TW: Certain portions of this chapter, specifically Mikan's POV, contain upsetting scenes which include the following: physical violence, psychological manipulation, implied blackmail. If you are sensitive to any of these subjects then I highly suggest reading the following with caution.

Kokichi's POV:

Yesterday's prodding of Maki was fruitful: however, it still only confirmed that she was hiding secrets. Something I knew from the start. Well at least it was a place to start. I just had to keep track of everything she lies about.

Which just so happened to be almost everything.

These were some of my first thoughts as I woke up that morning, stretching a bit as I got out of bed. I had a long day of classes to ignore, and I was already a bit later than usual to breakfast. I could think about that stuff on the way there.

Strolling into the cafeteria, I'm greeted by the usual scene of annoyed faces at my entrance. I make my usual quips in return, and pick up some food at one of the stands. Honestly breakfasts were starting to get pretty boring with how predictable they were. I guess there were a few differences with each one though.

Breakfast turned into class, as that boring mess went on too. I sit in my seat, head in one hand as I tune out whatever the teacher was talking about at the moment. Shuichi was on my left, dutifully paying attention like usual. Meanwhile, I had Angie on my right. She was doodling something, but looking up every so often at the teacher.

I people watched the others around me, not putting too much stock into what the teacher was saying: until the sound of marker on the whiteboard brought my attention to what he was doing for a split second. That split second was all that was needed to keep my attention though, as the first word the teacher wrote was "Talent"

I sit up in my seat a bit, as they finish the phrase. "Talent showcase exam". It was at this point that I start listening to what they were saying. "Alright class, listen up. The talent showcase exam is an event held by hope's peak to evaluate your progress in improving your talent, and will determine whether you stay in the current course you're placed in."

The entire atmosphere sparks with intrigue, excitement, and anxiety. Our eyes shift from looking at the teacher, to looking at each other. There's a roar of talking between everyone, before the teacher hushes us all. "I'm sure all of you have your questions, but please, save them for after I finish explaining" he says, exasperated. Everyone quiets down and sits in anticipation.

"Good. Alright. So on a date, which has currently yet to be set due to certain reasons, everyone in this room will perform a feat of their talent on stage. This will be anything from showing off something you made, to performing something known to be difficult and technical. It will be up to you to figure out what your final project will be, however it will need to be approved by your teacher. This way nobody gets off too easy, and all presentations are... apropriate" he says, glaring at Miu. I snort a bit, and a few others in class snicker, as Miu shrinks into her seat a bit.

"However there are a few of you who have talents too abstract or explored to properly portray on stage. These will include more intellectual or social talents, which can be difficult to show in an attention grabbing fashion. For these people, the school will prepare a test of sorts to see just how well you do. Each test will be individualized and taken privately, watched over by Hope's peak administrators" he states. "I will name those who fit this description within this class now. Shuichi Saihara, Kaito Momota, Kirumi Tojo, Kokichi Oma, and Maki Harukawa"

I perk up a bit at that last one, giving the girl in red a glance. I suppose child caregiver is a pretty abstract talent, but there's also no denying the fact that them being private is pretty convenient if she's lying about her talent. And I was almost one hundred percent sure she was. The school really was covering for her, wasn't it?

The teacher continued to talk, and I decided to listen since I was interested.

"Due to incidents in the past, security will be increased around the area's in which tests are being held. I think this is dumb since other area's are going to be left vunerable, but it's not my place to tell" he says, grumbling in annoyance at that part. That really intrigued me, and the rest of his speech started to fade into the background.

So other parts of the school would be left vulnerable, huh? I was with him on the fact it was stupid, since his words implied they were just shifting security, not getting more. If this was true, then someone could just... sneak into a room easier. I was going to have to investigate that a bit.

I tune back into the teachers words, and it seems like he's almost finished. "...will be held within a few months. The exact date will be set after everyone's projects have been decided on. Final project proposals will be due on the 22'nd, and personalized outlines for helping to choose everyone's projects, minus those who have tests already set for them, will be handed out now" he says, putting down a sheet of paper he was reading from and picking up a different stack on his desk.

Miu was the first to break the intent silence as everyone looked over their papers. "Can't make reference to indecent acts or functions?! The fuck is that even supposed to mean?!" she calls out. I pitch in- "It means you can't act like the whore you are! Geeze that's going to be difficult for you, huh?" I tease. I could see several people ready to call me out, when Miu acts like... well, how I described her. "W-Whore?! Haaa, someone c-called me a whore-"

Those people who were about to stick up for her promptly remembered who we were talking about, and backed down. I simply rolled my eyes and put my head back into my hand as everyone talked.

