouches once again, his shoulder dipping and his head falling to the side as if his soul left his very body. Seemingly exhausted, he reaches out to grab his glass of some sparkling beverage. “Is this like? A thing with gay women? Is this normal?”

Ibuki snorts, not hiding her amused grinning. “Guessing not your first rodeo?”

“I’d appreciate it if we hide our amusement.” Celestia warns, her ears burning, she’s thankful she applied a layer of makeup on her ears today. “I don’t mind disposing of two bodies after this.” 

“Two?!” Kokichi huffs, he gestures to Peko who has a hand raised to her mouth similarly to how Ibuki tries to hold back smiling to avoid being rude, however instead, she looked a bit shy. She meets Celestia’s eyes before giving the girl an apologetic head bow, the gambler entirely understands the reserve nature of her upperclassmen and why she was being shy. “She’s smiling with us!” Ibuki, ever Peko’s cheerleader, childishly pulls her eyelid down at the younger ultimate.

“Pekopeko can do whatever she wants.” She defends, grin morphing into a defensive pout, her eyes still twinkling with amusement. 

“Says who?”

“She’s the coolest, duh? Why not?”

“Peko’s more mature than the both of you combined,” Celestia points out, glad that the heat was pulled off her, otherwise she would’ve died, dignity and all if she had to go into detail. She hears footsteps move closer to their table. “I do recall two people at this table not liking tomatoes, however, shall I request-”

“No!” Ibuki and Kokichi exclaim simultaneously.

1. Kendoka: A kendo practitioner, I know I use swordswoman a lot to refer to Peko but I hope it's known by the people that her actual ultimate is the SHSL Kendoka (Kendo master is really the easiest way to explain it) and that swordswoman is the localization title. (Need it to be known that I will continue to refer to her as a swordswoman BUT never as the ultimate swordswoman mainly because I think her being a kendoka is supper awesome and I won't forgo it for the localization version.)
   
   

1 is japanese

Shuichi was not afraid of cats. He’s nervous and anxious, doesn’t like people muchー and can you blame him?ー but he liked animals, especially dogs and cats. Logically, they wouldn’t attack him unless he attacked or threatened them back either, as such he always made an effort to be respectful towards them. So despite it being a darker night than usual and the nearest working light post in front of him was more than fifty meters away and he had passed two more broken lamp posts to get where he is now, he’s very calm if just a bit surprised by the large group of cats that all turn to him when a tiny orange tabby hisses at him. He holds his hands up in feign surrender, keeping his grip on his memo and pen in one hand and his phone in the other. He steps back politely, bowing his head apologetically before lifting his head and noticing the person standing behind them. Shuichi couldn’t see them very clearly, hidden in the shadows overcasted by the carefully trimmed trees to the side of the path.

This isn’t his first night staking out the campus, but he’s heard enough about student sightings of the school’s ‘demon’ to know who was in front of him, well at least their main identifier. 

Who can’t make out what exactly the person was wearing, besides its dark colors and the matted black of whatever footwear they were wearing. They’re leaning down, somewhat kneeling, a white kitten climbing up their leg, the person dubbed demon patiently hovering their hand, also covered in some fabric, just below the kitten in case the feline stumbles. He once again observes the felines surrounding this person, all rather close to them with many at the foot of the person. A few even paused in the middle of nuzzling them just to look at him. A rather good indicator that this person wasn’t particularly bad. The individual seems to have noticed him at least, he remains there as the kitten gets to the helm of whatever top the stranger was wearing before the person scooped the kitten into their arm before hugging the cat to their torso.

The person turned their head to look at them, the pointed horns or fake ears on their head pretty predominate, only second to the red eyes surprisingly reflective against the lack of light, almost shining. The rest of their face, Shuichi can’t make out their face beyond the red eyes, Shuichi can’t even make out the person’s facial features, maybe a mask and the addition of long bangs were obscuring the rest of this person’s face? He couldn’t make out the length of their hair either, no glaringly obvious trait that could identify them besides the red eyes and the fact they appeared shorter than him. 

Shuichi’s eyes narrow thoughtfully. Red eyes weren’t exactly common, four of his upperclassmen and two of his classmates had red eyes, he hasn’t seen the same color in any one else, well besides his other upperclassmen, Gundham, but the detective was certain his senpai wore an eye contact for that red hue. He knows he was taken off the case the school had requested for the school’s demon but, here he was, Shuichi could simply greet the demon to confirm whether or not it were his classmates or another student with red eyes.

The person bows their head silently after their staring contest, so Shuichi bows back. “Good evening-” The cats closest to him hiss threateningly, their fur sticking up and tails straight in a defensive manner. One sticking a paw out, inching towards him ready to strike. He takes another step back, and walks around the small crowd, stepping off the brick path into the more nature ridden path.

On second thought, it really wasn’t his business. He had more important matters to attend to that didn’t involve making the cats around him feel agitated. Shuichi lets an apology fall from his lips before walking past the army of felines and the supposed cat whisperer, he remembers Kyoko-senpai saying they weren’t going to actually solve the case anyway. 

He walks into the shrubbery off the path to the main school building, he slips his phone back into his pocket before opening his notepad to review what he was going to do for his investigation on Tenko’s stalker, he crosses off a point of interest from his initial list before flipping into his quick sketch of the main school building and the areas around it. Shuichi’s been spending the last couple of days inconspicuously scouting areas Tenko frequented as well as areas his class frequented too, excluding the dorms to the north-east of the campus where Tenko’s reserve course friends were, oddly enough, he’s found many clues of Rui Unogasai in these areas. Tonight alone, in the leg pouch on his right leg, were plastic baggies of ripped fabric, lost piercings, and even a bag with strands of dyed pink hair caught in one of the traps Himiko had planted around the whole campusー he really should remind the magician to give him the map of the traps she does remember the locations of, he’s afraid he’s almost set foot in a couple, literally. The number of clues were odd, so clearly items belonging to the upperclassmen, on his phone he’s already found posts of Rui requesting the return of her lost piercing and jewelry in addition of posts of Rui’s little sister, Riri fixing recent tears in her older sister’s clothes in a ongoing series of proof her sister was clumsy and sweet and only looked intimidating.  Judging from the other posts of missing bandanas and the other posts from Rui’s self-proclaimed pr manager, he was only going to find more, it made no sense, truly it confused him, there were simply too many clues pointing towards Rui stalking Tenko that it was ridiculous. 

Rui, infamous as the school’s ultimate sniper and her overheard admissions of murder, was known for being good at cleaning up after herself when it mattered, even before Riri Unogasai’s campaign to prove her sister was the best, Shuichi has seen many profiles on the sniper where very few clues were ever left behind in crimes connected to her, bullets clean of any prints, no DNA evidence of hers ever left on crimes scenes, areas where she was confirmed to have shot from never had gun residue in them even on the firearms she abandons sometimes; in these cases it is cameras and accidental video captures that confirm her presences, though with how specific these traits are and how difficult it is to replicate it’s become her M.O. So, with that being true, why was there so much evidence pointing to her? It’s possible Rui is not trying to hide her activity, perhaps because she already was good friends with Tenkoーwhich then makes Shuichi question why the upperclassmen was stalking the girl in the first place, what was her reasoning, it doesn’t appear to be an obsession of sorts, Rui doesn’t display such signs of fixation or any potential cognitive distortions relating to Tenko nor was she displaying signs of separation anxiety, if anything their upperclassmen seemed more keen on picking on people than anything related to Tenko. It didn’t make sense, he wanted it to make sense, but it was simply too obvious for it to be real, too out of character if this were a serious incident.

 Perhaps it was his positionality bias. Shuichi knows Rui Unogasai, knows that she has always been the prime candidate for being the elusive Ghast Sniper that continues to be officially unidentified, but in the few interviews he’s had with the sniper, she always knew too much details of each murder, especially the detail of there being no gun residue in these crime scenes, a fact never revealed to the public or the fact that not only was he on the case before being removed by his boss, but so was Kyoko-Senpai and before she was removed was Amelia-Senpai then after she was removed they also hired Shinsou-Senpai to look into it then removed him after everyone would arrive to the conclusion that it was Rui. The homicide detective was slightly bitter about it, only pacified by the fact that every time any of these assassinations took place the one who hired the Ghast Sniper was always caught and mountains of proof of motive and action, always discovered twenty-four hours after the murders, acting as the middle person for such exchanges was admittedly a gray area for Shuichi, but there was of course the aspect of murder that bothered him most. To know that his classmate was being followed by such a person, an individual who Tenko continuous to vouch for as a decent person if just ‘annoyingly weird’, someone he firmly believes to be such a dangerous personー there was also the added context of the Ehime kidnappings from last year, where the Ghast Sniper was the most likely culprit, Shuichi had been considered to be put on the case but after the case was jumped from detective to detective in the Detective Library before going to Private agencies, local and foreign, before simply closing the case with Amelia-Senpai’s agency. Declaring it closed. 

The victims were always stalked before their eventual disappearance, with not a single piece of evidence to be collected besides the DNA samples of the victims; the only reason they knew it was the Ghast Sniper was because, again, the Ghast never really does anything about camera sightings and accidental video appearances, there was also her M.O. too.

Shuichi, for a moment, thinks it’s not Rui; but he can’t exactly explain why the upperclassmen would have candid photos of Tenko, or the testimony from Celestia-Senpai directed to Kyoko-Senpai about her spotting Rui spying on Tenko during a studygroup night with the other first years. What was the purpose then?

Shuichi hears rustling in the tree top above him, he had wandered into the park area of the campus judging by the lack of trimmed shrubbery and unkempt ground flooring, he glances up into the trees and quickly meets the wide eyes of an owl with small head tufts. The young detective recognizes it; he had once asked about the owls that resided on campus to Gundham-Senpai and was given a very detailed introduction to the Collared Scops-Owls on campus. 

The owl flew off, heading in the opposite direction Shuichi was facing, so he turned his head to follow it.

Only to be met with the opening barrel of a firearm centered between his eyes. Of course, being held by the very person he had been collecting evidence on.

Rui Unogasai is incredibly eye-catching. Not in the way of being attractive, which she was though not in the general sense. Her clothes were bright and almost had a luminosity of their own, with bright pink hair messily put up in a half ponytail, and an equally bright light blue bandana that harmonizes with the pink of her hair, her array of piercings catch what light remains in the area, and her heterochromatic eyes glare blankly at him, stunning him into silence as she tsks at him boredly. She presses the barrel to his face, the reality that Shuichi cannot top the reaction time of his upperclassmen nor escape if he runs from the sniper settles quite quickly as she groans lowly. “Media people aren’t allowed on campus past six unless granted explicit permission,” She growls out coldly before adjusting her hand to touch the trigger of her gun. “Better have that damn permission before I blow your brains out.”

“I’m not with the press!” Shuichi shouts, holding his hands up with such speed that he loses his grip on his notepad, before slowly reaching to push the gun away from his face, instead the sniper scoffs before hitting the top of her gun to the rim of Shuichi’s hat with enough force it flips off his head. Rui pauses, her eyes narrowing as she scans his face, the blankness in her eyes hazy and dull before her eyes relax and she raises a brow, then thankfully, drops the gun to her side and puts it away into an orange stained holster. 

“The fuck kid.” She says, her voice still cold but without the venomous bite. Rui runs a hand through her hair, making it messier than it was. She squats down and picks up his notebook, dusting off the grass that stayed on it.  “What the hell are you doing? With such a fucking suspicious hat on too, like some damn pervert.” Shuichi hurriedly bends down and picks up his hat, before fixing it on his head again. His heart was racing, trying to catch up on pumping blood throughout his body after it stopped moments ago. She curses again and pulls his hat off his head again before shoving it into his arms, hitting his chest hard enough to knock some wind out of him. “No, the fuck you don’t, I almost send you to judgment because of that hat and you put it on again? Had me thinking you were the press, unbelievable.” She grumbles frustratingly, before letting out a deep sigh. Her gaze falls down onto his notepad, at the map of the school with stars labeling his places of interest for his investigation, Shuichi suddenly remembering that he quite literally wrote Rui’s name on that very map too. A scowl now on her face as she stares down at him. 

He isn’t sure how he’s supposed to respond to her now. The times before he questioned her, he had at least time to mentally prepare himself; now that he was thinking about it, wouldn’t she also have a vendetta against him too?

“Whose…” She holds out his notepad boredly. “R… R.U.I.?” The sniper asks, not sounding as worked up and frustrated as she was easier. Did she have a vendetta against the press?

“Uh.” He looks back at his memo with slight confusion, he wrote her name in *romaji, all capitalized with two dots between the letters since he originally wrote it with his dying pen and was blotching it to get more ink out before switching to his pencil. If he weren’t the wiser he had also assumed it was some kind of abbreviation. Quickly he makes up one with his limited english skills. “Uhh it means 「Random Unknown Individual」?” He offers hesitantly, mentally double-checking if those were actual words he used correctly on the off chance Unogasai knew english.

She nods curtly, crossing her arms and counting to stare at him coldly. “I guess ya have to test your English somehow.” She remarks, before slipping a hand into her own bag. Pulling out a yellow notebook and a plastic bag stapled to the cover of said notebook. “Creative abbreviation, I’ll give you that, the word you’re looking for is 「suspect」 tho.” Shuichi’s eyes focus on the plastic bag, there’s not much inside it, some scraps and a plastic item. Why was Rui-Senpai collecting things?

She notices his staring. “*Aku tahu trikmu, tapi itu memang niatku, jadi aku nggak peduli. Little detective, you’re looking for Tenko’s stalker right? Here.” She tosses the stapled items to him, he automatically holds out his arms to catch both into a cradle. The notebook opens haphazardly in his arms, the bag’s gravity weighing the cover and some of the front pages down, revealing a very neat sketch of the campus and notes written where space allowed it. Before Shuichi can say anything as he closes the notebook and fixes the bag into his arms, Rui continues emotionlessly like she hadn’t dropped another knowledge bomb. “I ain’t a detective so have at it, I’ll keep doing my shit to keep the dumbass safe when I can tho. Don’t bother returning it. I already have photocopies of the notebook, help her out yeah.” She requests blandly, not entirely interested in their conversation, her eyes wandering.

The sniper lets out an open mouth yawn, before looking off to the side into the uncontrolled nature around them. “There’s been a bunch of journalists sneaking around out here and harrasing my sister and fucking with her friends too, so I gotta deal with that shit. Tenko won’t freak out if you tell her you’ll try to follow her, I told her she was my target for testing the school’s security. She’ll probably believe some similar excuse too. It’s not much but y’know *Tak ada rotan akar pun jadi or whatever. Alright, have fun with that, you could probably ask your other detective folk for help if you need it. Bye.” She starts to leave without another word, closing her bag and walking on the balls of her feet in preparation to run. Shuichi stares at her in utter confusion, trying to quickly process all the information the upperclassmen just dumped on him.

Tenko knew Unogasai was following her around? Rui also knows about Tenko’s stalker and had been looking into it too? And she just handed over her notes and collected evidence to him because she was busy protecting her sisterー although on brand for her the fact was still just now settling in?

Also the mention of the uptick of press presence on campus? Shuichi forgot to include any press members as potential suspects as well, who else would have the equipment to take such candid photos from far distances and quickly? 

He processes enough to reach a hand out. “Wait! Unogasai-Senpai!”

She sprinted away with a scoff before Shuichi could finish his call, jumping over a low bush and into the shrubbery in the direction she had been staring at moments before. The detective lowers his hand slowly, before lowing back at the notebook in his arms and memo in the other; the cogs in his brain ticking thoughtfully as he opens the notebook to the map of the main school building he was heading to. He notes the additional spots of interest for evidence gathering than his own map had, in addition to little camera doodles to signal security systems and small stick people for areas frequented by people, possibly to look for witnesses. He doesn't want to admit it, but he’s starting to believe Rui wasn’t the stalker.

He raises a hand to the spot between his eyebrows where Unogasai’s gun had pressed against, his hat miraculously hanging on his pinky, having been forgotten momentarily. Shuichi lets out a deep, deep sigh. How he’s been managing to keep his cool despite the absurdity of the people around him was beyond him, he’s afraid he’s just going to be accepting of everything that comes his way. Even the weapon wielding criminals that seem a little too trigger happy.

1. Romaji: the latin/roman alphabet- y’know how I’ve been writing out Japanese words like this 日本語・にほんご(Nihongo)? The part in parenthesis, nihongo, is romaji. We write out how kanji and hirigana sounds in this alphabet (latin or roman, however you want to call it) to help people pronounce the language.
2.  Aku tahu trikmu, tapi itu memang niatku, jadi aku nggak peduli: I know your tricks, but that was my intention, so I don’t care
3.  Tak ada rotan akar pun jadi: if there is no cane, use the roots. Essentially meaning to make do with what you got, since it’s better than nothing. If you don’t have what you need, use what you have.

1 is japanese ig, 2-3 is Indonesian (pls correct me if anything was wrong if not for the sake of proper translation at least so I don't disappoint my ID oshis 😭)

“Huh, I didn’t think she even gets fuckin’ nervous.” Fuyuhiko remarks as he and Peko walk behind their group. It’s late, oddly darker than usual though he holds a flashlight despite the lamp posts around them, for the immersion according to Chiaki and co. He didn’t really get it, these ‘hunts’ were really just nighttime strolls with the novelty of some other douchebag walking around dressed to the nines like a demon allegedly, but it wasn’t bad; he’ll acknowledge that. The seventy classes were bonding, Peko seemed to enjoy herself, even if it was mostly watching the others mess around like how Hiyoko and two of the first years were dragging another pair of other first years, absolutely trying to scare the shit out of the girl: Tenko. He clicks his tongue as Hiyoko sneaks up on the poor first year and quietly scares the poor girl while Miu and Angie had her distracted. “Did’ya agree?” He asks, yawning, he probably should go straight to bed after returning.

To think Ibuki had been acting all fucking weird today because she was nervous about asking Peko to join her and her siblings during the break, even Gundham had asked Sonia quite casually. He turns his head to look at Peko after a moment of silence after his question. 

Peko kept her eyes forward, watching as the aikido practitioner shrieked when the artist jumped out from a bush, playing around instead of focusing on the ‘hunt’ they were doing around the main building. Fuyuhiko’s a little bothered by this lack of answer.  “You did agree, right?” 

“I… did.” Peko finally admits albeit hesitantly. She turns her head, scanning the area behind them cautiously. She turns back to watch the first years and Hiyoko fool around, not yet meeting Fuyuhiko’s gaze. “I said I’d like to go.” She explains, finally turning her head to gaze back at the short blonde. “But I’m not sure if it’s alright to go.” 

Fuyuhiko sighed. “The fuck am I? Your dad? It’s not like you need to ask permission, no one in the family needs that besides Natsumi but that’s for her own good.” He reminds her, sure it was nice knowing where his friend was going sometimes, so he knows where to find her and knows when not to bother her. He does the same when he goes off campus or is going to be gone for a bit he’ll tell Natsumi and Peko or the others, but they’ve long since grown out of needing to ask permission. “Plus, it’s not like we’re doing anything, besides whatever whim Natsumi or the others have.” Fuyuhiko was pretty sure he had nothing but meetings to be at during the break, and that’s when he’s off campus, the majority of the time he’ll probably be lounging around and keeping Teruteru and Kazuichi in check.

Peko nods with a silent chuckle. “I’m aware. I’m just worried about your safety.” She shares honestly. From what she’s gathered, the visit would be for most of the break with some trips throughout for fun. Meaning Fuyuhiko would be on his own for the next few weeks, without much protection; although recently Fuyuhiko has been putting off maintenance on his personal firearm, and she’s couldn’t help but notice his hand-eye coordination has been on a decline. Suddenly, there’s many reasons why she should consider remaining here or taking precautions, if just a bit.

“I can take care of myself y’know.” Fuyuhiko huffs. “Plus it’s not like you’re leaving the country, we could visit each other if we wanted.” 

“I’m not implying that something will happen while I’m not there nor that you can’t, but,” Peko’s gaze goes back, watching the emptiness of the path behind them. The blonde notices it too, the faint sound of a muffled camera shutter, he was starting to think it was a figment of his imagination. “I simply hope that you are safe. I know it’s not my responsibility anymore, this is coming out of a place of concern… for a dear friend.” The faint shutter is lost in the weak wind as Peko carefully chooses her words.

Fuyuhiko turns his attention back to the others. The feeling of being watched gone, he could feel the guilt wafting off of Peko as she tried to explain why. He gets where she’s coming from, them being raised in this relationship of master and tool, guard and guarded, he is the most familiar with Peko’s view of herself as such and a pawn for him; he’s been spending the better half of his time renouncing this viewpoint and practically doing thinking therapy or reaffirmation stuff to gradually ease her out of those negative thought patterns and self-perceptions. Outings really have been helping; Frankly, he thinks the others should drag Peko around to places more often, without the concern of his needs weighing on her enjoyment. “Do what you want, I’m staying on campus anyways, I’d sooner have fucking Mikan give me a concussion than get hurt by someone.” Fuyuhiko thinks for another moment, that promise was actually a bit too much actually. “Outside of our damn classmates. Promise.” He adds, earning a gentle sigh of relief from Peko. 

The sound of leaves rustling causes the two to pause their sentimental moment and stare into the nearby shrubbery. It was empty, no one behind the cluster of trees or hedges that act as a barrier to the forest area of the campus, Fuyuhiko glares and tries to see through the gaps and edges of the hedges for any movement. “In the tree on the far east.” Peko announces, hand now on the handle of her shinai. This feeling of being followed was different from the one from earlier, Fuyuhiko notes, instead of the feeling of being stalked it was the feeling someone was being hunted. The figure’s movements are a blur of pink as it jumps from tree to tree in quick and silent succession before settling in the tree above the others in the group, this time with another rustling sound that they could actually hear. 

Peko rushes forward, before the others could react beyond jumping in surprise and a few shrieks. Fuyuhiko runs over too, grabbing his gun hidden in his waistband, he’s barely halfway to the group when Peko swings at the pink blur as it lands in the middle of the group. Hiyoko and Miu curse loudly, the latter falling and dragging her artist friend to the ground. Surprisingly, Hiyoko has enough wit in her to push the other two girls away from the intruder, giving Fuyuhiko a clear target as he raises his gun to fire at least a few warning shots to scare the person.

With a surprised gwak, the student pulls someone to them before spinning Chabashira in front of themselves, a firm hand on the girl’s jaw as the student grins amusingly at Peko as she tries to halt her slash and bending her arms to close the radius of her swing to avoid shooting his underclassmen; Fuyuhiko immediately turns the barrel of his gun to the air when he sees his fellow third year using Tenko as a body shield. The woman snickers at the reactions she’s garnered, ranging from fear and distaste from Fuyuhiko, even Peko stares at her colder than normal. Though the captured girl’s shoulder relaxes with familiarity then her expression quickly shifts with utter annoyance, she angles her body to roughly elbow Unogasai in the stomach. “Rui-Sensei!”

Unogasai opens her mouth. “Rui-Senpai.” Of course, she doesn’t react to Tenko’s attacks, simply changing her grip on Tenko’s jaw to her cheeks then squishing; the action paralyzes the girl and leaves her frozen in a state of confused embarrassment. Unogasai chuckles slowly, continuing to bother Tenko. “Is that how we greet our peers Saionji, Pekoyama, Kuzuryu?” She shoots him a glance, tauntingly raising an eyebrow as he lowers his gun to hide once again before turning her gaze to the swordswoman. Her cruel smirk fades into a disappointed scowl. “A shame you have no emotions, I’d like to see some discomfort on your face.” Fuyuhiko internally reminds himself that killing someone in front of his underclassmen, the youngests of the three classes too, would be bad. She opens her mouth again, a sadistic glint in her eyes; Tenko perks up before elbowing her even harder, Unogasai shuts her mouth again.

“Oh it’s you.” Hiyoko doesn’t bother hiding her disappointment nor attempt to use an insult, the small magician girl next to her glares at Unogasai.

Miu sits up, only reaching a hand up to hold Angie’s as she offers the inventor a hand to get up. “Who the fuck are you!?” She curses.

Unogasai boredly turns her head to look down at the blonde on the ground, Fuyuhiko joins them and stands beside the underclassmen, stepping a bit in front of them. The ultimate sniper seems to recognize the blonde. “Aren’t you that bitch who acts like she can take it?” She redirects, eyeing the visibly bothered expression on Miu. The inventor's eyes widen frantically, and her ears flush with embarrassment. 

“I’m going to tell Riri that you’re after the first years.” Tenko threatens, pulling the sniper’s hand off her face, though not without struggle as both their conflicting forces cause the meeting point of their hands to quiver violently in a fight for dominance. A look of sudden disgust on her face over takes her face after a moment, she uses her other hand to finally force Unogasai to give up. “EW EW EW What are you thinking about Rui-Sama?!?” 

“Ew, I’m not into her body, I’m into her expressions.” Unogasai corrects, dropping her hand from the small fight with Tenko’s then flicking said girl’s forehead.

Miu’s squeals weirdly. 

“Pervert!” Tenko shouts.

