Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Kzzzrrrt!~

“Testing- testing! AHEM- Is this thing on?”

Makoto groaned, a dull pain throbbing in his mind as he forced himself awake. He opened his bleary eyes to an out of focused view of his bedroom. What happened? He didn’t remember coming home yesterday…. He had been at the store with his mom… they were trying to hurry and make it back before-

“This is a school announcement!”

School Announcement? How was he at school? School had been cancelled-

“If everyone could please make their way to the gym at their earliest convenience- we have a LOT to talk about!”

… This wasn’t his bedroom.

Fear shot through him like lightning, he was not in his room. Not his home. Not his bed.

He flung the blanket off himself and stumbled over onto the floor, a dull pain shooting up his nerves at the impact as he tried to observe the mostly empty bedroom he found himself in.

A strangled scream caught in his throat as he shakily pushed himself against the back of the bed, his attention snapping up at a monitor hanging from the ceiling as a voice spoke through the static filled screen again.

“Oh- and not to be too pushy: but ‘at your earliest convenience’ actually means now. Puhuhu~ I just HATE waiting!”

Kzzrrt!

The screen abruptly went black, leaving Makoto fumbling over his own fears alone in his room.

Not his room. A room. He was not in his room.

With an uncertain breath, he lifted himself to his feet, using the bed to steady himself. He tried to calm down, have a rational thought or two before he could muster the courage to leave. He needed to focus on the facts:

He was in an unknown location, being spoken to by an unknown person. Off to a bad start, but okay.

He was still in his clothes from when he went shopping with his mom, but that pocket knife she had given him for protection was no longer in his jacket pocket.

He seemed to be safe, he wasn’t strapped down or trapped. He was just in a bedroom. A weird but mostly normal bedroom with a weird monitor and bolted metal over the windows-

Bolted Windows?

Makoto stared at the metal for what felt like an eternity, a deep sense of dread filling him as horrific ‘what if’s’ began clawing at his brain. He numbly backed towards the door, suddenly staying here felt suffocating. he fumbled with the doorknob and nearly tripped backwards into a hallway.

Someone suddenly cried out, he turned on his heel just in time for someone to throw themselves onto him.

“Oh thank GOD another person!” Arms were wrapped around him as he was forced into a frantic excuse for a hug. Blue hair covered his vision for a moment as whoever had grabbed him exhaled a shaky laugh of relief into his jacket.

“I- uh-“ he fumbled for words, head still throbbing and body still numb with shock. “Did you just wake up here too?”

The person released him, backing up a bit to reveal a girl around his age. Long, blue hair fell down well past her shoulders, she reached up to tug at a strand as she cleared her throat. Her panic finally settled down enough for her to smile at him, the smile was almost familiar.

“Yeah... I woke up in that room just now with the announcement. I- I’m surprised you couldn’t hear me screaming.” She laughed nervously, panic surging across her face again for just a moment. “Uhm. I mean… I- I’m Sayaka.”

Makoto blinked through his migraine.

“Sayaka… Maizono?”

“Yeah, why?” She tilted her head. And Makoto felt just a fraction of the fear ease out of him.

“I’m Makoto Naegi- didn’t we used to go to school together?” He couldn’t help but flinch as she gasped, relief and recognition in her smile as she grabbed his hands suddenly.

“Yes! I remember you! You’re the one who shooed that huge bird away from the lake! It was a crane- right?”

That had been years ago, before she moved onto bigger things- before the riots started, too. Birds never even showed up around Makoto’s hometown anymore, his parents always said the gunshots must’ve scared them away.

“R-right, yeah. I’m surprised you remember that.” He would normally be insanely nervous holding hands with a girl- or anyone, really. He wasn’t usually a fan of physical contact… But right now this fraction of normalcy was practically a lifeline. “Do you… have any idea where we are?”

Her smile fell, her grip on his hands tightened. “No. I just woke up in my bed. I-I have no idea where we are.” Makoto’s own fear bubbled up again at the way her voice hitched while she talked.

“Then I suppose that makes three of us.”

Both of them startled at the voice, turning to see another boy walking towards them. Blue eyes stared coldly at them from behind his glasses, his appearance was a stark contrast to both Makoto and Sayaka at the moment. They were both disheveled from their panic filled wake up- he looked perfectly situated. It was like this was nothing to him.

“You have no idea where we are- but do you know why we’re here?” He crossed his arms at the statement, looking from Makoto to Sayaka and back again as he spoke.

“No…” Sayaka practically whispered, moving one hand to push her hair from her eyes and keeping the other firmly clasped in Makoto’s own. “Do you?”

He was quiet for a minute, Makoto could’ve sworn he saw fear in his eyes as he glanced away at the wall.

“I have my suspicions.” He answered curtly. “Byakuya Togami.”

Oh. That was his introduction. Okay. Makoto held his free hand out for him to shake. He sort of looked European, this is what Europeans do, right?

“Makoto Naegi, nice to meet…. You?” He faltered as Byakuya walked right past them, continuing down the hall as tho they had never been here in the first place.

He and Sayaka stared numbly at each other, only moving again when Byakuya called back to them.

“There’s a sign that says the gym is this way. Hurry up.”

Makoto’s legs moved almost automatically, he supposed he had no other choice at the moment but to follow this new stranger. Sayaka hurried along beside him, he could feel her hand shaking in his, or maybe he was shaking- he couldn’t tell. They could both be shaking, the situation certainly called for it.

They caught up with Byakuya, trailing behind him as he proceeded down the hall, past several doors with… numbers? What was going on?

08, 14, 03… What’s with all these numbers?

…

Wait a minute.

He didn’t get the chance to look back and check his own door, anxiety buzzing through his veins with renewed force at the thought of what number might be on it. It was a hardly a thought, really, some terrified part of him already knew-

He wasn’t focusing on that. That wouldn’t help him right now, he was going to focus on things he could actually understand. There was another person up ahead- he could focus on that- someone standing next to a pair of closed doors labeled ‘Dining Hall’

His skin was almost as pale as the full white uniform he was wearing- it looked like a school uniform, almost, or maybe scrubs- his black hair a stark contrast to that. He didn’t notice them at first, tugging the red arm band off his shirt with a grimace; but when his eyes snapped up to see them Makoto nearly jolted at the bright red hue of them. Were red eyes normal? That didn’t feel normal.

“Ah, good- everyone is awake now!” His voice was loud, the smile that he seemed to haphazardly force onto his face was too cheery for this situation. The red band that had been around his arm was quickly shoved into his pocket as he hurried closer to them.

“Are the three of you okay? How are you feeling?” He asked, Makoto struggled to pull his focus from his eyes and onto his questions. “When I met Asahina earlier and she complained about a migraine.”

Byakuya regarded this newcomer with open suspicion, eyes glaring him up and down before answering.

“It’s bearable.” He responded for the group before Makoto and Sayaka could, “Who exactly are you?”

“Kiyotaka! It’s very nice to meet you, despite the circumstances.” He gave them a quick bow, before returning back to a stiffly straight posture. Makoto absentmindedly noted he had gloves matching the rest of his uniform as he continued.

“You can all call me Taka, if you’d rather, that’s my… nickname…” he trailed off as Byakuya stared every inch of him down. Red eyes flickering around the hall nervously before he cleared his throat. “We should hurry and meet with the others who have woken up.”

Byakuya seemed satisfied with that, once again resuming his silent trek through the halls of this strange new environment.

Taka stepped in pace with Makoto and Sayaka, his eyes now practically glowing in the bizarrely lit halls.

“We are being monitored…” he spoke softly to Makoto, who followed his gaze to the corner of the hall, A camera situated right at the top with a softly blinking light.

“Oh.“ Makoto’s voice wavered with fear. Sayaka didn’t seem to notice, her stare fixed pointedly at Byakuya’s back. Her expression was strangely neutral, almost determined- like someone who was trying to solve a math problem they’d been stuck on for an entire class period-

… that was a weird metaphor. He had more important things to focus on right now.

The gym doors loomed ominously before them, and Makoto couldn’t tell if the emotion that surged through him at the sight of new people was relief or more fear. He wasn’t sure it was a good thing for there to be more people here yet, not until he knew why exactly they were here.

A girl with dark skin and curly hair pulled back in a ponytail perked up at their arrival, “Oh- Taka, right? Is everyone here now?”

Byakuya walked past her, trudging into the gym alone. She looked to Makoto and Sayaka instead.

“I’ve been asking everyone and getting the same answer, but…” she began, a hopeful smile on her face despite the worry evident in her eyes, “Do either of you remember how we got here?”

Makoto numbly shook his head, Sayaka’s gaze went down towards the floor. The other girl’s smile turned sad. “I guess that makes sense. I’m Aoi, by the way. Aoi Asahina. Y-you can just call me Hina, if you want.”

“I think we should hold off on further introductions.” Yet another new voice spoke, a girl with long white hair walking up to them from the group she had just been with. She spoke to everyone who was lingering outside the gym’s entrance, voice calm and monotone.

“We need to move into the gym, until we know exactly who’s brought us here it won’t do us any good to stand around aimlessly.”

“So what?” A gruff voice challenged, a muscular blonde with a pompadour stepping forward to question her. “We just supposed to take orders from whatever creep was talkin’ through the TV?”

She seemed unbothered, no emotion crossing her face as she looked up at his scowl. “Unless you somehow already have an escape plan, it would be in all of our best interests to play along for now.”

He seemed ready to argue, but she turned on her heel and walked into the gym. The others gathered around the doors hesitantly followed, muttering amongst themselves.

Makoto jolted as Taka patted his shoulder before moving into the gym himself, and he allowed Sayaka to tug him along into the next room.

He was surprised at how many people had gathered, there must’ve been thirteen…. Fourteen of them in here now. All of them looking around at one another with gazes that varied from wariness to open suspicion. The tallest, most muscular human being Makoto has ever seen in his life spoke over the crowd.

Her voice was surprisingly gentle despite how gravelly it sounded, “Does anyone know why we’ve all been brought here?”

“I DO!”

The new voice startled everyone, turning towards the gym stage to see who had spoken. A trap door suddenly opened from the floorboards, and out popped the black and white figure of a stuffed bear, sitting cheerily on the stage’s podium.

“Is that a t-t-toy?” A girl with glasses and long braids asked hesitantly.

“A toy?” Everyone gasped as the bear on the stage suddenly spoke, stomping animatedly over to the edge of the stage. “A TOY??? I assure you all I am NO silly stuffed play thing!”

It- he? Makoto wasn’t sure yet- placed one paw proudly on his chest, the other reaching up to the sky. “I am your new caretaker, authority figure, life guide, and educational overseer! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves with all the formalities and titles- I… am Monokuma!”

There was a pause, Monokuma’s arms lifted above his head like this was some grand reveal. Finally a boy with piercings and red hair spoke what everyone was thinking.

“… What the hell?”

“Now then!” Monokuma continued, waddling along the edge of the stage with a satisfied hum, “I’m sure you all have many questions, concerns, anxieties, etcetera, but for now let me explain the basics!”

He turned to face them once more, now center stage. “You are all exceptionally special children! So special that this horrible, cruel world wants to take you and rip you to shreds!!!”

Makoto had forgotten about Sayaka holding his hand until it left, both her hands coming up to cover her mouth as the teddy bear continued.

“And we here at the benevolent institution of Hope’s Peak have rescued from that fate. To put it simply: You- my wonderfully weird little mutant children- were saved from the horrific clutches of the Future Foundation.”

That got a reaction from the crowd, Makoto felt a chill down his spine just the mention of the Future Foundation. What was once a shining beacon of hope in this world was now one of the main reasons it was hanging on the brink of another world war. Makoto had heard rumors just before his high school shut down about how they were the ones responsible for all the disappearances that had been growing in frequency, and it had already been proven that the strange machines that patrolled the cities at night were under their authority.

“Excuse me?” Byakuya was the one that spoke, eyes glaring daggers at the strange bear on the stage. “What do you mean by ‘exceptionally special’?”

Makoto couldn’t ignore the way Sayaka’s breath hitched, or how a smaller girl in a green shirt next to him suddenly grabbed at her own skirt nervously.

“Puhuhu~” Monokuma tilted his head, “I’m only telling you what you already know, Mr. Togami. Or should I say 78-10? That’ll help clear things up for everyone, right?”

Byakuya’s entire demeanor shattered- his confident air completely swallowed up in sheer terror as he glanced back at the others.

The room exploded into a cacophony of outcries. At Monokuma, each other, several of them immediately backed away from the group. Makoto’s hand instinctively went to the mark on his chest. He couldn’t bring himself to shout like the others, shock and confusion rendering him speechless as his fingers pressed down through the fabric of his jacket. He had seen his numbers a million times by now, it had become almost inconsequential in his mind after so many years of not knowing what they were. The only reason he ever had to think about it is when he had to worry about hiding it during gym class or something.

But now…..

“HOW THE HELL DID YOU KNOW-“

“Who are you?! How’d you find out?”

“We’re g-g-gonna die here!!! I always knew this would ha-happen eventually!”

Monokuma raised his hands to silence everyone. “ENOUGH!”

The room went silent, Makoto’s panicked mind filled with the thudding of his own heartbeat as his fear muddled in with his still lingering migraine.

“You’re all riled up!” The bear cackled, “Relax! You’re all safe here! In a way- this is like a homecoming!”

“What do you mean by homecoming?” A girl dressed in a goth Lolita styled outfit questioned coldly, some foreign accent Makoto couldn’t identify lacing her words. “I have never been to this disgusting place before.”

“Of course you have!” Monokuma argued, suddenly looking inquisitive. “Although I suppose I can’t blame you for not remembering, not after everything that’s happened since then.”

The bear continued, pulling a beige envelope from behind him- ominously labeled EXP. 78. “You all have a sweet little personalized tattoo, don’t you? Most of you should have seven, eight, and your own personal designation on them!”

Makoto furrowed his brow at the phrase ‘most of you’, his hand slipped down from where he had subconsciously covered his, 78-07… So he was seventh? There were fourteen of them here. Was this… all of them?

“Experiment Seventy Eight was the culmination of over a DECADE of scientific progress!” Monokuma stored the file away wherever in the world he had been keeping it, “After the world was devastated by war and violence, the brilliant minds of Hope’s Peak Institute sought a way to protect people and put an end to all the horrible fighting that plagued humanity. They figured if they could make a force of exceptional individuals to keep the peace, maybe the violence and bloodshed could finally come to an end… or somewhat of an end, at least.”

“But unfortunately- as is humanity’s tendency: this brilliant innovation was cut short by small minded meddling and corruption! The subjects of Experiment 78 were released from testing and shoved off onto unknowing adoptive families- for the better or worse of how their enhanced abilities may develop with age- and Hope’s Peak Research Institute was shut down and ultimately absorbed by the dreaded Future Foundation… and all notes and information on the dear kids of 78, eventually rediscovered.”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” The red haired boy spoke up again, visibly nervous, almost shaking. “I’ve never heard of ‘78’ or any of this! This is insane!”

Monokuma hummed, sounding almost amused. “Leon Kuwata, 78-04.” He chuckled at the way Leon’s face blanched at the number. “Your adoptive father mistook your abilities for a natural athletic talent! Nothing could stand in your way, you were unstoppable! But it never felt right did it?”

The bear leaned forward. If Leon hadn’t been shaking before, he was now.

“It was almost too easy, wasn’t it, Leon? Baseballs, basketballs, arrows, knives!” Monokuma yelled the last word, the girl in the green shirt whimpered. “Doesn’t matter! You never missed. Puhuhuhuhu… and you never will. You’re a real wonder there Mr. Kuwata. It’s such a shame you had to leave us before you reached your full potential!”

Leon looked nervously around at everyone else, Monokuma went back to addressing the group.

“Starting now you will be spending the foreseeable future in the safety of Hope’s Peak! There are no exits, and explicitly NO contact with the outside world.”

The yelling started again, everyone’s panicked outcries blending into background noise as Monokuma ignored them and continued.

“Now I’m sure this will take some adjustment, I’ll leave you alone to calm down. Feel free to explore to your heart’s content! After all- you’re home now! We’ll be having another- hopefully calmer- meeting this evening, attendance is mandatory. And lastly: I have gifts! Personalized, digital handbooks for each of you! No need to thank me, the joy in your expressions is thanks enough. These tablets will get you into your individual rooms, and unlock certain areas of the school. Try not to lose them!”

He cackled again, disappearing through the same trap door he had come through.

No one could speak for a moment, the tension in the air so thick Makoto could hardly breathe.

Finally someone with long and wild dreads clapped his hands together, giving the group a lopsided smile.

“Welp….. breakfast, anybody?”

________________________

“Alright, everyone: I am officially bringing this meeting to order!”

They had moved slowly into the dining hall, met with one large table in the center and a few smaller ones scattered around. People had milled uneasily around, standing off by themselves or starting awkward conversations about the food in the kitchen.

Taka had set to work almost immediately, looking like a man on a sacred mission as he pushed a few additional chairs to the large table and corralled the anxious teens into the kitchen for food. They were all at the table now, nervously picking at the food they had found in the surprisingly well stocked kitchen.

Now he stood at the head of the table, gloved hands pressed against the table’s metal surface. No one seemed especially enthusiastic when he began speaking, but he carried on regardless.

“I’ll be the first to admit this situation seems grim, but we can’t lose hope! Until we know more about who’s keeping us here and what’s going on, I think it is of the utmost importance that we remain a strong unit together!”

There were a few grumbles in response, Leon was the one who finally spoke up.

“No offense man, but I don’t really think we count as a unit.” He gestured with his fork around the table. “We’re like… teenagers, dude.”

“Apparently weird experimented on teenagers...” Hina added, setting her donut down on her plate. She frowned down at the table. “D-did anyone else not know they were adopted?”

A few people shook their head, others looked down at the table. Makoto always knew he was adopted, his parents were open to any questions he had about the whole process. They could never answer anything about the number on his chest… his mom speculated that it may be customary from whichever country he had come from originally (His mom always assumed it was Thailand, his dad always joked that it was the moon). They had been trying to adopt for over a year before they got him, and it had all happened so fast they never got to learn about Makoto’s birth parents or anything about where he came from.

There was no way they could’ve explained all this, anyway.

“I always knew,” the blond with the pompadour spoke again from where he sat reclined in his seat. His legs had been up on the table, but Taka had swatted them away the moment he noticed the blond’s boots. “My brother told me. But I mean, I coulda’ guessed. Don’t look anything like my other folks’ pictures.”

“I-I guess I should’ve known.” The girl in green, who had shyly introduced herself as Chihiro in the kitchen, spoke. “It’s always just been me and my dad, I never really asked if I had a mom or not…”

“I knew.” Hiro supplied lazily, “My mom used to joke that I had been dropped off by aliens, heh….” His smile fell, “That uh… woulda’ been better than this, actually.”

“Since we could be here indefinitely, let’s focus on the positive for now.” Taka redirected the conversation. “I believe I woke up a bit earlier than most of you, and did some investigating before the announcement. There’s a whole warehouse full of supplies- I haven’t done a thorough inventory but I’ve already seen clothes, blankets, even medical supplies. So we at least know we’re being…. Well cared for.” He finished awkwardly, frowning a little.

“I am also fairly certain that the kitchen is restocked weekly, so we should have no troubles as far as food supply goes.” He continued, Byakuya raised an eyebrow at that.

“How exactly did you come across this information?” He questioned, a weird edge to his voice. Taka continued as though he had never spoken, but Makoto noticed the twitch in his smile.

“There’s also at least one more floor for us to investigate as well. So I recommend splitting into search parties later. But first things first:” Taka stood up straight, hands on his hips with an enthusiastic grin. “We should all introduce ourselves!”

The pompadoured punk scoffed, “What is this, daycare?”

“Your tone is not appreciated, Owada,” Taka retorted, “But… basically, yes. We’re starting over from square one in a strange new location. Getting back to the metaphorical basics seems like a great idea to me!”

His eyes locked with Taka’s, a confused and almost accusatory look on his face as he stared up at the paler teen.

“I think it’s a good enough idea,” The raspy voice from the big girl spoke from her spot next to Hina, startling Makoto a bit. “However, I don’t know if I’m comfortable divulging personal information where cameras can hear us.” She gestured with a nod towards the two cameras in opposite corners of the room.

“Oh, they can’t hear us in here.” Chihiro spoke up suddenly. “I didn’t think it was smart to mess with the video, but I disabled the audio function on the cameras when we came in.”

All eyes were suddenly on her, and she drastically faltered at the attention. “U-Uhm. I’Il go first, I guess.” She awkwardly stood, smoothing out her skirt and fidgeting.

“My name is Chihiro Fujisaki, uhm… My number was 78-15. I’ve known about my… ability for awhile.” She took a deep breath, like this introduction was taking everything out of her. “I’ve always been able to sort of manipulate machines. It started with things like turning them on and off, and after I practiced more I was able to sort of sense them- if that makes sense? I can read their code too if I can touch them…” she trailed off, awkwardly sitting again.

“Thank you, Chihiro. That was very brave of you!” Taka praised, Chihiro shrunk into her seat like she wanted to disappear.

“Who wants to go next?” He urged enthusiastically, trying his hardest to usher in some semblance of normalcy.

Hiro stood next, waving to the group. “Hi, I’m Hiro. Number 2. And I’m psychic.” The girl with braids scoffed, Hiro shrugged.

“It’s fine if you don’t believe me, a lot of people don’t. But to sorta clarify I guess I get visions about the future. Sometimes on purpose…” he paused, sitting back down. “Sometimes not.”

Taka nodded in response, Leon sighed in his seat. “This is unbelievable, man.”

The redhead stood, taking a moment to collect his thoughts. “I mean, you guys heard what the bear said. I’m Leon Kuwata and I… I dunno man. I never miss. Ever. I’ve got perfect aim- I guess?” His tone was more confused than prideful, awkwardly scratching at the back of his head.

“Celestia Ludenberg.” The goth girl stood next, not waiting for Leon to sit back down. “I am what some refer to as an empath. I have always been able to sense other’s emotions. You may occasionally feel me reading your emotions. Please understand I do not mean to pry, it often happens instinctively.”

“What was your number?” Byakuya asked before she could sit back down. Her expression didn’t shift, but the tone of the whole conversation did.

“I do not see why it matters.” She blinked, like it was a challenge. Byakuya glanced up at her over the rim of his glasses.

“Humor me.” he responded, glancing around the room. “I’m trying to test something.”

“Eleven.” She responded curtly, finally sitting down.

“Why do you ask?” The big girl leaned forward.

Byakuya stood, “I am Byakuya Togami, I posses telekinetic abilities.” At Hiro’s confused expression, he rolled his eyes and clarified. “I can move things with my mind.”

“Like Star Wars?” A boy with glasses interjected excitedly. Byakuya ignored him.

“I noticed that Chihiro claimed her number was 78-15.” He spoke the number with disdain. “Does anyone here have a number higher than that?”

There were a few exchanged glances and murmurs, Byakuya continued. “If no one does, that means we’re missing someone. There are fourteen of us here, and apparently fifteen number designations. Given how thorough our captor was to collect all of us, it seems highly unlikely that they would simply forget someone.”

“How can we figure out who’s missing?” Hina asked, Byakuya removed a pen from his coat pocket.

“If someone could hand me a napkin, we can all write out names and numbers here and determine it that way.” It was more of a demand than a suggestion. The white haired girl slid him a napkin anyway and watched as he began writing.

The blond, apparently Owada, cleared his throat. “Well, I’m Mondo. Mondo Owada.” He grumbled, not bothering to stand, “Uh, 78-08, whatever, and I’m indestructible.” He grinned a bit, excitement seeping into the cracks of his hardened expression. “Ya may have heard of me by the name Crazy Diamond, though.”

“Crazy Diamond the vigilante??” Leon asked excitedly, “The guy that crashed his bike into a stolen armored vehicle and managed to avoid the cops catching him?”

Mondo nodded, obviously pleased with being recognized. Makoto felt a weird unease building in his chest… he was beginning to realize a huge gap between himself and the others.

“Oh! I saw you on the news once! You rescued that family from a burning building!” Hina added, Mondo was grinning wider now, almost looking embarrassed with the positive attention.

He seemed to realize this slip from his previous attitude, and quickly shifted in his seat, leaning forward with the scowl on his face he seemed to favor. “I ain’t the only vigilante in here though, right?” His eyes went to the muscular girl next to Hina. Who nodded.

“My name is Sakura Ogami.” She began, “I suppose I’m just…. Unnaturally strong. I’ve been using my skills to protect my home town for years.” She smiled, barely. “Although I never got a name as cool as Crazy Diamond.”

This got a few quiet laughs from the group, Byakuya glanced up at her.

“What was your number?” He asked curtly. Sakura leaned back in her seat, not seeming put off by his tone.

“Nine.” She answered, followed by a thoughtful hum, “I always wondered if there were more out there like me. I always assumed…” She trailed off, the girl with braids finished for her.

“Th-that we were dead, right?” She stuttered, fidgeting uncomfortably, “I-I always thought everyone else must be dead, and that they were g-g-going to find me next!”

“Well we aren’t dead.” Taka spoke up, ignoring the quiet mumble of “yet.” From Leon and continuing, “Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

She panicked, looking like she wanted nothing more than to run away and hide, “Why? What’s th-the point of all this anyway? I d-d-don’t owe you people any explanation!”

“Chill out, man,” Hiro tried to soothe her from the opposite side of the table, “Listen, we’re all mega stressed right now, we just gotta try and make the best of it.”

She glared at him, crossing her arms and sinking into her seat. “Toko. My number was 78-05… I’m just fast. Th-that’s all…”

“How fast?” Byakuya questioned without looking up from what he was writing.

“Really fast. Whatever.” She mumbled in response, looking down at her lap. The group moved on.

“Anyone else feel like introducing themselves?” Taka prompted, looking around the hopefully. Sayaka hesitantly stood up next to Makoto.

“I’m Sayaka Maizono, And I can sing…“

“Yeah no shit, pop star.” Mondo snickered. “I think we all recognized ya from the posters ‘n stuff. Your songs are on the radio all the damn time.”

She smiled nervously, “W-well I’m not talking about that. I can sing, um, really loud. Like… make someone’s ears bleed loud. Knock someone unconscious loud. Knock over an old building loud…”

She stopped short, her gaze distant for a moment, she quickly recovered with a sweet smile. “Oh- and my number was three. I always wondered what it was for.”

She sat again and nudged Makoto’s arm, prompting him to go next. Hina stood before he could protest.

“Like I said before you can all call me Hina,” She began cheerfully, but faltered a little as she continued, “And… My stuff isn’t really as cool as all of you guys. I’m just a little bit better at athletic stuff, more endurance- I guess? I can also hold my breath for like…. A couple hours.”

“That’s still really cool!” The kid with glasses insisted, “Ya know if I could be underwater for that long- I’d get a job at one of those underwater shows where people pretend to be mermaids.” He leaned on his hands, obviously daydreaming.

Byakuya cleared his throat to regain attention. “Your number.”

“Oh- sorry! Uh,” Hina pulled her sleeve back, letting Byakuya see the tiny numbers tattooed onto her wrist.

“78-06…” He wrote that next to her name, looking back to the boy with the glasses. “And what about you?”

“Hifumi Yamada!” He replied enthusiastically. “And I~ can shape-shift!”

Leon scoffed, putting his head in hands, “No way, dude. Listen, I know this is all like a crazy situation or whatever, but you can’t expect me to believe that- GAUGH!”

His scream startled everyone, he nearly fell from his chair when suddenly the chubby boy across from him became a mirror image of himself, smiling deviously back at the real Leon.

In a blink Hifumi had returned to normal, snickering at Leon’s utter panic before finishing, “Oh! And my number was twelve.” He also tugged his his sleeves back to show Byakuya. “I normally cover it up, but…”

Byakuya nodded, writing his information down and glancing at the white haired girl next to him.

“You. Go.” He ordered.

She hesitated, face showing some emotion Makoto couldn’t quite decipher before speaking.

“Kyoko Kirigiri.” Her voice was calm and quiet. “78-14. I can create fire.”

“Pyrokinetic abilities. Interesting.” Byakuya noted, and suddenly his eyes met Makoto’s

“Naegi. Your turn.”

Makoto tensed, a weird kind of stage fright he hadn’t felt since middle school hitting him full force. He sheepishly stood.

“I’m… Makoto Naegi. My tattoo says I’m number seven.”

“Oh!” Hiro perked up. “Lucky Number!”

Makoto awkwardly returned the grin, hoping it would help him through the next sentence.

“I don’t have any powers?”

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, like he didn’t believe him. Hiro’s smile turned into a thoughtful expression that didn’t seem to fit his personality.

“Hm… maybe not lucky then…” the psychic mused quietly, Makoto could feel his face heating up. It was Taka who rescued him, his naturally loud voice getting the attention away from Makoto.

“There’s nothing to look embarrassed about, Makoto.” He began, “I don’t have any powers either!”

“Really?” Makoto was relieved, grateful to not be completely left out in this situation. He ignored the feeling inside him that the other boy’s appearance was too… off for that to really be true.

“None at all! Unless a good work ethic counts as a super power.” He joked awkwardly.

“Your number.” Byakuya looked to Taka now, and the red eyed teen seemed reluctant to meet his eyes.

“I’m sorry?”

“Your number, Taka. You’re either one or thirteen and I need to know which so we can begin to figure out why someone is missing.”

Taka’s smile twitched, the corners of his mouth threatening a frown as he responded. “I don’t have a number.”

“What?” Sayaka asked, “You don’t have a tattoo like the rest of us?”

“I… have a tattoo.” Taka responded- carefully, it sounded too rehearsed- like he was trying to remember his line in a play.

“Then what exactly is it a tattoo of?” Byakuya was once again bristling with suspicion, the relatively friendly air they had all created in the room dissipating quickly.

Taka was quiet, his eyes flickering around the table as everyone awaited his response.

“You kids sure do ask a lot of questions!” They all jumped at the sound of the new voice, a string of panicked expletives escaping Mondo as Monokuma appeared from who-knows-where and climbed up onto the table.

“Why are you here?” Mondo groaned, moving his plate away as Monokuma began walking the length of the table.

“Well, when I noticed my cameras weren’t picking up any audio- I had to come see what you were talking about myself!” The bear turned on his heels, a claw pointed accusingly at Chihiro.

“I’ll have to keep an eye on you, Fujisaki.” He laughed, Chihiro let out a nervous squeak and sunk down in her seat.

“Now then! I was planning on saving all this numbers talk until tonight, but since you’re all such go getters-” He sat down in front of where Taka stood, the teen stepping back to avoid the bear. “Go ahead and ask me all your silly questions, we’ll see which ones I feel like answering. Puhuhu…”

“Why are we missing two people?” Byakuya demanded immediately. Monokuma tilted his head.

“Huh? Everyone that needs to be here is here!” He replied in a cheery tone, Byakuya rolled his eyes.

“The numbers 78-01 and 78-13 aren’t here.” Byakuya elaborated, holding his napkin up to show the bear. “If Taka truly doesn’t have a number like the rest of us, it means we’re missing two people.”

“Yeah and why’s his tat different?” Mondo added, feet once again going up on the table now that there was a bear in between him and Taka.

“One at a time! One a time!” Monokuma waved a paw in the air. “To answer your first question: numbers one and thirteen aren’t here for one simple reason: They’re dead.”

“Dead?!” Hina exclaimed, Monokuma nodded.

“Sadly we were late in our efforts to rescue you, and two beloved little mutant freaks suffered because of it…” he put a paw to his forehead in dramatic fashion. “The Future Foundation rounded them up when they were just tiny little tots, they never stood a chance.”

Byakuya seemed skeptical, Mondo mouthed the word ‘bullshit’ to the group while Monokuma was distracted with his own theatrics.

“Now for your second question: The reason ol’ Kiyotaka has a different tattoo is simply because he’s different. I dunno what else to tell you.” Monokuma shrugged.

“Different how?” Kyoko asked as she looked back at Taka, who had moved till he was almost behind Sayaka.

“It’s not my business to tell you, sorry.” The bear shrugged, “Same as the rest of you- he was rescued before the Future Foundation could get their hands on him. I would say ask him yourself,” He turned to look at Taka, an insincere sadness in his voice. “But you can’t talk about it, can you?”

Taka visibly flinched, eyes squeezing shut like he was in pain for a moment before responding.

“No. I can’t.”

“Oh, what a shame….” Monokuma hummed, picking himself back into a standing position as Celeste asked another question.

“How can we trust that you are actually going to protect us?” She began, hands folded perfectly, “For all we know you could be working for the Future Foundation yourself- and this is all some elaborate way to study us.”

Makoto hadn’t even considered that, the fear from before began creeping through him again. Monokuma stomped his foot, appalled by the suggestion.

“Honey, if you had been found by the future foundation they would’ve ripped you open like a fish by now!” He snapped, Chihiro flinched at the sudden noise. “This may be hard for you all to accept- but you are safe here. I’ll see to it personally that they never get their hands on you.”

He flexed his claws to prove his point, which may have been intimidating from someone who wasn’t a foot and half tall.

“Uhm,” Chihiro spoke up suddenly, awkwardly raising her hand. “I have a question…”

“Go ahead, little one.” Monokuma prompted, claws retracted once more as he settled down.

“Who made you?” She asked softly, Monokuma tilted his head.

“Now that was a question I was not expecting!” He exclaimed, “I’m afraid I can’t answer though. There’s not really a straight answer, anyway.”

“Made him?” Mondo asked, about to add something else when Monokuma interrupted.

“I understand being curious about the mesmerizing mechanical marvel that is your new caretaker,” The bear giggled, “However I’m afraid information about my origin- and your own for that matter- are strictly CONFIDENTIAL, at least for the time being.”

“Can you at least tell us where we are?” Hina asked, “And why we’re here?”

“You’re in Hope’s Peak, A hospital turned research facility turned medical school turned old ruins.” Monokuma rambled quickly, “And most recently: turned safe haven for some of it’s original occupants! And I don’t know how many times I’ve explained that you’re here to be kept safe while the Future Foundation turns over the whole countryside looking for you.”

“They’re looking for us?” Sayaka brought a hand to her mouth, “W-what about the people we know? Our families and friends- are they in any kind of danger?”

Monokuma shrugged, “There’s no tellin’ at this point. Normally I’d say no but…. They’ve been a bit more bold lately.”

The group began to murmur amongst themselves, worry and fears for those they left behind seeping in. Makoto thought about his mom. How what may be the last time he’d ever seen her was on the stupid produce aisle at the grocery store. He may never see his sister again, never greet his dad when he came home from work, never just walk down his street because he was bored and couldn’t think of anything else to do while the world fell apart all around him…

“Now, now, don’t be so sad!” Monokuma tried to cheer them up, “Let’s focus on the here and now!”

“Okay, fine,” Byakuya moved a stray hair from his face. “What are we meant to do ‘here and now’ exactly?”

“Grow!” Monokuma exclaimed, paws raised over his head excitedly, “Become the shining young beacons of hope you were always meant to be! This place has everything you need to become the best version of yourself. That’s the way it was always intended, and now we’re back to see it through to the end!”

“Who is we?” Kyoko questioned quietly, Monokuma ignored her.

“Now I’m very busy, you know how it is, bears always gotta do something.” He hopped off the table, waddling off towards the doors. “I’d appreciate the cameras remaining unbothered so I can check in on you occasionally.”

He turned to give them one final wave.

“Enjoy your day, kids!”

Chapter Text

No one moved after he left, too confused from Monokuma’s conversation to really do anything.

Finally Taka stepped back towards the table and took charge again, recommending everyone split into groups to investigate the building. Toko refused, saying she was going back to her room and stomping away. Byakuya was surprisingly on board with the idea, but refused to pick a partner to search with. Hiro had originally teamed up with Kyoko, but the she had disappeared from the dining hall before Hiro could even get out of his seat.

Makoto ended up going with Sayaka and Leon. The three of them tasked with the dorms, while the other groups headed up the stairs and out into the ‘school’ area of the building.

He found himself in the back as they headed towards their rooms, Leon and Sayaka awkwardly making conversation in front of him. He looked up at the camera following them across the open room from the dining hall.

“Makoto? Did you hear me?” Leon’s voice snapped him from his thoughts.

“Huh? Sorry, I guess I spaced out.”

“It’s cool, man,” Leon turned and walked backwards to face him, “I asked if your dorm soundproof?”

“Uh- I don’t know? I didn’t hear anything…” He tried to think back to when he awoke, but in all his panic he really hadn’t been paying attention.

“Sayaka said her room is- but I know I heard Mondo yelling from his room when I first went out in the hallway.” Leon continued, “I wonder if they’re like… personalized?”

“Maybe.” Sayaka responded, “It would make sense that mine is the only soundproof one.”

She looked a bit downcast suddenly, Makoto was beginning to pick up on the fact that her earth shattering singing may be a bit of a sore subject.

“Guess so.” Leon nodded along, not picking up on her mood. “Mine didn’t really have any cool stuff like that I think. But I mean- what’re you gonna do, put a bunch of tacky bullseyes in there for me to practice with?”

He stopped in front of Makoto’s door, knocking on it with the back of his hand despite Makoto being right next to him. “Mind opening it up so we can look around?”

“Uh, sure?” Makoto hurried to grab his handbook from his jacket pocket, holding it up to the scanner, “Why?”

Leon shrugged, “I gotta be honest: I have no idea what Taka wants us to look for in the dorms.” He stuck his hands in pockets, “But since we only have access to our three rooms right now I figure we should just… start there?”

“I guess.” Makoto agreed as he opened his door, the three of them walked into the far too normal bedroom and began looking around.

“We all have the same monitors,” Sayaka noted, tapping on it with her fingernails, “And I don’t think there are any cameras in our rooms- but maybe we should have Chihiro check just to be sure.”

Leon nodded, lifting the end of Makoto’s mattress for some weird reason, “That’s a good idea. I don’t want some pervert bear looking at me getting dressed.”

“Leon, why are you messing with my bed sheets?”

“I don’t know! Where else am I supposed to check?”

Sayaka looked up from where she was looking through the drawers, “I think we can assume there’s nothing hidden in our beds. Have you checked the bathroom?”

A bathroom? Makoto looked at the door he hadn’t even noticed before.

He jiggled the lock, and while it turned it didn’t seem to budge. He lifted and pushed, and the door came swinging open into a small bathroom.

“Huh.” He huffed, the door had taken more effort than he thought to open.

“Oh, hey, Sayaka- I have an idea!” He could hear Leon speaking from behind him. “Go in your room and scream real loud we’ll see if we can hear it!”

“What!? But what if I hurt you?” She protested, Makoto’s eyes suddenly landed on a small object sticking out from under the sink.

Leon said something that made her laugh, but Makoto had stopped listening. He reached under the sink and found a dvd in a small, clear sleeve. The letters written on it sent a jolt of fear through his body.

78-13.Msg 1.

For 78-07.

Urgent.

He forgot to breathe for a moment, reading the label over and over like it would help make sense to him. This… is from one of the people Monokuma said died. They were here?

“Earth to Makoto!” Leon’s voice called from outside the bathroom, he quickly fumbled the disc into his jacket pocket.

“Sayaka’s gonna go ballistic in there and we’re gonna see if we can hear it.” The redhead explained. Like it was normal. Just two guys hanging out, waiting to see if their new friend could shatter their brains from the next room over. Totally normal day.

They stood together next to he and Sayaka’s shared wall, ears pressed against the door, in silence.

“Hm.” Leon finally nodded. “Cool. I guess it is soundproof. Here- lemme go out in the hall and see if you can hear me.”

“Oh, okay.” Makoto had little time to protest, Leon already hurrying out and closing the door behind him. Immediately after, Makoto could hear muffled singing and what sounded like air guitar noises.

He opened the door, trying to stifle his laughter at Leon’s attempt at beatboxing. “Yeah. I can totally hear you.”

“Seriously?”

“I mean it’s just like any other wall I guess.” Makoto shrugged, “It’s faint but I can still hear something.”

Sayaka’s door opened suddenly, worry evident on her face. “Oh!” Her expression melted into relief. “Good- you two are okay! Could you really not hear anything?”

“Nah. Sure you were giving it everything you had?” Leon asked.

“Maybe not everything, I don’t want to knock the whole wall down.” Sayaka exited her room and left it cracked open behind her. “But I did try a lot of different stuff. That’s good though- I guess? I wonder why they felt the need to do that in the first place.”

“Maybe they thought we’d be bad at using our ‘gifts’ or whatever?” Leon began leading them down the hall again, apparently bored of dorm searching.

“Hey, Makoto maybe that’s what’s wrong with you! You just haven’t practiced enough or something.”

Sayaka hit Leon’s shoulder, Makoto awkwardly laughed.

“I don’t think that’s it,” he scratched at the back of his neck, “I think I just don’t have anything like that in me,”

Leon and Sayaka stared at him with poorly disguised pity, which seemed unwarranted. Up until like four hours ago he hadn’t even thought ‘superpowers’ existed- it wasn’t like he was missing out!

He tried to change the subject. “Uh, Leon- should we search your room?”

Leon waved him off, “It’s the same as yours, man. Like ,we can if you want, I got nothing to hide. It’s just kinda… empty.”

“No, it’s fine.” Makoto shrugged, “I was just wondering if maybe you had found anything different in there…” The disc in his pocket felt heavy, unease buzzing up arm and into his brain as his fingers brushed against it in his pocket.

“So I already saw the laundry room, but that seems pretty cut ‘n dry I think.” Leon spoke as they moved down the hall again. “I think we’re heading towards the trash room now? That might be worth checking out.”

Sayaka paused to look out one of the windows in the tiny covered courtyard, sighing quietly at the trees. “Do you… really think we’re gonna have to live here?”

Leon and Makoto stopped in their tracks, turning back to look at the pop star. 

“I mean,” Makoto began, trying to think of how to phrase it, “At least for now- until we figure out how to get out of here.”

He put a hand a hand on her shoulder, “And we will! I know we will. We’re gonna be fine.”

She smiled warmly at him, giving him a feeling of hope that had been buried under all the stress of the day.

“Totally!” Leon added, wrapping an arm over both of their shoulders and laughing, “And when we do- I gotta get yall’s numbers. Weirdos stick together!”

The group moved on with renewed enthusiasm, Leon pulling ahead this time as Sayaka stayed near Makoto.

“I’m glad you’re here, Makoto.” She whispered as Leon began to rattle the gate blocking the trash room’s entrance. “I don’t know what I’d even do without you. It’s nice having a familiar face around.”

She smiled sweetly, and Makoto sheepishly returned it. “Y-yeah. I’m glad you’re here too.”

“Broooooo I can’t get these stupid gates open.” Leon groaned loudly, leaning back and using his grip on the gate’s bars to hold himself up. He looked upside down back at them.

“Either of you guys have a ball, or like… anything I can throw?” He straightened himself upright and pointed through the gate, “There’s a button over against the far wall- maybe it opens the gate?”

“Why would the button to open it be across the room where no one can reach it?” Makoto questioned.

“Why would someone lock teens in a creepy school, Mac? It’s not a perfect world.”

“Mac?” Makoto scrunched his nose at the new nickname, Sayaka folded her hands in front of her.

“Maybe let’s not throw things into the room we don’t know how to open yet. Maybe we can ask Monokuma how to get in?”

“Ask me what?” Once again scared by a stupid teddy bear, Makoto jumped a few inches back as Monokuma pushed his way between them.

“What are you three doing by the trash room anyway? This place is off limits unless you’re on cleaning duty!” He shooed Leon away from the bars, swatting at the teen’s legs with his paws till he complied.

“Cleaning duty?” Sayaka asked, Monokuma ceased his attack and turned to her.

“Well, we can’t just let the trash pile up around here can we?” He tilted his head, “I believe Twelve agreed to do it this first week. I’m sure you’ll all get a chance soon enough.”

“Don’t call us numbers, man.” Leon’s attitude turned sour suddenly, “I don’t want that reminder.”

“Hmmmm an interesting reaction!” Monokuma noted, sidling over and inspecting Leon a bit closer, “You know it’s possible if you had been raised here as planned, you would have never had another name at all! What a different world that would be…”

The bear backed away, leaving Leon tense and quiet. “Well I’m off to check on the others-and maybe bother them, puhuhu- you kids stay out of trouble!”

Leon was still for a moment after he left, finally muttering out an expletive and turning back to the others.

“I’m still having a hard time getting all this,” he laughed nervously, hands balling up in fists in his pockets. “You know? Like…. I can’t believe all this is really happening.”

“It kinda feels like a nightmare,” Makoto agreed. “Like I should be waking up soon or something and my parents will call me down for breakfast. It doesn’t feel real.”

“What would you be doing if we were home right now?” Sayaka asked with a sad smile, “I’d probably be with my band mates- we would have a sleepover every weekend before a show… I was supposed to have a show this Saturday.”

Leon shrugged, “Probably baseball practice. Dad always wants me to get at least a few hours in.” He scoffed, “Never did any good. The most boring part of my day, honestly.”

“I’d probably just be at home.” Makoto mused with an awkward laugh, “My town cancelled school after that last riot that happened…”

They stood in silence, probably imagining a life where none of this strange new information had been revealed to them. Makoto finally decided he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let’s keep going, I wanna see what other rooms are around here.”

———————————————

Their search hadn’t turned up anything especially interesting. The laundry room, bathrooms, dining hall and kitchen all appeared to be relatively normal. The storage room had been daunting, but Taka mentioned wanting to make some kind of organization method to search it so they resigned to checking for cameras and possible means of exit.

They were in the changing room of the bathhouse now, Leon and Sayaka searching through the lockers while Makoto made a quick tour through the baths and sauna.

These are… actually pretty luxurious looking, he noted, taking in the clean tiled walls and baskets full of amenities. I still don’t like the idea of Monokuma or whoever else watching me while I bathe, though.

Wait.

Makoto looked up at the ceiling, turning slowly in a circle to investigate every inch of it. There’s no cameras here? He ran into the sauna, finding a similar lack of surveillance. With a twinge of hope that this had to be good for something he made his way back to the others.

“Guys I may have some good news.” He began, quickly scanning the ceilings of the changing rooms and finding no cameras or monitors anywhere.

“Like a ‘way to escape’ good news or ‘they have my favorite scent of shampoo’ good news?” Sayaka asked from where she was squatted by a locker.

“Uh, somewhere in between I guess?” He cracked a smile, “I don’t think there are any cameras in here.”

“Oh. That’s cool I guess.” Leon shrugged. Sayaka seemed much more excited.

“That is cool! Now we have a place to meet without anyone listening…” She thought for a moment, “If our bedrooms don’t have cameras either, I guess we could just meet in those, but it would be a lot easier to fit everyone in here.”

“Less suspicious to whoever is watching, too.” Makoto agreed, happy they were able to come up with something.

Mondo opened the changing room’s door, a low whistle escaping him as he looked around.

“Aw hell yeah, they got a sauna!” He exclaimed, nodding in approval before actually acknowledging them. “Sorry to interrupt yer little relaxation session but that Taka guy is roundin’ everyone up back towards the dining hall.”

He huffed a little, “Guy’s a real pain in the ass, but at least he’s doing somethin’ I guess.”

Makoto followed the others out of the changing room, it seemed every one else slowly filing back into the dining hall. Taka smiled excitedly at them from the door way.

“Alright! Your group is the last one- except for Toko, I suppose.” He frowned, “Should I go get her? I don’t want to exclude her from our conversation…”

Mondo scoffed as he passed, “Whatever. If she wants to sulk around and not do anything then I’d say just leave her there.”

Taka followed the biker, heading back to his spot at the end of the table as every one shuffled into a seat. Makoto ended up sitting next to Kyoko, and across from Byakuya. He saw the blond pass a folded piece of paper to Chihiro, who unfolded and read it with a bewildered expression.

“Let’s begin!” Taka announced, gathering everyone’s attention. “Did anyone find anything of interest? It doesn’t have to be related to escaping, necessarily, I think any information will be useful right now.”

Sakura began, clearing her throat before speaking. “We found what appears to be the building’s entrance, however it’s securely locked by some advanced security system.” She frowned and stared down at the table, “I tried with every ounce of strength within me to open the door, and barely made a dent… I’m sorry.”

“We also found some classrooms!” Aoi supplied helpfully, placing her hand on top of Sakura’s to try and cheer her up. “They looked sort of sad and creepy, though. And a room labeled ‘shop’ that looked more like a weapons room to me, and a nurse’s office with the weirdest medical equipment I’ve ever seen.”

“There was also the elevator…” Sakura added, “Or elevator shaft I should say, I was able to open the doors with little problem but could not find a way to bring the elevator up from wherever it is now.”

Taka nodded at their responses, about to speak when Chihiro’s quiet voice spoke up instead.

“There was also a room labeled “A/V room,” She began, expression thoughtful, “Only a few of the monitors seemed like normal displays… The rest are very advanced computers. I couldn’t even get through their opening security protocols, I’m sure if I had more time or an outside source to plug into them, maybe, but…”

“This means whoever is in charge here took measures against our particular strengths.” Byakuya said darkly, “If the door is too strong for someone as powerful as Sakura, and the computers protected against Chihiro’s abilities. It means they know our specific limits.”

“What’s that mean?” Sayaka asked from her place by Makoto, Byakuya adjusted his glasses.

“To put it simply, It means they know far more about us than I had originally thought. It will make escaping or learning what we’re dealing with all the more challenging.”

“It would also imply they’ve been monitoring us even before we came here.” Kyoko spoke up suddenly, “Long enough to learn how to contain us without an immediate chance of failure.”

“Oh, god…” Hiro mumbled, suddenly looking overwhelmed.

Makoto found himself reaching idly into his pocket for the disc, wondering if it would be smart to bring it up in front of everyone before he even knew what it was. Maybe I could go to the AV room and watch it first… he wondered quietly as Hifumi and Celeste described their findings on the third floor: An art studio filled with supplies and a gaming room. Maybe I can take some people to the sauna and explain- just so the cameras can’t see.

“There were also two rooms that appeared to be repurposed medical rooms.” Celeste continued, “I have no doubt in my mind they were once used for surgeries or some other procedures, the lights overhead and bolts still stuck to the floor are dead giveaways. There was also… something else.”

“We found a HUGE metal door!” Hifumi took over the explanation, gesturing widely and causing Celeste and Hiro to lean away to avoid being slapped. “I saw the words Lab B on the wall, looked like someone had painted over them. But we couldn’t get in!”

“Yes it would appear you need some sort of administrative access to go inside that part of the building.” Celeste nodded grimly. “We also could not access the fourth floor. It was blocked up with a metal gate…” She looked to Sakura, “Although I suppose someone like you may be able to open it.”

“I don’t think breaking into locked areas are smart move right now.” Taka countered, Mondo scoffed from his seat.

“Why- you actually wanna follow the rules of this shithole?”

“Language, Owada.” Taka reprimanded, “I just think we should keep relatively low profiles until we have a plan. It wouldn’t do us any good to break into a new location only to be immediately struck down for it.” He waved a hand in the air, like he was dismissing his own thoughts. “But I’m getting off topic. Hiro, Byakuya, Kyoko: You were supposed to search the second floor, what did you find?”

“I found a pool.” Hiro answered with a lazy grin, Aoi gasped from her seat, excitedly grabbing onto Sakura’s arm and shaking it. “I started lookin’ through the work out rooms too, but I got uh…” Hiro’s demeanor faltered suddenly, like he remembered something, “Distracted.”

He awkwardly smiled, leaving the group in silence for a minute before Byakuya stood.

He looked to Chihiro, who made a quiet “Oh!” And then nodded. The blonde took that as his signal to speak.

“I’ve asked Chihiro to temporarily disable the audio input on the cameras, we can’t do this for long without Monokuma noticing so no one interrupt me.” He ordered, Mondo rolled his eyes.

“I investigated the library, and found several points of interest- most notably an extra room that was locked with a similar scanner requiring administrative access. I suspect information on us specifically is being held inside, and I’m making accessing this room my top priority.”

He spoke with so much authority Makoto couldn’t help but be convinced that he really would find a way inside. Others seemed less sure, awkwardly glancing at one another as Byakuya continued.

“The library itself was locked when I first arrived, I was able to pick the lock using my gift.” Makoto had forgotten he had ‘tele-whatever’ powers, “And while the majority of the books seemed to be textbooks or works of fiction leftover from when this building served as a school, there were a number of case files related to Hope’s Peak experiments just stored in boxes. I found the approval form for our particular experiment.”

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket, setting it on the table and sliding it to Kyoko- who had already begun reaching for it the moment he pulled it out.

He opened his mouth to speak again, Kyoko interrupted bluntly.

“This experiment received funding from the Togami family.” She stated, making intense eye contact with Byakuya. “That was your last name, correct?”

Byakuya’s eye twitched, a scowl forming on his face. “That’s correct. However if you’ll read who the proposal form is from you may notice another similar name, Ms. Kirigiri.”

Her expression didn’t shift, their strangely tense staring contest remained until she folded the paper herself and set it in her lap, apparently not planning on sharing.

“I also found information on another project, loosely related to project 78.” Byakuya continued quickly, acting as though the interruption never occurred. “Some sort of robot designed to look after the test subjects and see to their well being and happiness outside of ‘training’.”

“Don’t say test subjects, man we know it’s us” Leon moaned, rubbing his temples with his hands, “Freakin super powers, weird locks, and now robots?” He slumped down in his seat. “This is stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid.” He seemed to be getting worked up now, Sayaka put a hand on his back to calm him.

“So what happened to our nanny bot?” Hifumi asked, several people making faces at his terminology, “Wait- do you think that’s what Monokuma is?”

“He did call himself our caretaker…” Hina noted, Byakuya shook his head.

“I only glanced at the file but it seems unlikely. This machine had very specific programming that would prevent it from doing several of the things I’ve already seen Monokuma do. So either he’s some other kind of robot, or he’s been modified since his original creation.”

“I’d like to look at that file…” Chihiro requested sheepishly, “I’m going to let the cameras hear us again, by the way. I-I don’t want to get in trouble.”

Byakuya nodded, turning his attention back to Mondo and Taka. “You two went searching for Monokuma, what did you find?”

“We didn’t find where he went, but we also found a restricted area in the building.” Taka explained. “We also found a locked door labeled ‘Training Room’ and a large garden filled with a wide array of plants.”

“And chickens.” Mondo added. “Why the hell are there chickens here?”

“Is it like a greenhouse? Could we maybe break the glass to get out?” Makoto asked, Taka and Mondo both shook their heads.

“Nah, it’s just a room. The sky’s just painted on the damn ceiling.” Mondo grumbled.

“And the stone walls appear to be just as sturdy as everything else here.” Taka sighed before looking to Makoto, “What about you three? Anything interesting about the dorms?”

Sayaka explained that her room was soundproof, and it seemed to be the only one. Taka made the decision that everyone should check their own rooms for anything unique relating to them tonight. Leon mentioned the trash room, and beat Makoto to the news that the changing room and bathhouse didn’t have any cameras.

Kyoko looked up from where she’d been reading her paper again, seeming especially interested in this news. “It’s good to know we have privacy in one place other than our bedrooms, I suppose.”

Makoto fidgeted with the disc in his coat pocket again, considering speaking up about it when suddenly the monitor at the front of the dining hall crackled to life.

Kzzrrrrrt! 

“Attention! This is a school announcement!” Monokuma appeared on the monitor, slumped over in a fancy office chair with what looked like wine glass in his paw.

Why…. Is the robot bear drinking?

 “It’s almost ten p.m! Which means it will officially be nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and at that point entrance will be strictly prohibited. And one more thing- the water cuts off at night, too, don’t bother asking why- so if you have any business in the shower or cleaning the kitchen you better move quickly! Goodnight, kids! Don’t let the bed bugs bite…”

The screen went black. Leaving them all alone once again. Taka sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

“I can’t believe the day went by so fast.” He laughed awkwardly, before regaining his confident demeanor. “We’ve accomplished a great deal today! It may not seem like much, yet- but I firmly believe we’ve laid excellent groundwork. I propose we begin meeting for breakfast together every morning to discuss plans and keep morale high! Great idea, right?”

He grinned, not waiting for an answer from anyone in particular before departing. “I’m going to get cleaned up a bit before the water shuts off, but if anyone needs anything tonight don’t hesitate to come to me for help! I’ll see you all in the morning.”

Leon watched him leave, “That guy’s way to chill about all this.” He mumbled as everyone began getting up to leave. Celeste suddenly cleared her throat.

“Actually there is something I would like to discuss also.” she held a hand up to halt those who were walking towards the doors.

“As I mentioned previously I possess empathic abilities, and because of them I can always get something of a sense from people around me without trying… though some are much harder to read than others.” Makoto tried not to think to much about the way her eyes focused on him when she said that.

“Why bring this up?” Byakuya questioned, not interested in her preamble, it seemed.

“I bring this up,” she continued, “Because I feel absolutely nothing from Taka, even when I try to read him.”

“So what the hell does that mean?” Mondo asked, seeming genuinely confused.

“I believe, based on the apparent countermeasures against powers like Sakura’s and Chihiro’s, that perhaps Taka has some sort of way to block my abilities.”

“How would he be able to do that?” Hina didn’t seem convinced, nose scrunched up as she thought about what she was being told.

“If he had contact with those who already knew our abilities.” Celeste explained. “If he were a spy sent by them to get close to us.”

“Nah.” Mondo shook his head, crossing his arms and looking defensive, “He’s a weird tight ass, sure, but he seems harmless enough. I don’t think it’s right to go makin’ accusations against people just because you can’t pry on their feelings ‘n shit.”

“I am not making accusations, not yet.” She remained calm, “I am merely suggesting that perhaps we keep an eye on our new ‘team leader’ until he is more willing to discuss things with us.”

Chapter Text

Night time had come without much fanfare. Hifumi found toothbrushes and toothpaste in the storage room and everyone passed them around, Leon had climbed up one of the towering shelves and found a few plastic bins of clean clothes. Sweatpants and work out clothes, for the most part, but everyone managed to find something they could use to sleep in as they all quietly disbanded for bed.

Toko had made a brief appearance when Hina knocked on the door to hand her a set of pjs. She timidly apologized for not helping in the search.

“It’s no big deal,” Hiro had assured her with a goofy grin, “We’re all a little on edge right now, I don’t blame you.”

She had flustered out some response and gone to bed, as did almost everyone. Makoto looked around at the few quiet conversations happening in the hall and noticed Kyoko lingering in her doorway next to his.