"I wonder what the tests are going to be like" I hear Shuichi say to himself, his face thoughtful. I perk up a bit "Wellll for you it might be some kind of old murder case! Or maybe they'll do one of those escape rooms- oh oh or maybe they'll-" "No no, that's not what I'm talking about" he says. I raise an eyebrow.

"Ah, sorry for interrupting it's just... well I'm having a difficult time thinking about what kind of test someone might give for some of these talents. Specifically... yours. Though I guess your talent in general is... confusing" Shuichi says, appearing to be thinking aloud. I had to admit though, I was kind of curious about this too. "Hmmm. Well supreme leader certainly fits the definition of an abstract talent!" I say.

Shuichi simply nods in agreement. "Maybe it's just something to test leadership skills then... if so I imagine that Sonia will have something similar" Shuichi points out. I simply laugh in return "Oooo or maybe I'll get to torture someone! Y'know, since I run an evil organization, not a kingdom" I say. Shuichi gets a nervous look on his face- "I uh, don't think that's something the school would condone. Besides, your talent would include you being evil in the title if that was really the- ah, never mind"

I raise an eyebrow, curious as to where Shuichi would have gone with that. "Well I guess we'll just have to find out when the time comes!" I say, shifting in my seat a bit. Shuichi nervously laughs once again. "I uh, guess we will"

The rest of class goes on as normal, other than the talking about the talent showcase. Everyone splits into their normal social groups, and I observe everybody as they do so. Once again though, nothing of too much note happens, and I'm left with an overwhelming sense of boredom.

Fed up with said boredom, I exit the room soon after Maki does, figuring that whatever happens at that point is in Kaito's hands. I go back to my dorm and get on my laptop, Mikan still probably at her shift in the nurse's office. Getting onto the chatroom my group uses, I meet up with my second in command.

CrEpyCln is Online

CrEpyCln: Yo boss! What's new?

Me: Welll it seems like the school's holding a talent showcase. The security around the school is going to be weakened, so I'm thinking of trying to pull something- Don't know what yet though

CrEpyCln: Huh, really? Cool! We've actually got some intelligence on our end too, if you're interested

Me: Why yes I am. Tell! Your leader demands it!

CrEpyCln: Okay okay, listen to this. This is going to be our biggest crime yet if what we heard is true

Me: What is iiiiiitttttt

CrEpyCln: Okay, so there's this CEO, right? Well word on the street is that he has cash- physical cash- hoarded in a safe somewhere. We're talking thousands here.

CrEpyCln: Now according to our sources, the money is dirty: Pillaged off the backs of workers, or even extorted via threats of violence. The story isn't totally there, but the general idea is that it's money he doesn't deserve

Me: So what's the game plan? It doesn't sound like this is exactly an easy job

CrEpyCln: Well that's the thing. It would take a lot of time to figure out how to get past security and into the safe quickly. But we'd be teaching the bastard a real lesson if we do this

I think for a moment. On one hand, it's risky. Really risky. I wouldn't get much say in how we do this since I don't have much time to talk to them day to day, so I would have to have faith that they can pull this off on their own. That they can do this without my being there to help plan it. If something happened...

...

...

...

Me: Go for it. He sounds like just the kind of step up we need

CrEpyCln: Got it boss! I knew you'd be all for it!

Me: But of course- I am the best evil supreme leader ever, afterall

CrEpyCln: hah, yeah you are

CrEpyCln: I think I'm going to cut this short- I'm pretty excited about this and already getting ideas on how we can pull it off!

Me: awww okay. Well good luck planning for evil!

CrEpyCln: Thanks! See ya!

CrEpyCln is Offline

I sigh a bit, closing the chatroom, thinking for a moment, and then closing the browser all together. With the conversation over so soon, I had to fall back to what I planned to do next much sooner than I would have liked. I open up a game and begin playing mindlessly. It was a pretty simple one, so time passed away as I completed repetitive quests and played repetitive mechanics.

It soon became late- I had missed dinner again. I became aware of this when I casually looked at the clock, noting it was 9 P.M. already. I shrug it off, before it makes me realize one other fact.

Mikan hadn't returned to the dorm yet.

Becoming more and more aware of this fact, I sit up in bed a bit, paying less and less attention to the actual game itself. Mikan had always been back slightly before or at dinner time, dropping off a thing or two in the process. This made it stranger still that she still wasn't here.