Fuyuhiko only puts away his gun properly when he notices Peko put her shinai back in its bag, although with a reluctant look on her face. He keeps his eye on Unogasai. He knew of the sniper’s reputation as not only a known sadist but also as a killer for hire, his family had commissioned her before, forcing a contract that if she ever failed or harmed anyone in the clan, unless with warning and approval beforehand, would result in having all her information revealed and evidence to turn into authorities; Fuyuhiko must admit, he didn’t quite like receiving these warnings, none for himselfー or Peko nor Natsumi, thank godsー  but because the sniper would use blood to sign the request warning and include a photo of her recent killings, Fuyuhiko recalls receiving a selfie with a body with three-quarters of the head missing. He’ll admit that she seems to be a good sibling to her own sister, maybe decent around the underclassmen if just mean and a tad bit of a bully, but he can’t separate the killer from the bitch. “Stop fucking with the kids before I kick your ass, Unogasai.” He warns, he hates when third years flirt and prey on the poor first years. Maybe he should empty a mag into the sniper’s leg as a warning, he’s pretty sure he has a full one too… “The fuck do you want bastard?”

Unogasai raises her hands in feign surrender, her eyes squint at him provocatively. Tenko, now released, turns to yell at the pink-haired upperclassmen but is tugged at before willingly letting herself be tugged from the sniper by Himiko. An annoyed expression on the magician's face. “Nothing to do with you baby man, but you.” She points to Tenko. Fuyuhiko wants to shoot the sniper. “Forgot your bow and tape, I was doing my duty and remembered. Here, also this too.” She takes out a length of fabric and a roll of bright colored tape from her bag then with her other hand she takes out a folded piece of paper, holding them out for Tenko to grab, only to release them too early and causing Tenko to awkwardly hurry to catch them. Unogasai, ever the bully, patronizingly pats the girl’s head which keeps her from falling over. “Aight, I got shit to do, have fun with the mental illness brigade.”

“I do not have ADHD!” Tenko declares, Fuyuhiko supposes the two were frustratingly close, very likely accidently and built off squabbling by his guess. He was a tad surprised, he didn’t think anyone in the seventies classes would theoretically get along with this person, well besides Junko but she’s an outlier and that was its own thing.

Surprisingly, Angie hums thoughtfully. “Atua-sama dubs thee far from neurotypical, Angie thought Tenko knew.” Tenko stares at her in disbelief, rendered unable to speak while Unogasai lightly snickers at her reactions before meeting the glares from both Fuyuhiko and Peko, she clicks her tongue. She holds her hands up in feign surrender, a snarky glint in her eyes as she shows off a shit-eating grin in an attempt to rile them up.

“I know I’m not wanted.” She remarks before letting out an open mouth yawn. Unogasai casually bonks the top of Tenko’s head, before ruffling her hair, much to the girl’s annoyance. “See ya, kid.” And to sour the mood of her fellow third years, she looks over to Peko again. “Happy you week, I guess. Bye.” Unogasai walks back into the contained wilderness, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sights after walking past a particularly thick tree in the same direction she came from. Fuyuhiko watches her go with a glare, he gets a weird feeling that their group wasn’t exactly out of the safe zone despite Unogasai’s deparcher. Maybe, unconsciously at least, he wanted to associate the earlier feeling of being watched with Unogasai waiting to scare them before finishing her business with Tenko, yet, his gut was telling him it wasn’t her originally stalking him; Unogasai is a hunter, always has been, giving them sound decoys to distract them before quickly and quietly moving to jump the others, a warning of sorts. The feeling from earlier was different, more stealthy, observant; he doubts the shutter sound was meant to be heard by them, with its muffled sound. His family and the events that follow the Yakuza, especially of his standing, has gifted him an above average awareness of his environment, particularly of noise: the sound of a gun being reassembled, attempts of muffling sounds, the crushing of grass under footsteps, stealth and purposeful silence had a sound of it’s own. 

Fuyuhiko turns his attention to Miu who questions Tenko about Unogasai, their relationship, some inappropriate accusations, and lines of concern wrapped in the denial of it as the two begin to bicker. The words they speak don’t particularly register in his mind, not when he’s trying to unravel his gut feeling. 

Were they being stalked? It wasn’t so unlikely. Besides the main campus, the dorms on the outermost layout of the academy have been complaining of media personnel sneaking in and trying to interview students, creepily at night is when most sightings are reported. It wouldn’t surprise him that some stubborn journalist snuck past the gates to the main campus, where they are now, and decided to follow some students to not get lost. Though, last Fuyuhiko was aware, professional cameras have the ability to turn off the shutter sound, or simply don’t have it, so the muffling of the shutter couldn’t be media personnel.

He sighs as Miu is physically restrained by a laughing Angie, via jumping on her back and using all her limbs to entangle with Miu’s own, as the girl shakes trying to keep them upright with the girl on her back moving around threatening the inventor’s balance. While Tenko and Himiko watched them, the martial artist seemingly struggling to choose to let Miu struggle or make sure neither her or Angie got hurt either, next to her the magician holds a hand out before remarking she’ll keep them from falling with her magic. Great, all his underclassmen were weird as shit, he should’ve suspected something when Hiyoko wanted to join them. The aforementioned dancer glances over to Fuyuhiko with an irritated grimace. She places her hands on her hips in that shitty ‘mature’ manner that people tend to do to lecture children. “Hey fuckhead, you should’ve shot that bitch.” She complains, causing the underclassmen to pause before turning towards the dancer in shock, minus the artist who wraps her arms around Miu’s neck. Probably not a murder attempt.

“You think I didn’t want to, Jackass?” He counters, he was feeling slightly trigger happy, a shame he can’t remove the mag then empty any rounds left somewhere without freaking out the kids. He’s a little irritated to say the least, having to deal with that bastard right after he promised safety. Fuyuhiko adjusts his jacket to cover his firearm properly, while the underclassmen turned to him wide-eyed at his response, except the blonde surprisingly. She looked somewhat judgmental.

Miu raises a brow at him, ignoring the way Peko had gotten closer and was quickly scanning the girl for any cuts or scraps after trying to retort with some kind of rejection only to be stared down by Peko. “You trying to pretend you pack or some shit shoving that in your pants? You’re going to shoot your leg, you know safety doesn’t do shit.” She vulgarly warns, giving him a look like he’s a dumbass with a gun. Fuyuhiko doesn’t even know if he should kick her ass for insulting him or be impressed that the girl knew her shit about gun safety, and how shit a gun’s safety function is, even going as far as warning him. He scoffs instead before giving her a casual middle finger that she responds with her own attempt despite Angie capturing her hands.

“Jail!” The artist shouts.

Tenko nervously steps back just as Peko finishes scanning her for anything caused by Unogasai, her face red with embarrassment from the concern before positioning her hands like she was going to chop someone on their head before shifting her sights on the two oldest blondes. “You guys shouldn’t quickly get to the idea of killing someone like that!” She lectures as if she wasn't overtly familiar with Unogasai the known killer on campus among many other people and two out of her three upperclassmen here at the moment, point being the irony of the comment wasn't lost on him.

“Sure, if you’re a coward.” Hiyoko titters, raising a hand to her lips to partly cover her smirk to make up for the fact she forgot her fan to hide behind. Not that it mattered, she’d talk shit and laugh at you regardless.

“Tenko isn’t a coward!” She defends, her hands becoming fists of determination. Tenko looks around for something, maybe looking for the damn sniper to kick her ass to prove she wasn’t a coward; she looks down the path again before grabbing Himiko’s hand and kindly redirects the girl down the path they were heading in. “We’ll show you! Tenko will capture the demon herself and let Himiko exorcise it before you guys can even catch up.” She declares, she looks down at the magican asking her something while Fuyuhiko lets another yawn escape. That damn bitch really took the remainder of his mental energy, he’s not going to look forward to the senior student activities they’d had to do if he had to interact with the other third years of the twenty classes; he should ask Chiaki to put off submitting class forms for the upcoming senior student stuff to avoid those fuckheads since both classes’ class president turned shit in immediately. Fuyuhiko doesn’t react when the magician girl ends up on Tenko’s back before the girl starts marching down the path abandoning a snickering Hiyoko and the others. He sighs before following the others who begin to yell for Tenko to hold up and wait for them. 

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The feeling of being watched returns just as he finishes detailing a conversation he had with their underclassmen: Oowada, to entertain the rest who’re questioning how someone could come in this late into the ultimate course. Not that he could answer them, he knew about as much as Mondo who fucking asked about it too.

He could tell it was bothering Peko and the othersー although everyone was conversing just fine, their responses were slow to reciprocate with this cautious air around themー though he doubts the others felt the exact same feeling, the exchange with Unogasai possibly triggering a sense of paranoia in them as they got closer and closer to the main school building on campus, still on the path were one side was mostly nature and shadows of the nights. Peko’s the first one to hear the footsteps, followed by Fuyuhiko and Tenko, the other’s follow their line of sight; Fuyuhiko spots a figure moving behind a bush in the corner of his eyes, his first thought is to peak around the bush as he’s followed by Peko.

The idea that they were being followed is still creeping in the back of Fuyuhiko’s mind even when Peko picks up another one of their underclassmen, who had ducked behind a bush for whatever reason, by the scruff of his sweater. His hand stills, holding one of his shoelaces, pausing in the middle of tying his shoes when Peko picked him up. He blinks in surprise and only looks up when the other underclassmen greet him, he doesn't seem too bothered by the fact he's being held up in the air like a cat. He lifts his head sheepishly and offers a shy smile towards everyone.

He waves at them. “Hey, guys. Uh… Sorry?” 

Peko, a tad embarrassed, not aided by the fact Hiyoko was snickering, carefully puts him down offering him an apology, after Unogasai and the feeling of being stalked it was for the best that they try to confront any sign of someone nearby. The detective bashfully accepts her apology, saying it was fine and trying to excuse it by theorizing that he probably scared them. Fuyuhiko doesn’t even have a chance to ask him anything before the guy was jumped by Angie, almost tackled to the ground if not for the fact Tenko was able to pull the energetic artist off the boy. “What the heck are you doing here, Saihara? Creep things?” Tenko questions instead.

Miu adds in. “What’s with the slutty leg pouch?” Does this kid ever stop with the sexual comments?

The boy ignores the last question as he kneels down once again and quickly ties his laces, before shooting up again as if he hadn’t been doing so. Shuichi holds up a memo pad and pencil that he had tucked under his arm. “Sorry sorry, I was trying to take a shortcut through the park area to get to the main building, I only stopped here to tie my shoes since the light is better here.” He explains apologetically, his hands coming together to hold his notepad, though with the added finger tugging under said pad. Saihara always looked quite anxious and timid whenever Fuyuhiko saw him around campus, he looked the most comfortable being a wallflower around people he knew and content with the other detectives and investigators in the school. He’s the type of kid who’ll end up having some kind of outburst once he reaches his breaking point, whatever that may be, perhaps being dragged around or dealing with his peers’ eccentric antics on a day he can’t put up with will do him in. He’ll probably need it too.

Fuyuhiko’s eyes wander as the underclassmen interact, his eyes land on the notebook fixed between the pouch Shuichi was wearing and his leg, it was a bright shiny yellow that contrasted against the dark blues and black he wore. “Are you in the middle of an investigation?” Himiko asks, her eyes squinting at the detective. The detective glances down at her, his eyes calculating despite his expression still portraying nervousness.

“Uh, yeah, me and the investigation club have been asked to look into the demon sightings, it’s my shift tonight so..” he trails and gestures to the building visible behind the trees lining the path, all the lights off and the only things visible being the walls and plants that find themselves exposed in the moonlight. Shuichi reaches up to pinch the rim of his hat to readjust it over his head again. “Sorry for interrupting your hunt?” He apologizes hesitantly. Fuyuhiko raises a brow at that. Last he heard they weren’t really taking the case seriously, shooting down any and all questions about the demon, the student council even released a warning to students to stop asking them about it. Surely they weren’t shoving the duties on to the first year, the other investigation club members weren’t like that. He sends a glance over to Peko who glances back at him with an equally aware expression.

Fuyuhiko had to hand it to him, his shyness did him a favor in masking his lie. Hiyoko rolls her eyes. “Stop apologizing twerp, we get it, you’re socially anxious. Grow a pair.” Fuyuhiko resists rolling his own eyes.  She places a hand on her hip as she stares the boy down as he looks off to the side with a downcasted expression. Angie interrupts any further words from the dancer with a loud hum, she leans towards Shuichi, effectively invading his personal space. 

She grins. “Shuichi should join us!” She extends a hand for him to accept. Her stormy blue eyes inexplicably darken as she continued, her words bubbly and cheerful. “Auta has confirmed that we will catch sight of this false idol in its act of deceit.” A craze glint overtake her eyes. What the fuck?

“*え？キモイ。(Eh? kimoi.)” Miu loudly winces with a gag, her face twisted in disgust at her friend’s reaction, Shuichi, also visibly uncomfortable, chuckles nervously before holding his hands up in symbolic submission.  

“Sorry.” He begins, the crazed look on the artist gone before Fuyuhiko could even blink while Shuichi takes a polite step back to put some space between him and the girl. “I’d love to join you guys but I have specific areas I need to check out, so uh, I hope you guys have fun? Sorry for making this really brief, I’ll be on my way.” Shuichi turns to the three underclassmen and bows his head. “Thank you for taking care of my classmates!”

Where did that come from? Fuyuhiko raises a brow once again at the boy. “Huh?” He watches the detective bow once more, likely out of nervousness, before beginning to briskly walk across the path to the otherside to take yet another shortcut to wherever he was specifically trying to go. Allegedly to investigate the demon sightings. 

Angie tilts her head in confusion. “Hmm? Where does Shuichi need to go?” She calls out once again throwing herself around Miu who accepts with an annoyed expression, Fuyuhiko sees her lips move to mutter something quickly. He can’t pick up on it.

The detective raises a hand to signal his departure. “I have a quota to meet.” Is his excuse. “Stay safe everyone.”

“Don’t do anything weird, Saihara! Else Tenko will punish you herself!” Tenko threatens.

“Keep that freaky shit to yourselves.” Miu remarks. Earning a frustrated huff from Tenko as she puffs her cheeks in annoyance.

Fuyuhiko resists another yawn. They really only planned to walk to the main campus building and walk around the first floor before turning in or reporting to Makoto and whoever else planned this since Sonia took a nap and Gundham is refusing to let anyone wake her up. Since they were practically almost doneー they only had to round the corner of this one really thick and tall tree about a couple meters from hereー and they’ll be in front of the building. Hell, they technically were at the front of the building, they only had their view blocked by some particularly tall hedges and a couple trees. He looks back at the group, noticing Hiyoko had been saying something with a snicker with the underclassmen looking oddly intrigued, what was she up to this time?

Hiyoko glances back at him before looking past him. She raises a brow. “Hey, Peko! Think we could break into the admin office, while we’re there?” He turned back to see Peko staring off into the trees behind them, she turned back to look at Hiyoko, Fuyuhiko kept his eyes towards the direction Peko was staring at. 

“I’d assume so, unless we grabbed the wrong keys. The cameras there aren’t real either, I think it’s fine so long as we don’t damage anything severely.” The trees behind them that they’ve long passed remain the same. Silently alive in the dead of night, any flower buds nearby closed and the leaves were all swaying on occasion minus the lighter ones that seem to dance a bit in place though barely. There were no odd shadows either under the light of the lamp posts and night, although there wasn’t much light to begin with besides the lamp post above them and the other many meters away. He doubts Peko was staring into the dead of night, not when the feeling of being stalked was still there, Fuyuhiko believes Peko’s environmental awareness is much better than his own. If he felt that they were being watched and Peko was looking for a physical sign, that was all the confirmation he needed. 

Peko pulls herself away from the spot she stood in, walking back to the group with a small smile. “Didn’t you promise Mahiru and Sato you wouldn’t prank the staff again till after break?”

Hiyoko paused. She pouted at the accusation. “What makes you think I’m trying to prank them?”

“Why wouldn’t you?” Fuyuhiko offers, earning an annoyed look from the dancer before she rolls her eyes and an acceptingly huffs. The underclassmen look a tad surprised at the suggestion, they turn to Hiyoko who fails to hide a mischievous grin. She continues walking, making a small show of pulling out a small box from out of her damn kimono sleeve and letting the green fabric sway as she does so. Fuyuhiko had been correct to assume Hiyoko had an ulterior motive. When did going out with her ever not end with some kind of trouble making.

Hiyoko giggled. “They don’t need to know, plus I said I’d try. Didn’t promise.”

“You guys are pranking the staff?!” Tenko exclaims, in the way kids ask their upperclassmen they find interesting questions. This particular group of underclassmen all perking up at the idea of pranking staff; the first years were always so obedient to the rules, Fuyuhiko is a little surprised they made it this far into the academic year without breaking as many rules or completely foregoing general staff orders, considering their class was the most willing to cause careless trouble— if he remembers correctly he's pretty sure the seventy-eighth class only took at most three months to start ignoring teachers and disregarding rules.

Then again they got that Kiyotaka guy to make it up for them to at least be decently respectful. Not that they needed it, they all were hopeful and good kids.

Hiyoko, passionate about messing around with and disrespecting staff— with the exception of Yukizome and Monomi-Sensei, starts rattling on about how easy it was to mess with the staff and how they, usually, deserved it. Frankly, Fuyuhiko thinks she's getting a big head being a superior student and by giving advice on the best and most deserving targets of pranks and all other rule breaking activity that Fuyuhiko didn't need the reminder of; Peko settles next to him with a slump in her shoulders as they quietly follow the annoying impromptu leader. The good albeit incredibly weird kids in front of him seemingly like the idea of messing with staff as Hiyoko brags about a couple of teachers harassing students for their interests that she forced to quick with the help of Teruteru and Andoー a surprise to him this was the first he was hearing about Hiyoko working with Teruteru recently, let alone fucking Ando too. Hiyoko’s talent at bringing people together for petty pranks was truly underappreciated, if not for the fact at least someone was on the receiving end on nasty pranks; he can only be grateful Natsumi and Sato became friends as a result of Hiyoko wanting to only annoy him because he said he hated white chocolate.

He still stands by the fact it isn’t real chocolate.

For the sake of the other underclassmen class who’re also the upperclassmen of these four, perhaps Fuyuhiko should butt into the conversation and pull it away from Hiyoko attempting to spark a flame of chaos in them; though he doesn’t, he quite likes this peacefulness despite the lingering feeling of being stalked. Which, he had to hand it to her, Hiyoko did a surprisingly good job at distracting the underclassmen from.

He doesn’t feel that they’re in danger per sayー hasn’t since that damn sniper. Being watched didn’t inherently mean danger, which is stupid considering the discomfort he felt with unseen eyes following them as they scout for this mysterious demon, which at this point Fuyuhiko thinks is some student who was accidentally caught the first time whom decided to keep doing so for the notoriety they’ve gained. For a second, he entertains the idea that it was the demon that had been following them with the intention of scaring them in some lousy prankー although that went against all the rumors and ‘reports’ on the demon, all of them agreeing that the demon wasn’t confrontational and was pretty harmless ignoring the supposed fact that people who interact with them are usually threatened by the cats around the mysterious cat demon. Maybe for good measure he’ll confront the “demon” head on, he wasn’t sure why everyone was timid around prissy cats but he wasn’t as such he’ll question what the fuck the person was doing trying to become one of the Seven Mysteries of their school. But really why would someone be watching them? 

Well, while incredibly likely, it isn't actually a confirmed fact.

There had been no visual signs of someone following them, besides the noise Fuyuhiko and Peko had been picking up and paranoia of being watched. Sure, he trusted his gut feelings and he had an impressive ability at being able to zone in on specific noises in addition to Peko’s better awareness for potential danger, but that was the potential of it existing, not based on logic or any substantial proof. After all they were human, and although they knew less about the brain than the world around them, Fuyuhiko at least knows that the chances of them truly not having heard anything was still possible. A miniscule chance but not zero. 

Dutifully, the Tenko girl straightens up as they got closer to the corner, puffing out her chest as she sucks in a sharp breath before marching to the corner, Fuyuhiko hadn’t picked up on why exactly the girl was doing this though he could make a guess with Miu egging her on and Angie supportively naming the aikido practitioner a meaningful sacrifice. He turns his head to try and look past the gaps of the tall shrubbery towards the front of the building, he of course ignores the amused smile on Hiyoko’s face as she tries to block his view. There isn’t much to see, their collective pace doesn’t let Fuyuhiko to get a good glimpse of anything even when though his own pace was laxed compared to the others, and the distance between gaps themselves decrease as the hedges become more compact to each other’s side the closer they get to the corner where Tenko is already poking her head to peek around with the magician girl behind her. 

Immediately, Tenko slaps her hands onto her mouth before turning back to their group. Her eyes wide and using her own head to excitedly gesture to whatever sight she caught so quickly that the others froze in surprise. Himiko almost stumbled to the ground if not for Tenko instinctively reaching out to catch the girl before she could faceplant into the brick pathway.

“Speak, you M!” Miu hisses, though she was the first to jump when Tenko covered her mouth; her arms visibly quiver as she latches onto Peko with a white knuckle grip.

Even Hiyoko has a look of surprise. She quickens her pace with a curious look on her face, followed closely behind by an equally curious artist. “Wait. Are you for real?” She peeks her head around the corner, both Tenko and Angie’s faces with the tail end of her ponytail. “What the hell?”

Fuyuhiko, Peko and Miu move closer to the group, their own curiosity piqued. Hiyoko looks back at them with an unbothered expression, she shrugs before crossing her arms. “Why the hell is everyone scared shitless, this is like, cat lady extreme.” 

Cat lady? Fuyuhiko stepped around them to turn the corner instead of peeking around. There's not really anything around, the scenery and entrance were practically the same as it was during the day, excluding the absence of students, and minus the single person walking up to the main entrance and the feline entourage that slowly halted to a stop the closer the person got to the entrance. From what he could see of the cluster of cats there were at least seventeen and another white cat resting in the arms of the mysterious stranger peeking over said stranger's shoulder. The person wore what looked like a hoodie, though with two pointed mounds on top like horns similar to the cat hoodie Chiaki wore almost daily— actually instead of horns were the two mounds actually supposed to be cat ears?

That would certainly not help the cat demon rumors that have been going around, or the new title of Shadow Cat God that Kazuichi has been insisting on and the others parroting the title since it made the entire hunt and rumors more fun. He hears the others come out of hiding to where he stood watching the person as their mysterious demon turns around, their face well hidden in the shadows and whatever kind of mask they were wearing. A majority of the cat entourage has begun dispersing, finding comfortable spots around the entrance though most scatter their way elsewhere, with only a trio halting before the individual.

The person looks down at the cats following them before tilting their head curiously. In their arms or perhaps a pouch that connects to the large hoodie, sits the white kitten he saw earlier when the person’s back was turned towards them; the kitten releases it’s paw and swats at the air as if looking for something, the stranger, clearly the cat whisperer they’re rumored to be raises a hand to stroke the kitten’s head, before allowing the kitten to play with the, likely, gloved hand. Fuyuhiko can’t see most of the details on the person’s face because the mask on their face covers it but nothing obscures the eyes of the ‘demon’. The red hidden in shadows of their eyes reminds him of the reddish hue of burnt umberー or at least it looked like it at this distance of the night, it’s the new odd feeling he has that makes him feel the need to do a double take despite never having turned away from the target of their hunt. Next to him, he hears an amused exhale, almost a sigh.

Peko’s expression is light, her shoulders relaxed and she doesn’t even look interested in the person anymore. In fact, her gaze had shifted to zone in on the varaity of cats now lioterring around the front of the main building ignoring the pushing and shoving the underclassmen were doing in the sense that they were double checking if they were collectively dreaming or hallucinating. He tilts his head back at her, catching her gaze then raising an eyebrow as a wordless remark of his curiosity at her reaction. “...”

She glances back towards the cats again, a certain type of yearning in her eyes that Fuyuhiko was familiar with. “...A lot of them look really fluffy.” Peko remarks in a whisper, contemplating whether or not it was an approperiate moment to try and pet at least one of the cats that were near by. Her eyes flicker once more with her attention broken at the same time Hiyoko hushes the three underclassmen. “She’s entered the building.” She?

Fuyuhiko glances up thoughtfully, he was going to try and remember if anything about the person reminded him of anyone he knew, that was until he noticed a moving speck in the middle of their many stories high school building. Spotting a way too familiar person even from the height difference and distance, he can’t help the exasperation that leaks into his voiceー it really shouldn’t have considering this was simply a normal thing for his classmate. “Akane’s scaling the fucking building again.”

The underclassmen looked at him confused, but Hiyoko and Peko’s immediate reaction was to tilt their heads up to look at the skies and the side of the building they very well knew was impossible to get to. Unless you like to scale buildings, like Akane. Hiyoko clicks her tongue before sighing. “Oh, that fucking dumbass. Klutz and Akicchi are gonna be pissed.” The dancer remarks as if she wasn’t gonna be the one to report to Chiaki about Akane climbing the buildings again. She pauses for a second before cursing again. “Fuck. This means I can’t leave a trap in the office tonight. Fucking Akane.” She complains to herself.

“She’s slipping.” Peko points out.

Oh, Akane’s fucked. Not even Nekomaru will be able to talk her out of trouble from Mikan and Chiaki.

1. え？キモイ(Eh? Kimoi): Gross, disgusting. It's the slang version of kimochiwarui which directly means bad feeling but the whole term means the same thing as the abbreviation but in the polite and proper way (also signals a stronger level of disgust me thinks). 