“You seem nervous.” She observed, tilting her head and leaning against the doorframe.

“First night as a hostage…” Makoto laughed through the pit of dread in his stomach, “Can you blame me?”

She smiled, barely. “I guess not. It won’t do any of us any good to fear things we can’t control.” She paused, looking around the hall before continuing.

“Have you noticed the little signs on everyone’s doors?” She asked, and Makoto followed her gaze across the hall.

“Yeah? They have everyone’s numbers on them.”

“They have something else, too, it’s not easily visible, but it’s there.” She moved to the side and pulled her door till it was nearly shut, gesturing for Makoto to come closer.

He followed her hand to the surface of her door, where “14” was printed neatly. Directly underneath it, though, was a faint etching of what looked like a flame into the door.

“Oh! That’s uh….neat.” he leaned in to inspect it closer, fingers trailing the thin grooves of the design. “Is this because you can make fire?”

She nodded, seeming amused by his reaction. “I would assume so, everyone’s I’ve looked at so far has something relating to them.”

“So you just…. Make fire.”

“Yes.”

“Out of nothing?”

“That’s right.” She smiled more, something that could be a laugh escaped her. “And…. Not always on purpose, either. It’s why I wear these gloves.”

She held them out for him to see. They were dark, a thick leather-like material that went up past her wrists. “Sometimes I’ll set off sparks, or burn through things if I’m not paying attention.”

“Doesn’t that get uncomfortable?”

She shrugged. “I got used to it after awhile.”

“Your fire stuff,” Makoto tried, not quite ready to shift the conversation yet. “Could I… see it?”

Her already faint smile dropped, and Makoto felt something inside him twist at the reaction.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you-“ he quickly apologized, she shook her head.

“No, it’s okay, really. I just…” She trailed off, clasping her hands together, “I’m too… I’m nervous right now.” She looked away suddenly. “Another time, though. I promise, it’s really not a big deal.”

She smiled again, gently moving past him and into her room. Makoto began towards his own when she stopped him.

“Your door has a heart.” She said out of the blue, “What do you suppose that means?”

He stuttered at the question, muttering a quiet “I don’t know…” His fingers trailed along the design under his number.

“You… really don’t think you have something?” She asked, tilting her head again with that impossible to read expression.

“Uh- no?” Makoto shrugged. “I mean…. I feel like I would know, right?”

“I would imagine so.” She hummed, she began to close the door. “Goodnight, Makoto.”

“Yeah.” He was left standing alone in the hallway. Staring at a little heart etched in his door.

“Goodnight…”

—————

He was having a hard time falling asleep.

He turned over yet again, kicking his legs out to free them from his tangled blankets and finding himself staring yet again at his jacket laid over the foot of his bed.

I don’t need to know what’s on that disc right now. He tried to assure himself, squeezing his eyes shut and sighing heavily. Whatever it is will still be on there in the morning.

He was getting out of bed now, roughly throwing his blankets aside as he stood.

I don’t need to be wandering around the creepy prison-school by myself at night.

He slipped on the jacket and opened his door, peering down the eerily silent hallway.

I shouldn’t be going anywhere alone, the cameras will be able to see me.

He had left the dorm area, sneaking barefoot along the school’s eerie halls.

The video can wait till in the morning!

He was turning the knob to the AV room door.

This is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done.

He flicked the lights on, the hum of the overhead LEDs not at all settling his nerves as he looked around.

Chihiro had been right, the amount of strange technology in here was staggering. Monitors stacked on monitors filled the wall to his right, along with a camera neatly situated in the corner that- thank god- wasn’t blinking right now. Some strange machine that reminded him of a 3D printer was situated directly next to the door, it’s metal structure jutted awkwardly into the doorway and Makoto’s jacket got snagged on the jagged corner.

The monitors in front of him seemed simple enough, nicer than the ones from his school but still something he could figure out. He pulled the disc from his pocket, casting the camera one last wary glance over his shoulder. His hands shook as he put it in and set it to play, the screen coming to life and showing him…

A girl?

She must’ve been around his age, short black hair chopped neatly to frame her freckled face and gray eyes that stared pleadingly at the camera. Her outfit was a monotone gray, some kind of emblem on the right arm that Makoto couldn’t make out. She took a deep breath and began speaking.

“My name is Mukuro Ikusaba.” She began, voice quiet but steady. “I am- was- 78-13.”

She exhaled another shaky breath, and Makoto’s already nauseous stomach twisted itself even tighter at her words. “If you’re watching this: It means I’ve been killed.”

“This isn’t a eulogy, it’s mission statement. I want to give you the chance I never got.” She began with a new strength in her tone, Makoto found himself leaning close to screen. 

“We- Experiment 78- were supposed to bring a new era of order to the world. All of us enhanced with the goal of maintaining peace and dissolving violence in mind… at least at first. If I get to make another video- and I desperately want to- I’ll go into more detail, but for now please just know that you are in danger. All of you. And number seven, or whatever your new name is: I think you’re the only one who can save them”

“Wha…. Why?” Makoto found himself asking the recording, panic bubbling up inside of him. There was nothing he could do, what was she talking about?

“We were not designed to be heroes, we were designed to be soldiers, and good soldiers do what they’re told.” She grimaced, disgust managing to seep through her tone before she cleared her throat and continued, “And in the event we did not, in case we decided to think for ourselves and go against Hope’s Peak, they installed a… fail safe. I don’t know what else to call it. A series of codes to activate a different state of mind.”

Makoto struggled to wrap his mind around what he was being told, the video flickered. “-o-one more easy to control. And it worked perfectly, in everyone except you, Seven.”

“You’re not a soldier, you’re a not a successful project, you are something they cannot control and it terrifies them.” There was a determination in her eyes that sparked some sort of hope in him through all his fear. “I’m not sure why, but you’re unbreakable. Whatever they did to you must’ve backfired.”

She almost smiled. Almost. The footage glitched again. “That’s why you have to get everyone out of here. You can go where they can’t- and the people keeping you there won’t be able to stop you. Please do this, Seven. We… you deserve to be your own people, not weapons. Not tools. I'm sorry to put something this important on you, but… I’ve done everything I can. You’re my last hope, Seven. This is up to you, now.”

The video cut off, leaving Makoto staring breathlessly at his own reflection in the black screen. He thought it was over, nearly turning to leave before a set of words appeared in small plain font at the bottom of the screen:

Message two is in the art room.

The disc ejected itself then, apparently done playing for good this time. Makoto found himself unable to move, hands shaking as he continued to stare back at his own petrified expression.

That…. Wasn’t real, right? It couldn’t be real.

There was a buzzing sound behind him, the lights flickered, the fact that he was wondering through the school after ‘curfew’ suddenly sprang to mind again- he needed to get out of here.

He finally managed to turn around, eyes meeting a camera that was once again on and blinking ominously at him. Oh no…

The screen in the corner- just like the ones Monokuma always appeared on, suddenly crackled to life. The image on it flickered and glitched so sporadically that Makoto couldn’t clearly see what was on it- or maybe that was from the tunnel vision he was developing through his terror. This wasn’t normal- none of this was normal, but something about this felt worse- wrong- he couldn’t shake the terror coursing through his veins.

A voice began speaking- definitely a girl’s voice, Makoto somehow managed to note through his fear fogged mind. The screech of static hit his ears before her words did.

“OH, and which one are you?”

Makoto instinctively backed away, only to bump his hip right into the monitor he had just been staring at.

“I missed the first part of that little home movie, but I think you saw something you weren’t supposed to.”

“I was sooooo hoping to observe you all a little more before we got started,” she continued in a sickeningly sweet tone, a high pitched noise began rising from the speakers throughout the room.

“But I suppose having one person already on my side wouldn’t be too noticeable, right?”

The noise rapidly raised in volume, piercing into Makoto’s brain and causing a wave of vertigo to crash into him. The wall of screens to his side suddenly burst to life- monochrome black or white images moving by too quickly for his brain to even comprehend.

He couldn’t comprehend them but they… did… feel familiar.

He suddenly found himself unable to look away, so transfixed on the strobing images that he barely even noticed the speakers’ screeching had turned into a cacophony of monotonous spoken numbers and words.

The terror within him was quickly leaving, it felt like someone was folding it up like a piece of paper and removing it from his mind. It was crumpling up and disposing of everything,- every thought, feeling, concern- leaving him within a strange hollowness that somehow seemed… right?

Right. Of course. This was how it was supposed to be.

Seven knew exactly what he was supposed to.

It was easy. He was empty, and ready to be the middle point to ground everyone else…. Everyone else?

There were …. supposed to be others with him…. Right?

Wrong. Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong Wrong-

Shrugging off that feeling- or lack of feeling, that emptiness- was like pushing something heavy off his shoulders. A weight left his mind and all his thoughts rushed back at once, the tingling in the back of his mind, the weird urge to do… something, he wasn’t sure what- all pushed from his mind by force. It felt natural to remove that, it felt needed, whatever had just happened felt invasive and wrong-

He blinked, once again very aware of the situation and himself. He hadn’t even noticed he had dropped to his knees, sitting limp like a rag doll in front of the monitors that were finally flickering to a stop.

He felt… normal? He was fine. He was fine! He was still Makoto. He was still himself. Whatever…. That was must’ve failed. He didn’t feel any different.

Makoto almost heaved a sigh of relief when the voice from the monitor began speaking again.

“That should do it~” she sounded so excited, all of the fear the screens had forced out of him began to trickle through his veins again. She… didn’t realize it didn’t work?

“Get up and turn around! I want to get a look at my new little spy.” She cackled from the monitor behind him. Makoto gulped and got up on unsteady feet, trying to keep himself from appearing too… he wasn’t sure. He had never been brainwashed before, he didn’t really know how he was supposed to act.

He turned to face the camera above the monitor, trying his hardest to keep the fear off his face. 

“Perfect~” Either he was a much better actor than he thought, or the camera’s quality was much worse, because she still sounded delighted.

“Look how small and unassuming you are! This will be perfect!” The image in the monitor was still too staticky for him to see who was speaking, but he thought he heard clapping.

“I don’t have a lot of time left before it notices I’ve overridden this channel, so I’m going to make this quick.” She laughed again, and Makoto fought against the urge flinch at the noise.

“Until the next time we meet- I want you to act normal, gather as much information as you can and wait for me to activate you again. Think you can handle that?” She didn’t wait for a response, “But more importantly: I need to know exactly what was on that little video just watched. I can’t have too much sensitive information getting out- ya know?”

Makoto didn’t say anything- he had no idea what to say. He wasn’t about to tell her what he had just seen.  I have to make a break for it. He decided with a panicked conviction, She’s just on the screen, it’s not like she can really do anything!

“I’m waiting!” He had hesitated for too long, it seemed. “What’re you slow on the upload or something? Mukuro never took this long to kick into gear!”

Mukuro… Makoto’s eyes flickered back to where the dvd sat still half in the disc drive. I have to get that tape.

“What’s your number, anyway?” She questioned, Makoto took a shaky step back.

“Uh, Seven?” He finally responded, hoping his voice had more determination than he felt in that moment.

“What!?… HEY- no no no no NO!” He grabbed the disc and made a break for the door, Every monitor and speaker in the room kicked into action again- blaring images and sounds that made even his short trip to the door a hard thing to visualize.

He must already be getting better at resisting whatever the hell all this was, though- because his mind was firmly, desperately set on leaving as soon as humanly possible. She was still screaming something when he collided into that stupid 3D printer thing and fumbled head first through the door and out into the hall.

He hit the ground with a thud, his head bouncing on the tile and causing an outcry to escape him.

“Makoto?” He heard footsteps rapidly approaching, turning his head to find Taka hurrying down the hall towards him.

Makoto looked from his rapidly approaching friend to the still strobing lights from the AV room.

Taka seemed to notice the lights as well, his comment of confusion cut off when Makoto suddenly grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tugged him onto the floor next to him.

“D-don’t look at that!!” He exclaimed in a panic, Taka practically landing on top of him and giving a shout of confusion as he hit the floor.

“Makoto! What on earth is-“ Taka stopped mid sentence, his red eyes landing on the hands Makoto had held up in an apologetic manner. “You’re bleeding.”

His confused expression immediately shifted to a frown, Makoto turned his hand to look at it himself.

“H-huh?” Sure enough, a fairly large gash was cut through his hand, a steady trail of blood oozed down his wrist and it looked like he had already smeared more elsewhere.

“Oh… Must’ve been that stupid thing by the door.” He looked past Taka to the AV room again, all the lights were off. It seemed whatever he had witnessed before was over now.

Taka gently took his injured arm and helped him to his feet. “Let’s… go get this cleaned up. I have a first aid kit in my room.”

Makoto nodded, realizing he was still gripping Mukuro’s message in his good hand and slipping back into his pocket as Taka led him down the halls back into the dorms.

He felt like a toddler who had fallen off a swing set. Makoto would’ve been mortified if anyone else had been awake at the moment.

Speaking of which…

“Hey, Taka?” He asked quietly, watching Taka hold his E-handbook to the scanner by his door. “What were you doing up?”

“I should ask you the same question.” Taka ushered him into the room and quietly shut the door behind them. “But I suppose you did ask first: I saw Toko run off into the school and went to find her. I don’t think it’s safe for anyone to be wandering around by themselves at night.”

That… didn’t really answer why he was awake in the first place. Makoto noted as Taka moved past him to retrieve his first aid kit from a drawer.

“Let’s go to the bathroom. I want to clean it first.” Taka took his hand again and led him over to the other door.

“But isn’t the water cut off?” He asked as Taka pulled him in and opened the first aid kit on the bathroom counter.

“Yes, but there’s hydrogen peroxide in here. This building’s been abandoned for years,” he scrunched his nose a bit at the thought. “Who know what kind of dust or dirt you’ve gotten into your cut.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that…” Makoto awkwardly laughed, using his good hand to fiddle with the drawstring of his hoodie.

Taka only hummed in response, continuing to rifle through the first aid kit to find what he needed.

“So… why were you awake, again?” Makoto asked, not willing to drop his curiosity just yet.

“I already told you, I went to find Toko.”

“I know but… how did you even know she had left?”

Taka was quiet, staring sternly at his own reflection as he removed a roll of thin bandages from the first aid kit and closed the lid.

“I just couldn’t sleep, I guess. I was worrying about the rest of you.” He mumbled, a sincere tone of concern to his voice. Makoto saw his grip tighten on the bandages slightly… wait what’s going on with his hand?

“Uh-“ he started, struggling to think of a way to describe what he was seeing, “Your hands…?”

Taka immediately recoiled from the bandages like they had burned him, standing up stiff as a board and moving his hands behind his back.

“I-I-“ He stuttered, eyes wide with panic. “I forgot my gloves- give me just a second, Makoto.”

“Wait hold on!” Makoto stumbled back, Taka nearly pushed him over in his dash out of the bathroom. He followed in utter confusion, watching the taller boy hurry over to the table beside his bed and slip the white gloves back on in a quick, fumbling manner. Makoto realized he was still wearing his weird school uniform...

That’s weird. Did he forget to grab something else to sleep in?

He turned, a nervous smiling facing Makoto as he clasped his hands together. “Ha! Sorry about that, how silly of me! Now let’s get your hand fixed up- I’d hate for that to get infected.”

“What?” Makoto was still trying to process what he’d seen, “Taka I- can we talk about what just happened, please? What was all over your hand?” He asked incredulously. Taka firmly shook his head.

“No, Makoto. I really do not wish to discuss it.” He moved back into the bathroom, Makoto grabbed one of his wrists.

“Wh-what about your whole speech about being honest with each other? What happened to being a team?” He argued, Taka jerked his hand away from his and glared.

“This is different.” His tone was sharper now, more agitated, but Makoto didn’t stop there.

“How is this different?”

“It just is, Makoto.”

“Why? Why are being so weird about this? You’re really starting to freak me out just tell me what’s going on-“

“I CAN’T!” Taka snapped, his already naturally loud voice yelling now as he loomed over Makoto, red eyes glowing with anger. Makoto couldn’t stop a yelp from escaping him, Taka’s expression softened, his scowl shifting to an apprehensive frown.

“Makoto…” he took a deep breath, “There are some things I desperately want to tell you- all of you. But I am physically unable to do so right now.”

He took a step away from Makoto, who released a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I just need you to trust me right now, okay? I’m doing the best I can.” He pleaded quietly, the intimating glow to his eyes seemed to diminish.

“I-“ Makoto started, but fell short of anything to say. He opted to follow silently behind Taka back into the bathroom.

Neither of them spoke, save for a mumbled apology from Taka when Makoto winced at the hydrogen peroxide’s sting. In a few minutes Taka had securely wrapped Makoto’s wound- gently patting his handiwork in a satisfied manner.

They stood there for a moment, both staring anywhere but at each other. Taka cleared his throat.

“You should probably get some rest, I’m sorry again about-“

“I wanna tell you what I saw in the AV room.” Makoto interrupted, Taka blinked in surprise.

“What?”

“The weird lights in the AV room- I need to talk to someone about what happened and..” Makoto hesitated for a minute, staring at the unreadable expression on Taka’s face. 

“I trust you.” He finished, Taka frowned.

“You don’t have to just say that. Makoto.” He countered, Makoto shook his head.

“No I mean it- I promise.” Did he though? His mind drifted back to what Celeste had said, about how Taka may be in league with whoever was keeping them here. What if he was a spy like the static girl had wanted him to be? Makoto tried to keep his mind from drifting too far down the line of thought that he really didn’t know anyone here. Could he really trust anyone? Especially someone who was obviously already hiding so many things from him?

But the way Taka’s eyes lit up- almost literally- at Makoto’s words forced him to shove that doubt away. He had to trust these people. They were all any of them had at the moment.

“Okay,” Taka nodded, his usual determined expression making an appearance and helping Makoto feel at least a fraction of ease. “Why don’t we sit down, I guess. You can tell me whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Makoto nodded, awkwardly moving to sit at the foot of Taka’s bed. Taka grabbed his desk chair, pulling it over and sitting across from him.

“I… Okay,” Makoto took a deep breath and pulled the disc from his pocket. “I found this in my bathroom yesterday while we were looking through the dorms. It’s from one of the missing numbers Monokuma mentioned.”

“78-13” Taka read quietly as he inspected the disc, his mouth moved like he was going to say something else, then snapped shut, forming a tight frown. “Please, continue.” He mumbled after a moment.

Makoto explained everything- from Mukuro’s message to the static filled voice from the monitors and the ‘code’ having little effect on him. He could hardly believe the words he was saying, all of it sounded too sci-fi for it to actually be true. Taka seemed to believe him, though- somehow- nodding along and listening intently. By the end of it he was nervously running his bandaged hand through his hair.

“I-I mean, I don’t understand?” His voice cracked, and he nervously chuckled. “How did she know that wouldn’t affect me? And how am I supposed to save everyone? What if that code stuff gets put on another monitor and one of you sees it? How am I…” 

He flopped back on the bed, exasperated and more stressed than he had ever felt in his entire life. “How am I even supposed to make sense of this?! What am I supposed to do?”

It was quiet for a moment, Makoto’s exhausted sigh cut short by the sound of Taka wincing.

Makoto propped himself up on his arms, “You okay?”

Taka didn’t respond right away, eyes squeezed shut and a hand at his temple.

“Yes, fine. I just tried to…. Never mind.” He hesitantly opened his eyes, worry evident on his face.

“I’m glad you weren’t affected by…” he gestured with a hand, seeming as much at a loss for a solid definition as Makoto. “All of that.”

“Yeah, me too.” Makoto exhaled nervously, though he had to admit he did feel a little less panicked now that some of it was off his chest. “I’m… I’m not sure I wanna tell everyone else yet- they probably wouldn’t believe me anyway. But I also don’t think I could stand the thought of something happening to them that I could’ve prevented.”

Taka nodded, thinking hard about what Makoto was saying, “It wouldn’t do anyone any good to start a panic, but we can’t just ignore this. There’s monitors all over the school,” he gestured to his own hanging on the wall behind him. “If something were to happen then-“

Makoto sat up fully as Taka flinched, a hand coming up to clutch the side of his head again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked worriedly, Taka nodded.

Makoto’s gaze landed on the smear of red across the otherwise spotless sleeve of the uniform. He looked back down at his bandages.

“Oh, I messed up your shirt…” He watched Taka’s eyes flick down to the stain. “I’m really sorry! I can try to clean it if you-“

Take waved his apology off, seeming more at ease now that the subject was changing.

“Don’t worry about it! I have plenty more.” His jaw snapped shut at the last part, his posture tensing up again. It took Makoto a second to realize why that was weird.

“You… have more than one outfit here?”

“Well, it’s important to be prepared-“

“Yeah, but how do you…. How could you already-“

 Taka’s bedroom door swung open with a loud THUD.

“Oh, THERE you are!” Monokuma’s voice scared them both. Makoto had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the bear’s amused chuckle.

“W-what are you doing here?” Makoto asked, peering around Taka as the teddy bear waltzed into the room.

“Well, I was doing my little nightly rounds, checking on all you kids, when I noticed Makoto was missing!” He put his paws to his face in mock surprise, “How terrifying! I thought I had lost my favorite little lucky charm!”

Makoto crinkled his nose at the phrase, “Well I’m fine, I just cut my hand and Taka helped me.”

“Ah!” Monokuma nodded, “Good, good, how helpful.” He snickered, gesturing for Makoto to follow him back to the door. “But sleep is important! Growing kids like you need a full eight hours! Come on, Makoto.”

“Oh, uh-“ he stuttered, “Me and Taka were actually gonna talk a little more, if that’s okay?”

“You can talk in the morning!” Monokuma argued, “I need you both bright eyed and metaphorically bushy tailed tomorrow!”

Makoto heaved an annoyed sigh, begrudgingly getting up and following the bear out of the room. Monokuma began rambling about something Makoto couldn’t help but tune out as he looked back to wave at Taka as the red eyed teen closed his door behind them. He smiled at Makoto as the door shut, leaving the shorter teen staring at a stark lack of a number engraved on the door and a small… first aid symbol? Makoto frowned at the little cross etched into the metal door, finally tearing his gaze away and following Monokuma again.

Maybe his powers were supposed to be like… healing? Maybe that’s why he has a first aid kit…

“Oh, and there’s one another thing-“ Monokuma interrupted his thoughts as he opened Makoto’s door, leading the teen inside. “I noticed a security issue while you were in the AV room.” His tone seemed strangely serious. “I’m uh… not entirely what happened. And I’m sorry if you had a bad time in there. The video playback was corrupted so I can’t be sure what you saw… or heard.”

Makoto said nothing, regarding the bear with suspicion as he continued. “I’m workin’ on it though, and hopefully we’ll never have to worry about it again.”

Monokuma awkwardly shifted on his feet, “Is there… anything you’d maybe like to tell me about what happened?”

Makoto hesitantly shook his head, Monokuma let out an over dramatic sigh. “Alright, Alright, I understand. Haven’t quite warmed up to your beloved little Monokuma yet, it’s fine. We will have a talk later, though.”

He turned to leave, casting Makoto one last glance.

“Goodnight, Lucky Boy, try and stay out of trouble.”

Chapter Text

“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!”

Makoto was met by an unusual scene when he finally stumbled into the Dining Hall. His exhaustion from his bizarre night before temporarily forgotten as he blinked in confusion.

Leon was blindfolded in the middle of the room, being spun rapidly in what looked like an old office chair. Sakura was spinning him faster and faster; Hiro, Hifumi, Sayaka, and Aoi cheering him on.

Byakuya and Celeste sat at the large table nearby, both sipping tea and watching the unfolding disaster with barely contained annoyance. Toko was seated nearby, hurriedly writing something in a notebook- where did she get that? Chihiro was standing alone across the room, a waste basket in her hands nervously awaiting something.

Kyoko entered behind him with a quiet hum of amusement at the scene before her. She walked ahead to the kitchen as Makoto hesitantly approached the cheering group.

“What are you guys doing?” Hiro beamed at his question.

“We’re testing his aim, man” he tossed an orange he was holding in the air. “We let him see the trash can before hand and we’re gonna spin him around all crazy and see if he can still find it.”

“Oh,” Makoto nodded like this made sense. It didn’t. “So it’s like… science.”

“It is not science.” Byakuya interjected from his spot at the table.

“Exactly, dude. Research at it’s finest.” Hiro turned back to Leon, who had stopped spinning and stood out of the chair on wobbly legs.

“Woah! Oh god, okay-” The redhead laughed, reaching a hand out towards Hiro for the orange. “Alright, let’s do this!” 

Hiro handed him the orange, Makoto couldn’t help but notice Leon was facing in a completely wrong direction from his target. This can’t be good…

Leon’s smile turned serious, pausing for a second and clicking his tongue. Before Makoto could even blink he had spun on his heel and pitched the makeshift ball towards Chihiro. She squeezed her eyes shut and gripped the trash can like a life line.

The orange sailed across the lunch room and-

 Directly into the can, landing with a hard Thunk!

“Yo.” Hiro started, the whole room stunned silent as Leon removed his blindfold with a satisfied grin.

The small crowd erupted into cheers and clapping, even Chihiro hurried over to congratulate him. Leon disregarded the cheers with a shrug.

“It’s really like, not a big deal at all.” He smiled, but something about it seemed almost bored now. “It’s just the thing I do, like how Big Guy shape shifts or Sakura can like… punch walls or something- I dunno. It takes almost no effort, seriously.”

Hifumi huffed. “Nice humble brag.”

Leon held his hands up apologetically, “I-I didn’t mean it like that, I just meant…” he paused, awkwardly thinking of what to say next, “I guess it’s just like boring for me is all. My dad made me do stuff like this all the time, so I get kinda tired of it.”

“That’s still so amazing, though!” Sayaka tried to cheer him up, latching onto his arm with a grin, “How can you get bored of something so special?”

Leon returned the grin sheepishly, “I dunno, I just did? Don’t you ever get bored of singing and stuff?”

“Oh no, never!” She shook her head, “I love singing with my friends- I’ll never get tired of what I do.”

“I sincerely apologize for being late!” Taka hurried into the room suddenly, begrudgingly followed by an especially grumpy Mondo.

“You didn’t strike me as the sort to not follow up on their own pointless ideas.” Byakuya commented, clinking a spoon against the rim of his tea cup.

Taka frowned, “I am not that sort. I was… delayed.” He cast an almost annoyed glance at Mondo, who scoffed and walked towards the kitchen.

“We had… a bit of a disagreement.” he elaborated, only for the biker to yell from across the room.

“Don’t go tellin’ everyone my fuckin’ business!” He cast a glance towards Chihiro as she flinched, and muttered out a quiet apology before disappearing into the other room.

Taka rolled his eyes, moving to the front of the table as usual and addressing the room. “Let’s go ahead and begin! Everyone please grab something to eat and come sit down.”

People began milling towards the kitchen, Taka stopped Makoto on his way there.

“I wanted to ask,” he began quietly- Makoto wasn’t really aware he could be quiet. “Have you made a decision about telling the others what you experienced last night?”

Makoto stuttered- he really hadn’t. He had been so exhausted from everything he had fallen right asleep. “I-I don’t know. I guess I should, right?”

Taka didn’t say anything, Makoto fiddled with the strings of his hoodie.

“Uhm, I think… I think I’m gonna try to find the second message first, just to be sure I know what I’m talking about. But- uh…” he thought for a minute, “I’ll mention something, though. Maybe we can all meet in the changing room?”

He glanced over towards the cameras, “You know, for privacy?”

Taka nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer, and gestured for Makoto to continue on to the kitchen.

Once everyone had gotten situated at the table, Taka ‘officially’ started the meeting with an impassioned speech about… something. Makoto was honestly having trouble paying attention. Leon and Sayaka certainly weren’t helping- the two of them taking turns holding or poking at Makoto’s bandaged hand like messing with it may give them answers. But mostly…

 Toko kept looking at him, very pointedly, from her spot across the table. Any time he tried to make eye contact she would quickly avert her gaze down to the bowl of fruit she was picking at for breakfast.

What does she want? Maybe Makoto was a little grumpy himself from his lack of sleep, he didn’t think something like this would usually bother him. There was just something about how she was looking at him- like she was almost angry.

“- and to that end I feel further investigating would be…” Taka trailed off, a concerned frown forming on his face as he looked to the other end of the table. “Uh, Hiro? Are you alright?”

One quick look at the psychic was all Makoto needed to determine he was definitely not alright. His usual slumped posture was upright and rigid, his eyes were staring blankly out ahead and- had his eyes always been that weird yellow color?

It- whatever was going on- stopped before anyone could react, Hiro suddenly slumping forward and breathing a bit heavier. He noticed everyone’s concerned stares and awkwardly smiled, trying to laugh it off through his apparent exhaustion.

“Hey, ha… sorry about that. Didn’t mean to interrupt or whatever.” He gulped down his water, like someone who had just run a marathon.

“Uh, it was a vision thing… that one took a lot outta me, sorry.” He nervously sat back up, looking almost embarrassed. “Go ahead man, keep saying what you were saying.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Taka questioned, “You should probably eat something, I know that-“ he winced suddenly, bringing a hand to the side of his head in a very similar fashion to the night before. Makoto’s stomach tightened at the way Byakuya seemed to zero in on this.

“I mean- that seemed to take a lot out of you, eating something or drinking some juice would probably be beneficial. I’ll go get you something!” he seemed to notice Byakuya staring too, and made a hasty retreat towards the kitchen. “Makoto, why don’t you tell everyone what you wanted to say.”

Makoto hesitated, awkwardly poking at his food as Hiro yelled his appreciation out to Taka. All eyes had shifted to him, he finally set his spoon down and took a deep breath before speaking.

“Uhm, I saw something last night…” he began uncertainly, his gaze shifting from all the stares to the cameras once again. “Something that concerns all of us. I-I don’t want to freak anyone out yet- I don’t have all the information, but I’m working on it. And I think we should all meet up later today somewhere more private.” 

Concerned murmurs filled the table suddenly, but it was Sakura who finally spoke up.

“What can you tell us right now Makoto?” She asked in a grim tone, even seated she was still so intimidating to him.

“It’s about us like- as a project,” he elaborated, “Something they did to us that could have some consequences now if we don’t act on it…” he struggled to think of a good way to phrase things without being too open in front of the cameras, “I don’t think anyone should be alone today.”

Taka reentered from the kitchen, setting a glass of orange juice and a plate of some kind of sausage in front of Hiro, who grinned like a little kid and thanked him.

“That’s an excellent idea, Makoto.” He encouraged, “Everyone should pair up today, if anything strange or suspicious happens you should go join another group immediately.”

“What do you mean strange?” Aoi asked, seeming genuinely confused. “Makoto, why can’t you tell us more about what’s going on?”

“I-I’m worried you won’t believe me,” he laughed nervously, “I probably wouldn’t believe it if someone else told me.”

“Well I never used to believe super powers and stupid robot bears existed,” Leon huffed, “But things change.”

“Of course we’d believe you, Makoto.” Sayaka put a hand on his arm to encourage him.

“And I am going to require much more information before I agree to this ‘buddy system’ idea.” Byakuya interjected, arms folded in front of him.

“I promise I’ll explain everything next time we meet, I just need more time to get all the facts right.” Makoto pleaded, “But for now just know it’s really serious…”

He glanced at the monitor over the dining hall’s doors, “And try to stay away from monitors-especially if you’re alone- which you shouldn’t be.” He added quickly, which only added to everyone’s confusion. “Sorry- I know I’m being frustrating, I promise I’ll tell you more later.”

Taka dismissed everyone shortly after that, a few people lingered behind to finish eating or to talk. Makoto left quickly, planning on heading straight for the art room when-

“You really need to work on your public speaking skills.” He nearly tripped over Monokuma, who was standing right in his way in the hall to the school.

Makoto didn’t answer, he had no idea if he could trust Monokuma, so far the bear’s intentions had been cryptic at best and borderline incoherent at worst.

Monokuma continued, “I dunno what exactly you’re planning on doing but you should really be careful.” His usual cheery, taunting tone of voice was low and serious, “There are some… complications that have arisen recently and I may not be able to help you out if you get yourself in another jam like last night.”

“So you… You know what’s going on?” Makoto asked warily. Monokuma shook his head.

“Not quite, not yet… But I know enough to know that you in particular are at risk of getting into some pretty bad situations.” Monokuma put a paw to his chin thoughtfully, “Just be careful is all I’m saying. I’d hate for anything to happen to you kids.”

He left Makoto standing in the hall, even more confused than he’d been before.

“M-m- Makoto…” He jumped, turning to find Toko standing right behind him. When did she get here??

“Yeah? Hi, Toko- what’s up?” He asked, trying to seem casual.

“Um,” She hesitated, awkwardly messing with one of her braids, “C-can I… come with you today?” When Makoto didn’t answer she elaborated: “Y-ya know, buddy system.”

“Oh-“ he began, he had really been planning on going to the art room alone… he supposed having someone along wouldn’t hurt.

“You don’t have t-t-to act so repulsed by me.” She grimaced. “I just want to come- okay?”

“I’m not repulsed by you!” Makoto protested, “Geez, Toko. Yeah, you can come with me- I dunno how interesting it’s gonna be, though.”

She mumbled something he didn’t quite pick up on, he chose to ignore it and started back towards the stairs to the second floor. “Uh, I’m going to the art room, so…”

She followed along behind him, staying a few paces behind and just staring at him- what was her problem???

They passed Kyoko and Celeste on the second floor, and despite being ‘paired up’ the two hardly seemed to be interacting with each other. Mondo and Chihiro had been on their way to the library- something about the intimidating biker and small, shy counterpart almost made Makoto laugh.

The third floor seemed to be empty, in their search for the art room they stumbled onto one of the abandoned lab like rooms Celeste had mentioned before. It was almost completely empty, save for a cluster of bright over head lights in the center of the room pointing down at the partially deconstructed… what was that- a dental chair?

There were thick straps on the arm rests, a longer one towards the bottom of the chair for the legs. Creepy… Makoto suppressed a shiver, eyes looking up towards a camera in the corner that didn’t seem to be functioning any longer.

“What do you think they used this for- WOAH!” Makoto was suddenly shoved forward, barely catching himself from slamming face first into the disgusting tile. He turned and looked up at Toko- who was pointedly shutting the door behind them and reaching for something behind her back.

“I-I-I don’t know what exactly is going on-“ She began, stepping towards Makoto as he scrambled back on all fours. “But I know you’re working for HER! I’m not letting you do anything to anyone else!”

She pulled a pair of long, black scissors out from where she had apparently tucked them into the waistband of her skirt. She pointed them accusingly at Makoto- hand shaking despite the intensity of her gaze.

“We- I- I’m not going to give you the chance to control anyone!” She was practically yelling at this point. Makoto’s heartbeat flooded his ears, he scrambled into a shoddy standing position- arms held up in surrender.

“Toko I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about-“

“I was there last night!!” She interrupted, panic filled voice so shrill it hurt Makoto’s ears, “I saw the lights- I heard those awful sounds! I know you’re working for her now!”

Oh- OH. She had been there when he was in the AV room. Makoto gulped,  “It didn’t work! It didn’t work on me!”

“Yeah, right!”

“I’m serious! I-I don’t know why it didn’t work but it didn’t- I swear! You can ask Taka- he found me after I got out of there! I’m trying to stop whoever it was that’s why I have to find that other message!”

Toko paused, lowering her scissors a fraction, “Wh-what message?”

“I was in the AV room because I found this.” He fished the disc out of his pocket and held it out for Toko to see.

“Mukuro- uh, 78-13 left it for me, she said the codes wouldn’t work on me for some reason. Probably because I don’t have any powers…” he laughed awkwardly at that last part, eyes fixated on the sharp edge of the scissors.

Toko lowered her weapon, her demeanor shifting slowly back into what Makoto was more used to. “I-It really didn’t work on you?” There was a weird edge of hope to her question, Makoto shook his head.

“I don’t understand it either…” He laughed again, the panic draining from his body as he wiped the dust from the floor off his hands. “I think it… I think it almost did, but something about it felt- like… wrong?” He struggled to find the right word, “Like really wrong, I could feel it in my blood when the stuff finally stopped.”

He shrugged, unsure how to go on with his explanation. Toko nodded slowly, eyes studying every inch of his face for any sign of deception.

“D-did anything else happen?”

“What do you mean?”

“L-like.. in your head? Did you-“ she sighed, tugging on her braids a little harsher than maybe she should have. “Never mind. L-let’s just go.”

Makoto stood there as she tucked the scissors back into their hiding spot and opened the door, only remembering to move again when she sort of nodded in the direction of the hallway.

The two of them walked to the art room in tense silence, both of them keeping the dozens of questions they had to themselves for now.

“Who goes there?!” A startled outcry rang out when Makoto opened the art room door. Hifumi stood in the center of the room, arms filled with a large sketch pad and other art supplies.

“Oh! Makoto! You scared me.” He laughed, apparently having quickly recovered from his panic. Makoto tried to stop himself from feeling annoyed, he had really wanted to do this alone…

“Hi, Hifumi.” He smiled, “Why are you in here by yourself?”

Hifumi huffed, setting down his new found materials onto one of the room’s desks. “Mr. Togami refused to have a buddy, and everyone else had run off before I could find a partner! So I travel alone, a solitary soldier on a sacred mission!” he held a hand to his chest proudly, Toko scoffed. “Oh! Unless you guys need help?”

“We don’t.” Toko dismissed him immediately, Makoto tried to intervene.

“We’re just looking for something in here- but you can hang out if you want.” He tried to placate both parties, unsure of why Toko seemed so put off by the larger teen. Maybe she was just nervous- Makoto certainly still felt tense from their confrontation.

He began poking around the art room, unsure of where to really look for another message. The camera blinked methodically in the corner, Makoto hoped whatever argument Toko and Hifumi were currently caught up in behind him was distracted whoever may be watching from the other side…

He rummaged through drawers, looked under desks, in cabinets- anywhere he could think of. Eventually Toko and Hifumi moved to help as well, neither quite sure what they were looking for but shuffling through filing cabinets and peering behind art supplies anyway.

Finally Makoto was on his hands and knees, peering underneath a large workbench that looked like it could be used for sculpting when he saw it. Wrapped in what looked like spare canvas at the very back was a small bundle that said “78-7” in similar handwriting.

“Oh, finally.” he sighed in relief, hearing Toko and Hifumi walk over to join him. His relief quickly turned to frustration when he found he couldn’t reach his target, his arms weren’t skinny enough to fit under the workbench’s cabinets.

“Toko, do you think you can reach that?” He asked, sitting back up on his knees in exasperation. She leaned forward, snaking a hand under and straining to reach.

“I-it’s too far back!” She hissed, up to her shoulder underneath the workbench and practically lying on the floor at this point. She sat up and fixed her shirt, looking to Hifumi. “Y-you’re a shapeshifter, right? T-turn into something small so we can get that.”

“I can shape shift, yes, but only into other people.” Hifumi admitted, leaning over to peer at what they were looking at. “I suppose Hiro’s arms would be long enough, but I’m not sure they’d be thin enough…”

Makoto startled as suddenly Hiro was sitting in front of him instead of Hifumi, laying on his stomach and reaching back till his elbow caught on the same ledge Makoto had.

“Hm, nah.” Hearing Hiro’s voice didn’t help with Makoto’s confusion, he blinked away his shock as Hifumi suddenly looked like himself again. “Sorry, maybe we can find like a stick or something to shove under there?”

“Change i-i-into Sakura and pick it up.” Toko suggested, poking at Hifumi’s arm. “I-I-if I had a little more space I could grab it.”

“I don’t copy people’s abilities, just their looks.” Hifumi argued, “At least, I think. I’ve never tried using someone’s powers before…”

Toko scoffed, “Kind of a u-useless gift then.”

“Hey! It’s incredibly useful!”

Not wanting to endure another argument, Makoto got to his feet.

“I’m gonna go get Mondo, he was heading towards the library, he can probably help us lift it enough.” He started moving towards the door, eye flicking towards the inactive monitor in the back of the room. “You two will be okay while I’m gone, right?”

Toko nodded, arms crossed. Hifumi gave him a big thumbs up. He smiled, a bit uneasy, and started towards the library.

He nearly got lost on his way there, the building’s layout still a bit confusing to him. I guess I’ll get used to it over time… he mused, then shook the thought from his head, Or I’ll get out of here before I have time to get used to it.

“I am not trying to be ‘The leader’ here,” That was Taka’s voice, Makoto noted, approaching the library doors, “I am simply stating that when you blatantly disregard the rules we’ve all agreed on you’re telling everyone else here that you do not care about them.”

“I don’t care.” That was Byakuya, significantly quieter but no less irritated, “Why should I bother playing by all these stupid rules you’re imposing on yourselves? I’m only interested in getting information and getting out of here.”

“Shit, dude,” Mondo interjected, Makoto was in the doorway now, watching the indestructible biker lean against one of the cluttered bookshelves. “You sound like an absolute fuckin’ psychopath when ya talk like that.”

“I don’t recall asking for your opinion.” Byakuya muttered, not looking up from the file he was reading at the library’s huge desk.

“Look, I agree Taka is being a pain in the ass about all this-“

“Hey!”

“-but you can’t just go around actin’ like yer above everyone and doin’ whatever the hell you want.”

Byakuya opened his mouth to respond- when suddenly his eyes locked on Makoto at the door.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it was impolite to eavesdrop?” He snapped, and the door slammed itself shut in front of Makoto.

He blinked in surprise, hearing Taka yell something from the other side of the door before Mondo opened it back up for him.

“Hey, kid. Ya need something?” He grumbled, ignoring the annoyed sigh from Byakuya back at the desk.

Kid? Makoto ignored the fact that they were almost definitely both the same age. “Yeah, I was wondering if you could help me lift something-“

He was cut off by a sudden squeak from within the room, he hadn’t even noticed Chihiro squatted amidst a scattered group of papers and folders by the back wall, in front of a large metal door locked shut by some strange keypad.

“Oh!” She seemed to notice everyone’s eyes now on her, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to do that out loud, I just saw something interesting.”

“Were you able to get into that back room?” Makoto asked, remembering what Byakuya had said about it being locked before.

Chihiro shook her head, flinching as Byakuya heaved another annoyed sigh.

“She refused to even try.” He muttered, his attention going back to his own reading material, “Coward.”

Taka snatched the folder from Byakuya’s hands, ignoring the angry outcry from the blonde. 

“Don’t call people names. You can’t blame her for not wanting to get in trouble.” He reprimanded, Byakuya glared and began looking through a different file on the desk.

“I said I was sorry!” Chihiro protested, getting to her feet and picking up what she had been looking at, “Monokuma said I could go to ‘lockdown’ if I keep messing with things I’m not supposed to. I-I don’t know what that is, but I don’t want to find out.”

Byakuya simply rolled his eyes, Chihiro regained some composure before speaking again.

“A-anyway, I was looking at the preliminary information on that machine you mentioned yesterday,” She began, Mondo tugged Makoto over to the desk so they could see.

“It looks really advanced!” Her eyes were practically sparkling, “I would love to find it- or even read more about it- they were using some of the most advanced AI script formats I’ve ever heard of, and it’s processing power must’ve been amazing! It had basic childcare preprogrammed in, and it was even supposed to keep data on all of us individually.”

“What kind of data?” Byakuya asked, barely paying attention.

“Mostly personal stuff,” Chihiro began, flipping to a different page, “It was supposed to be like an older sibling or a friend, so it stored information on our- um- experiments,” she paused, “But also things like our likes and dislikes, food and sleep preferences, things like that.”

She pulled out another page, laying a page filled with words Makoto couldn’t possibly begin to wrap his brain around on the table, “I think it may have even continued collecting data on us even after we left this place, I’ve seen a few of our names mentioned here…”

Mondo picked up the paper, barely beating Taka to it, his expression becoming a scowl as Chihiro continued. “But then it looks like it was terminated, which I guess makes sense- no kids around to take care of… Do you think there’s a chance it’s still around? I would love to take a look in it.”

“Dude.” Mondo’s tone startled Makoto, the casual edge of it completely stripped away and replaced by carefully concealed anger. “Kiyotaka. Can we talk in the hall for a sec?”

Taka didn’t move right away, staring Mondo up and down with a tight frown. 

“We can talk in here- Hey!” Mondo grabbed Taka by the shirt, dragging him out into the hallway and shutting the door behind them.

Chihiro set her papers down on the desk, “What was that about?”

 Makoto shrugged, Byakuya began rifling through what she had set down. 

“Something utterly ridiculous, I’m sure.” He mumbled, seeming bored. Makoto made his way to the library’s doors and slowly opened one, Chihiro peered around his shoulder.

Mondo and Taka had moved to the end of the hall, Mondo had the paler teen pressed against the wall, their faces inches apart as Mondo snarled at him.

“Start talkin’. Now.” He growled, Taka frowned, trying to move his wrists where Mondo had them pinned to the wall.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Owada but-“

“SEE, that’s the thing.” Mondo interrupted, “I never told none of you my last name, and you know it somehow- hell, you called me by my name before I even introduced myself.”

Taka didn’t say anything, red eyes casting an intimidating light onto Mondo’s angry expression.

“You were way too calm when I first saw you in the hallway.” He continued in a low voice, “You walked and looked at everyone’s doors, like this was all fuckin’ normal! Like you knew exactly what was going on.”

Taka remained silent, jaw clenched. Mondo leaned back a fraction and continued.

“I ain’t stupid, I started payin’ attention to you after that first meeting.”

“M-mondo-“

“When we went lookin’ for Monokuma you knew exactly where you were going, never looked lost once.” The biker continued, using his free hand to count his strange evidence with his fingers, “You knew we wouldn’t be able to get in that weird lab, you knew what the training room or whatever the fuck was, you knew there was food for the birds when i asked about the stupid chickens being okay.”

“I can explain-“ Taka sounded almost panicked now, voice quiet as Mondo continued to talk over him.

Chihiro pushed past him, a quiet murmur of fear escaping her as she hurried towards the hostile situation in front of them. Both boys turned their attention to her as she began pleading with Mondo to calm down, Makoto stepped away from the door to avoid being seen.

“Naegi?” A chair suddenly pulled itself from the wall and swept Makoto off his feet. He yelped in surprise as it carried him to sit at the desk opposite Byakuya.

“Wha- Why???” Makoto asked indignantly, the blond didn’t look up from his papers. “You could’ve just asked me to come over here!”

“Do you really not have any enhanced abilities?” Byakuya questioned, staring up at him over the rim of his glasses.

“What?” Makoto tilted his head, “No, I don’t have anything like the rest of you.”

Byakuya hummed in response, holding eye contact to try and gauge if Makoto was lying. He fidgeted under the staring.

“Why? What’s going on?”

Byakuya finally looked back down at the papers on the desk, “Most of this has been entirely unhelpful.” He began, shoving a growing stack of papers away from him. “Very little of it is about anything that actually happened while we were kept here, I assume that information is locked up… But I did find a copy of a report on a ‘Subject Seven’ sent by a Jin Kirigiri.”

Kirigiri? Isn’t that Kyoko’s last name?

He held a paper up, but pulled it back when Makoto reached for it. “You look with your eyes, not your hands. It listed your progress in… whatever was going on as a concern, but not a failure. It didn’t state what you were intended to do exactly, but it seemed important to Hope’s Peak that your project not fail.”

Makoto didn’t say anything, too confused to really know what to say.

Byakuya continued, “I’m not saying you’re lying, it very well may not have worked out in the long run. But it does make me wonder, what do you think you were supposed to be?”

Makoto opened his mouth to respond when the muffled sound of Mondo’s angry yelling reminded him of what was going on outside the library. He got up to investigate, sparing one last confused glance back at Byakuya- who simply waved him off and went back to reading.

He had more important things to worry about than some stupid old files.

He pushed open the door to find the argument had moved a little closer to the library doors. Taka was no longer backed against the wall, standing rigidly upright as Mondo tried to loom over him. Chihiro was in between them, hands pushing against Mondo to try and keep him back- despite the teary look in her eyes that made Makoto think she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

“If you would just give me a moment to explain-“ Taka tried to speak, Mondo held a hand up to stop him, finally giving into Chihiro’s efforts to hold him back

“I don’t wanna hear your stupid arguments. I don’t wanna talk to ya’ at all.” Mondo practically growled, “For all I know you could be tellin’ whatever kinda freakshow that’s runnin’ this joint everything we say.” He scoffed, beginning to make his way towards the stairs to the first floor. “Ya’ll do whatever you want. I want nothin’ to do with this shit. Can’t trust it.”

“What? Hey-“ Makoto argued, reaching out to stop the biker but stopping short before he grabbed him, “That’s not fair. Taka hasn’t done anything wrong! He’s been helping us-“

“It’s fake! It’s been act!” Mondo argued, leaning down to be eye level with Makoto. “Someone’s probably tellin’ him how to act n shit right now. I’m not stickin’ around for this- and you two shouldn’t either.” 

“What’s going on???” He called after Mondo, who muttered something under his breath and kept walking. He looked back to the other two for answers, but they both pointedly avoided eye contact.

There was a heavy silence after he left, Makoto saw how Taka’s gloved hands had balled into fists. Chihiro seemed to notice too, and her hand hesitantly reached out to rest on top of one of his.

“I’m sorry, Taka. I’m sure he didn’t mean all of that.” She tried in a comforting tone, Taka quickly pulled his hand away.

“Chihiro. I could feel that.” He warned, taking a large step away from her.

“F-feel what?”

“Fujisaki.” Taka’s tone was stern, her hand recoiled.

“I- sorry, I was just curious, is all.” She quickly stepped back towards the increasingly confused Makoto. “I promise I’ll ask next time.”

“You understand I’m not a project for you to look over-“

“Of course I do!” Chihiro smiled apologetically, “I just have a lot of questions, that’s all! Maybe we can just talk about things then? If you’re comfortable… with that…” she trailed off under his gaze, a stern expression that reminded Makoto of a disapproving teacher staring her down.

“Uh, so… what’s going on?” Makoto finally asked again.

Taka didn’t say anything for what felt like ages, looking at both Chihiro and Makoto with blatant apprehension. Finally he cleared his throat, apparently ready to move past this… whatever it was.

“Makoto, did you find what you were looking for?”

“Oh! Uh, yeah,” Makoto quickly jumped to change the topic, desperate to ease some of the negative energy that had begun swirling around them, “I did- but I can’t reach it, it’s underneath something heavy. I was gonna see if Mondo could lift it.”

“I can lift it, I’m sure.” Taka began walking towards the stairs, leaving Makoto and Chihiro scrambling to keep up with his brisk pace.

He cast a few nervous glances back to Chihiro as they made it up the stairs and across the third floor, but the programmer seemed unable to stop from staring at Taka till they finally reached art room.

“Finally!” Hifumi commented as they walked in, “You were gone for like ten minutes! I was starting to think we’d have to form a rescue party!”

Toko was lying face up on the floor, legs propped up against the wall and an incredibly annoyed expression stuck on her face.

“Wh-whatever’s on this stupid thing better be worth it.” She grumbled to Makoto, who sheepishly smiled in return. “Where’s M-m-Mondo anyway? I th-thought he was going to lift it?”

“I can lift it, there’s no need to get anyone else involved.” Taka answered before Makoto could. “Which heavy thing exactly needed lifting?”

“Oh- this bench here- with the cabinets.” Makoto led him over to it, getting down on his hands and knees to get ready to reach for it. “Promise not to drop it on me, okay?” He awkwardly joked, feeling the tightness in his chest lighten a little when Taka smiled back.

“I’ll do my best.” At least a fraction of his usual demeanor had returned. He took a deep breath, and with a strained grunt lifted one side of the bench a good six inches off the ground.

“Wow!” Hifumi exclaimed, “Way to put the rest of us to shame.”

Makoto quickly reached under and grabbed the wrapped package, holding it tightly against his chest like it could vanish at any moment. This meant more answers. This meant he was one step closer to get everyone out of here.

Toko was at his side instantly, a faint breeze following her that scattered a few loose papers from a nearby desk.

“Th-this is like the last one?” She asked warily, “What if this is a trap?”

“What are you talking about?” Hifumi peered over her head as Makoto got to his feet. “What is this thing anyway?”

“It’s…” Makoto trailed off, eyes making contact with the camera again. “It’s something important. I don’t wanna talk about it where they can hear us.”

“You should watch it alone first, just to make sure it’s not… something else.” Taka took control of the situation, hand to his chin thoughtfully, “You can review it and I’ll gather everyone else in the bath house as planned. We can discuss things openly there.”

“Monokuma will get suspicious.” Chihiro pointed out, nervously smoothing out her skirt, “What if he comes looking for us?”

“I don’t think he’s gonna be a problem.” Makoto answered honestly, “He sort of already knows what’s going on; I think…” he paused, “I think he’s actually kind of trying to help us.”

“Th-there’s no way! He’s the one keeping us here!” Toko argued. Chihiro took a step forward, peering down at the package in Makoto’s hands as well.

“To be fair, I don’t think he’s the one keeping us here. I think it’s just his job to look after us.” She paused, “Someone else must have orchestrated all this and just sort of… left him behind to run things.” 

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Taka began in a more stern tone, “Makoto: I suggest you watch that video. Everyone else: please gather everyone you can and have them meet in the bath house for an emergency meeting!”

———————————————————

“You really didn’t have to stay, Toko.” Makoto started as he gently placed the dvd into the AV room monitor, “I’m not trying to get rid of you,” he cut off what was sure to be another self depreciative statement, “But last time I tried to watch one of these…. Well, you saw what happened. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

Toko blinked, seeming put off by his concern. “It… It won’t. Nothing’s gonna happen.” She answered slowly, “B-b-besides, I still don’t trust you. I want to know what it says m-m-myself” She squinted suspiciously at him.

He laughed awkwardly, unsure of how else he was supposed to respond. He looked up at the camera in the corner, he had thrown his jacket up over it to cover the view. That was probably against the rules, but Taka wasn’t here to lecture him, and Monokuma hadn’t made an appearance, so Makoto was choosing not to worry about it for now.

It took a few moments for the video to start, only static filled the screen for the first several seconds. Finally Mukuro came into view again, it looked like she had recorded this in the same room they were standing in now, Makoto gulped as she began speaking.

“Seven: I hope this message finds you safe… and alive.” She began, her monotone way of speaking had a tired edge to it. “I promised you in the last video that I was going to explain things more- and I truly wish I had time to do that…”

She paused, grey eyes flicking back to the door behind her. “But my time… is running out, I think.” Her breath hitched, Makoto had to stop himself from shuddering. He was surprised by how different this video was from the last one. Mukuro had seemed so sure and put together in the first video.

Now she looked terrified.

“The people who were originally planning to keep you here did have… somewhat good intentions.” She began, “Which is the only reason you’ve all had this brief window of peace. It’s the only reason we haven’t been able to get to you directly.” We? What does that mean?

“You can further fortify the building, especially if you still have some of the remaining numbers on your side.” She continued, a more steady tone to her voice now then we she began, “And I recommend that you take this as your first course of action, there are many dangerous things in this place- you want as many advantages over your enemy as possible. You’ll need administrative access, though, that’s where the flash drive I gave you comes in.”

Makoto looked at the red and white flash drive in his hands, it had been wrapped in the spare canvas along with the dvd and a small note from Mukuro that had “read this when you’re alone” written in small letters on the front- he supposed this whole thing should be done alone, but Toko was there breathing down his neck- so he didn’t have much privacy at the moment.

“I’ve been told they’re planning on reactivating the caretaker from before, the flash drive should be able to plug into it and give you access to more restricted areas of the building, like the tech lab on the third floor, and our old bio labs on the fifth. Hopefully the Tech lab still has the ability to disable the elevator down to the Tunnels.”

That’s where the elevator leads to? A tunnel? Makoto frowned, Would that be a possible way out?

As if she could read his thoughts, Mukuro continued: “I know at this point escape seems like your best option: but they’d snatch you up the minute you stepped out of the building. For now you have to fortify, and come up with a better game pla-“

She stopped speaking, someone was banging on a wall or door somewhere off screen. Mukuro’s eyes widened in terror.

“She-she’s back I have to g-“

The video cut to black, leaving Makoto and Toko staring at each other’s reflections on the screen… Makoto waited for another clue, another signal to where he could find more information- but the disc simply ejected itself from the media player.

“That… wasn’t as helpful as the last one.” Makoto mumbled finally, Toko only hummed in response, taking a few steps back and tugging on her braids again. Makoto slid the disc back with the accumulating mass of junk in his pockets and cleared his throat.

“Hey, uh… Toko?” He began, she didn’t look up at him, “About earlier…. You said you thought I was working for ‘her’ who… who exactly-?”

Toko’s eyes met his, burning with fear, “The girl… laughing from the speakers… th-that’s all…”

Okay. Well that’s a lie. “Is that all?” Makoto tried to press, “You don’t know anything else about her?”

Toko huffed, frustrated and desperate to change the subject, “L-l-look I don’t wanna talk about this right now, e-everyone else is probably waiting for us anyway… r-right?”

“I guess.” Makoto sighed in defeat, he didn’t really have the mental energy to argue. “But… can we talk about this later, please?”

“M-maybe…”

“Maybe?”

“It’s n-not like it matters! A-are you gonna read that letter?” She tried to change the subject, pointing to Makoto’s jacket pocket. He shrugged.

“I’ll read it in front of everyone else…. We all need to start being more honest to each other, don’t you think?”

“… Maybe so.”

Chapter Text

Everyone was already in the sauna’s changing room when the two of them arrived- even Byakuya- who seemed to hate anything even remotely similar to group meetings in any possible way. All eyes were on Makoto as he entered, and Toko had quickly ducked to the side to avoid the attention he found himself trapped in.

“So, you finally gonna tell us what’s going on, man?” Leon asked from where he was seated on one of the benches, his legs lazily draped over Hiro’s lap where the psychic sat beside him.

“Yeah. I am.” Makoto started, nervously glancing at the door behind him as he walked towards the center of the small crowd. “Uh- Chihiro? Are there any… microphones or anything in here?”

Chihiro paused for a minute, brows furrowed in concentration before she shook her head. “No, none that I can feel.” She answered quietly, “I think we’re really alone in here.”

Makoto couldn’t help but feel a little relieved at that, at least they had one place they were really safe. He looked around at everyone’s expectant stares, Sakura gave him an encouraging nod before he finally took a deep breath and began explaining.