As if aware that I had finally noticed this, I hear a clicking at the door as Mikan unlocks the dorm room, and walks in. Something about her overall appearance seemed different, but at that point in time I couldn't figure out just what it was. Interested in her reason for being out so late, I close my laptop and sit up a bit more. "Soooo where were yooouuu" I ask

Mikan tenses up, and I can tell immediately that something is up. She fumbled over her explanation for a few moments, stuttering up a storm in the process. Eventually she manages to say "O-Outside of the campus-"

This piques my interest even more. "Oh, outside of campus eh? What were you doing there?" I ask. She tenses up even more, and looks at the floor for a bit, taking her time with her answer. Again, the way she was acting was telling me something was up. There was something that she didn't want to say. A few more moments of fidgeting lead up to her saying "At a hospital"

I raise an eyebrow, and she scurries to explain. "Y-You see, with the talent showcase, I um, w-wanted to sharpen up my nursing skills- I had gotten an offer to intern as a nurse anytime from a hospital not too far from here, and um... I f-finally decided to take them up on it" she stutters.

That was... weird.

"Well alrighty then!" I say, brushing it off. "Is this like a one time thing oorrrr" she stiffens once again. "Ah no um, I'm... g-g-g-going to... be doing this once every two weeks," she says, trailing off at that last part. Again my bullshit alarm was going off, but I keep that to myself.

"Kay kay! At least that's all it was. Y'know I was sooooo worried when I realized you were gone! The thought of something bad happening to my dear roommate- I nearly started *sniff* crying!" I say. This makes Mikan cringe even more, but she sticks with the story. "I'm sorry- I'm s-so sorry!" she says, seeming a bit more worked up about it than usual.

She was acting suspicious for sure.

"Well you're here now so it's okay I guess. You don't need to apologize" I say, opening up my laptop once more and trying to seem disinterested in the entire thing. Mikan simply nods, breath hitching a bit from what I assume to be an attempt to hold back tears.

From there we stay in silence, going back to something similar to what our normal nightly routine is. I unpause my game, continuing to play it. Mikan opens up the book she had been reading recently, and reads it. However, she soon puts it down, and turns over to sleep much sooner than she normally would.

Something was definitely off with Mikan's story, that was for sure. If she was lying about anything, it would be where she was. The reason she would do so is beyond me though, and it wasn't really my business to pry. It was odd though. The thought that someone who, up until this point, had been honest with herself and the people around her, would lie. It certainly did make me more curious as to why she would do so. I couldn't help but imagine a few alternate scenarios.

Some of them weren't that pleasant.

But, as I said, not my place. Who am I to take away someone's lies...

Mikan's POV:

I wave goodbye to my classmates, my shift as a nurse starting. The teacher had just explained that we were to take part in some kind of... talent showcase. I was one of the few students who had too ambiguous a talent to show off on stage, so apparently I was going to be given a school administered test. It was nerve wracking but... kind of exciting at the same time!

Finally at the door to the nurses office, I pull the key out of my bag, only to hear someone shouting my name. "Miss Tsumiki! Would you please come with me? We have a situation at the gates, and there are two boys saying that they know you. Would you mind coming with me to confirm this?" says one of the security guards, tone friendly but stern.

Getting over my initial surprise of having my name called out of the blue like that, I nod. "Um, okay" I say softly, as the guard nods and leads me to the front gates. Throughout the entire walk, my mind was racing as to who could possibly be there. I didn't know too many people outside of hopes peak currently, and nobody back home would come all this way to see me...

Unless...

With an image starting to form in my mind as to who was at the gate, I start getting more and more anxious the more we walk. The gate comes into view, and we were getting closer and closer by the second. The closer we got the more my stomach dropped. And when I saw who was there, it was like rocks were weighed all over my body.

It was them. The two I had been afraid it would be

Daiki and Genzo.

"Yo, Mikan! You're finally here! Genzo and I were just telling these two idiots that we know you! They won't believe us though- crazy, right?" he says, acting as energetic and outwardly friendly as ever. Genzo just looked to the side, seeming to be on edge as there was an icy glare on his face. Getting annoyed with my lack of an answer, Daiki raises his voice a bit. "Right, Mikan?" he says. I hear the guard who had escorted me here walk away from the gate.

Panicking a bit, I nod- "A-Ah, yes, I know them- I do!" I say frantically without thinking. Daiki laughs a bit- "See? Told ya!" he says, smiling triumphantly at the guards. One of them raises an eyebrow, but sighs. "Alright, so you know her. What are you even here for though?" he says, a grumble in his voice. Daiki laughs some more, scratching the back of his head. "Well you see, our school gives Tuesdays off believe it or not! So since the courses here are so lax, we thought we'd go and hang out with our old friend!" he says. I caught the lie right away, but my contradiction gets caught in my throat as I look him in the eye. On the outside it was friendly, but I recognized it for what it was: a threat. A threat of something bad happening if I didn't play along.