Chapter Text

Kyoko’s eyes begin to ache. Staring at the screen of her laptop for so long was going to give her a headache too if she didn't pull away now, hearing an exclamation coming from the small table just a little way over sparks her curiosity enough to look away from the work she was doing over to Fuyuhiko. He stares in silent betrayal at Ryoma, the youngest participating in their particular game of poker before realizing he was now facing both the ultimate lucky student and gambler alone— his mouth is open with no sound besides the earlier noise of frustration. Kyoko understood too well, the imminent defeat that comes for everyone whenever Celestia decides she's wants to play a game with Makoto and has to invite others to help the boy feel comfortable, though the feeling of being washed over with inevitable defeat was one members of their class had gotten used to— minus Kiyotaka, though only because he is positively insistent that he will one day win a game against both. 

It only helped that Makoto let him win a game of old maid a few weeks back since he felt bad for their class president never winning— only to have the guilt of doing so haunt him the following week. At least Kiyotaka’s spirit and ambition for victory rejuvenated.

She pulled her eyes away from Celestia, who offered Fuyuhiko a pitying look as his loss was only closer to fruition; the dull headache creeping up on her distracts her from the scene. It was rather early in the day, barely going to be noon, they were all certainly supposed to be in class rather than this impromptu game day. Kyoko also hadn't had coffee nor any other form of caffeine besides *kukicha, not that the tea really counted, thanks to Celestia's and Mondo’s combined efforts of hiding the coffee machine again and Celestia asking her to try her new tea leaves instead of scavenging for any forgotten energy drinks. Kyoko thinks the lack of caffeine and staring at her screen for hours with little break was behind the beginnings of a bothersome headache. So she does what's best and closes her laptop after saving the document she had been working on.

It was the last one she needed to complete before the break started, since the IT director had warned her that he would be signing her off her work account for her school break thus she wouldn't be able to do her reports remotely anymore and she'd have to go back to the office or his intended goal of making her actually spend her break, taking a break. She'd rather not go to the office during this time, her coworkers knew this, Kyoko has made her stance clear that she will not return to office for work with the exception of interrogations and if a certain case she was working on required it; no one had attempted to change her mind, well besides one person, and he was the reason she's been avoiding the office and doing all her paperwork remotely. Her grandfather, although she loved him, is extremely frustrating to interact with as of late. 

Constantly trying to mold her into the perfect heir he wanted to continue this family legacy of detective work, actively leading her to hate her father simply because her father was too soft and had abandoned their family— it took her years to fully understand what had happened and realize her grandfather’s approach to this legacy was above all else, including herself besides her role as heir, indoctrinating her into their family’s modus operandi and essentially urging her to devote her entire life and soul into being a detective. She doesn't understand his obsession with family traditions and although she does dedicate herself to her profession as a detective, enjoy and appreciate her job, Kyoko couldn't see herself devoting herself to the severity that is expected of her. 

That is, without mentioning Yui’s death and Kyoko’s string of close calls with death, her grandfather had become overly protective to the point he had been attempting to micromanage her entirely to ensure perfection of her as his heir and as a detective. Frankly, Kyoko should've left his side after her fifth round of removing tracking devices from her possessions in addition to the monitoring programs on her personal devices. 

Perhaps she was being a bit sensitive, or she was being petty for minor things like him leading her thoughts astray to be bias to his beliefs, limiting her on which cases she worked on to artificially raise her success rate, or his scrutiny of her classmates and her leaving a new phone he had gifted her in his office— which, of course, had tracking and monitoring programs installed— which was a response to his backlash when she had revealed her sexuality the week prior and heavily grilled her in how she figured this tad bit of information about herself out.

Just thinking about him irritated her now.

She sends another glance back to the side table where the game of poker was taking place. Nagito getting his forehead flicked by Fuyuhiko, probably because he was saying something uncomfortably weird in front of their underclassmen, Ryoma remains in his spot though with Grand Bois resting on his lap clearly enjoying the attention he was getting from the tennis player. Celestia chuckles politely, a hand raised close to her face, she rests her cheekbone on her thumb clearly bored of the pessimistic scene Nagito was performing as they played. She glanced away from her game temporarily, her eyes incidentally meeting Kyoko. Her boredom vanishes on the spot and the sharpness in her eyes soften, Celestia raises her head in interest and offers her a sly smile hidden beneath her hand, angled for only Kyoko to see, before winking at the detective.

Kyoko could almost hear her heart thump in her chest despite the chatter around her. Her body heats up rapidly too, a strange fact that embarrasses her when she remembers that Celestia frequently comments on how warm she is, whereas Makoto and Aoi worry that she's oddly cold for someone who always wears layers. She returns the smile, albeit not as smug as the gambler's.

Celestia’s eyes twinkle with amusement, a sight so common yet adored all the same by Kyoko, before returning her attention back to raise the bid earning a laugh out of Nagito and an exasperated sigh from Fuyuhiko.

She'd hate for this to be ruined if her grandfather were to find out. 

Kyoko would also hate having to inevitably attempt to convince Celestia not to harm him when she finds out.

“Kyookooo~” The spot next to her on the small sofa weighs down and Kyoko herself slightly bounces as Aoi hops onto the couch with a smile. She places her handbook on the armrest as she settles in, Aoi must've just gotten back from campus.

“Hina.” She greets. The swimmer continues to grin, she tilts her head to look in the direction Kyoko has originally been staring at. She leans against the detective to stare at the direction and at the game a few steps away. 

Aoi lets out a knowing hum before pulling away. “How have you been doing over here?” She leans back into the sofa, directing her attention instead to the game of werewolf the classes elected to play. Kyoko hadn't really been paying attention to them beyond Mahiru or Makoto asking if she wanted to join when she returned from a bathroom break, she was pretty certain that Tsumugi and Sonia were the werewolves this round.

“Alright.” Suddenly, the memory of Aoi handing over most of the coffee beans they had to Tenko and Kirumi this morning resurfaced. “Would've been better with coffee.” Kyoko remarks, it was uncommon for their class to all agree on a stance and act on it together, so it was rather unfair that she was on the receiving end of this cooperation to stop her caffeine consumption when last term they had admired her love for coffee and dedication to drink it any moment she gets.

The swimmer scoffed and shook her head in mock disappointment. “Listen, compared to letting the caffeine addict have access to or gifting Kirumi, who likes coffee, and Tenko, who wants to improve her barista talents, coffee beans; I think the answer is obvious.” Aoi raised her brow to further signify how obvious the answer was. Which, in fairness, Kyoko agrees, however having no access to even the minimal amount of coffee feels unjust. At this point everyone's just playing mean.

Kyoko raises a brow back. “Caffeine addict?” Her instincts tell her that it was highly likely Celestia came up with that title, and in the case she did not, she definitely referred to her as such. Kyoko wouldn't say her love of coffee was on par with any level of addiction, perhaps the overconsumption of energy drinks is what brought her the title, she'll admit that it wasn't wise to drink more than one in a single day. It usually happens when she's focused on other things, accidentally and mindlessly consuming another can was common.

She's met with a tired huff. Aoi shakes her head before readjusting herself more comfortably as Ibuki nods at Gundham from across the small circle their classes have created to take out her victim for their round of werewolf. Kokichi opens his eyes, he looks offended at being chosen to die. “If you weren't so addicted,” Aoi begins before casually gesturing at the detective in a challenging manner. “you could go at least a week without any form of caffeine.” 

Kyoko opens her mouth to remind her the class has been trying to keep her from drinking caffeine for ages now; even going as far as to mostly abstain from coffee all together with very restricted knowledge of where the coffee maker and coffee was located.

“Tenko caught you buying energy drinks at the cafe yesterday and she found out that you've been buying cake varieties to get the coffee one.” Kyoko should've just gone off campus to the nearby konbini, or at least pick up her orders when no one she knew was working at the cafe.

Instead, she jumps to another point of distraction. “Caffeine is found in most beverages, including most teas and certain juices, as well as some snacks like chocolate. You’re asking me to cut all forms of caffeine, which includes the medication I take.” Not that Kyoko has taken those in a while. Her headaches haven't been much of an issue as of late.

A little stumped at that information, Aoi crosses her arms as she tries to come up with another compromise. “No coffee then.” She solidifies on that rule, “I don't know, Kiyotaka was the one to bring it up first. I'm sure Celes has got you covered since you two are always together tho; Class Dad and Mom strike again.” Jokingly muttering the last tidbit, Aoi turns her head slightly to the side, noticing their upperclassmen on the neighboring couch. “Oh, Hey Ryota-Senpai, Satoshi-Senpai.”

Kyoko nods when their two senpai greet them, or well, Satoshi-Senpai does. Ryota-Senpai, mumbles out acknowledgement without pulling his eyes away from his tablet, pen in hand as he draws away. A new project he was hired for with little time given judging from the fresh eye bags on his face. Satoshi, the ultimate imposter, is easily identifiable by way of always being unfamiliar yet wearing a green tie with a bunny tie clip— she was pretty certain that it was a gift from Ibuki-Senpai.

She changes the conversation. “Sensei confirmed the student won't be attending?” The anticipation for the new student had run a little high when Kiyotaka had talked about how they should be attending classes before the break in a few days. Considering that the student was already in Japan and around campus, Monokuma had even said he'd hold homeroom despite everyone having these last three days off to catch up on school work before break and to pack for break just so the class could formally meet the new student. After Kiyotaka's insistence of course.

“Not till tomorrow.” Aoi shared, a slight pout to her lips. “I leave the day after so I won't have much time to get to know them during the uh…” she trails off trying to find the right word for what she meant.

“Introductory period?” Kyoko offers, understanding what Aoi was getting at but not certain of the word either.

Aoi shrugs. “Yeah?” She agrees with uncertainty. “Kiyotaka hasn't given us even a hint about the person and I want to know about them! Like are they a girl? What's their talent? Can they swim?” Kyoko wonders if Aoi wanted more girls in the class despite the ratio being seven to one to eight, including Chihiro being the odd one out as they don't identify as neither, they already had the guys beat in numbers. 

“Geiarashi is the ultimate actor, they're a foreigner and they've technically been an active student since we began.” Kyoko shares, though she had already known this information since their first year, it was nice to be able to soon meet their classmate. Although, hiding their name and details for so long because of the result of their particular way of showing off their talent was odd. It was a reminder that the academy was unnecessarily hiding so much information, and oddly info on students that would normally be public too. 

Aoi turned her head slowly towards Kyoko. “What?” The excitement grows in her face, she sits up and prepares the undoubtedly long list of questions and curiosities she holds ready to be answered. 

Kyoko holds a hand up to stop her in her tracks. “You should ask Geiarashi when they arrive, I'm sure they'd indulge you.”

“Man…” Aoi slumps back into the seat. “How do you even know that? I doubt you have access to the scouting files, even Kizakura-Sensei wouldn't even show you the last time you asked. And he has a soft spot for you!” More like a soft spot for her father but she didn't want to think about the qualms of a man pinning for her father.

“I don't. There's many books in our dorm library that have books on theater and acting. It wouldn't be a far-fetched assumption.” She answers vaguely, Kyoko didn't really want to detail how she stole student files and had more stolen files dropped into her lap just the other night from Junko.

Aoi clicks her tongue. “I don't really go to the library, my talents are mostly technique and physical ability, so I train and consult coaches… Hey, we haven't gotten books in there in ages, are you telling me those have been in there since our first year?” Kyoko simply nods in confirmation, earning an embarrassed hum from the swimmer. “Maybe I should go check it out. Are you usually in there?”

Kyoko shrugs, glancing over to the gamble between Nagito and Celestia, with Fuyuhiko solely watching now. “Usually.” She parrots.

Aoi hums, another knowing smile gracing her lips. She stared at the ceiling thoughtfully before curiously asking. “Do you two always gamble? Like actually? I mean I know y'all use offers to gamble as a fancy way to ask to hang out and flirt but,” Kyoko can feel the fluster climb up her body, she didn't think her attempts at flirting had been so obvious, well enough that it wasn't even worthy of a topic to be approached carefully compared to how directly Aoi was asking. “I think the others take it as like an innuendo for… stuff.”

She hums. “... by others you mean?” 

“Junko is very vocal.” Ah. 

“We do occasionally, haven't in a while.” If anything the naps they take together had taken over most of the time they would've gambled during, the rest of the time they spend together is simply in each other's presence. Which Kyoko would be lying if she said she hadn't noticed the increase in time they spend together, especially as they're approaching break. “We place bets rather than actual games.” Well they try to, her and Celestia's preferred side of a bet tends to be the same, like the time they were betting on Toko having a crush on Komaru, or who was going to blow up a lab next, or more recently, who was going to lecture Akane-Senpai first after getting caught again last night. They were both wrong, on account of Yukizome-Sensei being much more agile than Chiaki and Mikan Senpai are.

“That's cute, didn't think the two of you were competitive-” Aoi’s pause is filled in by Ibuki cheering that Gundham has won despite herself being caught this round. “err, no Celes is competitive and a little scary at that. But, y'know, I didn't take you to be able to match that.” Kyoko wouldn't say she was competitive in the way Celestia was, she wasn't particularly invested in ‘winning’ but if the girl wasn't so fun to tease and fire up.

“She's cute.” Is Kyoko's only answer, because Celestia is cute and Kyoko likes her variety of reactions especially when they're alone and the gambler doesn't feel pressured to keep up her charade as this constantly impassive and cold queenly beauty. There was definitely a more poetic way of putting her feelings and appreciation into words that hopefully reflect said feelings but she'd have to make due with her lack of poetic-ness and settle for cute to encapsulate the sheer affection she held quietly. Her delivery could use some work too— or not, Aoi's cheeky expression is reassuring enough, when she looks past her own fluster.

Just as she answers, Nagito and Celestia reveal their hand. Although Kyoko can only see Celestia's hand, a straight flush of hearts, she can guess Nagito had a similar hand judging by Ryoma's slight confusion as the chosen dealer, he gives the hands a double take.

Aoi coos next to her. Wearing the expression she usually has when having these ‘love talks’ that get to a particularly interesting moment. “You should go play- oh! Look, the boys are leaving.” She places her hands on Kyoko's shoulder, giving it a good hearted shake as they watch Fuyuhiko and Ryoma bid them a casual farewell as they excuse themselves to whatever other activities. In the sloppy second that they step away, Aoi gasps into her ear. “Now's your chance! Ask her on a date during break, I believe in you! Go!” The shaking turns into pushing as Aoi cheers with whispers while she kicks Kyoko off the couch in the span of seconds before she can really say anything in response to that jump in goals.

She feels placed on the spot as she turns back towards Aoi, who encouragingly waves her off on her sudden mission to ask Celestia out— which she hasn't prepared herself to do beyond scenarios in her head in which she practices finding the words to do so, words that are awkward and a vowel away from a stammer. Her breath catches in her throat as she walks over to the group, ignoring another whispered cheer from Aoi that she was certain the other two could hear.

Nagito chuckles. Kyoko can hear light footsteps coming in besides her.  She and Chiaki meet glances before nodding to each other. “A true tie with the ultimate gambler once again, I must be the luckiest to have matched you in this round. Someone of my lower caliber...” He collects the cards and shuffles them mindlessly, naturally shuffling the cards in a performative manner, his self depreciation is met with a disappointed hum from beside Kyoko.

Chiaki sends Nagito an equally disappointed and concerned glare as she crosses her arms at him, her cheeks slightly puffed out. “Nagito… We've talked about this.” Both players turn their attention to them, Celestia beckons Kyoko closer, not that she needed to be asked. Her Senpai opens his mouth to go on a spiel about hope and talents, that is enough encouragement to hurry to the gambler's side.

“Hello, *ma lapin.” She greets the detective, reaching out to gently tug on Kyoko’s tie to pull her closer. She bows her head down for Celestia to peck her cheek, a common greeting between the two, if not also the start of the rumors about the two’s status, among other things that admittedly please Kyoko a tad hearing them. “Fancy seeing you away from your laptop, detective.” Kyoko begins to pull away but is kept from moving seeing Celestia’s own lack of pulling away, instead she stays still as the hand on her tie trails up, tracing the side of her neck up to the joint of her jaw. 

Kyoko understands the touch immediately, the sudden realization of how stiffly clenched her jaw was somewhat surprised her. She relaxed under the miniscule massage the gambler applied to her face, the gambler's remaining hand following to mirror the other. Celestia lets out a short huff, the detective could almost hear the girl's chuckle that would’ve followed. So she hums questioningly.

The gambler offers her a softened gaze. A wider smile threatening to tug at the corner of her lips. “Your face is rather warm. It's like holding a giant hand warmer.” Kyoko could only feel her face flush even warmer as Celestia cups her face in her hands, amusement playing a twinge in the gambler's accent. Celestia probably felt the increase in warmth as a few chuckles escaped from her lips at Kyoko's slight fluster. “*Tu es mimi, mon coeur.” Besides the endearment, Kyoko only understood part of what she said, mimi was definitely a new term.

“Better to act as your body pillow.” Is the response that gets the hands sweetly cupping her face to roughly squish it instead. So it seems Celestia was still sensitive about yesterday’s morning situation. 

Celestia glares at her, and a pout paints her lips once she realizes Kyoko didn't particularly mind her face being squished like this, making her move an ineffective act of revenge. She grumbles, continuing to squish Kyoko's face in her hands. “You and your… mouth, I'll shut you up.” She threatens, her eyes boring into Kyoko's own with annoyance barely masking her embarrassment. Her thumb pushes against Kyoko's cheekbone, enticing a weird pressure that leaves her face feeling tingling.

“Okay?” She remarks, her response coming out oddly with Celestia squishing her face between her hands. Perhaps as an act of mercy, Celestia releases the pressure but keeps Kyoko's face in her hands. Perhaps a bad move. “When you can kiss me silently, I’ll stop talking.”

Kyoko's almost proud when Celestia pauses and her glare drops noticeably to her lips.

The hands release her face. “I take it back.” Celestia begins, she tilts her head away from Kyoko. She folds her hands onto her lap. “You're utterly annoying, my dear. Why I bother with you is a mystery.”

Kyoko pulls away before leaning back onto the couch that Nagito sat on, careful not to bother him, she brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “You like me and like making fun of me.” Kyoko offers as an answer, she watches Celestia let out another huff of amusement. Undeniable agreement. She tilts her head, trying to catch the gambler's glance. “Does this mean I can't invite myself to one more game, Ludenberg?”

This offer piques Celestia's interest. She turns her head ever so slightly to glance at Kyoko, a curious smirk playing at her lips. “What’s your wager?”

The opportunity was there to ask her for a date, a chance that, if she were a coward, she could play off as a joke. She isn't a coward, though she's just as soft. The words catch in Kyoko's throat. She wonders if Aoi was watching or if the two senpais behind her would hear her, or any of their peers for that matter. The short burst of confidence, in addition to the drop of confusion, Aoi sent her off with had depleted and Kyoko is reminded once again of the fact that she has never asked anyone on date before; also Kyoko still wasn't entirely certain if Celestia actually liked her romantically, try as she might to, hopefully, get that to be reality. The detective, though she knows her comments are direct enough to elicit suspicion of her feelings leaning towards romantic, doesn't want to pressure the gambler to go out with her. 

Biting her tongue, she offers Celestia a small smile. “Loser must listen to any and all requests made by the winner.” A generically straightforward penalty, made up on the spot, Kyoko knows they'll forget about it after today with all the excitement to come in their remaining days. Not to mention, with Celestia leaving to be with family the offer is futile in its potential value, likely the gambler would use it to forbid the detective from working, which she had no choice of doing regardless during break.

The wager is interesting enough that Celestia turns to face her. Her frustration with the detective vanquished for the moment.

“Duration?” She questions, her expression betraying nothing but consideration of the bid.

Was Kyoko likely to win? Not particularly, although, if their pattern of play held true, it would be her turn to win a game. If by a sliver. She would be getting ahead of her if she were to begin thinking of something she could ask of Celestia, truly the proposal was spoken to life before she could even dwell on it. “A month.” 

She quickly adds. “Unless you would like a different length of time.” 

Celestia raises a slight brow at her. “How confident.” She comments, before reaching out for the deck of cards Nagito had put down after shuffling. “Time as in how long we ourselves are subjected to the penalty? In that case, a week.” The gambler holds out the deck for Kyoko to grab, a wordless acceptance of her terms. 

With a nod of acknowledgement, Kyoko accepts the cards. Months of accumulated poker dates— Kyoko was certain this was not an actual term, she's positive Celestia has made it up, however most if not all of her Senpais use the term as well. Which drives her a little insane because although Kyoko is not an avid poker player she knows a lot of vocabulary and no amount of research or theorizing proved fruitful for a definition, besides Celes wanting to tease her, and Celestia nor her siblings have answered her questions— has built the instinctual motion of dealing the cards, two private faced down for a casual game after moving the topmost card to the bottom of the deck. She notices Celestia's eyes flick behind Kyoko, only for a noise of pain to croak out of the Senpai behind her. Kyoko turns.

There stood a yawning Chiaki, a hand raised to cover her yawn from an abnormal distance, Nanami’s pointer finger would normally hover around or, if not, touch her upper lip whenever she yawns— her hand, oddly, a good distance away from her face; her other hand, clenched into a fist, rests vertically on Nagito's head, he chuckles politely with closed eyes. She tugs at him, muttering about joining the werewolf game since they were going to start another round soom.

Kyoko hums curiously before turning back towards Celestia, whose eyes flick back to hers. The detective sets the deck back on the table before glance at her pair of cards as she settles onto the armrest of the couch now that her senpai wasn't occupying the space. Kings of diamond and spade. She looks back at Celestia, red eyes watching her for any twitches, said eyes soften with amusement once more when Kyoko wordlessly removes the topmost card, puts that off to the side then placing three cards onto the table.

“So eager to lose, detective?” The cards are a joker of diamond, nine of clubs, and a king of hearts. Three pair, not exactly a high hand but a hand nonetheless. A full house was preferable.

“I think a month at your beck and call isn't in my fortune.” Kyoko remarks, stifling a yawn by leaning her head against the back of her hand. 

Celestia reaches for the deck to deal out the turn. “I think you're too confident, *ma chérie. Bluffing is an art, one not immediately successful simply because you hid one weak point.” She raises a hand to gently tap at her earring, hinting at the flushing and twitching the detective's ears did. Kyoko knows her ears aren't covered, nor would she doubt the fact to check and give the impression she was bluffing.

“Perhaps I have a great hand. Your move, *Linda.” Kyoko remarks back. The gambler pauses, it's miniscule and shorter than a second, she places a hand on the deck. Celestia hums as she pulls off the top card and places the following card with the other community cards.

Three of spades. “Flattery gets you nowhere with me, ma lapin. Though I must praise you. Truly, your Spanish Sensei must be proud of you being able to use such endearments, especially one with a hard beginning.” The gambler fawns, leaving her cards face down on the table. “For such ability, I'll grant you mercy if you fold now. A month is cocky even for you, darling.”

“You say as if I haven't been speaking Spanish since before we started Hope’s Peak, would you rather I show off my vocabulary the way you do?” Their game progressed much faster than she would've liked, though perhaps playing a single round with so many eyes and ears would be best. “*Y solo una semana es adorable, ¿no? ¿O que? ¿No crees que puedes ganar?” 

Celestia chuckles. “*Estás linda, mi amorcita. It would be unfair, you don't understand most of my French or German and yet I know Spanish, though not the exact variant you're learning; if it pleases you…” The gambler reaches a hand out to grasp Kyoko's own free hand. She gently caresses the leather outlining the detective’s hand. “I'll raise my penalty to the entirety of next semester;” she raises Kyoko's hand and leans closer to the detective before raising her hand to her lips. The detective could feel the ghost faintness of her rivets grazing Celestia's lips. “ Please, continue with your usage of endearments. You're cute when you're trying to be charming.”

“Am I not charming?” Kyoko asks with much more effort to push out of her tightening throat, she ignores the strain that comes with remaining normal, she does not have the luxury of pinning Celestia down and passing it off as wanting to cuddle or simply play. Surely, someone would actually call her out on it especially with all three of the seventy classes here. 

Kyoko's kind of glad Byakuya wasn't present. He absolutely wouldn't let her live it down.

A slight mourn wells inside her as the gambler pulls away, releasing Kyoko's hand, she redirects her efforts to pull the final river card instead of dwelling on Celestia's affection. “Are you not cute? A foolishly obvious answer.”

Ten of clubs. Kyoko is stuck with three of a kind with kings. 

Celestia was being rather kind during the match, it would also be rather mundane if she were to fold now. Kyoko lifts her cards in preparation to reveal her hand. “A semester is a bold choice for someone choosing their loss.”

The gambler chuckles at the comment. “Oh? Don't tell me you expect to win, what was the request you wanted filled, hmm? Perhaps I'll reward you for your optimism.” She places a hand on her cards, thumbing the bottom edges of the pair to flip over at a moment's notice.

Kyoko wasn't sure, she hadn't thought of a request even when she suggested the offer. She shrugs. “Show me how you would've kept me quiet.”

Her brows pinch down unnoticeably, clearly exasperated with Kyoko's natural quips and the remarks that were second nature with a tinge of borderline immaturity. With a scoff, Celestia flips her cards. A diamond queen and eight of spades. “Ponder your loss and pray to your goddess, straight with a high king is more than enough to keep you silent I reckon.” She confidently boasts awfully dramatic in her delivery, this too, her dorky response, Kyoko finds cute.