“I found this disc in my room our first day here-“ he pulled the first disc from his pocket and passed it to Kyoko, who had already reached an expectant hand out to investigate it. “I know I should’ve said something sooner but I was really freaked out- I guess I wasn’t thinking straight… Sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re telling us now.” Sakura assured him, cutting off whatever comment Byakuya had been planning on making.

“Uhm, it was from a girl named Mukuro. She was one of us, like one of our numbers, I mean. I think… I think she’s dead now.” Aoi gasped quietly at that, Makoto continued, “A-at least… that’s what it sounded like, from how she was talking. But anyway: she told me that there are ways for whoever ya know… made us how we are… to sort of control us.”

“What do you mean by control us?” Celeste asked, her mouth pulled back in a tight frown.

“She said something about codes- she never went into specifics, but…” Makoto paused, taking a breath to steady himself he continued his story.

“When her first video ended, suddenly someone else started speaking through the monitor. I-I don’t know who- I never saw their face. They tried to lock me in the AV room and start playing weird flashing images on all the monitors-“

The panic he felt the night before was suddenly clawing it’s way back into him, his heartbeat thudding against his chest, “There was this weird high pitched noise, and all these weird words- I- basically it was what Mukuro was talking about.”

He cut his own explanation short, everyone’s confused and concerned expressions locked on him.

“I felt… really really empty for a second and then it… it went away? I don’t know how… Mukuro said it couldn’t work on me. And the person on the screen got… angry, and then I got out of there.” He looked back over to Taka, “And then… I ran into you…”

“This is ridiculous.” Byakuya scoffed, “Do you have any proof of what happened, aside from the disc?”

“I-I saw him.” Toko spoke up from where she had hidden in the corner of the room, “I had been looking for a way out that night and I passed by-by the AV room, T-There was definitely weird lights and sounds coming from there.”

“And I heard the commotion and saw him as he left.” Taka continued the explanation, much more confidently than Toko, “He was definitely shaken by what happened inside, I believe him.”

Mondo grumbled something under his breath, whatever he said made Taka glare back at the biker.

“So… if all this code stuff is true,” Aoi continued, fear shining in her eyes, “Then why didn’t it work on you?”

“What if it did work on you and you just don’t realize it?” Hifumi added, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction, “I’ve seen it in dozens of movies- you could be a sleeper agent!”

“I know it didn’t!” Makoto argued, “I-I don’t know why yet, but I swear- I’m still completely myself.” There were a few unconvinced glances between the others.

“I don’t know how to prove it to you,” he faltered, “But… I need you guys to believe me! We’re seriously in trouble if we don’t stick together!“

“I believe you.” Kyoko answered simply. “But if anyone else is concerned perhaps Celeste wouldn’t mind using her gift to see if he’s lying?”

“I believe him.” Celeste answered quickly, looking Makoto up and down with a tight lipped frown. “There is no need for that.”

Leon shifted uncomfortably where he sat, trying in vain to keep the worry from his face, “So… it just like… takes over you?” He asked quietly, “Like… what does that even feel like?”

Makoto shrugged, “I honestly can’t explain it, I only felt it for a second… Like someone was pulling my thoughts out of my body, kinda…” He swallowed the lump forming in his throat, “It was like I was a completely different person, if that makes sense? I don’t know…”

His answer was apparently not enough to soothe the red haired boy’s worry, and Leon settled on staring blankly at the floor and rubbing his hands together anxiously. There were a few other worried murmurs, Aoi nervously began rocking on her feet.

“So what can we do?” Chihiro spoke up, “If it can be played through speakers or on the monitors- how are we going to protect ourselves?”

“There’s a monitor in nearly every room.” Byakuya added, “We’ll be sitting ducks.”

“W-well today I found another disc- in the art room.” Makoto pulled his next disc, along with the flash drive. “Mukuro said we can get more access to the building and try to protect ourselves more. I think we should start with that, I dunno what else to do.”

“We should also ask Monokuma if we can remove the monitors from our bedrooms.” Sakura suggested, “That way we can sleep more peacefully, even if we’re alone.”

“I don’t think I’m ever gonna be able to able sleep alone here…” Aoi muttered, Sakura put a hand on her shoulder.

“How do we go about protecting ourselves, exactly?” Byakuya continued his questioning, “Did your strange new pen pal offer any help there?”

Makoto held up the flash drive, surprised that Kyoko didn’t want to investigate that for herself as well, “She said we can use this to unlock restricted areas and get into some kind of tech place to lock things down… we just need to plug into… something.”

“What kind of something?” The flash drive was suddenly pulled from his hand, whizzing through the air and into Byakuya’s grasp as the blond spoke. “This doesn’t look like any flash drive I’ve ever seen.”

“She said we’d need to plug it into the caretaker those files mentioned.” Makoto answered quietly, unable to help from noticing he way both Chihiro and Mondo exchanged a look.

“So… Monokuma?” Sayaka tilted her head, “He’s the only robot here- it has to be him.”

Chihiro steepled her fingers, “I’m… not sure we should use that flash drive until we can confirm exactly what it does.”

Mondo shrugged, “I mean what’s the worst that could happen. Let’s just do the damn thing. I’m tired’a waitin’ around for something bad to happen.”

“What if it turns Monokuma into some killer robot or something?” Hiro argued, Mondo rolled his eyes.

“Then we crush it. Can’t be that hard.” He stared pointedly at Taka when he said that, and the red eyed boy stuck out his chest and glared before responding.

“We should do whatever we can to not resort to violence of any kind.” He shut the argument down. “Perhaps we can plug it into something in the AV room and test it first, we can find a way to work with this.”

“Why wait?” Mondo challenged, squaring his shoulders, “You said it yourself, yer main goal is keeping us all safe, ain’t it?”

“Owada.” Taka began in a low tone, Kyoko cleared her throat to regain focus from the increasingly hostile energy in the room.

“Was there anything else, Makoto?”

“Yeah, she gave me this letter.” Makoto fished the last item from his jacket, and began opening the envelope, “I haven’t read it yet, I figured we should all know what it says.”

She nodded approvingly as he opened the aged envelope, everyone leaning in to hear what he would say.

!Ding Dong Bing Bong!

An unusually loud announcement suddenly blasted from the speakers outside the bath house, loud enough they could hear it from inside.

“Attention!! This is an emergency broadcast! We have a security breach!!! All students please lock yourselves in your rooms IMMEDIATELY. Right now!!!” Monokuma almost sounded frantic, the lights in the bathhouse suddenly flickered and an alarm began blaring from somewhere outside the door.

The crowd of them quickly began to panic, everyone trying to talk over each other to figure out what to do. Taka came and stood by Makoto, clapping loudly to regain everyone’s attention.

“Everyone stay calm! We’re splitting into three groups and hiding in rooms together- barricade the door with whatever you can and wait for further instructions. NO ONE is to be alone right now, you hear me?”

With a few hurried nods and a bit more screaming they opened the door, pouring out into the hallway to find the main entry to the school had barred itself shut as the alarm blared even louder out here. Chihiro latched onto Makoto’s arm, shaking hands apparently just desperate for anything to grab.

Makoto felt his blood run cold, but over the clamoring of his friend’s yelling as they moved towards their dorms, he could hear something, a low stampede of sound coming from the hall to the school.

“Come on-“ he dragged Chihiro forward, catching up to Mondo who put his arm around both of them and looked back over Makoto’s shoulder- apparently he had heard whatever it was too.

“shit shit shit shit-” he mumbled as the rumbling suddenly grew louder, and suddenly Monokuma came sprinting through the dark doorway into the ‘Inn’ part of the building- arms flailing wildly as he shouted.

“Somebody pick me up!! Pick me up!!!” He cried. Sakura had scooped him up in an instant, tossing him over to Aoi and running back to the group.

“What’s going on?” She demanded from the teddy bear, who was currently clinging to Aoi’s jacket like his life depended on it.

“The Tunnels…” he answered, seeming out of breath, could he even breathe? Wrong thing to focus on- “They’re all activated now!”

“What is?” Aoi asked, only to be answered by Hiro’s screams coming from the other end of the hall.

The clamoring had reached its climax, a looming shadow quickly rounding the corner from the trash room to reveal a gigantic, monstrous version of Monokuma that suddenly lunged towards Leon.

 The teen scrambled back as the paw collided with the tile and sent bits of it flying everywhere, Hiro grabbing him by the jacket and yanking him back to his feet. The large Monokuma roared, some staticky gravelly sound that sounded more like deranged laughter than anything. Sakura sprang into action, leaping over the two boys landing two hits that caved in a side of the bear’s face before it reared back to swipe at her.

Aoi cried out to warn her- the outcry falling short as the horrific clang of metal met Sakura’s ready grasp, she grunted loudly against the force of it, arms straining as it continued to try and force it’s claws closer to her face.

Mondo was at her side in an instant, swinging at the giant robot till it recoiled and gave Sakura the opening she needed to punch straight into it’s chest. The bear was slammed against the row of doors, a shower of sparks erupting from the hole Sakura’s punch had left in it’s chest. It spewed out some more static as it slumped forward, red eyes going dim as it stilled.

The victory of this solid ass kicking was short lived, because soon Toko was crying out, the horrific sound of metal scraping against metal coming from behind them. Makoto spun on his heel, just in time to see at least a dozen more Monokuma monsters clawing their way through the gates.

“We need a plan!” Mondo barked, shedding his jacket and getting into a fighting position once again.

“I need something to throw!” Leon shouted back. “We’re in like an insane murder school how can we not have any weapons on us?!”

Sakura turned to Sayaka. “You said you can shout strongly enough to destroy buildings- can you help us?”

Sayaka went pale, “What?? That’s crazy! What if this whole place comes down on top of us?!”

“I assume it would be better than the alternative.” Sakura responded coldly, stepping to the front of the group as one of the Monokuma’s finally pushed through the gate charged.

Sakura and Mondo advanced together, Mondo drawing the bear’s attention as Sakura grabbed it’s back paw and threw it back against the gate towards the others. Makoto’s heartbeat was pounding in his ears- what do I do?? What am I supposed to do?? I can’t just stand here!

Taka suddenly emerged from his bedroom, holding a first aid kit in one hand and brandishing what looked like a literal fucking sword in the other. He yelled to Leon and Hifumi to watch the back hallway and alert him if any more approached from that way, then instructed Hiro to take Monokuma and go see if there were any weapons for the others in storage. Makoto turned back to the gate as another scraping sound grated his ears. 

Two more bears had broken through, one of them immediately jumping onto Mondo and pinning the biker down between it’s claws. Mondo yelled, hands pulling in vain against the monster’s paw as it opened it’s snarling mouth to reveal rows and rows of drill like teeth.

Sakura had been blocked by the other two, both of them circling her like wolves and dodging her attempts to get a hit in.

“DUCK! Now!” Makoto found himself tugged to the ground by Chihiro as Byakuya screamed behind him- the inactive husk of the first bear suddenly whizzed through the air like a ragdoll and sent colliding into one of the bears attacking Sakura. Taka leapt over them immediately after, jumping over Mondo and driving his sword deep into the machine’s throat.

Sparks and oil shot from it’s mouth, and it slumped forward, arms still scrambling to claw at Mondo as Taka somehow pushed it with enough force to shove it off the prone biker.

Mondo scrambled to his feet, his shirt and pants now riddled with cuts but seeming fine aside from that. He spat out some of the oil that had splattered all over the two of them.

“I didn’t need that!” He snapped.

“You’re welcome.” Taka responded bitterly, turning and blocking a new Monokuma from slamming his paw down on the two of them. The bear suddenly froze, a staticky roar escaping it as it’s midsection suddenly began to collapse in on itself, like a soda can.

Makoto could only watch dumbfounded, only managing turn away when he heard Byakuya gasp in pain behind him. The blond was standing in a hunched over sort of way, a hand held up and straining like he was gripping something as tight as he could manage. The effort was clearly showing on his face, and Makoto noticed a thin trail of pink blood trickle from his nose. The horrific metallic screeching ended, the bear’s crumpled body hitting the ground like a truck in a scrapyard.

 Byakuya collapsed, Makoto hurried forward just in time to catch him before his head hit the tile.

Toko was at his side in an instant, “Wh-what happened?!” She asked frantically, helping Makoto roll the blond over and remove his glasses. “I-I-is that blood?! Oh no no no-“

“I think he just passed out- he’s probably okay!” Makoto had no idea if he was okay- but his base instinct was to always reassure people. “Can you go get a wet washcloth or something? Maybe we can try to wake him up.”

Toko moved before Makoto could even comprehend what he was seeing. Having left and reappeared with a washcloth and clean towel in hand before he could blink twice. It seemed her whole demeanor had shifted by the time she returned. Her gaze darted around methodically, she seemed more alert, more on edge, the usual shake in her hands was gone.

He helped her put the towel under his head and she used the wash cloth to clean his face, looking back up at Makoto for further instruction with a weird glint in her eyes.

“What now? Do you actually know how to help?”

“I- What? J-Just keep him here. Make sure he doesn’t get hurt.” He quickly clamored to his feet, looking wildly around to see how the others were doing, his eyes found Sayaka’s own panicked stare. She had wedged herself back against her own doorway and looked as though she was moments away from collapsing herself.

Makoto ran over to her, narrowly avoiding colliding into Aoi as she sprinted forward to aid the others. Sayaka immediately latched onto his arm, tears welling at the corners of her eyes.

“I’m sorry- I’m so sorry!” She gasped out in a panic, “I want to help I’m just so scared! What if I hurt someone?!”

“It’s okay,” Makoto tried to pry her off of him so he could look her in the eyes.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t think you can-“ he looked back at the gate, more and more Monokumas has clambered through the nearly destroyed gates, and it looked as though ten more were ready to force their way in too.

“But we could really use all the help we can get.” He answered honestly. Sayaka stared back at him, her fear hardening into a desperate kind of determination as she nodded.

“I… okay. Okay. Get everyone away from the gate. I can do this. I can do this!”

Makoto nodded, pulling away from her and rushing forward to warn the others. Kyoko’s hands were ablaze, fire traveling all the way up her arms and her expression pulled into a tight frown of concentration as she covered Chihiro- who seemed to be straining under the effort of keeping one of the Monokumas from moving as Mondo reared back to hit it with two broken bars of the gate that had been ripped from the wall.

“Move back! Sayaka’s coming!” He yelled over the commotion, Kyoko nodded, hurling one last fireball at another Monokuma’s head as Mondo plunged one of the metal pole at least foot into the remaining bear’s neck. The biker only glanced to acknowledge him as he scooped Chihiro up by the arm and ran after Kyoko back towards the hallway.

Makoto raced over to Sakura, who had Hifumi of all people helping her as she beat one of the bear’s back with the giant severed paw of another one. Makoto tried to yell his warning to them, only to have the world go fuzzy as something sharp collided with the side of his head.

He hit the ground hard, a buzzing filling his ears and his blurred vision clearing up just in time to see the gaping maw of one of the robot bears looming over him, the teeth in it’s mouth whirring like drills as it smiled wide at him.

What looked like a kitchen knife pierced it’s eye- shards of red glass cascaded onto Makoto, he could hear a victory cry from Leon somewhere behind him as he scrambled away from the now outraged bear. 

Hina rushed over to him, helping him to his feet and pulling him aside as the bear now charged blindly at them. 

“Are you okay?” she asked as he tried to catch his breath. “Oh god, I think it got your head- you’re bleeding!”

“I’m fine, I’m fine… Sayaka’s gonna try something- Get Sakura and Hifumi back!” Hina nodded, running back behind Taka and the now broken Monokuma and hurrying over to the last two.

Taka spun around to face him, his sword dented in three different placed and his normally pristine uniform stained with oil and ripped in places.

“Are you okay?” He asked worriedly, placing a hand at Makoto’s forehead and investigating whatever wound Makoto had yet to see himself.

“I’m fine, barely got me.” He tried to laugh it off, but his forced casual tone suddenly slipped into panic when he saw Sayaka moving towards the gate.

“I- wait! We have to move Sayaka’s going to-“

The shout was guttural, almost otherworldly. 

The sheer force of it knocked Makoto over and sent him flying back across the floor. He slammed through the laundry room doors, his head thankfully colliding into a stack of clean towels instead of a washing machine. 

The force of it buzzed through his veins like a rhythmic sort of lightning, he could barely make out someone speaking in muffled tones through the ringing in his ears.

“-okay?” 

“-hear me? Makoto?”

“Makoto?”

“Naegi!”

Makoto blinked through his blurred vision, forcing his world back into focus on Sayaka’s panicked face above his. Tears were streaming down her face, she broke into a relieved grin as he started to prop himself up on his elbows.

Byakuya knelt beside him, seeming much better now than he had earlier, though his face still looked flushed.

“I suppose there really must be something to your ‘lucky number’” he said coldly, holding up a piece of metal from the gate. “Another few centimeters and this could’ve gone right through your side.”

“I’m so sorry!” Sayaka cried, hugging Makoto and sending a wave of pain through his still muddled mind, “I didn’t even think to look and make sure you were ready- I didn’t see you till after I had already shouted!”

“It’s fine! Really.” he patted her back, “D-did you get them all?”

“She did.” Kyoko spoke from the doorway to the laundry room, “They’re all in pieces now.”

Sayaka helped him to his feet, Byakuya offered his wet cloth from before to Makoto.

“Clean your forehead.” He ordered, his tone not as harsh as perhaps it could’ve been. “You’re a mess.”

“Sure, thanks.” He smiled at the blond. Mondo suddenly rushed to the doorway.

“Everyone okay in here?” He asked, jacket back on and pompadour all askew from the fight. At Makoto’s nod, he relaxed and leaned onto the doorway. “Good. I think everyone’s okay then-“

There was a scream from outside the laundry room, everyone hurried out the door to see what had happened. Kyoko quickly moved to help Sayaka lead Makoto out.

Chihiro was standing next to a hunched over Taka, his hands were clutching at his chest as he collapsed to his knees in jerking, stiff movements. She was begging him to be still- her voice hitching with panic.

“Taka- please- let me help you!“ She reached out and recoiled as Taka groaned in pain, finally pulling himself into a more upright position and moving his hands away from his chest-

There was a pipe sticking out the middle. Makoto felt sick.

“Holy shit-“ Leon gasped as he ran up, hand going up over his mouth.

“Oh no…” Sayaka gasped, breath hitching into a sob. “No no no no no no no no no….”

Mondo pushed forward and dropped to his knees in front of the shuddering teen, catching Taka by the shoulders as he slumped forward.

His eyes met Mondo’s, red glow flickering sporadically as he tried to focus on the other teen’s face. “I-“ he started, trying once again to stand on his own, Mondo held his arms to keep him down. “I need to get…. This thing out of me…”

“Calm down, you-“ Mondo seemed to be panicking now- hands shaking and his gaze snapping between Taka’s barely coherent expression and the large metal rod protruding from his chest. “You can’t go pullin at that. I-It’s gonna be okay, don’t try and move.”

Hiro stepped forward in horrified silence, still holding onto Monokuma. The bear wiggled frantically to be put down.

“This is not good- not good at all!” The bear exclaimed, waddling over to the pair as Hiro set him on the floor. “You’ve only been around two days and you’re already busted again!!!“

Taka glared at the bear, his left eye had gone completely dark now, “Would you…shut- shut up… and help me?”

“What- what are we gonna do?” Hina cried, “Is he dying?? Is he bleeding?? I can’t see anything through the stains on his shirt! Where’s the first aid kit?”

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Kyoko spoke up suddenly, her hand moving from where she’d been supporting Makoto as she stepped forward towards the chaotic scene before her.

“Taka,” she began in a completely calm voice, squatting down so she was eye level with Taka,“You’re the caretaker robot, aren’t you?”

“What!?” Byakuya exclaimed from behind Makoto, Sayaka muttered a similar sentiment under her breath.

There was a tense pause before Taka nodded, Makoto saw Leon’s knees buckle a bit as he leaned onto Sakura in disbelief. “I… I apologize for the deception. I know I should’ve told you- I was…” He looked back at the others, Makoto’s stomach twisted in pity, “I was worried you would all hate me.”

“That’s your reason?” Byakuya sounded skeptical, Monokuma stepped so he was in between Taka and Mondo.

“Oh~ my dearest little brother, what are we going to with someone as accident prone as you?” Before anyone could react, Monokuma yanked the pole from Taka’s chest. Metal scraped metal and caused a painfully high pitch scrape that Makoto could feel in his teeth.

Makoto couldn’t look away, the sparks that followed locked his attention in. There was no blood, nothing spilling out aside from a barely noticeable trail of smoke. He could almost almost see right through it, a few veins- no, wires hanging down and obstructing the view. Toko nearly collapsed, caught with one hand by Sakura at the last minute.

Taka let a strangled sounding cry, grabbing onto Mondo’s arm for support as Monokuma held the pole like a bat in his hand.

“I’m not supposed to let you into the Tech Lab anymore, but I suppose right now I don’t have much of a choice! You two-“ he turned, gesturing with the rod to Mondo and Chihiro, both frozen in shock. “Smart One. Meathead. Take him to the lab on the third floor, you can use Taka’s hand to get in. Makoto: you go with ‘em. Ya know… in case something else happens.”

“Hold on a minute, you don’t get to tell us what to do.” Byakuya argued. “I want answers. What just happened- what were those things? What is…” he gestured to Taka, seeming unable to come up with the proper word. “What is all this?”

“You’re a very curious young man, aren’t you Ten?” Monokuma mused.

“I told you not call me a number.” Byakuya snapped. “And answer my question.”

“Those large, devilishly handsome machines that you so handily destroyed were old security droids.” Monokuma answered, “They were decommissioned years ago. I have no idea how they suddenly spurn to life again- or why they decided to attack us all- and that’s the honest truth!”

The bear was met with skeptic stares, Chihiro began speaking quietly to Taka as Monokuma continued. “As Makoto no doubt informed you all during your ‘not so secret’ secret meeting, there’s something else at play here in Hope’s Peak! You children, to put it simply: are in terrible danger!”

“Yeah. I think we coulda’ figured that out on our own!” Leon huffed indignantly. “Who the hell is doing all this? And what- Taka, dude, what are you?”

Taka turned his attention over to Leon, opening his mouth to respond before Monokuma cheerfully intervened.

“He’s your very own guardian! It’s supposed to be his job to keep you all healthy and happy. Puhuhuhu~ but as you can see he’s not very good at it anymore.”

“Monokuma.” Taka snapped, clearly agitated. “Ca-Can we please not do this now?”

“You called him your little brother.” Hina pointed out, “Were you… made by the same person?”

“That’s one point for Miss Asahina!” Monokuma twirled the pipe around, “But as I mentioned before I’m currently not at liberty to discuss anyone’s origin stories at length. Just know this sweet little disaster is here to look after you, to the best of his abilities, anyway. Puhuhu~”

Sakura cleared her throat, finally pulling her gaze away from Monokuma and surveying the carnage around her.

“How can we be sure nothing else will come for us?” She asked, Makoto only now noticed the deep cut she had acquired across her left forearm, oozing a steady stream of something pink down onto sweatband on her wrist. Makoto absentmindedly held up the wash cloth he had used on his forehead… his blood still looked normal- what was going on?

“Those were all the security drones we had.” Monokuma answered, “Well, except me, but don’t go getting any ideas! I’m here to stay!”

“I have no idea how they started moving around on their own… they’ve been down in storage for who knows how long!” Monokuma began pacing. “There’s a lot of things going on here that shouldn’t be happening… We may really be in over our heads now, kiddos!”

Taka grunted, shifting himself more into a sitting position and trying to blink away the sporadic flicker of his eyes. “Makoto told… told them about the codes. You can talk to them about it now.” He stopped, wincing as a stray spark shot from the hole in his chest. “A-and while you’re at it go ahead and explain it to me. Was I…. Ever informed of any of this?”

“You weren’t even around anymore! That all started after your little incident.” Monokuma answered bitterly, “I never mentioned it because it was never supposed to come up again!”

“We are going to remove the monitors from out rooms.” Sakura told the teddy bear, “If you really want us to be safe you have to agree to let us take the majority of them down.”

“But then how am I supposed to check up on you?!” Monokuma argued- like him not being able to interrupt them whenever he wanted was a violation of his personal rights.

“But for now… I suppose that’s what we’ll have to do. Just don’t go yanking everything out all willy-nilly! I’m gonna have enough clean up work with just this mess!”

He sighed, an over dramatic, put upon sort of sigh that caused Celeste to roll her eyes. “You kids get yourselves cleaned. You three, take care of my dumb dumb brother. I need to get to work. And don’t worry- If anything like this happens again believe me I’ll be freaking out long enough for you to react.”

He waddled off after that, hopping through the chaos of broken machines and bits of metal and wall that were scattered everywhere. The whole place was a mess, scratches and gashes along every wall, a few of the student’s doors had scratches or dents carved into their surface.

The kids themselves weren’t much better. No one had gotten out of the fight without some kind of injury, Makoto could see the fatigue catching up to them. They began muttering to each other, rubbing bruises and sore muscles or tending to each other’s cuts and scrapes with the first aid kit Hiro had begun carrying.

Chihiro suddenly laced her hand in his, tugging him away from Sayaka and pulling him over to where Mondo was carefully maneuvering Taka into his arms to carry him, a distant look in the biker’s eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Sakura asked, looking up from where Hina was bandaging her wounded arm.

“Nah. He ain’t that heavy.” Mondo responded gruffly, looking down at the teen who had gone still and silent in his arms. “ ‘sides, you should probably stay in case anything else happens.”

Sakura nodded, carefully moving her newly bandaged arm as Hina called over to them.

“Be careful you guys, okay?”

Makoto nodded in response, and numbly let himself get dragged into the school by Chihiro.

Chapter Text

Makoto let Chihiro drag him along, picking their way carefully through the wreckage and out into the school. A lot of people have been holding my hand lately. Makoto thought, unable to make his brain focus on anything else, Gosh I really am useless here, aren’t I?

They passed the elevator to who knows where, Monokuma leaning forward and peering into the empty shaft. Makoto could hear him muttering about how he couldn’t figure out how it had been working again, the bear turned and waved at them as they passed. Like they weren’t carrying a severely injured friend with them. Like they hadn’t all almost died.

The walk up to the third floor was quiet, but not as quiet as Makoto wished it was. The only sounds were occasional groans of pain or weird static noises from Taka, always followed by soft whispers of assurance from Mondo. Makoto was surprised at how gentle he was being, especially considering how he had blown up at Taka before.

They passed the game room, the art room, and finally found the locked stairway Celeste had mentioned yesterday. Makoto gulped, staring up at the large, imposing metal door that was sealed with a scanner. True to what Hifumi had said- large blocky letters indicating they had reached the lab could be seen faintly on the wall next to it.

Makoto searched the door for any kind of knob or lever, “Uh… how did Monokuma say we can get in again?”

“He didn’t…” Chihiro approached the scanner, “He told Taka he would let him in, but-“

Taka stuck a hand out in front of her, causing her to jump, his other hand remained in a vice grip on Mondo’s jacket.

“Roll- Roll up my s-sleeve.” He instructed, “ ‘s a barcode there.”

His eyes flickered as Chihiro rolled his sleeve up and removed his gloves- revealing a black and white barcode spanning his wrist, as well as the multitude of lines that traced around all the joints of his hand. Chihiro gasped, running a hand along his palm in utter fascination before the hand twitched sporadically and pulled her from her thoughts.

“Oh! Right, sorry.” She gently maneuvered his hand to hold it in front of the red scanner by the door, it beeped twice.

“ACCESS DENI- UPDATING…”

There was another beep, the light of the led screen suddenly lit up green. 

“RESTRICTIONS OVERRIDDEN. ACCESS GRANTED.”

The door slid open in a slow, almost threatening manner; the lights inside suddenly clicked on one by one. Makoto found himself quickly overwhelmed by all the tech inside, huge machines that reached up to the ceiling with wires and cables connecting everything to everything else. He had absolutely no idea what any of it could possibly be, but it was still impressive- and a little unnerving- to see.

“This is incredible..” Chihiro breathed as she stepped in beside him, turning in a circle to see everything. “Whoever was running this place must’ve been…. Very well connected.”

She frowned, eyes darting around before pointing at a metal workbench in the corner next to a blocky computer monitor and some strange device that looked almost like a sewing machine.

“Let’s lay him down here, so I can see what we’re working with.” She instructed, sounding more sure of herself than she had the whole time Makoto had known her. But that made sense, he supposed as he followed the group, she was truly in her element now.

Mondo carefully set Taka down on the bench, hesitating to move his hands away when Taka suddenly twitched at the movement.

“I apologize for requiring so much help,” he mumbled, looking almost embarrassed, “I promise normally I’m not this high maintenance… lucky shot, I guess.” He coughed- or something similar- as a few sparks shot out from his wound. Now that Makoto was finally close he could see just how big it was. It was easily the size of his palm- it must’ve been one of the edge pieces of the gate that separated their dorms from the school that hit him.

How did that not hit me? He wondered, accidentally tuning out Mondo’s assurance that he wasn’t being high maintenance and Chihiro’s questions about the computer next to them.

I was right behind Taka, how did I end up in the laundry room if we were close enough for the gate to hit him? He frowned, maybe I’m just lucky after all…

“Makoto? Did you hear me?” He was pulled from his thoughts by Taka, who was looking at him with as much concern as he could currently express from his spot propped up on his elbows on the table.

“What? Sorry- I guess I spaced out… again.” he apologized, stepping closer to avoid Chihiro moving past him to collect a few cords from a nearby cabinet.

“I said I wanted to check you for a concussion- and other things.” Taka frowned, one of his eyebrows twitched as he continued, “We should- should- should probably change the bandages on your hand too, and-“

“Would ya calm down?” Mondo cut him off, “Makoto’s fine for now. Yer the one with the literal fuckin stab would right through ya.”

“Yeah, I’m okay.” Makoto gave him a thumbs up. “I promise I’ll let you know if I don’t feel good or something.”

That seemed to placate Taka for now, he laid back down on his back with a sigh, glancing over at where Chihiro was studying the string of code on the now operational computer next to them.

“Hey, Chi,” Mondo tapped on the table to get her attention, she startled and turned to face them. “How the hell are we supposed to do all this?”

“Oh.” Chihiro smiled apologetically, “S-sorry I’m not used to working with other people around, but I’m just going through this computer real quick to get a sense of what I’m working with here.” She gestured to her hand that was still on the computer, no doubt using her powers to sort through it as she was speaking. “This looks like it’s one of the core systems for the building, so if I can figure this out I should be able to figure out a lot of the other weird stuff around here.”

Mondo nodded, though his expression made it seem he didn’t really follow, Chihiro continued anyway.

“Also, this has a lot of your files on here, Taka,” she looked down at him on the table, “This was probably used to program you… You already knew that, didn’t you?” He nodded, she nervously smiled, “Would you be okay if I… looked? I don’t want to mess up anything while I’m fixing you.”

“I… don’t exactly have a choice.” Taka’s frown twitched, a staticky cough escaped him. “I trust you… I don’t think you’ll hurt me, Chihiro.”

Her expression turned to determination, his trust apparently doing her good as she turned back to the computer with a renewed passion. Makoto awkwardly put his hands in his pockets, looking around the room and spying a couple office chairs that had been shoved into a corner near a closet.

“Mondo, do you wanna sit down?” He asked, gesturing over towards the chairs as he went to go grab himself one.

“Nah, give it to her, I don’t need one.” Mondo shrugged, leaning on the table a bit.

“Really? You did a lot down there are you sure you’re not at least sore or something?”

“Nah.” He glanced away suddenly, adjusting his still ruined hair as he answered, “I, uh, can’t get hurt- remember?”

“Oh, right.” Makoto awkwardly mumbled as he rolled the two chairs across the room. He left one next to Chihiro, who seemed too wrapped up in her work to notice, and sat down in the other himself, feeling his sore and bruised body relax a little as he settled into it.

They were quiet for a while; Chihiro continuing to look through things faster than Makoto could ever hope to keep with, Taka shifting uncomfortably and occasionally wincing from the table, Mondo pacing in a small line around them.

The biker’s actions confused Makoto the most- which was really saying something considering everything he had learned today- why did he look so worried?

“Okay…” Chihiro finally spoke up, rolling her sleeves up and turning back to them. “I think I’m ready now. Let’s uhm… see what we’re dealing with…”

She awkwardly began to unbutton Taka’s shirt, Mondo helped Taka sit up so they could slide it off his arms. Makoto tried not to stare- he really did- but now that there was nothing covering the evidence the reality of Taka not being human was hitting him full force. 

You could see where joints met each other, areas along his chest and stomach that would usually be defined by muscle and fat were separated into different plated areas, and the metal around where the pipe had gone through him had lost some of it’s flesh colored paint, leaving shiny metal chipped edges along the exit wound.

Mondo mumbled something under his breath, his confusion and disbelief a stark contrast to how methodically Chihiro was looking him over. Taka had laid back down, nervously drumming his fingers on the table as he watched Chihiro plug a long green cord into the computer before turning back to him.

“I’m going to hook you up to this so I can get a diagnostic report.” She explained, waiting for Taka to nod in approval before continuing, “Where can I plug it in?”

“That one goes behind my ear,” he answered quietly, a twitchy hand going up to point to his left ear. “The other two you have plug into the port on my neck and…” Makoto tried not to show his astonishment and unease when suddenly a small part of Taka’s chest- right where a heart would normally be- raised up, revealing a small usb-like port and a half circle shaped slot that reminded Makoto of something he had seen before…

Mondo had physically flinched when the slot opened, looking up at Makoto with an expression that perfectly conveyed: ‘holy crap can you believe what we’re looking at????’

Chihiro nodded, not seeming at all put off by this, and plugged a thinner red wire into the port Taka had just opened. Her hand hesitated for a moment, lingering over the slot before she spoke.

“What is this?” She asked, startled when Taka suddenly moved a hand to cover it.

“Please don’t touch that.” The polite request came out more like a warning, Taka’s one good eye glowing intensely as he looked up at her. “That’s… where my personality matrix is.” He explained, Makoto tried to make any sense at all of what that phrase could mean.

“Oh, like your personality programming?” Chihiro asked, explaining things a little bit. There was a pause before she moved away so Taka could relax some. “Why wouldn’t that just be built in? It seems pretty risky to have it on external storage…”

“This was made by someone else, I used to be uh…” Taka answered after a moment’s hesitation, “Someone a little different. It didn’t originally have much of an ability to think for itself…” he trailed off, looking back down at himself with a worried expression.

“I don’t want to… lose myself.” He finished. Chihiro frowned, a worried expression on her face as she turned back to what she was doing on the computer.

“This is going to take a little while,” she changed the subject, typing at the computer. “It went right through your spine.”

“Yes, I felt that.” Taka smiled weakly, Mondo scoffed from his spot beside him.

Chihiro didn’t seem nearly as amused, the task before her seemed to be intimidating her now, “I’ll start working on the inside, this thing should be able to take care of the bigger stuff.” She pointed to the large needle like device to their right, Makoto finally noticed it was connected to the workbench and plugged into the monitor through a series of cords.

“Someone should go let the others know we’ll be awhile.” Mondo pointed out, looking over to Makoto, “Why don’t you go, you can get yourself cleaned up while yer down there.”

“You could go rest too, Mondo,” Chihiro pointed out, “Like I said this is going to take-“

“I’m stayin’.” Mondo cut her off, tapping the table again to prove his point. “I ain’t leaving you two alone when who knows what could be goin’ on.”

“But you’ll let me go alone?” Makoto pointed out, not really too upset at the idea, Mondo kinda scared him.

“You’ve got some weird fuckin’ immunity to whatever’s going on.” Mondo shrugged, “It’s safer for ya, right? Besides if anything does happen you can just yell and I’ll come beat the hell outta whatever you need.” He winked, a grin crossing his face as he answered.

“O-Okay,” Makoto got out of his seat, the fresh bruises on his back groaning in protest, “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

He hurried back to the dorms, the school building eerily silent considering everything that happened to them today. He was still struggling to find his way through the school- it was hard to believe he had only been here a few days…

“Makoto-“ he was startled from his thoughts by Kyoko’s calm voice, nearly colliding into her on the stairs to the first floor. She was holding a first aid kit and a water bottle in her hands, gloves back on despite her jacket having been singed up to her elbows. Right, she can literally set herself on fire…

“Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going.” He apologized quickly, he moved to the side to let her pass, she held the water out instead.

“Actually, I was coming to see you,” she explained as he awkwardly took it and began twisting the cap off. “You went through a lot in the fight, and Taka didn’t seem to be in any condition to help you.”

“Oh…” he took a long drink, he hadn’t even realized he’d been thirsty. “I was just coming down to get cleaned up, actually, heh… And to tell you guys that Taka’s gonna be okay. Chihiro said she can fix him.”

“Good.” She nodded, following him down the stairs as he continued on his original journey to a bathroom to wash the new scratch on his forehead.

“It’s uh, crazy about Taka- isn’t it?” He tried to make conversation, not quite comfortable with the silence Kyoko always seemed to settle in. “Did… Did you know? You didn’t seem all that surprised.”

“I had a suspicion,” She answered, “There was certainly plenty of evidence to support it. I didn’t want to jump to any conclusions till I knew for sure.”

“I had no idea.” Makoto awkwardly laughed, “It seems kinda obvious now.”

She hummed in response as they reached the now ruined gate, Monokuma had somehow miraculously already cleaned all the broken bears that had attacked them earlier. The gate was still blasted to pieces all over the hall, though, Makoto couldn’t help but hesitate at the sight of them.

“How is everyone else taking this news?” He asked worriedly, already spotting Leon and Hiro talking by the bathhouse entrance. “And how’s Sayaka? She seemed really freaked out…”

“They’ll adjust.” Kyoko commented, “Some of them faster than others. It’s certainly not news you would normally encounter.” She nodded in the direction of the dorms, silently urging him forward with her. “Sayaka was still pretty upset, Aoi suggested she go lie down for a bit… I assume she’s still in her room.”

“Yo, dudes!” Leon was running up to them, Hiro not far behind. The redhead had a bruise already forming on his jaw, probably from when he’d nearly been clobbered by the first bear attack. Hiro seemed fine, if not a little uncharacteristically worried, the coat tied around his waist sported a fresh new set of claw marks through it’s fabric.

“We were worried about you, man.” Hiro patted his shoulder, quickly switching to a more gentle  rub when Makoto winced in pain. “How’s Taka?”

“What’s Taka?” Leon interjected, “Dude, is he seriously like…. I mean…” he gestured, staring at Makoto while he searched for a way to articulate his feelings.

“This is all too weird.” He finally sighed, Kyoko tried to lead them to the bathhouse as they continued speaking.

“I already knew.” Hiro commented, causing everyone to turn to him in surprise. “Saw it in a vision when we were searching the school. Kinda freaked out at first, heh.” He scratched at his nose, following them into bathhouse and leaning against a locker. “But ya know, he’s chill. Got me food and everything when I had an episode this morning.”

“Yeah he’s chill for now.” Leon mumbled, Kyoko unwrapped the dirty bandage from Makoto’s hand and tossed it for him to throw away. “This is all a little too Terminator for me, dude. Like I don’t wanna be mean but-“

“It’ll take a little time to get used to.” Kyoko cut him off, “But we’ll get used to it. Just like we’ve gotten used to each other.” She took a washcloth to Makoto’s face, ignoring his protests that he could wash it himself. Leon and Hiro snickered.

“So your vision stuff, how’s that work?” Leon asked as he and Hiro sat on either side of Makoto. He helped Kyoko open up a bandage, the task proving difficult with her thick leather gloves on. “Like, is it like watching a tv kinda thing? Or is it just like… a feeling?”

“Uh, both?” Hiro answered, “It depends I guess, “If I’m purposefully looking it’s like a whole scene, usually. But sometimes it happens when I don’t mean for it to, then it could just be like sounds or images or something…”

He paused, picking at his nails with a thoughtful hum, “Kinda sucks when it happens at night though, I can’t tell the difference between visions and dreams, ya know?”

“What was the vision you had this morning?” Makoto asked, accidentally turning away from Kyoko’s attempt to cover the scratch on his forehead to see Hiro.

“Oh, uh, I guess it was the bear attack? It wasn’t really clear…” Hiro began, not looking up from his hands, “I couldn’t really hear- and it was fuzzy- but it was Sayaka screaming and you getting knocked back.”

“Oh wow.” Makoto mumbled, unable to even try feeling disbelief after everything he’d already seen, “You didn’t, uh… you didn’t think to warn me?” He laughed, though he was genuinely curious- that prediction could’ve saved both himself and Taka a lot of pain.

Hiro laughed back, smiling apologetically, “Sorry, man, I didn’t know for sure. I didn’t wanna freak everyone out! Besides, I coulda’ been wrong. That happens sometimes.”

“What kinda super powered psychic gets things wrong?” Leon sneered, “Isn’t that just like guessing then?”

“I’m only wrong thirty percent of the time!” Hiro responded indignantly, “That’s a pretty great success rate! And like I said before, sometimes I can’t tell if things are really visions or not- it makes sense that some of em wouldn’t happen!”

“Maybe you make them different.” Makoto mused, watching Kyoko repack the trusty first aid kit once again, “Like… maybe you see the future, but then you change it, so technically it ends up being wrong.”

“Hey, I like that!” Hiro beamed, once again patting him enthusiastically across his aching back, “It’s like… Manifest Destiny- am i using that right?”

“No…” Kyoko answered quietly, adjusting her ruined sleeves as she stood. “You should go let Aoi and Sakura know you’re okay, they’ve been worried.” She paused, humming in an amused sort of way, “Byakuya is too, in his own way.”

“His own mean way.” Hiro mumbled, standing along with Makoto and Leon, “The guy needs to relax, his aura is like toxic.”

Leon laughed, shaking his head as he opened the bath house door to let them all out, “You can’t say you have visions and see people’s ‘auras’. Pick the kinda crazy you wanna be.”

Makoto was quickly distracted from the ensuing argument by Sakura, who effectively gained his attention when she dumped an armful of severed monitors in a heap by the gate. Aoi hurried along after her, carrying one monitor and counting the ones Sakura had dropped aloud.

“That should be everyone!” she exclaimed, seeming pleased with their work. “Well there’s still the one in the dining hall, and Makoto’s roo- Makoto!!”

Aoi suddenly spotted him, rushing over and hugging him so hard something popped in his back. Sakura quietly urged her to ease up, and Makoto smiled up at her as he recovered the breath Aoi had crushed out of him.

“Hey!” He laughed breathlessly, “Is everyone okay down here? It looks like clean up went fast.”

“SO fast.” Aoi agreed, “Monokuma must be hiding extra arms or something- I never even saw him move anything! By the time me and Sakura got the first of the monitors out of people’s rooms most of the stuff was gone!”

“You already got all the monitors?” Makoto looked at their scrap pile, “Ha, you guys work fast too!”

“Almost all of them,” Sakura corrected, “There’s still your’s and Taka’s- and the ones in the rest of the school. But the bedrooms at least should be safe from… whatever it is these codes are.” 

Aoi gasped, “Oh! Speaking of Taka- how is he? Is he okay?”

“Yeah, Chihiro said he’s gonna be fine.” He assured her, both girls visibly relaxed. “Yeah i guess he got lucky… nothing too important got hit.”

“We were all somewhat lucky.” Sakura commented, “A shot through the spine like that would’ve killed anyone else. I hate that he has to go through this, but it probably was the least gruesome outcome...”

“Byakuya’s been really weird since it all happened.” Aoi changed the subject slightly, “For awhile he just followed Monokuma around demanding information, and when I went to check on Sayaka and get her monitor out of there I think he was trying to get into your room.”

She frowned, irritation and suspicion marking her normally cheerful face, “I mean, I guess some people don’t react to surprises well, but I don’t know… something about him just bugs me.”

Sakura put a hand on her shoulder to calm her. “We shouldn’t talk about people behind their backs, Hina. We all have to look out for each other- and speaking of that:” She turned her naturally intense gaze to Makoto. “You should go eat something. Everyone else already has.”

Makoto was hungry, but he couldn’t help but feel a little patronized. “I feel like lately everyone has been babying me.” He was only half joking, he tried to laugh it off anyway. “It’s like you all think I’m made of paper or something.”

“We just like you!” Aoi assured him, “And you’ve apparently been doing a lot for us the past two days, so let us do something to help you out!” She playfully punched his arm. “Don’t be a baby about us babying you!”

“Alright, fine!” Makoto relented, walking past them to the dining hall. “I’ll be good! I’ll eat something!”

Sakura nodded in approval, Aoi called after him. “And then go see Sayaka! She’s really worried still!”

———————————————————

It took him a minute to realize Sayaka’s door was cracked open, his attention had been temporarily distracted by the precariously balanced snacks in his arms wavering as he knocked.

Monokuma had met him in the kitchen- warning that he didn’t want to see one crumb on his bedroom floor or there’d be hell to pay. Makoto had humored him, pretending to take the warning seriously despite the fact that the bear had lost nearly all his intimidation points after seeing his monstrous counterparts.

“Come in.” Sayaka called from inside. Makoto huffed at himself for not noticing it was open in the first place. It’s more polite to knock, anyway.

He walked into the room, smiling when he spotted Sayaka sitting cross legged at the foot of her bed. She smiled back, not as bright as she normally would, she must’ve really been worried.

“Hey,” he tried hopefully, setting his bounty of snacks on her desk. “You okay?”

“I’m fine.” She responded flatly, taking a deep breath before chuckling nervously. “I was just….”

 She paused, looking down at her hands. “I was really scared.” She responded quietly, “I thought I killed Taka.”

Makoto moved to sit beside her, hesitantly reaching out to put a hand on her knee- she definitely found physical contact comforting. There was a pause before she finally put her hand on his.

“You didn’t- he’s gonna be fine! Chihiro said it would just take a little while.” He assured her, “And you did what had to be done. Taka knows that- every one knows that. Who knows what would’ve happened if you hadn’t stopped them.”

She nodded, trying to convince herself to believe it, and held his hand tighter. “How long till Taka’s… uhm, better?” She asked, struggling to think of the right word.

“Oh, I’m not sure.” Makoto thought for a minute. “I think it depends on how quickly Chihiro can learn to work some of the stuff in the Tech Lab. That place is crazy looking, you should see it.”

She smiled a little at that, but allowed silence to fill the space between them once again. Makoto found himself searching for something to talk about- he knew Sayaka seemed to take her screaming ability very seriously- this must be tearing her apart…

“I, uh, I see they took the monitors down.” He pointed out, his gaze finally landing on the empty spot on the wall and cable dangling from the ceiling. “That’s good. That’ll definitely help me relax.”

“Aoi just came and got it.” She followed his gaze to the wall. “She said her and Sakura have gotten almost all of the ones in here.”

“Yeah.” Makoto agreed, beginning to feel a bit of unease at the stalling conversation. “They still need to get mine and Taka’s, but other than that I think we’re all good.”

She hummed in response, idly drumming on his hand with her fingers.

“Sorry I’m being so quiet,” she suddenly turned to smile at him, “I’m not trying to be such a downer, I’ll feel better once you and Taka are both feeling better.”

Her cheerful tone had returned, but her eyes were missing that little sparkle of hope in them that always fueled Makoto…

Was that why he felt so uneasy?

“It’s fine… I know this was hard for you.” He smiled back, pulling his hand away from hers and standing. “I’ll come check on you again soon, I promise. I wanna get these up to Mondo and Chihiro, I bet they’re hungry by now.”

She stood with him, suddenly wrapping him in a hug and clinging to his jacket for a moment before releasing him and smiling again. “Thanks, Makoto. I’m… really glad we’re stuck here together.”

She laughed a little, seeming to realize what she said. “I mean, not stuck here but… I’m glad we’re getting to spend time together again.”

She definitely seemed back to her old self now, Makoto awkwardly laughed back. “I-I got it, thanks. I’m really glad to see you again too… even if it’s here.”

She helped him gather up his armful of food in a more organized way this time and gave him one last grin as he walked out the room, leaving the anxiety he had been ignoring in the back of his mind to rush forward full force as he stepped out into the hall.

Wrong

wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong-

—————————————————————————————

 This was his second time bringing food up to the Tech Lab today, it was getting late now- and he figured Chihiro and Mondo could use another little break. 

A whole day had passed since the… incident? Attack? Makoto wasn’t sure what to call it, really. The programmer and biker had hardly left the lab at all, Mondo had even slept in one of the office chairs last night. Makoto had been trying to be helpful, bringing food and drinks and keeping Monokuma and Byakuya as far away as he could manage. 

The group meals had been fine, less organized without Taka’s direction, but everyone mostly got along well enough. Aoi and Byakuya had argued at breakfast, only stopping when Sakura finally stepped in and separated them. Lunch had been busy with plans to make the school safer, everyone still nervous about what Makoto had told them the night before. Hifumi had made everyone tea and rice balls for dinner, he had mentioned to Makoto that cooking calmed him down and he was glad to have other people around to eat what he made instead of worrying about saving it for later. They had been good, and aside from Celeste complaining about the tea being too sweet, everyone had gotten along fine at the table.

He had helped take the monitors down from the first floor of the school, aside from the AV room and all the rooms they were still locked out of. He felt more at ease knowing the chances of losing one of his new friends to…. Whatever the heck is going on was rapidly slimming helped him breathe easier.

Byakuya had grilled him for information on what exactly had happened when he had seen Mukuro’s first message. When Makoto’s scattered explanation of the codes didn’t meet his expectations he had abandoned him in favor of interrogating Toko instead. Makoto could understand being nervous, but something about the blond’s attitude continuously rubbed Makoto the wrong way.

“Oh! Hi, Makoto.” Chihiro’s small voice pulled him from his thoughts. She smiled at him from the top of the third floor stairs.

“Hey! I brought some food.” He held up his tray, some tea spilled over from one of the cups, “I figured you guys were hungry.”

“Thanks!” Chihiro was already reaching for one of the rice balls. “I’m so hungry- Oh, but I want to go ahead and shower first, before the water shuts off. You can just set it somewhere upstairs, I wont be very long.”

She laughed a little, “I think Mondo may be sleeping, he’s been slumped over in a chair for about half an hour.” She started walking down the stairs, speaking with a mouthful of rice, “I guess he got bored with Taka being asleep, but neither of them had really said anything tor awhile before that, either... Maybe Taka was just bored, too.”

“I’d be bored too if I had to lay on my back for that long…” Makoto said, mostly to himself, continuing across the third floor to his original destination. Taka had been asleep- or uh, whatever his equivalent was- when Makoto had left to help Sakura earlier. Maybe he could find a book in the library for him to read, just so he could do anything other than stare at the ceiling while Chihiro worked.

“… guess it just… scared me, is all.”

Makoto froze outside the lab’s open door, the gravelly sound of Mondo’s voice hitched and a shaky exhale could be heard.

“It just reminded me of….” There was a noise that could have been a sob, Makoto couldn’t help but lean forward to hear more. “Of Daiya.”

“He would’a liked you, he always liked guys who were passionate.” Mondo laughed bitterly, “And you got a shit ton of passion… god i hope you can’t hear this.”

I shouldn’t be listening to this. Makoto suddenly realized, but his urge to hear more overcame the guilt of eavesdropping.

“You probably can’t. ‘Dunno if it’d even matter if you did…” he had never Mondo sound so… vulnerable. “I… I was there when it happened. It was my fault-“

He sobbed, Makoto physically flinched at the sound, “I was stupid- i was WEAK- I couldn’t…”

“When I saw that pipe go through you I just… it was like i had to live it all over again.” Mondo was openly crying now, his entire tough demeanor washed away. “I couldn’t protect my own  brother, I couldn’t protect you…”

Makoto had to fight his urge to protest at the next statement, Mondo would be too furious to listen to Makoto’s reassurance, anyway.

“I really am a worthless piece a’ shit.”

There was another break for crying, Makoto debated setting the tray down by the door and just leaving.

“That’s why- real or not- I need ya to get better, okay? I can’t take losin’ anyone else, and I fuckin’ swear I’ll never let you or anyone else here get hurt like that again.”

Makoto set the tray down as quietly as possible, making a quiet retreat towards the stairs to give Mondo the privacy he deserved.

“It’s a promise between men, alright?”

Makoto quickly descended the stairs, rounding the corner and tripping head first over Monokuma.

“Hey! Watch where you’re stepping!” The black and white bear snapped, paws holding his head like Makoto’s leg had actually hurt him. “You’re in an awfully big hurry for someone with literally no where else in the world to go!”

Makoto huffed, picking himself up off the ground and not bothering to hide his annoyance as the bear snickered at him.

“If you’re going to bother Taka again then you can just turn around too,” Makoto grumbled, “He’s still asleep.”

“Actually I came to see you.” Monokuma hopped up a few of the steps to be closer to eye level with him. “It’s about your missing handbook.”

“Oh, right.” Makoto had nearly forgotten he lost his student handbook, yesterday had been so busy that he hadn’t noticed till he was ready for bed.

He had to call Monokuma to come let him in, and after several minutes of the teddy bear lecturing and borderline threatening him- and an offer from Hiro to bunk with him for the night- Monokuma had finally just unlocked Makoto’s door and said he would track the handbook down himself.

“I can’t find it anywhere! It’s not a single place I’ve looked in the whole building- and the tracker has been disabled somehow!” Monokuma lamented, Makoto frowned.

“Tracker? You can track us?” He supposed this shouldn’t feel like such a breach of privacy considering there were already cameras clocking his every move throughout the school.

“Oh, calm down, calm down.” Monokuma waved him off, “I’m the only one in the whole universe that can access them. It’s not like I don’t always know where you are already.”

He began pacing along the step, waddling back and forth as he thought, “However this could mean something sinister is afoot… None of you should’ve known the handbooks had trackers, and even if you ignore how impossible it’d be to disable it’s also incredibly suspicious that your’s is the only one completely out of my network…”

Makoto thought about what the bear was saying, “Maybe it got destroyed when Sayaka screamed?” He suggested, “I did fly back like….. twenty feet.”

“Not possible!” He dismissed the suggestion angrily, “Those handbooks can withstand the full force of a train! They’re almost as indestructible as Mr. Sobstory up there.” He gestured up the stairs, “No, Lucky Charm, this had to have been deliberate!”

“But… why would someone want my handbook?” 

“No idea. Your’s does the same thing everyone else’s does.” Monokuma shrugged, “That’s what we’ve got to find out!”

“We?” Makoto crinkled his nose, “We have to figure this out?”

“As of this moment you and I are officially Investigative Partners- try not to get too excited, I know this is a dream come true for you!”

“Of course, yeah,” Makoto answered with barely concealed sarcasm. “Why can’t you just get me a new handbook?”

“What am I made of money?!” Monokuma huffed, paws on his hips, “I do have a temporary access card to get you into your room, but we have to find the original! I only had enough for each of you!”

“Can’t you just make another?” Makoto pressed, “Where did you get them, anyway?”

Monokuma shook his head, pointing a claw accusatorially at him, “Nice try, Lucky, but I can’t tell you anything about that! Save your investigative skills for discovering who stole your handbook!”

“But why would someone steal my handbook?? It’s like you said- they do the same thing everyone else’s does!” Makoto was getting exasperated now, Monokuma pulled a small card with a barcode and the numbers ‘78-07’ printed on it and held it out to him.

“There is one other thing it can do~” the bear pointed out as Makoto hesitantly took the card, “It gets into your room.”

“That’s….” Makoto faltered, “Why would anyone wanna do that? I don’t have anything there! I don’t even a full change of clothes yet!”

“Hm, Yes. And you really should remedy that…” Monokuma shrugged, hopping down the stairs and hurrying down the hall, “That’s for you to find out! I’ve carried this investigation long enough already!”

Makoto watched him leave, still dumbfounded with the idea of anyone purposefully stealing his handbook. There wasn’t any reason for anyone to go into his room, the only things he had in there were his clothes, a few toiletries and….

And the discs. And the flash drive. And his still unopened letter from Mukuro.

He fought against the feeling of dread crawling up his spine, surely someone could just ask if they wanted to see those- he’d have no problem showing them! The idea of someone wanting to do it in secretly would mean they didn’t want Makoto to know why they wanted them….

But what could they possibly do with them?

Makoto immediately thought to ask Kyoko for help- if anyone could help him it was her. He found himself walking to find her as he continued to think. Byakuya had certainly wanted more information on what Makoto had said, but he hadn’t been close enough to Makoto at any point to have taken the handbook.

He could’ve taken it with his powers… Makoto thought, But I would’ve felt something flying out of my pocket, right? I’ll mark him down as a ‘Maybe’.

He stopped short as he reached the first floor, spotting Kyoko and Leon speaking at the other end of the hall. I guess… I guess it could be Kyoko… He thought suddenly, tensing up when the white haired girl noticed him staring. She’s just as curious about everything as Byakuya was, but she would’ve just asked me…. She wouldn’t just steal something.

“Is everything okay?” she asked as he approached hesitantly, “You seem troubled.”

“Is it Taka? Is something wrong?” Leon added, and Makoto quickly weighed his options on whether or not Leon should be considered a suspect.

Suspect? What am I talking about? Makoto shook the thought out of his head.

“Taka’s fine! Chihiro said he should be moving around again sometime tomorrow.” He started, watching Leon and Kyoko both nod in approval before continuing, “There was, uh…. Something I needed help figuring out, though.”

Kyoko raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to continue. He cast one last wary glance at Leon before speaking.

“Someone stole my E-handbook yesterday.” He showed them the replacement Monokuma gave him, “And Monokuma thinks someone had to have taken it and hidden it deliberately.”

“Why would anyone do that?” Leon’s face scrunched in confusion, “That’s stupid. They all get into the same place… except the locker rooms, I guess.”

“And Makoto’s room.” Kyoko instantly caught on, raising a gloved hand to her chin thoughtfully, “If someone did take it the only reason would be to gain access to his bedroom.”

“Panty Raid!” Leon joked, faltering at Kyoko’s disapproving stare, “Sorry. Not funny. But why would someone want in Makoto’s room?”

“Information- I guess?” Makoto shrugged. “The only things I have in there are the discs and stuff from Mukuro.”

“But you already told us everything, right?” Leon ran a hand through his hair. “What’s left to see?”

“The flash drive.” Kyoko answered again, “Who would stand to benefit from taking the flash drive from your room?”

Makoto stuttered under her gaze, it was like she was prompting him to speak, “Uh-uhm. Byakuya, I guess? But he wouldn’t know what to do with it.”

“Hifumi talked about plugging it into Monokuma,” Leon suggested, “Maybe he wanted to really test that theory?”