The Guard shrugs. "She can go if she wants to. Do whatever" he says, walking away to a guard station that was a few yards away. I pry my eyes away from the station, and look back nervously at the two boys. Daiki's smile had widened, and Genzo had finally turned to face me. "Sooo, you're coming, right?" he asks, a smug look on his face as he stuffs one of his hands into a pocket. I squirm a bit, fiddling with my school bag as once more the words get caught in my throat.

"Hey, you know what will happen if you say no, right?" barks Genzo, making me wince. I nod slowly, and let out a barely audible "Y-Yes", much to their delight. Daiki puts an arm around my shoulder, beginning to walk me out of the gates. "Good, good- for a second there I thought we might of had to do something uh, not so friendly..." He says, squeezing my shoulder a bit. I let out a nervous laugh, trying my best not to show how afraid I was.

When we were a good ways away from the gates entrance, Daiki let go of my shoulders. I give myself a little bit of space from him as he and Genzo start talking to each other. "So where to this time?" Asks Daiki. "I mean the mall's always awesome, but we probably shouldn't be in a populated area now that Mikan here is with us" he says, almost as if I couldn't hear every single word he said. Genzo speaks next, his voice almost emotionless. "That playground. Nobodies ever there" he suggests. Daiki considers it for a moment, going silent as he does so.

"Well, the gate will be difficult to get over- but I guess that's the point of it, isn't it?" says Daiki, laughing. Genzo nods, a smirk on his face. "Yeah. Don't think we could do what we do if it wasn't private. Tch, bunch of bastards... " he says, staring at the ground bitterly. I walk a bit behind them, so as to try and make them pay as little attention to me as possible. This works, as they continue to make idle chatter.

"So what are we even gonna do there? I mean it was abandoned for a reason" asks Daiki. Genzo shrugs in response. "I dunno. Maybe call everyone up? Show off our new miss 'Ultimate Nurse'" he says, giving a cold chuckle. Daiki chuckles as well in response, turning around for a second to face me. "Sooo what do ya think? Wanna see everybody again?" he asks, waving his phone around with a smirk. I freeze up, gulping out of nervousness. "W-Well I-"

"Greaaaat then it's decided!" says Daiki, whipping around and fiddling with its keyboard. While he does that, I see Genzo look over his shoulder, and give me a little smirk before facing forward again. I gulp back anxiety, nervous as to just what was going to happen. As far as I knew, nobody from my old school liked me very much except for these two. And even then...

We made it to the fence that surrounded the park, the street feeling almost constricting with how empty it was. Despite the distinct lack of people, there was a single car parked just by the curb, its owners already outside. Daiki chuckles a bit. "Looks like they beat us to it. Man we gotta get a car or something" he says, starting to climb the fence. Genzo follows, and soon both of them are over the fence. They look at me expectantly.

I gulp and climb over the fence as well.

"Right, let's go then! They should be over by the swings, right?" asks Daiki energetically. With a stoic nod, Genzo confirms this, and we begin walking in that direction. I fidget with my bags strap anxiously, nervous to see everyone again. The walk couldn't have been more than a few minutes, but each second felt agonizingly long. Like the world was trying to torture me with the anticipation and suspense. Like it was trying to make my nerves even worse with every step. And the worst part was that's exactly what was happening.

Finally, finally, after what felt like hours, we find the swings, as well as our other classmates. Well, former classmates for me. Four boys and three girls. Each of their faces familiar. "Dude, what took you so long?" asks one of the boys in an irritated, but excited voice. "Well let's see here. We had to walk. You guys got to drive. I'd say we made pretty good time considering. And hell, you coulda afforded to give us a lift" says Daiki, smirking. The boy chuckles. "Ahh I guess you're right. More importantly...." he says, trailing off and looking in my direction.

"Sooo you're a big shot ultimate now, huh?" he asks, tone sickly sweet. Mocking. I swallow nervously, nodding. "Um, y-yes... The... Ultimate Nurse" I say softly. The boy chuckles a bit, and everyone looks around at each other in a sort of sadistic glee. "Wow, then you really must be good at treating wounds if you're granted such an amazing title. No wonder you always healed so fast as a kid."

Everyone chuckles at that, and then one of the girls eyes go wide with realization. "Oh my god... You kept that shitty ass hairstyle we gave you- you seriously don't give a shit about your looks at all, do you?" she laughs, pointing at my choppy hair. I shrink into myself, self consciously playing with my hair as I do so. Everyone laughs even more, and starts to circle around me. I take a step back, only to bump into the other girl that was there, whimpering as I do so.