Though their pattern of play is incorrect and Kyoko has lost, she still reveals her cards amicably accepting her defeat. Celestia smiles kindly at her, patronizingly even, there was no surprise in this victory. Kyoko wonders if the gambler was currently pondering what she should ask of her first request. So Kyoko sits silently and holds Celestia's gaze with her own, earning a look from the gambler. The pride dwindles into another, pondering.

Celestia taps a finger against her lips thoughtfully. 

“...” Kyoko raises a brow, silently encouraging the gambler to continue, the girl clearly wanting to say something. By the looks of it, it didn't seem to be a request she wanted to make.

“Don't tell me. Darling, did you intend to lose with your bet in mind?” The sliver of exasperation twinges the question. Kyoko shakes her head, she collects her own cards and the community cards to put back into the deck.

“I did not. It's not like I've lost anything serious nor is the penalty detrimental.” She takes the pair of cards Celestia pushes to her before collecting the remaining cards and stacking into the deck. “I don't mind listening to you either, if that's a concern.” Kyoko runs a finger down the sides of the deck to align them as best she can, she could faintly feel the texture, she hears it more than she could feel it actually.

Celestia nods, the answer satisfactory. A hand reaches up to twirl the longer strands of her hair with concern, although the two are still facing one another Kyoko was certain the gambler wasn't meeting her eyes any more. She continues to study Celestia's face.

Ignoring the brewing argument that was happening behind her, Kyoko leans against her hand, cupping her own chin for added comfort. The gambler was concerned, playing with her own hair was rare especially her drills so it was a wordless relief that she wasn't anywhere near her drills. The hand playing with her hair is much closer to her face, twirling the hair inwards towards her cheek; people who play with their hair such as their bangs tend to pull it down or flatten it to cover their face with not only their bangs but their hand as well— something Celestia did whenever she gets frustrated playing a certain game on her pc— whereas most people simply fixing their hair for appearances would keep their hands from blocking their face.  This was different from how Celestia would normally hide behind her hand, she raises her hand to her face to maintain her politeness and maintain a layer of protection in a way; keeping it mostly to the lower half of her face. Fidgeting with her hair inwards was new.

Worry. Crossed off a list of possibilities formulating in Kyoko's head, considering the context, it was likely to be embarrassment or concern for whatever Celestia may want to request. Kyoko was certain the gambler already had one in mind.

Was she hesitant to bring it up with the detective? Was it the environment they were in making her hesitant? What kind of request did she have? 

Kyoko mentally jumped on to a new list, listing out potential requests the gambler could make— being careful to push a select few to the side on a separate list under her enthusiastic inclinations that she will continue to ignore in favor of remaining logical and not as enamored.  

She hadn't needed to wait long formulating the potential reasons when eyes met hers again with a blink, effectively catching Kyoko's attention.

Noticeably, there was a bit of moisture in the corners of the gambler's eyes. In response Kyoko crossed off many items on her list and narrowed to a few possibilities that could possibly embarrass the girl, another possible idea from Kyoko's other list may have jumped back into the list. Much to her own embarrassment.

“I…” Celestia begins, her eyes retreating elsewhere for a moment before flickering back to Kyoko's. “Considering that this break might become an obstacle for most of the requests I could ask, and, well, your plans—or lack thereof— I’d like to ask if- I ask that you accompany me and my family for the break.” She gets out with only a single trip on words from glossing over the beginnings of a ramble, Kyoko accidentally notices the slight flush creeping through the lighter layer of makeup on the gambler's neck and even more faintly on her face. The detective feels a little flustered herself, the request feeling oddly… intimate. 

Celestia, sensing the weird air between the two. Hurriedly adds, as inconspicuously and smoothly as possible. “How else will I take advantage of my winning?” Her way of justifying her request. Before coolly adding. “Take this as an invitation if you will.” 

She swallows thickly, swallowing down the bundle of nerves threatening to rage a war against the many trains of thought chugging along in her head about every angle of what that offer could mean; alas, Kyoko is afraid she's biasedly compromised about many of the “outcomes” that she's theorizing could be proven. Kyoko takes a short pause to sigh, mentally allowing her nerves to bow out of her, albeit, a bit shaky— hopefully it wasn't shaky enough to be picked up on, before smiling gently at the gambler.

“Alright.” With a nod of acceptance, Kyoko continues. “So long as you'll have me.”

The gambler chuckled at that. “You're always welcomed at my side, Detecti-” Shrieks and yelps of shock litter whatever scene was playing behind Kyoko, cutting Celestia off, the group that had taken up most of the main area of the room had been noisy before this, though Kyoko has elected to ignore it in favor of the small conversation she was having with Celestia, Kyoko barely glances behind her when she notices both Fuyuhiko-Senpai, Hiro, and Shirogane the only ones on their feet amongst their peers who have taken to sitting wherever there was room. “Oh my.” Is Celestia's only comment before either of the boys or Tsumugi speak.

“I KNOW IT'S YOU, TSUMUGI!!” Fuyuhiko declares, earning a small chorus of support from the others.

Another chorus follows, this time in disagreement.  Tsumugi had the decency to look a bit flustered as she defended herself, she held a fist up to her chest dramatically as she was proclaiming her innocence “I'M INNOCENT! I PLEAD!”

“IT'S KUZURYU SENPAI!” Hiro, despite being in the conversation and addressing Fuyuhiko, accuses.

“FUCK IT IS, OLD GOAT!”

Hiro mouth moves silently as he tries to defend his own accusation, Kyoko glances back at Tsumugi who was having the light of suspicion taken from her. The cosplayer was holding back a grin. Fuyuhiko, himself, way too quickly shifted the spotlight to Hiro as well. 

The seventies classes were glaringly loud together, thankfully their own class was calmer compared to their others.

The clairvoyant’s eyes land on her as he desperately scans the room for any rebuttal. His eyes are pleading for aid. “Kyoko, back me up here!”

Fuyuhiko tuts. “Can't even back up your own claims?”

“Uh.”

Mahiru looks back at Kyoko with a smile, she was the closest to the pair from where she sat on the ground from. “You two should totally join us. More the merrier!”

“It certainly is merry.” Celestia remarks passively. Kyoko would be ignorant if she disagreed.

Angie hums loudly in agreement. “Yes! With Atua-” She's quickly cut off by Kokichi’s loud bothered groan.

“Can it with the religious indoctrination!” He interrupts cheerily, he looks up pleadingly in her direction. Ignorant of another blonde trying to get up from the couch to hit him and being held back by Angie. “C’mon Senpai! We're down a detective already, you have to assist us! It's only, like, your moral obligation to help us catch the werewolves turned wink serial killers! Or are you too scared to get it wrong in front of your wife?” Miu escapes Angie's grasp enough to harshly tug at his hair the moment he finishes, not giving Kyoko even a moment of respite to respond. 

The blonde ignores the boy's cries for pain; behind them, Fuyuhiko, Tsumugi, and Hiro go back to arguing and throwing accusations at each other. Simply accepting this new cat fight as background music. “Just because you and Keebs can't get your emo boyfriend to answer your calls to join doesn't mean you can act like a dick in the mud, flat ass!” 

“My ass is fatter than yours!!” 

“As if!!?!”

Kyoko glances back at Mahiru who turns back slowly to the detective with a mixed bamboozled and apologetic expression on her face. Her smile was awkward. “uh… of course if you don't want to join that's also fine too.”

Abruptly, Kyoko hears a sigh from Celestia and a solemn. “I'm going to kill Ibuki.”

1. kukicha: Known as twig tea and by its other name of Boucha, is basically a tea made from parts of a plant that usually isn't used like twigs, stems, and stalks

2. ma lapin: My bunny. (I think use this enough. that y'all may be familiar with it now.)

3. Tu es mimi, mon coeur: You are adorable, my love(heart). 

4. ma chérie: my darling. (also used often enough)

5. Linda: Beauty/pretty. 

6. And only a week is cute, no? Or what? You don't think you'd win ?

7. You're (beautiful, pretty, etc.), my love .

1 is Japanese, 2-4 French, 5-7 Spanish

“The weather's pretty consistent. Oddly enough, outside of campus it's hotter than hell, but it's like the campus is air-conditioned.” The pink-haired guide remarked, her hand coolly gesturing broadly at the campus, the paper bag of goodies rustling slightly in the same hand. The three students following her all acknowledge with their own unique humming or noise, the blonde in the middle even nodding.

“That's strategic landscaping for you. All this nature helps with the heat, makes the academy look ridiculously rich too.” She adds to the ultimate guide’s response. The fiery girl she walked hand in hand with, giggled.

“It is ridiculously rich, most of us are rich too. It'd be weird if they didn't.” Her accent gives her words and endearing little… everything? Overall adorableness? 

Wasn't that the truth. 

The actor didn't even want to think about the weird circumstances of her background that would, if she actually and properly addressed it, make her an immediate millionaire. But that was a conversation with the family head and elders to continue to ignore in her part till the younger head physically dragged her to the meeting for legal purposes— she prays there aren't any that would make that meeting happen. Her ultimate not exactly helping with the sudden bombardment of job and role offers she’s been getting; seriously, how did they get her professional email??

Calli shook her head good-naturedly. “Dude, don't scare her.”

The blonde snickered. “What? It's not bad. People here are rich in that fun eccentric way, us included!” The actor glanced with an accepting amusement over at the blonde and fiery ginger as they did little poses as they walked to her dorm building, Calli chuckled to herself. Amelia chuckled too as she dropped the pose. “Nah, but it's overall chill. Just weird stuff happens like the ‘demon mass hysteria’ going around.”

All trains of thought about the campus and any social worries that had been plaguing the new student all faded into an immediate pause as the words processed in her mind. Her ears twitched with confusion. “Eh?” 

Next to the blonde, Kiara let out her own noise of confusion. “Demons? Since when? Why wasn’t I told? I’m the mythologist here!” She glanced down at the blonde with a look of betrayal. Kiara released Amelia’s hand to hook their arms together then using that closer connection to shake the blonde playfully. “Ameeee, why didn’t you tell me! You too, Cawwii!” 

“What!? Don’t bring me into this, Wawa.” The guide squeaked out. 

Noticing the increasingly confused look growing on the other foreigner there, Amelia smoothly redirected her arm around Kirara’s waste to stop the shaking before turning her head to look back at the actor. With a snort of amusement, she explains. “Don’t worry about it, nothing serious. It’s some underclassmen, pretty positive it’s a friend’s partner. The underclassman I was talking about earlier.”

“Cool.” The actor responds with an interested hum. She watched the two continue to flirt with much amusement as they made their way to her assigned dorm building. Geiarashi had been wandering around earlier not wanting to admit she was lost despite the fact she had both a physical and digital map in her hands as she walked around the otherside of campus acting like she belonged where she was. Don’t get her wrong, she knew where she was and how to get around the campus since she had that tour with that Ishimaru guy that was both part of the student council and the class she was joining but she had no idea where exactly her dormitory was. Her kanji wasn’t exactly up to par, and she ended up at the dorm buildings of the other course group.

Thankfully, these very kind upperclassmen happened upon her and immediately recognized she was lost. Joan hates to admit it to herself, her independence would take a hit, but she was minutes of walking back to the same spot under a tree across from the office of those dorms’ away from having a meltdown and bursting into tears. She had an image to upholdー an admittedly self-imposed image that doesn’t exist here thus not needing to uphold it but dammit she was stubbornー and crying was not something she wanted to do in public outside of a role.

“Oh.” Her brain lit up with a ding as it focused and brought to light the connection of the most recent comment the blonde made to an earlier conversation they had on the way here. “The one in my class?” She asked for confirmation, Joan was certain she knew the name of said classmate, but she had only barely heard the name from Amelia and only briefly scanned the names of all the scripts she was given. 

Amelia hummed in confirmation. “Yep, Kyoko! There’s also Shuichi but he’s a first year in the seventy’s class batch, which is yours.” 

The actor hummed. Filling both names in the back of her mind to remember. “What’s my class like, if you know? Are they chill?”

The investigator chuckled. “Didn’t you meet up with your class rep?”

Joan swayed her head in a so-so motion. Ishimaru had been a teeny bit vague when explaining their class and the overall school community. From what she’s gathered from skimming online and what she’s heard exploring the campus, was that there was rarely a dull moment and that there was a class group that were particularly known for being chaotic. She was still not sure which class batch it was besides the tens class batches as they were apparently the quietest class group. “Yeah, but he just insisted that everyone was kind and that they liked to fool around.”

At that, the expression of all three of her Senpais contorted into varying looks of hesitancy with the added expressional ticks that gave way to their feelings on the matter; that feeling being mostly akin to ‘where do we even start?’ or a degree of uncertainty. Calli, the main guide of this small tour, was the first to broach the topic after a huff from Amelia. “Well… uh, they’re fucking insane, dude- in a cool way tho!” She stammers defensively as if worried the actor, who was a part of the class, would be offended.

Kiara shakes her head. “Calli…” She chastised in an endearing manner earning a huff from the pink haired guide. The mythologist looked over towards the actor with a polite smile. “Your class is…” she trailed off; having lost whatever words she had been intending to use. She grimaces coming up with the word. “Excited? No, more like *exzentrisch-? Oh! Eccentric?” She hummed thoughtfully once more before sighing with a slump in her shoulders. “Nevermind, not going to lie, they are the most batshit crazy people I’ve ever met.” Calli’s head snapped to look at Kiara with a look of bafflement.

“Where did you learn that?”

“You!” Kiara answered cheerfully. With a laugh she adds. “Why are you surprised!”

Amelia laughed at the scene, especially as the ginger released her to swing herself towards Calli. She slowed to match the pace of the actor who was enjoying the scene playing in front of them. She reassuringly nudged the underclassmen with her elbow. “Your class is cool, fun to be around, and they are friendly.”

“Shit,” Was the automatic response out of her mouth. When she got that surprised look of amusement from Amelia she froze in embarrassment before playing into the amusement by slowly looking away in feign awkwardness, drawing it out with pursed lips and raised brows in a way that came off unserious. “They’re social? Like party people social or simply has an eternal social battery social?” The actor asks jokingly with exasperation.

The guide, after overcoming the flush that had overcome her from the affections of the fiery girl, raised a brow at her. “That’s the part that concerns you? Not the eccentric or insane part?” 

“Insanity is in, it’s a hot commodity.” The actor responded casually as if she too believed that to be true. She glances up at the dorm building they were approaching, scanning for any identifiable signs of which dormitory it was, when she noticed the numbers, she immediately knew this was itー she did, after all, memorize the numbers in her very soul to counteract the growing insanity as she was lost. She probably would've arrived sooner if she had just agreed to let Ishimaru show her where their dormitory was. “I mean, yeah? So long as they're chill, I guess— I'm horrible at talking so I need, like, mental prep.”

Calli nodded understandingly. “Mood.”

They slowed the closer they approached the building, it was then that Joan finally noticed how tired she was, the lack of energy having been placated by the fun energy her upperclassmen radiated. Thankfully, this also meant she didn’t have the energy to think seriously, thus no anxiety bubbling as she enters the dorms and inevitably bumps into some of her classmateー well, she hopes so, she can’t speak japanese well when she’s feeling anxious, let alone when she’s been speaking english with her Senpais. 

Hope’s peak academy was interesting. She’s always thought so, especially after she first met her scout when she was young, having first been scouted under the title of ultimate spy and her comrades…

She didn’t want to remember that. This was not an appropriate time to cry or get depressed, she was literally outside her dormitory. Joan will look into whatever the clan head was interested in and whatever made her mom promise she’d find interesting attending the academy those years ago, but later, she wants to sleep.

Geiarashi starts walking towards the dormitory office with glass walls, only to feel someone grab the back of her collar and stop her, tugging her back, though with the lax balance Joan normally kept, almost pulling her back to fall. Joan stayed on her feet with only a puff of suprise. “Woah there, Kid.” Calli called out endearingly like she was speaking to a hyperactive kid, the tall girl nodded back towards Amelia. The actor looks over at the blonde with a curious tilt of her head. 

“Hey.” The detective smiled gently, amusement barely concealed enough that the underclassmen didn't notice. “Your dormitory’s on the higher levels, yours is closer to reach with those elevators.” She points over towards the building till Joan’s eyes fall on a glass column on the side of the building, elevator doors visible despite the gentle glare of the late afternoon sun against the glass walls.

Joan wishes she was into painting, the glass column protecting the elevator was overrun with flora, but in a way she couldn’t help but admire the way the vines sat strong against the glass and the flowers intertwined swayed in the gentle breeze while casting a comforting shadow that was lighted with the romantically dimmed lights beginning to turn on as it approached evening. With the burning skies behind it with a pink tint peaking through? She couldn’t have enough time to fully express what she wanted into poetry, the moment fleeting and herself exhausted. “Oh wow.”

Taking advantage of the curious silence, or maybe just having decent timing, Calli admired the sky with a content look. “Y’know, Kiara, the sky’s pretty amazing, trying to match your vibe and everything. Well, minus that extra something—you know, like the charm and all that." She shrugged cooly, Joan could only watch as both Kiara and Amelia latched themselves onto the guide, the pink-haired girl barely staying on her legs. The actor could see the slight shaking in Calli’s legs as both girls’ arms hang around their neck.

Calling over Kiara’s squeal of affection, Amelia whines playfully with a mischievous titter in her tone. “I want a compliment too!”

Simply unable to answer with the blonde practically headbutting the guide’s chin, Calli lets out a huff as she struggles. The mythologist on the other hand pulls her head back enough to place a loud smooch on the detective’s head. “I’ll compliment you, Ameee~!” 

As the third wheelーfourth wheel?ー Joan took out her phone to check the time instead of the flirting between the three happening beside her. It was late, considering the time difference, it was still a couple hours before she’d call her folks to check-in with them like she promised she would. Her ears catch some words of the playful squabble happening to her left, she ignores it best she could after the first question of ‘Are they all dating?’ pops to mind; she wonders if her belongings have already arrived at the dorm. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After struggling to use her handbook to enter the dormitoryー well after she figured out where it was on her person because, of course, she’d thought she lost, Joan opened the door with the nervousness of someone about to perform on stage. Her handbook quivering in her shaking hand; she could go on about being scared or nervous about bumping into her classmates, or even the very minor fear that she walked into the completely wrong dormitory. Maybe, if she were a little more awake, she’d even pinpoint the main source of her nerves and calm herself before marching forth boldly like she normally did.

Instinctually, her other hand falls from pushing the door open. She catches a knife aimed at the side of her head, she releases her breath, if the traction of the one glove she was wearing were to have been any higher she would have definitely ended up in the hospital. Joan’s brain fries on the spot. Her eyes fell to the ground where two other knives laid, she scans them, tracing the simple and aerodynamic form of the blades, her mind helpfully, surprisingly still decently functioning, supplying her with the identity of the blades: throwing knives. Not that that wasn’t obvious considering the knife in her hand, but at least she could assume that this person did completely intend to be throwing them around. Which, to her at least, sounds very coolー except for the fact that she was almost made into a target, but hey, who didn’t enjoy a little adrenaline rush from almost death?

Hesitantly, and only with her gloves hand, she picks up the other two knives after she slipped her handbook into her back pocket. Mentally noting their appearance so she may later browse the net for them, to buy that would depend if she could confirm whether or not the academy monitored their students’ purchases. Joan starts walking down the entry hall, she starts hearing two people fighting just around the corner at the end of the hall. “YOU BORROWED SPECIAL LITTLE KNIVES FROM THE MUKURANIAN AND YOUR AIM IS STILL SHIT! HEHHAHAHAA!” The laughter the follows reminds the actor of a witch, it was a fun laugh, she wonders if she'd be able to mimic it…

A haughty voice chuckles off the insult. “Well, reeking mongrel.” A sharp thud of a blade meeting its actual target follows immediately which in turn is followed by a boastful laugh and a mildly impressed whistle. “Perhaps all that time raised in such a… package has clouded thy understanding of talent!” The voice is posh and elitist, a voice fit for a queen.

A louder thud is followed by the fun laughter. “KYA HAHAHA! ‘Mon Junkler! Y'know I'm too charming compared to that loser, plus! I've got all those pretty boys under my belt! Kyhehehehe!” Joan freezes as a knife hits that corner down the hall, if it were even a centimeter off it would've nicked her, maybe even stabbed her considering she froze in place as if she were fucking invincible. Is this what those upperclassmen meant when they explained her classmates were batshit insane or something along those lines? If so, that meant this was barely an introduction into that, like throwing knives was pretty tame, and judging from how her upperclassmen acted they would probably agree, what the hell was the actor in for. “You missed, Blondie! Even Gloomy can aim better than you!!"

Joan, peeks around the corner, raising a hand to pull the knife from out of the wall. There stood across the room two girls, one— the girl with messy braids turned her body so that the actor could finally see her face— both blindfolded with the blonde having the throwing knives that nearly hit Joan and the other with scissors. The blonde pats her sides before throwing her head back in the way one would when rolling their eyes before raising a hand to her chest and pulling a knife from her cleavage. Admittedly very cool. “Save your moldy breath for inflating your girlfriend.” Now what kind of vicious mockery of an insult is that??

The knife hits alongside the target hanging on the wall, unreasonably close to the opening of the hallway as the blonde seems to be sending every other blade down it. The girl with scissors snorts. “Dekomaru? Puh-lease! Neither her nor Zippy would be able to hide it, even the twerps know!”  As if to place emphasis on the bored frustration of that particular matter, the braided girl threw a pair of sharp looking scissors at the target. A bullseye. “Haa?” She tilted her head, turning her head in the specific direction Joan was. The actor barely had time to place the knives on a skewed couch before it's her that the apparent knife— scissor— thrower is holding her scissors towards.

“Who the fuck are you!” She uses her other hand to raise her blindfold to glare at her with some kind of trepidation. Her red eyes and noticeably sharp teeth really only highlight what almost looks like borderline disgust. Joan could only offer up a basic delivery of a profanity, so mildly performed she bored herself there. The braided girl turns to the blonde who continues to grab another knife from her chest. “Who the fuck has a guest?”

The blonde sounds different this time, a depressive boredom damping her voice, she answers without removing her blindfold. “Huh? That's the new kid, it's despairing how they're brushing this off without so much of a scream.” Well, could you blame her? What are you supposed to do when people are doing mildly perplexing activities, scream and turn tail? Like a normal person? That's boring. Ignoring the immediate ‘The fucking what?’ from the scissor thrower, the blonde continues aiming for the target while blindfolded. “Syo, are they scared?”

At the answer, Syo still doesn't lower the scissors, but instead she bursts into a wide grin as she cackles. Only then did the actor notice the way her tongue stuck out while she— what. “Nope! She looks half dead tho!” Ow?

Suddenly, as the knife from the blonde hits the wall beside the target, she lets out a perverted gasp before letting out an evil squeal. “OH THOSE WHORES ALREADY LEFT TO HUNT GOTH GIRL- IMAGINE THE DESPAIR WHEN EVERYONE REALIZES THEY MISSED THE NEW KID.” 

Huh. 

The actor kinda likes the sound of that, dramatic and borderline delusional obsession with whatever despair was for the blonde; she should probably back track though, she understood most of the words in that statement, but not together? Hunt a Goth??? Despair?

She yawns. Right, exhausted, her most important goal at the moment was to strip into sleepwear and sleep. The actor turns around without another word besides and even bigger yawn. 

She's already leaving the area when Junko pulls down her own blindfold and catches the glimpse of the fleeing actor. She immediately recognizes her. “IT'S THE CRY BABY!”

“Fucking what-”

Roll Dice

Boss: This is such a hate crime I'm going to kms

    Lolipunch replying to Boss

Lolipunch: sigh whose romancing rn

Myooim: no_bitches.png

Boss: Fuck you???

Just this morning sunshine and avacadu+ whore and cult victim were flirting it up

THEN my aunt and that Shumai’s mom were playing poker 

and like the bromance couple senpais were hella gaying it up THERE DOING IT RN IN F RONT OF MEEEED

    Russian boy replying to Boss

Russian boy: is poker a euphemism for flirting now

ooh cult victim is new

Boss: When is it MY turn I hate it here

it's basically their "platonic" way of whatever lesbians do

Cockatoo: umm 🤔 hold hands?

Boss: worse

liking women 🤢 

Lolipunch: is the mom supposed to be the senpai u want to fight or smth with???

Boss : yuh 💪 

Myooim: Oh

hate to break it to you boss

Boss: no

NO

:snappedaway:

Myooim: I'm afraid so

Matarararara: Oh? am I missing something 

Mr. Lady: #Poative Vibes😈

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Myooim: My fucking Idol asked me out????

we're dating now!???!?? WHAT

:autism.fan:

Otterpipo : Congrats Miyoko!

WIAT THE COSPLAYER 

Myooim: MY CALSSMATE 

YEAH

Matarararara: Good for u Majesty! ur gay yearning ends here!