“I haven’t been around Hifumi one on one since I’ve gotten the flash drive.” Makoto shook his head, “And he doesn’t really strike me as a thief.”

“There is one person who has both the knowledge and opportunity to test the flash drive.” Kyoko was once again leading the conversation, pausing like she was waiting for them to catch up to her.

“Uh, well you obviously know who so why not just tell us?” Leon huffed, nudging Makoto a little in a silent request for back up.

Kyoko sighed, “Chihiro has been spending a lot of alone time with Taka, and has shown significant interest in learning more about him and the school’s technology.”

“Chihiro?” Makoto shook his head, “There’s no way! She would never do something like that without….” He trailed off, his mind drifting back to when she had tried to read Taka’s code by holding his hand, “Without…. Asking.”

There was a pause.

“At least I think.” He finished, Leon hummed nervously.

“You don’t sound so confident, dude.” He muttered, “What do you think she could do with that flash drive?”

“I-I don’t know! Mukuro never said what was on it.” Makoto fidgeted, “I… I think it was definitely meant for Taka, though. And I think Chihiro realized that yesterday, too.”

“We should go talk to her.” Kyoko decided, “Even if she isn’t guilty we could still get information.”

“Guilty?” Leon laughed nervously, “Come on man, she isn’t a criminal- probably.”

Kyoko began walking down the hall. “Makoto, you should check you room and see if it’s still in there. If not, we should consider confronting the group as a whole.”

“O-okay.” Makoto trailed along behind her, Leon beside him, still a little lost as she walked with purpose towards the dorms. “Chihiro should be in her room. She said she wanted to take a shower.”

She continued down the hall ahead of them, the boys stopping in front of Makoto’s door as he fished the replacement card from his pocket. He could hear Sayaka giggling, glancing back to see her laughing at something Sakura had said. The bigger teen seemed confused, but whatever she said Sayaka certainly must’ve enjoyed it. Leon elbowed him as the door opened with a goofy smile on his face.

“Sayaka’s the best, huh?” The red head sighed as they entered his room, leaning back against the door to close it. “She’s so great, man, and I think she really likes me!”

“Really?” Makoto smiled as he hurried over to his nightstand. “Not to be rude or anything- but what makes you say that? You’ve only known her for like… a week. Less, actually.”

“I dunno, I think we really got something going.” Leon grinned even more as he lazily crossed the room to sit on Makoto’s bed. “Ever since yesterday she’s been like way more into me.”

That seemed to be true, Makoto noted, his whole body relaxing when he found all the drawer’s contents were undisturbed. He took the flash drive and stuck it in his jacket pocket. The letter could wait till tonight.

Sayaka had certainly spent more time with Leon after the fight, sitting next to him- on the opposite side that Makoto sat- at every meal, laughing and smiling at every story and stupid joke. And that was great- Makoto certainly wouldn’t mind seeing both his friends in a happy relationship- but it developing so quickly did seem… odd.

“Maybe I did something during the bear fight that impressed her?” Leon shrugged, “I dunno what though. She’s the one who absolutely obliterated all those stupid things.” he laughed, “What does throwing around debris do for a girl like that?”

Makoto laughed a little, sitting on the bed also. “Maybe she just… likes your personality? She was pretty shaken up after everything yesterday. She probably has a new appreciation for how laid back you are.”

“I am laid back.” Leon mused with a nod, turning to grin like a lovesick idiot at him. “She wants to go for a walk in the greenhouse thing tonight- just the two of us.” He wiggled his eyebrows, Makoto’s supportive grin fell.

“You two aren’t gonna like… ya know…”

“Make out? Absolutely hell yeah, dude.” Leon finished, laughing at how Makoto cringed. “If she’s into it, of course, I ain’t gonna push it with the girl who could explode my head.”

“That’s a very smart idea.” Makoto smiled again, pushing the mental image of Leon making out with anyone from his mind.

“You still have a tv screen?” The change in subject caught Makoto off guard, snapping from his thoughts to follow Leon’s gaze towards the monitor in the corner of the room.

“Oh, yeah. Didn’t even notice till Monokuma’s morning announcement.” Makoto frowned, “I need to ask Sakura to get it out of here.”

“For real, man. I’m sleeping a lot easier knowing it’s out of my room.” Leon agreed, his demeanor tensing as he stared at it. ‘I guess it doesn’t matter as much with you… since that stuff didn’t work on you, but…”

They were quiet, Leon inhaled like he was going to say something, but ultimately just sighed. After a minute or so the redhead abruptly stood and slapped the edge of the bed.

“Whatever. I don’t wanna think about it. Let’s go see what Kyoko’s up to.”

Makoto followed him out the door, hand protectively closing around the flash drive in his pocket. Sakura and Sayaka were gone now, Makoto made a mental note to track her down later and ask about removing the monitor from his room. 

Chihiro’s door was cracked open, Makoto knocked before stepping inside. Chihiro was nervously sitting on the edge of her bed as Kyoko stood in front of her, dressed in a baggy shirt and pajama pants covered in stars. I really need to go look through storage for some clothes…

“Makoto!” Chihiro squeaked as they came in, “Kyoko told me what’s going on- I promise I’d never steal anything from you!” She looked like she was on the verge of tears at just the thought of it, Makoto quickly tried to diffuse the situation.

“I-It’s okay, Chihiro. I believe you!” He looked to Kyoko, who nodded solemnly in agreement. “I never really thought you would anyway, I just couldn’t think of anyone else who’d want into my room.”

Chihiro tried to blink away the tears in her eyes. “I understand…. I guess I would be the most likely to want tech stuff…” she looked down at her lap, “Was everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything was fine. Nothing was taken.” Makoto pulled the flash drive out of his pocket. “I’m gonna keep this on me for now, till I find out what’s going on.”

“That’s a good idea.” Kyoko stepped past him towards Chihiro’s desk. “Do you mind if I look around a little?”

Chihiro frowned, “Do you still think I took it?”

“I just want to be one hundred percent positive. Please, don’t take it personally.” The white haired girl answered, and after a moment’s hesitation Chihiro nodded.

“I guess that’s fine…” she answered quietly, turning and pointing to him and Leon. “B-but you two can’t. I have… ya know… stuff…”

“Yeah, sure, of course!” Makoto assured her. Leon nodded quickly in agreement, holding a hand up to the side of his head to block his view of Kyoko for good measure.

That seemed to relax Chihiro, she stood and inspected the flash drive in Makoto’s hand.

“I think this definitely fits into that weird port on Taka-“ she paused, hand held out for Makoto to set it in. “I haven’t found another cable or or port in the Tech lab that matches this weird half circle shape…”

She frowned, obviously lost in thought, “Everything else used to program Taka is in there, though. Which makes me nervous to try this. Especially since…” She paused, looking at Leon and Kyoko before standing on her tiptoes to whisper into his ear, “I would have to remove the drive Taka already has installed- the one he wouldn’t let me touch.”

“What’s going on in here?” Byakuya’s voice startled all of them. Chihiro shoved the drive back into Makoto’s pocket as he turned to face the blond.

Byakuya stood in the doorway, an eyebrow raised in suspicion as he scanned around the room. Toko stood behind him, nervously picking at her braids as she peered over his shoulder.

“Just hangin out, man.” Leon answered nonchalantly, “Can’t a couple friends hang out in another friend’s bedroom in a weird creepy school they’re all trapped in? Is that not normal?”

Byakuya rolled his eyes, ignoring Leon entirely and looking to Chihiro. “If you’re here I presume you’ve already shut Taka down for the night?”

“I didn’t shut him down,” Chihiro corrected with a frown, “But he and Mondo are both sleeping. Don’t bother them, please.”

“Fine. I’ll save my questions for tomorrow.” The blond huffed. “I do have a question for you, Makoto.”

“Oh, sure, what’s up?”

“What’s in that letter?” He asked shortly, Makoto rolled his eyes. This was the fourth time Byakuya had asked him this.

“I still haven’t read it, okay?” He responded in an exasperated tone.

“Oh, please.”

“I’m serious! I’ve been a little too focused on making sure nobody was dying, okay?” Makoto turned to face him fully, “Look, you can even read it with me later if you want, I was gonna let Kyoko look at it anyway.”

“What about me?” Leon asked, seeming hurt at the thought of being left out, “Or Chi! Maybe we wanna know what’s in the letter.”

“Or me!” Toko added from behind Byakuya, “D-d-don’t pretend I don’t exist!”

“That’s okay, you can just give me the gist…” Chihiro nervously laughed, “I don’t think I could handle it….”

“Very well. We can do that right now.” Byakuya nodded, and Makoto yelped at the sudden phantom tugging of his jacket sleeve pulling him forward. “Let’s just move this friendly gathering to your room.”

“Oooooh, can’t right now. Sorry.” Leon grabbed Makoto’s other sleeve, effectively pulling him back. “Gotta date in like…. However many minutes.”

“You don’t have to join us.” Byakuya answered. Makoto felt the grip on his jacket relax, Byakuya’s mouth twitched like he was in pain. “But I want to do this now.”

“Calm down.” Kyoko intervened before Makoto could. “Don’t you think it would be best to do this when everyone is available? We all deserve to know what’s inside the letter. We can open it tomorrow at breakfast.” She crossed her arms, and in a borderline teasing way added: “You can even hold the letter while we read it if that would make you feel better.”

Byakuya glared, an argument ready on the tip of his tongue, but to Makoto’s surprise he simply took a deep breath and sighed.

“Fine.” He snapped. “First thing in the morning…. I have a headache, anyway. I’m going to bed.”

“Goodnight!” Leon called as the blond disappeared, seeming too pleased with how annoyed the other teen had been.

There was a bell ringing from the hallway, the familiar Ding Dong and Monokuma’s voice signaling it was night time.

“Oh- I’m gonna go check on Taka and Mondo one more time…” Chihiro grabbed a folded up blanket from the foot of her bed. “Uhm, Makoto? Can you walk with me? The school kind of freaks me out at night….”

“Sure, no problem.” Makoto smiled. He was exhausted, but it was hard for him to say no to people… especially people he had inadvertently accused of stealing from him.

Chihiro smiled, and Makoto prepared himself to walk up and down a flight of stairs for what felt like the hundredth time today.

Chapter Text

After saying goodnight to Kyoko and Leon- the latter excitedly going to get ready for his ‘date’- The two of them made their way towards the stairs, passing Celeste on the stairs as she carried a few books.

“Where are the two of you going so late at night?” She asked, Makoto still couldn’t wrap his head around her accent… was it French? It like almost sounded French. “It does not seem wise to go wandering around.” She frowned, tapping her chin thoughtfully as she spoke, “Especially if there are other monitors elsewhere in the school we have not gotten to yet.”

“I-I’m with Makoto, so I’ll be okay.” Chihiro responded, and Makoto couldn’t tell if she was trying to convince Celeste or herself of the statement.

“Ah, yes. I suppose he does change things…” Celeste held his gaze, eyes seeming to stare through his own in an almost… frustrated way. Why was she always doing that? Did she not like me? I’ll have to work on that… “Well, goodnight. I trust the two of you will keep the noise to a minimum.” She walked away, her black lacy heels clicking down the hall.

They continued up the stairs in silence, till Chihiro finally cleared her throat as they reached the third floor.

“Um, Makoto?”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t think… whoever took your handbook is…” she fidgeted, fear evident on her face as she trailed off.

“What is it?” Makoto was genuinely confused, he stopped walking to face her fully, “Chihiro, what’s wrong?”

“I just can’t think of any reason someone would want your stuff unless…” she faltered again, eyes finally looking up at him, “Unless they were, ya know… not themse-“

There was a loud whistle from down the hall, effectively scaring the two of them half to death. Mondo rounded the corner, a huge grin on his face and what looked like a welding mask pulled up on his head. It was hard to believe he had been sobbing last time Makoto saw- or… heard him- if it wasn’t for the slight smudging of his eyeliner Makoto probably would’ve forgotten.

“Just the two I wanted to see!!” He beamed at them, “Check this shit out!”

The biker’s hand went back around the corner, Makoto and Chihiro both gasping when Taka’s hand took it. The pale teen rounded the corner on shaky legs, smiling just as widely as Mondo as he moved to lean more on the biker for support.

“What are you doing up??” Chihiro ran over to them, inspecting Taka’s still shirtless torso and gasping, “Who welded this?!”

“Me! Who the fuck else?” Mondo laughed, taking the welding mask off and tossing it to Makoto as he approached. “Did a pretty good job, too. Kinda looks like a star tattoo, doesn’t it?”

Taka held a hand to the silver mark that now covered where the pipe had skewered him. It did resemble a star- but a messy, realistic one with thin points in all directions.

“Oh goodness,” he gasped in mock horror, a huge smile still on his face, “I’m a delinquent!”

The two of them laughed, leaving Makoto more confused then he’d been the entire time they’d been trapped here.

“What… what happened while we were downstairs?” He whispered to Chihiro, who seemed too focused on making sure everything was okay with Taka to respond.

“I wanted to do one more diagnostic before welding it…” she muttered worriedly, “What if we missed something?”

“Already done!” Taka responded, his usual energy seemed to have fully returned to him now. “And aside from the fact that I need to do some recalibrating with the new spine you made, I’m fully functional again!”

He moved his arm from where it had rested around Mondo’s shoulders, bending down some so he could be eye level with Chihiro. “I really cannot thank you enough for everything you did Chihiro, I apologize if I was any sort of inconvenience…”

“No! You weren’t at all!” She finally smiled back at him, “I’m just glad you’re okay!”

“I think I’m going to stay in the lab one more night, though,” Taka added, “I’m not quite sure I can make it down the stairs just yet…”

Chihiro nodded in approval, her expression seeming way too serious for someone so small.

“I already offered to just carry him down,” Mondo slung his arm around Taka’s waist, Makoto pretended not to notice how Taka’s eyes lit up brighter. “He said it’d be ‘undignified’ or some crap. Not like I didn’t already carry you up here.”

“That was different!” Taka argued, “I’ll be more than capable of walking myself-“ he was cut off when mondo suddenly scooped him up, cackling as Taka yelped in surprise and Chihiro began yelling at him to be careful.

Makoto couldn’t help but laugh, they really deserved this peace. Something about the interaction helped him forget that they were all still in danger here… but even so, he had never really had close friends before- aside from Sayaka when he was a lot younger- this was all so new to him. He wondered if they could’ve ever found each other without being trapped here, his mom talked a lot about fate, maybe they all could’ve been destined to meet anyway….

What would things have been like if they hadn’t been sent away from Hope’s Peak? His smile faltered at the thought, Mukuro’s grim message of their purpose clawing at the back of his mind as he watched Mondo set Taka back on the ground and threaten to scoop up Chihiro instead… would they even be friends if they had been raised the way they were supposed to?

Makoto didn’t even turn out the way he was ‘supposed to’… would they have still liked him if he had grown up powerless around them?

“Eh, one more night in a chair won’t kill me I guess.” Mondo’s loud voice pulled Makoto from his increasingly upsetting train of thought. He forced himself to focus on the present.

“You don’t have to stay with me,” Taka’s expression turned to a worried frown, “It’s important that you get adequate rest-“

“I’m stayin’.” Mondo cut him off, “Not gonna abandon my bro like that. I’ll go back to my room when you go back to yours.”

Chihiro grinned, holding the blanket she had carried all this way out for Mondo to take, “I had a feeling you’d wanna stay up here again, so I brought you this.”

“Thanks, kid.” Mondo ruffled her hair, ignoring her tiny squeak of protest, “It’s cold as shit up here.”

“Oh, Makoto!” Taka took a shaky step towards him, chuckling as he wobbled a bit, “I wanted to ask- were you ever able to find your handbook after yesterday? Where did you end up sleeping?”

“Oh, Monokuma let me into my room. And gave me, uh,” he held up his temporary card from Monokuma, “This thing.”

Something clattered to the floor, Taka’s expression immediately turned serious as his gaze followed it.

“Why do you have that with you?” He asked, the friendly tone to his voice switching to apprehension as Makoto followed his stare to the flash drive that had fallen to the floor.

“O-oh! I’m sorry.” Makoto bent down to pick it up. “I was just- uh,”

He struggled to think of the right thing to say, Taka seemed nervous now- red eyes following Makoto’s hand as he picked the flash drive up and stood.

“Monokuma thinks someone stole my handbook on purpose,” he began, trying not to upset anyone, “And I was worried someone might try to take Mukuro’s stuff, so I started carrying all of it around again…”

He held the flash drive out to Taka, gently prompting him to take it, “If, uh, if it’d make you feel better… you could hold onto it.” He tried.

After a moment’s hesitation, Taka did take it, looking it over with a stern frown. “Yes… thank you, Makoto. I really appreciate you being honest with me.”

Mondo put his arm around Taka again, trying to relieve the tension that was starting to fill the air around them.

“I don’t think Mac can be anything but honest, bro. He’s too good for all that.”

“Glad to see ‘Mac’ is catching on…” Makoto grumbled under his breath as Mondo’s expression furrowed into confusion.

“Why would someone steal yer handbook, anyway? Ya already told us everything in the bathhouse, what more could they wanna know?”

Chihiro balled her hands into fists, seeming nervous again, “What if someone… n-never mind.” She shook her head suddenly, refusing to continue and leaving Makoto at a loss.

The four of them eventually moved past the awkward energy in the hall and back into the Tech Lab, Chihiro and Makoto sharing several confused looks at the other boys’ sudden friendship as they recounted how Mondo had nearly knocked a whole computer tower over trying to set up everything to weld Taka’s chest. Eventually Chihiro fell asleep slumped over in a chair, Makoto felt he wasn’t too far behind her in terms of exhaustion and decided it was about time for him to go to sleep too.

“I can walk ya downstairs if you want.” Mondo offered, covering Chihiro up with the blanket she had brought for him.

“Oh, I’ll be okay.” Makoto shrugged, “Goodnight, guys. Glad you’re feeling better.”

“Makoto-“ Taka stopped him, digging around in a pile of his things beside the workbench and pulling out his own handbook, “If you’d like, you can sleep in my room tonight! That could help you feel a little safer.”

“Oh…” Makoto frowned, “I hadn’t even thought about someone being able to get in my room while I was in there.” He laughed nervously, suddenly wishing he hadn’t just turned down Mondo’s offer to walk back with him.

“Uh, I’ll be fine. Thanks, though.” He smiled nervously, maybe he could just sleep up here? He could curl up in an office chair probably… but then where would Mondo sleep? He didn’t want to take Taka’s room, that just felt wrong with him still sleeping on a metal table.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Taka walked towards him much more confidently now, forcing the handbook into Makoto’s hands. “Sleep in my room tonight- and I’ll personally see to it that your handbook is located tomorrow!”

“Me too.” Mondo added, cracking his knuckles, “I hate thieves, man. We’ll teach whoever it is a lesson.”

“We will locate the handbook without violence.” Taka turned to give the biker a disapproving stare.

“Thanks, guys.” Makoto sheepishly smiled, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yes!” Taka called after him, “We have to resume our daily meetings! See you at eight o clock sharp!”

———————————————————

He reached the first floor quickly, he had nearly sprinted down the second floor stairs when the lights suddenly shut off halfway through his walk. Monokuma had cackled at his fear through the speakers, informing him that this is what happens when you wander around after curfew. 

Stupid bear.

“Naegi.”

Makoto nearly jumped out of his skin at the voice, yelping as Byakuya grabbed his arm as he rounded the corner past the closed AV room.

“Byakuya! What the heck- you scared me!” He put a hand on his chest to try and calm himself down, Byakuya didn’t seem bothered.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” The blond ignored him. “I want to see the letter.”

Makoto groaned, pulling his arm from Byakuya and rubbing his eyes. “Ugh, come oooooon. You said you were fine with waiting till in the morning!”

“I only said that to get Kirigiri off my case.” He snapped, and then his expression softened-barely. “Makoto, I can’t handle not knowing what’s going on here. I need to know what Mukuro was trying to tell you.”

Makoto held his gaze, his annoyed exhaustion slowly being overcome by how strangely genuine Byakuya seemed to be acting.

“Fine.” He grumbled after a minute, trudging towards the dorms. “If it really means this much to you we can look at it now.”

“How can it not mean this much to you?” Byakuya quickly matched his pace, pushing his glasses back into place. “It seems you’ve all forgotten we’re being held here against our will- we need to be prepared for anything that could happen.”

“We have been preparing! I’m sorry we aren’t doing it the way you specifically want-“ Makoto retorted as they walked through the still broken gates to the dorms, “But it isn’t like you’ve been very help…ful…”

He trailed off, eyes landing on the open door next to Kyoko’s, he held an arm up to stop Byakuya. 

“Someone’s in my room.” He whispered, Byakuya’s already grim expression soured even more as he followed Makoto’s gaze.

The two of them quietly walked forward, Makoto could hear what sounded like…. Humming? Someone was humming quietly inside, the lights were off, but there was a strange flickering white light coming from inside. He paused just as they entered the door way. This is my room, right? He reached up and ran a hand over the heart engraved in the door’s surface. Definitely mine… what’s going on?

 A high pitched noise pricked at his ears, and a wave of dread came crashing over him as he reached back and grabbed Byakuya’s arm.

“It’s almost ready...” A voice spoke softly Makoto almost didn’t hear, “Then we have a lot of work to do.”

He gulped, glancing up at Byakuya’s panicked eyes staring down at him for answers.

After a moment’s hesitation, the blond leaned down and whispered in his ear, “Is this-“

Makoto nodded, moving his hand up to silence Byakuya as the soft humming inside suddenly stopped. The high pitched noise raised slightly in volume, the flickering light inside grew more sporadic, finally the voice spoke at a normal volume.

“It’s time to wake up now. There’s something you need to see.”

“Sayaka?!” Makoto couldn’t stop from exclaiming, and despite Byakuya frantically reaching out to stop him- he rounded the corner to find his friend standing in the center of his bedroom.

She was facing away from the monitor, the glitching images casting a terrifying light onto her far too neutral expression. Her eyes met his instantly, and slowly she turned away from the figure slumped on the floor in front of his bed to face him fully.

“Seven.” She spoke in a monotone voice, some weird semblance of a smile creeping onto her face. “I was told you may be an issue.”

There was a pause, her gaze left his to glance down at Leon- who was starting to stir from where he was propped up against Makoto’s bed. Makoto looked from him to the cacophony of images strobing from the monitor, the noise had reached a pitch now that stung his ears- and he desperately hoped Sayaka didn’t hear Byakuya hiss in pain from the doorway.

“Y-you… Sayaka what are you doing?” His voice cracked in disbelief, he backed into his trash can as Sayaka began stalking towards him.

“My name is not Sayaka. What I’m doing is none of your business.” Her eyes stared intensely into his own, a hollowness in them that twisted Makoto’s gut into knots.

“What are you talking about?” He asked, backing against the wall as she got closer. “Of course your name’s Sayaka! Wh-why are you in my room? What’d you do to-“

“Naegi- WATCH OUT-“ Makoto barely had time to react to Byakuya’s warning. Sayaka lunged at him, something in her hand glinting in the tv’s light. He ducked, diving past her and colliding unceremoniously into Leon, The redhead groaned and began opening his eyes.

“Leon! Leon whatever you do don’t look at the-“

There was a scream, a sudden wave of force came crashing into him, sending him and Leon both colliding into the far wall. His head reeled as he frantically scrambled onto his feet, standing in between Leon and the screen as best as he could. Sayaka was breathing heavily, knife glinting in her hand and dead eyes glaring him down. Through the screech in his ears he could hear the codes being blasted full force through the monitor’s speakers- he dared to look down and found a dazed and blank expression on Leon’s face.

“I was trying to do this quietly!” She snapped, glaring down at the two of them.

I have to destroy the monitor- He thought through his panic, eyes snapping around his now ruined bedroom for anything he could use and finally landing on Sayaka’s hand.

I have to get that knife.

She was taking another deep breath- Makoto didn’t want to wait to see what could happen if she managed to scream again. He lunged at her, slamming them both against the wall as he tried to wrestle the knife out of her hands. She yelled angrily- a pitch so high Makoto felt his head would split open- without thinking he threw his head back to slam it against her jaw.

She cried out in pain, her hands instinctively going up to her face as Makoto finally wrenched the knife from her and pushed himself away.

“Leon! Leon listen to me-“ He tried to shout over the noise, he was cut off my a guttural scream from Sayaka. He went tumbling across the room- the knife flew from his hand and mixed into the mess of his broken bed and sheets. His arm scraped against a broken piece of his headboard. As he struggled to steady himself on shaky legs again something in his chest seemed to snap and the pain nearly sent him back to the floor. His eyes went past Sayaka to his doorway, where Byakuya had dropped to his knees as the codes began blaring through the room.

I need help- I need help-

“Byakuya!” He cried in a panic, Sayaka inhaled to hit him again.

 “Byakuya, help me!”

The blond’s eyes seemed to refocus- snapping up to meet Makoto’s just as Sayaka readied another scream.

Makoto braced himself, but instead of feeling another impossible wave of force he heard a loud thud and the muffled sound of Sayaka crying out. He opened his eyes- Byakuya had flung Makoto’s mattress across the room to knock sayaka over. She thrashed under the weight of it while Byakuya seemed to be holding it in place.

Makoto acted quickly, grabbing the chunk of wood he had cut himself with and sprinting across the room to hurl it like a bat into the monitor. Shards of glass rained down on him, a jolt of electricity zapping his hands as he fell over backwards and let the charred wood fall at his feet.

“Byakuya, go get someone to help!” He gasped out, crawling towards Leon’s still shell shocked form and hoping the blond was still coherent enough to listen. He could hear Sayaka scream in anger behind him, he ignored the rush of wind against his back and grabbed Leon’s face in his hands.

“Hey! Hey- come on, buddy-“ He shook the redhead’s shoulders, slapped at the side of his face with his hand, desperately trying to will some life back into his friend’s eyes. “Leon! I need you to come back to me, okay! Leon, please-“

“Who…” Leon finally blinked, his blank expression furrowing into a confused one, “What … what’d you… call me?”

A hand grabbed Makoto’s hair, yanking him forcefully back up on to his feet. He yelped in pain, spinning around to find himself inches away from Sayaka’s face.

“She’s right- you really do ruin everything…” she hissed, “You should not have interfered.”

“Sayaka-“ he gasped out as her other hand clawed his neck. Has she always been this strong? I don’t remember her being this strong. He grasped at her arm, struggling to inhale through the sting of her fingernails digging into his neck. “We’re friends- why are you doing this?”

Her hard expression softened, barely, just long enough for Makoto to thrust a leg up into her gut and kick her off of him. She fell back onto his mattress with an enraged growl, and Makoto spared once last glance at Leon- who was staring blankly down at his own hands.

I have to get away from him, he can’t take any more hits in this condition.

Sayaka was getting to her feet now. Makoto summoned every last ounce of energy he had left and got ready to run.

“You really want me out of the way? You’re gonna have to catch me first.” He sprinted past her out into the hall, barely avoiding the full force of her shout as it exploded from his doorway and knocked him off his feet once again. Most of the others had already opened their doors- shouts of fear and questions muddling in with the ringing in his ears.

“Go back inside! Sayaka’s-“

Another shriek sent him tumbling down the hall- slamming back first into Hiro’s door. The psychic cried out from inside, a frantic prayer that Makoto was still alive being shouted to whatever it was Hiro saw fit to pray to.

He used the door to brace himself as he stood on shaking legs. Sayaka was staring him down, eyes empty, knife in hand. She moved towards him quickly- hand snatching once again at his throat before he could try to defend himself.

“Don’t.” She spoke flatly- stopping Sakura’s oncoming attack without even turning around to face her. The martial artist froze, eyes fixated on the knife in Sayaka’s hand that was far far to close to Makoto’s neck. He could see Byakuya and Kyoko over Sayaka’s shoulder, the blond raised his hand to do something only to have it quickly shoved back down by Kyoko.

The knife was cold.

“You have to go- you over complicate things.” Sayaka explained to him like this was nothing. “But if the others cooperate, I’ll agree to finish things painlessly for you.”

Makoto struggled to breathe, arms feebly grasping once again at her arm as he tried in vain to steady himself enough to fight back. The ringing in his ears blurred his vision, and every breath he managed to choke in sent fire across his chest.

“For what it’s worth we really are sorry.” Sayaka continued, knife tipped to press beneath his jaw as she pinned him to Hiro’s door. “You really could have been useful if-“

-THUD-

Sayaka’s head pitched forward, knife falling limply at Makoto’s feet as he was suddenly released. He and Sayaka fell into a tangled heap on the floor, he coughed and choked on ragged breaths as he stared down at her. Her angered expression had gone slack, it was hard for him to imagine she had just been trying to kill him.

A chunk of wood, the piece of his bed he had used to smash his monitor was lying at her feet. Makoto snapped his head up at the sound of a strangled sob, and his eyes met Leon’s- brimmed with tears as the redhead stood at the other end of the hall.

Leon ran towards him, dropping to his knees in front Makoto and completely breaking down in tears.

“You’re okay!” Makoto’s voice was raw and scratchy, he coughed again as Leon latched onto him like he was drowning, sobbing into his jacket and shaking.

“Makoto!” Taka’s loud voice pulled everyone’s attention away from the group of of teens on the floor. He and Mondo rushed through the gate, followed by a terrified Chihiro. “Is everyone alright? What happened?”

Makoto didn’t answer, he didn’t think he could right now. Byakuya was saying something as they approached. Sakura had knelt down to inspect Sayaka, mouthing something Makoto couldn’t bring himself to focus on. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears and Leon’s shuddering breath next to him. He felt sick- he felt like shit physically, obviously- but everything that had just happened….

Something warm slid over his back, finally pulling him from his own mind and back to the rather crowded situation at hand. Hiro had slipped a blanket over him and Leon, and as Sakura gently lifted Sayaka into her arms at Taka’s direction to take her to the infirmary, the psychic squatted down in front of them.

“Are you okay?” Hiro asked in a surprisingly gentle way, “As okay as you can be right now, I mean?”

Makoto nodded, subconsciously moving his hands to cling to Leon’s shirt. Hiro put a hand on his knee, trying to be of some kind of comfort but clearly not sure where to begin.

“You want some water?” He offered, “I always sleep with a glass next to the bed- prevents nightmares, ya know? You can have it tonight, though.”

Makoto nodded, a croaky excuse for a laugh escaping him as Hiro left his line of sight.

“Leon?” He coughed, patting the redhead to get his attention, “You okay?” He felt Leon shudder and he struggled to add his next question, “Are you… yourself?”

Leon finally let out a slow, shaky breath, Moving his head away from Makoto’s shoulders to look at him. He nodded slowly, like it was the hardest thing he could possibly do in that moment.

“That-“ He almost sobbed again, “Makoto… That was awful-“ he looked like was at a loss for anything else to say, Makoto could only nod in response.

“How did you…” Leon wiped at his eyes when Hiro returned, trying to compose himself as the psychic once again sat down in front of the two and handed Makoto the glass of water.

“I was losing myself…” Leon mumbled, half into the blanket that was still draped around his shoulders. Makoto watched the color drain from Hiro’s face as the redhead continued, “I could feel it working. I could feel her like- like clawing away at me I-“

Makoto reached out and took his hand, only now noticing how cut up his own hand had gotten in the fight. Holy crap… I sort of fought a superhero… the thought popped into his mind as Leon tried again to stop himself from crying. I can’t believe we survived this…

Taka knelt down beside him, Mondo hovering not far behind. “Makoto,” he began, eyes full of concern. “I need to take you to the nurse’s office- can you walk there yourself?”

Makoto looked back at Leon, the grip on his hand had tightened the moment Taka mentioned him leaving. “Uh- I don’t… I don’t know if I should right now…”

Celeste knelt down on the other side of Leon, Makoto realized this was the first time he had seen her with her hair down, somehow she managed to fit it all in a silk nightcap. She put a hand on Leon’s back, speaking softly.

“I can watch him while you are gone.” she told Makoto, her tone seemed genuinely concerned. Hiro nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, Leon, we’ll take care of you, man!” He didn’t notice the way Celeste’s mouth twitched into a frown, “Let Makoto go get cleaned up, we won’t let anything happen to you while he’s gone, promise.”

Leon reluctantly nodded, shaking hands finally moving away from Makoto as he allowed himself to get pulled into a standing position by Celeste. Makoto moved to get up, a sharp sting reminded him of where he had cut his arm before.

“Ow- I… forgot about that…” he tried a laugh, rubbing at the wound on his arm, “I guess this jacket is ruined now, huh? That sucks, it was- HEY-“

Mondo had scooped him under the shoulders, Makoto’s whole back stung in protest at the sudden movement. The biker began carrying him down the hall towards the nurse’s office, ignoring Taka as the android reprimanded him for not being careful.

Makoto didn’t protest to being carried, he was so sore he didn’t think walking was something he could do easily right now. They passed by his room- where Byakuya was in the doorway explaining what had happened to Kyoko and Toko. The white haired girl had a grim expression, and Makoto could tell even from a distance that Byakuya’s hands were shaking.

“ ‘s place sucks.” Mondo’s low rumble of a voice pulled Makoto’s attention away from the group as they continued walking. “Second time in a week someone’s almost died…”

Makoto didn’t have anything to say to that.

They passed the elevator as they moved out into the school part of the building. The intimidatingly large doors now open to reveal… well, an elevator. A pretty normal looking one, like the kind you would use to move furniture or something. Monokuma stood in the middle of it, almost comically small compared to the massive size of the space. He gave Makoto a nod as they passed, and the doors shut.

“Where-“ Makoto coughed again, the sting in his throat hadn’t left, “Where does that thing go?”

“How the hell should I know?” Mondo retorted, before humming thoughtfully, “Guess it’s pretty stupid to hope it leads to a way outta here.”

“It’s never stupid to hope!” Taka chimed in from a few paces ahead of them, turning on his heel to face them as they reached the nurse’s office. “But… I don’t think there is an exit down there… At least not one that could still be functional. The only exit is the main one.”

“The one that not even Sakura could pry open.” Mondo mumbled in response, and as if on cue- the white haired girl suddenly emerged from the infirmary.

She stepped to the side so Taka could get through, speaking mostly to Mondo as the biker set Makoto back down on his feet.

“If you’re all okay here, I may go back to check on the others.” She said softly, and she smiled sympathetically at Makoto before adding: “I’m glad you’re alright. You were very brave tonight.”

“No shit!” Mondo chimed in, patting Makoto on the back and causing the smaller teen to wince, “You fought her off one on one- and yer still in one piece!”

The biker’s expression turned grim, like he was having a realization as he spoke, “She could’ve completely destroyed you.”

Makoto gulped, suddenly very uncomfortable with the conversation as he thought back to what he had overheard Mondo confess in the tech lab.

“She didn’t, though.” Why didn’t she? “I’m gonna be fine, and so is Sayaka… I’m sure of it.”

Sakura nodded solemnly before heading back towards the dorms, Mondo didn’t seem as convinced as he followed Makoto into the nurse’s office.

Sayaka was asleep on one of the cots, Aoi and Hifumi both standing nearby watching Taka tend to the wound on her head.

“You can sit over there, Makoto.” Taka instructed without looking up, pointing to the other cot against the far wall. “Go ahead and take off your coat so I can get a look at your arm.”

Makoto did as he was told, sitting down as gently as he could to avoid aggravating all the new bruises forming on his back. Hifumi came and helped him take his jacket off, a weird seriousness to his expression as he looked down at the torn sleeve.

“I bet I could fix this,” he offered, “I saw some thread in the art room closet the other day.”

“Really?” Makoto smiled, “That would be great! Thanks, Hifumi.”

“Don’t mention it- I’m great at making costumes, this’ll be easy.”

“You make costumes?” Aoi asked from where she was still perched by Sayaka’s cot.

“I am a man of many talents, Miss Asahina~” Hifumi chuckled, Mondo rolled his eyes from the doorway.

“I’ll need to wash it first…” Hifumi continued, inspecting Makoto’s jacket sleeve closer. A strangely thoughtful look spreading over his face.

“Huh.”

There was no elaboration, just Hifumi staring down at the blood that stained around the tear. Makoto leaned forward to try and see what the problem was.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, nothing-“ Hifumi waved it off, “It’s just… I assumed you’d still… never mind. I’ll start working on this first thing in the morning! You can count on me!” With an over dramatic salute, Hifumi exited. Mondo moved to lean on the counters instead of the doorframe as he watched Taka work.

“Whatcha doing now?” He asked, watching the android move from Sayaka over to some kind of fridge and remove a jar of something.

“I’m going to sedate her.” Taka explained in a grim tone, filling a syringe, “Normally I would check for a concussion but I’m… not sure what kind of state she’ll be in when she wakes. So I think it’d be best to keep her asleep till in the morning.”

There was a pause as he moved back to Sayaka and cleaned a spot on her arm for the needle, “So we can… figure out how to deal with this.”

“What happened to her?” Aoi nervously asked, “Why did she attack Makoto in the first place?”

All eyes suddenly looked to Makoto for answers- and he fidgeted uneasily.

“I mean, we can kinda assume what happened.” Mondo finally answered for him. “Byakuya kinda told us what was going on when he ran outta there… she was, ya know…”

No one seemed willing to say it for a moment, all of them struggling to think of the right word.

“She wasn’t herself.” Taka finished, “Sayaka would never do that of her own free will, whoever is doing this must have gotten to her somehow before the monitors were removed.”

Makoto nodded, slowly beginning to piece things together in his head, “She was acting so weird the other night, after those security things attacked… I thought she was just upset about hurting you.”

His stomach twisted, “She hugged me that night when I went to check on her. I had my handbook in my jacket pocket- she must’ve taken it then and… oh god, I-I told her there was still a monitor in my room. This… oh god, this is all my fault…”

Mondo scoffed, “This ain’t your fault Makoto.” his tone was surprisingly harsh, “How the hell could you have known? She would’ve found a monitor no matter what- and you just fuckin saved Leon’s life!” His voice had risen till he was practically shouting, Taka gently shushed him.

“I- sorry.” the biker calmed down, “What I’m tryna say is you can’t go blaming yourself for this, it’s not your fault.”

Taka nodded in agreement, “You can’t focus on how things could’ve been different. That line of thinking will ruin you.”

Mondo’s gaze became distant, staring down at the floor. “Yeah…” the biker mumbled, “It will…”

Taka paused, eyes flickering over the biker for a moment before moving to take care of Makoto. He pushed a stool on rollers across the room to sit in front of him and laid a few things on the counter next to the cot. He examined his arm first, clicking his tongue in disapproval before beginning to gently clean the area around the shallow gash that spanned most of his upper arm.

“It’s superficial, despite how long it is.” Taka mumbled, mostly to himself, “I don’t think you’ll need stitches.”

“Oh, good.” Makoto sighed in relief, even though the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind till just now, “I feel like I just keep getting beat up here,” he laughed awkwardly, “What is this like the third time I’ve had to have someone patch me up?”

“Well, you’ve been busy.” Taka responded without looking up from his work, “I think you’re the one who’s learned the most about all of this since we were all trapped here.”

“Seriously,” Mondo added, talking through a yawn, “If you hadn’t found out about those codes’r whatever, who knows where we’d be right now?”

Aoi nodded, finally speaking up from where she’d fallen silent at the foot of Sayaka’s bed. “You saved Leon’s life, Makoto.” Her determined gaze met his own, “You’re the reason any of us are still safe right now, don’t forget that.”

No one spoke for a few moments, Makoto let his eyes drift past her to Sayaka. Her jaw was bruised where Makoto had head butted her, and her wrist was red and swollen. 

He felt sick.

“You two should get some rest.” Taka had moved back towards the fridge, turning back to speak to Mondo as he rummaged for something. “We’ve all had a long day, and I know for a fact you haven’t been sleeping well.”

Mondo seemed ready to protest, Taka cut him off, “We’ll be fine. Go get some rest.”

The biker huffed, relenting with a mumbled agreement and ruffling Makoto’s hair before he turned to leave. He leaned in to whisper something to Taka, Makoto couldn’t stop his eyes from following Mondo’s hand as it reached up to brush against Taka’s back. What was that?

“Goodnight, Makoto!” Aoi kissed him on the forehead, ignoring his squeak of surprise. “No more excitement for you tonight, okay?”

Taka closed the door after they left, retrieving a a syringe and a metal case from the fridge and moving back towards Makoto.

“First things first:” Taka started, reaching for a pill bottle on the counter and handing Makoto two pills and a water bottle. “Painkillers. They will probably make you drowsy so I’m willing to forgive you if you’re late to tomorrow’s meeting- as long as it’s no more than five minutes late.”

Makoto looked up from the pills to Taka, who smiled and shook his head.

“It… It was a joke- never mind.” Taka waved him off, turning to open the case he had set on the counter.

“Oh,” Makoto tried to laugh, “It was funny!”

“Don’t lie, it was bad.” Taka pulled out a vial, the liquid inside a translucent- and… almost glowing- pink. Taka stared at it for a moment, eyes flicking between Makoto’s newly dressed arm wound and the vial before he reached for the syringe.

“Uh… what’s that?” Makoto asked uneasily. Taka was hardly putting anything in the small syringe, there was half a milliliter at most. But he had never seen medicine that color before.

“It’s perfectly safe, I promise.” Taka assured him, not directly answering his question as he set the vial back in the case and again prompted Makoto to take the pills he had been handed.

“I don’t like to use it often, especially not on the others, but it should help you heal quicker.” Taka explained with a frown, disinfecting a spot on Makoto’s uninjured arm.

“It’s just a cut on my arm, I don’t think I need that.”

“There’s multiple abrasions on your back; and while Sayaka thankfully didn’t break your ribs, she managed to crack three of them.”Taka rattled off while he disposed the cotton wipe in his hand. “Believe me, you need it.”

“How do you know my ribs are cracked?” He asked in disbelief. Sure, his whole chest felt worse than it ever had before, but still.

Taka didn’t answer directly, just tapped at his temple to direct Makoto’s to his eyes.

“Oh… okay?” He was still trying to decipher what that meant when Taka took his arm again.

Makoto pulled back, “Uh, So- how does… how can this medicine make me… heal faster?” Something Taka said before suddenly clicked, “And why ‘especially not the others’? Why not use it on Sayaka?”

Taka hesitated, “The others could potentially get sick from this… it takes awhile to leave their system, and you don’t want too much of this in there. You’ve never had that problem.”

Makoto frowned, “What? I’ve never used that.”

“Of course you have,” Taka insisted, seeming lost in thought now, “It’s been quite some time, yes, but I’ve done this to you before... I mean- not me but- yes. You’ve done this before.” He reached out for Makoto’s arm again, Makoto grabbed his wrist instead.

“I- Taka, you aren’t making any sense, I’ve never met you before this week-“ he stopped, remembering what Chihiro had mentioned in the library. “Oh, you meant like… when we were here… originally.”

Taka just hummed in confirmation, seeming dead set on giving him this shot now while Makoto was lost in thought.

Makoto finally let Taka take his arm, looking down at his lap so he wouldn’t have to watch the needle go in, “So… why am I different? Why won’t this make me sick like the others?”

“Great question.” Taka answered as he finished, relaxing back on the stool for a moment and humming thoughtfully. “I don’t have a concrete answer, unfortunately, but it has something to do with the way you reacted all your other treatments, everyone else’s ‘stuck’- in a manner of speaking- but you-“

“Naughty little brother!”

Monokuma kicked the door open, startling both of them. “You aren’t supposed to be talking about this! I knew letting Fifteen near you was gonna end up making my life more difficult.” The bear stomped a foot like a little kid throwing tantrum before calming down and addressing Makoto.

“Oh! Great work tonight, Lucky Charm. You really are somethin’ special! Senseless property damage aside, you did great work keeping everybody safe tonight!”

“Where were you?” Makoto asked, a little bitter, “I thought it was your job to keep all of us safe?”

“I was… detained.” Monokuma hesitated, “Come ‘ere for a minute, Taka, I need to tell you about something I got outta the tunnels.”

 “Which something?”

“Just come here!”

Taka shushed him, finally standing and suggesting Makoto get some rest before he followed the grumpy bear out the door and shut it behind them. Alone now, Makoto found himself staring at the case on the counter. It reminded him of what he had seen Sakura bleed, or Byakuya when he over exerted himself. If this really was similar to whatever had been done to the others when they were all… younger- whenever it happened- How could it work on Makoto at all? Nothing else they had done worked on him apparently, Mukuro said so herself.

He laid down, unsure if he was already tired from the pills or just from all the running and being slammed into things. He stared over at Sayaka, her brows furrowed in her sleep.

I’m gonna find a way to fix this… he thought, silently promising to himself and Sayaka, We’re all gonna be just fine. 

Chapter Text

“Makoto?”

He groaned, rolling over onto his other side to avoid whoever was talking to him. Probably Taka, the red eyed android had accidentally awoken him a few times during the night as he shuffled around.

“Makoto, wake up.”

That wasn’t Taka. He finally opened his eyes, looking up to meet Kyoko’s serious stare as she leaned over the cot to check on him. He startled a bit at her naturally intense gaze. 

“How are you feeling?” She asked softly, stepping back so he could sit up on the cot.

“Uh, better.” He answered, and realized he was much less sore than he had been. “Way… way better, actually.” He looked down at his hands, finding the scars had almost entirely faded. There was no more sting in his ribs when he inhaled, the soreness of his throat had gone… even the cut on his palm had healed over into a faint scar.

“Woah…” he breathed out, relieved that the sharp pains in his back had reduced to a dull ache. Kyoko furrowed her brow and inspected his hand herself. “I guess that stuff Taka gave me really works!”

“What stuff?” He hadn’t even noticed Byakuya standing there till he spoke, eyes moving up from a strange helmet-like object he was investigating on the counter to look Makoto up and down.

“Uh-“ Makoto thought about what Taka had said last night, it would probably be best not to freak anyone out about it, “Just some weird medicine- I honestly didn’t get most of what he was saying.”

Byakuya set down what he had been examining -what is that thing anyway?- and inspected Makoto closer.

“Well at the very least ‘he’ can do his job right.” He muttered, Kyoko elbowed him.

“Don’t start with this now.” She warned, Byakuya glared.

“I’m only stating-“

“Holy sh…” Makoto had unwrapped the wound on his arm, it had almost completely healed overnight. Sure, there was still a cut- but it looked much more shallow, and it was already beginning to scab over itself.

Kyoko and Byakuya shared a confused look, the blond cleared his throat before speaking.

“There’s actually something we wanted to discuss with you.” He began, “The others are having their ‘breakfast meeting’ right now, and we need to have all the information possible to decide what to do with Sayaka.”

He paused, looking back at the object on the counter before summoning it over to his hands. It looked almost like a bike helmet, but missing the top visor. A blue and black grid covered where the mouth would be, and as Byakuya turned it over in his hands Makoto noticed some sort of mechanism on the back.

“Though from the looks of things, it seems our captors have already made a decision…” he finished grimly.

“Taka brought that in last night,” Makoto explained, not at all pleased with Byakuya’s tone, “Monokuma got it from somewhere and yelled at him till he agreed to keep it… There was something else too, i think, but Taka wouldn’t even let that one in the room.”

He looked at the helmet again as Byakuya set it on the cot beside him…. It did resemble something similar to a muzzle… oh god.

“Do you think… that’s for Sayaka?” He asked quietly, Byakuya rolled his eyes.

“Obviously. Who else would need such a device?”

Kyoko began reaching into her coat, “It’s most likely a precaution in case Sayaka is still under the influence of whoever ordered her to attack you.” She explained, pulling out a letter- Mukuro’s letter- and handing it to him.

“Wha-“ his gaze immediately went to Byakuya, “You got this out of my room?”

“It was my idea.” Kyoko intervened, “Monokuma was getting rid of your furniture and I didn’t want this to be taken with it.”

“I can see why she wanted you to look at it alone,” Byakuya mumbled as he unfolded the paper, “She correctly pointed that anyone else could be compromised at any moment.” His voice didn’t waver as he spoke, but Makoto could see how his jaw clenched and his hands twitched at the thought of ending up in a similar state to Sayaka.

Makoto took the letter, but his gaze again drifted across the room to where Sayaka was still sleeping. The bruise on her jaw was still there, and it looked as though Taka had put her wrist in some kind of brace.  I guess he really didn’t want to use that stuff on her.

He finally looked at the letter in his lap, reading through it silently as the other two just watched.

‘78-07,

I am writing what I was unable to say in my previous video, I was interrupted by the very person who’s behind all this. If she’s successful- which I know she will be- then you’ll already be trapped in the old building by the time you’re reading this. If you have any other numbers still left on your side I wouldn’t let them out of your sight if you can help it, there’s only so much you can all do to prevent her from working her way into the building’s security system, even with that old AI running it. The most important thing to do is get any screens or speakers out of there. Any of them could be turned against you in a matter of seconds. 

And that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. You are classified as a failure, and in a sense that is true, your abilities did not manifest in a way that Hope’s Peak could monitor or regulate. However no matter what state- free will or not- any of the others were in, you were able to get through to them. I’m unsure if it’s due to the fact that you were originally paired with One, maybe she rubbed off on you, or just because of what your intended purpose was, but you could never be broken by any of their methods… and most likely still have some sort of influence on the others. Even if she has already managed to turn them against you, I think you may still be able to reach out to them.

But I don’t know how. I wish I did. I wish there were a lot of things I could still do to help you. I’ll leave you another message whenever I can, Seven. Please be strong, for all of us.

- Mukuro

Makoto stared blankly down at the letter, fumbling over his own thoughts.

“I…” he started, and fell short of a coherent thought, “What… what does this mean?”

He looked up to Kyoko, who’s expression was unreadable as always. “How am I supposed to fix this? I- I don’t understand.”

“You must have some way of breaking through the conditioning.” Byakuya explained grimly, looking over at Sayaka before continuing in a quieter tone. “Last night, I remember being….. somewhat compelled to listen to you when…”

He stopped, clearing his throat and shaking his head before returning to his usual demeanor, “I don’t know how exactly you of all people are supposed to solve this, but apparently you’re the only one who has any chance of ‘reasoning’ with Sayaka.”

“Which unfortunately means,” Kyoko continued the line of thought, “When we wake her up, you will have to be the one to question her… Do you think you can do that, Makoto?”

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly felt too dry. He looked over at where Sayaka still slept, the hollowness of her voice last night playing in his head like a broken record.

“I… I can try…” he offered quietly, the door to the nurses’ office swung open.

“Unbelievable!” Taka’s loud voice pulled Makoto’s attention, “I explicitly told the two of you to wait until after breakfast to speak with him!”

“You don’t get to give me orders.” Byakuya spat back, “I’m not cooperating with anything that could be working for whatever mastermind orchestrated all of this in the first place.”

Taka stiffened, red eyes flaring brighter, “Excuse me?”

“Hey!” Mondo appeared in the door moments later, it seemed he stuck to the android like a shadow now, Hiro and Aoi peered in the doorway behind him.

“I dunno what the hell you two thought ya were gettin’ away with in here but we gotta make all these decisions as a group.” The biker’s hands went to his hips, “Ain’t gonna do anyone any good to start turning on each other, is it?”

“You’re right.” Kyoko relented, if for no other reason to placate the hostile air growing in the room. “I apologize, I’m not used to… being a team like this. But we needed to let Makoto in on what’s going on, he’s the key to learning what’s really at play here.”

“Whadya mean?” Mondo raised an eyebrow, peering over the small crowd in the room to Makoto, “What’s he know that we don’t already know?”

“It’s not what he knows, it’s what he may able to do….” Kyoko trailed off, ever so fond of being cryptic. “He’s going to speak to Sayaka first, before we let Monokuma isolate her like he wanted to.”

“What?” Makoto gasped, “Why would he want to do that?”

“As far as he’s concerned, Sayaka is a danger to the rest of you,” Taka explained with a frown, “It’s his job to eliminate threats, he cares little about the ethics and morals of doing so.”

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, once again holding up the muzzle. “And I suppose we’re to believe you’re against this?”

“I am against this.” Taka insisted, “But if we’re really going to try and help her we need to be able to do so without anyone getting literally blown apart.”

Aoi finally piped up from the doorway, “So… How can we help her? If we don’t even know how these code things work, how can we help her snap out of it?”

Hiro nodded, looking overwhelmed, “Yeah. How do you un-brainwash somebody?”

Kyoko’s gaze went back to Makoto, speaking quietly, “I’m afraid that’s your job to figure out.”

————————————————————————

They were having one last meeting before they woke Sayaka up.

Sakura and Mondo were getting things ready in Sayaka’s bedroom. A sturdy chair had been borrowed from the kitchen, a rope from the locker rooms and the muzzle had been taken in. Monokuma had appeared at one point with ominous looking black handcuffs, suggesting they use those to restrain her instead. Taka had immediately confiscated them, loudly yelling about how insensitive the bear was being and refusing to let the others look at them.

Makoto assumed the bear was still arguing with Taka, he had followed after him when it came time to get Sayaka. The rest of them were left in the changing room of the sauna, waiting for someone to start the conversation they were all dreading.

It was Kyoko who started, of course, calm and composed as she cleared her throat to gather everyone’s attention.

“I know this is difficult for all of us.” She began, her tone somewhere near caring but not quite enough. “We need to all be on the same page before we begin, and to that end…”

Her eyes went to Leon. The redhead was seated on the bench across from Makoto, leaning against Hiro a bit as he stared pointedly at the floor to avoid Kyoko’s stare.

“Leon.” She urged, more gentle this time. “We need to hear your side of the story before we ask her.”

Aoi put a reassuring hand on Leon’s shoulder, and after a moment more of staring at his own shoes he finally nodded.

“Yeah… okay.” He started uneasily, sitting up a little straighter and finally looking at the group.

“Uh, she invited me to go for a walk in the terrarium or whatever-you already know that part, I guess- everything seemed normal then… She was joking and laughing, I told her about how I was tryna’ learn how to play guitar before we got stuck here.” He paused, taking a breath before continuing.

“Then it was like a switch flipped, her whole attitude changed. She like… looked at me really weird- I don’t know how to explain it, like… cold? I guess? I…. She started humming.” Leon gulped, nervously picking at the already chipped polish on his nails, “She was humming, and she grabbed my arm and I felt like exhausted all of a sudden. And she told me I needed to lie down- I was too tired to say no- so she dragged me back to what I thought was my room but… was Makoto’s actually. I guess. A-and that’s all I remember before-“

He stopped, jaw snapping shut in a tight frown. He shook his head. “That’s… that’s it. Then Makoto knows the rest.”

Kyoko nodded, seeming lost in thought. Celeste spoke up from where she had been standing behind Makoto.

“Is it perhaps possible,” she began, Makoto turned to see her, “that Sayaka has abilities she did not inform us of?”

“What?” Hiro asked, face scrunched in confusion.

“From what Leon is describing, It sounds as though Sayaka’s humming is what put him to sleep. Unless she had some sort of chemical to sedate him, which seems unlikely, I cannot think of another way for her to do that.”

“But why wouldn’t she have told us if her singing could do more than… blow stuff up?” Aoi argued, seeming just as confused as everyone else.

“None of us really know each other.” Byakuya reminded her coldly, “What reason would she have for being completely honest with us?”

Aoi glared in return, “Stop saying stuff like that! What reason would she have to lie to us then? All the rest of us have weird stuff too! Why hide it?”

“There is one other possibility.” Kyoko interjected, snapping her fingers to regain attention.

“It’s entirely possible Sayaka herself was unaware.”

“What?” It was Byakuya’s turn to look confused, if only for a split second. “How so?”

“I assume that we all had similar experiences,” she explained, “I’d be willing to bet we all discovered our powers by accident, right?”

After a few nods and murmured agreements she continued, “We don’t know everything about our experiments. We don’t understand everything Hope’s Peak did to us, so there’s no way we can truly be sure we know everything about ourselves… but whoever controlled Sayaka could.”

Makoto felt a chill go down his spine, everyone nervously glanced at each other.

“I hate that.” Hiro commented anxiously, “I really hate the thought of that.”

“So whoever is doing this could not only know how to manipulate us, but also more specific strengths and weaknesses about us.” Byakuya’s tone was grim and icy. “This game is becoming more deadly by the minute.”

“S-so what do we do?” Toko asked, tugging at her braids, “How are we supposed to fight back against s-s-someone who knows us better than we know ourselves?!”

“Let’s focus on the immediate issue.” Kyoko redirected the conversation once again, “Once we get Sayaka back we can gather more information on the mastermind, that’s our best shot at making it out of here.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Hifumi asked, the door to the sauna suddenly slid open.

Sakura’s tense gaze swept the group before settling on Makoto.

“We’re ready, Makoto. Are you sure you can do this?”

He stood uncertainly, making eye contact with Leon as he responded.

“Yeah… Yeah I can do this.” He nodded, silently shuffling to follow Sakura out of the room.

The clicking of heels surprised him, and he looked over his shoulder to see Celeste following him out the door.

“I’m coming as well.” She stated, stepping in pace with him on the short trip to Sayaka’s dorm.

“I- I don’t think that’s a good idea, Celeste,” Makoto argued, “She could really hurt you- I mean you saw what she did to me last night.”

“If she is hostile, I can calm her down.” She insisted, pausing in front of the door Mondo was currently guarding. “I want to help you, genuinely. I need to know what’s going on with all this.”

Makoto’s eyes met hers, her face furrowed in concentration in a way he hadn’t seen before.

“What are you…” he felt a tingling at the back of his head, very briefly, “You don’t have to try and convince me, you know.”

She blinked in surprise, fumbling her words for a moment, “I- You… felt that?”

“Yeah. I did.” He answered with a huff, feeling a bit chilly in the hall without his jacket. “You can come if you want. As long as you know what we could be dealing with. Just… you don’t have to be sneaky about stuff, okay?”

He moved past her still shocked expression, opening the door and grimacing at what appeared inside.

Sayaka was slumped forward in the chair, her arms and legs bound with rope. Her wrist was still in it’s brace, the bruise along her jaw a glaring reminder of what Makoto had done.

Taka glanced up from where he was checking her pulse, his usual stern expression furrowed even more by worry. Monokuma was sitting in Sayaka’s desk chair, legs swinging idly like this was a normal occurrence.

“How… How is she?” Makoto tried, swallowing the dread that was building in his throat. Taka sighed nervously and stood.

“She’ll be alright, all things considered.” He pulled a packet of something from his pocket, “If you’re ready, we can begin.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something, Kiyotaka?” Monokuma asked from his spot by the desk, patting the top of the muzzle with his paw.