Boss: :phobicdog:

Fine! only bc ur in the honeymoon phase 

no pranks for now

Russian boy: homophobic era ended by the sapphic army

Myooim: no it was funnier when he let me torment him for being an incek

GSITYPDTZI HIS STATUS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Otterpipo: for those too busy to click on boss

screenshot_258358.png (Boss- I'm homophobic now and I hate people who love women except penguin & Joe)

Joe: :aroace_swag:

Penguin: honored to be called out for being the only single lesbian here 

challenge accepted :smug_doodo:

Boss: FUCK 

wait demon hunting BRB

Matarararara: :swag_penguin:

what 🧍‍♀️

Chapter Text

Kyoko would say that she wasn’t one to be sneaking around, rummaging through any crevasse, or taking things that were none of her business. If she was a liar, or in denial, both of which weren’t who she was; the resident queen of liars had said once she was decent at lying so long as she was able to not feel guilty about it before proceeding to tease her about being soft and innocent. 

So, walking into the kitchen with a silent flourish, sneaking in as if she’d be caught, was a familiar act. Though, this time she hadn’t a reason to be creeping into the kitchen, she was only here for tea, not even of the caffeinated kind or the iced one they kept in the fridge, just whatever tea she finds in the cabinets firstー not to say, in the back of her mind, she wouldn’t keep an eye out for any forgotten coffee. It happened occasionally, not as much recently for some reason.  

Though, the girl who turned to look at her with a ladle in hand hovering over whatever she was making on the stove, something sweet judging by the smell, like bread and almond, wasn’t a familiar sightー the hoodie bright orange, hair in a low ponytail, and a surgical mask pulled down to the person’s chin as they stared silently at each other. Something like bread? Kyoko’s eyes flick over to the oven light that became dimmed with silhouettes of some kind of bread. It was off, the baked good cooling off. Her gaze turns back to the person studying her, the girl meets her eyes before coming to then turning back to what she was stirring. Not without sending the detective one last glance. It was the actor, the face matching the photo Kyoko had found in her student file, though without the kitsune mask and kind yet patronizing gaze, she was quieter than Kyoko had imagined. 

Kyoko walked to the cabinet above the counter closest to the stove the transfer student stood over, a tad awkward, alas that’s where they kept the sweeter varieties of tea. 

Geiarashi glanced at her once more. “Morning.” She whispers softly, barely above a breath and Kyoko is certain she wouldn’t have heard it if she hadn’t been at such close distance. 

“Morning.” She responds just as casually, opening the cabinet, she is immediately met with spices and cooking bottles and not the teas she was expecting. Kyoko holds back a sigh, knowing exactly who reorganized the kitchen, she really hadn’t thought Aoi had the time to reorganize considering she was packing for that Olympic bootcamp her and other athletes were attending this break. Perhaps the nerves of going on the trip had given her the kind of energy she wanted to burn away, Aoi usually spent that kind of energy either swimming laps or organizing the kitchen. A familiar click sounds from the stove, indicating that the lit burner had been turned off, she watches the actor stir the liquid one last time before pulling the ladle out to place down on the spoon rest. The sweet nutty smell of toasted almonds had only intensified from where Kyoko stood, curiously she looked at the liquid; it looked like simmering milk. The actor glanced at her with her own look of curiosity, seeming unbothered at the peering the detective was doing. Kyoko takes that as a sign to say something. “What are you making?”

The actor blinks before meeting Kyoko’s eyes with a rather warm and sleepy gaze. “*Atole. It’s a drink.” Her voice is much more awake than her earlier greeting, just as casual and a decent volume for the early morning. Kyoko watches the actor tug at the collar of her bright orange hoodie, pulling it away from her throat where it snuggled up, she couldn’t yet tell if this was just the actor fidgeting or the actor was nervous.

“It smells like almonds.” She remarks instead.

The actor pauses before nodding politely. “There’s roasted pecans that I ground up. Would you like some, I uh…” She glanced down at the drink steaming with an unsurprised stare, a touch embarrassed as she spoke. “Made too much. There’s milk too, do you have any, um, allergies?”

Pecans? Those were rather rare, and expensive last she checked, where had they gotten their hands on them? “I don’t have any. I’ll try some.” She answers first, Kyoko glances towards the oven. “I’m assuming you baked those.” Taking a step forward, Geiarashi tilted her head as she peered at the bread in the oven, she tilted her head once again curiously.

She’s met with an affirmative hum. “They’re cooling down. Actually, they go great with atole. Would you like some of those too?” The actor took Kyoko’s silent nod before walking to one of the cabinets, she pulled out a small plate and mugー it seems the dish cabinet remained unchanged. Before she can ask, the girl answers for her. “They’re *conchas; I made them to eat when I call my family in a bit.” The actor answered bluntly. The detective knew what that was, though she’s never had them oddly. Kyoko watches the girl pick up a pair of tongs from the counter on a different spoon rest before walking over to the oven and placing the plates in her hand on the counter nearest to the oven. Just as she opens the oven door, she sends a glance back at the detective. “May I ask a question?” 

Kyoko hums in confirmation. She glances towards the ladle that rested on the spoon rest and the steaming drink where it rested cooling down. She reached out for the mugs that Geiarashi left on the counter and moved them closer, Kyoko was certain the actor wouldn’t mind. Her response earned a nervous hum of acknowledgement from the actor as she grabbed one of the plates and placed a concha on it. “You are Kyoko, right? The ultimate detective? Uh, student: two seven eight nine?” She closes the oven before picking up the plates in her hands, balancing each on one hand like one would see servers balance server trays with food on. The actor turned and noticed Kyoko serving the beverage. “Ah, thank you.” She adds before glancing around the kitchen space for an area to place the plates. 

Kyoko was somewhat surprised that the actor knew her, knew enough about her to identify her; then again, it’s been a year or so since they’ve enrolled into the academy. There was always a frenzy of people sharing what they could on each student enrolled into the ultimate course, mostly researching the more famous talents like Leon, Junko, and Byakuya, and other decently reputable talents in their class, of course they’d always list what each student’s talent was and the others who weren’t as famous or popular scooted by with rumors that followed them. Kyoko was pretty certain that there was a public drive about information on their class from that time that was still up, after all she had given it a look through when she was entering. “I am. You did your research, Geiarashi-san.” Knowing her student number was odd, that certainly wasn’t ever shared nor was it available publicly anywhere even to other students, Kyoko barely knew Makoto, Toko, and Celestia’s student numbers and only because the first two often left their handbooks around the dormitory.

The actor nods. “I was given scripts based on everyone in the class, plus some stuff I ran into online, and Ishimaru-san. Just Joan is fine by the way.” Joan spotted a table mostly used by Chihiro when they were eating right before a project, they had a sudden burst of inspiration and drive to complete in one sitting, she went over there.

“Scripts?” On them. 

She shrugged as Kyoko grabbed the mugs and brought them to the table. “More like a dossier than a script, but it was practically a profile on everyone, I only got through the first nine. They told me I would get more later.” The detective wasn’t sure how to feel about that, perhaps bothered? Or even miffed. She was curious about the contents of the scripts, their purpose, why was the actor given scripts on her classmates? Was she supposed to act as them, as if they were characters to be played?

Kyoko placed the mugs down on the table beside each of the plates. She studied the concha fondly, noticing that the baked good was shaped like a turtle with the top layer of the bun having a shell like pattern. She looked back at Joan. “How detailed would you say they were?”

Joan seemed to instantly know the underlying concern about the scripts, with an understanding grimace she answered. “Rather surface level, besides publicly available info it was noting things I presume were decently personal? The script I just finished reading, on Kuwata-san, talked about him hating his talent and wanting to be a musician? Considering his popularity in global baseball and his sponsorships, I’d say that’s rather…” She trailed off, seemingly empathetic to having his apparent secret dream shared so blatantly in material given by the school. The actor continued. “It was mostly two pages per person, but it left enough room for me to add my own notes and observations. Admittedly, I may take advantage of that on the physical copies they gave me but do you want the, um, do you want me to share a digital copy with you?” Considering the girl was adding this, she too felt this was suspicious, Kyoko did as well, the accumulation of the past two years worth of looking through student records and files would do that, make one suspicious on what kind of information they were collecting about students; personal accounts were one thing, but professional observations made for each student in the ultimate course was definitely uncomfortably weirdー although she wasn’t a hundred percent certain if there were observations on all students, her and her fellow student detectives and investigators had found so many accounts that it was a reasonable guess, it was a matter of purpose that they had yet to find. 

Of course, she nodded, already planning to send them to the others. Joan hummed before asking. “Would you like them via an SD card or flash drive? Unless you prefer over the net?” It was almost as if the actor was familiar with what was going on to suggest a more under the table deal than a convenient and traceable method.

“What would you recommend?” Kyoko asked curiously. 

“Flash drive, I’ll just hand you mine then you can return it, I usually keep backups of files on it anyways.” She raised her mug to her lips before slowly tilting the mug to drink cautiously. After a pause, she takes another sip; Kyoko observes her own mug and notes the steam still wafting off, she'll wait a bit more before drinking it. Joan watches her curiously. “Would you like me to not make my observations on you guys? or well, you?” She asks suddenly.

Kyoko poked at the sweet, she wasn't sure where to begin, somewhere inside felt a bit bad biting into the turtle bread, though that guilt was equally matched with the temptation to bite the head off the turtle looking bread. She settled for tugging off one of the small rolls that made up the concha turtle’s flippers. “I don't particularly mind, I'd like to know why exactly you're going about it this way.” The detective popped the tiny roll into her mouth. It was warm. She pulled off another.

The actor shrugged. “I mean, I’ll heavily reform it but it's simply my preferred way of, say, character study. Since fictional characters are up to interpretation and have a lot of leeway in the sense of representing their person and going about bringing that to life, real people don't allow that kind of freedom unless you're thrown into a scene where no one knows that person or their own interpretation is surface level. It'll be like introducing a new persona.” Joan placed her mug down and gently grabbed her concha, she wasn't as hesitant when she tore the bread in half, though she did bow her head almost respectfully. It was odd, though in a silly way. “That's the reason they gave me to try it out anyway.” She said with an amused certain lightness in her voice, Kyoko watched her carefully dip her concha in the drink before letting the excess atole drip back into the mug. “I’m not an actor in the profession, is the best way to describe it; I'm, allegedly, great at the act of acting. But being an actor? That's different.” 

Kyoko didn't really get it. The actor's answer was rather vague and assumptions. “You mean your talent is in the craft and not the profession?”

The actor's eyes lit up, as if they were finally on the same wavelength. “Yes, exactly! I wasn't sure how to word it but yes, my talent is in the craft and art of acting, although I can do well in the industry, my mindset in regard to it is too flawed to really succeed in the long run like my fellow actors, Magorobi-san and uh… I forgot my actor senpais’ names.” Joan admitted before finally biting into the soaked part of her torn concha.

She recognized Magorobi’s name. The blonde actor had come to visit their class once looking for someone late last year when the new wave of students was confirmed. With hindsight, that could’ve been Joan, after all there were about seven ultimate actors at the academy of different fields. Kyoko still wasn’t sure why they had the ultimate actorー not Joan, talent in the occupation and craft she can see the staff believing the two to be separateー and ultimate actress. “How so?” Kyoko raises her own mug to her lips then takes a sip. The taste is comforting. Immediately warming her insides in a fuzzy way, it was the type of dull comfort she'd experience when she's cuddling with Celestia, when her senses were muddled by the warmth. it's smooth and creamy for the thickness of the drink, almost like a melty custard, she could definitely taste nuts, but it was sweeter than she thinks it would be if it had actually been almond. There was also a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. It was fleeting and left a comforting ghost of flavor in her mouth.

“I do not have the vocab to express that.” Joan, oblivious to the earthly revaluations happening within Kyoko, apologies. She once again dips her torn half of her concha into the atole.

Kyoko can barely keep her expression straight. “You did well earlier.” She comments. She places the mug down, nursing it in her hands, the detective meets eyes again with the actor. The actor must've finally noticed the detective's reaction, she only offers a small smile. 

“Thank you,” She taps the bread on the side of her mug to rid of the extra drops. “I will forget them later.” She promises rather charismatically before taking another bite of her concha. Kyoko wants to try that, but first, she bites off the head of her own concha. 

There's a thin crystal coating of some kind of flaky salt, giving a savoriness to the sweet bread. “Did you update any with observations yet?” she tore a quarter of the concha, she notes how easily the sugar crust on top crumbled compared to the actor's which was less messy when she tore it. 

Surprisingly, Joan nodded. “Yeah. I added some info on Ishimaru, a Fujisaki, and you.” She wiped off a bit of the sugar crust that stuck itself to the corner of her mouth. “Just my observations on Ishimaru-san and his own observations when talking about the class. He mentioned a coffee ban that was recently in place for you?” Unsurprisingly, Ishimaru would tell the new student that she had issues with caffeine. It's like they were treating it like she was addicted. “Which, by the way, I don't like coffee so I refused to know where it is.” The implication of don't bother her about it wasn't lost on her. Kyoko was only mildly disappointed.

She takes another sip of her drink and has already forgiven the actor for remaining ignorant, respects it. “What do your skills include?”

“Besides being good at acting?” Joan pauses to think.  She clicks her tongue thoughtfully. “Well, anything in regard to creation is my specialty , I pick up crafts and the arts rather easily, though I’m much fonder of creative writing.” The actor takes a large gulp of the warm beverage. Kyoko filed away to explore why exactly the actor had placed emphasis on her specialty as if it were expected of her. “Though allegedly, I’m really good at making artificial bodies and…” she pauses thoughtfully. “Bodily components…” She says slowly.

“Like blood and organs.” Kyoko offers. That definitely explains the way the actor tricked experienced coroners, forensic scientists, and morticians during her ultimate trial to determine her specific talent. Though, that also meant the fake severed head in the talent scout’s office was very likely very close to being a real head.

The actor nodded. “Yes, very gross and messy but it’s fun.” She says simply before biting into her concha without soaking the bite into the atole. She adds in gently. “Baking and cooking are fun too. I guess.” Kyoko hummed in response. 

“Why did you attend Hope’s Peak?” She asks instead. 

Immediately, the actor nodded. “Boredom and freedom. Would've come earlier but circumstances happened, but I think it’s fine, I’ve been making up my attendance by doing the online program.” There was her confirmation about the new student’s attendance, the online program was usually reserved for students who were persistent or needed to stay on the road or anywhere that wasn’t Japan. It was usually used by student’s whose talents required it or for convenience's sake for those talents, the ultimate backpacker was one Kyoko could think up off the top of her mind. 

“Are you nervous?” Kyoko asks.

The answer she got was surprising. “Not at all. A bit antsy because of the time difference and language crossing but overall, I feel good. I am worried about talking properly with the others but, if it comes to it, I’ll just use 「Passion」 Japanese.” The actor smiled.

“「Passion」 Japanese.” Kyoko repeated. She was all too familiar, the neighbors of her host family back in L.A. had tried their very best to speak with her using simple yet broken Japanese and basic English before figuring out she knew English quite well than immediately jumped to teaching her Spanish. A rather confusing time since all three families had backgrounds from different Spanish-speaking countries. She had an easier time learning Russian.

“Very basic Japanese and charades, plus context.” Joan reminded happily before tilting her head at her. “Speaking aside. I’m good, unless you want to give some advice.”

Advice? Kyoko immediately recalled the interaction she had with Junko trying to annoy her when she was waiting for Celestia to return a few days ago. “Enoshima isn’t a bad person per se, but I recommend not getting too close. She’ll most likely bully you.” The actor hummed interestingly.

“The blonde who throws knives? That sounds fine.” She takes a sip as if the prospect of Junko bullying her wasn’t a bother, despite her even remembering the blonde to be the one who threw knives around. Kyoko remembers Ishimaru trying to lecture Syo and Junko about the damage in the walls of the lounge area near the entrance. Honestly, if it had been someone normal there would’ve been some sort of concern brought up about why students had weapons in the first place. The actor raised a hand to hide a yawn. “I read her script, repeated the same stuff online except the sister thing, I think she’d be interesting to observe. I like her voice.” 

The actor cleared her throat before leaning her head on her hand in a similar way Junko did when she was taunting someone from her desk without the knowing and targeted glare. “ Don’t you think so, Detective? There’s so much variety~! ”  The familiar British accent Junko liked to adorn whenever she felt like it came out of the actor’s mouth in such a natural way it felt like the blonde was in front of her, before she could grow accustomed to the actor’s new voice her words were followed with the gyaru’s cackle before then being followed with a relaxed expression and lifting her head back but her stare was still so Junko that Kyoko was beginning to feel the beginning pains of annoyance. “ Don’t take it so seriously, I was just messing with you. ” Joan’s voice echoed Junko’s normal tone with the same flare of modern superiority. It felt like talking to a Junko wearing a really good costume. “Enoshima has been interesting thus far, her juggling dialects and accents is really cool. I do the same sometimes; though I’m not sure if this is a common occurrence. It’d be fun if it were.” The sudden jump from Junko’s voice to the actor’s own once again was derailing, Kyoko had yet to really process her own thoughts until the actor finished speaking to take another sip of her drink. 

Mimicking Junko’s voice and mannerisms from what sounds to be a one-off interaction was incredibly impressive, Kyoko was truly impressed, though she was a tad concerned about the actor finding the one person to be wary ofー even Syo was a better choiceー to be interesting enough to study in some form of method acting. She doesn’t want to imagine what two Junkos could get up to. “Do you think you could impersonate Enoshima?” Kyoko’s curious if there were limitations to the actor’s abilities, minor details like there were for her and her fellow detectives at the academy.

“I mean…” The actor hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah. I could, it wouldn't be the easiest though, her legs are exposed a lot and are much more slender. The amount of compressions I would need to wear would hurt after a while that or the body molds and make up will drive me insane since I like making these things perfect.” She rested a hand on the table, moving it as if she were a moment away from snapping her fingers, not that the placement was correct. “But discomfort aside, I could be her physical copy, even practically a carbon copy if I learn her biology.” The casual implications with that makes Kyoko wonder if this was even truly acting.

“Would you say there’s any limitations to your talent?” Kyoko asks further. 

The actor’s answer was a shrug and a half-hearted shake of her head. “Not really, I’d say it’s a feeling thing. If I feel that even a sliver of what I’m doing is acting, or even performative, then I’m acting, thus I will fulfill my role.” Kyoko watched the actor’s right ear twitch, then watched as the actor paused before glancing towards the double doors that lead into the dorm’s kitchen. She turned back to face the detective. “I don’t know if there’s a japanese version of this saying but; if your mind thinks so, then you can do everything. Once I feel I’m not, I just, don’t act? I’m myself, y’know. Nothing else, no one else, me. It’s hard to explain, I just do or I don’t.”

“「You can do anything you set your mind to?」That saying?” Kyoko recalled.

The actor nodded. She glanced at her own mug before looking back at the detective. “I’m going to get a refill, would you like some more of either…?” She gestured to the nearly finished concha and practically empty mug on Kyoko’s side. Kyoko took another sip of her atole, she nodded. Just as she was going to verbalize her request and as Joan got up,  the doors to the kitchen opened. Both her and the actor turned to look at Chihiro as they walked in holding a fur jacket with pink hue in her arms, one of Junko’s, the programmer looked around the kitchen with a confused expression before landing their eyes on the two at the table she usually used. “Ah, Good Morning-” Kyoko could practically see the gears turning in the programmer’s head as their eyes met with the new student. 

“Mornin’.” The actor breaks the silence.

Chihiro wakes with a realization. “Good morning! Ah, nice to meet you, I’m Fujisaki Chihiro . I uh… ” The programmer looks down shyly at the fur coat in her arms, a growing blush of embarrassment flushing their face. “... hope we get along.”

Joan’s expression relaxes, she smiles gently and bowed her head back respectfully. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Geiarashi Joan, just Joan is fine.” With a slightly embarrassed chuckle. “I bet we’ll get along. Uh,” The actor holds up both her own mug and Kyoko’s, after picking it up. “I made too much of this beverage, so um, would you like some? There’s also sweet bread I made more of too.” The programmer perked up at the prospect of baked goods, everyone knew her affinity for anything baked and even slightly sweet. So when Chihiro looked over at the detective she nodded, silently informing her that it was something she would like. Chihiro looked back over at the actor before nodding silently. The actor responded with a hum of confirmation then started walking over to the stove. 

Chihiro walked over to the table, taking one of the chairs at the table. “Kyoko,” The detective hummed in acknowledgement as the programmer sat down. “Did Junko leave right now? I heard her before I came in and wanted to return her coat but…” She hugs the coat closely. “I thought the vents were smelted into the walls.” She thinks aloud, hinting that she was considering the fact that Junko was back to her vent crawling shenanigans.

“That was Joan.” Kyoko answers simply. 

She blinks. “Eh?”

Kyoko nods over to the actor, who glances back after hearing her name and winking at the two. “Ultimate actor.” 

“What?”

Said actor popped up from behind Chihiro and placed a pumpkin-colored mug in front of the programmer. “Correct, Kyoko-san! As an actor, being able to put on a voice to get into character is only natural especially for the ultimate actor. Not that it’s required.” The look on Chihiro’s face as they processed the fact that they just heard Ishimaru’s voice then glancing up to watch Joan lean over the table to hand Kyoko her mug, which she took gratefully, then looking at the door as if expecting to see the class president standing there to reprimand them all for not being in bed resting when he knew neither of the two had a good sleep scheduleー maybe throw in the actor considering they had just arrived recently and was apparently up before five in the morning baking, maybe even earlier depending on how long it would take the conchas to bake. When Chihiro didn’t see Ishimaru, she looked back to the actor as they returned with a new plate of the turtle concha. The actor smiled, the look in her eyes a perfect shadow of Kiyotaka’s optimistic expressions. “It takes a bit to do this, but he talked quite a bit last time we met, so…” Joan sat down and smiled, a snarky grin making it onto her face. “The more we talk I’d be able to do yours too. Sorry for the confusion, Fujisaki-san.” Her words were patronizingly kind and snarky like Junko’s.

“That… is so cool.” Chihiro breathed out, aweing at the vocal mimicking.  The response brought a warm smile to Joan, the sarcastic air around her dropping immediately. “Could you do characters?”

“Thank you! I could do real and fictional people.” She informs happily. She adds on gesturing to the plate and mug in front of the programmer. “The sweet bread is a Concha, and the drink is Atole. The sugar crust is vanilla and the drink is pecan flavored.”

Chihiro glanced down at the concha, an excited expression morphing into a slightly guilty one. “It’s so cute. I’d feel guilty eating it.” 

At that, Kyoko lifted her own concha, displaying the missing bread limbs and head of her turtle. “Bite the head off.” She advises.

“You monster.” The programmer feigned despair at Kyoko’s dead bread turtle. Chihiro looked back at the actor with a playfully apologetic expression. “I’m sorry for her. Are you, uh, enjoying the academy?”

Joan nodded. “I like it, pretty weird though, to be honest. Also just tear the bread in half since biting the head is too much.”

Kyoko hummed. “Isn’t that crueler?”

“Ah.” The actor froze mid sip before sighing. “I lied, my bad; it is, don’t listen to me.” She resumed drinking the atole.

That response was met with a more polite display of feign disappointment. She raised the mug to her lips. “Monsters the lot of you.” She took a sip of the atole and immediately let out a pleased hum as they continued to drink. Chihiro pulled away, nursing the warm mug in her hands. “It’s good. I’ve never had pecans.” Joan responded with her own hum of agreement. “Wait. Weird?”

“Hmm?” Joan tilted her head. “I dunno about the people, y’all seem cool so far, I meant the actual, like, board and staff.”

Kyoko nodded and took a sip of her atole after having let the warmth soak through her gloves. “True.”

“Oh no.” Chihiro begins, a sympathetic tone in her voice. “Were the staff not helpful? Mean?”

The actor shrugged. “They were fine. The lowkey eugenics beliefs aside, I was talking about the trials they have ultimate students do, the board member I met at mine was being super weird about me being good at acting and how well I imitated this other ultimate. It was creepy.” Chihiro grimaced, Kyoko agreed. If you asked any student in the ultimate course, they’d say the same things, that their trail to confirm their talent was uncomfortable, the unlucky students who had to do trails outside their confirmation trail would echo the same complaint, the board member who oversaw the trails was incredibly creepy. “I heard you guys also do talent exams every half semester? Is…” She trailed off.

“No. He’s not, since the talent plan trial is every month.” Chihiro reassuringly informed the actor, the atole and concha having seemingly completely won over the programmer judging from the delightful expression on their face and morse casual tone they took up with the new student. “Oh that reminds me. Kyoko.” Chihiro turned her head to look at the detective with a curious stare. “I already asked Junko but she said to ask you instead, do you think you could get me a copy of the trial recordings or at least access to them?” 

Kyoko’s mind immediately started listing the most likely places such recording would be stored, they wouldn’t have physical copies so it’d be saved on an online drive or individual staffs’ drives, all board members would have access to them, some professors who oversee their students’ trials, Kizakura would be the type to have trial recordings, he was also the most accessible. “I could try.”

“Recordings?” Joann asked.

“Yep, our trials are recorded to help us improve and add work for improvement stuff in our talent development plans.” Chihiro explained then threw a soft thanks of gratitude at Kyoko before taking another bite of their concha with a happy hum. “I think they use them to also train other talents, especially the first years with similar talents to their senpais, like, training data for A.I.? If that makes sense?”

“I get it. But, in that case, why don’t you guys have access? If it’s for reference and mirroring effective behavior, shouldn’t it be fine to look at them whenever.” The actor questioned with a confused expression. “Are they reserved for only select students?” 