Taka didn’t move at first, clearly apprehensive about using it. Makoto nervously glanced between the two of them, eyes finally settling on Sayaka as she stirred in her sleep.

“Put. It. On.” Monokuma ordered in a strangely serious tone. 

He tossed the muzzle to Taka, with more force than Makoto expected from someone who was around knee height. Taka sighed uneasily, pressing down on a latch at the back to open it.

“I wouldn’t do this unless it was absolutely necessary.” He insisted quietly to Makoto and Celeste as he moved Sayaka’s hair out of the way.

“Are there…” Celeste began, pausing as she gave Monokuma a wary glance. “Are there devices like this for each of us?”

Monokuma tilted his head, “Why would I have muzzles for each of you?”

Celeste frowned, utter disdain plain on her face. “I meant countermeasures to prevent us from using our abilities.”

“Oh! Of course!” Monokuma nodded, “What if one of you snaps and goes on a murderous rampage? I have to have some way to keep the rest of the students safe!” He giggled before finishing, “Otherwise it wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

“Alright.” Taka regained Makoto’s attention, his stomach twisted at the sight of Sayaka in what was essentially a gag. All of this felt wrong. How could this be happening to her of all people?

“We’re ready to get started now, Celeste you should probably-“

“I am staying.” She cut him off, moving to sit on the bed behind where Sayaka was seated.

Taka looked ready to argue, but when Makoto nodded in affirmation he stopped. “I’ll… leave you to it then. Monokuma and I will be right outside. Don’t hesitate to call if you need help.”

“You’re not staying?” Makoto asked, he had been hoping to have Taka’s unrelenting moral support for this horrific situation.

“No,” the red eyed teen nervously glanced down at Sayaka, “Monokuma thinks-“

“Hey!” The bear hopped down and pointed an accusatory claw at the two of them, “Some things are to remain secret! How is that so difficult for you to understand? Just hurry up, I don’t have all day here!”

Taka held a small packet of something in his hand, Makoto felt like he had seen something like this on tv before. Smelling salts? Is that what they are? Do those even really work?

He was so lost in thought he missed it actually happening, but a sudden sharp inhale and cough from Sayaka immediately brought him back to the present. Taka had quickly snapped the muzzle shut, muttering a small word of assurance to Makoto as he hurried out the door with Monokuma in tow. 

The sound of the door closing was deafening as he hesitantly moved to kneel in front of Sayaka.

She blinked a few times before reacting, finally noticing now that she was restrained and locked into something unfamiliar. Her arms pulled in vain against the ropes, and her eyes immediately flooded with tears as she began pleading. Is this the real Sayaka- is she really herself?

“Makoto! Makoto- I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Her muffled voice hitched in fear, Makoto’s heartbeat was flooding in his chest.

“Please! I’m sorry- Let me out!”

He reached out for her hand- almost on instinct alone- but his eyes met her’s as his hand froze above the ropes.

Completely Empty.

Wrong wrong wrong wrong— he moved his hand back to where it had originally rested on his knee, swallowing his fear and apprehension before responding.

“You’re not… you aren’t really scared, are you?” He asked, his voice wavering.

The mask dropped instantly. Sayaka’s panicked struggling immediately ceased, and she eased against the back of the chair with an amused hum.

“Of course I’m not.”

Makoto ignored the shiver that traveled down back, he had to seem strong for this- for her.

“Sayaka-“

“Don’t.” She cut him off sharply, fingers curling into fists where they were tied near sides, “I know what you’re going to try and do. It isn’t going to work.”

“I’m not trying to do anything.” he blinked, “All i did was say your name.”

“That isn’t my name.” her hollow voice responded. “It was a temporary placeholder, before I learned the truth.”

“What truth?” Makoto questioned, “Your name is Sayaka Maizono- anything other than that is a lie.”

There was a pause, she looked him up and down in an almost predatory way- like he was the one trapped instead of her. He refused to break eye contact, even when he noticed Celeste shifting in her spot in his periphery.

“You’re dedicated, I’ll give you that.” She commented coldly, seeming bored of this whole interaction. “Which one is behind me?”

Makoto tried to hide his surprise at the question, eyes shifting automatically over to where Celeste was observing her with a clenched jaw and tense posture.

“I-It doesn’t matter.” He tried to redirect the conversation, internally trying to mimic Byakuya’s confidence or maybe even Sakura’s willpower. “I’m the one questioning you.”

“Okay…Ask your questions.”

“Why did you attack Leon?” He watched her tilt her head, the sudden movement nearly causing him to jolt.

“He seemed like the easiest target, aside from you.” She began, “I was originally told to go after Two or Nine- but neither of them were willing to go alone with me just yet. And Four’s accuracy would’ve proved useful when going after the others.”

She didn’t sound anything like herself, Makoto’s stomach twisted in fear.

“Who… who told you?” He asked, though he already partially knew the answer.

“I’m not going to tell you that.” Her monotonous voice replied. “You’ll see for yourself soon, if you live that long.”

He couldn’t see her mouth, but the way her eyes squinted almost made it look like she was smiling at him.

“You reeeeeaaaaaally want to help, don’t you?” She tilted her head again, “It’s almost… cute.”

“What about this could possibly be cute?”

“You’re still doing what you’re supposed to do, and you don’t even realize.”

Celeste’s intense gaze met his own, an almost accusatory scowl on her face. Makoto felt her trying to look in his head, an invasive buzzing that couldn’t quite break through to his thoughts.He swallowed his anxiety and got back on topic.

“I just…” he faltered, “I don’t understand who could do this to you. Who could’ve convinced you to hurt your friend like that?”

“We aren’t friends.” She spat. “We aren’t supposed to have friends. This ‘love’ you’re pretending to feel for each other is nothing more than dormant programming.”

“That’s not true. No one is pretending.” He leaned forward, “You love your friends. You told me yourself.”

“I didn’t know any better-“

“You spent every weekend you could with your band mates. All you’ve done since we’ve gotten here is try to help keep everyone happy- even though you were scared!”

“Stop!” She yelled, leaning forward as much as her restraints would allow- close enough that even through the muzzle Makoto could feel the rumble of her shout in his bones.

“You have no idea what I’m like.” She continued angrily, arms straining against the rope, “You don’t know anything about me! I could destroy you!” 

Her voice cracked at the end, the first semblance of some real emotion Makoto had heard from her this whole time. Adrenaline coursed through him at the thought, so busy rapidly trying to deduce where to go from here that he didn’t notice Celeste’s reaching out to try and calm Sayaka down before she fell forward in her chair.

“Wait!-“ he stopped short as Celeste touched Sayaka’s shoulder, only to recoil with a shriek like she’d been burned. Celeste was left fumbling towards the floor, gasping for breath and trying desperately to regain her composure as Sayaka settled back into her chair.

“Ah. Eleven.” She spoke quietly again, eyes trailing Makoto as he hurried over to check on Celeste. “I was coming for you next, you know. We’re excited to work with you.”

Makoto ignored her, helping Celeste up on shaky legs as her panicked gaze stared pointedly at Sayaka.

“Are you okay?” He asked quietly, unsure of what to do to comfort her and settling for holding onto her forearm as she steadied herself and caught her breath. There was the buzzing in the back of his head, but different this time. Celeste wasn’t trying to force her way into his head- she was reaching out for something secure.

“I… There was… so much-“ she stopped, it took a minute for him to register that her accent was gone, “I- it was like nothing and everything all at once. How can she stand this?”

Makoto began leading her towards the door, “Why… why don’t you go back to the others, tell them what’s going on?” She seemed ready to argue, but ultimately nodded with a shaky exhale.

“You will… be okay by yourself?” The accent was back, she was certainly good at putting on a put together face.

“Yeah.” He nodded, opening the door just enough for her to slip through, “I know exactly what I need to do.”

That was a lie.

He was standing with his back to Sayaka. His eyes on the doorknob as he thought through what to do… Kyoko could’ve interrogated her much more efficiently. Byakuya probably would’ve tricked her into spilling all the information by now. Sakura would’ve been stronger, Mondo would’ve been braver, Chihiro was so smart she could’ve already learned how to solve this. He didn’t have any of that- he was just him. He wasn’t anything special…

But he was him. And Sayaka was his friend.

“Your name is Sayaka Maizono.” He turned back to face her. “I’ve known you since we were kids. You’re one of the nicest people I know.”

“You’re wasting your time.” She taunted, leaning forward again to better look him in the eye as he approached.

There was something there- amidst the dead hollow space in her gaze. Makoto had to be doing something. He held eye contact, subconsciously reaching out to whatever little spark was still inside her.

“You spent your whole childhood putting other people first because you wanted to make them happy.” He had more confidence in his voice. “You cheered on everybody- even me when I got that dumb sparrow out of the schoolyard-“

“It was a crane-“ she interrupted, and tensed. “I- shut up.”

“Your name is Sayaka, and you’re the most determined person i know.” He was on his knees in front of her again, “You chased your dream of becoming a pop star and you made it! I can’t imagine what you had to sacrifice to reach that point! You put your heart and soul into everything you do.”

He put a hand on her shoulder and she jolted like she was surprised, “You can fight this. You have to fight this. You’re strong enough to get out of this I know it.”

“You don’t know anything.” She hissed, but there was real frustration in her tone.

“You’re Sayaka Maizono.” He said for what felt like the hundredth time, but he still meant it. “You love your friends more than anything- right? You said you’d never get tired of being with them.”

“I didn’t know any better-“

“You did!” He insisted, he didn’t know when he’d started yelling to match her aggravated tone.

“I know you. And I trust you.” He moved his hand from her shoulder, letting it hang in the air as he made a silent decision.

“I’m… gonna get you out of this thing.” He stood again, shaking hands reaching towards the clasp on the back.”

“You’re a fool-“

“I’m your friend.”

“Makoto-“ she sounded choked, his hands froze at the agony in her voice. “If you… take that off… I’ll kill you.”

There was a pause, his hands ghosting over the latch that would drop the muzzle from the front of her face.

“You won’t…” his voice came out barely above a whisper, “I trust you Sayaka. You’d never hurt me on purpose.”

She didn’t have time to warn him of anything else- the second his hands pried the latch open the muzzle fell to her lap with a click. There was a split second where Makoto heard her gasp in air.

He dropped to his knees just as she shouted, the force of it ringing in his ears and vibrating against the walls and nearly knocking the two of them over as it reverberated. It wasn’t angry like the night before- it sounded agonizing.

He was hugging her, arms wrapped around hers and head buried into her shoulder more on the instinct to brace for the impact than anything. It took what felt like ages for the ringing and sporadic thump of his heartbeat to finally clear his mind so he could finally hear Sayaka again.

She was crying.

He slowly, cautiously, moved away; sitting back on his knees so he could look her in the eyes again. She had tears streaming down her face, as her body shook with another sob Makoto couldn’t help the flood of relief he felt at the genuine sadness in her eyes.

“S-sayaka?” He tried quietly, and for the first time in too long she looked up at the sound of her name.

“Makoto-“ her voice hitched, blue strands of hair clinging to her face now. “I- I’m so sorry. I-“

She hung her head down, crying into her own lap as Makoto reached shaking hands up to untie her arms. She didn’t move for a moment when the ropes finally loosened, he began to untie her legs when she hesitantly reached down and held the muzzle’s mouthpiece.

“I could’ve killed you…” she whimpered, “I wanted to kill you…”

Makoto looked up at her, pushing a strand of hair back behind her ears, “It wasn’t you…” he fumbled, not really sure what else to say. “You wouldn’t ever do something like that.”

“I could-“ she insisted with another sob, “I almost did! I’m so sorry-“

He tried to be gentle, quietly assuring her it was okay as he moved both pieces of the helmet to the side and held her uninjured hand. They stayed there for awhile, Makoto on the verge of tearing up while she cried freely into her lap.

Finally he stood, giving her hand one more reassuring squeeze before pulling back.

“I’m gonna let Taka in to check on you, is that okay?” He asked, her eyes slowly drifted up to see him.

“Okay…” she whispered, before straightening up and seeming panicked again, “I-Is Leon okay?! Oh my god what did I do to him-“

“Leon’s fine! He’s shaken up, but you didn’t hurt him. It… It wasn’t you anyway.” Makoto mumbled the last part, “You don’t have to think about it too hard right now, let’s just make sure you’re okay first.”

She nodded, trying to compose herself as he moved to the door. He opened it a sliver, startling Mondo.

“Shit- Mac! Ya scared me.” He nervously laughed, “Felt the walls shakin’ a few minutes ago, just after Celeste ran outta there… is uh, is Sayaka okay?”

Makoto nodded, allowing a relieved smile to cross his face. “Yeah, she’s gonna be okay. She’s herself again, at least.”

Taka’s intense gaze suddenly cut between them, “Well done, Makoto! I knew you could do it!” He was trying to whisper, but being quiet was certainly not one of his talents. “I should check her vitals again, is it alright for me to come in now?”

“Y-yeah, I think so. But maybe we shouldn’t let the others in yet,” he paused, “At least not all at once, she’s still sort of… fragile.”

Taka moved past him into the room, already fussing over Sayaka the moment he laid eyes on her. Makoto was left face to face with Mondo, who was regarding with him an expression that honestly caught him off guard.

“Uh,” he started uneasily, unnerved by how thoughtful the biker seemed to be all of a sudden, “Is everything alright, Mondo?”

“ ‘s fine.” The biker mumbled, quickly switching back to usual demeanor, “Just thinkin’ is all…”

“I’ll go tell the others the good news.” Sakura spoke from the other side of the door. Makoto heard her footsteps retreat and looked back to Mondo for answers.

“How did you… do that?” He asked quietly, his gaze flicking over Makoto to the scene behind him.

“I…” Makoto faltered, “I don’t really know.”

“Come on, Mac.”

“I don’t- I just talked to her?”

Mondo grumbled a response, giving up on the conversation and pushing past him into the room. Makoto closed the door behind him, watching in confusion as the biker went and stood behind Taka as he checked Sayaka’s pulse.

“-The nausea is an unfortunate side effect of the medication I gave you,” Taka was explaining as Makoto hesitantly joined the group, “It may linger for awhile, especially since you haven’t eaten. Do you feel well enough to maybe answer a few questions about what happened.”

She hesitantly nodded, nervously looking up from where she had folded her hands in her lap.

“Can you remember anything that happened while you were…” Taka paused, struggling to think of the right word, “influenced?”

She paused, her hands balled into fists in her lap. “Um, yeah… some things.” She shifted nervously in her seat. “It was sort of hard to think, it was like I was just sort of…someone else? Like I still remembered who I was but it wasn’t…. me anymore. I can remember when she told me to do stuff, I remember thinking about- um, certain ways to do things but…”

She trailed off, looking like she may cry again as her gaze went back down to her lap to avoid looking at the others.

“Who the hell is ‘she’, anyway?” Mondo broke the tense silence, eyebrow raised in confusion.

“I-I don’t know I could just sort of… feel her.” Sayaka raised a shaky hand to her temple, “In my head. It… It was like we thought the same things.”

“What?” This only confused the biker more, he and Taka shared a concerned glance.

“Leon mentioned a ‘her’ last night, too.” So did Toko, actually…. Makoto tried to think things through, “It had to have been the same person who talked to me that night in the AV room,” he frowned, “but I don’t remember her being in my head like that.”

“It didn’t work on you the way it did with Sayaka,” Taka interjected, “She didn’t get the chance to. This is quite concerning, I thought that-“

He winced, hand going to his head like something had stung him. Mondo rubbed comforting circles on his back, face furrowed in concern.

Taka sighed in defeat, “Sorry, I can’t talk about that.”

“Still? I thought Chi helped ya out with that.”

“Some things are still… never mind, we’re getting off topic.” He shook his head, his attention going back to where Sayaka was anxiously staring up at him. “Do you have any information that could help us figure out who did this to you?”

Sayaka thought for a moment, a feeling of dread building in the air.

“I…” Sayaka’s voice was practically a whisper, “She felt familiar, it made it easy to….”

Something finally clicked in Makoto’s head.

“She’s One!” He exclaimed, louder than he meant to. “Mukuro kept talking about 78-01! I- I don’t know like how she’s doing this- but it’s gotta be her!”

“Monokuma said the other two numbers like us were dead.” Sayaka pointed out with a waver of fear to her voice.

“Yeah-“ Mondo scoffed, hands on his hips. “And we should definitely trust everything the deranged teddy bear tells us.”

“He said the future foundation took them- as far as he knows they might’ve been dead.” Makoto argued. “He’s been being really weird since this stuff started happening, but I really think he doesn’t know what’s going on either… I don’t think it’s that he’s keeping stuff from us but whoever this is has just sort of… been working around him.”

“How the hell is that even possible though?” Mondo was getting louder now, more from frustration than anything it seemed. “If this place is so damn secure that Chi can’t go through the security systems and me and Sakura can’t bust through the walls then how is one fuckin’ person able to break in here to hijack someone’s brain?!”

“I…. I don’t know. Not yet.” Makoto admitted, eyes shifting to where Taka was scowling at the floor like it had personally offended him somehow. “We need to get more information on whoever this ‘One’ person could be.”

“Monokuma isn’t going to tell us that.” Taka finally spoke up again, “He doesn’t want you to know anything about your experiments or about the two missing people; and my memories of them are… not the clearest.”

“There is one place where we know sensitive information like that is being stored,” Makoto pointed out, “There’s that file room in the library none of us can get into yet- he’s probably keeping stuff in there- right?”

His eyes went to Taka for answers, and the way the android seemed to automatically tense up was the confirmation he needed.

Mondo let out a long, frustrated sigh, half heartedly kicking at the foot of Sayaka’s bed.

“Shit.” He grumbled, “Yeah. Great. I guess this is a fuckin covert operation now, huh? Sneakin’ around behind a stuffed animal’s back? Our lives are disasters.”

That got a chuckle from Sayaka. Makoto felt relief wash over him all over again, he had almost lost her- he had almost lost a lot of people…

He couldn’t let that happen again.

He was gonna find out who was behind this, he was gonna get his friends out of here. No matter what…

Chapter Text

knock knock knock!

Makoto startled a little, sitting up from where he nearly drifted off at the foot of Sayaka’s bed. He glanced up at where the blue haired girl was still sleeping, seeming much more at peace now than she had before.

Reintroducing her to the others had been… tense.

Leon had refused to look at her, despite the casual appearance he tried to force Makoto could practically feel the anxiety coming off of him. Most of the others had at least greeted her- or asked how she was feeling, but she was still just… off enough that it rubbed everyone the wrong way.

That would go away, Taka had assured everyone, she was probably still disoriented- it would take time.

Makoto got up off the bed as quietly as he could, moving across the darkened room to the door and cracking it open.

“Hi~” Aoi greeted him cheerfully, then lowered her voice to a whisper when she saw the lights were off. “I’m here for my shift.”

They had decided it would be best to have someone watch Sayaka for now, and the blue haired pop star had certainly been against being alone after everything. Taka and Mondo had taken the first watch, bringing Sayaka some food and water while Makoto explained what had happened to the others. He took the next watch, sitting mostly in silence while she slept off the medicine she had been given. She had woken up once crying, she had a nightmare that she killed Leon.

It was hard to sleep after that.

“Oh- right. Thanks.” He awkwardly shuffled out into the hall, “What time is it, anyway?”

“No idea.” Aoi shrugged. “The only working clocks are in the dining hall and Taka’s little nurse room- and they’re both locked right now.”

Monokuma’s nightly announcement had come and gone, so it at least had to be after ten.

“Right, yeah. I don’t know why he won’t even let us know how time is passing.”

“No contact with the outside world- remember?” Aoi waved her hands in a sarcastic manner. “I can’t wait till we find a way out of here.”

There was an awkward pause, both of their moods soured by the reminder that they were still being held here against their will. Eventually Aoi clapped her hands together.

“Well- I’m off to have the world’s most uncomfortable sleepover.” She joked, seeming a bit nervous suddenly. “She’s… still okay, right? She’s herself?”

Makoto nodded, “Yeah, she’s just… I mean it can’t be an easy thing to go through, ya know?”

“Yeah…” Aoi gave him an encouraging smile, “Goodnight Makoto. I’ll be sure to come get you if anything too crazy happens.”

She closed the door, leaving him alone in the hall with his thoughts racing. He wanted to check on Leon again, he knew the redhead hadn’t been handling this situation very well. He also wanted to meet up and discuss everything with Kyoko, he was sort of at a loss for how to go about getting more information and she seemed like the best person to help- but the white haired girl had disappeared shortly after everyone ate dinner.

There was still one other person he needed to check on.

He moved down the hall to Celeste’s room, passing by where Hiro was trying to convince Byakuya to pay for a tarot reading. It had become something of a nightly tradition to just leave your door open if you wanted to hang out, several people could normally be seen sitting on the floor in someone’s room talking.

Celeste’s door was shut. As it always seemed to be after ten.

He found himself hesitating, staring blankly at the little symbol under her number. What is that… an eye? A shiver traveled up his spine at the simple design, just an abstract eye with a diamond where a round pupil would normally be. I wonder if that fits her whole… aesthetic. Maybe she likes it. He knocked, it took a moment for her to respond.

“Who is it?”

“Uh, Makoto. Can I come in?”

There was another pause, after a moment her door opened.

She was in a rather plain looking nightgown, her hair pulled back and covered like it had been last night. Even without her makeup on she was still ridiculously pale, but Makoto noticed the usual red color to her eyes were gone. Does she wear contacts?? Would someone really keep wearing contacts after they got locked in a school?

“What do you want?” She asked, her usual accent laced with suspicion.

“Um,” he tried to keep his voice down, “I wanted to talk about what happened today… when you, ya know-“

“Come in.”

She pulled him into her room, shutting the door behind them and walking briskly back to the bed.

“Sit.” She ordered, pointing at her desk chair with a snap. He nervously sat down.

She sat across from him on her bed, tucking her legs under a quilt she probably got out of storage and folding her hands neatly on her lap. She was trying hard to be put together, he could tell, but the apprehension was clearly showing on her face. Something was really bothering her.

“What did you want to discuss?” She asked coldly, and he couldn’t help but fidget under her stare.

“You… kinda freaked out in there.” He awkwardly started, “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“You want to know why I freaked out.” She corrected with a frown.

“I wanna know both, I care about you.” He argued, and he could feel her trying to pry into his head again, a soft buzzing at the back of his mind. He kept her firmly shut out- it wasn’t difficult for him. He wanted to actually talk about this.

“Fine.” She huffed, leaving his mind alone for the time being. “I tried to look at what Sayaka was feeling after she yelled at you, and…” she paused, her cold facade seemed to waver.

“You said it was like nothing and everything.” Makoto reminded her, trying to keep his tone gentle. “You seemed- uh… overwhelmed.”

“It was… a lot to process.” She answered slowly, then she seemed to recover her composure almost magically. “Makoto, I want you to know that I am never caught off guard.”

“Uh-“ he stuttered, the change in topic definitely caught him off guard.

She continued, “Even if I am not consciously looking into other’s feelings i still get a sense of what their situation is. I can always read the room. I’m always at least three steps ahead of everyone I’ve ever met.” She smiled, barely, seeming pleased, “I am… very good at what I do.”

“Okay?” Makoto’s nose scrunched in confusion, “What does that have to do with-“

“I mention this only so you can begin to grasp how horrific what I felt was.” She leaned forward, eyes staring intensely into his own. “Can you even begin to imagine what it’s like to feel through the eyes of an empty shell of a person?”

He opened his mouth to answer, she cut him off.

“You cannot. Sayaka was empty- there was practically nothing of her left… but there was someone else.” she gulped, her expression once again cracking into fear, “Something else had filled her mind, and as soon as I reached out it went after me as well. It was overpowering and suffocating- it was…”

She paused, struggling to think of the right word. “Despair, I think you could call it. Overwhelming despair… pulling away at my very will…”

Makoto didn’t know what to say to that. He sat in silence while Celeste regained her composure, pretending he hadn’t just heard her voice waver and seen the fear in her eyes.

“Thank you for telling me.” He spoke finally, “I really appreciate it. Was there anything else?”

She nodded, getting up from her spot on the bed and lacing her fingers together.

“There was something I wanted to ask you.”

“Sure.” Makoto nodded, “We all need to be honest with each other- ask me anything you want!”

“Why did you lie about not having powers to the others?” Her tone was once again cold, she eyed him like a criminal as he fumbled with his response.

“Wh- What? I’m not lying-“

“You have somehow gotten almost every one else wrapped around your finger,” she began lowly, taking slow steps towards him, “Even Monokuma seems to listen to you, and he is clearly working against us. You have to have something- why else would you have been able to save Leon? How could you resist whatever it was that broke Sayaka? There is no logical explanation.”

“I- I don’t Celeste, honestly-“

“And there is also the most obvious red flag-“ She cut him off, finger held up to silence his argument, “You are the only living person I’ve ever met who can block my power.”

She scowled, “When it did not work on Kiyotaka either, I assumed I was somehow to blame for this… but well, we know the truth with ‘him’ now, don’t we? So that leaves you.”

He gulped, she leaned in close to his face and he instinctively slid back in his chair.

“What are you, Makoto Naegi? How are you doing all of this?”

“Celeste, I- Gaugh!”

Before he could react, her hand was grabbing his jaw, pulling him forward so she could better look him in the eyes.

“Why are you lying?” She was looking past his eyes, trying to get into his head and force the truth out of him herself. 

“I’m not lying!” He jerked his head away, catching his breath for a moment before reestablishing eye contact. If she wants in my head so bad she’s gonna have to actually listen.

He thought hard about what he was saying, refusing to look away from Celeste’s intense stare as he spoke.

“I don’t know why I’m different! I’m not trying to hide anything!” He let her feel this- he wasn’t exactly sure how he was doing it- all his concern, worries, confusion, hope- “I don’t have all the answers yet, and I can’t explain why are things are happening the way they are, but you have to trust me. Okay, Celeste?”

She looked away first, hands balling into fists as she finally stepped back from him.

“That… I felt that.” She mumbled. “You certainly seem sincere.”

He stayed quiet, rubbing at his jaw where Celeste’s acrylic nails had scratched his skin. She mumbled something again under her breath, almost too soft for him to hear at all.

“W-what?”

She huffed, crossing her arms and refusing to look back in his direction.

“I said… I’m not used to trusting people.” 

There was a pause, Makoto finally stood and prepared to leave when she spoke again.

“I… am sorry. I overreacted.” Her apology came out in an almost forced way, she obviously wasn’t used to doing it.

“It’s, uh… It’s fine. We’ve had a rough couple of days.” He scratched at the back of his head, “But can we… can we try to work on this whole trust thing?”

She looked him up and down, not in as threatening a way as before. “We can try.” She answered finally, “But I am not making any promises.”

He laughed, a little awkwardly, and quietly told her goodnight as he walked out. He heard the door lock behind him and sighed. I’m not sure what I expected… 

“Ah! Mr. Naegi, there you are!” he turned to find Hifumi excitedly running up to him, hands behind his back and an excited grin on his face.

“Oh, hey.” Makoto smiled as the larger teen literally bounced in excitement, “What’s up Hifumi?”

“I have a gift for you~” Hifumi spun in a quick circle, holding his arms up in front of him now to reveal-

“My jacket!” Makoto gasped, he had almost forgotten about his favorite jacket nearly being ruined before, he excitedly took it from Hifumi and examined it. “Thank you so much! This was my last birthday present before… ya know everything started happening out in the world, heh. I really appreciate-“

He stopped short when his eyes landed where the tear used to be, the embroidery that now adorned it leaving him at a loss for words. Hifumi chuckled in satisfaction as he watched Makoto run his hands over the new designs.

The rip itself had been sewn shut with what resembled a lightning bolt, if Makoto tilted his head he could see it almost resembled a seven. The area around it had been decorated with little hearts in light blue and brown that… honestly looked kinda nice with the color of his jacket.

“Stunned you speechless with my talent?” Hifumi grinned smugly, “I understand it’s a bit flashier than you normally dress, I hope you don’t mind.”

“N-no, I don’t mind.” Makoto slipped the jacket on, moving his arm so he could see the embroidery again, “It’s just… way more than I was expecting.”

“Well given how much you’ve been doing to try and help us, I thought it was only fair to return the favor.” Hifumi adjusted his glasses, a surprisingly thoughtful look on his face, “And I think that your mysterious heart motif suits your character rather well, seemed only fitting to incorporate it into the character design itself, right?”

“Uh…” Makoto tried to wrap his head around where Hifumi had steered away from reality, “Right, yeah. Thanks again, seriously. I love it!”

Hifumi beamed at him, “No problem at all! If there’s anything else you want me to spruce up for you, feel free to ask.” He chuckled as he turned to go back to his room, “Just because we’re locked up doesn’t mean we can’t look our best, right?”

Makoto ran his hands along the embroidery as he walked back to his room, he could already hear the jokes Leon would crack at his expense in the morning-

Oh, right. Leon…

His eyes drifted towards the redhead’s door, staring at the little bullseye Leon had painted orange their second night here in an attempt to personalize it. I should just wait till in the morning, he might already be asleep… He held his newly fixed hand book to the scanner to open his door, flicking the lights on and blinking in surprise at what he saw.

His room was completely normal. It was like nothing had ever even happened. His bed was back, his walls were no longer cracked from the immeasurable force of Sayaka’s screams, his carpet wasn’t stained with his own blood… The only difference was the color of his sheets and the lack of a monitor hanging from his wall.

And on the bed were Mukuro’s two discs, sitting neatly side by side like they’d been waiting for him.

“Impressed?” Monokuma’s voice startled him, he jumped to the side as the teddy bear marched into the room. “I’m a pretty good interior decorator, aren’t I? Puhuhu…”

“Yeah… thanks.” He said awkwardly, moving over to the dresser to find it stocked with more clothes than he had previously. “What-“

“Another gift, you’re welcome.” Monokuma had hopped up on his bed, head resting on his paws and legs swinging lazily in the air. “Consider it restitution for all the times you’ve been smacked around.”

He laughed dryly at that, slipping his jacket onto the back of his new desk chair.

“Thanks for leaving the discs.” He muttered, “Those are still the same discs, right?”

Monokuma scoffed, “Well you’ve already seen em- wouldn’t do me much good to take em now, would it?”

“I guess not…” he paused warily looking back at the bear before asking, “Is… Is Mukuro dead?”

“Now, now-“

“I know you can’t- or just won’t - tell me a lot of stuff,” he faced the bear fully now, pleading with him, “But please, I need to know what happened to her. Is she really dead?”

Monokuma hopped down from his bed, letting out a long drawn out sigh as he wandered back over towards Makoto’s door.

“Not… physically, no. But she’d be better off that way if you ask me.” Before Makoto could demand any elaboration the bear held a paw up to silence him.

“Just try and sleep for now, I’m sure when you find her next message she’ll explain some more things.”

“N-next message?” Makoto jolted, “What do you-“

“Well there’s only a few other places in the school she ever went alone… I’m sure you’ll find one eventually. You seem to have a knack for gettin’ into trouble.”

Makoto blinked, “So you… want me to find them?”

“I didn’t say that-“ Monokuma corrected, shaking his head in an almost comical way, “I would never- never -encourage such behavior!” He stopped, crossing legs over the edge of Makoto’s bed. “But there isn’t much I can do to stop you, is there?”

Makoto didn’t answer, the bear continued, “Things have certainly deviated from how i had hoped they’d go, and if what you’re doing is going to keep everyone safe…. I can let some things slide.”

Makoto smiled, a weird kind of relief knowing the school’s ‘headmaster’ wasn’t actively working against him.

“But I should warn you: there’s some rules even I can’t ignore.” Monokuma hopped off the bed, walking right up to Makoto and gesturing for Makoto to bend over to make eye contact. “If you break any pre-established rules, or poke your little nose where it really really shouldn’t be, there’ll be consequences.”

“What kinda consequences?” Makoto questioned, finding himself more curious than actually scared, “Chihiro mentioned something about lockdown, is that the consequence?”

“It’s one of several.” Monokuma retorted, somehow managing to seem annoyed despite never really emoting, “It’s not something to bat an eye about, Lucky, those rooms were made for the real deal- the super skilled and dangerous versions of you kiddos that never happened! It’s serious business!”

“I’m not skilled or dangerous. So what’s my ‘lockdown room’ then? Just an empty room?”

“It’s-“ Monokuma jolted, freezing for a moment before dissolving into laughter.

“Oh! You almost had me there, Lucky! Puhuhuhu I think there may be more to you then I originally thought! No no no- if you really wanna see your punishment then just keep doing what you’re doing, I’m sure I’ll be forced to throw you in there eventually!”

He waddled towards the door, leaving Makoto frustrated at his lack of information, “Or maybe I’ll make Taka do it- that’d be fun! He gets so worked up about all that!”

“Monokuma?” Makoto stopped him in his doorway, the bear tilted his head. “What… what was I supposed to be?” He asked in a fumbling way, unsure of how to phrase it.

He pointed to the heart etched into his door, as though Monokuma didn’t already know what it was- hell, he may have even been the one to put there. “What does this mean? Why am I… ya know, the way that I am?”

Monokuma paused, an amused sounding hum escaping him.

“You wouldn’t like the answer, Seven.”

“What’s that even supposed to mean?”

“Try to get some sleep.” Monokuma waved him off, avoiding Makoto’s attempt to grab his paw and hurrying down the hall. “I’ve got a LOT of stuff to do and I’m sure you’ll be right back to investigating tomorrow! A good night’s rest is important for growing boys!”

Makoto watched him leave the dorms, the new gate that had somehow been installed slid open and closed automatically. A frustrated sigh escaped him as he shut his door and moved towards his bed.

Even if he wouldn’t like the answer…. he still wanted to know.

—————————————————————

Another day had passed, Makoto was lingering at the table after dinner. He absentmindedly poked at the leftover vegetables on his plate. Sakura had cooked everyone a healthy meal, Aoi was currently in the kitchen icing a cake.

“To balance things out!” She had explained with a grin earlier when she first put the cake in the oven, earning an amused chuckle and shake of the head from Sakura. Aoi had even enlisted Sayaka’s help in decorating it, and much to Makoto’s relief the two could be heard laughing even from the dining hall.

He was excited about the cake, sure, but the main reason he was sticking around was to try and talk to Leon. The redhead had somehow managed to avoid him the majority of the day, he had even skipped lunch in favor of taking a bath. Makoto had mentioned this to Hiro earlier, and the psychic had chuckled quietly to himself.

“He probably knows you’re gonna try and therapy him.” Hiro had told him as he shuffled through a set of tarot cards Monokuma had given him. “I know you’ve got this weird, innate need to take care of everyone but… He’s not really the sorta dude to like talk about his feelings, ya know? And after everything that happened…”

Makoto finally stood, abandoning his plate in favor of catching Leon while he was alone filling his glass of water. Hiro’s advice lingered in his mind:

“Just take it easy with him, help him feel normal.”

“Hey, Leon.” He started, suddenly finding it impossible to be casual now that he knew he needed to be casual. Damn it.

“Oh. Hey, man.” Leon smiled, but his gaze flicked away.

“I’ve actually been looking for you all day,” Leon’s expression scrunched at that, seeming uncomfortable as Makoto continued. “Where’d you run off to?”

“I was just… uh,” The redhead sighed in defeat. “Listen, Mac, ya know I love you and all, but I don’t really wanna walk about what happened, okay?”

“Heh, you love me?”

“UH- i mean not like love you but-“

“I love you too, I know what you meant.” Makoto teased, watching Leon laugh nervously and glance over to where Toko had snapped her head up at the sound of a possible confession.

“But we don’t have to talk about anything, if you don’t want to.” He assured, “I just wanna make sure you’re doing better. Just promise you’ll let me know if you do need help, okay?”

Leon took a long drink of his water, thinking something over before nodding.

“There uh… there is something you could help me with, maybe.”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“Can you… help me look for some baseball stuff?” He muttered his request quietly, like he was afraid someone would overhear this terrible secret.

“Really?” Makoto tilted his head, “I thought you hated baseball? You… you said it was boring.”

“It is.” Leon scratched at the back of his neck. “I think I could use something boring right now.”

Help him feel normal… Makoto nodded. “Yeah. For sure. Where should we start looking?”

“Uh, I dunno exactly.”

The two of them began walking out of the dining hall. Makoto heard Taka yell about someone leaving their mess at the table and picked up the pace a little to avoid being caught.

“I spent most of this morning looking through storage, no luck.” Leon continued, leading them to the school, “And then I was super gross and dusty so I took a bath, then I went and checked at the store thing. I thought for sure there’d be something in there- they legit have like everything else!”

Makoto laughed at that, Leon leaned in closer. “I’m not kidding, dude. I saw a bikini and a freaking battle axe right next to each other.”

I should really check this store out… Makoto mused as they continued through the building, rounding a corner to find Monokuma standing proudly in the center of the hallway.

“I know where you can play baseball!” He offered enthusiastically, paws on his hips.

Both boys exchanged a wary glance, Makoto spoke first.

“You have baseball equipment?”

“Of course! Gotta take my students’ interests into account!”

“So… can we use it?”

Monokuma spun on his heel, gesturing for them follow. “Well absolutely! Right this way.”

Leon let a nervous sigh escape him, “Why wouldn’t you keep sports stuff in the gym? I looked there earlier too and all I saw were a couple dumb basketballs.”

“Yes, yes, I saw you.” Monokuma snickered, “Tossed it in the net every time, too! I guess it didn’t get all your energy out, though.”

The bear came to a stop in front of a set of metal doors, some that Makoto hadn’t ever really paid attention to until now. 

“But I bet this will help!” As if on cue, the doors slid open. Makoto entered first, probably too trusting of the still enigmatic teddy bear, and surveyed yet another a room that seemed impossibly large compared to the outside.

It looked like a gym, maybe, but with black floors and a glass wall dividing a good two thirds of the room from the side they entered. Leon hesitantly followed, staying behind Makoto as he moved towards a set of numbered lockers on the wall to their right. Three, Four, Five, Six… Eight, Nine- Thirteen, Fourteen? We’re missing people here…

“How come… some of the numbers are missing?” Makoto looked over his shoulder at Monokuma, who hurried over from the computer screen by the glass he was looking at.

“Well not everyone has a physical enhancement. They don’t need specialized training stuff.” He chuckled, “Wouldn’t make much sense for someone like little Fifteen to be lifting weights when she’s supposed to be hacking security systems!”

Leon was definitely uncomfortable now, staring at a locker plainly labeled ‘4’. So much for making him feel normal.

“Go on then, yours is right there!” Monokuma urged Leon, pushing at the red head’s legs till he stumbled up to his locker.

He hesitated, giving Makoto a concerned glance before finally grabbing the handle and swinging it open.

“Tada~” Monokuma cheered, watching Leon and Makoto peer inside with an amused chuckle. “I’ve got your standard metal bat- two of them, even! Just to help ease you into things. And then we can move on to your knives, remote trackers, I even have a specialized-“

“This is my bat!” Leon suddenly exclaimed, holding one of the metal bats up and inspecting it like a precious artifact.

“I just told you that.”

“No I mean this is my bat. From before here. I-“ Leon almost looked happy, a disbelieving sort of smile on his face, “How… How did this get here?”

“Brought it with you when we rounded you up.” Monokuma shrugged. “If I had known it’d make you this happy I would’ve brought you to training sooner!”

Leon’s smile faltered, twitching into a more apprehensive expression as he took a step back towards Makoto.

“Training?”

Monokuma waved off his concerns, turning and walking back towards the glass partition. “Now, now, don’t freak out. We can start small. Today we’ll just do baseball!”

Makoto was only just now beginning to realize that Monokuma had to be controlling what happened in this room, because the moment he spoke a large pitching machine suddenly elevated up from the floor behind the divider. A door seamlessly hidden in the glass slid open, giving Leon access to the other side of the room.

“We don’t have all day, Leon!” Monokuma tapped his foot. “I’m not gonna do anything to you. There’s a pitcher and a few bullseyes that’ll pop up, just try to hit them all to the best of your ability.” At the redhead’s continued hesitation Monokuma huffed.

“Lucky. Please tell your friend to grow a pair.”

Makoto and Leon exchanged glances, Makoto shrugged.

“If… it really is just baseball, I say go for it.”

Leon sighed, turning the well worn bat over his hands again. “Yeah. Might as well, I guess.”

He moved towards the door, quickly shrugging his usual jacket off his shoulders and leaving it crumpled on the floor. Makoto walked over to stand by Monokuma.

“The door stays open, though. You already got me locked in a school you aren’t locking me in a fuckin’ fish tank room.” Leon insisted with a grimace.

“Fine fine fine. Just go! Show me what you’ve got!” Monokuma was practically bouncing with excitement now. Leon finally walked through the doorway.

A spot on the floor lit up orange, directly in front of the pitcher. Leon stepped up to it, rolling his shoulders and tapping at the ground with his feet a few times as the machine in front of him suddenly whirred to life. Lights on the wall behind it suddenly lit up as well, in the shape of blue bullseyes of varying sizes that blinked in and out of different places all over the wall’s surface.

Leon looked back at them and gave Monokuma a nod, and a ball was immediately shot from the pitcher. Leon swung, a satisfying Tok! Filling the room as he made contact and sent the baseball colliding into a bullseye just before it flickered out again.

Monokuma clapped enthusiastically, “Very good! We’ll start off slow and speed things up gradually, just to get you back into the swing of things, puhuhuhu.” Leon rolled his eyes at the pun, swinging at another ball and hitting yet another target.

Makoto watched, amazed. He had never been good at sports, he did okay in track but… he wasn’t even sure that counted. Definitely not compared to this.

“I don’t have a locker down here.” He commented, watching Leon swing again and again. “Do I not get to train?”

“There’s some basic programs, don’t worry.” Monokuma hummed. “Self Defense Training and whatnot. Your room’s upstairs.”

The bear slapped a paw over his mouth.  He said something I wasn’t supposed to know again.

“You’re good at that.” Monokuma grumbled, and after a moment of sulking, sighed in defeat.

“Go ahead and ask, Lucky. We both know you’re gonna.”

“What’s upstairs? Do you mean on the fourth floor?” Makoto leaned forward, ignoring the rhythmic beat of Leon’s practice session. “Does that mean whatever my power was is…. Uh…. What’s the opposite of physical?”

“Mental, Cerebral, whatever.” Monokuma put his paws on his hips. “Some of you have enhancements that let you use more of that little meatball you call a brain.”

“So I’m supposed to…” Makoto fumbled over his word choices, not quite sure how to phrase things in a way Monokuma wouldn’t immediately shut down. “What do you mean by use more of our brains?”

Asking another question seemed like a good idea, Monokuma sure did love talking.

“Like how Ten-“

“Byakuya.”

“Whatever. Like how Byakuya can move things around by just thinking about it- that’s something that requires an awful lot of concentration!” He snickered, “Not very good at concentrating anymore, though, is he?”

Makoto frowned, “What… What does that mean?”

“Well I have footage of him being able to send everything in a room flying in all directions. Way more impressive than what he’s been able to accomplish since he came back!”

“I mean,” Makoto felt a little defensive on his friend’s (were they friends? Did Byakuya like him?) behalf. “He managed to crush a bunch of those giant bear things? That’s something.”

“And he immediately passed out after that, if I remember correctly- which I always do.”

“So?”

“Soooooo that’s weaksauce! That’s nothing!” Monokuma hummed thoughtfully, turning his attention back to Leon. “Maybe he’s just… out of practice. Four has managed to keep up with his abilities after all these years.”

“His name is Leon.” Makoto corrected again. “People don’t like it when you call them a number.”

Monokuma waved a paw at him to shush him, calling back to Leon through the glass.

“Tired yet? Wanna slow down?”

Makoto followed his gaze, Leon certainly looked tired. The balls had gotten much faster- Leon barely had time to bring his arms back to swing again. Sweat dripped off his face, his breathing had turned somewhat labored… he wasn’t stopping.

“I think maybe you should turn it off.” Makoto mumbled.

“Hm…. I kinda wanna see what his limit is, though.”

“Uh, no? Let’s not do that.” Makoto insisted nervously. “Come on, just turn it off.”

“Fine, fine, if it’ll get you off my case.”

The pitching machine slowed to a stop, spitting a few last balls out before finally going silent. The remaining targets disappeared, and Leon was left panting and wiping his face with his sleeve.

Leon trudged back through the open door, it slid shut behind him again as he approached.

“Very good! We obviously need to focus more on stamina, but you’re still in top shape!” Monokuma continued to ramble about setting up a more personalized training program with this new information, Makoto ignored him and spoke to Leon quietly.

“You uh… feel better?”

“A little?” Leon shrugged, “That was… actually sort of challenging, which was cool. Still not really…”

“Normal?”

“Yeah.”

Leon went to put his bat back in the locker. Makoto followed, accidentally kicking at a stray ball  as he walked.

He bent down and picked it up, just a normal baseball. He noted, turning it over in his hands. Normal… this could work?

“Hey, uh,” he got Leon’s attention, “I might have an idea?”

———————————————————————————————————

“Wait for real?” Leon laughed, for the first time in what felt like ages as he tossed the ball back to Makoto. “You shot it in the other team’s goal?? That’s like… sitcom stuff, Mac.”

Makoto laughed too, remembering his most embarrassing memory from his very brief middle school basketball career. “I know. Everyone on the team hated me.” He tossed the ball back to Leon, not with quite as much accuracy. “My parents were still proud. It was the only point i made the whole season.”

Leon laughed again, seeming much more at ease now that they were outside and away from Monokuma. Well… not outside, really. But the weird garden was close enough.

Makoto had actually never been in here, there had been too much other stuff going on for him to really take the time to look around. It was nice, the lights, painted sky ceiling, and wide array of plants made it easy to forget that they weren’t actually out in some garden playing catch… made things feel almost normal. Which seemed good enough for Leon.

Leon hummed, tossing the ball up in the air for a moment instead of back to Makoto.

“Yeah… my dad was always pretty proud of me, too.” His smile turned sad. “It uh… didn’t really feel right, ya know?”

He tossed the ball, Makoto caught it and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Like… I liked baseball, but he loved it, so we played it together all the time. And then when we found out… ya know-” He laughed, but in a more awkward, forced way now. “-I was great at it, he put me in a professional league. But it was so boring. And it felt so weird.”

Leon huffed, “Guess I know why, now.”

Makoto tossed the ball back to him, unsure of what to say to that.

“I felt like I didn’t deserve it.” He continued, “Like for him to be proud of me. Why he should get so excited about something that was as easy to me as breathing?”

“It’s not like he knew any better.” Makoto pointed out, Leon nodded.

“Yeah. Guess so.” He tossed the ball back to Makoto. “I started getting into music, had this weird idea in my head that if I got good at something I really worked for he’d still be proud of me.”

Makoto opened his mouth to say something, Leon continued before he could.

“He didn’t like the idea of me giving up baseball, said it was just a phase, typical dad stuff I guess.” He laughed again, seeming to give up on their game and plopping down in the grass instead. “How could he have known, though? I don’t really blame him, I think. But it did sorta… mess me up.”

“Mess you up how?” Makoto asked, sitting down cross legged. Leon shrugged, sliding down till he was laying on his back.

“Like…. Ugh. Sayaka.” He huffed, picking at some grass with his hand. “She liked that I liked music. That got me pumped up man. She liked me for something I was actually invested in. And she’s a pop star! She could give me advice! And she’s ya know…. Pretty, and…”

He stopped, turning his head and pointing to a nearby path. “And right over there: I was so stupid and excited about someone being interested in me I was totally blind to how she was a freaking brainwashed killer.”

Oh… Makoto had forgotten that happened in here. He wouldn’t have suggested it if he remembered. I’m surprised he even agreed to come…

“And then- God I’m a disaster, Mac.” He sat up again, running a hand through his hair. “I think I may have a crush on Hiro now.”

“What?!” Makoto didn’t mean to sound so shocked… he also hadn’t planned on Leon really dumping all this on him so suddenly.

“I mean… I did? Till I found out he’s older than us. I dunno he was just nice to me! I just… want people to like me. That’s all.”

“You mean… like a friend?”

Leon laughed, laying back down. “Maybe? When you say it like that it sounds easy.”

“I mean… it can be. It sounds like you know what you want.”

“I super don’t, actually.”

“You want someone who likes you, that you have things in common with.” Makoto guessed, scooting a little closer as Leon nodded. “Maybe don’t worry about labeling the feelings right now. Just try to… enjoy yourself. Have friends.”

“Yeah…” Leon mumbled. “I can have friends. I’m cool. I can, uh… talk to people.”

“Sure you can!” Makoto encouraged, “You’ve done a great job so far.”

“Yeah….”

“Dudes!”

A new voice startled them both, turning around to find Hiro walking towards them with two plates of cake and a huge grin. “Saved you guys some of this stuff!”

He sat down next to them, apparently oblivious to the nervous blush Leon was frantically trying to get off his face.

“We having Grass Time? Meditating? What’s going on?”

“Just hanging out.” Makoto answered, “Thanks for the cake, I almost forgot Hina was making it.”

“Yeah, it’s super good.” Hiro straightened his posture some, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. “Feels nice in here. Almost like outside.”

“Almost.” Makoto mumbled through a mouthful of cake.

“Oh, by the way, dude,” Hiro opened his eyes again, turning to look at Leon. “Uh, Sayaka’s been looking for you… I think she wants to apologize for, ya know…”

“Oh…” Leon poked at his slice of cake.

“Are you…. Okay with that? Or should I find her and-“

“No, No.” Leon took a minute to think, finally nodding and getting up. “No, I can talk to her. I should, right?” He looked to Makoto, but stood and turned towards the door before he could answer.

“I’ll see you guys later. Thanks for the cake man,” he looked over his shoulder at Makoto, “And thanks for talking to me today, Mac. I really needed it.”

Makoto waved, unsure of what to say but relieved he was able to help. The tension between Sayaka and Leon had been borderline unbearable for him. He thought about what Leon had been saying before, and while Makoto thought they really might make a cute couple Leon definitely needed some time to work himself out first….

Actually, speaking of what Leon had said:

“Hey, Hiro?”

“Yeah?”

“Uh… how old are you?”

Hiro opened one eye to look at him, head still tilted back up towards the artificial sunlight. “I mean, to be honest…. I dunno for sure. Do you really know how old you are?”

“I, uh,” Makoto realized his origin was a lot more complicated than just adoption, “I guess not.”

“Yeah…” Hiro closed his eye again. “Leon said something, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“About how i kinda remember this place?”

“Wha- what?” 

Chapter Text

“You… you remember being here? Like when we were kids?” Makoto straightened up, shocked. Hiro immediately tensed.

“U-Uh.” He stuttered, relaxed smile replaced by an apprehensive one. “I mean, not much, like….”

“But still- That’s crazy! How do you… how come none of the rest of us remember it?”

“Man, I dunno! They like…. Did something to us, look-” He crossed his arms, “I’m not like that much older than you guys, I was still a kid! I don’t know what they did….” He faltered. “But I remember some stuff, yeah. And none of it was really good.”

He shifted, sitting on his knees in the grass now instead of cross legged. “I used to have nightmares about it. A lot. My mom actually took me to a therapist because of it.”

“Wow…” was all Makoto could bring himself to say.

“But it’s not like I remember anything good or like, useful.” Hiro scratched the back of his neck, “I remember uh, ya know, like a few of the rooms, maybe some faces… the tank.”

“The tank?”

“Yeah.”

“You-“ Makoto tried to blink his disbelief away, “You can’t say ‘the tank’ like it’s normal and not explain it.”

Hiro gave him an apprehensive frown. “Makoto, I uh… really don’t wanna talk about that. It really used to freak me out. It was just… a thing they put me in sometimes. I-I really don’t like small spaces like that, dude.” He nervously drummed a hand on his leg. “Just thinking about being somewhere that small and dark again gets to me, man.”

“Okay… okay.” Makoto sat back, trying to process all this. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Hiro laughed weakly, “That’s all?”

“For now, yeah.” Makoto ran his hands through his hair. “Just… if you see anything you remember- let me know, okay?”

“For sure dude.” Hiro gave him a thumbs up, “If I can help you get us out of here I totally will!”

They settled back into silence, Makoto trying to process all this new information when another question came into his mind.

“Hey, uh… Can I ask one more thing?”

“I guess so.”

“Do you remember who One is?”

Hiro’s peaceful expression furrowed into concentration, he ran a hand idly through the artificial grass they were sitting on.

“Uh… maybe? Blonde, right? Kinda loud…”

“I wouldn’t know.” Makoto chuckled, “Maybe?”

“I mean… I feel like you were always around her, though. Seems like you should remember better than me.”

It took everything within Makoto not to interrupt at that news, but he figured he could get more information if he let Hiro think.

“Yeah… I don’t remember her all that well, sorry. I just remember that you two did a lot of stuff together.”

“We did? I… I don’t remember that at all.”

“Nobody does.” Hiro mumbled, sliding back till he was lying in the grass. “Yeah. Just like all the tests and stuff. That’s all I really remember.”

“Okay. Thanks.” Makoto poked at his cake with his fork again, allowing the two of them to settle into silence, aside from whatever little tune Hiro started humming.

So if me and One were… ‘tested’ or whatever- at the same time, maybe that’s why it didn’t work on me? Makoto was so lost in thought he barely registered new footsteps approaching. But it’s not like the codes are her ability and everything, that doesn’t make sense.

“Naegi.”

Makoto jolted, startled out of his thoughts and looking up to see Byakuya staring him down.

“Oh. Hi, what’s up?”

Byakuya’s tense gaze flickered around the garden. “I just wanted to ask… if perhaps you would like to go to the sauna… with me.”

“What???” Hiro sat up again, his smile somewhere between disbelief and delighted, “Are you like… doing something nice? For another person? You’re offering to spend time with another person.”

His amusement switched to worry, “That’s not like you at all, man. Are you feeling okay?”

Byakuya rolled his eyes, ignoring the psychic entirely. “Makoto, are you coming or not?”

“Uh,” Makoto blinked, “Now?”

“Yes, now. I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t happening.” 

There was something in the way Byakuya stared down at him, less angry and more insistently. His eyebrows raised in a way that made Makoto suspect there was more to this invitation than getting cleaned up for the night.

“Yeah… sure.” he finally answered, and Byakuya’s tense posture relaxed a fraction. “Let me go put my plate up and I’ll meet you there.”

“Great. Don’t take too long.”

—————————————————————————

There was a strange group waiting for him in the changing room.

While he already expected there to be way more to this than relaxation time, he figured it would still just be him and Byakuya, maybe Kyoko even (strange meetings seemed right up her alley) … not quite this.

“Good, we can finally get started.” Byakuya addressed him as he turned to the group.

“So… You’re gonna tell us what’s going on now, right?” Chihiro asked quietly from her spot on the bench next to Toko.

“Y-yeah. J-j-just hurry. I don’t want m-monokuma to get suspicious.” Toko nervously tugged on her braids, cheeks tinted with blush as she stared pointedly at the floor.

Probably to avoid looking at Mondo standing in just a towel in the center of the room.

“The reason I’ve gathered the four of you here- and Owada, please, feel free to put your clothes back on at your earliest convenience,”

“Ya said you wanted to go the sauna, so I went to the damn sauna-“

“As I was saying:” Byakuya talked over him. “We need to get information from Monokuma. I’ve deemed the four of you as the best fits to execute this particular plan.”

“What?” Chihiro gasped. “How are we supposed to do that?”

“The only place we know of classified documents being stored is-“

“That closet in the library.” Mondo interrupted again as he zipped his pants back up. “Mac already figured that one out, genius.”

Byakuya’s jaw clenched as he looked over at Makoto, who sheepishly smiled back. 

“You want me to break in there.” Chihiro frowned, “I… really don’t feel comfortable doing that, I already told you-“

“You stated you didn’t want to get in trouble. My plan will ensure that wouldn’t happen.” Byakuya adjusted his glasses, Makoto figured he was in for a long winded explanation and took a seat on one of the benches.

“So long as it’s executed correctly, that is. I believe I can open the door in a way that won’t trigger the system and alert Monokuma, all I need you to do is tamper with the live feed of the video cameras to make it appear as though we aren’t inside the library at all.”

“Oh…” Chihiro thought for a moment, “I’m… not sure that would work. If he didn’t see us anywhere he may get suspicious.”

Mondo, fully dressed now, took a seat next to Makoto. “How the hell would he even be able to tell?”

“He’s basically a walking security system, I think.” Chihiro explained, nervously picking at a loose thread on her skirt. “I’m not sure how exactly he operates, but I think he knows our locations all the time.”

“He can do that with our handbooks.” Makoto added, finally contributing to the conversation. “And he’s also… connected to the school itself, right? Like he can control the security systems, open and close doors, move things around… I’m not sure it’s possible to sneak around him.”

“Wh-what if Chihiro j-just… turned him off?” Toko suggested, “Then we could do whatever we want, right?”

Chihiro shook her head, “I don’t think Makoto was too far off when he said Monokuma was connected to the school, but I’m pretty sure it’s a little deeper than that. I don’t think he’s connected to the school’s system, I think he sort of…. Is the system. If that makes sense…”

She trailed off, Mondo’s face scrunched in confusion. “So like… how the fuck does that work? I mean Monokuma’s like this big-“ he held a hand up to demonstrate.

“Think of it less like Monokuma has everything in him and more like the school itself uses Monokuma as sort of… a means of getting around and interacting with things.”

“Which would mean what exactly?” Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

“Um, I think if he goes down the whole school goes down, basically.” Chihiro steepled her fingers, “So… no lights, no air, no anything. It would still be basically impossible to escape or get information without him around….”

Toko sighed in defeat, Byakuya regained control of the conversation. “So we’re back to my plan then. Chihiro can override a part of the security system without Monokuma noticing, and we can get as many files from the storage room as possible.”

“How do we do all that without him noticing?” Makoto asked, “It’s like she said, if he doesn’t see us anywhere in the building he’ll probably come looking for us.”

Byakuya’s gaze turned to Mondo, “That’s where you come in.”

“Uh… okay?” Mondo raised an eyebrow.

“You will provide a distraction that Monokuma can’t ignore, distracting him long enough for us to do what we need to. Given your natural ability to be loud and irritating you seemed like the perfect fit for this task.”

“I beg your fucking pardon?”

“Meanwhile Makoto and Toko will assist me in getting all the files we can out of the storage room and into the lockers here.” Byakuya continued as though he had never spoken, “That way we can view them without Monokuma or whoever is in charge of him knowing that we’re gaining the upper hand.”

He finished, seeming rather proud of his plan. Makoto had to admit, it was certainly better than anything he could’ve come up with… but something was still bugging him.

“Um, I have a question?” Makoto raised a hand, Byakuya sighed.

“What about that didn’t make sense, Naegi?”

“No, it made sense, I guess. I just… Why are we keeping this secret? Why aren’t we letting the others help?”

There was a moment of hesitation before the blond answered, his gaze shifted amongst the members of their little meeting.

“I just think it’d be best to keep this to ourselves for now. We can let the others know once we’re more sure of what we’re dealing with.”

“You just wanna look through em all yourself first, don’t ya?” Mondo crossed his arms. “You wanna be the one to crack this instead of Kirigiri.”

Byakuya glared, “Actually one my main points of concern is your new remote control buddy.”

“Hey!” Mondo barked, just as Chihiro interjected: “Don’t say things like that!”

“We-we’re getting off track here…” Toko grumbled, unbraiding and reworking a strand of her hair.

“Right.” Byakuya adjusted his glasses, ignoring the hostile stare Mondo continued to give him, “The night time announcement is in two hours. Everyone leave your handbooks in here. We should go now.”

“N-now?” Makoto questioned, getting to his feet. “Wait a minute you don’t even really have a plan here, Byakuya. We need to think through this more. I mean how is Mondo even gonna distract Monokuma enough?”

“I’ve got an idea.” Mondo grinned devilishly, standing as well and cracking his knuckles.

Chihiro made a worried hum, “What’s your idea? I don’t want you to get hurt-“

“No worries, Chi.” Mondo ruffled her hair, “I’m not scared’a no stuffed animal.”

He moved to the door, turning around to give them a wink. “It’s not like he really could hurt me or anything, right?”

Byakuya rolled his eyes as he left, “Overconfident moron…” he mumbled, before turning back to the others. “We need to move quickly. We have a very limited window to do this in. Naegi: follow Mondo and wait till Monokuma shows up. Then let us know we can really get started.”

“How am I supposed to do that?” Makoto asked, but Byakuya was already moving out the door.

He cast a nervous look to the others before following, barely managing to catch a glimpse of Mondo as he exited the dorm area.

He hurried to catch up to him, nearly running into Kyoko in the hall as he struggled to match the much larger teen’s pace.

“So, what… what are you doing?” He asked worriedly, Mondo laughed.

“Something I’ve been wantin’ to do since we got here.” He grinned over his shoulder at him, “Why don’t you go find the bear and let him know I’m working on a surprise for him, yeah?”

“Uh-“ Makoto stopped in the hall, his apprehension only growing. “O-okay?”

He took a few steps into the twisting hallways of the school, “Where would Monokuma even be?”

“Right here!” He nearly jumped out of his skin, the monochrome bear’s laughs grating on his last nerves. “Got you that time, Lucky! Did you need me for something?”

“Wh-where did you even come from?” He asked incredulously, the bear shrugged.

“In the grand scheme of things, I came from a doodle in an inventor’s sketchbook. But more recently- I came from my office. I’ve been working on some training programs for everyone!”

“You have an office?”

“Of course! I’m not just an all powerful bodyguard- I’m the head of this school! I gotta have a place to do all my work!”

“Sure.” Makoto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, “Uh, I was supposed to tell you-“

“Wait just a minute!” Monokuma held a paw up to silence him, “Hold that thought, Lucky. I’m afraid one of your little teammates is causing some major problems right now!” He hurried away down the hall.

I guess this is actually working so far. Makoto thought before he turned to bolt up the stairs, unsure of where exactly this plan was going next. Maybe we really can get away with this…

He reached the library quickly, out of breath as he pushed open the door and nodded to Chihiro.

Byakuya was standing by the door, holding a book despite his eyes being fixated intensely on the storage room across from them.

“Okay!” Chihiro announced, eyes closed in concentration. “The feed is being looped. It looks like me and Byakuya are just in here reading. As far as I can tell it’s not raising any red flags.”

“Good.” Byakuya confirmed, finally moving from his spot and hurrying to the closet. Makoto followed him, watching his face furrow in concentration as he knelt down and held a hand against the metal surface of the closet door.

This was really the first time he had looked at it, there were no discernible handles or anything to use to open it at all… what could Byakuya’s plan possibly be?

“It’s the same as the gates to our dorms.” Byakuya answered as though he heard Makoto’s thoughts. “I’ve been watching while Monokuma repaired it, it locks at the bottom and slides into the wall.”

His mouth twitched, Makoto could see sweat forming along his forehead from the effort.

“It’s… heavy-” He grunted, and just as Makoto was ready to warn him not to overexert himself there was a clunk as the metal door slid open and revealed a mess inside.

Filing cabinets were overflowing, excess papers and folders stacked on top of them or piled on the floor. There was an old laptop leaned against one of the stacks, and strange pieces of machinery that almost looked… like arms?

Byakuya let out a shaky exhale, dropping back into a sitting position and wiping something pink from his nose.

“Gross…” he mumbled as he wiped his hand unceremoniously on his blazer. “Toko! Come on!”

Toko dashed into the room, her usual nervous expression heightened by the intensity of the situation. Byakuya got to his feet, seeming somewhat shaky now, and swatted away Makoto’s attempt to help steady himself.

“I’m fine.” He insisted, pressing his hand against his temple, “Toko, get as many files to the bathhouse as you can. Makoto, your job is to sort through and find things relating to our experiments. We should only take what’s important right now. Can you do that?”

“Y-yeah.” Makoto nodded, “Are you sure you’re okay, though?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just… need to rest for minute. I-I’ll meet you all down there. ”

Byakuya trudged out of the room, Toko immediately got to grabbing files.

“O-okay. These have our n-n-numbers on them, so do these.” She moved fast, making her own little stack in the middle of the floor as Makoto struggled to keep up.

“H-hey, Makoto?”

“Yeah?”

“I kn-know we need to work fast but…. C-Can we maybe talk later?”

Makoto paused, looking up from the laptop he was about to add to her pile. “Uh… yeah. Is everything okay?”

“E-everything’s fine! It’s n-not a bad talk I just….” She trailed off into a nervous hum. She abruptly lifted the stack into her arms.

“I just wanna get something o-out in the open. And… I think I trust you. I think.”

He almost laughed at that, “Oh, well sure. Thank-“

He was cut off as she sped from the room, coughing at the dust she had kicked up.

Better keep searching then… he glanced around the closet, his eyes landed on an accordion folder tucked behind one of the filing cabinets. He knelt down and pulled it out from behind the cabinet, wiping the dust on his jacket and searching for anything that would indicate what it was about. He turned it over in his hands and nearly dropped it right back onto the floor.

  78-07

Neuro-Network Project Report

“Hey.” Makoto jolted, exhaling a breath he didn’t realize he was holding at the sound of Kyoko’s quiet voice. 

She was bending down, looking down at the folder in his hands. He gulped, unsure of what to do when she held out a gloved hand and whispered:

“Let me take that for now. We can look at it together later.”

He hesitated, “I don’t… I don’t wanna hide it from the others.”

“Makoto,” she looked over her shoulder, Chihiro didn’t seem to notice them. “I think it’s only fair that you learn about who you are before anyone else… don’t you?”

“Wha- why do you… why do you care?” He couldn’t help but be suspicious, Kyoko’s gaze softened, eyes meeting his with sincerity.

“If i could stop Togami from learning about me without my consent, I would. I can’t do that, so let me help you.”

“I still don’t feel right about this.”

“Toko will be back any second now.”

“I…” he didn’t notice how hard he was gripping the folder till he finally relented and handed it over. “Okay.”

She took it quickly, slipping it into her blazer and quietly moving back across the room when Chihiro spoke up.

“Oh, Makoto?” She turned to face him, finally opening her eyes and just barely missing Kyoko slip back out into the hall.

“Yeah? What’s up?”

“Can you see if there’s any like… tech stuff in there? I’d like to learn more about all this.”

Toko zoomed back into the room as Makoto nodded. He held up the laptop for Chihiro to see.

“I did find this? It looks kinda old but maybe it’s got something useful on it.”

Toko snatched it from his hand, adding to new little pile she was making.

“I-I’ll look for s-stuff. You should g-g-go help Mondo.”

“What?”

“M-Monokuma is really mad at him f-for breaking a camera.” She responded with a grimace.

Makoto tensed, looking back over to see Chihiro’s eyes widen in fear. He got to his feet and hurried towards the door.

“I’ll go check on him.” He assured Chihiro, and made a beeline for the for the first floor.

It wasn’t hard to locate Mondo.

He and Monokuma were yelling so loud he heard it before he actually reached the bottom of the stairs. He followed the noise to the very front of the school, right up to the imposing vault like door that kept them all trapped here.

“Um…” he started, glancing around the scene before him.

It looked like Mondo had taken a broom and bashed both the cameras in this room to bits,  their plastic and wires lay scattered across the floor. Sakura must’ve heard the yelling too, and she lingered by the doorway Makoto had entered from and observed things with a tense posture. He glanced up at her before moving towards the hostile pair in front of him.

“What’s going on?” He asked, Monokuma pointed an accusatory claw in the biker’s direction.

“I’ll tell you what’s going on! This is blatant disrespect for school property! This is a violation of the rules! This- is a punishable offense!” He stomped his foot, his one red eye glowing so bright it looked like it could’ve been on fire.

“So what?” Mondo sneered, bending over to taunt Monokuma, “So i broke a couple cameras, I’m sick an’ tired of you always watching me.”

He poked Monokuma’s chest, Makoto stiffened.

“What are ya gonna do about it?”

There was a tense pause, Monokuma had become strangely still. Mondo’s hand lingered where it had poked at his fur.

Monokuma suddenly grabbed Mondo’s wrist, yanking him down towards him before the teen had a chance to react. His other paw reached out and slammed itself into Mondo’s chest-

KZZZZAP!

Mondo screamed, his legs buckled beneath him and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. Sakura was at his side instantly, holding onto his shoulders as he shuddered. Makoto rushed forward as well, unsure of what to do as he watched Sakura pry Mondo’s shaking arms from where had begun to grip the sides of his head like a vice.

“Go get Kiyotaka.” She instructed Makoto, Monokuma stood in his way as he turned to leave.

“No need.” Monokuma shook the paw he had just used, a few stray sparks shot off of it. “I just messaged him. He’ll meet you at the little infirmary.”

His tone was so casual it honestly scared Makoto, acting as if his sudden act of aggression never occurred. Sakura moved Mondo’s still trembling form into her arms, Makoto’s stomach twisted at the dazed look in his eyes as he gasped in shuddering breaths.

“Wh-what did you do to him?” Makoto turned to Monokuma.

“Gave him a warning.” Monokuma answered. “Restless energy is one thing but I am not gonna let you kids get away with this kinda stuff.”

“Makoto.” Sakura nodded in the direction of the hall, signaling him to follow. He gave the bear once last look and hurried after her down the hall.

I hope the others are done in the library. He suddenly remembered why this had all occurred in the first place.  I doubt cleaning will be as much of a distraction to him as this…

“What happened?” Taka’s yelling pulled him from his thoughts. He was already outside the nurse’s office, red eyes flaring up when he noticed who Sakura was holding.

“What did Monokuma do to him?” He asked Makoto grimly, opening the door to let them pass and quickly following Sakura to the cot she lied Mondo down on.

“He uh, shocked him somehow.” Makoto answered, trying his best to make sense of what he had witnessed as Taka set to work taking off Mondo’s jacket and trying to uncurl his arms and legs. Sakura moved to stand behind Makoto, which he was grateful for, she was so big he couldn’t see around her.

Taka mumbled something under his breath as he set the jacket down on the other cot. Sakura finally cleared her throat and spoke.

“It sounded like a taser.” She clarified, “I’m sure you see the marks in his shirt…”

Taka nodded, Makoto stood on his toes to peer over his shoulder to see for himself. Three small holes had pierced the white fabric, the edges of them looked singed.

“Monokuma has that ability for self defense. He wouldn’t be able to use it unless Mondo was…” he paused, taking a moment to fuss over Mondo and check his pulse again before continuing, “What did Mondo do?”

“He destroyed the cameras at the front of the school.” Sakura answered again.

Taka sighed in a defeated sort of way, “Yes, that would certainly do it.”

They were quiet for a moment. Mondo’s shaking had lessened, now just trembling in his arms and hands as he groaned in pain… Pain?

“Hey, I-” he didn’t know if Mondo would be offended by the question… but to be fair he wasn’t sure Mondo was even in the state of mind to understand him. “I thought Mondo couldn’t be hurt by anything?”

Taka glanced at him over his shoulder, one of his hands moved up to fix Mondo’s hair from falling into his face.

“He’s indestructible, physically.” Taka explained quietly. “Nothing can pierce his skin, break his bones, burn him… but he isn’t invulnerable. A shock like that could kill him… there are many things that could still kill him.”

He paused, seeming to realize what he said. “He’s going to be fine, though.” He assured them with a nervous smile, “He’ll most likely just be very sore for a few days. I can give him some pain medicine for that. I’ll let him rest in here for awhile…”

He turned back around, his hands moving to hold one of Mondo’s still shaking ones. Sakura put a hand on Makoto’s shoulder and gently led him from the nurse’s office.

“That… that was unexpected.” He mumbled as Sakura closed the door behind them. “I never knew being tased would do that to you. I figured it just… hurt.”

“I don’t think it was as simple as that.” Sakura hummed. “It’s like Taka said, most physical measures have no affect on Mondo. This may have been the first time in his entire life he ever felt pain.”

Makoto froze, staring down at Sakura’s shoes at the thought… he couldn’t even imagine what it might be like to feel pain for the first time ever, no wonder he seemed so disoriented.

I should go tell the others… he thought. They should all be back in the bath house by now.

“Thanks for… being there.” Makoto awkwardly began, “I don’t think I could’ve carried him all the way here.”

Sakura nodded, giving him a small smile in return before turning to leave. “Of course. Try not to worry yourself too much, he’s in good hands.”

—————————————————————

True to what he had expected, the other three members of their little ‘team’ were all in the bath house. The doors had been locked at first, and he had to convince Toko he was really alone before she would even let him inside. Chihiro and Byakuya were seated on opposite benches, his attention completely absorbed in a file labeled ‘78 Overview’. Chihiro’s focus was on the now plugged in and operational laptop, but she looked up with a gasp when Makoto entered.

“Where’s Mondo?” She asked, getting to her feet and hurrying over to him. “Was Monokuma angry? He didn’t put him in lockdown or whatever, did he?”

“He’s uh, he’s gonna be fine. He’s just in the nurse’s office.”

“What?”

“Uh- Monokuma…. Hurt him.” Makoto fumbled over his answer, unsure why he felt he should keep the nature of Mondo’s weakness a secret but compelled to anyway. “He’s okay, though. Taka’s looking after him.”

Chihiro looked distraught, hands covering her mouth for a moment before she turned to face Byakuya.

“You said no one would get hurt if we did this!” she snapped, surprising everyone.

Byakuya looked up at her over the rim of his glasses. “I said so long as no one deviates from the plan-“

“He didn’t! He did exactly what you told him to!”

“How am I responsible for his asinine ideas?”

“It was your idea.”

“I never told him to-“

“Stop!” Chihiro shouted, the lights overhead flickered violently. She seemed to realize this, and took a deep breath before continuing. “How can you be so mean all the time? We’re trying to help you, and you don’t even care.”

Byakuya didn’t answer, looking back down at the file in his hand. Chihiro’s hands balled into fists.

“Whatever.” She mumbled finally, moving to grab the laptop and her own little pile of papers from her spot on the bench, “I’m leaving.”

Byakuya watched her leave, a sharp exhale escaping him as he closed the file and addressed Makoto.

“Don’t just stand there. You look like a lost child.” He waved a hand, sending a folder in his direction. “Come sit.”

He moved to sit on the bench next to Byakuya, who lifted a stack of folders from in between and let them float through the air into one of the lockers.

“So…” Makoto awkwardly began, opening the folder to find the phrase 78-03: Progress Report.

“How are you feeling?”

Byakuya tensed, “Fine. Why?”

“You uh… your floaty stuff seemed to take a lot out of you-“

“I’m fine.”

Makoto let them settle into silence, looking through the report about Sayaka for anything that could be useful. Her blue hair was natural, apparently, a side affect of whatever they had done to her. The report didn’t seem to have much information about what they were actually doing to her, just how she was handling it and how she was developing.

He looked up at the sound of the door opening, Toko left saying she needed to use the bathroom and that she’d be right back. Byakuya sighed once the door closed.

“Naegi.” He turned back to face Byakuya as he spoke. “You said Owada was hurt by Monokuma?”

“Uh… yeah.”

“How?”

“Uh-uhm.” Makoto hesitated, nervously turning the page in his folder to avoid meeting his gaze.

“Makoto, I’m not going to do anything to him. I just want to know what happened.” He sounded annoyed, but without the bitter edge that normally accompanied his voice.

“He shocked him. Apparently Monokuma has a taser built into his arm.” He finally answered, Byakuya hummed.

“Interesting. How did Owada handle it?”

“Not well.” Makoto nervously laughed, “He seemed really out of it… which makes sense, I guess.”

“It does…” Byakuya went back to sorting through papers. “I was hoping I would be able to find information for you, but there doesn’t seem to be anything about what you are in particular here.”

“F-for me?” Makoto blinked in surprise, Byakuya rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Well, naturally. It doesn’t seem fair for you to be completely ignorant of your genetic make up.”

“It doesn’t seem fair, no.” Makoto turned another page, one about how Sayaka seemed to enjoy taking care of her fellow ‘test subjects’. “I just… I didn’t know you wanted to know like, for me.”

Byakuya didn’t answer, just stared up at him over the rim of glasses as they slipped down his nose.

“I thought you were doing all this just for you.” He awkwardly finished, Byakuya’s mouth twitched into a frown.

“You think I’m an asshole.”

“I didn’t say that-“

“Everyone does. I suppose it’s how I was raised.” Byakuya set his file aside, crossing one of his legs and sighing as he picked up another, “Maybe I am doing this for selfish reasons, but I…”

Makoto watched him fidget, seeming uncomfortable with the words he was about to say. “I suppose I… relate… to how you must be feeling.”

“What?”

“It would be pointless to go into specifics- and by that I mean I will not elaborate on this- but I also struggled with feeling out of place growing up.” Byakuya grimaced, “I didn’t know why I was the way I was, and it drove me crazy. You certainly handle your obvious differences from our fellow captives very well, but I know you’re curious. How could you not be?”

“And you wanna help me?”

Byakuya didn’t answer, but the way his eyes softened told Makoto what he needed to know. It was nice… in an emotionally constipated jerk sorta way.

Makoto turned his attention down to Sayaka’s file again, but a question kept inching it’s way to the front of his mind.

“So, speaking of growing up-“

“I said I would not elaborate.”

“I was just curious if you-“

The door to the bathhouse opened and shut. Toko stood with her hands behind her back, eyeing both of them carefully.

“Hey, Toko.” Makoto greeted her when she didn’t move, her mouth curling into a smile at the sound of her name, “You okay? You were gone for awhile.”

There was a loud click to signify the door was once again locked, Toko meandered over to stand in front of them, grinning ear to ear now.

“Everything’s fine, it’s fine. Just having a little chat with someone.” She was almost giggling as she spoke, Makoto felt a weird sort of unease crawling it’s way up his spine.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Makoto.” She moved her hands from behind her back, revealing two pairs of scissors like the ones she had threatened Makoto with days ago.

Byakuya tensed, slamming the folder in his hands shut as he glanced between the two of them.

“Oh calm down! These are just for fun- I like to have something in my hands to play with, ya know?” She full on cackled, head tilted back in a very amused way. “Sorry! Sorry, I’m not usually like this!”

She was in front of Makoto before he could blink, one hand now free to pinch at his cheeks.

“I’m just so excited to meet someone like me!!!”

“Wh-what?” Makoto pulled away from her hands, rubbing at his stinging face. “Toko, what are you-“

“Nope! Sorry, not Toko.” She leaned back, a hand going to rest on her hip as she swirled her scissors around in the other.

“Name’s Five- or it used to be. I call myself Syo now.”

“Five?” Byakuya questioned, Makoto sprung to his feet to better look her in the eye.

“You… you’re…” he fumbled over his words, staring into her eyes for any sort of… hollowness like what he’d seen before. This didn’t feel like it did with Sayaka, but there was still a weird sensation when he made eye contact. A weird sort of…. Familiar feeling when he-

Wait- familiar? Oh god why did this feel familiar?  

He had reached out into… something without thinking about it when he had helped Sayaka. A weird kind of…. Pull? Would that be the right way to describe it? It was like he was reaching out- but there was still so much he didn’t grasp yet. He felt something similar here, sure, but this was different it was… disconnected? What did any of this even mean?

“Hello? Earth to Makoto? Lost in my beauty, huh pretty boy?” She pinched his cheeks again, cackling as he squirmed to get away from her. “God, this is fun! It’s been so long since I’ve been out and about, Toko never lets me have any fun unless there’s trouble.”

She smiled smugly, “But with ya know, everything going on, I thought it was only fair that I get to meet the guy who has the same resistance to all this that I have!”

“What?” Makoto asked, dumbfounded. Syo pushed him back onto the bench next to Byakuya.

“Come on, try to keep up here!” She snapped her fingers to try and hold his attention. “I’m saying you and I aren’t part of the hive mind, we’re different! It’s exciting! Toko told me you don’t have any other cooler guys hanging out in that little head there with you, so that’s a shame.”

“You’re saying you’ve had a similar experience with these…. Codes.” Byakuya tried to clarify things, which was good because Makoto sure couldn’t right now. “You aren’t under the control of anyone else?”

“Bingo, rich bitch.” At his scowl, she let loose another fit of laughs, “Ooh, guessed right, didn’t I? I knew you had to be the rich boy or the detective. But yeah, those Hope’s Peak perverts cornered Toko when she was ten years old. Guess being a famous writing prodigy has it’s disadvantages. Dragged her in to test if the codes still worked, and they did, in a way- but not the way they wanted.”

“Meaning?” Byakuya seemed more intrigued than fearful now, actually leaning forward for more information as Toko- uh, Syo- continued.

“They got their little killing machine alright! But I take orders from no one! I may not be Toko like they wanted, but I like Toko. I didn’t wanna leave her for those scrubs to dissect- and I definitely didn’t wanna give in to all the mindless drone programming they were feeding us.” She stood up taller, hands placed defiantly on her hips. “I protect this body, and in a way I’ve been protecting you guys too!”

“What does that mean?” Makoto tilted his head, unsure of how to process all this information.

“I’ve been slicing up Future Foundation agents left and right. Toko’s not a huge fan of it, but it’s not like I can just let em kill us, right?”

“So you’re not…” Makoto tried to think through all of this, “You’re not just… brainwashed Toko, right? You’re a different person?”

“Oh, yeah. Totally.”

“But because of you Toko can’t be affected by the codes anymore?”

“Uhhhhhhhh” Syo hesitated, tapping her chin with the blade of her scissors, “Yeah? I mean. Probably.”

“That’s not very reassuring.” Byakuya mumbled, Syo rolled her eyes.

“Well it’s not like we were really all that keen to test it out! When Toko’s scared, I take care of things- so no one ever got the chance to try it on her again!”

“So why haven’t we met you before?” Makoto asked, she shrugged.

“Toko didn’t want anyone to know about our little situation. I came out the first night, tried to find a way out…” She grinned down at Makoto, “But when she thought you had gotten puppeted by miss what’s-her-name she actually grew a spine and decided to handle things herself!”

“Who’s miss what’s-her-name? I-Is that One?”

“GOD you guys ask a lot of questions.” She threw her head back in exasperation. “I dunno who she is! She’s a real queen bee type, got everyone in her little organization wrapped around her finger.”

Byakuya adjusted his glasses, obviously lost in thought now, “So if Makoto’s theory about the mastermind behind these codes is correct, then we can assume that One is also in league with- and perhaps even has influence over- the Future Foundation…”

“Future Foundation, Hope’s Peak, probably some part of the actual government too. Reeeeeaaaaal piece of work.”

“Wait- she can’t be connected to Hope’s Peak.” Makoto interjected, “They’re the ones keeping us here, if she were controlling them she wouldn’t even need to override any channels, she could just… come in, right?”

“Oh sweet, stupid, summertime boy.” Syo rolled her eyes. “I dunno much about ‘One’ or any of this number network shit, but if it is the same pigtailed nightmare I dealt with...”

She leaned in close, Makoto gulped.

“I don’t see us getting outta here alive.”

—————————————————————

“Attention, students!” Monokuma’s voice blared over the speaker. “It is now ten P.M.- which mean’s it’s officially night time!”

Makoto tuned out the familiar sound of the nightly announcements, standing in his doorway and watching his friends mill around the hall as they returned from doing whatever it is they had done today.

Leon and Sayaka were in the doorway next to his, speaking quietly as they both awkwardly looked anywhere but at each other. Makoto wished things could go back to normal with his two closest friends here… but he knew he couldn’t force this.

These things take time.

Toko had gone to bed, after cornering Makoto on his way to the kitchen for a drink and making him swear on his younger sister’s life that he wouldn’t tell anyone about Syo. Byakuya had snuck off to his room after cleaning up everything in the sauna, stuffing one last file in his blazer and locking himself away to do some night time reading. 

Makoto hadn’t learned much from the files he read; he had a suspicion Byakuya had weeded out the truly sensitive stuff to review himself. There were a few interesting things; something about how Leon wouldn’t cooperate for checkups from anyone but their ‘caretaker’, Hiro would sometimes pass out if his visions were too intense, Sakura pulled a door right off it’s hinges when she was two years old. It felt wrong knowing these personal things about his friends that they didn’t even know yet. Byakuya wanted to keep things quiet, but…

“What a workout!” Aoi’s cheery voice cut through his thoughts, he turned to find her happily skipping along after Sakura, her hair dripping wet and a towel slung over her shoulder. “And what a pool! I can’t believe it took me as long as it did to go check it out!”

“It was certainly much larger than I expected.” Sakura agreed with a smile, “As were the locker rooms. I hardly expected there to be so much equipment.”

“Oh! That reminds me- Chihiro!” Aoi hurried over to where Chihiro was talking to Mondo in his doorway, startling both of them as she approached.

“I wanted to tell you, there’s all kinds of equipment in the girl’s locker room!” She began, Sakura approaching behind her to quietly ask how Mondo was feeling.

“Like beginner stuff too, you mentioned something about wanting to get stronger yesterday while we were eating.”

“O-oh, uhm.” Chihiro stuttered, “Thanks, Hina. I appreciate it, but I don’t know if I’m up to working out with you guys yet…”

“Aw, come on, we’ll go easy on you.” She teased as she patted Chihiro’s shoulder. “Just let us know if you ever feel like joining us, I think we’re gonna make it a daily thing!”

Sakura stretched, a yawn escaping her. “I’m off to bed, you all stay up much later than I’m used to. I’m glad you’re feeling better, Mondo.”

She bent down to hug Aoi, the smaller girl wrapped her arms around her shoulders and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Mondo raised his eyebrows at that, smirking over at Makoto across the hall as Sakura went to her room.

“What was that?” He asked with a grin, “You two got something going on?”

Aoi’s usual smile dropped, her tone growing defensive. “Would that be a problem?”

“Of course not! Damn, Hina, I was just bein’ nosy.”

“S-sorry.” Aoi sheepishly smiled again, “I’m just, uh…. nervous about this kinda stuff, ya know?”

“I think it’s cute.” Chihiro encouraged, “You guys certainly have gotten close fast.”

“Yeah! We really hit it off!” Aoi was grinning ear to ear now. “I don’t think we’re like… anything yet, ya know? I mean it’s only been like a week or two. But…”

She trailed off, finally shaking her wet head as if to clear her train of thought. “I’m going to bed. Goodnight, everybody!”

Makoto couldn’t help but smile to himself, only for his peaceful train of thought to be interrupted by someone smacking him right on the butt.

“Look alive, Mac!” Leon snickered, moving to lean in the doorframe with him. “You spacing out again, man? Why’re you just standing here?”

Leon certainly seemed more relaxed now, though Sayaka seemed to have already gone into her room for the night Makoto assumed their conversation went well… as well as that kind of conversation could go.

He sighed, “Yeah, I guess I do that a lot, huh? I was just waiting for Kyoko to get back, I needed to talk to her about something.”

“I think she’s sick, dude.” Leon tilted his head, “Saw her head into her room about an hour ago,  ‘said she was feeling nauseous or something.”

“Oh…” Makoto tried not to be too disappointed, it’s not like he had to know what was in the file tonight, he had gone his whole life without knowing about it, a few hours wouldn’t kill him.

“Were you gonna talk to her about like… normal stuff, or ‘all of us will die if we don’t fix this’ stuff?” Leon asked, nervously reaching up to fidget with one of his piercings.

“No, normal stuff.” He assured Leon with a smile, “I just wanted her opinion on some things, it’s nothing serious.”

Lying to my friends now, huh? Is that where I’m at as a person?

“Oh, cool, okay.” Leon chuckled nervously, “Man, this place has me on edge all the time, ya know? I can’t wait till we find a way outta here…”

If the outside world really is still safe for us. Makoto thought grimly, nodding along to Leon’s sentiment despite the worry bubbling up inside of him. If somehow what Mukuro said wasn’t true and we really can just get out of here…

“Anyway, I think I’m gonna go ahead and hit it.” Leon held a hand to fist bump him, chuckling again as Makoto awkwardly returned it. “See you in the morning, Mac. Thanks again for talking to me today. You’re the best, dude.”

He left Makoto standing in his doorway, nervous smile still plastered on his face as he watched Leon’s door shut. He finally moved into his own room and mumbled to himself.

“God, I hope I can get us out of this…”

Chapter Text

Two days.

Kyoko had been avoiding him for Two. Whole. Days.

He was trying not to be upset. The whole first day he had assumed her being even more distant than usual was just because she still felt sick, but the whole next day he had hardly seen her at all. He even went and knocked on her door that night after everyone had already gone to bed and gotten no response.

It was the third day now, and Makoto sat at the breakfast meeting with one clear goal in his mind:

He was gonna get Kyoko to talk to him if it was the last thing he ever did.

“Hey, Makoto, the pancakes aren’t going anywhere.” Sayaka’s hand was suddenly on his own, taking the fork he had accidentally gripped like a weapon from his fingers. “What’s up with you this morning?”

“Yeah, man.” Leon added from the other side of him, “You’re startin’ to make that stupid angry face Byakuya always makes.”

“I can hear you, Kuwata.”

“Hey, I’m tryna’ have a conversation here.” Leon retorted through a mouthful of food. He moved to sling an arm over Makoto’s shoulder. “But seriously, you okay? You’ve seemed kinda tense the past few days.”

“I’m…” Makoto sighed, “I’m fine. Just kinda frustrated.”

Sayaka hummed, looking over at him sympathetically as she scratched around her wrist brace. God, he was so happy she was okay, seeing that little spark of life in her eyes did so much to put him at ease.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” She asked, finally giving him back his fork. He made a conscious effort to hold it normally this time.

“I don’t think so, but thanks-“

“Ah! Good morning, Kyoko!”

Makoto’s head whipped up at Taka’s loud greeting. The white haired girl had frozen in the doorway when she had been called out, it’s impossible to sneak around when Taka had a schedule set. “You’re twelve minutes late.”

She quietly apologized, avoiding Makoto’s effort to make eye contact and ducking into the kitchen.

“I’ll be right back.” Makoto mumbled, getting up and following her.

She didn’t turn from the counter as he walked in, her shoulders simply dropping as a long sigh escaped her.

“I imagine you’re frustrated.” She finally spoke up, stirring the cup of tea she was preparing.

“Yeah.” Makoto started, shoving his hands into his pockets and walking closer. “Yeah, I kinda am. You convince me to trust you and immediately start avoiding me.”

She didn’t answer, one glove had come off to hold the cup, Makoto could see steam rising up from the brewing tea. Right. Fire.

“Did you look at it?” Makoto asked quietly, she finally glanced up at him.

“We shouldn’t discuss this here, Makoto.”

“Why, so you can run off again?”

She looked away, unreadable demeanor softening some. Makoto realized how bitter he must sound, he didn’t want to hurt her feelings…. Even if she was being so frustrating.

“I… Sorry.” He sighed. “But can we please-“

“Later. I promise.” She shoved a bowl of strawberries into his hands. “Take this out with you so no one gets suspicious.”

He begrudgingly walked back to the table alone, knowing it was useless to talk to Kyoko when she wasn’t in the mood. He sat back down, Leon immediately reached for a strawberry.

“You good?” He asked quietly, ignoring Hifumi’s gushing about some manga he missed reading. “Is Kyoko still avoiding you?”

“Uh-“ he blinked, “You… you know about that?”

“I’m not that dumb, Mac. Come on.” He chuckled, glancing around the table before continuing. “Me and Sayaka both noticed you’ve been eyeing her constantly, something is obviously going on. Just wanna make sure it’s… ya know…”

“Safe.” Sayaka whispered without looking up from her food.

Leon nodded in agreement “Yeah. Exactly.”

“We uh, learned something the other day,” Makoto started quietly, checking to make sure Byakuya was still preoccupied at the other end of the table. “-and she won’t talk to me about it.”

“Something about us?” Sayaka asked, also reaching to take one of the strawberries he had brought.

Makoto didn’t answer, Leon and Sayaka shared a worried glance.

He stayed quiet the rest of breakfast, allowing everyone else’s casual conversations to distract him. Kyoko was one of the first to leave, as usual, and Makoto quickly handed his plate off to Leon and made a beeline to follow her.

“Hey!” He called, surprised when she actually slowed her pace to allow her to catch up with her outside the dining hall. “So, uh… can we talk now?”

“Oooooooooooh, I’m afraid that’l have to wait!”

Monokuma suddenly appeared behind him, cackling as Makoto yelped in surprise.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to need to talk to Lil Miss Detective here first.” The bear put his paws on his hips, “Someone’s been trying to sneak into restricted areas! You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Fourteen?”

Kyoko’s expression hardened, she gave Makoto a glance. “I suppose we’ll have to talk later.”

Without warning, she reached out and took his hand, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have avoided you the past two days. I’ll make it up to you later, I promise.”

She left, trailing after Monokuma as the bear mumbled about how weird they were.

She had put something in his hand.

It was a key, a small golden key with the crest of the school that should be seen on the back of their handbooks. He blinked in confusion, turning it over in his hands and noticing something similar to a QR code engraved on the back.

He hesitated, glancing around and watching Mondo and Chihiro walk off into the school together, making sure he was alone….

He walked right over to Kyoko’s door.

There was a small, nagging voice in the back of his mind that insisted this was wrong, that he shouldn’t be going into her room without her. She wouldn’t have given it to me if she didn’t want me to use it, right? Surely this is what she wanted.

The scanner beeped once, Makoto’s hand hesitated over the doorknob. With one last wary glance around the empty halls, he hurried inside and shut the door behind him.

Her room was plain, much like his own. The first thing he noticed as he flicked the light switch on was that it lacked the personal touch all the others’ dorms had acquired over time. Even Makoto himself had a few things of his own now: the baseball from he and Leon’s game of catch, a quilt Chihiro had picked out for him from storage, a weird rock from Hiro, even a photo of him and Sayaka that Hifumi had taken on an instant camera he found in the school store.

Kyoko’s room didn’t have any personality to it, leaving it as blank and mysterious as she herself  always seemed to be. The only area that looked like it was ever even used was the desk.

Which currently had an open file and a mess of papers resting atop it.

Makoto’s fingers twitched, suddenly anxious now that he was so close to the supposed answer to all the questions that plagued him. He moved slowly towards the desk, like any wrong move may somehow ruin his chances of finally learning what exactly he is.

The chair creaked as he sat down. Releasing the breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, and began looking for a good place to start reading.

“I can’t believe…” he muttered aloud despite being alone in the room, “I can’t believe she read it without me.”

He almost scoffed at his own remark. Why should he have expected her to wait for him? He helped Byakuya learn everyone else’s secrets without their permission, that just seemed to be the way things worked in this stupid place.

His stomach twisted, a feeling of guilt gnawing it’s way through him. He shouldn’t be keeping all these secrets… everyone deserved to know where they came from.

I need to talk to Byakuya. He idly reached for the page resting on top, mind still whirring with guilt as he began reading. We can’t start hiding things from each other if we want to make it out of here. 

His train of thought came to a screeching halt as his mind finally registered what he was looking at on the page.

“Dr. Jin Kirigiri,” He read aloud, “That’s…”

“My father.” 

Makoto nearly tumbled out of his seat at the sound of Kyoko’s voice, whipping his head up to find her standing in the doorway. She shut the door behind her, silently walking over to sit at the foot of her bed as Makoto stuttered.

“Y-your… your father?” He asked, her gaze drifted towards the floor. “Your dad was involved in project 78?”

“He was an expert in psychology.” Kyoko answered, refusing to meet his gaze. “He was one of the main overseers of the project.”

“I…” he looked back at the paper in his hands, “I don’t understand? How do you… How do you know that?”

She finally looked up at him, her usually unreadable expression cracking to reveal a trace of shame.

“He told me.” She answered quietly. “Before we came here.”

“Before we came-“ Makoto’s jaw snapped shut, a million questions running through his mind. “You knew about all this before we came here?”

She looked back down at the floor, gloved hands folded tensely in her lap.

“Kyoko,” he insisted, and she flinched. 

“I… I’m sorry.” She muttered after a moment. “For a lot of things. I shouldn’t have avoided you these past few days, I should never have tried to keep that file from you in the first place. I just…”

She trailed off, Makoto stayed silent and let her collect her thoughts.

“I thought if you knew who I was raised by you may not trust me.” It was hard seeing Kyoko vulnerable, it made Makoto’s already knotted stomach churn more.

”I grew up very aware of where I came from, and what I could’ve been… had things gone differently. He wasn’t exactly the most present father figure, but at the very least he was honest.”

Makoto looked back down at the paper in his hand, “Is your dad… the one keeping us here?”

Kyoko’s expression hardened, “That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I first woke up here, that key was sitting on my nightstand.” She began explaining, gesturing to the key Makoto had set on the desk. “It unlocks any door in the school, I assumed my father left it, and I’ve been trying to find him ever since.”

She frowned, “Monokuma has made it nearly impossible, of course. There’s no way for me to get to the fourth floor without him realizing it.”

“But why would he be doing this?” Makoto asked, dumbfounded, “I mean especially to you- if he really cared about you enough to keep you away from the Future Foundation-“

“He doesn’t care about me.” Kyoko cut him off. “Not like a father should, anyway. We’re here because he thinks we’d be dangerous in the hands of the enemy.”

Makoto didn’t know what to say that. Kyoko took a deep breath; exhaling a long, thin trail of smoke.

“I can’t say for sure if he truly is to blame for all this.” She continued, “But his involvement even in the beginning of our lives is something I don’t exactly want to broadcast to the others…”

“They… deserve to know.” Makoto spoke without thinking, “We all deserve to know where we came from, and who was involved in that, right?”

She didn’t answer, he continued. “I-I’ve been thinking a lot about what Byakuya’s been doing and it… It’s not right. If we keep things hidden we’re only putting each other at risk. I-I can’t keep anymore secrets from everyone, I need to talk to him so we can come clean about all of this…”

Kyoko hummed, eyes meeting his in a strangely challenging way.

“Do you think… you would feel differently if you already knew what you were capable of?”

“Wh-what?”

“I’m sorry I read this without your permission.” She got up off the bed, and moved over to sort through the file on the desk. “It was a violation of your privacy- and you’re right, we should be honest with each other…”

She held up a page labeled: Proposal and Project Summary: 78-7

“But there’s a reason they say ignorance is bliss.” She replaced the paper in his hands and stepped back. He watched her walk back towards the door.

“I’m going to get Byakuya, since you want to speak with him.” She told him, hand on the doorknob. “If you feel like you need to keep this a secret, you can hide the file in my bathroom… and I promise we’ll never have to bring it up again.”

She left, closing the door and leaving him more confused than before she’d arrived. He swallowed, pushing his fears to the back of his mind and turning his focus back to the matter at hand.

The report began with the basics: his height, weight, blood type, apparently he was already four when they (whoever they even were) typed this proposal to shift the focus of his experiment. He kept reading.

As you have been previously informed, Subject One is becoming an increasing threat both to the project and the staff. While the neuro-network showed significant potential during it’s first trials, I fear One’s personality is developing in a way that could make this a danger to the institution as a whole. Her abilities have developed beyond those of just controlling those in her network, and has now learned how to manipulate doctors and other staff. Previously we had her isolated with only the caretaker droid to avoid any more incidents (please  refer to Incident Report 036) but as you know that is no longer an option (Incident Report 040).

It is no longer safe for any staff to be around One, and she turns the other subjects against us at every opportunity. I see no other option aside from Termination.

Makoto’s blood went cold. Were they… really talking about killing a child? 

Which brings me to my proposal: 

Subject Seven has shown significant resistance to One’s influence, not a single report of him attempting to harm staff or escape has been recorded. I assume that given his development as an ‘in between stage’ of One and Elevens’ functions, he has acquired something on an immunity to this part of the programming. While this could very well be cause for concern, I see this more as an opportunity to simplify the network. By removing One completely and reformatting Seven to act as both stabilizer and head of the network we can guarantee a stronger and more reliable bond across the team. Seven has already begun displaying skills needed for utilizing both project 78-01 and 78-11s’ abilities, securing him in the position of leadership for the team should come naturally.

As previously mentioned, Seven’s lack of responsiveness to the programming is a major concern, but with this proposal’s approval we can set to work rectifying this as soon as possible. A more detailed treatment plan will be sent for review upon request.

• [REDACTED]

 Makoto let the paper fall from his hands and back onto the desk, his mind unable to process what he had just learned. His eyes flicked around the other pages on the desk, all detailing some other part of this process that had apparently been approved.

One was supposed to die, and he was supposed to replace her.

One was supposed to control his friends and he…

He couldn’t do that. He would never do that. There was no any of that had worked, right?

He reached for another page, skimming across it’s contents: “Seven has shown great progress already. There seems to be little to no resistance when activating the network. He may have even exceeded One in terms of efficiency carrying out orders.”

It was page after page of this, them training him to control his friends. Makoto’s stomach lurched, his palms damp with sweat.

 What if… they all just like me because they have to? Makoto’s hands shook as he held up another page, a long and incomprehensible list of medications they had given him. What if Sayaka had been right when she said we all only liked each other because of what they did to us?

He reached for another page, but as his eyes immediately locked on the word “manipulate” halfway through the first paragraph he retracted his hand. He felt sick. He couldn’t read any more.

“Naegi?” Byakuya’s voice pulled him out of his haze, standing in the doorway with a look somewhere between shock and concern. Kyoko was behind him, hand resting on the doorframe with an expression of pity that made Makoto want to either scream or burst in to tears… maybe both.

“What’s going on?” Byakuya’s usual sharp tone softened, Makoto tried to fight back the tears that were forming in his eyes. They shouldn’t care me about like this…

He physically shook the thought out of his head. Self pity would kill him- he had to remember that. He cleared his throat and answered in an unsteady voice.

“We-“ he winced at the way his own voice cracked, Byakuya approached the desk and let his hand brush against Makoto’s shoulder. “We really really need to get some things out in the open.”

Byakuya’s hand left where it had barely moved to comfort him, going instead to grab one of the papers on top of the pile. Makoto couldn’t find the energy to try and stop him.

“What the hell is this?” Byakuya turned on his heel towards Kyoko, who had moved away from the still open doorway and steeled herself against the bitter edge creeping back into his tone.

“I found it.” She lied. For him. For no reason. “It was being kept somewhere else by Monokuma. I brought Makoto here to show him, and he wanted me to come find you.”

Byakuya’s increasingly agitated stare went back down towards the paper. Makoto looked up to see Kyoko give him a nod- a silent push to play along.

“My god…” Byakuya was a fast reader, Makoto’s stomach twisted even more. “Kirigiri, we are absolutely going to discuss this- but, Makoto,”

Makoto flinched, swallowing the urge to get up and try to bolt away from the increasingly overwhelming discussion. Byakuya was angry, he could practically feel it coming off of him. He was going to say Makoto couldn’t be trusted, he was going to yell, or-

“Are you… alright?”

Makoto froze, not expecting that kind of care in his voice. He looked up at Byakuya, and the concern evident on his face put Makoto on the verge of tears again.

“I-I…” he fell short of anything to say, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be stupid. What do you have to be sorry for?”

“I… I was supposed to…”

“We were all supposed to be a lot of things.” Byakuya cut him off, gaze hardening as he looked back down at the paper. “You’re not seriously going to let this get to you, are you?”

“Wh-what?”

“You’re… a good person, Makoto.” Byakuya looked away as he spoke, a hand moving up to push a few stray strands of his from where they fell in front of his glasses. “You haven’t shown any signs of trying to manipulate anyone, and as we’ve learned several times already you clearly don’t function the way Hope’s Peak wanted you to.”

There was a pause, Byakuya turned to rifle through a few more papers on the desk.

“This changes my perspective of things, yes. But this isn’t any reason for you to start acting like a child.” His usual, dismissive tone was comforting, in a weird way, Makoto almost laughed at that.

“I still trust you.” He said that last phrase slowly, in a way that made it clear he had probably never said it aloud before. “But you have to trust yourself.”

Kyoko nodded in agreement, stepping closer and putting a hand on Makoto’s shoulder. It was warm, even through the gloves, Makoto found himself leaning into it.

“What if you only trust me because I’m… making you trust me somehow?” He asked quietly. “What if I’m being manipulative and I don’t even realize it?”

“I would realize it.” Byakuya dismissed his concern, “I’m being serious, Naegi. I really do trust you. This will only be a problem if you let it.”

Makoto took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembling that had started in his hands. Kyoko’s hand squeezed his shoulder as Byakuya began reading through more pieces of paper, eyes methodically scanning the page as his already furrowed brow creased even more. Makoto wasn’t sure he could take the silence for much longer, clearing his throat to speak when Byakuya beat him to it.

“So I suppose you’ve both read through this already?”

“Uh- not really?” Makoto answered as Kyoko nodded beside him, “I sorta just started looking through it.”

“Ah.” Byakuya adjusted his glasses, finishing his reading before handing the paper off the Makoto, “I suppose it’s only fair I let you finish first, before I store it with the rest.”

“That’s…” Makoto trailed off as he looked at the page he’d be given, a summary of some tests they did to see if he could ‘properly command other operatives while separated’. His nausea returned.

“That’s actually, part of what I wanted to talk to you about.” He tried to refund the strength in his voice, “I think we should show the others their files.”

Byakuya grimaced, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Naegi-“

“It’s not fair that we’re the only ones who learn about what they did to us. We could be endangering them by not giving them all the information!”

“And what if we they react poorly to this news?”

“What?”

“What if this only further divides our little group?” Byakuya challenged, “How do you suppose the others will react when they learn Sayaka really could put them to sleep by humming? Or that Celeste can actually change their emotions so they agree with her whenever she wants? Or that Yasuhiro can predict much more than he lets on about everyone’s actions?”

“Ignorance is bliss, as they say…” Byakuya finished darkly, looking down to read over the first page Makoto had read.

“That’s what Kyoko said.” Makoto mumbled, “But they still deserve to know.”

“Even if it means they learn the truth about you?”

“A-Absolutely.”

“Hold on,” Kyoko finally spoke up again. “If we do reveal all the information you’ve gathered to the others, perhaps we should still leave this information unsaid.”

Her eyes flicked back to the still open doorway, Byakuya followed her gaze and waved a hand to shut it. It was sort of funny, how alike they thought. If Makoto wasn’t so overwhelmed he might’ve teased them about it.

“Why should we keep this a secret?” Makoto asked, “The point is to get everything out in the open-“

“An incredibly naive way of thinking.” Byakuya cut him off. “Naegi, look at yourself. You’re in no shape to deal with the consequences of this becoming public knowledge.”

“Wh-what?”

“What if they don’t trust you?” Byakuya’s words twisted his stomach even more, “You may have to earn back the camaraderie you’ve fostered with them. For some, you may never reach the same level of trust again, are you prepared to deal with that?”

“I-I…”

“Stop being so dramatic.” Kyoko rolled her eyes. “You’re trying to scare him to get your way.”

“You just agreed it should be kept secret-“

“I think that would be best, yes, but it’s still his decision.”

“Okay, I would like to actually be a part of this conversation!” Makoto stood, forcing the arguing pair to take a step back from each other. “I already made my decision, I’m telling them. We should let everyone know what they’re capable of.”

“Makoto, it will get too complicated.” Byakuya argued yet again. “If your goal really is to keep this little ragtag team together you shouldn’t introduce them to information that will actively upset them. Do you really want to put everyone through what you’re currently going through?”

Makoto hesitated, did he? Did he want them to have the same questions, same feelings of dread, same awful sensation that such a huge part of his life was missing and completely gone forever?

And if they knew what he was intended to do to them… would they still like him? 

Would they really still be able to stick together?

“Yes…” he finally answered, unable to bring his voice above a whisper, “I… hate what I learned in this file, but it’s a part of me. No matter what this means… I’m glad I learned it.”

He looked back up at Byakuya, “You said before in the bath house that it used to bother you not knowing why you were like this-“

“That was different.”

“Can you imagine how everyone else must feel not having all the answers either?”

Byakuya crossed his arms, breaking eye contact and looking back down at the file. He didn’t speak for a moment, eyes softening some as he scanned over something.

“Kyoko.” He finally said, “Are you okay with the others knowing about your father?”

“I am.” She answered, gaze hardened with resolve. “It… won’t be pleasant to discuss, but it needs to be done.”

He hummed in response, Kyoko continued, “Are you okay with your family’s involvement being revealed as well?”

“Wait, what?” Makoto looked between the two of them, Byakuya tensed.

“We can discuss it with the others-“

“Your parents were involved too?” Makoto asked, dumbfounded.

“… Yes. They were.” He responded through grit teeth. When Makoto continued to stare, obviously about to burst from the amount of questions within him, Byakuya sighed.

“The Togami family has a very long and proud history.” he began, in a way that almost felt pre-rehearsed, “They’re the best of the best, and work tirelessly to maintain that title.”

There was a pause, Byakuya took the chair Makoto was standing next to and sat down.

“I’m still unsure how exactly my parents got involved, there’s little information to be found on that subject, I suppose… but they were a primary benefactor of Project 78.”

“Woah…” was all Makoto could say, Kyoko remained silent.

“I can assume they were interested in the main idea: an ‘advancement of mankind’ or some nonsense, I doubt they knew the details of this… network that was being manufactured… or perhaps they did.” Byakuya scoffed, eyes glaring down at the carpet, “I suppose an obedient drone of a child would be a dream come true for them…”

He seemed to remember the others were there suddenly, clearing his throat and sitting up a little straighter in his chair again. “When the project was terminated, they chose to take in one of the test subjects to raise as their own- my mother was infertile, and they needed an heir. So they took me.”

“… and?” Makoto urged, Byakuya’s glare shifted up to him.

“And it’s been hell ever since.” His voice bordered on a growl, he abruptly stood.

“If you’re serious about sharing this information with the others, I suppose I have no choice but to go along with it. Knowing you if I refuse you’ll just blather all this information to them anyway.”

He began moving for the door, pointedly avoiding Makoto’s attempt to reach out and be of some comfort after… whatever that display of emotion just was.

“I’ll go get everything together. Naegi, you go get the others.”

“I’m coming with you.” Kyoko moved to follow him, his expression soured. “I want to make sure you aren’t going to hide anything else.”

“Of course you do.” He glowered, then shifted his gaze back to Makoto. “And again, Naegi, are you certain this is something you want to share?”

“Y-yes.” Makoto tried to sound more sure than he actually was. “Absolutely, everyone deserves to know.”

Byakuya paused in the doorway, looking Makoto up and down before letting out a tired sigh and turning away.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Chapter Text

Spreading the news had been easy enough, he explained to Toko they needed to have an emergency meeting and she sped off to find anyone Makoto couldn’t.  He was wandering the first floor halls now, looking for anyone he may have missed…

But mostly he was avoiding the horrible discussion that awaited him in the changing rooms.

“Ah, Makoto!” Taka’s shout startled him, turning over his shoulder to find the android hurrying down the hall to meet him. “Toko told me you wanted everyone to meet in the bath house, why aren’t you there? It’s unprofessional to be late to your own meeting.”

“Yeah, I guess it is…” he tried to awkwardly laugh it off, allowing Taka to push him in the direction of the bath house. “I’m just… nervous, I guess.”

“Why’s that?”

“Uhm…” he swallowed, eyes glancing around at the cameras that always followed their movement. “C-can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Taka stopped walking now, turning to give him his undivided attention. This only made Makoto’s nerves worsen.

“You know… Look, I know there’s some stuff that you can’t talk about- so it’s okay if you can’t tell me, but… You know what I was supposed to be, right? Like, my part of the project?”

Taka frowned. “I… don’t know much. The only data I have on any of you is what’s left in your old healthcare reports.” He glanced up at the cameras as well, red eyes flickering briefly as he attempted to speak quietly. “But I know the gist, yes.”

“And you don’t hate me?”

“What?” Taka’s voice returned to it’s usual volume, so much for quiet. “Of course not! The circumstances of one’s creation should have nothing to do with how they’re viewed! I mean, you know what I originally was, and I would hope you don’t see me as just that.”

“No, of course not.” Makoto assured him, “But I mean… this is still different. You’re still sort of doing what you were supposed to originally, right? What if that’s all I’m able to do, too? What if that’s all the others see me as if I-“

“Makoto.” Taka’s hand was suddenly gripping his shoulder. “We are not made of other’s expectations- none of us are. You are not a project on a piece of paper. You’re a person. With your own desires, ideas, and capacity to do what you feel is right. We are not tools.”

Makoto fidgeted under his intense gaze, “A-are you sure?”

“Absolutely certain! You’re your own person, and so am I.”

There was something about the way he said that last phrase, Makoto got the feeling he was reassuring himself as well. That must be a sore subject for him, I shouldn’t have brought it up. He chuckled nervously, patting at the hand Taka still had on his shoulder.

“Right, thanks. Sorry, I guess I’m just sort of worked up right now.”

“Is that what this meeting is about?” Taka was once again urging him along, determined to be as punctual as ever. “Purpose?”

“I guess.” Makoto let himself be dragged to the bath house doors. “ It’s just sorta to let everyone in on some information.”

“Ah, yes, the secret thing you were involved with a few days ago.”

“Wha-“ Makoto stopped in front of the doors, spinning around to face Taka. “You know about that?”

“Mondo is absolutely awful at keeping secrets.” Taka whispered, urging him again to go in. “We’re almost a full two minutes late, Makoto. I can’t take much more of this .”

“O-okay, fine.”

Just about everyone was already waiting for them as Taka finally forced him through the doors, all eyes looking up as Makoto was pushed to the front of the room.

Byakuya and Kyoko stood near the center, a small stack of folder’s in Byakuya’s hand as the two muttered to each other. Taka gave him one last encouraging push forward and moved to stand by where Mondo and Chihiro were seated on the bench. Chihiro had the laptop in her hands, and Makoto couldn’t help from noticing the way Celeste was staring from her to Byakuya as she no doubt tried to determine where the new objects had come from.

“Hey, sorry we’re late!” Hiro stumbled in behind Makoto, hair pulled back in a bun and slightly damp, Toko trudged in behind him. “I took a shower and didn’t hear Toko knocking.”

“Knocking, sh-shouting, n-n-nothing.” Toko huffed, plopping down near Aoi. “I was beginning to thi-think you were dead.”

“Come on, man, don’t joke about that.” Hiro whined, plopping down cross legged on the floor in front of Sayaka and Leon.

“Now that every one is here,” Byakuya began speaking, his usual cold demeanor nearly making Makoto forget what they had just talked about before. He glanced up at Makoto over the rim of his glasses, “Naegi. Sit.”

Makoto awkwardly moved to sit down, ending up in the empty space next to Aoi. Sakura patted his head from where she stood behind him, a low hum of concern escaping her as Byakuya began addressing the group once more.

“I want to begin by saying that what I’m about to share with you is to only be discussed in complete privacy, such as here or the bedrooms. Monokuma can’t learn about any of this, are we clear?”

“What’s going on, dude?” Leon spoke up, nervously glancing around the room. “Why the secrecy?”

“We’ve uncovered some information recently.” Byakuya continued, Celeste’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“Who exactly is the ‘we’ in this scenario?”

“That should be the least of your concerns right now,” Byakuya began to pass out files, dismissing her question. Chihiro and Mondo exchanged a glance; and Celeste definitely noticed, Makoto could practically feel her bristle with suspicion from his spot a few feet away from her.

This was already not going how he hoped it would… maybe he shouldn’t have let Byakuya take the lead on this.

“What the heck is this?” Hifumi asked as he looked at the unassuming beige folder in his hands. “It’s got my number on it.”

“They’re about us. Our projects.” Kyoko explained, worried murmurs began rising amongst the crowd.

“What do you mean?” Sayaka asked as Byakuya handed her a folder as well.

“These are detailed reports of the nature of your abilities, experiments, and… basically everything else you could think of.” Byakuya continued the explanation grimly, “Think of it as a summary of our original stay here at Hope’s Peak.”

Aoi practically whimpered when she was given hers, Makoto tried to hide his confusion when Byakuya presented him one as well. It makes sense that they’d have gone back to get it, those two were nothing if not thorough.

“I… I can’t read this, man.” Leon shook his head, holding the folder by the edges like he was worried it may explode. “I don’t even wanna know all this stuff- it’d be too weird to just read about myself.”

“Do you wanna read mine?” Sayaka offered, “I’m not sure I wanna read my own either.”

“Uh… I dunno that’s still weird-“

Mondo groaned, yanking the folder from Leon’s hand and replacing it with his own.

“Here. Read mine. Give me the highlights.” He mumbled as he opened Leon’s to begin reading, “Feel like it’s all pretty cut and dry anyway, they shot me full a stuff and now my bones won’t break or whatever. Right, Tak?”

He looked up at where Taka had begun pacing behind him, the android paused his trek to nowhere and sighed.

“It’s a bit more complicated than that but… I suppose so, yes.” He shook his head as Mondo chuckled in response.