‘It wasn’t for them.’ Kyoko bites back her comment. Her theories about what the academy is doing with the information on their ultimate students wasn’t an appropriate conversation point, she knew that much. She keeps a mental note to inform the investigation club members about the sneaking suspicion she had. She also notes that she should talk to Chiaki once they return from break.

Chihiro nodded. “It’s weird. The board is unreasonable about it.” She takes another sip of the atole, when Kyoko hears the programmer gasp sharply. She looks up to see a rather determined looking Chihiro looking at a pleasantly surprised actor. “Would you like to meet another classmate? She’s been really wanting to meet you.” Aoi. 

The actor’s eyes widened before glancing down at her finished concha, and the mug she just refilled. She looked back up. “Yeah, I have three hours or so.”

“Aoi should be swimming right now.” Kyoko helpfully supplies.

1. Atole: Atole is a Mexican drink (feel free to say it isn't, in my heart it is mexican), it's a bit of a thick drink because it's made with masa. There are many flavors of atole, though popular flavors are vanilla, strawberry, and cinnamon. My favorite is Nuez(pecans) and Pineapple.

2. Conchas: Is a Mexican sweet bread (read the above remark w/atole), with a sweet and crumbly top crust, they are called conchas bc the patterns we put on them look like seashell. I highly recommend them unless you don't like really crumbly baked goods. Because the sugar crust will crumble. You cannot stop it.

Kyoko, without, so much as a word of acknowledgment nor confrontation for that matter, is pulled from the hallway into the room she had just walked in front ofー although she was intending to come in anyways, she was just not expecting to be pulled into the roomー before the door was shut by a rarely underdressed Celestia before being pulled towards then pushed to sit on the gambler’s bed as Celestia pauses only for a moment to brush invisible dirt off the detective’s shoulder before going into a ramble. “Have you ever worn a corset, my love?”

Before Kyoko can answer, her eyes trailing the freckles on the gambler’s face, Celestia holds a hand up to silence her as the gambler takes a step back to trail her eyes up and down the detective, drinking her up and humming with the kind of confidence of being right. “I ordered a corset, I believe it would fit you nicely, on top of a white blouse- like this one, and…” She turns around, barely avoiding tripping on one of her packed suitcases.

She watched the gambler, barely in her white dress shirt with a red tie that has yet to be tied, drills probably still in their protective bag. Kyoko’s eyes dropped to the gambler’s legs, to the white dress shirt hanging and showing off a sliver of the shorts she liked to wear to bed and her stocking, her character skirt nowhere to be seen. Though, despite the state of undress, the gambler was still going on without any sense of embarrassment, running purely on this idea of an outfit she wanted to put the detective in. 

And… Kyoko stops a certain avenue of thought from rising, she was much too respectful to be thinking so yearningly, as much as she jokes and implies her desires of anything ravenous as a way to share, not so much being direct and more so being outwardly obvious, about her affections for Taeko because she’s afraid of saying the wrong thing. Or rejection. Perhaps both.

Instead, Kyoko admires the thoughtful expression on Taeko as she mumbled something about the boldness of this particular outfit she had in mind for the detective and how it would bring out the sharpness that Kyoko had apparently? Then she muttered wanting to see Kyoko in something relatively gothic as she pulled another torso mannequin out of her closet then pulled out a white blouse with a slightly ruffled collar that had a rather low cut. “Since I had finished Kotoko’s outfit ages ago and I’ll be giving it to her today, I had started going through my sketchbook and had found a page where I was stuck on designing an outfit for you after seeing that leather jacket again that Toko gifted to you last year, but finding different fabrics of the same shades is, frankly. impossible; how you did it with,” She gestures to Kyoko, in her usual jacket and skirt, then towards the boots she kicked off then tossed back towards the gambler’s door after having been made to sit. “those, I am, mildly convinced *kami-sama loves you, understandably, but I am slightly pissed that it was shown in this way because, ” instead of explaining she pretends to choke an invisible figure with one hand as she gracefully smooths the top over the mannequin, Kyoko holds back a chuckle at the act, she sits up as the girl marches over to her with a black laced corset. “Jacket.” She says firmly, her sketchbook and pencil in one hand as she places those on the empty spot beside Kyoko.

Kyoko shrugs her jacket off and is immediately met with a hand placed at a ghostly distance from her waist, despite not being touched, the detective shivers, her body much too used to Taeko’s hands touching her abdomen. She could feel the phantom feeling of the gambler’s, usually, cold hands touching her like she did whenever Kyoko happened to have her abdomen exposed; then a sudden thought crossed her mind. Did she want Taeko to touch her? Of course she did. The awareness of that sends a light blush to collect on her face; the gambler none the wiser as she eyeballs measurements and notes something down in her sketchbook. “...ke the way you look and style yourself, ignoring specific articles of clothes, but I cannot believe I hadn’t thought to design you something gothic- or at least something with frills! By gods, you’re literally on my mind most of the time, you and your stupidly pretty face and charming mouth...!” The detective finds the way Taeko speaks endearing, the polite manner of speech mixed with casual vocabulary and hints of her accents, both of them, slipping in occasionally as she was more preoccupied with designing a new outfit. Whenever she was frustrated or exasperated, the European accent was dropped, completely, however. She looks away from the sketchbook to place the corset somewhere on the bed and stare back at Kyoko, her red eyes bright with another spark of inspiration and the faint scent of floral fruits and cat combined from the girl and her bed and her room makes Kyoko feel a tad more enamored with the girl then she already is. “Would you mind if I do your makeup? Not right now, of course, I need to add accents to this before I decide what to do with your face.” She whispers something under her breath that Kyoko doesn’t pick up as she feels that she can hear the blood rush to her face.

“I’d let you. I’m not one for makeup so you have free reign.” She consents, before asking, only momentarily losing her breath at the pleased smile on Taeko’s lips before somewhat regaining her composure. “Am I being dressed up now?” She’s kind of pleased being in this position, when Taeko had opened up enough to share her interest in fashion design halfway through the last school year thus leading to her offer her expertise to their peers, Kyoko had been one of her first ‘models’; only third to Makoto, who had a not date with Byakuya that she took pity on him and fancied him up, Junko, who wanted to test the gambler even antagonizing her for the outfit she keeps in her closet now with the other outfits she held favorablyー that only she, Kyoko, and Mukuro knew about, then herself. Although, she spent each session studying the gambler and the way she practically glowed each time she circled around Kyoko to measure her and make alterations, the glee in her eyes as she sketches out potential designs before settling on one she said really brought out her eyes, in hindsight, Kyoko may have been rather ignorant of her feelings at the time considering when her model sessions ended she hadn’t gathered much information on the gambler besides her being awfully good with her hands and sewing. But with being much closer to Taeko then before, and sitting through the occasional session for Chihiro and Sayaka or any other model roped in as they and the gambler talked about fashion and fabrics and her ambition to make more unique accessories, Kyoko would have to admit she was quite envious of the attention. Though she’ll also admit she had more fun watching rather than participating with the other, she would never be one to turn down being able to stare at the gambler much more closely when she was in her zone. It was different from how she got in gambling matches where she was sadistically engaged in the rush that so rarely reached her in the way she likes. This was more genuine, not that Taeko didn’t like to gamble, Kyoko has talked the gambler out of ‘whaling’ on gacha games more than she can count of her hand and the gambler wouldn’t have started those gambling circles otherwise, but this felt more vulnerably, passionately Taeko.

The gambler tsks at the question. “So prematurely and before the class meet-up? Keep your skirt on, ma lapin. I just want you to wear the blouse and corset. I’ll dress you up during the break, you're at my mercy after all~” She ends with a light singsong in her tone. The gambler, with this bout of fashion design ideas, will surely have Kyoko make up for her usual models, Chihiro and whoever they were able to convince or guilt, absence during their school break. Not that she minded much. 

“So I’m still stripping? Is what I’m hearing.” She tilts her head at the gambler while Taeko takes a step back towards the torso mannequin to grab the yet to be altered blouse.

Taeko halts before smoothly sidestepping the suitcase she almost tripped over earlier. “Just your top-” she lightly groans as the words set in. “You’re too distracting, be sweet for me detective and just listen to me.” She requests. Kyoko watches the gambler stare at the article of clothing before her eyes zone in on the collar of the blouse, she gently unbuttons the blouse then walks back over to the bed the detective sat on. She walks to the side of the detective, humming in a pleased tone as Kyoko had already taken the liberty to unbuttonー as tempting as she finds the detective’s usual zipped shirt, she refuses to acknowledge its existence when she’s designing a new, more appealing outfit for the detectiveー her shirt. She had just finished unbuttoning the last button. “Please tell me if it’s too tight around the shoulder, or anywhere really.” She reminds, as if that wasn’t a given statement, that she’s certain Kyoko has heard her say enough times already. 

Taeko as she’s watching the detective slip her arm through one of the sleeves, suddenly seems to realize her state of undress. She lets out a sigh through her nose, and begins walking towards her closet. “You could’ve said something.” She gently grumbles.

Kyoko gets her other arm through the remaining sleeve, before turning her head to look at the gambler pulling out the underskirt she wore to give her usual skirt volume. “Did I not just remove my shirt? I think we’ve been around each other partially clothed enough times to not warrant the warning.” Taeko turns back to met her eyes and they stare at each other silently, though admittedly, Kyoko tended to be shirtless more times than not during their interactions while the gambler ended up covering herself unlike Kyokoー now that she thought about it did Taeko return the hoodie she borrowed when she slept in Kyoko’s room last timeー it was how she preferred to sleep and with her working out more often as of late she tended to just prefer wearing a sports bra rather than a shirt. With that self awareness, she pulled her eyes away to glance at the glass bottle of water that sat on Taeko’s coffee table. “Can I drink from your bottle?”

“Of course, so long as you don’t mind the indirect kiss.” The gambler teases. Kyoko rises to her feet and takes only a few steps to get to the table before grabbing the bottle.

She hums appreciatively when she sees the cold sweat forming on the outside of the bottle. She turned back in time to catch the gambler having already pulled on the underskirt, simply securing it around her waist. Kyoko eyes drop to the sliver of skin the gambler exposes lifting her dress shirt to adjust her underskirt, she looks back at the bottle and swallows down the sudden dryness of her throat, how convenient to have water in her hand. “We could have a direct kiss if you want.” She remarks to fill the silence before taking a long sip from the bottle.

Right, because neither of them had that much self-control as they liked to think they do, fear of rejection and respect for the other had quite the similar result doesn’t it?

Taeko resists making any noise, not that she was capable of saying a word when the words that came out of the detective's mouth had significantly halted the functions of her brain. She was taken aback, baffled, perplexed, and admittedly amused as her brain restarted after trying to unpack that response. The gambler adjusted her skirt, making sure the underskirt underneath didn’t peek out, before turning around to serve Kyoko a stare of exasperation at the comment.

Only to have her barely refreshed mind stutter in formulating some cheeky response while staring at Kyoko. As if feeling the attention shift back to her, Kyoko’s eyes flicked back at the gambler as she removed her lips from the bottle’s lip. The gambler is envious enough that she feels pathetically childish, and that mantra, of not making her favoritism so obvious, is chanted to herself internally. “Mon coeur, your blouse.” She says instead, simply raising a brow at the unbuttoned top. Walking away from her closet back to her bed to pick up the black corset she left there she lets out a silent sigh to release the fluster that had accumulated within her.

Kyoko doesn’t respond and simply buttons the blouse up. 

Once she’s finished, she watches Taeko take the opportunity to stand behind her whilst wrapping the corset around her waist, her thoughts immediately go to wonder whether are not the gambler’s fingers were cold at the moment, and if she’d use it to tease her like she liked to make a habit of doing. Kyoko takes in the gambler murmuring behind her in french as she begins to lace the corset snug. “Hm, *Les volants sur la manche doivent disparaître, je n’aime pas cette texture. Je remplacerai tous les volants plus tard. La jupe est mignonne, mais un peu trop. A-t elle des pantalons d’une teinte similaire? Cela ne me surprendrait pas. Je vais juste lui acheter une paire noire, je ne me souviens pas en avoir vu dans son tiroir.” Kyoko is doing better at picking out words in French; texture, Taeko doesn’t love it, something’s being replaced later, her skirt is cute, does she have similar pants? Then something about a black pair of pants she’s assuming. Taeko hums before trailing a finger up the detective’s back to get her attention. “Ma lapin, don’t forget to breathe, this is not how I want to render you breathless and preferably I want this corset to not incur a tear of some kind.”  Kyoko, realizing she was in fact holding her breath, relaxes her shoulders and lets out a sigh before feeling a sharp tug at the corset before the pulling force stops and she faintly feels Taeko fiddling with the lacing. “There we go.” She concludes before stepping back into Kyoko’s line of sight.

Taeko studies the out then nods to herself as she takes a step towards Kyoko and adjusts the way the corset rested on her waist then tucking in a fold of the blouse that didn’t get caught by the corset. “Top button may have to go, what do you think of the ruffling on the blouse, detective?” Her eyes return to stare into Kyoko’s own, awaiting an answer.

Kyoko knew very little about fashion since she wasn’t so interested in it, only wearing what she felt looked good enough and simple styles she'd seen before. That was only if she didn’t care that much for functionality since she cared for that more than looking good. Thankfully, she could make an educated criticism. “The ruffle on the cuff is a bit unnecessary, wouldn’t it cause a bulge in the cuffs of my jacket you mentioned, the leather one? The texture’s a bit weird too.” 

“It would. I’m glad you caught that. Ah, let me just double check something.” The gambler reaches out once more to gently tug at the ruffles on the collar of the blouse. Kyoko notices the tail of Taeko’s tie fold on itself from against the fabric of Taeko’s collared shirt, so as the gambler fixes the problem she found with her ruffled collar, the detective reaches out to gently pinch the tail of the red tie then trying to smooth out the light crease that had developed with her gloved thumb. 

The gambler’s eyes immediately flicker their attention back to the detective, her hands no longer fiddling with the ruffles of her shirt. She raises a curious brow at the detective, a minor movement and suddenly oxygen was heavier than what Kyoko was used to as she stared back into red eyes. Her surface thoughts were replaced with her wants and affections, and primarily her admiration for Taeko, if she unpacked anything any deeper Kyoko doesn’t think she’d be able to keep her mouth shut nor to herself if she let herself be consumed too much by her emotions. She really wants to, though that want to be completely open may be a residual feeling she had when she was doing so verbally while the gambler was asleep to practice her words, but Kyoko feels too much and doesn’t know what to do with this beyond wanting it to be known and maybe, if she’s allowed, to kiss the gambler’s face. To kiss all forty-one of the freckles on her face before she covered them with makeup, and, if she’d be so bold, the rest of them throughout her body. Kyoko studies the bloom of red that begins to fester on Taeko’s face, spreading to her neck and ears despite the poker face she holds in this staring match between the two. She’s so, so many things right now; Kyoko needs a more poetically broadened vocabulary to really encompass all that is Taeko beyond basic adjectives like cute and adoring. Her thoughts freeze unhelpfully, and her heart continues to race as it tries to convince her, provide her enough energy and courage, to just lean forward, just a tad to silently ask for permission because her heart is truly her last line of self-restraint. 

She swallows down nervously, which she embarrassingly hears, before just as embarrassingly breathing out. “Taeko.” 

And she’s immediately interrupted by the beginnings of a rendition of Vivaldi’s winter, which she can only identify because it was one of the gambler’s favorite songs, coming from the shelf behind Kyoko. The same song she liked to use for alarms.

Both girls freeze at the sound, Kyoko lets go of Taeko’s tie as the girl hums to herself lowly while tilting her head to the side to see where the noise came from. Kyoko takes this time to groan to herself internally and, just as Taeko side steps around her to get to the noise’s origin, pledges to herself that she will solemnly use alarms with only the vibration on. The gods certainly didn’t favor people without consequence.

She hears Taeko curse. “Right.” Her tone is neutral and clinical as she speaks, and the redness in her face has died down. “We’ll be tad late for class, I need to finish getting ready, and you, ready again.” Kyoko looks at the gambler, watching her silence her phone then holding the power button before powering the device off completely. Her eyes settle back on Taeko’s neck, focusing on the remaining flush.

She hates alarms.

1. kami-sama: God. Not a specific god, just gods in general. A deity.

2. Les volants sur la manche doivent disparaître, je n’aime pas cette texture. Je remplacerai tous les volants plus tard. La jupe est mignonne, mais un peu trop. A-t elle des pantalons d’une teinte similaire? Cela ne me surprendrait pas. Je vais juste lui acheter une paire noire, je ne me souviens pas en avoir vu dans son tiroir: "The ruffles on the sleeve need to go, I don't like the texture. I'll replace all the ruffles later. The skirt is cute, but a little too cute. Does she have pants in a similar shade? I wouldn't be surprised. I'll buy her a black pair, I don't remember seeing any in her drawers."

1 is Japanese. 2 is French.

“Truly, it is a concerning amount, one I have not seen in a mortal in my many years of existence. Young Naegi, you must have noticed at some point, how you have remained as you are without a soul binding to your temporary flesh should be impossible for an inexperienced mortal, such as yourself.” To say Gundham was concerned over the girl was an understatement. Unnerved at the sheer potential she possessed, even bordering uncomfortable being with an entity with such a disgustingly welcoming aura. It was inhuman, yet it was practically encased around the very mortal girl next to him, happily leading the children the four divas of destruction have captivated with their own powerful energies.  “Perhaps one as willing as you may be able to harness the potential you possess into physical expression.”

The younger Naegi hummed thoughtfully. “Huh.” She says simply, before gently shaking her head then bashfully explains. “Sorry, I’m still stuck on you guys having an exam every month. But, uh, I dunno I’m not that social of a person so I don’t see how I’d be welcoming, plus wouldn’t I be able to see them if I’m particularly talented? Sure, I can sense them,” Grand Bois warningly flicked his tail at Gundham as his hand momentarily paused in patting his sister’s cat, he resumed patting the feline as he absorbed that remark. She could sense them, remarking on it in such a benign and casual way as if it wouldn’t take the common mortal decades and pain to learn the patterns to locate spiritual presence if they even had the minimum potential to do so, which most don’t. Gundham wasn’t able to naturally sense them himself, he could minimally sense when there was a recent spiritual presence in a space, however even his ability was flawed in the sense that he couldn’t tell the difference between a current presence and remains of a presence. Yet… “Me and Toki have experience with ghosts, I was a medium a couple of times! But aren’t ghosts just able to do that? I mean, can’t they interact with people too, you usually see articles about people’s experiences with spirits. Ah, well, I guess talking to them directly is another thing, huh?” She murmured to herself, the uniqueness of her ability finally catching up with her. She raises her free hand to her chin thoughtfully in a manner that mirror’s the eldest Naegi whenever the boy was deep in thought. She thought back on her recent interactions with ghosts as of late, she had noticed she could talk with them only recently, so it hadn’t particularly sent in compared to her ‘Holy shit ghosts are real real??’

“Impressive. Though our potentials are quite similar, your fated expertise is drastically different. Hmm, I say such communication is your specialty.” Gundham didn’t give his praises so lightly, especially not in the context of the spiritual world. Few impressed him so greatly in this field, most of them were fellow ultimates with ties to the spiritual word such as the ultimate priest, prophet, ghost huntress, even the ultimate hostess and guide were among themー though he suspected those two were of otherworldly descent, the ultimate mythologist and javelineer that they court as well don’t appear to be mortal unlike their blonde partner either. Beings with limited time in this realm typically couldn’t communicate with the spirits without circles and communication rituals to act as a line between the two, Gundham using this to his advantage to be able to command them where he saw fit. Yet, with what he’s gathered about the little Naegi, she wasn’t familiar with any of these rituals let alone the intricacies that they come with. To be able to communicate with spirits without this ritualistic communication line is beyond what he would have expected any mortal to accomplish, attempting to come up with a logical timeline on how Naegi could’ve accomplished this left him bordering on bafflement and confusion. 

A small hand tugs at his coat. Gundhams glances at the young athlete looking up at him with a slight gleam in his eyes and a napping Jum-P balanced on his redhead. “Omaru-nee got taken over by this ghost kid that stays in the library with Toko-nee, he’s really good at playing games!”

“I see… To make remarks on an opponent so fondly, I see you view yourselves as peers? Colleagues in the art of play?” Masaru shook his head. 

He released his hold on Gundham’s coat then crossed his arms with a grin. “Heh,” The little athlete humbly scratches at his nose in a show of humility. “ He's good at playing games. But he was controlling Omaru-nee so I still won. Nee-san is slower than Toko-nee!”

At the light jab, Naegi perked up with a slight pout. “Hey! At least I played! Maybe I’m faster than Toki at playing games.” She throws her partner under the bus only for Masaru to immediately shake his head. The overlord decides he’ll observe the youth quietly as they fuss about.. 

“Hm, no. Sounds like a stretch. Right, Jataro!” The red head leans forward as they walk to look at his classmate who was holding Naegi’s hand. 

Jataro moves closer to Naegi as they continue to walk, surprised that the attention turned to him. “Uh. ...Huh? I mean, I guess. I think Shouhei-san was just going easy on us, plus nee-san is pretty fast.” Jataro pulled down his hat to better shield his face. The children interacted with a spirit, through Naegi? From the sounds of it, for quite a while too, Gundham must commend her stamina, he’d be a fool if he couldn’t recognize a scholar and an even more pathetic one if he ignored addressing the potential within the younger Naegi. “Err… Toi-nee doesn’t like to move like that, so isn’t it just Sho-chama who's the athlete?” He counters.

Hearing the quicken pattering of feet, Gundham is able to adjust the resting feline in his arms to his left arm before reaching down to place a gentle but firm hold on Masaru just as two girls come barreling between him and Naegi, thus crashing into the young redhead. With his precautionary act, Masaru doesn’t stumble and crash into the ground but does nonetheless wince as a pink-haired girl shakes him and shouts rather closely to his ears. “Hurry up!! I want to see Celestia and Sayaka-chan, you guys are taking forever! We’re faster than you guys and we were playing with the Devas.”

Monaca, the aforementioned partner in crime and handler of the rest of the devas, kindly pulls Kotoko towards her and away from Masaru and his poor ear. “Monaca’s pretty certain we were behind them.”

“Details that are irrelevant to my point!” Kotoko huffs. Gundham chuckles at how familiar the remark is.

Masaru huffs himself and Gundham releases his hand from the boy’s shoulder to let him express himself fully.  “Hmph! Y’know what they’re right! I want to show Leo-nii the back flip I perfected! And get snacks from *Ooji-chama!” He hits his chest stubbornly during his declaration, only earning a light scold from Naegi before he turns to look at Monaca. “I’m going to run and carry you!”

The girl hums pleasantly curious, Cham-P, sensing the movement to come, leaps onto Kotoko and into the hand of Gundham’s now free arm. San-D and Maga-Z remain in the small messenger bag the girl was wearing, “Ooh, Monaca thinks that sounds fun. Let’s go!”

“Wait-!” Naegi’s warning falls on young deaf ears as Masaru crouches down and Monaca climbs onto his back quick enough that the boy immediately runs forwards towards the dormitory building. Gundham bellows out a laugh when he hears the fading excited squeals from the devas who remain in the girl’s bag. “Guys! Hold on, you’ll fall like that-! I should’ve let Toki walk us there- ugh!” She facepalms before picking up the pace slowly, acclimating so the boy holding her hand can pick up speed alongside her.

1. Ooji-chama(おおじちゃま): Old man with the baby version of the suffix -san. The equivalent of saying "Sir. Gramps"

1 is japanese.

Chapter Text

“You’re late, Darling. Wouldn’t have expected that normally.” The greenhouse was brimming with flora, with a variety of flowers that Kyoko wasn’t so privy to their specific names, it was gorgeous and vibrant in a way that didn’t feel oversaturated, and smelt, well, floral. Much better than the much bigger greenhouse in the academy’s top floor that extended onto the roof. The detective hasn’t been in their dorm's indoor garden area since the last academic year, so the change from then and now was like night and day. And, despite lacking in patches for respective flowers, she could just tell whoever had plotted everything put meticulous care in organizing the flora despite how scattered everything seemed to be. No one has come forth about taking control of the greenhouse, so if she had to guess from the people who frequent the greenhouse, it was most likely Sakura and Aoi. Kyoko walks behind a seat tucked under the small white table that the gambler sat at, her eyes following after Celestia’s fleeting glance to a flower bed conquered with roses and a few shrubs of white carnations tangled in. 

“Sorry,” Kyoko greets the gambler, placing her arms against the backrest of the white wire garden chair in front of her. Celestia met her eyes, the gambler silently prompting her to take a seat which she silently turned down “Wanted to check in with Mukuro to see if she’s still willing to watch over Chibikku while she and Sayaka were kidnapping Joan.”

Celestia lets out a gentle scoff of amusement. “It’s always ‘kidnapping’ with Sayaka, the more comfortable she gets I’m afraid a felony may be next.” She jokes before signaling the detective to come closer. Kyoko raises a brow at that slightly before pulling away from the chair and moving closer. “I assume both Mukuro and Joan were willing, in their respective cases.” Kyoko leans back against the small table right beside where the gambler was seated, she uncrosses her arms and gives a nod.