Chihiro looked up from her own folder, “Oh- that actually reminds me,” she opened the laptop and held it up for Taka to inspect. “I found some information on you, if you wanna see it.”

Taka shook his head, closing the laptop with one hand. “That’s alright, thank you, Chihiro.”

“Ya sure, bro?” Mondo asked without looking up from his reading, “Doesn’t seem fair that you don’t get to learn all your own stuff, too.”

“Really, I’m not interested.” Taka shifted on his feet, “It wasn’t really me, anyway, remember?”

Byakuya raised an eyebrow, “What does that mean?”

“It, would be difficult to explain-“ Taka twitched, wincing a bit and smiling apologetically, “I don’t think I can talk about it much, anyway.”

“I must admit I am getting bored of this twitch of yours, Kiyotaka.” Celeste muttered as she turned the page in her file.

“Imagine how I feel.” Taka retorted with a frown, “Can you imagine how frustrating it is to have something cut off your thoughts while you’re still trying to have them?”

Chihiro closed her own file “I can probably help with that, if you want. A-and I think I can explain it a little, Taka’s just a different AI using the same base programming.”

“So you aren’t the one who tended to us as children?” Byakuya asked, “You’re just programmed to do the same thing. Why would they bother making a new AI?”

“I’m not the one who knew you when you were younger, no.” Taka scratched at the back of his neck, “I have data from then, but it’s not as if they’re my memories- just notes on certain things from then. I’m not just ‘programmed to do the same thing’ though. It wasn’t Hope’s Peak that programmed me.”

“Then who did?” Byakuya questioned further, Chihiro began to awkwardly shuffle things around in her lap, seeming nervous.

Taka shrugged, “I would assume my father did.”

“You have a dad?” Hiro asked with a grin, “Like a robo-dad? Does he look like you or is he a bear like Monokuma?”

Taka frowned, “He is not a ‘robo-dad’.” Leon and Hiro snickered as he continued, “He was doing security work here when I was first operational, he… stole me from Hope’s Peak at some point.”

“Why would he do that?” Mondo asked, folding one of Leon’s files into a paper airplane to launch at the redhead.

“I have no idea.” Taka admitted, “We never talked about it, neither of us were keen on talking about… the past, like that.”

“Probably to sell you,” Celeste mused, acrylic nails tapping her chin thoughtfully. “A piece of technology as advanced as you would sell for thousands, I’m sure.”

Taka fidgeted, “Yes, well, I would like to assume it’s because he cared for me. A-anyway this isn’t supposed to be about me. This is about all of you.” He smiled encouragingly at the end, but Makoto could tell from the flicker in his eyes he was still uncomfortable.

“No by all means, continue.” Byakuya looked at him over the rim of his glasses, “We’re all sharing here, and I’ve been curious as to how far you’re supposed sentience truly goes.”

“We’re all sharing?” Taka tilted his head, eyes flaring brighter. “I see! So surely you intend to share something with the others as well, Togami?”

“I’m not sure I care for your tone.”

“Guys-“ Hina tried to intervene.

“You said we were going to share. I would assume you intend to share your secrets with the group as well, yes?”

“Guys.”

“I’m not going to be pushed into anything here. You’re the one who takes orders from-“

“Guys!” Hina rushed across the room suddenly, “Something’s wrong with Hiro!”

As if on cue, Hiro suddenly slumped forward. Papers falling in a scattered heap across the floor.

Leon let out a string of expletives as Hina pushed the psychic back into sitting position, holding the psychic’s limp head in his lap as it rolled back towards the bench. Taka rushed over, kneeling in front of him and pulling a flash light from his pocket to check Hiro’s eyes.

They were half-lidded, a weird yellow shine to them as they stared blankly off into space, completely oblivious to the bright light shining into them. Taka moved to check his pulse next, muttering something under his breath before addressing the group.

“It’s… not as bad as it could be.” He held Hiro’s wrist a little tighter as the hand twitched involuntarily. “Something must’ve triggered a vision he wasn’t prepared for.”

“God, our lives are so weird.” Leon muttered, only partially drowned out by Sayaka asking if he was alright.

“He’ll be fine.” Taka assured her, “Normally he can handle these better if he can feel it coming and stop it from overwhelming him.”

Hiro slurred something out, eyes falling shut as his head rolled forward again. Makoto stood to peer over Hina’s shoulder, Taka turned to speak to her.

“If you can watch him for a moment, I’ll go get him something to drink.” He stood, slipping the flash drive back in his pocket. “He’ll probably be exhausted after this…”

He left the room, leaving the group gathered around Hiro as the psychic continued to mumble slurred words. It was difficult to make out anything the psychic was saying, but Makoto managed to make out a few things like ‘needle’ ‘too much’ ‘ribs’ 

It was unnerving, watching Hiro’s eyes flutter open and shut. Is he really seeing the future? Like right now- this is him seeing the future? It was still a little hard for Makoto to believe… but considering he was being held against his will by a stuffed bear, maybe he should be more open minded.

The sound of papers shuffling behind him drew him from his thoughts, looking over his shoulder to find Celeste has begun rifling through his folder.

“H-hey!” He shouted, snatching the folder from her hands. Celeste managed to keep a page from him, holding it up and gasping at what she read.

“Makoto.” Her eyes glared over at him. “Were you planning on explaining this?”

“Yes! I was- give that back!” He wrestled the paper from her, ripping a corner off as she tried to keep it. “I just wanted to do it on my own terms! How would you feel if someone did that to you?”

“Someone did do that to me.” she snapped over at Byakuya, “Well, explain it then. I am sure everyone would like to know what you are truly capable of.”

“What’s going on?” Leon looked over at them from where he was still holding Hiro’s head. ”Is everything okay?”

Taka returned with what looked like orange juice and a few leftover rice balls from yesterday, apparently oblivious to the rising tension in the room as he spoke quietly to Hiro. The psychic was slowly coming back to his senses as the others awaited Makoto’s response.

“Uh… so…” he awkwardly began, swallowing the lump forming in his throat. “I uh, I hate what I’m about to say. I want you guys to know that even if I could do what they wanted me to I-I never would.”

“What is it, Makoto?” Sakura urged, voice steady as always. “You can be honest.”

“Yeah, and I’ve been dying to know what your power was anyway!” Hifumi leaned forward from his seat on the bench. 

The encouragement did little to put him at ease. He opened his mouth to continue, Kyoko stepped up beside him to help explain.

“We looked through these files primarily to learn more about the codes Hope’s Peak implemented in us.” She began, not quite lying, he hoped Celeste couldn’t tell. “And we’ve discovered why Makoto has his immunity to it.”

“Oh, that’s good!” Sayaka perked up, “I-is it something that could maybe work for the rest of us?”

“No…” Makoto reluctantly replied, borderline devastated by the droop of her shoulders at the news they were still somewhat in danger. “One of the missing numbers was supposed to be able to… do what the codes do, but just whenever she wanted, I guess?”

“Like mind control or some shit?” Mondo grimaced, “That’s fucked up, man. Did it… Did it work?”

“We can assume so.” Byakuya picked up the explanation, “So well that they found her a danger to ourselves and other staff members of Hope’s Peak.”

“God, dude.” Leon shuddered. “I’m… sorta glad I don’t remember any of this…”

Makoto nodded, but he couldn’t stop halfway through this explanation. “Well, when they realized she was too dangerous, they… got rid of her.”

“Got rid of her?” Hina asked quietly.

“Y-you mean k-k-killed her?” Toko covered her mouth, Kyoko nodded in response.

“Oh my god…” Leon whispered in horror, Chihiro whimpered.

“But obviously they wouldn’t want all their hard work to go to waste,” Byakuya adjusted his glasses, his cold tone probably an attempt to keep things calm more than anything. “So they selected a replacement.”

He gestured to Makoto, who hung his head down in shame.

There was a tense pause, everyone looking to one another like they needed to confirm what they were just told.

“I’m sorry.” Makoto finally mumbled as he stared at the floor. Kyoko’s hand reached up to the center of his back, spreading a warmth through it that helped put him slightly more at ease. It felt like an eternity before anyone spoke again, but finally Celeste spoke up again from the other side of him.

“Then I suppose we should all count ourselves fortunate your experiment was a failure.” She tapped her chin with her nails again. “Not that you would truly be a threat anyway. I may not be able to read your emotions, but you are horrendous at concealing them. Surely we would know if you were planning something.”

That got a chuckle out of Makoto, who risked a glance up to see her staring at him with something less than resentment and more like pity. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s true.” Leon mumbled, looking uncomfortably from Makoto to the others. “I mean, we already know Makoto doesn’t have powers. It’s not like this… changes things. Right?”

“He definitely doesn’t have powers.” Hifumi agreed, “He doesn’t have the same- er, ya know- color the rest of us do.”

There were a few mumbles of agreement, much to Makoto’s confusion, the tension in the room dissipated slightly.

“Are you sure you can’t do anything like that?” Chihiro tilted her head. “I-I mean you did help Sayaka when she was… oh- sorry.” She faltered as Sayaka flinched at the reminder.

“I… I don’t think so?” Makoto answered, “These reports did mention that the uh… ‘programming’ still didn’t work on me. You can look through them yourselves, if you want. But I think it’s more like I just… feel the network thing they’re talking about? Like we were all supposed to be sort of- uh, connected mentally; and I think I can still feel whatever remnants of that connection are there. I could just… feel it when Sayaka was part of it, I think that’s why I could get her out… but I have no idea how any of that even works…”

He trailed off, once again staring at the look and awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I would never use it against you guys, though, I promise! Even if I did know how to use it…”

“I believe you.” Sakura nodded sagely, looking down at her own scarred knuckles. “We’re all capable of hurting one another. It’s important to learn what we are capable of so we can work to keep each other safe.”

Makoto smiled nervously, relief slowly beginning to ebb away at the guilt and stress that had been gnawing away at him. They didn’t hate him, thank god. There was still…. A lot of questions that needed answering- obviously. At least having this out in the open was a huge weight off his shoulders already.

“Alright!” Taka cut through the tense atmosphere, getting to his feet and beginning to help Hiro into a standing position. “I’m taking Hiro to his bedroom so he can rest more comfortably, can someone help me bring his things?”

“I will!” Makoto offered- maybe a little too eager to leave with the way some people still seemed to be eyeing him. “I’ll get his folder and carry the food for you.”

“Thanks, Mac.” Hiro grinned through his apparent exhaustion. “Geez, man, sorry to be so dramatic about this.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Taka insisted, patting Hiro on the back as he led him to the bathhouse door. “Everyone needs help sometimes!”

Makoto set his own folder on the bench, making a point to look at Celeste as he flipped it back open, “You guys can still… look at it, if you want.” 

He awkwardly shifted his gaze over to Byakuya and Kyoko, “I-I’m sure you guys can help explain things better than I could, right?”

Kyoko nodded, Byakuya scoffed and muttered out: “Obviously.”

He moved to collect the still full glass of juice and plate from where it sat between Leon and Sayaka, the latter holding out Hiro’s file for him to juggle as well when a much larger hand took it instead.

“I’ll carry this.” Sakura offered, “I’m sure Monokuma wouldn’t appreciate an accidental spill in the hallway.”

Makoto nervously chuckled, nodding in agreement before hurrying out of the bathhouse doors. He sighed, trying to force some of the tension out of him.

“You can relax.” Sakura commented as she stepped alongside him, purposefully taking smaller steps to match his pace, “No one is going to hate you for this.”

“W-well I hope not.” Makoto mumbled, looking ahead to where Taka and Hiro were already reaching the dorms.

“There is… something I’d like to ask you, if you don’t mind me changing the subject.”

“I would love it if you changed the subject.”

“Hm.” Sakura smiled, seeming amused, “I may need your help with something- do you think you could… distract Hina for me this afternoon?”

“What?” Makoto stopped outside Hiro’s door, “Why?”

“I want to…” She trailed off, glancing away and looking almost nervous, “I am planning something special for the two of us to do this evening. I don’t want her to see it before it’s ready.”

“Oh!” Makoto blinked, “What kind of special something?”

“A… date… kind of something.”

“Well, I figured that.” Makoto chuckled, “I meant what are you doing?”

Sakura was blushing- dear god she was blushing- Makoto wished he could run and grab Hifumi’s camera. “I was going to set up a picnic for her by the pool… maybe light some candles, cook her favorite food, we could go swimming…” she cleared her throat, using Hiro’s folder to cover the lower half of her face. “I would appreciate you keeping her away from the pool or the locker rooms for awhile.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Makoto thought for a moment, “Although… me and Hina haven’t really hung out just the two of us. Maybe she’d be more comfortable with Sayaka?”

“I asked Sayaka about this already, she’s decided she would rather help me fix my hair instead.”

“Aw…” Makoto teased, unable to stifle his laugh when Sakura’s ever so faint blush returned. “I can totally help! When are you gonna start setting up?”

“After lunch, I think.” She smiled, “Thank you, I appreciate this.”

He smiled back, finally continuing on into Hiro’s room with Sakura following behind him. He glanced up at the number on the door. A large 02 with a symbol of clock underneath, the center of the clock where the ‘hands’ would normally be replaced with a rather eerie looking eye. These things always rubbed Makoto the wrong way…

“Oh, Makoto!” Hiro was sitting crosslegged on his bed, nearly bouncing up and down Makoto awkwardly handed the glass over to him.

“I need to tell you something-“ he paused, gulping down the juice as Taka quietly chastised him for drinking so fast. “Hey, that was good. Can I get some more of that?”

He handed the empty cup back to Taka, who clicked his tongue and walked back out of the room. Sakura set the file on Hiro’s desk and followed him.

Hiro grabbed Makoto’s free hand, “Listen, man, I gotta warn you about what I saw.”

“Wh-what you saw?” Makoto blinked in confusion, “You mean in your- uh, vision?”

“Yeah! Clear as a bell- I saw you.” Hiro’s enthusiastic nodding stopped, his hand gripped tighter as his expression suddenly turned gravely serious. “You were hurt really bad, man.”

“What?” Makoto gulped, resisting the urge to pull his hand away as Hiro continued.

“You fell down this like… dark, tunnel thing-“ Hiro gestured with his free hand, looking up like a better description was written on the ceiling. “And you fell far, hit the ground hard, and got back up somehow. But you weren’t okay, I think. Your ribs were broken.”

“Oh…” was all Makoto could bring himself to say, his mind still refusing to accept the fact that Hiro may very well be describing his (apparently very painful) future. “A-and then what? Do I get help? Does Taka patch me up again?”

“Well see that’s the thing!” Hiro finally released his hand, “The next thing I saw was some weird syringe stuff going into someone’s side- but it definitely wasn’t Taka’s hand. You couldn’t see the joints like you can with his…”

He huffed, leaning back against his pillow, “I-I’m sorry I can’t tell you more, man. When I get involuntary stuff like that it’s pretty hard for me to make sense of them.”

“Oh.” Makoto repeated quietly, the door closed softly behind him as Taka returned. “I mean… could you look again?”

“Absolutely not!” Taka intervened, his loud outburst startling both of them. “There’s no need for him to overexert himself like that. You’re all so out of practice with your abilities, you can’t just do things like that whenever you want. You could get seriously hurt!” His lecture was mostly pointed at Hiro now, the psychic held his hands up in self defense.

“I wasn’t even the one that suggested it!” He argued. “Geez, relax, mom.” 

Taka’s face scrunched at the nickname, earning an amused laugh from Hiro as he begrudgingly set the glass of juice on the night stand and reached to take the plate of rice balls as well.

“I’m not your mother. Don’t make this situation any weirder than it already is.”

“Alright, alright.” Hiro shrugged him off, turning back to Makoto, “But hey, no worries, man. I can try looking again once I’ve rested an ‘appropriate amount’.” 

He held his fists up in determination. “And I’m not gonna let anything happen to you, Mac! I promise! It’s like you said before: I can probably change the future I see! I’m gonna watch you like a hawk to make sure nothing bad goes down.”

Makoto and Taka exchanged a glance, “You… really don’t have to do that.” Makoto nervously assured him. Hiro shook his head.

“Don’t even worry about it! Think of me like a guardian angel!”

“Oh my…” Taka mumbled, before clearing his throat and speaking louder. “Well, why don’t we go so your ‘guardian angel’ can rest, Makoto.”

“Yeah. Good idea.” Makoto agreed, letting Taka lead him out of the room as Hiro called after him.

“You stay away from any dark, dangerous places till I’m feeling better, okay?”

“I’ll do my best!”

——————————————————————

“So… what did you wanna talk about?”

Makoto paused his walk at the question, nervously glancing over at where Hina had apparently stopped walking as well. She raised an eyebrow, looking at him and expecting an answer.

“Uh,” he started, unsure of where to go from here. He had asked Hina to come with him to the art room after lunch, claiming that he needed to discuss something with her. He had no idea what he could possibly talk about- it had just been the only thing that came to his mind while he tried to stop her from noticing how Sayaka was practically bursting with excitement directly to his left at the table.

But it seemed now that she wasn’t going to budge anymore without an explanation. Just a few feet away from the art room door.

“W-well, I just, uh…” he didn’t know why he was fumbling so much, Hina was nice! They had talked plenty of times, why was he struggling so much? “I just wanted to ya know… check on you.”

Hina’s face dropped, her eyes shifting down to the floor as she forced out a response. “Is it that obvious?”

Uh… what?

“I-I know it shouldn’t bug me.” She continued, taking a step towards him, blue eyes looking up at him with tears threatening the edges. “A-and I know I shouldn’t be whining about this to you of all people, but I-“

Her voice hitched, a sob escaping her as Makoto instinctively reached out to take her hand.

What do i do what do i do what do i do?

His internal monologue was little help, and he glanced around till he finally spotted the girls’ bathroom a little ways away. “Hey, lets go in here for a second. T-to get some privacy.”

She nodded as he gently pulled her along, subconsciously kicking himself for making her cry like that in the middle of the hall. She trudged into the bathroom as he held the door open for her, pulling herself up to sit on the counter and reaching for a few paper towels.

“God, I’m so sorry, Makoto.” She shook her head, trying to force back the tears still streaming down her face. “I- I know I’m being such a baby about this...”

“You’re not being a baby.” He assured her, hopping up on the other side of a sink to sit as well. “Listen, I think we’ve all had a breakdown or two since we’ve gotten stuck here.” She laughed dryly at that.

“What’s going on, Hina?” He tried gently. If he accidentally made her cry it was the least he could do to try and comfort her.

She stayed quiet for a moment, looking at the wad of damp paper towel in her hands. Finally she breathed out a shaky exhale and began speaking.

“I… I’m a failure.” She whimpered, “I-I mean, in the file. It said…” she trailed off. “It shouldn’t matter. I don’t want to be what they thought I should be anyway, I just…”

She finally looked back up at him, “It just felt like… strangers were able to pinpoint everything I’ve ever felt bad about and write it on a piece of paper. I’ve always felt like I wasn’t… good, ya know? Like I was good enough but I just-“

She stopped, breath hitching again as she brought the paper towel back up to blot the tears from her eyes. Makoto reached to get her a few more as she continued.

“I… I’m good at stuff.” She mumbled. “I’m good. But I never felt like I was as good as I could be. I was never at the level I wanted to be at. And it didn’t matter how hard I tried- I never… reached anything I was really going for, I guess.” She paused, looking back down at her lap. “I’m autistic, did you know that?”

“Uh-“ Makoto stuttered, “No? I couldn’t tell…”

She almost smiled, “That’s what most people say. It’s not a big deal or anything, it’s just part of me. But it meant that… anything I did accomplish was already above and beyond what other people expected from me- I guess- but it was never what I thought I could really do. Does that make sense?”

He opened his mouth to respond, she continued before he had the chance. “I just always felt like… I should be better. I should be the best.” She clenched her fists, eyes staring out ahead. “And now a stupid piece of paper tells me that not only am I really supposed to be the best- but I’m genetically destined to just be mediocre.”

She spat out the last word like a curse, angrily glaring down at the tear soaked paper towel in her hands. Makoto stayed quiet for a moment, trying to think through his response, while he could certainly relate to a fraction of what she was feeling, he knew from experience that ‘I know how you feel’ usually came across as an empty statement. He had never really strived to be above and beyond anything like she seemed to, he didn’t know what it was like to put that pressure on himself. He had always been happy just getting by, going with the flow, he couldn’t imagine heaping all that stress on himself just to prove something.

“We’re not…” his mind drifted back to what Taka said that morning, “We’re not pieces of paper, we’re people.” he began, and Hina slowly looked back up at him.

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through right now, not really anyway, but I do know that Hope’s Peak was wrong about a lot of things.” An awful lot of things, actually. “You’re not a failure because some weirdos who wanted to make super soldiers called you one. You’re an amazing person! You’re strong, and caring, you make everyone’s day better just by being around, you don’t have to be the best at something to be a great person.”

She scoffed, gaze flicking back down to her lap. “I’m not an amazing person, Makoto.”

“I think you are.” He insisted, “So does Sakura.”

Aoi’s eyes met his again, some emotion he couldn’t quite place crossing her face.

“Being ‘genetically mediocre’ sounds pretty dumb anyways,” he continued with an awkward laugh. “I mean everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses, that’s just part of being alive I think. I know… I know the stuff in those files can be really hurtful, but…”

He paused, swallowing the worry rising in him and realizing he was beginning to assure himself alongside Aoi, “We’re all a lot better than they wanted us to be. We’re all ‘good enough’ and better, I think. Even if we didn’t turn out how they thought.”

“Especially so in your case.” Hina finally mumbled a response, leaning across the sink between them to rest her head on his shoulder. “I can’t imagine they planned for you to be this sweet.”

He awkwardly laughed again, his face heating up at the compliment. “Y-yeah. I guess this is a far cry from manipulative team leader…”

Hina hummed, seeming lost in thought suddenly. “It’s kinda ironic.”

“What is?”

“I think… you were supposed to be the best out of all the brain stuff, and I was supposed to be the best out of the physical stuff, and they screwed us both up.” She smirked, sitting back up and wiping at her eyes once more to catch any leftover tears.

“Oh, I guess you’re right.” Makoto realized, “I hadn’t really thought of that yet, I guess. You were supposed to be able to do like… super strength stuff?”

“Strength, speed, aim, the whole package, I think.” Hina shrugged. “I stopped reading after a few minutes, it was really starting to freak me out.”

“Yeah, mine freaked me out, too.”

There was a pause, the two of them blankly staring at the stalls in front of them, finally Hina hopped off the counter, collecting her composure and holding up a hand to Makoto for a high five.

“Reject Buddies?” She awkwardly suggested, crinkling her nose up like she was embarrassed of her own idea. He smiled, returning the high five and hopping off the counter himself.

“Yeah, sure. Reject Buddies. We should get Hifumi to put that on some T-shirts for us.”

“I don’t think I’m that comfortable with it yet.”

“It was your idea-“

Their attempt at reinstating a normal conversation was abruptly cut off, the lights above them flickering violently before plunging them into complete darkness. There were a few screams from elsewhere in the school, so muffled Makoto never would have heard them if the building’s AC hadn’t just plunged into silence as well.

Panic seized Makoto like a noose, he frantically reached out and latched onto the sleeve of Aoi’s jacket, blindly pushing towards the door with no clear goal in mind other than finding a window or-

There are no windows in this building. He realized, stopping dead in the doorway, completely numb to whatever question about what was going on Hina asked behind him.

It really would be completely black.

A faint light to his left startled him, turning to see that Hina had pulled her student handbook out and was using the screen as a makeshift flashlight.

“What’s going on??? Why did the power cut out?” She asked, her weak beam of light scanning the dark halls. “Wh-what are we even gonna do, I-“

She paused, panicked expression creasing into worry, “Do you… do you hear that?”

Makoto tried to quiet the roaring of his own heartbeat in his ears and listen, and sure enough he could hear the very faint sound of someone… crying?

“I-I think it’s coming from this way.” He moved towards the art room door, not willing to release Hina and the small range of visibility she was offering just yet. It was louder now, someone was obviously panicking inside.

Makoto threw the door open, finally regaining enough of his composure to fish his own handbook from his pocket and use it’ll help light the room as well.

“Oh!” Hifumi cried out from the other side of the room, standing amidst of scattered mess of paint supplies and broken glass. “My saviors! You could not have arrived at a better time!”

Makoto blinked in shock as Hifumi’s form shifted, sporting Hiro’s likeness now and using his much longer legs to avoid the worst of the glass scattered across the floor around him.

“I panicked and dropped the jars I was using,” He explained, Hiro’s copied voice slowly morphing back into his own as his appearance changed back. “I was afraid to move! I didn’t want to be stumbling through the dark with glass in my feet! Talk about torture!”

Now that he was no longer alone, it seemed Hifumi’s panic was quickly coming to an end, he quickly moved over to a desk where he had apparently set his backpack, fishing around the outside pocket and pulling out his handbook as well.

“What’s going on, anyway? This isn’t some kind of attack or anything is it?” He asked, fear creeping back into his voice as he joined the two of them by the doorway.

“I- we don’t know yet.” Makoto answered truthfully, Hifumi whimpered, “But let’s not panic till we know for sure what’s going on. We should find Monokuma.”

“Yeah!” Hina agreed, “I mean he like basically is the school, right? He should be able to fix this.”

“But if Monokuma is the school,” Hifumi countered, fumbling down the hall towards the stairs behind them, “Then what if he’s, ya know, ‘lights out’ as well?”

There was a pause, Makoto tried to force the fear out of his voice when he finally responded.

“We’ll figure it out.” He assured them, “We always figure it out. We can handle whatever this is.”

They descended the steps in tense silence, Makoto tried to fight off the weird sense of foreboding that was seeping it’s way into him… A weird sense that something had to be very very wrong. He physically shook his head, an action that caused Hina to look over at him in concern.

Everything is fine. He assured himself, You’re just nervous, nothing is going on. He ignored the way his hairs stood on end as they reached the bottom of the steps to the second floor, the weird buzzing he thought he heard upstairs as they abandoned the stairway and began making their way through the pitch black halls. Everything’s gonna be-

The light’s flickered back on, whatever weird hum he was hearing replaced by the usual sound of the LEDs and the rumble of the AC kicking on. He nearly collapsed in relief, Hina let out a cheer beside him.

“Thank FUCK-“ a loud voice erupted down the hall, Makoto realized they had wandered towards the locker rooms as Mondo came stumbling out. “What the hell was that?? Scared me shitless, man!”

He stomped over to them, his tense gaze sweeping the entire hallway. Makoto noticed he wasn’t in his usual attire, long black jacket strangely absent and hair held back in a headband. 

“Why’d the fuckin power go out? What’s going on?”

“We don’t know either!” Hina exclaimed, “We’re trying to find Monokuma.”

The door to the locker rooms opened again, this time Sakura hurried out, her hair tied up in a half bun (no doubt thanks to Sayaka), and usual style of clothing also replaced by a longer skirt and t shirt.

“I’m glad you’re all alright.” Her tense demeanor softened, hurrying over to the four of them and letting Hina latch onto her side. “I suppose we should be thankful this… black out only lasted a brief period of time.”

“I’m not sure we should be thankful just yet.” Makoto mumbled, worry still clawing away at the back of his mind, “Not till we know why it happened, at least.”

Sakura nodded, a low hum escaping her. “We should check on the others.”

Without another word, they began moving towards the first floor. Makoto couldn’t help but notice Mondo glancing around, searching for something.

“You okay?” Makoto asked quietly, “We’ll be okay if the power goes out again. We can use our handbooks for, ya know, some light.”

Mondo looked back down at him, trying to regain his usual composure. “That’s uh, not really what I’m worried about. But, yeah, that’s good.”

They were halfway down the stairs to the first floor when the speakers turned on, a quick burst of static spilling out before Monokuma’s voice began speaking.

“Attention students! Er, sorry about that little power outage we just had! Everyone please report to the gym for an emergency meeting! Right now!”

There was an edge of nervousness to he bear’s voice Makoto hadn’t heard before. Sure, he had sounded borderline terrified when the security drones attacked, but as soon as the situation was over it was like none of it had ever bothered him in the first place. That seemed to be how Monokuma worked, not focusing on anything but the situation at hand, no matter how bad the previous situation was… if Monokuma was actually worried about something that could mean whatever had caused the blackout was still an issue.

“Makoto!” There was the sound of sandals hitting tile as Makoto turned down the first floor hall to see Hiro hurrying over towards them. The psychic collided into Makoto, knocking the breath out of him and hugging him so tight it made getting the air back in a bit of a struggle.

“Dude! I told you to stay away from dark places! I can’t believe I gave you a free glimpse of your future and you don’t even follow my advice!”

“I-it’s not like I planned to!” Makoto protested, voice muffled by the fabric of Hiro’s jacket. “The power went out everywhere, it wasn’t like I could avoid it!”

“Hmmmm, I guess.” Hiro finally released him, hands going to his hips instead. “But still man, you gotta be careful.”

“What the hell are you two going off about?” Mondo raised an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” Makoto assured him, “Hiro’s just a little paranoid right now. Let’s go to the gym.”

A few of the others were already in the gym, Leon nervously paced around where Sayaka and Kyoko were waiting. Toko was leaning against the stage, seeming strangely calm about this whole situation. Her eyes met Makoto’s, and the smile that crept onto her face was enough for him to know this was actually Syo.

The clicking of heels behind them let him know Celeste had arrived, quickly followed by Chihiro and an especially tense Byakuya. Chihiro hurried over to stand by Mondo, and the biker seemed to relax for the first time since the power came back on.

“Where’s Tak?” He asked quietly, Chihiro shrugged.

“I-I thought he’d be here already.” She whispered back, worriedly looking around the gym as Monokuma suddenly popped up on stage.

“Alright!” The bear’s loud voice got everyone’s attention, “seems like everyone is here, let’s get started!”

“Uhm,” Chihiro raised her hand, “Taka still isn’t here, shouldn’t we wait on him?”

“Oh, no, I don’t think he’ll be joining us this time.” Monokuma waved her question off, “Unfortunately my dearest brother doesn’t have an automatic start up sequence like I do. When he gets knocked out he’s dead weight till someone turns him back on manually. You can look for him after the meeting, lemme know when you find him so I can get him back online and back to work! It’s no fair that I’m doing all this while he’s just napping somewhere!”

Byakuya rolled his eyes, “Can we get on with this, please? Why did the power go out in the first place?”

Monokuma snickered, “Now, now, there’s no need to get all riled up, Ten, I’m getting to that! But first I figured I should give you all a little something-“

A box popped up from a trap door in the stage, something inside it clattering loudly. Monokuma held his hands up triumphantly.

“Now each of you have your very own lanterns! They have a rechargeable battery that last for up ten hours! No need to thank me, it’s in my nature to be this giving, Puhuhu~”

“If you are giving us flashlights,” Celeste eyed the box warily, “Does this mean we can expect for the power to go out again?”

“Well I sure hope not!” Monokuma argued, “Listen kids, you’re all sorta kinda adults so I’m gonna level with you.” He leaned forward, paws on his hips. “Someone has obviously been trying to get their greedy little hands on you-“

“We already knew that.” Byakuya interrupted, “Stop stalling and just give us a straight answer.”

There was a pause, Monokuma finally shrugged, forgoing all theatrics. “Fine. I have no idea how the power got knocked out. Seemed like some sorta Electromagnetic Pulse sorta thing, But that shouldn’t have been able to get through to here in the first place.”

There were worried murmurs among the group, the bear held his paws up to try and regain their attention, “But there’s no need to panic, I’m taking measures to make sure this doesn’t happen again! I just want you kids to be careful, is all. There’s a lot of things happening that we can’t understand yet.”

There was another pause, Monokuma seemed to be looking at each of them individually. Finally he clapped, cheerful demeanor returning, “But anyways, that’ll do it for this meeting! Someone go find my dumb dumb brother for me, will ya?”

“That’s it?” Syo asked from her spot by the stage, “You didn’t even actually answer any questions! What was the point of this stupid meeting?”

“Hey, I gave you flashlights!” Monokuma snapped back, “Now go on, get outta here, I got work to do!”

The group begrudgingly began to disperse, Makoto trailing behind Sayaka when Monokuma called after them.

“Actually, can I get Ten, Fourteen, and Seven to stay behind for just a minute?”

“Only if you say my actual name.” Makoto argued back, Monokuma let out an annoyed groan.

“Fine fine fine. Makoto, will you stay here so I can tell you something?” Every syllable of the sentence was laced in sarcasm, Makoto resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he walked back over to where Kyoko and Byakuya were waiting.

The rest of the gym finally cleared out, Monokuma waited till the doors were shut before he hopped off the gym stage and waddled over to them.

“Aright, we have a bit of a situation here.” He mumbled, “And since you three are always getting into places you shouldn’t be I figured you’d be the best ones to help me with this.”

“What kind of situation?” Kyoko urged him to continue.

“Before the power went out and I was rudely forced into an emergency shut down, we had a bit of a security issue. All the cameras on the second and third floors were overridden by an… outside source, and I had to shut them all down to prevent whoever it was from spying on you! But-“

“There’s still monitors on the second and third floors.” Byakuya interrupted, his expression turning grim, “You’re saying we’ve had a security breach similar to when Sayaka was compromised.”

“I’m afraid that’s a strong possibility.” Monokuma agreed, Makoto felt his blood run cold.

“And since you shut the cameras down,” Kyoko continued, “You have no way of knowing who- if anyone- was…” she paused, glancing over as Makoto shifted on his feet before continuing in a gentler tone, “-“Compromised.”

“Exactly.” Monokuma nodded, seeming somewhat nervous himself. “I’m declaring this an official investigation! I’m afraid we may very well have another traitor amongst us, kids.”

“So who are the suspects of this little investigation?” Byakuya questioned, Monokuma shook his head.

“No no no, we can’t discuss this here, I’m sure all your little friends are getting suspicious. meet me in my office after lights out. I’ll give you the run down then. And I’m sure this goes without saying- but keep this to yourselves!”

———————————————————————

Someone could be turned against them right now.

Someone could be willing to hurt- or even kill their friends right now.

“I’m gonna have to do this all over again…” Makoto mumbled to himself, worry knotting stomach as he stumbled to his dorm.

He should’ve expected something to happen again, it’s not like whoever was doing this would just give up. But still…. A part of him would always be hoping that there could just be peace, that he wouldn’t have to worry about any of…. This- whatever you’d call a situation like this.

Leon and Hiro had badgered him for answers in the hallway, and when he honestly admitted he wasn’t entirely sure what the problem was yet they left once more in search of Taka, apparently the android was still missing. Sakura had been forced to tell Hina what she had planned, and despite the element of surprise being lost the smaller girl was still over the moon about the whole thing, Makoto assumed the two of them had headed back upstairs to actually have the poolside picnic Sakura had spent the afternoon preparing.

Makoto kept trying to tel himself it would be fine, that the security breach was probably nothing and that all his friends were still their relatively normal, free-willed selves…

He didn’t think he was that lucky.

He held his handbook up the scanner, jingling Kyoko’s key that he still had in his pocket. He had tried to give it back, she asked him to hang onto it, worried that if Monokuma caught her with it they would lose the one advantage they have in this situation.

He opened the door, mind still reeling with the idea of having to deal with another horrific situation like Sayaka’s, and didn’t even notice the person standing there till he bumped straight into them.

“Wha-!?“ he stumbled back, nearly tripping backwards into the hallway at the sight of Taka standing with his back to him. He tried to steady his now racing heartbeat before speaking.

“Uh, Taka?” He tried, daring to take a step forward. When there was no response, Makoto slowly began to creep around him. “Hey, why… why are you in my room?”

Taka’s eyes stared blankly ahead, the usual intensity of his eyes dulled and half lidded as he stared out at the wall. His usual rigid posture slumped forward slightly, his face void of any expression. He looks dead, Makoto couldn’t help but think as he looked the android over for any sign of life or… something. His gaze finally landed on the object still grasped in Taka’s hand.

It was a DVD, small and unassuming, in a clear plastic sleeve with the words ‘for 07’ written in familiar handwriting. Mukuro…

Makoto looked back up at Taka, hesitating to take the disc like the android may suddenly start moving again. Finally he pried Taka’s much paler hands open, flinching at of the faint whir of protest they made at being moved manually. 

“Where did you find this?” Makoto asked, looking the disc over and realizing with a jolt of excitement it was definitely one he hadn’t seen before. He slipped it into his empty pocket, “I guess you can’t answer right now, but-“

“Makoto?” Chihiro’s voice startled him, she peered around Taka. “You know he can’t hear you, right?”

“Y-yeah, I wasn’t thinking.” He awkwardly laughed, Chihiro smiled back, stepping around Taka to investigate further. “I guess we should get Monokuma, huh?”

“Oh, I think I can turn him on.” She stepped forward, raising her hand towards Taka before pausing, “What…. What was he doing in here, anyway?”

“I have no idea.” Makoto shrugged, hands going into his jacket pockets to subconsciously hold the dvd. He could keep one more secret for now, at least till he talked to Taka about where it came from.

Chihiro hummed, thankfully not thinking too much of it as she stood on her tiptoes to bring a hand up to Taka’s temple. “I’ve been practicing stuff like this,” she mumbled, her brows furrowing in determination. Her hand lingered an inch away from Taka’s lifeless eyes, Makoto was about to ask what she was doing when a sudden whirring sound startled him.

Taka’s eyes lit up, posture straightening up as he blinked a few times and his stare finally seemed to focus, the whirring quieting down as Taka’s gaze flicked down to the two of them.

“Oh!” He gasped, “Makoto? I-I’m sorry, what… what just happened?”

“There, uh, there was a blackout.” Chihiro explained, stepping back beside Makoto as Taka went about straightening his uniform. “He said something about an EMP? I guess it took you offline, too.”

“I see…” Taka frowned, “I apologize for being absent for such a serious event! Is everyone alright?”

“Yeah, everyone’s fine.” Makoto assured him with a smile, “They’re all probably still looking for you, we couldn’t find you for a little while.”

“We should go tell Mondo you’re okay.” Chihiro took Taka’s hand and began pulling towards the door, “I bet he’s worried sick.”

“Oh, wait!” Makoto stopped them, “Uh, Taka, why were you in my room in the first place?”

“Your room?” Taka blinked again, expression furrowing into confusion as he looked around and finally seemed to realize where he was standing.

“I…. I have no idea.”

Chapter Text

Makoto hurried through the dimly lit halls of the school, the place always somehow seemed even creepier at night. Anything is better than that blackout, though.

He was in his pajamas now, his jacket slipped on over his oversized t-shirt and pajama pants since he couldn’t stand the thought of losing Mukuro’s newest message. He moved up the stairs to the third floor now, fear and maybe even excitement coursing through him at the knowledge he was about to gain access to a part of the school he never had before.

Monokuma wanted to meet in his office, which meant the three of them were going to the fourth floor.

He reached the normally sealed stairway, finding it open and completely empty… he had expected the others to meet him there. With a wary glance around the empty hall, he began up the stairs, only making it about five steps up when the usual gate came crashing back down into place behind him.

Monokuma’s voice suddenly crackled out of the speakers from the floor above him, causing Makoto’s already racing heart to nearly stop completely.

“KZZZZZZT! Glad you could make it, Lucky! Hurry on over to the red doors at the end of the hall. Chop chop!”

He began trudging up the stairs yet again, the bear continued. “And don’t you even think about wandering around up here. I’m always watching- don’t forget that!”

This floor was not nearly as exciting as he had hoped.

It seemed Monokuma had all the lights out except for the small area Makoto was standing in, which made it basically impossible for him to decipher the signs on any of the rooms he was passing. The red doors Monokuma had mentioned loomed obviously at the end of the hall, and with one final gulp Makoto made his way over to them.

He hesitantly knocked, blinking in surprise when the doors swung open on their own.

“There you are, Naegi.” An unseen force tugged him inside by the drawstrings of his jacket, pulling him into the warmly lit office and right into the middle of the meeting as the door swung shut behind him.

Kyoko was seated in a large, plush chair, hands folded neatly in her lap. Byakuya stood behind the chair to the left of her, hand still raised as he pulled Makoto into the empty chair with a flick of his wrist. He was the only one in his pajamas, he now realized, feeling especially out of place with how surprisingly… fancy this office seemed to be.

 Bookshelves lined either of the side walls, a fancy light fixture hung above their heads, a large monitor that was meant to look like a window stretched the back wall, and Monokuma’s ridiculous, utterly gigantic chair sat proudly in front of it. The teddy bear was standing up in it to be able to reach the top of the large (also notably fancy) desk, he had never looked so small in Makoto’s eyes. He absentmindedly noted the string of cords hooked up to something behind the desk, maybe that’s how he recharges or something…

Monokuma snickered from his spot behind the desk as Makoto regained his composure, “Straight to the point I see, Byakuya. As expected from a Togami, I suppose! Er, there’s tissues on that shelf over there if you need them.”

Makoto glanced back at the blonde, who hurriedly used a hand to cover his nose and made a move for the box of tissues behind them.

“Gross.” The bear mumbled, before shaking his head and putting his paws down on the table. “Alright my little detective team, we’ve got a serious problem on our hands!”

“We’re well aware.” Kyoko adjusted in her seat, “What information can you give us to help us investigate?”

“I-investigate?” Makoto asked incredulously, “I mean it’s not like a murder case or anything, we’re just making sure everything is okay, right?”

“Regardless of whether or not someone has died yet, we should still take this seriously.” Byakuya interjected, stepping back towards the group and discreetly placing the pink stained tissue into his blazer pocket. “We need to know exactly what happened.”

Makoto sank down in his chair, dread bubbling up inside him once again at the thought of one of their friends betraying them. Why can’t I just like… feel it? Shouldn’t I just be able to tell? Why couldn’t I tell with Sayaka right away?

Monokuma had started speaking, Makoto couldn’t stop his train of thought. Things just felt… wrong when Sayaka was being controlled. This would be so much easier if I could just do what I was-

Oh. Dangerous train of thought. He gulped, finally tuning back to the conversation at hand. I shouldn’t be wishing for something like that.

“So if you already know who was alone when the security breach occurred, why can’t we just review the security footage up until you cut the cameras off?” Kyoko questioned, leaning forward in her seat as Monokuma vigorously shook his head.

“No, no, no, absolutely not! I know this is just a ploy to snoop around, I already told both you it isn’t gonna happen!” He put his paws on his hips, glaring from Kyoko to Byakuya. “But don’t worry- I have all the information you need right here!”

The screen behind his chair flickered, switching from its fake window background to a large display with several familiar names and faces on it.

78-11- Celestia Ludenberg- Game Room

78-12- Hifumi Yamada- Art Room

78-08- Mondo Owada- Boy’s Locker Room

78-15- Chihiro Fujisaki- Second Floor Hallway

78-09- Sakura Ogami- Pool Room

78-10- Byakuya Togami- Library

“Byakuya?” Makoto asked, looking up at where Byakuya grimaced next to him.

“Sakura has already removed the monitor from the library, why is my name on this list?” Byakuya asked coldly, Kyoko eyed him from her seat.

Monokuma chuckled, “Now, now, don’t be so upset. Like I said, I wanted to make sure you had all the information! Clearly I trust you, otherwise you wouldn’t be part of the investigation in the first place!”

“Or, you wanted me involved to keep me close to Makoto- who has been proven to basically be a walking spyware detector.” He retorted coldly.

“I wish.” Makoto grumbled, he was ignored.

“Well, if there’s really nothing wrong with you, then what’s the problem?” Monokuma asked with a tilt of the head. “Maybe we should let Makoto look in your head right now! That should clear things up quickly, right?”

“I am not comfortable with that.” Byakuya grumbled.

“Yeah I-I’m not either.” Makoto agreed, ”I really don’t think it’s Byakuya. I feel like we would know by now. And like he said- there’s no monitor in there, right?”

“Right. So let’s move on to the real suspects, please.” Byakuya insisted, adjusting his glasses. “Let’s start at the top. Celeste was alone in the game room, and she would certainly be an asset for anyone trying to gain the upper hand against us. Her powers would make isolating someone else easy.”

“Celeste hasn’t exactly been acting suspicious,” Kyoko mused, resting her chin on her gloved hand. “No more suspicious than usual, anyway. However I think it’s too soon to tell if anyone is truly acting different from how they would normally behave.”

“I dunno,” Makoto interjected, thinking back to when he first felt something was off with Sayaka, “S-Sayaka was acting kinda weird right away, Celeste seemed pretty normal earlier. So did Hifumi, I think- Hina and I found him in the art room during the black out and there wasn’t any weird lights or sounds coming from there.”

“You were on the third floor?” Byakuya raised an eyebrow, glancing down at him before turning back to Monokuma. “Why aren’t he and Asahina on this list?”

“They were together. In the bathroom. With no cameras or monitors.” Monokuma explained with a shrug. “Didn’t seem like a big deal to me.”

Kyoko and Byakuya turned to look at him for answers, Makoto awkwardly scratched at the back of neck.

“I-It’s a long story, I’ll explain later.”

“So that brings us to Mondo,” Kyoko continued, “I didn’t see much of him after the meeting.”

“He…” Makoto frowned, “He was acting kinda weird, I guess. He kept looking around the halls for something. But he basically acted the same. He seemed nervous- but I mean we were all nervous.”

Kyoko hummed in response, Makoto continued down the list. “I didn’t see Chihiro on the second floor at all, the first time I saw her was when she came into the meeting. But I mean there aren’t many monitors in the hallway, right?”

“We should find out where exactly she went, then.” Byakuya noted, “I noticed Sakura disappeared shortly after we were called to the gym.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s anything to worry about.” Makoto assured him, both he and Kyoko once again looked to him for an explanation. “Oh, uh- she had been planning a little picnic date thing for her and Hina. I was supposed to distract her, that’s why we were upstairs together. I think they went to do that after the meeting.”

“Which means not only was Sakura alone when the security breach occurred,” Kyoko began, Byakuya finished for her.

“She was also able to bring another person to an isolated location.”

“W-well hang on, I still don’t think that means anything…” Makoto argued, though he couldn’t find it in himself to be confident. This was just a gut feeling, he didn’t have anything to back it up yet.

“I-I think it’s too soon to be making judgements.” He admitted, “We can’t be sure of anything yet, we need to talk to the others first to see what they said happened.”

“That’s a good idea.” Kyoko nodded in agreement, “Having them explain their alibi would also give you a chance to check them for any… strange behavior.”

“M-me? I have to talk to them?”

Kyoko turned to Monokuma instead of answering him, “Is there any way to recover the footage from when you noticed the security breach?”

“Hmmmm, maybe.” Monokuma scratched his chin, “I’ll see what I can do, but no promises.”

“I would say our most likely suspects right now would be Celestia or Mondo…” Byakuya thought, glaring up at the screen in front of them. “I’m going to keep more of an eye on Sakura as well, who knows what sort of damage she could do under someone else’s control.”

Makoto nervously fidgeted in his seat, he hated this. He hates everything about this. He didn’t want to do this again….

“Hey.” Kyoko put a hand on his knee, “It’s going to be alright. We aren’t going to let anything happen to anyone, okay? You need to make your peace with this.”

“I-I know.” Makoto took a deep breath, regaining his composure, “I’ll be fine, I promise, I just….. I hate this.”

Monokuma leaned forward on his desk, a patronizing tone to his voice, “Poor little Lucky, his heart is just too big….”

The best abruptly stood upright once again, clapping his paws together, “Well there’s no need to worry tonight- there isn’t much you can do now anyway. Sleep on it for now, we can start investigating tomorrow! I’ll send all this information to your e handbooks! Let’s get to the bottom of this!”

———————————————————

He awoke the next morning to a faint ping! from his handbook on the nightstand. He blinked the sleep from his eyes, it was weird hearing a noise similar to his cell phone after being locked in the school for so long….

‘Hello detectives!’ A message at the top of the screen read, ‘I added all the information from last night to your handbooks, feel free to add to it when you need to! Happy Investigating!’

Makoto sat up in bed, scrolling through the review of what they had spoken of last night. I still can’t believe Byakuya’s name is on here…. He thought as he rubbed his eyes, I guess I can’t believe anyone is.

Once he had gotten ready for the day he slipped his jacket back on, remembering he still had a new video from Mukuro he needed to review. He considered telling Byakuya and Kyoko about it… but decided to play it safe and watch it himself first. Not because he didn’t trust them, or anything just….. because. 

Just because.

Monokuma’s morning announcement crackled through the speakers as Makoto walked to the dining hall. Taka and Celeste were already inside, they seemed to be bickering about something when Taka noticed him enter.

“Ah- Good morning, Makoto!” He greeted enthusiastically, “You’re up earlier than usual! It’s nice to see you’re taking more initiative to start the day.”

“Ha, yeah…” he trailed off, plopping down in a seat by the end of the table. “Morning, Celeste.”

She hummed in response, taking one last drink from her now empty tea cup before getting up for a refill. Personable as always… Makoto thought with a sigh, before realizing this meant he was alone with Taka now.

“Hey, so uh…” he began awkwardly, glancing back at the kitchen to make sure Celeste was still occupied, “about yesterday-“

“Oh, right.” Taka frowned, moving to sit in the seat next to him, “I apologize for entering your room without your consent.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I’m not mad or anything.” Makoto assured him, “But do you… really not remember why you were in there?”

“I’m afraid not.” Taka answered, the light of his eyes flickered, “The last thing I remember is being in the training room with Leon and Yasuhiro.”

“Oh…” Makoto tried to hide his frustration at being left without a solid answer, “What were guys doing in there?”

“Leon wanted to show us… something,” the corner of his mouth twitched, his eyes flickered again. “I-I’m afraid I really don’t remember much of yesterday evening, my apologies.”

“Are you… okay? Your eyes look like they’re-“

“I’m perfectly fine.” Taka insisted immediately, smile just a little too forced for Makoto’s liking as he stood up and began to walk across the dining hall. “Good morning, Mondo!”

Makoto turned to see the biker groggily stumbling through the dining room doors, still looking half asleep despite having his hair and makeup already done. He lazily smiled back, responding through a yawn.

“Little early for all the enthusiasm, dontcha’ think, bro?”

The clinking of porcelain pulled his attention back to the table, Celeste sat back down across from him. She glanced up at him, setting the steaming cup to the side and clearing her throat before speaking.

“How did you sleep?” She asked simply, eyeing him up and down. Makoto got the feeling there was more to this than just small talk… there was always more to it with her.

“Uh, not well.” He answered truthfully, “Couldn’t get comfortable. What about you?”

“I slept well enough.” She laced her fingers together, “I was awoken at one point in the night, it sounded like someone walking down the hall.”

Oh, there it is.

Makoto held her gaze, trying to think of how to best approach this, he hated mind games like this.

“You can just ask me what I was doing up, Celeste.” He finally mumbled, she hummed.

“Alright, what were you doing wandering into the school all alone?”

Oh… did she not see Kyoko and Byakuya? Or is this a trick? He frowned, trying to think through his answer without hesitating long enough for her to get more suspicious.

“Monokuma wanted to talk about what happened yesterday.” He answered quietly, glancing to the side as more people began milling around the kitchen.

“I see.” She pulled her teacup towards her once more, “If Monokuma is bringing you into the loop on certain things, I suppose one can assume this means we have another… situation on our hands, yes?”

“I- I don’t know yet.” He fumbled over his response, it probably wasn’t good that the first suspect on his list was already aware there was an investigation.

“Of course you don’t.” She rolled her eyes, taking a long sip before continuing. “Let me know if I can be of any assistance.”

The conversation ended there, Leon and Sayaka came over to fill in their usual seats and the rest of the morning continued on as normal. Breakfast went off without a hitch, Makoto tried to keep an eye out for any… weird behavior, bad feelings, anything like that. Things seemed fine- maybe they were just being too paranoid about all of this.

“Before everyone leaves,” Sakura spoke up unexpectedly as a few people began taking their dishes to the kitchen. “There’s something I wanted to bring up: I plan on taking the rest of the monitors down from the school today. I could use some help locating the remaining ones.”

That’s… weird timing. Makoto thought worriedly, he saw Byakuya and Kyoko exchange a glance. Could just be a coincidence, though. Sakura… feels normal, I think.

“I’ll help!” Aoi cheerfully volunteered through a mouthful of food, Hiro lazily raised his hand from the end of the table.

“Yeah, I’ll help too, man. I want that stuff outta here.”

Sakura smiled, “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

Was that weird? Was any of this weird? Makoto frowned down at his empty plate. Why is this so hard for me to figure out?

The group began to disperse after that, everyone leaving to do whatever they had planned for the day. Makoto figured a good place to start would be watching Mukuro’s next disc. He exited the dining hall, so lost in thought he didn’t pay attention to the footsteps that hurried along beside him.

“Boo!” Sayaka poked his arm, startling him out of his thought and giggling. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself!”

She followed him out into the hall, smile turning worried as they moved away from the others. 

“But, seriously: I wanted to make sure you’re okay. You seem a little nervous.” She glanced around, “Or maybe I’m just a little nervous… That blackout really freaked me out yesterday.”

“Yeah, it freaked me out, too…” he mumbled as they continued down the hall into the school. “I- I am a little nervous, but it’s fine. Just trying to figure something out.”

“Something about yourself?” Sayaka tried, “I know the stuff in your file… really seemed to bother you.”

“Doesn’t it bother you?”

“No, if you weren’t able to do... what you did, you never would’ve been able to save Leon. Or me…”

“I guess that’s true.”

They slipped into silence as they reached the AV room, Makoto went to turn the doorknob and found it locked.

“That’s weird.” He mumbled, turning the knob a few more times to no avail, “Has this… ever been locked before?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Sayaka shrugged, “I don’t think I’ve ever been in there. We could find Monokuma and ask?”

Makoto paused, hand reaching towards Kyoko’s key still resting next the disc in his pocket. Probably not a good idea to use it in the middle of the day… Kyoko wouldn’t like me telling Sayaka about it either, I bet.

“Nah, it’s okay.” Makoto scratched the back of his head. “Do you think the tech lab has a DVD player?”

“DVD players do count as tech, I think.” Sayaka said thoughtfully, “Didn’t you say that was more… advanced sort of stuff, though?”

“Oh, yeah.” Makoto frowned, “Might be worth a shot, though. I’m gonna go look, thanks for.. checking on me, and stuff.”

She smiled warmly, “Don’t mention it. Let me know if you need anything, okay?”

She turned to leave when something suddenly occurred to him, “Uh, actually could I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Something sort of… uncomfortable?”

Sayaka’s smiled dropped some, she walked back towards him anyway. “Uh, okay. What’s up?”

“I know you don’t like thinking about… what happened.” Makoto began quietly, her smile fell completely. “I wouldn’t be bringing it up if it weren’t important, I promise. But, uh, when you were being… ya know, could you still like… act like yourself?”

Sayaka was quiet for a moment, staring down at her shoes and fussing with a strand of her hair.

“…I think so. I still knew what I was like it just… didn’t feel like me anymore. It ….was like I was trying to copy my own behavior. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, that makes sense. S-sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything-“

“No, really it’s fine. It happened.” Sayaka took a deep breath, worry filled eyes meeting his own. “Does that mean… you think something happened yesterday?”

“I really don’t know yet.” Makoto answered truthfully, Sayaka looked back down at the floor.

“God…” her voice came out barely above a whisper, “I knew something was up, everyone has been acting weird today.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Like, okay I woke up sorta early this morning- I went to go get some water from the kitchen, and I saw Monokuma and Byakuya arguing about something. When Monokuma noticed me they both stopped talking, by the time I left to go back to my room they were both gone.”

“Really?” Makoto blinked in surprise, Byakuya arguing with Monokuma wasn’t… too out of character for the blonde. Given everything that happened last night, especially, Byakuya definitely wasn’t the biggest fan of the school’s ‘headmaster’ right now.

“Hifumi was acting a little strange too. When me and Leon were coming to breakfast this morning he was like… just standing in the hallway looking all nervous.” Her nose scrunched up some, “And sweaty. I hope he took a shower this morning…”

“Those are… definitely weird things.” And from two people I was already supposed to be investigating.

“If someone is…” Sayaka’s voice cracked some, she cleared her throat before continuing, “you know, not themselves right now, what are you gonna do?”

“I… I don’t know.” Makoto answered truthfully, and all his frustration with the situation began to bubble up inside him again, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how I’m supposed to figure this out…”

Sayaka took his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll figure it out.”

“What if I can’t?”

“Don’t worry about that.” Sayaka assured him, “If you try to force yourself too much, you’ll never get anything done. I don’t know what I can really do to help… but I’m here for you if you need it, okay?”

“Yeah… Thank you.” He smiled back, “What made you wanna check on me, anyway?”

“Didn’t you read my file? I’m psychic.”

“Wh-what? Seriously?”

She giggled again, “I’m kidding. I’m just intuitive… and you were gripping your fork like a maniac again this morning.”

“Oh. Right.” He rolled his eyes at his own behavior, am I really that easy to read?

There was another ping from his handbook, he fished it out of his pant’s pocket and found a new message at the top.

14: Mondo seemed defensive when I brought up yesterday’s events. He’s heading into the school now.

10: Naegi, go talk to him.

He sighed, shoving the handbook back in his pocket. “I-I think I need to go. Thanks again for checking on me.”

“No worries,” She smiled, a bit nervous this time, “Good luck with everything. Let me know if you need anything.”

He hurried back down the hall towards the dorms, rounding a corner and colliding directly into the person he was looking for.

“Shit, Mac.” Mondo caught him by the upper arm before he fell backwards, helping him regain his balance before releasing him. “Watch where your goin’ man, yer gonna bust your head open runnin’ into shit like that.”

“Sorry! Sorry, I was just thinking about stuff.” He rubbed his head where he’d bumped it against Mondo’s jaw. The biker didn’t seem bothered by their collision… but than again physical pain never seemed to be a problem for Mondo.

“No worries, kid.” He ruffled Makoto’s hair and continued into the school. Makoto hastily followed after him.

“Where are you going, anyway?” He asked, Mondo raised an eyebrow.

“Upstairs.”

“Oh, cool.” He followed along behind, unsure of how to go about asking his questions. They passed the AV room again, he grabbed onto Mondo’s sleeve to stop him.

“Hey, uh, can I actually get your help with something?” He asked, pointing to the door. “The AV room is locked for some reason and I uh… need to get in there.”

Mondo looked between him and the door. “I ain’t breaking it for ya, sorry. I promised Taka I wouldn’t do stuff like that anymore… don’t really feel like gettin’ tased again, anyway.”