“It was Junko’s idea actually, Mukuro was acting at her request, Sayaka simply went along with it to be with Mukuro; Joann seemed more than happy following Mukuro and entertaining the kidnapping fantasy Sayaka likes to act out.” Kyoko detailed. The detective not batting an eye as Celestia stood up from her seatー she did, however, notice how closely the two now stood directly in front of each other and memories of yesterday morning resurface, following immediately afterwards was the faint urge to kiss her; kiss frustration, was that a thing?ー the gambler raised a hand to her tie, her other hand sneaking under the knot, much to the admittedly kiss frustratedー wouldn’t this fall under sexual frustration instead, she puts that thought awayー Kyoko, and tugs gently at the knot to loosen the tie. “She did confirm she will take care of Chibikku for me.”

“I fear Junko has found a new plaything, the poor thing.” Celestia remarks before adjusting Kyoko’s tie then following her action up with a peck to her check to complete her greeting. As if to tide over her urge to kiss the gambler and the bubbling feeling of irritation at the memory of why she hadn’t acted on a whim and done so because of that damn alarm yesterday morning, Kyoko stopped Celestia’s hand from fully pulling away. Capturing her hand into her own gloved one, then gently raising her hand to kiss the back of the gambler’s hand. 

She recalls Celestia explaining that kissing certain parts of the body had different connotations, that kissing the back of someone’s hand was a sign of respect and or love. She raises the gambler’s hand just a tad higher to place a kiss on her wrist, the meaning of said placement escaping her as it happens, but she doesn’t mind. Noticing a faint flush on Celestia as she remained silent, her lips slightly parted as if stopped just as she wanted to say something but was taken by surprise by the detective's following action.

The detective gently guides their hands down, as to delay releasing Celestia’s hand from her own. Celestia turns her head to look at the garden, back at the bed with roses and occasional carnation, unbothered by her hand still being held by Kyoko. “Sakura… has a marvelous green thumb, wouldn’t you say?” There was her confirmation, she didn’t even have to randomly visit the small greenhouse to catch Sakura tending to the garden. “Her efforts are obvious; the roses are marvelously beautiful. Say, detective, I don’t believe I’ve ever given you rose tea.” She remarks, Kyoko lets her eyes wander across the garden as she thinks back at all the tea times the two have had. 

“You haven’t.” She confirms. Kyoko hasn’t ever had rose tea, she’s not as partial to tea as she is to coffee, barely being able to tell the differences between the popular tea flavors and maybe some special blends and teas of which her newfound ability for that she gives sole credit to Celestia favoring tea to other beverages during their private time together. Putting aside the fact she doesn’t know how to brew rose tea exactly; she turns back to look at the gambler. “I can make some for you.”

Celestia meets her eyes with a look of amusement. “Oh? When, my dear?”

“Someday.” Kyoko answers firmly, filing away the plan to give rose tea a skimmed research for later. She adjusts the way she leans against the table to more comfortably hold Celestia’s hand. “Unless that’s considered a request.”

The gambler hums. “Hmm. I’ll keep it in mind. For now, I’ll show mercy till we leave. You’d have no way of escape then~,” She singsongs teasingly. Earning a playful sigh of feign displeasure from Kyoko. They would be leaving today, in just a few hours actually, to the gambler’s hometown with her siblings and their guests, Kyoko being Celestia’s. Kyoko wonders if her housewarming gift, or well, gifts, were alright. They were gifts she chose last minute after all, having only found time yesterday after the official introduction of their new classmate to catch a bus to the nearest mall to find something. The only bits of information she had on Celestia’s family was that her grandparents liked to travel, that her siblings were Gundham and Ibuki, and that they all rather liked tea. So, with that information, she bought desserts that would go well with tea. At least the tea confectionary, she still wasn’t completely sure about the puddings she bought. “Ah, before I forget, ma lapin, we’ll be-” The doors of the greenhouse slam open, an impressive feat as the double doors were heavy on their own, not to mention both of the people who entered weren’t exactly big or tall. Celestia lets out a light hum of recognition as they watch the two enter.

A young girl with light pink hair and a pink horn headband ran inside, an excited grin on her face as she ran to the middle of the greenhouse followed closely by their underclassmen: Kokichi, with an equally, if not more so, grin of excitement. He stops right beside a bed of alyssum with a line of basil on the edge, Kokichi waves at them with a book in their hand. The supreme leader spreads his arms out before speaking. “Auntie and Auntie-in law, your daughter is trying to kill us!” Auntie… in law? He complains dramatically, followed by an affirmative nod from his apparent partner-in-crime: Kotoko, she holds a hot pink headband for the two to see. Kyoko glances at it and can already tell it’s handmade, with light marks in pencil to sketch out a design whoever made it was planning to place on it. She wonders what, with the fake flowers already decorating the headband, the original owner had been planning to add to it. 

“Adorbs, right?” Kotoko asks brightly, Kyoko gives her a hum of agreement, it was still cute subjectively. The gambler beside her nods, releasing her hand to offer her own hand to Kotoko instead. Which the girl placed her small hand into, holding the unfinished headband in the other.

“It is the stitching is rather familiar. Would you like me to make you a cute headband to match with your dress? I believe you'd look quite pretty with or without, so whichever is your preference.” She offers to the girl who positively beams at the offer. Celestia chuckles gently at the pleased look on the child’s face. Kyoko turns back to look at Kokichi, he notices her glance and sticks a tongue out at her, he looks proud of, she’s assuming at least, the heist he has just committed. She wonders who he was talking about, Kotoko has taken to claiming herself to be their daughter as her and Celestia can go hours talking about fashion and cuteness and because Celestia, reportedly, considers Kyoko cute, as such it would only make sense for the two to be her unofficial but official parents according to Kotoko. Surely, Kokichi wasn’t talking about Kotoko, she seemed in on his heist, so who would that leave? Definitely not any of their senpai, or their classmates, so that left their underclassmen of which Kyoko doesn’t interact with too many of them. Shuichi would be a decent candidate as people joke that Kyoko is the daughter of Shinsou-Senpai so it was reasonable that as his direct senior she would be considered his parent the way Shinsou-Senpai was considered such for her, but Kokichi had specifically used daughter that meant… Who else did she have a close relationship within the junior classes, the only other junior she spoke to rather frequently was Maki, her?

The door swung open, with much less flair and noise than the last, and in comes the underclassmen on her mind. Kokichi jumps into the air, with a feign look of fear as he yelps comically before scampering towards the table both upperclassmen sat at, then diving behind Celestia’s chair.

“Kokichi!” Kyoko watches as Kokichi pokes his head out from behind Celestia, angling his head so it was visible past the gambler’s drills before sticking his tongue out tauntingly at his classmate. Maki takes it in stride, although clearly irritated with the leader, not raising her voice. She stays in the middle of the garden where Kokichi once stood, too bashful to get closer to her Senpais and Kotoko to get at Kokichi “Give me back Kaito’s diary and Tsumigi’s headband or so help me I’m going to rip your throat out.” She warns, earning a loud huff from Kokichi. Kotoko glances down at the headband in her hands, perhaps the fact it belonged to someone else finally catching up with her now that she wasn’t in the middle of the chase she was dragged into. 

“Um. Incorrect.” Kokichi begins, holding up his pointer finger to further sell the correction he was going to make. He pretends to push back invisible glasses away from the bridge of his nose. “I have a workout journal, no diary in my hands, nothing to give back, you see. Also, no headband in my possession, see, I’m innocenter than whatever that bimbo does to the cult victim, or, whatever, cult member.” He taunts nasally like a stereotypical nerd. Gesturing over Celestia to point out the individual possessing the spoken headband, with wide pink eyes and a confused expression, Kotoko’s glance jumps from Kokichi with a betrayed glare and Maki with a slight pout. Displeased with putting Kotoko on the spot, Celestia smacks Kokichi’s hand away from her.

“I did nothing wrong!” Kotoko defends, earning a scoff from Kokichi. “He framed me!”

“That’s for officer Maki Roll to decide.” He tuts, earning a displeased sound from the little girl. 

Quick to answer, Maki holds her right hand just above her hip in a warningly threatening manner, hinting at possibly producing a weapon then and there. An act Kyoko was completely certain was possible for her. “She’s excused; I’m after your head.”

“Unjust!” He whines, just then Celestia lets out an audible sigh. She quietly asks for the pink and stolen headband in Kotoko’s hand before dropping it in Kokichi’s hand then gently gestures for Kotoko to come closer to move to the space between her and the detective, once the girl was out of potential harm's way, she gestures at Kokichi like one may present a target. As he had both items that Maki was after, they very much were to Maki at least.

“Have at them.” She says simply. 

Without a word beyond a single profanity, Kokichi stumbles away from their little trio as Maki moves forth. Earning a yelp from Kotoko, the girl steps back into the detective, as Maki quickly catches up to Kokichi and pulls him into a headlock. Quickly ending the chase, he was intending. His energy is not wasted, as instead of running away he uses it to flail and move in Maki’s hold. The underclassmen were rather physical with each other, just like their most senior senpais last year. Though Kyoko was certain every one of her senpais in last year’s seventy-sixth ended up dating someone else in the class, she knew the majority were. She hasn’t heard anything about the ultimate admin of the class ending up with anyone yet, Kyoko had her doubts that he was that ignorant of the advances made towards him.

As if Maki’s strangling of Kokichi, while she attempts patting him down, wasn’t happening. Kyoko watches as Celestia engages with Kotoko asking the girl what she’ll be doing for the break, it’s a sweet sight. Watching the kindness Celestia firmly denies she possesses, though she was heavily biased towards Celestia. Kyoko is tugged away from her thoughts when Kotoko mentions that she, and the rest of the WoH, will be staying in the dorms for the break as they were volunteered by staff for a program that ran over the break. Kotoko gestures for both girls to lean forwards as she whispers the name of the perpetrator behind this change in events. Kyoko can’t help the way her shoulders relax.

“Ah, Fukawa did that? It seems she’s taken quite a liking towards the Warriors.” Celestia remarks, her voice, still in the same kind voice she uses when conversing with the kids, sounds lighter. Like a worry melted from her. 

Kotoko nods firmly. “Fuwa-nee is totes a tsundere! She still ‘hates’ when we call her Oneesan. I mean, everyone knows she likes it! You would think after her and Maru-nee’s wedding she’d be less tsuntsun; like, like you two actually or even Hina-chan and Sakura-chan.” Celestia offers her a hum of agreement. Kyoko recalls hearing Toko talk about it with Aoi, about how she didn’t really careー Kyoko also agrees it was clear she was fond of the titleー but not a single one of the kids say her name properly despite both her given and family name being simple, with the exception of Nagisa, who only refers to her as Onee-san or Sensei, which he dropped that particular title almost immediately after she started aiding Komaru. “She’s been saying it was Maru-nee, but I doubt Maru-nee even knew where to get the papers for that. Plus! If it were Junko Onee-chan, she would’ve just kidnapped us and said that she did paperwork for it.” She would, wouldn’t she. 

Actually, she wouldn’t even attempt to lie that she filed paperwork, she would’ve gone dark from the schools and authority. At least now the kids staying away from home were handled, less “work” for the fashionista to be involved in and consequently derail.

“That reminds me.” Kotoko places her hands on her waist, as she watches both the older ultimates next to her. She opens her mouth to speak, only to close it once more as Kokichi lets out a screech and accusation of Maki being a pervert. She continues when Maki muffles him. “When are you guys getting back from your honeymoon?”

“...What?” Kyoko feels the way her heart skips at that, surprised by the question and the following fluster that comes with the helpful little images her brain decides to supply her as she wonders where she got that idea about them, because of course she hasn’t dwelled on the idea of a honeymoon when she doesn’t think she can deal with the onslaught of feelings that comes with even comprehending the idea of marriage in general and all the baggage that comes with it. Her mind deciding that now was the time to make up for not having dwelled on these topics. Thankfully that logical side of her catches up with a memory of a passing and vague response she and Celestia gave the child the night prior that could’ve been responsible for the remark.

She glances over to Celestia, catching the gambler staring at her, having noticed their eyes meeting, Celestia glances back at Kotoko. With what could be an amused smile. Kyoko catches a faint flush creeping out from the light make up Celestia wore, the flush brighter nearing the sides of her neck. The discovery makes her face feel warm. 

The gambler glances back at her, the silent question of how to approach this with Kotoko, who had gotten her taste of attending and planning a “wedding” and now wanted more, especially after similar events transpired yesterday afternoon relating to the play wedding they did last month.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 “And why not!!?” Kotoko demanded her arms crossed, mimicking Masaru who was crossing his arms and fixing Komaru a stern look. Earning poorly concealed laughter, though it was entirely on purpose, from Sayaka as Komaru gaped at the question, floundering for a response and blushing, as Syo snickers across the lounge. Along the amused air wafting off their peers, people kept to themselves, would rather watch the attempts at childrearing than participate in doing so.

They handed back the plastic travel box Toko kept Kameko, her pet stink bug, in when she took him out of his enclosure to Jataro before walking around the coffee table. A pointed grin on their lips as the fiend mimics the sassiness by placing their hands on their hips. “Oh hush, Kotokonut! You know why!”  Syo exclaimed, reaching a hand out to catch Komaru before throwing her arm around the girl and falling limp against Komaru. The momentary panic that set in Komaru’s eyes as she tried catching Syo before a flash of realization that Syo was purposefully messing with her set in enough for her to realize Syo was, although placing her weight on her, wasn’t going to fall. Komaru took this as her opportunity to try and cover Syo’s mouth instead. Syo, knowing the young Naegi well enough, leaned their head away from her. “C’mon! Have you met Dekomaru and Ticky? Look at ‘em!” Syo dodges Komaru’s hand and instead captures the girl’s face in her hands before squishing her face.

“These losers couldn’t go on a honeymoon with all the dancing-” Komaru successfully cover’s Syo’s mouth, even keeping her hand firmly placed over the fiend mouth despite the squeak she just released being a clear indicator that Syo had licked and slobbered her hand. Instead, she jumps when Syo opens her mouth wide, letting Komaru’s hand slip in, with their infamously and oddly sharp teeth, Komaru immediately retracts her hand. Syo finally finishes with a tone of exhaustion, “ and hokey pokey-ing they’re doing around this whole thing. Real shit, no pair of ‘just friends’ agrees to play house and marriage at this age and their level of gay loserness without a good amount of yearning and simpery. At least I'm honest about it, tho I'm not at y'all's level.” Syo gives Komaru a pointed look, teasing and snarky, as they direct their last two points to her.

“What vocabulary are you exposing these kids to?” Sakura's sighed out question that is answered immediately by Nagisa.
“We have access to the internet, we know worse. Well, they know worse. I’m simply subjected to it.” Nagisa sighs, looking off to the side as his brows furrow, possibly at a vague memory of the slang and terms he's unwillingly being subjected to. He visibly cringes.

Masaru raises a brow as he scrutinizes Syo. Syo mirrors his actions tauntingly, awaiting his remark. “Wait… What about you then?” After the question leaves his mouth, Kotoko's mouth opens in an expressive sign of agreement with her look of sudden realization.

Komaru jumps in, clearly attempting to change the topic only for Syo to immediately reply with a cheeky tone. “I’m THE breadwinner between us three. I keep this ship running while Dekomaru and Toko beat the bush because they're both dork-ass normal people with feelings.” They feign a disgusted shudder at the word, earning themselves an annoyed huff from Komaru as she comes up behind Syo and uses both of her arms to muffle the fiend. 

 “That's enough out of you.” Why Komaru immediately resorts to physical action to apprehend Syo, at least in her attempts to wrangle Syo, is a mystery as she doesn't seem the type; though since Makoto and Sayaka aren't surprised in the least it doesn't seem out of the ordinary. Not to mention Toko doesn't care unless she runs Komaru’s patience thin or into her determination and ends up on the receiving end of the physical pushiness. “I'm not taking emotional advice from someone who doesn't come out and say it either!”

“Pfft.” Syo sticks their tongue out, raising their head over Komaru's arms. “Yeah? Well, you already know so checkmate, Deko! You and Toko should talk like actual fucking people- damn, why is your sweater so fucking itchy-! ACCHOO!” and with that, after a moment, Toko opens her eyes. Glancing at Komaru, at the arms around her face as she tilts her head away from the itchy sleeves, and at the kids staring at her rather intently. She awkwardly grimaced in confusion.

Komaru immediately relaxed her arms and pulled away, only leaving her hands placed on the writer's shoulders. Toko, coming out of her zone-out, looks weirdly at the two kids scrutinizing her. “What?”

“Fuwa-nee!” Kotoko points accusingly at her, the writer's attention jumping to her. Toko quickly corrects her, saying her family name, though it is brushed off by the little miss drama. “Why aren't you and Maru-nee going on a honeymoon?! You wedded last week! This is so not the proper way for a couple to act.” Masaru nods enthusiastically in agreement. He had received his own kick of wedding planning, proclaiming he was in fact, when it came to it, the Ultimate Officiant. “Yeah! That's how it's supposed to go! Right, Nagisa?” 

“Wha- What are you ki- kids on about??” Toko exclaimed, 

The blue haired boy looked away from the box with the stink bug back at the four bickering— well three, Toko clearly was barely up to speed. Nagisa exhaled through his nose before nodding along with Masaru and Kotoko. “Yes, well, a honeymoon does come after weddings. They should be more embarrassed that you two are doing more to bring attention to the obvious nature of their relationship than either of them has, excluding Sho-san.” His attention turns to the hallway entrance, and his expression deadpans more. “Ah.”

Masaru jumps on to the couch then leaps over the backrest, surprising Komaru while Toko looks down at Kotoko, attempting to explain to the girl why they aren't going on a ‘honeymoon’. “Tako-nii! C'mon back me up, you're the bride’s brother!”

Komaru's eyes quickly flick to see her brother's mouth agape and completely frozen. “Makoto!? Uh, wait, um!” she chuckles nervously, how is she supposed to explain this to her brother? Surely he has enough reason to not be taking the words of young preteens.

He's knocked back into consciousness when Masaru runs into him, tugging at him to make a move. Makoto raises a shaky hand to gesture to Komaru and Toko, the latter refusing to look at him knowing better than to confront whatever the hell is going on. These kids are a torment in themselves. “Ma. Marriage?” He parrots in disbelief.

Toko, captures Kotoko in a hold, covering her mouth before looking off to the side. “I swe- I swear these kids make me- me want to freaki- want to sit in space for a while. Go without ox- oxygen for a good while.” Her way of wishing to be put into a coma again without the suicidal ideation. 

“No~! Don't do that! You won't be able to go on your honeymoon with Komaru if you do that!” Sayaka, unhelpfully, advises.

“SAYAKA!” “Maizono!”

She doesn't even bother hiding her laughter as the two glare at her. At least the others have the decency to pity more than reveal their amusement at the scene.

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At least they didn't have an audience or Sayaka. Sayaka could be quite the bully when she wanted to be.

That made Kyoko wonder, with Toko/SyoMaru, they had had a small, though clearly fake, wedding, so that explained why the kids had been so stubborn on the front of those two being married but since when was she and Celestia? She doesn't recall either of them having been through any type of ceremony, nor a feigned proposal for that matter. The last time she had played with the kids herself was when she was playing King for the kids requesting that they save Princess Maizono with Sir Makoto. The time before that was playing *Janken with them while Celestia and Junko argued over the aesthetic to dress Jataro and Masaru in for whatever photoshoot the two wanted to do.

She quirked her brow suggestingly. Should they just play along with it? Surely, Kotoko wouldn't be so stubborn about it. Since she and the other kids were absolutely tormenting Toko and Komaru on purpose. Kyoko wonders as Celestia’s eyes close thoughtfully while she hums for her wordless response.

Instead, she tilts her head slightly to the side and offers Kyoko a sweet smile. She's passing that responsibility to her.

Kyoko hummed herself in acceptance. So, she glances down at Kotoko, before she can respond with something to dismiss the marriage topic the detective notices the girl shifting ever so slightly where she leaned against the table. Kyoko nods to herself before stepping away from the table. “Right, so there's a reason for that.” She starts, taking a few steps around the table to get the other chair. 

Kotoko raises a brow at that. “Nothing like Fuwa-nee and Maru-Nee, I hope.” She bemoans. These kids were totally aware of what they were doing last night, well at least in regard to pushing those two together, Kyoko had overheard their earlier plans once.

Well, she can empathize with the two a bit but Kotoko doesn't seem aware of the detective’s feelings so there was no need to give more information than needed. Kyoko shakes her head as she moves the chair closer to Kotoko and waits for the girl to take a seat before continuing after she happily sits. “Legally speaking to get married at sixteen we would have to get our guardians’ permission; we’re minors after all. Which I doubt we'll get.” She informed whilst pushing in Kotoko’s seat then returning to her earlier position.

“Huh? Doesn't everyone have to?” Kotoko questions, an unsure look on her face. “Like, wouldn't you need everyone in your family's permission?”

Celestia takes this one. She gently smiles with a slight shake of her head. “You’re thinking of blessings, which are asked for out of respect. One normally wouldn't need consent to get married however if you're a minor, and sixteen and over, it is law that your guardians must grant permission for the marriage.”

Kotoko hums thoughtfully, looking down at her knees for a moment before looking back at Kyoko and Celestia. “And younger?”

“Don't even think about it.” “Illegal.”

She crosses her arms. “I bet it's because of creepy adults.” Well, that went without saying.

“Correct.” Celestia confirms. There really wasn't anything else to add besides explaining that some adults were worse than creepy, but that went unsaid.

She huffs. “So then how old do you need to be to not need to consent? Ancient?”

“Eighteen, it used to be twenty, but it was lowered a couple years ago.” Kyoko shared, earning an interesting hum from Kotoko. The detective lets her think, glancing over at the pair of juniors who have quieted down, Kokichi laid on the ground, staring at the fake sky screen panels whilst Maki sat crouched near him, a notebook and headband placed on her thigh. Maki noticed her eyes on them, she gave the detective a simple nod of acknowledgement.

Kyoko returns the nod. “So, like…” The little drama began, causing the detective to redirect her attention back to the kid. “You two could get married in two years? Without asking your family?” Well, not with the current state of same-sex marriage recognition. Not that they had to explain that to Kotoko.

“We… could.” Kyoko answers slowly followed by a supportive hum from Celestia. Kotoko stares at them thoughtfully, pondering on their roundabout way of saying they weren’t married. The small thoughtful pout slowly thins out and the corner of her lips tugging as her eyes narrow ever so slightly with a glint of mischief. Kyoko doesn’t want the kids to get any ideas, she doesn’t mind playing along with their games, however seeing as they continue to torment Komaru and Toko it's probably best she doesn’t allow the girl to conjure up too much about playing marriage again. It opens up being at the mercy of the kids. “As it’s some time away, we aren’t in a rush to plan the specifics.” The detective doesn’t meet the eyes of the gambler beside her knowing that the warmth she feels will become worse if she were to see whatever expression she’d make. 

Kotoko’s eyes light up as she excitedly straightens up, sitting at the edge of her seat. “Then can I!?” She puffs her chest and turns her chin up proudly. “I have experience with wedding planning and you two already know my past clients-” Celestia offers an amused hum at that. “So, any references will come from them, and we did a very good job if I do say so myself.”

“That’s an enticing offer, Kotoko-chan. However, I’d rather you be an active participant in my wedding.” Celestia offers earning a glance from Kyoko. Kotoko seems to vibrate in excitement.

“I can be your bridesmaid!” She exclaims. “Or better, your maid of honor!”

Celestia hums thoughtfully. “I’m afraid I promised the role to my sister if I were to have western customs in my wedding.” Before Kotoko can interject, mostly because she wasn't aware that Celestia had an older sister, perhaps she hadn't connected that Ibuki being the older between the two, since Kotoko does know those two are siblings, she would be the big sister. Kyoko hums curiously.

“Not Gundham?” She had heard he volunteered to be the equivalent of a maid-of-honor to Ibuki and Mikan from Chiaki-Senpai. 

“He wishes to be an officiant in my wedding at least since Ibuki had wished for a more Unorthodox wedding ceremony.” Celestia casually mentions, she reaches lightly for Kyoko's hand, which she lets her grasp gently in hers, and raises the detective's hand near her lips. Teasingly, she lifts Kyoko's ring finger closer to her lips. “I hope you don't mind.” The gambler presses her lips against the bend of her ring finger. The warmth she feels floods her almost terrifies her with how easily that had been provoked.

Kyoko, unfortunately aware of what the gambler was playfully implying, bites a small section of tissue inside her mouth. She hums politely before releasing her bite to say. “Not a problem.” The detective instead turns to look at the little drama, ignoring the slightly smug expression on the child and the gentle scoff of a giggle from Celestia, she offers a smile. “As the maid of honor is reserved, and I believe you’re not yet old enough to be a bridesmaid. I would like to invite you to be our flower girl instead.” 

“Wa- What! Really?!” Kotoko beams, almost losing her balance as her excited vibrations got the best of her and she lost her balance sitting at the edge of the seat. Celestia releases Kyoko's hand quick enough for the detective to hold her hand out to catch the pink haired girl. Kotoko holds Kyoko's hand to rebalance herself and, once she does, keeps her hold. She stares up at the two older ultimates in front of her. “Can I?” Kyoko nods and Kotoko grip tightens around her gloves hand. “Promise? No take-backsies!” The pure glee in her voice entices a pleased chuckle from Celestia as Kyoko gives Kotoko a solid nod. 

“Of course. So long as you're willing.” Kyoko remarks.

Kotoko looks over at Celestia, as if the offer were too good to be true. “Is that true?” The gambler only had enough time to complete her first nod before Kotoko squealed happily, released the detective’s hand, and hopped off her seat to give her a hug, still squealing. Celestia gives her an amused murmur, raising a hand to pat the girl's head. “Thanks, Mom! Thank you thank you thank you!!! Oh this is gonna be sooo fun!” Kyoko watches the way Celestia's hand tenses as it pauses midair, and the way it relaxes when her hand lands on Kotoko before gently rubbing at her head. Carefully as to not mess her hair too badly.

Well, she hadn't ever particularly minded Kotoko referring to the two as her parents, but well, she minded the role even less. Quite welcomed it, she doesn't think she'll forget Celestia's reaction and if it meant seeing Celes tense up being acknowledged so sweetly, she'd more than embrace the role; though the reaction was filed away in her mind, should she bring it up? The gambler would probably, though poorly, deny it. On the other hand, she'd have to unpack these feelings and thoughts later, ignoring them may cause a bit of an outburst later. Still. The idea brings out an amused sigh from Kyoko, earning a warning glance from the gambler.

Ruining the moment, with a particularly wet sounding choke. With a gasp, Kokichi exclaims. “Woah! Shouldn't Maki Roll here be the flower girl? She's your first kid-! ack!!” Kyoko turned to glance at the two underclassmen. Maki stood with a slightly flushed expression, carrying Kokichi with one hand by the back of his collar. His arms were bound together with three white belts, his fourth still keeping his pants up, that were so signature to his everyday wear next to his scarf, said scarf instead of being around his neck now stuffed into his mouth. He lets out a muffled complaint.

Maki bows her head apologetically. “Sorry, I'll see us out.” Miraculously, though not surprisingly, Kokichi spits out his scarf, catching the corner of his scarf at the last second with his teeth.

“I’m right!” He exclaims through his teeth despite no one having disagreed with his statement. He turns his head to glare at Maki. “That went down my throat! Witch!”

Celestia hums thoughtfully, pulling her attention away from the struggling Supreme Leader back to Kotoko who sticks her tongue out at said leader. “Kotoko, dear.” The moment her eyes meet Celestia’s she retracts her tongue and smiles sweetly, the gambler continues. Obviously not to berate the girl. “What do you think, Kotoko? Would you want someone as beautiful as Maki to be a flower girl with you?”

Without skipping a beat, Kotoko tilts her head curiously at Maki. Familiar enough with the self-introduced ultimate babysitter to know she was also relatively easy to torment. “Like she’s my eye-candy?” Her remark earns a giggle from the gambler and muffled snickering from the supreme leader as the subject of the question shakes her head in feign annoyance. The flush of embarrassed shock crawled onto her checks. Kyoko raises a pointed eyebrow at Celestia meeting the mischievous, and obviously guilty of this little crime, glint in her red eyes. “Hmm…” Kotoko hums. “Well, she is cute.. So it’s okay! But I Get to throw the flowers.” She gestures at Maki with firm acceptance.  “Okay, Onee-chan! Since we’re sisters it’s only expected that the cutest members of this familyー being us, of courseー are the flower girls.”

With a sigh, and a tightened grip on her hold of Kokichi, who hangs in her hand like a kitten held by the scruff of their neck, Maki speaks. “I’m not exactly cute, Kotoko.” She takes a breath in, as if preparing herself to play along with their play at house. “It’d be for the best if you are the sole flower girl.”

“Uh, no. We’re sisters so if I’m cute then you are too? That’s like, family one-oh-one.” Kotoko argues. Kyoko watches as Maki’s cheeks remain flushed, opening her mouth and just as quickly shutting it; it seems Shuichi’s observations on the girl being unable to really argue with children over harmless declarations held true. Once again, she opens her mouth then closes it with an embarrassed expression.

Kokichi nods passionately. “Checks out.”

Her grip tightens. ”I- That’s not how that works.” 

“Well, both of our moms are cute, I’m the absolute cutest, our auntie and uncle are cute in their own cool and, uh, emo ways, and you’re cute. I see no flaws in my reasoning.” Kotoko nods firmly, completely resolute on her facts. She’s met with no real argument from Maki.

Maki looks over at Celestia and Kyoko, her expression clearly looking for help to reject the notions the little drama set forth. A poor choice, neither of the upperclassmen were going to disagree. Kyoko brushes some loose strands of hair behind her ear. “I see no issue.” Maki’s expression fell into a deadpan one, as she expectantly looked over at Celestia.

The gambler smiles. “I agree with *ma lapinou, Maki-san is indeed rather cute.” Maki sighs deeply, muttering something under her breath that causes Kokichi to snort in amusement. She’s not even remotely surprised.

“I’ll be seeing us out.” Maki announces, her face flushed, with a pout forming at her lips after being essentially tag teamed by everyone in the garden.

“We should also see ourselves out.” Celestia comments, she pulls her phone out of the secret pocket in her skirt. She turned it on, and they had about an hour or so before they set off to Tochigi based on the time. “I’d like to retrieve the wine I intend to give my grandparents before we depart. Darling, you have a bag or two that wasn’t retrieved, no?”

Kyoko nods. She left her personal messenger bag in her room with the assignments for break and her laptop along with the gifts she intends to give to Celestia’s grandparents as an offering for letting her come along. She hopes they’ll be fine, and that the pudding and red bean confectionery will survive the trip to Tochigi; it wasn’t hot enough for them to be affected, thankfully. The detective turns to Kotoko. “We should drop you off with Toko and Komaru. Do they know where you are?”

“Nope!” Kotoko beams. “Monaca does tho! Oh, and Nagi-san.”

Kyoko nods. The two were probably not too worried then if Nagisa knew, unless Monaca had gotten bored enough to torment Komaru and swore Nagisa to secrecy again.

1.  Janken(ジャンケン): Janken is just what they call rock-paper-scissors in Japan, you'd play the game as usual, but you'd say "Jan-Ken-PON" instead of rock paper scissors
2. ma lapinou: My bunny (affectionate), ma lapin as I tend to assign to Kyoko is also affectionate as well, Lapinou is more informal comparatively 

1 is Japanese and 2 is French

In a show of gentlewoman-ness, Sonia rushed ahead of Gundham to open the car door for them to enter the luxury car. It was, after all, the least she could do after Gundham had insisted on carrying her bag for her as she adjusted her dress earlier then proceeded not to give it back as they had invited her as their guest, and it was only expected that they’d be polite. “After you~” She holds a hand out for him to take. If Gundham was going to be polite then she would too.

 Gundham chuckles deeply at the sight. “Very well, Dark Majesty. Your chivalry is noted.” He adjusts both their bags with one hand before taking Sonia’s hand with their other then enters the vehicle with Sonia’s attentive aid.  When Gundham turned around to hold out a hand to help her this time, Sonia can’t help but let out a feign sigh of disappointment. Nonetheless she accepts their hand whilst she holds back a chuckle when San-D hopped out of Gundham’s scarf onto his arm before hopping onto Sonia’s arm. They had arrived earlier than the others, not for any reason in particular, they had been pulled into a witch hunt for Enoshima after she taken the little ultimates without informing the youngest Naegi and Fukawa and once she was located the two had decided to walk around campus for a while which had inevitably led to them ending up at the entrance of the academy’s porte cochère. The animal breeder took in the interior of the coach, he was rather interested in how Celestia had gotten the approval for this considering she only requested it a few days ago; he didn’t ponder on it any longer, he knew better than to question the way Celestia accomplished things especially when she was petty enough to drag him along on any aid he may request in the future simply for questioning her. 

Gundham wanders to the one of two luxury seats with a fluffy cushion, before kneeling on one knee to allow the other divas to hop on to the seat clearly reserved for them and Cheri. He hears a curious hum behind him from the princess, when he turns around, he watches Sonia as she tilts his head at him curiously. She smiles politely, an awkward quirk tugging at her lips. San-D having found their way onto her lap, she snuggles into Sonia’s hand that she rested on her lap. “Ah, Gundham, do you mind if I ask you a question about your family?” Sonia asks hesitantly. They nod; he lifts himself up before making their way to the open seat beside his invitee. Before sitting, he rests both their personal bags in the velvet storage box beside the open seat. “Alright, I have to admit…” The princess begins, meeting Gundham’s eyes. “I’m… not entirely certain of your connection with Celestia and Ibuki. Correct me if I’m wrong but as I understand you and Ibuki are cousins and Celestia is someone’s little sister? I’m assuming yours?”

“Hmm.” Gundham hums, he watches San-D as she continues to adjust herself in Sonia’s lap, he removes his scarf then proceeds to shape it into a makeshift bed for the diva as they respond. “I see. I was under the assumption that it was rather obvious, though our varying interests and presentation might make it difficult.” He practically, indirectly excuses Sonia’s mistake. “We are all siblings; the bard is my twin and the sinner our little sister. I understand if the timing doesn’t seem quite right, the conditions of our birth are rather queer...” He adds just as Sonia remembers their birthdays. 

Then remembers when Ibuki drunkenly, she’s never bringing those chocolates without checking who was a lightweight ever again, announced her birthday was a day “…to spite it to the haters!” and it wasn’t her legal before sleeping atop of Mikan. That revelation glossed over due to the buzz in the air at the time.

This pleasantly surprises Sonia. It wasn’t like she hadn't interacted with siblings before, she hadn’t really been friends with any before nor close enough to see glimpses into that kind of connection. The only other group or pair of siblings she’s met was a graduated Senpai and his baby sister whom he brought to campus occasionally when daycare let out, their relationship was rather parental on his end due to his familial situation that he kept away from the underclassmen, and the Naegi siblings, both were incredibly polite to those older to them however the stories of their interactions and banter were common and if lucky sometimes Sonia would be surprised with the two playing around. As she was without siblings, it always piqued her curiosity, sibling rivalry and sibling drama were things she saw all too often in politics and talks. Perhaps deep down she was slightly envious, to almost automatically have a connection with another, an ally who could understand. Alas that was definitely her romanticizing with rose-tinted glasses. “Well, with hindsight it seems rather obvious. How was the experience growing up with siblings? I’ve always been curious.”

Gundham actually takes the time to ponder this question for a moment. Explaining sibling relationships could be rather difficult, their relationship wasn’t particularly built nor strengthened by their births, after all, the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. It was built and then strengthened by the circumstances of their upbringing, and even then, their relationship wasn’t perfect. They kept secrets, feelings, and thoughts from each otherー it had taken a visible bruise on Celestia’s face and torso, which she, specifically for the bruise on her face, had informed their grandparents was from walking into a classmate's fist before she immediately retaliated, it had taken that before Gundham was let into the fact that Celestia, a child at the time, was getting death threats and being harassed by grown men. Ibuki knew about the threats and not of the latter. Ibuki didn’t judge him when he stole a knife that first time. The unsaid promise that they weren’t going to bring it up to their grandparents until it was out of their control, it was fortunate that nothing serious happened after, it was an incredibly foolish unofficial promise to keep.

Each relation between siblings is unique to their own experiences, trends in those relationships were just that. Trends. Gundham hasn’t thought too deeply on the ins of their relationship, he knows his sisters haven’t either. Why would he start now? That was an amount of emotional energy he wasn’t so keen on spending alone. Not yet at least. “If you wish to know… there are few constants that humanity has found themselves right about in the existence they find themselves; however familial banter is inevitable, a truth to this lowly realm. Regardless of favor.” He answers simply. He’s yet to meet any other group of siblings that hasn’t had their own little spats.

“Ah, is that so? What usually is the subject if you don’t mind me asking?” Sonia tilts her head slightly as she asks.

What an extensive list that pops into Gundham’s mind, not even complete. “Such banter is incomprehensibly pointless.”

“Well to you maybe. Ibuki thinks everything has no meaning, so we get to decide on the value of things and how we let them affect us! Sorry that you think elaborate bonding is pointless. Skill issue.” Is the surprisingly peppy response despite the existentialism and nihilism being simply transformed into the proactivity and empowerment of living.

The musician brushes past her insightful counter to pop her head in, sending her brother a playful glare, possibly hoping she passed off as irritated. She drops the glare to smile brightly at Sonia then waves at the two. “Hey lovebirds!” Behind her, Peko peeks in. She nods to both of them politely before giving a small wave after a moment. 

“Lovebirds?” Gundham parrots, slightly affronted, they're ignored by Ibuki as she steps back to let Peko enter first. Sonia greets Peko while Gundham sends Ibuki a look. They raise an eyebrow as she enters. Ibuki tauntingly wiggles her eyebrows back at them before looking around the luxury coach.

Her eyes widened unexpectedly. “What the flip?- Wait nevermind this tracks.” Ibuki accepts before making her way to the couple seat that Peko had taken, making a pitstop to give each of the other three divas scratches before plopping down next to the kendoka. 

Gundham watches Ibuki pull out an eyeliner and compact mirror from her denim bag littered with safety pins and button pins just as Sonia and Peko begin talking about nails and nail polish. The black eyeliner was thinner than what the musician usually used. Ibuki liked thicker lines so tended to use thicker pens, yet this eyeliner pen was thin and long. Yet, the pen was still rather familiar, simply not with the musician. Gundham doesn’t partake in eyeliner pens, he had his own method in applying eye makeup, so the pen certainly wasn’t his, leaving the only other sibling who regularly adorned eyeliner.

He continued to raise an eyebrow at their twin as she removed her piercings starting with her earsー which was unnecessary, their grandparents were very well aware of her piercings, though he understands making herself more presentable to reunite with their guardians. Was Celestia aware that Ibuki had her eyeliner? 

It is when they have that thought that Grand Bois Cheri, the rather youthful elder british shorthair, strut in. Catching the passengers’ attention. Grand Bois passes his, assumed, assigned seat as his owner enters the coach, her eyes quickly trained on Ibuki.

Ah, so clearly, the gods of the human realm have been keeping the musician alive thus far. 

“So,” The gambler begins, as Kyoko entered right behind her. Gundham watches Grand Bois set himself on Peko’s lap, much to the subdued joy of the swordswoman. “It was you who stole my eyeliner. After I had given you the benefit of the doubt when I originally reported it.” Celestia’s words are not as punctuated in the accent she tended to keep; her words were steady yet noticeably slowed. Out of his control, Gundham mutters a spell to relax his sisters, so they don’t yell.

Ibuki, unbothered by their baby sister’s arrival, sticks her tongue out pointedly in his direction long enough to remove her tongue piercing. As if to further incriminate herself, she nodded towards them. “Uh, no. Ibuki just nabbed it from Gundy.” She lied much too easily.

He straightens, appalled at the accusation, though honestly, he’d be more offended if Celestia fell for itー surely his sisters knew them well enough. “She did not, the fiend lies.” They punctuate, sending a betrayed glare to Ibuki, his very own kin, his twin! 

Celestia doesn’t even attempt to hide her eye roll. “Right, because our dear brother, who uses lip liner as an eyeliner, like an idiot, would steal my eyeliner.” 

Gundham shushes her. He hisses. “Celestia, to divulge my secrets so openly-!” He’s quickly cut off by a defensive Ibuki.

“Oh PLEASE! You stole my foundation!”

“Our shades are completely different!” Celestia factually points out.

Already in too deep, and having been caught red handed, Ibuki continues on with a mighty scoff. “The judge wouldn’t let that slide.”

“I’m not going to let this slide!”

Beside him, Sonia lets out a terribly concealed giggle. Having gotten a small sample of some of the banter they circulate through. Loud enough for both Celestia and Ibuki to freeze.

Celestia pouts slightly before sternly glaring at her older sister. “Savory the fact I know how you’d want to be buried.”

“Sure, dork.” Ibuki snorts.

Chapter Text

After Ibuki’s sudden excited surprise that they had a fridge in the coach for their own use she finally settled down enough for everyone to begin conversing after that period of silence with each pair doing their own activity. They had been talking about their hometown as they made their way there by road, talking about the Korean shop that specializes in all types of gyoza one could think ofー Celestia was the most knowledgeable, of course, the girl basically had VIP relations with the underground restaurant, there was a decent amount of historical sites but mostly pertaining to minorities with a temple or two that is overshadowed by the bamboo forest that Ibuki will admit was not the best place to hide stuff considering people always hid their stuff there, they had an insane punk rock scene with a flare of Chinese slang and k-popy rock idols in its infancy that Ibuki had picked up on before departing as she had been the one to pioneer the subversion of it from jazz rock locally, the flower gardens that Gundham mumbled about his animals being unfairly banned from and tea culture with the tea addiction to show for it with the twins immediately looking at the gambler as they talked about it, and of course the jazz and other drink addicted culture of cocktails at Orion street and it’s backdoor gambling circles again, they look at Celestia, there was also the Nikko site that the princess was familiar with and Gundham and Celestia were happy to act as her guide if they were to ever visit. There were also the local cities that were easy to get to that they mentioned, but oddly enough their guests were content with learning about their hometown. Then again, the siblings were literally raised there so there’s that. Ibuki made them promise that she’d be the one to share most of their home’s secrets, a fact she wanted to make known. 

There was something Sonia noticed however, they didn’t really talk about their family aside from Ibuki trying to poke fun at her younger siblings. Curiously, Sonia asked. “Is there anything we should know about your parents? Since we’ll be meeting them.” Sonia, over her time at Hope’s Peak, learnt a few things in regard to family dynamics: first, it was easier to simply ask how to behave with one’s parents if she were ever to meet them, second, never bring up someone’s parents unless they bring it up first. The princess felt Gundham sigh expectantly beside her, they lower their hand to gently nudge at her side. A comfort as he looked at his sister’s boredly, expectantly.

The expressions on Ibuki and Celestia’s faces remain unchanged, yet the air around both definitely did. Enough that even Grand Bois lifted his head to look between the two. The gambler offered the princess a smile. “Well, they aren’t relevant to your stay. We won’t waste our energy speaking of them.” There were ill feelings towards her parents. Ibuki nods in agreement, leaning against Peko as she does so. She hooks an arm under Peko’s own before hugging the swordswoman’s arm close.

“Least important to this trip.” She adds on with a pleased and gentle scoff from the gambler following soon after. Earning curiously, but evidently from their silence, semi-aware glances from the detective and Kendoka at their respective partners. “That lore’s long buried and shipped out of here!”

Gundham clears his throat. “To clear up that misunderstanding, we live with our grandparents, not our parents, you’ll be meeting them as they are our guardians.” He lets the now energized San-D climb up his sleeves, careful as to not let the deva fall. Thoughtfully, he hums. “Hmm, I suppose it was unfair to expect you all to recognize the greatests of our family unit, considering they hadn’t attended parent’s day last planental rotation.” This was true, their guardians had been absent and the twins had decided to spend it with Ibuki introducing herself to everyone else’s parents as their kid’s bestie or classmate and Gundham introducing himself to Souda’s father and Teruteru’s mom, and proceeding to threaten Teruteru into behaving or else he’d have to explain to his mother about his behavior after the eventー Kazuichi was left out of this, Gundham had to hold back his reaction to the rancid aura his father wafted off, it almost immediately explaining the cowering and expectant fear from their class’ mechanic. At any hint his peer was ready to confront his past he would send that referral he had saved in his email to the ultimate therapist who owed him. 

Ibuki looked up thoughtfully, trying to recall why their grandparents had been absent. “Ibuki thinks they went hiking in Albania at the time! A friend of theirs— Yamaguchi? Yamahaki?— has never left the prefecture before. Guess we should've said something, esp-sh since this parent’s day they had to push it back for whatever, couldn’t meet them then.” 

The side-eyeing between a particular gambler and detective went unnoticed by the other passengers, their silent communication was clear, Kyoko was fully aware of what happened to that parent’s day when many of the classes were running away quickly preparing everyone for any potential issues before it was pushed back two days with reimbursements for unannounced reasons before being rescheduled for a week after they return from break. Celestia, of course, knows that the detective had this information and now that she was reminded, wanted to be just as privy to the events that transpired that Kyoko had kept tight-lipped about. Kyoko gives her nod, their gamble’s details aside, the gambler treats her to a smile before taking a sip from her glass bottle.

“Forget about our parents tho.” The air around both sisters return to normal, with Ibuki continuing to perk up with pride. “Our grandparents are literally the coolest. Like, oh where does Ibuki even start!? Uh-! Our grandma is literally the definition of Japanese beauty, that’s why we’re so sexy. Well, at least I am.” Ibuki ends with a wink, her particular comment earning a disgruntled look from both her younger sibling, a giggle from Sonia, and an amused huff from Peko that widens the grin on Ibuki’s face.

“Don’t…” Celestia begins, her protests dying on her tongue at the sheer weirdness of that sentence and her disbelief of what she was going to say. Instead, she sighs and says. “Don’t credit that to our grandparents.” She implores before sighing once more as she gives a single, compromising, nod. “*Maman was indeed known for her beauty; I could never go a day without being informed of such. Papa didn’t escape any such praises either.” She concedes, earning a soft exclaim of happiness from the musician. 

Gundham nods as well. “Maman still is.” They correct, a hint of pride in his voice. “I believe ji-chama has dictated as much.” His glance is pulled away by Ibuki who strains herself as she reaches out to place a hand on their baby sister’s knee with a pat across the small walkway between them. She grins before performatively bemoaning.

“Celestia looked exactly like our grandma did before she went and cut off her long hair.” Ibuki pulls away to mimic chopping her hair off, earning a displeased look from the gambler, though perhaps more disappointed she hadn’t been able to slap Ibuki’s hand away from her before the musician retracted it herself. The fact that Celestia’s drills were extensions and not her real hair was an open secret, it was an even bigger secret that it didn’t start off that way despite her drills being a trademark to her everyday appearance. Ibuki and Gundham knew from the start, having had made the excuses for the gambler as to why she wasn’t attending class for a good month while she expressed custom ordered her drills. It, allegedly, took Kyoko a single class period to figure it out, and it took their peers ages. Peko only found out when Celestia mentioned it passively one night and Sonia only found out the very last day of classes last year. The idea of the gambler having had long hair was admittedly interesting and borderline enticing.

Celestia glances back at Kyoko, noticing her staring and the thoughtful look the detective wore all too often whenever she was staring in her direction, the poor gambler’s mind races with assumptions. Something that Ibuki, as the responsible eldest sibling, picked up on; she gives a performative snort, catching the gambler's attention enough for her to gloss over that fact in favor of slightly glaring at the twins. “Yes, I’m the carbon copy of Maman. As if you escaped our Papa’s resting… face.” Ah, yes, the genetic resting bitch face. Their mother had it, probably still does but well, none of the siblings had faced her in years, purposefully. Her remark only earns her a simultaneous scoff from the twins.

“Well, perhaps not the physical exterior, I’d argue you-” Gundham begins, their baby sister directs the entirety of her glare and then some to him, silently daring him to continue that line of thought having caught on quickly. 

Ibuki tuts. “Now, now, play nice~!.” She childs before leaning back once again with a chuckle on her lips. “Cool as hell that we look like Maman and Ji-chama, you guys are gonna love them. A lot of what you find cool about us came from ‘em! Well, cept our fashion choices. They’re old and modest.” 

Sonia smiles, she doesn’t bother turning her head to look at San-D who jumps from Gundham’s shoulder to hers. She does raise a hand to scratch at the diva. “So, are we expecting to see another musician?” 

Ibuki’s eyes practically glimmer, a wave of familiarity hitting all the siblings. “Absolutely! Ji-chama’s probably gonna be playing something when we arrive, maybe the piano?” She was practically salivating at the idea of hopping off the coach and running into their home before grabbing the first instrument in sight and going off with it, sure she had tons of instruments at her disposal back at the academy but there was the nostalgia of playing instruments that she grew up playing. The wornness in instruments old, the familiar dents that barely impacted the sound of her music, the warmness of playing an instrument so often played. It would be poetic if Ibuki were about that kind of romance besides soaking in it. She wonders if their grandparents reorganized the home while they were at the academy again. Last year when they did, Ibuki ran in and tripped over the coach in the living area because Ji-chama decided the couch should face northward for a change of pace. Ji-chama hasn’t let her live that down yet.

“He gave that away last month, remember?” Celestia lightly reminds her, her head tilts to the side, nearing her personal guest and Ibuki is totally gonna keep that in mind when the gambler decides to trick her. Like she wasn’t already aware how over each other those two were, not when she's got like twenty photos of her sister in the detective’s lap or Kyoko resting her head on her sister’s shoulder. Those two need to be more admittedly open with each other because Ibuki is seconds away from smushing their faces togetherー her locked in a closet idea didn’t work last time, nor did Peko’s suggestion of sending fake love letters from each other to the other but both threw them away because they recognized the other’s handwriting. Man, she’s probably gonna have to watch both her siblings fumble around their feelings and she can’t play the piano? She wanted to grumble and just buy her grandparents another piano, but her purchases were being monitored.

Instead, Ibuki sulks. Playing that cheap old piano was one of the things she was looking forward to. It completely slipped her mind that they had to get rid of it. “Damn. OH WAIT- the trumpet for sure!” She gasps. It was practically their grandpa’s equivalent of a phone addiction, that old geezer can never be too far away from his trumpet. Even going as far as to buy Ibuki her own trumpet when she was younger just so she wouldn’t be hogging his trumpet. 

Both Celestia and Gundham give each other a look before nodding. “As if we’d argue against that.” Gundham voices for the both of them.

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