“That’s fair… I guess I wouldn’t wanna get tased either.” Makoto grumbled, trying to doorknob once again like it may have magically unlocked itself while he was paying attention.

“Sorry, Mac.” Mondo turned to walk down the hall again, Makoto followed.

Mondo certainly noticed him, glancing at him over his shoulder every now and then. He stayed quiet till they reached the second floor, finally pausing his walk and turning to face him again.

“So.. where are you going?”

Makoto shrugged, trying his best to seem casual. “Third floor. I figured there’s probably a DVD player in the tech lab, right?”

“Maybe.” Mondo seemed to relax a fraction now that he didn’t think he was being followed, “I can’t understand any of the shit in there. I think Chi’s the only one who can.” He chuckled a little at that, turning to head down the hall to the locker rooms.

Makoto figured he probably shouldn’t follow him right now, not when he was clearly still on the defense… he didn’t get a sense that anything was really wrong from Mondo, though. That helped put him at ease.

He continued up the next flight of stairs, hoping to accomplish something other than just wandering around this morning. The third floor seemed to be empty, the hallways eerily silent as he turned the corner to make it to the tech lab.

Once again met by staggering amounts of technology, large screens and strange machines and so many blinking lights it was almost dizzying. He didn’t know where to begin looking for a DVD player, nothing in here was as simple as the stuff downstairs… this may not have been his best idea.

He walked over to the smaller screen Chihiro had used when she was fixing Taka, it seemed to be the simplest thing here. Maybe he could watch the disc on that?

Tink!

His foot kicked against something on the ground, he looked down to find a metal water bottle laying on it’s side. It felt empty, he noted as he bent down to pick it up, turning it over and inspecting the olive green bottle for any indication of who it might belong to. It would make sense if it was Chihiro’s, she certainly spent the most time in here.

He set it on the metal table next to him and got back to investigating the computer, finding nothing that even remotely resembled a disc drive anywhere. Why is it so hard just to watch a video? Schools are supposed to have lots of places to do that!

Another ping from his handbook got his attention- he was gonna have to find a way to silence that- another message from Kyoko.

14: Did someone tell Celeste what we were doing?

Makoto cursed his inability to keep a secret, abandoning the tech lab for now and hurrying back down the stairs in case he needed to intervene with whatever was going on. He passed by the locker rooms on the second floor, thinking about quickening his pace to a jog when a muffled crash got his attention.

He stopped, hearing more muffled sounds of someone speaking, and cautiously approached the locker room doors. The first door was open, Makoto was left standing amidst the weights and pool supplies trying to determine if the sound came from the boy’s or girl’s room. Monokuma had made it painfully clear that anyone caught sneaking into the wrong changing room would face serious consequences; which Makoto previously would’ve just rolled his eyes at if he hadn’t seen what Monokuma is capable of already.

Makoto jolted as another thump sounded from the boy’s locker room, a muffled sound of someone cursing from inside. Oh, right. Mondo.

He hesitated to open the door, scanner pausing a few inches away from the scanner as he wondered if this was the best course of action. If Mondo was the one who was being controlled, being alone with him in a room full of heavy objects was probably the last place he needed to be.

The scanner beeped to let him in anyway, and the door slid open automatically, taking away any chance he had to change his mind.

“Jesus-“ Mondo startled, nearly tripping over as he turned to face the doorway. He had a tangled mess of the room’s monitor and it’s cables in his arms, it seemed he forgot to unhook them before prying it off the wall and they were still struggling to stay connected to wherever inside the walls they were supposed to plug in.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Mondo questioned, moving the monitor to one arm and putting the other on his hip. “You scared the hell outta me.”

“Sorry, I just… heard some noise from in here.” Makoto fumbled over his answer, carefully trying to work around the hostility in Mondo’s tone. “Just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

Mondo clearly didn’t believe him, locking eyes with him like a challenge. “ ‘S that all?”

Makoto could feel that he was angry, sure, but it still felt like Mondo. Nothing felt… wrong, yet.

“Yeah? What else would it be?”

“Kyoko was grillin’ me this morning.” he grumbled in response, turning away from him to remove the cables from the monitor, which Makoto now noticed had a smashed in screen. “Did she send you in here to spy on me?”

“No! I promise. I haven’t even talked to her this morning!” That wasn’t a total lie, they hadn’t spoken face to face. “Why would she want me to spy on you?”

“I don’t fuckin’ know.” Mondo finally freed the monitor of the wall completely, huffing in frustration and setting on the bench next to a dust pan filled with some small shards of glass.

He turned to face Makoto fully again, “Why don’t you tell me?”

“I-I really don’t know-“

“I thought you were an honest guy, Mac.”

That stopped Makoto, looking back up to see a surprisingly genuine look of disappointment in his eyes. Honesty seemed to mean a lot to Mondo, for some reason.

“I… okay.” He finally relented. Sayaka and Celeste already figured out something was going on, it wouldn’t be long till everyone else did too. “Uh, we think there may have been a security breach during the black out. Like what happened with Sayaka.”

Mondo nodded slowly, eyes flicking over to the broken screen as Makoto continued. “So I’m supposed to check on everyone that was on the second and third floors, since there’s still monitors here we hadn’t gotten to yet. Just to be safe.”

“I get it.” Mondo huffed again, “Makin’ sure I’m not brainwashed or some shit.”

“Y-yeah. Don’t take it personally-“

“I’m not takin’ it personally, Mac. I promise.” Mondo seemed to calm down a fraction, scratching at the back of his neck. “Go ahead and check me then, I got nothin’ to hide.”

He glanced away once more at that last part, Makoto tried not to think much of it.

“Uh- okay?” He paused, unsure of how to really do this, “Can you tell me what you were doing in here yesterday?”

“Yeah. Workin’ out.” Mondo shrugged. “I was lifting weights when the power went out. And… to be perfectly honest with ya, the screen in here did kick on.”

“I-it did?”

“Yeah. Scared me so bad I threw the dumbbell in my hands at it.” Mondo almost laughed at that, gesturing over to a spot where a dumbbell still laid on the floor. “I came up to clean everything up before Sakura got in here, I didn’t want anyone freaking out about it or anything.”

“So you… didn’t hear the codes, or anything?” Makoto couldn’t help be a little skeptic, this wasn’t really making sense.

“Nah. It kicked on, there was static, I smashed it.”

“Then… why didn’t you just tell us? Why would you want to hide that?”

Mondo tensed again, posture growing defensive as he hesitated to respond. “Maybe I didn’t want you and Kirigiri ridin’ my fuckin case like this.” He retorted, “Nothing happened, so it doesn’t matter. Right?”

“I mean, it wouldn’t matter,  but…” Makoto paused, “Mondo, you gotta understand how suspicious this looks. You were in here alone when everything happened, and then you tried to hide it, you can’t blame us for thinking-“

“I wasn’t alone.” Mondo argued, and then stopped, eyes widening in fear. “I mean- I saw you guys right after it happened. You would know if something was wrong with me already, right? You can just like sense it or some shit, can’t you?”

“Wait, Mondo-“ Makoto started as the biker suddenly pushed past him out of the locker room. “Hey! Where are you going?”

“I gotta meet Taka for something. See you later.”

“Wha- you can’t just leave!” He reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Mondo’s jacket. “Mondo this is serious!”

“Wha- let go of me!”

“No! Talk to me!” He stomped his foot, too frustrated to care if it seemed childish.

“Let go of my jacket, Makoto.” He growled. “I don’t gotta tell you shit.”

“Why are you being so weird?” Makoto asked, voice raising in volume as his frustration ignited into anger at how needlessly secretive the biker seemed to me. “Stop dodging the question and just tell me what’s going on!”

Mondo froze, staring down at him blankly with his mouth still opened for whatever string of curse words he had been planning. After a moment the biker blinked away the dazed look in his eyes.

“What… how’d you do that? What the hell was that?” His voice was much quieter now, all his previous rage replaced by genuine confusion.

“D-do what?” Makoto finally released his jacket, confused himself at the biker’s sudden change in attitude.

“Yer voice got weird.” Mondo tried to explain, “It was like… echoey or some shit.”

“Echoey?”

“Like in my head, I-“ Mondo shook his head, like he could possibly shake the feeling out physically. “Fuckin’ whatever. I probably just didn’t get enough sleep last night.”

“I’m sorry I yelled.” Makoto mumbled, taking a deep breath to calm his still riled up nerves. “I’m just… I’m scared. I don’t want anyone getting hurt again.”

“Tch, I was yellin’ too. I yell all the time, you ain’t gotta apologize for that.” Mondo smirked, though it quickly faded into a much more thoughtful expression. “I…  I don’t want anyone gettin’ hurt either.”

“Then can you tell me what’s going on?” Makoto tried, watching Mondo shift uncomfortably and scratch at the back of his neck.

“No.” He finally answered, dashing Makoto’s hopes. “I’m sorry, Mac, I made a promise. I gotta keep my word as a man.”

This only added to Makoto’s confusion, Mondo continued. “You can do whatever else you want to try an figure out if I’m innocent. Quiz me, follow me, whatever- but I ain’t talking about last night. I can’t. I need you to respect that.”

“I… Okay, just-“ Makoto rubbed at his temples, at least this was something. “You were with another person when the lights went out, right? You weren’t alone?”

Mondo stayed quiet, Makoto pushed. “I don’t need to know who or anything- I’m just trying to figure things out.”

“When the lights crapped out, I was alone.” He admitted. “They had left for a minute, but everything else I said before is true. The screen kicked on and I threw a dumbbell at it. Nothin’ else happened, I swear.”

Makoto stared at him for a moment more, locking eyes with him before finally sighing.

“Okay. I believe you.”

———————————————————

The rest of the afternoon had been… fine?

Not good, but fine.

Makoto was at the door to the AV room again, mentally exhausted and desperate for any information to make the day feel worthwhile. He felt around for Kyoko’s key in his pocket, he had just seen Monokuma talking to Taka in the dorms, so he shouldn’t be paying too much attention to the cameras now… right?

True to what Kyoko had told him, this key really did seem to open every door. The AV room door creaked open easily and Makoto flicked the lights on with a sigh of relief.

I need to make this quick… he thought as he shut the door behind him and hurried over to what had become his usual monitor. Please be something helpful.

With the disc inserted, Makoto nervously paced around as he waiting for the video to load, unsure of what to expect based on how… desperate Mukuro had seemed in her last one. Not knowing what truly happened to her was still eating away at him, but he had much more pressing things to worry about right now.

Finally the video began started, Makoto leaned on his arms against the edge of the monitor. Mukuro’s familiar face came into view, eyes tired and gray shirt stained pink in places.

But she was… smiling?

“Seven, I hope this message finds you safe.” Her voice was quiet, it looked like she was sitting down against a wall somewhere. “I know things may seem especially grim given your current situation… whatever that may be now, but I think I finally have good news for you.”

She shifted how she was sitting slightly, moving what looked like a long bow from where it sat leaned against the wall beside her. “Sorry for how dark this video may be. I finally found a place in the building she doesn’t know about, but there’s no light in here.”

“One is a… dangerous person. I’m sure you’ve learned that by now. She isn’t directly responsible for locking you all away, but her influence is still there. She’s been pulling the strings, pushing Kirigiri and the old benefactor into doing what she wants without them even realizing. Her goal is to keep you all trapped there till she can figure out how to get a hold of you.”

She smiled, the first genuinely hopeful expression he had seen on her throughout all these videos. “But I know how you can get out-out- out-“

The video suddenly skipped, audio dissolving into a glitched mess. Makoto panicked, slapping at the side of the monitor while he frantically searched for what the problem may be.

“Wait wait wait-“ he pleaded, the visual feed began to glitch as well. “Wait, what’s going on?”

The lights of the room flickered, Makoto’s body seized in fear. Oh no. Not again. Despite being braced for the worst: another attempt to hijack his free will, something like that, the lights seemed to return to normal.

The sudden, violent sparking of the monitor he had been watching took away his chance to feel relieved. The screen went completely dead, a thin trail of smoke floating up from the fan on the back.

“Wh-what?” He asked in disbelief. “Did it just… short out?” He pressed the button to eject the disc. He pressed it again. And Again.

  What’s going on??? Why would it just die like that?

He looked around for something to use to manually get the disc out himself. He had to know what Mukuro was about to say. The lights flickered again. One of the screens mounted on the wall to his right suddenly kicked on; displaying a black screen with small pink text scrolling along the bottom. Against his better judgement (and all other forms of common sense) Makoto approached the screen to read it.

‘YOU SHOULD NOT INTERFERE. BROKEN BOY.’

Something clicked behind him, a familiar feeling of fear shot up his spine.

‘CONSIDER THIS A WARNING.’

All at once: the overhead lights cut out, the whole wall of screens erupted to life, blaring sounds of static and flashing images that sent Makoto reeling backwards towards the floor. A high pitched note made his head spin, he had to stop himself form vomiting from the force of vertigo and nausea combined.

This isn’t gonna stop me. He thought, gritting his teeth and forcing himself up on all fours. You’ve tried this before. It isn’t gonna stop me.

He got up on his feet, the room tilted violently to the left. He stumbled his way towards the door and fumbled with the handle. Locked. He gagged as the sounds somehow raised in volume. This was unbearable- how was it so loud? He pounded on the door, unable to force a sound out of his mouth as he desperately hoped someone would notice all the racket. 

This was different from the codes, he realized, fists still pounding against the door’s metal surface. The codes were disorienting, of course, but this was violent. This wasn’t trying to empty him out to put something else in, this was trying to tear him down completely.

There was… something weirdly familiar about this.

He could suddenly feel something creeping around the edges of his mind, something familiar and wrong and unsettling. He stopped knocking, turning back towards the cacophony of sounds in the room and leaning against the door for support.

“I… I can feel that! I know you’re watching!” He tried to shout over the noise, eyes glaring around the room and finally settling on the camera. “This isn’t gonna work on me. So just- j-just STOP!”

The room was abruptly plunged into the darkness, Makoto collapsed against the door. Desperately trying to catch his breath and let the ringing in his ears fade. There was speaking, maybe even shouting, from the other side of the door. He couldn’t focus.

“-s in there?”

“was… awful sounds-“

“… Sakura… could break thi-“

The doors surface began to creak, Makoto stumbled back as it began to collapse in on itself. The door folded itself up like a piece of tinfoil, finally falling off the hinges completely and flooding the room with light from the hallway.

Makoto gagged again, his headache so unbearable he really thought he might pass out.

“Makoto?!” That was Sayaka’s voice, flooded with panic as two cold hands suddenly cupped his face. “Oh my god oh my god- what happened?”

“He doesn’t look right…” That was Leon. “Here, Hina help me get him outta here.”

Two sets of hands helped lift him up, he tried to force his own legs to work as they half dragged him into the hall. He was finally able to blink his vision back into focus as Byakuya began speaking.

“Someone go get Kiyotaka. Move, let me look at him.” 

One set of hands left him, footsteps retreated down the hall. The blonde’s face moved close to him, wiping sweat from his brow with the tissue from last night. 

“Makoto? Can you hear me?”

“Y-yeah.” Makoto weakly grinned. “You broke the door, right? Heh, Monokuma’s gonna be mad…”

Byakuya’s concerned expression shifted back to the annoyed one he was used to.

“He’s fine. You can drop him now.” He muttered. Makoto chuckled.

“Dude what happened in there?” Leon asked from where he was still helping to hold him up. “That was like… insane sounding.”

“It wasn’t… That wasn’t what the codes sounded like…” Sayaka hesitantly mumbled, pulling at a strand of her hair as she frowned. “Right? That must’ve been something else…”

“I-I dunno exactly. Can I sit down? I’m dizzy…” Makoto began, letting Leon help him slide down the wall till he was seated on the floor. “But… I think Monokuma was right. I think I felt something in there.”

Byakuya’s eyes widened, just barely, Makoto wouldn’t have seen it if he wasn’t already looking. Leon and Sayaka didn’t seem to notice.

“Felt what?” Leon asked.

“I felt… someone? I felt the network thing.” Makoto frowned, gaze flicking between the three of them. “Someone is definitely not on our side anymore.”

Chapter Text

Knock Knock Knock!

“Wha…?” Makoto sat up in bed, blinking the sleep from his eyes at the sound of knocking on his door.

He still felt… super out of it, probably because of all the pain meds he took just to be able to fall asleep last night. His headache hadn’t let up the rest of the afternoon, he spent the evening laying in complete darkness in the nurse’s office with a damp towel over his eyes. He had gotten so desperate he asked Taka if he could try whatever medicine he had used after he had fought Sayaka. The android had frowned in disapproval, and lectured him on the dangers of using medicine for anything other than their strict intended purpose. That hadn’t helped his head much.

Knock Knock Knock!

Oh, right. The door.

Makoto got up from his bed, relieved the throbbing in his head had nearly completely left him after a night’s sleep. He opened his bedroom door just as someone began knocking again.

“Woah, hey man.” Hiro grinned down at him. “How you feeling?”

“Better.” Makoto yawned, “Sorry, did I sleep in?”

“No worries, man. It’s not that late. I just wanted to check on ya.”

He’s really taking this guardian angel thing to heart… Makoto thought with a smile. “I’m feeling a lot better, I promise.”

“Sick.” Hiro stuck his hands into his jacket pockets, “I was gonna offer to bring you breakfast if you weren’t feeling up to hangin’ out in the kitchen, Hifumi made some weird French breakfast thing. It’s pretty good.”

“Oh, I can come to the table, you don’t have to worry so much. Just give me a minute to change.”

“Alright! See you in a sec!” Hiro gave him a thumbs up as he closed the door.

Hifumi made breakfast… Makoto hated that the idea of that worried him now.  Hifumi’s made food for everyone like a dozen times. Just because his name is on some stupid list doesn’t mean I have to be suspicious of everything he does.

He quickly got dressed for the day, trying to force all his concerns about the still ongoing investigation from his mind. He had updated Kyoko and Byakuya on what Mondo had said, and told them he was almost certain the biker had nothing to do with it. Byakuya was, as expected, far from convinced; but Kyoko said she trusted his judgement.

So that left five: Sakura, Hifumi, Chihiro, Celeste, and Byakuya.

It really can’t be Byakuya. Makoto tried to reason with his own anxiety as he combed through his hair with his fingers, I would know by now… Sure, he’s been acting weird lately, but I would definitely know after all the conversations we’ve had already. Sayaka mentioned that Hifumi was acting weird yesterday… maybe I’ll try talking to him next.

He finally made his way to the dining hall, finding his usual seat between Sayaka and Leon left open for him with a plate a food already waiting. A few of the others at the table greeted him, Leon pushed the chair back so he could sit easier.

“Hey, Mac.” Leon greeted through a mouthful of food, “How’s your head?”

“Way better, thanks.” Makoto smiled, making a conscious effort to hold his utensils normally so he wouldn’t worry Sayaka again. “Sorry I’m late, I guess I slept through Monokuma’s announcements.”

“Oh, he actually didn’t do that this morning.” Leon shrugged.

“What?”

“Yeah, it was kinda weird honestly,” Hina chimed in from across the table. “I didn’t realize how used to it I had gotten. The whole morning feels kinda… off without him yelling at us.”

There were a few nods of agreement around the table, Toko nervously tugged on her braids. “I d-don’t like not knowing where he is…. It makes me n-n-nervous knowing he’s hiding somewhere just watching us…”

“I’m sure he’ll show up at some point today to bother us.” Celeste commented, “I, for one, am going to enjoy this peace while it lasts.”

Taka stood from where he was seated between Mondo and Chihiro, “If it’s truly worrying you all I can go look-“

Taka stopped abruptly, eyes flickering out to a dull red and a whirring sound similar to what Makoto had heard before sounding as the rest of the table stared. As suddenly as it began, it seemed whatever was happening stopped- and Taka blinked in confusion as his eyes lit up once more.

“What… what was I talking about?” He frowned, seeming to ask no one in particular as he sat back down. “I- sorry, I’m not sure what just happened…”

Mondo and Chihiro shared a worried glance, Mondo put his arm around him. “You alright, bro?”

“Of course! Perfectly fine.” Taka smiled, something about it seemed too wide as he turned to Makoto. “If you’re feeling up to it, everyone was a little curious to know what exactly happened yesterday.”

“Yeah, we know you got a thing from that girl,” Hifumi leaned forward to see Makoto from his spot at the other end of the table, “but what happened to make everything get…. Crazy? I could hear that noise all the way from the dorms!”

“Oh, uh,” Makoto stuttered, “I dunno what Byakuya already told you, but I’m not sure there’s really anything I can add, honestly. I tried to watch a video she left and halfway through the whole room got all…. Loud.” 

He nervously laughed, “And I promise I was gonna tell you guys, but things like that happen too often when I watch Mukuro’s videos…”

“Byakuya said you were…. Interrupted, let’s call it, halfway through the video.” Celeste raised an eyebrow, “What information were you able to get from it before that?”

Makoto hesitated, but everyone was clearly expecting an answer.

“She said she knew a way for us to get out-“

“Seriously?” Leon cut him off, “Alright, man! How do we do it?”

Makoto didn’t answer, dejectedly watching the group’s excitement die down.

“You… d-didn’t get to hear that p-part, did you?” Toko asked with a grimace.

“No.” Makoto mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s like they’re intentionally trying to get a rise out of us.” Sakura commented, arms folded. “Letting us so close to an escape and taking it away.”

That was certainly what it felt like to Makoto, he slumped down in his chair as Sakura continued.

“You cannot let this stop you.” She told him, eyes full of determination. “We’re stronger than this, Makoto. All of us are. We’ll get past this.”

“That’s the most intense pep talk I’ve ever heard.” Hiro commented, looking somewhat afraid before turning to Makoto, “But for real Little Mac, don’t sweat it. We all appreciate you trying.”

“Um,” Chihiro cleared her throat, “I-I tried to get the dvd for you after I heard what happened. But the entire computer is completely busted. I can’t think of a way to get it out without risking us breaking it…” She sighed in defeat, “Nothing in the AV room is working anymore, it’s like everything overloaded.”

“That’s… definitely what it felt like to me, ha…” Makoto tried to laugh. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out, though. Maybe I can ask Monokuma about it when we track him down.”

The conversation tapered off into uneasy silence, no one really spoke for the rest of their shared breakfast. Eventually everyone began to wander from the dining hall one by one. Makoto offered to take care of the dishes today, if for no other reason to make himself feel useful after facing so many dead ends yesterday.

He was about halfway through the monotonous task, allowing the repetitive motions and constant sound of sloshing water distract him when he heard heels clicking into the room.

“Alright, Makoto.” Celeste announced her presence, an annoyed tone lacing her voice as she hopped up on the counter next to where he was working. “We need to discuss some things.”

“Uh-“ Makoto blinked away his surprise at the intrusion, holding up his soap covered hands, “I’m… sorta doing something right now, Celeste.”

She rolled her eyes, picking up a towel from the counter next to her and proceeding to half heartedly dry the bowls he had stacked.

“Kyoko has been harassing me the past two days.” She complained, “And while I find her company the least detestable of everyone here, I do not appreciate being thought of like some suspect.”

She set the dry bowl to the side and clicked her tongue, “And now Byakuya is insisting I talk to him about what I was doing during the blackout. Ugh.” She leaned in close to him, red eyes staring intensely into his own, “I am not exaggerating when I tell you I would rather spend my afternoon cleaning Leon’s bathroom than waste my time talking to that imbecile.”

“R-really?” Makoto leaned away from her stare, “I figured you two would get along okay, you both seem to like… uh, fancy stuff?”

“If we were not locked away from society than perhaps I would not mind him… if for no other reason than him being useful.” Useful? What the heck does that mean? “But here, he is of little interest or use to me; and I find his general attitude irritating and demeaning.”

“Kind of a… ‘pot calling the kettle’ situation, don’t you think?” Makoto tried to joke, faltering as she once again turned her piercing stare to him.

“As I was saying,” she continued, “I am here so you can question me, and once you rightfully deduce my innocence you will tell Kirigiri and Togami to leave me alone.” She smiled sweetly, Makoto was always amazed by her ability to keep up appearances.

“Simple, is it not? Let’s begin.”

“Well hold on,” Makoto turned off the faucet, turning to face her completely now, “I dunno how I feel about this, it seems kinda weird that you’re asking for an interrogation. I mean… what if I decide you’re actually guilty?”

She laughed- a real, genuine laugh that took Makoto off guard. “Makoto,” she smiled down at him. “If I were the one working for the mastermind, you would be dead already. I always work very fast to eliminate problems.”

Makoto blinked, suddenly very aware of how many knives and other sharp objects they were surrounded by in this kitchen.

“That’s… probably true.” He agreed nervously. “I- okay. We can talk, I needed to talk to you about this at some point, anyway… Are you sure you want to do it in here? Someone could be listening.”

She shrugged, “We may go somewhere more private if that makes you comfortable. However, I do not feel anyone in the dining area at this time, you can finish your little chore if you want.”

Makoto decided to ignore the condescending tone for now, “Hey, uh, about your whole… feeling people thing actually…” he trailed off, scrubbing a plate as he thought through how to phrase his question. “How do you… do that?”

She raised an eyebrow, “Why do you ask?”

“Because I…” he paused, setting his rag and dish down in favor of just leaning against the sink. “I’ve been trying to like… feel my way through this investigation, you know? But I don’t know how I do it! Sayaka just felt wrong when I talked to her, but it took me awhile to actually like… grasp that. I can’t do it on my own, and things keep almost happening but I-“

“Stop rambling.” She held a hand up to silence him, and in a softer tone added: “An important first step is to not allow yourself to become overwhelmed. Breathe.”

He hesitantly complied, taking a deep breath and trying to relax his increasingly tense posture.

“Very good. Now let’s focus on one thing at a time.” She cleared her throat. “You mentioned being able to somehow intuit that Sayaka was not behaving correctly- elaborate on that.”

“Uh… I dunno, she just felt different?”

“In what way?”

“I-uh, empty?” Makoto struggled, feeling like he was the being interrogated now, “She felt empty. You remember…. What that felt like, right?”

Her mouth twitched into a frown at the memory, “Yes. I do.”

She paused, drying another dish while she thought. “Sayaka felt relatively normal on the surface, I hadn’t bothered actually reading into her thoughts- I had no reason to- so I suppose it makes sense that you also may not be able to tell without delving into deeper conversation.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Makoto shrugged, “I just wish I knew how to do it on purpose.”

She hummed, seeming lost in thought like he had never spoken, “perhaps I should look deeper into some people here, there has been a surplus of strange behavior lately.”

“Well, okay, maybe you shouldn’t pry into people’s brains without their permission, that’s mean.” She rolled her eyes as he continued, “What do you mean ‘suspicious behavior’?”

“I am sure you’ve noticed Mondo is hiding something, that oaf displays his feelings like a billboard, Chihiro seems even more weak and subdued than usual, as well. Hifumi has been acting rather strange, though I suppose he is always acting strange. And Byakuya…. Something is certainly wrong with him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Normally he is much harder to read.” Celeste tapped her chin thoughtfully, “He tries to put up a wall to prevent me from seeing inside, these past two days that wall has been crumbling…. I think something is wrong with him.”

Makoto gulped, worry edging it’s way into his tone despite his attempts to seem calm, “Wrong…. How exactly?”

“He seems…. pained.” Celeste answered casually, clearly she didn’t care much. “I cannot discern whether it’s physical or mental. Do with this what you will.”

“P-Pained?” Makoto tried to process all of that, “Why are you telling me all of this? Just to get some of the suspicion away from yourself?”

She smiled again, amused, “Believe it or not I do wish to help you, Makoto. Something like this affects me as well, I have no reason to wish that you would not succeed…. Besides, you don’t really believe it’s me that is compromised either, do you?”

He held her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and searching them for…. Anything? Something? Maybe nothing?

 “I don’t think so.” He finally answered, “But tell me what happened, anyway. I need to be sure.”

“Very well.” She sighed, “I was in the game room on the third floor when the power went out. I was alone, I’m afraid there’s not much else to tell. I heard someone scream at some point, and I believe I heard you and Asahina walking by. I decided to stay out till the power came back on…. Feeling my way through the dark wasn’t something I planned on doing.”

“That scream was probably Hifumi,” Makoto thought, “Hina and I found making something in the art room. So, uh, what were you doing in the game room?”

“Waiting for Yasuhiro to arrive. I have been curious as to whether or not I’d be able to beat him at cards… Playing against a psychic may actually be a challenge for me, hm?”

“Okay, meeting with Hiro, that should be easy to confirm…” Makoto mumbled mostly to himself, “Oh- one more thing. I heard something sorta… In my head when we were leaving the third floor- was that you?”

She frowned, “It was not, what do you mean?”

“Are you sure it wasn’t you?” He didn’t quite believe her, “I mean you’re the only person here who can like… do that.”

“I wouldn’t be able to reach someone’s mind easily from that distance, especially not you.” She frowned, “Most people don’t feel me reading them, let alone hear anything…”

There was a buzzing at the back of his mind, catching him off guard and making him jolt.

“Did it feel like this?” She asked, he hesitantly shook his head.

“Uh… no? I don’t think so.” He shook his head, forcing Celeste back out as he sighed in frustration. “It was like a buzzing sorta thing like that but not…. I really don’t know how to explain any of this.”

“Clearly.” She rolled her eyes again, “Let me leave you with one piece of advice, Makoto.”

“I don’t want your advice-“ She held a finger up to silence him.

“Your sincere desire to help others is… admirable, I suppose. But if you are not in tune with your own feelings, you won’t be able to extend this reach to others.”

“Uh… what?”

She hopped down off the counter, “If you want to learn how to use your powers, you need to be aware of your own feelings. Everything is based on emotions.” She smoothed her skirt out and sighed.  “I will keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior for you, in return I ask that you keep your little detective team from ruining my alone time.”

“Uh, okay. Sure.” Makoto was still struggling with what he’d been told as she walked from the kitchen.

“Enjoy your investigation, Makoto. Good luck.”

——————————————————————

“Yeah, I was meeting up with Celeste.” Hiro answered easily, rolling a clear glass ball between his fingers as he walked beside Makoto down the second floor halls. “Said she wanted to like… test me with a game or something, I didn’t really have anything else going on.”

“So did you see her in there before the power went out?” Makoto asked, Hiro shook his head.

“Nah. I had barely made it to the first floor stairs when the power went out. I was runnin kinda late, I got caught up watching Leon play ball in the training room… there’s some weird stuff in there.”

“Yeah…” Makoto nodded, lost in thought as he tried to piece something of a timeline together in his mind, “So… you were heading up to the second floor, sorta- Oh! Did you see Chihiro? She was supposed to be around there.”

“Uh, it was dark? I couldn’t see anything.” Hiro chuckled, “But no. I didn’t see her anywhere till we all went to the gym.”

“Oh,” He paused his walking. Hiro patted him on the head, “Sorry man, that’s all I know.” 

“Hey, Makoto.” Kyoko’s voice pulled him from sulking at this new dead end. She hurried over to him, a somewhat urgent look in her eyes. “There’s something on the third floor you need to see.”

She turned on her heel and hurried down the hall, clearly expecting him to follow. After exchanging a worried glance with Hiro the two of them followed suit, struggling to match her pace as she hurried through the halls.

They passed Chihiro along the way, and the smaller girl eyed the quick moving group uneasily, “what’s…. What’s going on?” She asked hesitantly, trailing along behind them up the steps to the third floor.

“We dunno yet.” Hiro answered, lagging behind to talk to her as Makoto walked faster to step in sync with Kyoko.

“Is everything okay?” He asked worriedly, she frowned.

“At the moment, yes. But we need to wrap this investigation up quickly… I fear there’s much more going on here than we realize.”

She suddenly stopped, gesturing to the gate that barred them from the fourth floor…. Or rather what was left of it. The metal had been bent and twisted, creating a large hole big enough for anyone to fit through.

“Oh my god-” Hiro exclaimed as he and Chihiro caught up. “What happened here?”

“M-Maybe Sakura needed to get up there?” Chihiro suggested nervously, “What’s even upstairs, anyway?”

“We don’t know,” Kyoko muttered, peering up into the hallway, “Monokuma could still be up there, I suppose…. “

Makoto leaned in close to whisper, “You… already snooped around, right?”

She winked, turning back to the other two and pretending he had never spoken in the first place. “We need to let everyone else know what’s going on, and I think it’s of the utmost importance that we find Monokuma as soon as possible.”

“Okay, but what is going on?” Chihiro asked, peering around Hiro to look at the mangled gate. Kyoko was about to respond when another set of footsteps approached.

“Hey! There you are.” Leon called, hurried over to them and holding-

“Is that a crossbow!?” Hiro jumped back as Leon held the weapon at a haphazard angle, pointed directly at Hiro’s midsection as the redhead shrugged.

“Oh, yeah, one of the things Monokuma wanted me to practice with.” He turned to Kyoko, “She asked me to bring it.”

The group turned to Kyoko for answers, she nodded very seriously.

“I wanted to test something,” she began, before pointing up at the camera situated in the corner of the hall. “Can you shoot that?”

“What?” Leon asked, faced scrunched in confusion as Chihiro gasped.

“Are you crazy? Don’t you remember what happened when Mondo tried that?” She protested as Kyoko began removing her gloves

“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that.” Kyoko answered, suddenly igniting the palm of her hand. Before anyone could ask for her to elaborate, she shot the fire in her hand towards the camera.

The force of her…. Well, fireball was really the only word that fit- despite the insanity of the term- was enough to dash the camera to pieces, it smoldered and fell to the floor in pieces. The smell of burning plastic began to sting Makoto’s nose.

The group braced themselves for whatever Monokuma might do: screaming, threatening, maybe revealing a secret concealed weapon or something. But nothing came.

“So…” Leon started, Kyoko finished for him.

“I think with this we can assume that Monokuma is no longer online.”

The group worriedly glanced at each other, she continued: “Leon, I think it’d be for the best if we destroyed all the cameras in the building. Do you think you can help me with that?”

“Uh…. I guess?” Leon scratched the back of his neck, “I still don’t know about all this, though.”

“It seems a little extreme…” Chihiro added, steeping her fingers. “What would be the point of that?”

“If Monokuma isn’t the one watching us, we have no way of knowing who is.” Kyoko pointed out,  “There’s a lot going on here that we don’t understand yet, we need to give ourselves every advantage possible, and that includes not letting enemies potentially know where we are.”

“Alright…” Leon muttered, pulling a bolt from a bag slung over his shoulder that Makoto hadn’t noticed before. “But if Monokuma shows up and zaps or me something I’m gonna be real pissed.”

“Noted.” Kyoko smiled, “Thank you, Leon. Hiro, can you go with him to make sure nothing happens? Chihiro, you go tell the others what’s going on.”

“What about me?” Makoto asked as the other three hesitantly dispersed, Kyoko watched them go before responding.

“Go find Byakuya and meet me at Monokuma’s office. Her eyes flicked towards the stairs. “We may be able to figure out who’s behind this up there. Can I have my key back?” 

“Oh, right-“ Makoto pulled it from his jacket pocket, “Here. Are you sure you’re gonna be okay up there alone?”

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” She looked around once more, “When I looked around earlier, I noticed a door with similar security measures to the tech lab, the door had been smashed open. I only glanced inside, but I noticed several shelves of what looked like chemicals and medical supplies”

“O-oh?”

“I think whoever went to the fourth floor must’ve been looking for something specific…” She turned to walk up the stairs, “Just… Be careful.”

There was a hint of worry in the way she spoke, he frowned, “What’s… what’s wrong? Why are you nervous?”

“Byakuya could have opened these gates too.” She muttered after a moment, eyes flitting around the hall. “I haven’t been able to find him today, have you?”

He paused, “Why… the sudden suspicion?”

“It’s not a suspicion, just a thought. I just want you to be careful.”

She left him then, listening to the sound of her footsteps on the stairs and the distant crash of Leon destroying a camera. He turned to go back downstairs, Okay. Byakuya’s probably in the library… he’s always down there.

He found Chihiro talking with Mondo on the second floor, whatever conversation they were having too hushed for him to hear as he passed them and opened the library doors. It seemed to be empty, the usual chair next to a desk where the blonde could normally be found was vacant. Makoto wandered in anyway, glancing around in case he was amidst the rows of books. He approached the desk, glancing over the books and papers scattered across it in a surprisingly haphazard manner.

 That’s weird. He’s usually more organized… he thought with a frown, his thoughts stopping short at the sight of something staining the pages of an open book on the desk.

There were several flecks of light pink fluid staining the paper, anxiety edged it’s way up Makoto’s spine as he followed the trail of drops down the floor. a much larger stain marred the carpet of the room, he hadn’t noticed it when he first came in, but now that there was a trail to follow he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

Maybe he just… had a nose bleed, he has those sometimes. He tried to reason with himself as he followed the trail to the door of the library. But Celeste said he was… in pain… 

He exited the library, seeing a few stray dots of pink leading down the hall to the first floor, his heartbeat quickened. He approached Chihiro and Mondo again, his fear must’ve been written all over his face, Mondo’s own expression immediately shifted to a concerned frown.

“Ya okay, Mac?” He asked, “What’s going on?”

“I, uh- have either of you seen Byakuya?” He asked worriedly, Chihiro shook her head.

“I saw him downstairs a minute ago,” Mondo answered, “Seriously, what’s goin’ on?”

“I-I found blood in the library.” Makoto stuttered, Mondo’s expression dropped.

“Blood?”

“I-I think? Pink stuff, anyway- where was he downstairs?”

“Uh, headin’ towards the dorms, I think. I’ll come with ya.” Mondo moved to follow him down the stairs, Chihiro reached out and grabbed his hand.

“Wait- I, um,” Her eyes glanced towards Makoto, hurriedly looking away when he attempted to make eye contact. “Never mind. just be careful, okay?”

That… Makoto felt a weirdly familiar sort of unease as he and Mondo hurried down the stairs. That was weird. That was definitely weird… I’m getting distracted. Where’s Byakuya?

They reached the first floor quickly, Makoto practically jogged all the way to the dorms and searched for any sign of Byakuya.

There was pink splattered across one of the dining room doors.

“Crap…“ Mondo’s voice rumble behind him as he noticed as well. Makoto swallowed his fear and moved into the dining hall.

It seemed to be empty, the usual table already cleared from breakfast and all the chairs left vacant…

Makoto jolted- a sudden gagging sound from the kitchen startling him.

“Byakuya?” He called, only more coughing met his ears as he sprinted forward.

There was a mess waiting for him in the kitchen. A broken cup, Byakuya’s glasses, and the contents of a jar of tea scattered across the floor and part of the counter, with Byakuya himself standing hunched over amidst them. His whole body trembled as he hacked up something pink onto the floor, one hand gripping the edge of the counter and the other clutching his own stomach.

His head snapped up as they entered, eyes hazed with pain and face covered in sweat and sickly pale. He collapsed to his knees with another coughing fit, struggling to speak without gagging.

“Naegi-“ he choked out as Makoto dropped down in front of him and held his shoulders as he wretched again, a strange chemical smell filled the air. “S-something- ‘s wrong- I-“

“Shit shit shit-“ Mondo cursed behind him, rushing over as well and putting a hand to Byakuya’s forehead. “Shit, he’s burning up- Okay, we gotta get him to the nurse’s room. You go find Tak, I’ll carry him there.“

“No!” Byakuya protested, somehow managing to sound authoritative despite clinging to Makoto’s arm. He paused, trying to catch his breath and squeezing his eyes shut. “Don’t… Don’t leave…”

“O-okay, I won’t. I promise.” Makoto put an arm around Byakuya’s trembling form as he all but collapsed against his side. He looked back up to where Mondo had crouched down in front of them, “You go get Taka, he can meet us in here, right?”

Mondo hesitated, seeming reluctant to leave them alone before he finally nodded and sprinted from the kitchen. Makoto could already here him yelling for Taka as he left, it probably wouldn’t take long.

“Just hang in there…” he assured Byakuya, whose labored breathing was beginning to slow. “Mondo went to get help, i-it’s gonna be okay.”

The only response he received was more coughing, he glanced around the mess he was sitting in the midst of.

“Why… why is there tea everywhere?” He couldn’t help but mumble aloud.

“It’s… not…” Byakuya shuddered, the vice like grip he’d had on Makoto’s arm weakened. “Not the tea.”

“What?” Makoto blinked, leaning back to try and look down at Byakuya’s face, “What’s not the tea?”

“I checked…” Byakuya slumped forward, going completely limp against Makoto’s shoulders.

Makoto’s whole body seized in fear at the sudden stillness, “Byakuya? Hey- come on, wake up! J-just a little longer-“

—————————————————————

“How is he?”

The voice startled Makoto, stopping with his hand hovering inches away from the nurse’s office door. Sakura was standing a few feet away, brow furrowed in concern and arms folded.

“Uh,” Makoto blinked in surprise, “He… Taka said he’ll be okay, probably. He said we found him just in time…”

She hummed in response, moving closer and peering through the small window of the door alongside him. “I didn’t want to interrupt, but Hina and I have been worried since we heard Mondo screaming earlier.”

Makoto didn’t answer, looking in as well to see Byakuya asleep on the cot against the far wall. Taka was busy running some blood test and… something else at the counter, occasionally glancing up to check the IV bag. Taka had been talking Makoto through the process since he and Mondo first set Byakuya down in the nurse’s office, he’d been working for about hour already. He left very briefly, only to find Kyoko and fill her in (She promptly left to investigate the kitchen) and change his pink stained shirt at Taka’s repeated suggestion.

“He says it was poison.” He finally mumbled. “He’s not sure what exactly it was yet, but…”

“Do you think it was intentional?” Sakura asked, Makoto couldn’t help the suspicion creeping it’s way into his mind.

“It had to be intentional.” He answered after a moment. Sakura didn’t respond, leaving him to think as she continued to watch through the window.

Sakura… certainly was strong enough to break the gate to the top floor. Despite how little they knew of Monokuma’s actual power level, Makoto had little doubt in his mind that Sakura would be able to put up a fight with the bear if she really wanted to. Byakuya had even mentioned wanting to keep an eye on her specifically when he they were discussing the list of suspects.

He glanced up at her, scanning her expression for anything other than what appeared to be genuine concern.

“Hifumi made breakfast this morning…” she muttered after a moment, jaw tensing.

“What?” Makoto blinked in realization, “Yeah, he did… are you saying you think he did it?”

She hummed, a noise that sounded more similar to a growl, “I am not saying anything, yet. It would be foolish to jump to such conclusions without even knowing what we’re dealing with.” She glanced at him over her shoulder, “Poison is a cowardly way of dispatching someone…”

“I guess?” Makoto’s face scrunched, “Dispatching anyone in any way is pretty uncool, though.”

Her expression softened, “You’re right. I was just… thinking.”

She stepped away from the door, “Thank you for letting me know what happened. I would appreciate being kept updated, if you don’t mind sharing more later.” She looked back down the hall. “And I will do my best to keep an eye on things in the rest of the school…”

Makoto didn’t respond, Sakura glanced back at him.

“Yasuhiro told me about the gate upstairs.” She said plainly, “I do not blame you for being suspicious.”

“I-I’m not-” Makoto stuttered, “I’m not like suspicious of you, I just… don’t have another lead right now. Am I that obvious about things?”

 “I understand why I would be the obvious suspect. I can’t think of anyone else who can bend metal, not to such a degree, anyway. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Makoto frowned, hand moving to rest on the doorknob. “Not… not right now. But thanks. Just… if you are brainwashed, let me know, okay?”

She chuckled, “Of course, that would be the courteous thing to do.”

The nurse’s office door swung open, “Ah, Makoto. I was just about to come looking for you.” Taka’s tone was more gentle than usual, this did nothing to put Makoto at ease.

He waved goodbye to Sakura, who nodded in return as he followed Taka back into the small room and sat down on the spare cot he had been waiting on before. He watched Taka nervously reorganize some things on the counter before he began speaking.

“It’s not as bad as it could’ve been.” he began, “And I expect him to make a full recovery, so please try not to worry too much.”

“But… what is it?” Makoto asked, still very much worried. “How the heck did someone even get poison?”

“It’s not poison, exactly.” Taka frowned, turning back to the counter and holding up a small vial of something. “Do you remember the medicine I administered to you after you fought Sayaka?”

Makoto froze, jaw hanging open uselessly for a moment before he responded. “Th-The stuff that you said would only work on me and make the others sick?”

“That’s not quite what I said, but yes.” Taka examined the vial again himself, “It’s unpredictable and dangerous. We’re lucky Byakuya only ingested a small amount.”

“How is it… how is it dangerous? You said it just made me ‘heal faster’- how can that be bad?”

“If you try to fix something that isn’t broken you’ll likely break it in the process.” Taka explained grimly, “Under normal circumstances this would be used for severe, potentially fatal injuries; without anything like that going on with Byakuya for it to fix, it’s…”

He paused, “I’m not sure what the simplest way to explain it would be, imagine your immune system working on overdrive and you cells regenerating at a rate your body can’t keep up with.”

Makoto blinked in confusion, “Uh… okay? That doesn’t sound great.”

“No, it does not.” Taka agreed as he set the vial back on the counter, “I think it must’ve been worsened by using his powers, the strain on his body likely caused some sort of reaction to make it spread faster… I don’t understand how anyone even knew about this, the only person I’ve shown it to is you. Have you told anyone about it?”

“I don’t think so?” Makoto thought back, “I said something about it to Kyoko and Byakuya, but I didn’t tell them what it did or anything, just that you gave me something weird.”

Taka hummed in response, eyes flickering slightly as he looked over at where Byakuya slept.

“It is possible…N-never mind.” He shook his head, Makoto frowned.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s nonsensical, I-I’m not even sure why I thought about it.”

“What is it?

Taka was quiet a moment more, “Is it possible this was… self administered?”

“What!? N-no way. Why would he do something like that?”

“No, you’re right it’s ridiculous.” Taka waved a hand to dismiss the thought. “I just can’t think of…. How someone would be able to get a hold of this in the first place. This is the only room we have access to with it, and it’s locked when I’m not here.”

The only place we have access to? Makoto paused, “Is there…. Anywhere else in the building where it might be?”

“Oh. Yes, on the fourth floor, in an old lab that’s being used for storage now.” he frowned, “But… no one can get up there-“

“Someone broke through the gate last night.”

“Wha-“ Taka began, eyes flaring brighter, “Are you serious?”

Makoto nodded, Taka’s expression became more thoughtful. “Well suspicious behavior and blatant destruction of property aside, I still don’t think that has anything to do with this.”

“What?” Now it was Makoto’s turn to be surprised, “How can you say that?”

“This must’ve been administered slowly, it had to have been going on for at least a full day before this.” Taka held out a small glass tray to Makoto, remnants of the pink bile Byakuya had left in the kitchen. At first Makoto leaned away in disgust, before his eyes focused the small shard reflecting in the fluorescent lights.

“It began crystallizing along the lining of his stomach- there’s quite a few chemicals that do that, actually- but it wouldn’t happen in just a few hours. This must’ve been building up over at least a day or two.”

“So…. Then why was the fourth floor broken into?” Makoto tried to make sense of all this. “What- what else is up there? I mean I guess there’s a lot of stuff up there…”

“Perhaps just to confuse you?” Taka suggested as he checked Byakuya’s IV line, “Monokuma mentioned the other day you were…. Investigating things.”

“Oh. Yeah…”

“So whoever it is you’re investigating… perhaps wanted a way to keep you occupied.”

“I-I guess?” Makoto ran a hand through his hair, “The only person that could do that is Sakura, right? And I really don’t think it’s her, she hasn’t been acting weird at all and I feel like she could just like… destroy me if she needed to. There wouldn’t be a reason for her to go through all this trouble…”

Taka tilted his head, “Is Sakura the only one who could do that?”

“I don’t know, I think…” He buried his face in his hands, “God, this is all so confusing! I don’t think I’ve ever been this stressed out in my life.”

Taka put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “I’m surprised you haven't developed ulcers worrying about everyone.” He awkwardly joked, “Why don’t you take a break, I’ll keep an eye on him here.”

Makoto didn’t answer at first, letting Taka pull him to his feet, “I guess I can go see if Kyoko needs any help….”

“That’s… that’s not taking a break.” Taka frowned, “But, if she’s still in the kitchen like you said earlier, you can get yourself some water while you’re there.” He nodded, like he was deciding the plan for the both of them. “Yes. You can help Kyoko if you take care of yourself in return, alright?”

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.” Makoto gave a weak excuse for a laugh, “But, yeah. I’ll do that. Thanks, Taka.”

He left the nurses room, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and trudging down the hall to the kitchen.

If someone just broke the gate to distract me… does that mean I was getting close? Or were they just trying to turn the investigation towards Sakura?

He found Hifumi squatted outside the kitchen doors, a small waste basket and a few wet rags beside him. He appeared to scrubbing the doors, He paused whatever tune he was humming as Makoto approached.

“Ah, Makoto!” Hifumi turned to look up at him, “Is everything still alright? Well, not alright i mean, but the same.”

“Uh,” Makoto hesitated, Sakura’s suspicions from earlier springing back to mind, “Yeah, it’s the same. Taka said Byakuya’s going to be fine, it’ll just take awhile.”

“What a relief…” Hifumi leaned back on his hands, “Miss Kirigiri wouldn’t let me in the kitchen till she was done looking around, but I saw inside- it looked awful!” His expression turned fearful, “Was he really coughing up blood?”

“No, not exactly,” Makoto found himself squatting as well, “I don’t think so, anyway, it was just… whatever had made him sick.”

“I see…” Hifumi adjusted his glasses, “What exactly was it that made him sick?”

Makoto glanced off to the side, “I dunno if I should say, we don’t have all the information yet. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course! Fire away!”

“Did you see anything weird when you made breakfast this morning?”

Taka had already ruled out the idea of Byakuya being poisoned by just his breakfast, but Hifumi cooked for the group often, he didn’t think it was entirely out of the realm of possibilities for it to be the shapeshifter’s doing.

“Hm? I don’t think so,” Hifumi tapped his chin, “The only people who came in while I was cooking were Taka and Byakuya. He said wouldn’t eat what I was cooking…” he mumbled the last part a little bitterly. 

“Uh, Taka doesn’t have a stomach, I don’t think he can eat.” Makoto pointed out, Hifumi shook his head.

“No, no, I meant Byakuya!” Hifumi corrected, “I don’t think he ever eats group meals, he always makes his own food. It’s pretty rude if you ask me, I’m a great cook!”

“Wait, really?”

“Of course! You’ve had my food, and I’m an even better baker! If I wasn’t on my way to being such an accomplished comic artist, I’d set my sights on conquering the world of baking, instead!”

“No, I meant when you said Byakuya never eats what other people cook. Is that true?”

“Oh.” Hifumi blinked, “As far as I know, yeah.”

“Okay….” Makoto stood, “Thanks, Hifumi. And thanks for helping clean up.”

“No worries.” Hifumi gave him a salute, “I like being helpful, and Miss Ludenberg was complaining about the sight of blood, I figured I should take care of it.”

Makoto paused his walk into the kitchen, “Did you want to do it or did she like… suggest that you do it and use her powers?”

Hifumi thought for a moment, realization seeming to dawn on him suddenly. “Now that you mention it…. I’m not sure.”

“Geez…” Makoto sighed, he’d have to talk about this with her later, this wasn’t the first time someone had caught her persuading Hifumi or someone else to do things for her.

“Well you can stop if you want, it’s not your job to clean everything by yourself.”

“I appreciate that.” Hifumi smiled, “I’ll finish this, at least.”

He got back to scrubbing, Makoto made his way to the kitchen to find Kyoko. She was where he expected her to be, amidst the mess that had been left relatively undisturbed in the kitchen. She was hold a steaming cup of tea, staring down into it with her usual scrutinizing stare. 

“Hey,” he greeted awkwardly, she glanced up at him and her eyes softened.

“I heard what you said to Hifumi,” she began, going back to inspecting her tea, “that was nice of you.”

“It was true.” Makoto mumbled, picking his way carefully across the scattered leaves and broken glass till he found his place beside her.

“Do you think he did it?”

“No…. Not based on what I’ve been told, anyway.” She hummed in response, he looked down at the tea as he continued. “Taka said…. It’s probably been at least a day. A-and that it may have been more than once.”

She nodded slowly, finally taking the tea and setting it on the counter.

“Well, it’s not the tea he drinks.” She said finally, slipping one of her usual gloves back onto her hand, “It lacks the smell that the rest of Byakuya’s…. Evidence left.”

Makoto thought back to earlier. “Oh, yeah. I remember that… He actually tried to tell me that, I think. I didn’t understand what he meant at first, I guess.”

She began investigating the rest of the kitchen, he remembered he promised Taka he’d drink something and moved to get a glass from one of the cabinets.

“Thirsty?” She asked as he made his way over to the fridge. He awkwardly laughed in return.

“Uh, no, not really; but I promised Taka I would-“ he stopped short as he opened the fridge’s door, a faint chemical smell stinging his nose for just a moment when he opened it.

The confusion must’ve been evident on his face, because Kyoko quickly joined him as he began to search the fridge. 

“Hey do you, uh, did you pay attention to what Byakuya ate this morning?” He asked, opening a container of miso paste and finding nothing unusual.

“Toast. It’s what he usually has for breakfast.” She answered simply, because of course she knew what everyone ate for breakfast.

Before he could respond she was reaching across him and grabbing a container of butter from the top shelf. She opened the lid, and the two stared down at the substance inside, the faintest sting of something wrong hitting Makoto’s senses and a small line of discoloration running through the middle of it. Makoto wouldn’t have even noticed if he didn’t know what to look for, but now that he did…

“This must be it.” Kyoko finished his thought for him, closing the container and handing it off to him. “You should let Taka look at it, just to be certain.”

“Okay, yeah.” Makoto nodded, “Poisoning the butter seems kinda risky, a lot of people could’ve gotten sick from this.”

“Maybe they didn’t care.”

Makoto was quiet, looking down at the ruined food in his hands. “This… this still doesn’t help up figure out who did it, we don’t know who managed to get this stuff in the first place.”

“I suppose not, but this is a start.” She glanced over her shoulder, checking the doorway. “You said that it must’ve been administered to him over the course of a few days, which means the incident involving the fourth floor gate was either unrelated, or a cover up.”

“A-a cover up?” Makoto blinked in surprise, “what do you mean?”

“Someone went through things in that lab on the fourth floor methodically,” she explained quietly, “There was care taken to put most things back in place, I might not even have noticed if it wasn’t for all the dust they disturbed while moving things.”

“So you think…. Someone still went and got the poison stuff from the fourth floor, but without needing to break the gate.”

“Yes.”

“Which means they probably just broke the gate to…. Uh,” he faltered, Kyoko waited expectantly for him to sort through things. “I guess they would break it to make it seem like Sakura did it, then.” She nodded.

“So… we’re looking for someone who could get up to the fourth floor on their own…. And also break metal bars.” Makoto frowned, “This still isn’t clearing anything up.”

“It could be more than one person, I suppose.” Kyoko hummed thoughtfully, “Take the butter to Taka, for now. We can discuss this after you have him test that. And here,”

She handed her key back to him, he raised an eyebrow. “For safe keeping.” She smiled, barely, “You’re more likely to need it than I am.”

He headed towards the nurse’s office, pausing in the doorway to glance back at her. “Did you find anything upstairs by the way? Any sign of Monokuma?”

“I’m afraid not.” She frowned again, glancing back down at the floor. “I have no idea where he could’ve gone.”

Makoto turned to leave again, frustrated that his search for answers always seemed to lead to more questions. Hifumi was no longer by the door, leaving his rags and bucket stacked neatly next to the now clean surface. Makoto made a mental note to come back and help clean the kitchen later after he found out what the deal was with the butter.

He was almost back to the nurses office, so consumed by his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice the sounds of hushed arguing coming from the cracked open door. He stopped short a few inches away, leaning forward to listen as Taka groaned in frustration.

“I just don’t see why you are so insistent on doing this now-“

“Ya said we’d talk about this today so we’re gonna talk about it!” Mondo hissed back. “I’m worried about you, just talk to me.”

“This is not the appropriate time.There is a person recovering from attempted poisoning literally two feet away from us.” Taka insisted, Mondo huffed.

“I know that- that’s why I’m fuckin’ whispering.” There was a pause. “S-sorry.”

“It’s alright…” Taka let out a long sigh, “Fine. Let’s talk then. Why are you so worried?”

“You keep twitchin.” Mondo responded immediately, “And yer forgettin stuff, even if it’s something we just talked about. And normally when I ask how you are after, you pull that weird fuckin smile and it just…. It…”

There was a tense pause.

“Ya have no idea what I’m talkin about, do ya, Tak?”

“No…. I don’t. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine I just- shit. Okay, uh what’s the last thing you remember about breakfast this morning?”

 “We talked about your motorcycle.” Taka answered simply, “And your dog, and how you hope your friend Michi is still feeding him while you’re here.”

“No, after that.”

“… we left after that.”

“No we fuckin didn’t, bro.”

“Y-yes we did! We left and you went to-“

“Taka, babe, we had a whole ass other conversation after that.” Mondo insisted, Makoto’s mind couldn’t help but focus on the use of the word ‘babe’.

“What are you talking about?”

“We talked about how Monokuma’s missing! The whole tabled talked about it!” Mondo’s voice was getting louder, now, it seemed like he was about to continue when Taka gasped.

“What… what do you mean Monokuma’s missing?”

There was another pause; finally Mondo spoke again, voice surprisingly pleading.

“I’m really worried about you, Tak.”

“I…. I understand. Alright.” Taka finally relented, “I’ll ask Chihiro to take a look at things later, once I get all this squared away for the evening. Would that make you feel better?”

“Yeah. It would, thanks.” Mondo let out a yawn, “Damn, sorry. I still ain’t getting much sleep.”

“Ah. Still doing whatever weird secret thing you’ve been doing at night?”

“You can’t remember breakfast but you remember that?”

“I’m worried about you too, you know.”

“I know, I know,” mondo grumbled back, “I just-“

“You made a promise to Chihiro, I know. I won’t ask what you were doing.” Taka assured him, “Why don’t you try to take a nap, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Kay. Love you, dude.”

“Love you too.”

Makoto stumbled back around the corner at the sound of Mondo’s footsteps, trying to appear as nonchalant as one can possibly be while holding a slowly melting tub of butter as the biker passed him by.

“Oh my gosh….” He mumbled, sliding down the wall, a few new pieces of the puzzle beginning to fit together in his mind.

“Holy crap.”