"Geeze, watch it you fucking whore! You could have hurt me!" she claims, pushing me forward. "I'm s-sorry I-" "Oh look guys- it's her favorite pair of words. I'm sorry. Hmmm... what do you think? Should we forgive her?" asks one of the guys. He makes an overdramatic face of thought, while others around him snicker. I hear one of them give out a drawn out "nah", and the others make sounds of agreement. They start closing around me. Closer and closer. I felt claustrophobic. And then...

A hit to my stomach sent me to the ground, my lungs struggling for air as the blow took the wind out of me.

The rest of what happened almost felt like a daze... like it was all blended together. Assorted pain in my back, shoulders, and legs kept me aware of the situation, however hazy everything got. I kept flinching, my body still aware enough to anticipate the hits. It hurt. It hurt so much. I could feel the simultaneously cold, yet hot tears running down my face. I wanted them to stop. I wanted someone- something to make them stop. However a hit to my head disorientates my thoughts further, as the haze takes over.

It took me a few minutes after that to realize that fresh pain had stopped, leaving only the aches of the previous blows. I stayed motionless on the ground, letting it all sink in as I regained my breath. After doing so, I became vaguely aware of the distant sounds of voices. Latching onto those sounds as a way to stay conscious, I do my best to try and listen to the conversation.

"I still couldn't believe it when you told us that little bitch was going to fucking hopes peak." says one of them bitterly. One of them grunts in agreement. "Yeah, same. And you said she was warming up to other ultimates, right? Fucking hell who does she think she is?" asks another. "Not only that, the little shit actually got her to stay with them. It's like she was too good for us. I'm telling you all this being an ultimate nonsense is getting to her head" I hear one of them say, which I then realize must have been Daiki.

"Still... doing this kind of stuff again... man it feels great" I hear Genzo say coldly. I couldn't see his face at the time, however from his tone of voice I could just tell he was giving one of his bone chilling smiles. Actually... at that point in time I couldn't see much of anything. It was all kind of blurry... but just thinking about that smile... made my skin crawl.

Pushing that awful thought out my head, I go back to listening in.

"Yeah, seriously there's something so cathartic about taking out your rage on something. We seriously gotta do it more often, schools been stressing me the fuck out" I hear someone say. Others make sounds of agreement, and what they suggest next makes my stomach drop.

"Well then, why don't we do it more often? I mean it's not like the little bitch's gonna say no. What's she gonna do, just ignore us while we release the dirt on her? She knows what would happen." says Genzo. There's a small silence from everyone, as one of the girls speaks up. "Y'know, as much as I hate the bitch, I still don't know how I feel about you holding something like that over her. Like, isn't that sort of a shitty thing to do, even for us? I just don't know if I like how this kind of thinking will translate to you guys later on in li-"

"Why the fuck are you being a buzzkill? What, do you actually give a shit about her?" asks Daiki. "Wha- no, of course not! All i'm saying is that this is fucked up-" someone cuts her off. "It's always been fucked up. And quite frankly, if this is what it takes to get this kind of stress relief, I'm okay with it" he says. There's silence for a few moments, before the girl concedes. "Yeah... yeah. Okay. I get it" she says. I hear someone give her a clap on the back. "Good. We're all in this together, right? No snitchin?" they say. I hear a sigh, and I assume the girl nods. "Alright, then that's that."

It was at this point that I began to stir, gently lifting myself up. This catches their attention, and I hear Daiki gently say the word "Shit" under his breath. One of the other boys speaks up. "Fuck dude I thought she was knocked out-" he says. I hear footsteps come my way, and I freeze up. Genzo kneeled down to me, pulling my hair so that I would look him in the eye. "So, how long were you awake?" he asks coldly, making my throat go tight with anxiety. "I- n-not ver-" he cuts me off.

"LIAR. You heard the entire thing, didn't you? Well here's a reality check. Nobody here, is ever, going to give you any ounce of fucking sympathy. So any delusions you have in your head? Forget them. Now." he says. Whimpering, with tears in my eyes, I nod. Genzo glares at me for a few more moments, before letting go of my hair and standing up. My head crashes into the ground, the impact softened by the fallen leaves. I lift my head up a bit more to see that they were all leaving. I hold out a hand, trying to get one of them to look back- to take them with me. To not leave me here... but nobody did.

I turn over on my back after that, letting the pain of everything settle. Letting my thoughts collect themselves. I don't know how long I layed there- once more, everything became a haze. Everything ached. That was all it felt like I could focus on. Just how much it ached. How much it hurt. I was probably crying for a while too... for what felt like hours. Everything just felt so slow yet so fast at the same time.

I only became aware of how much time had passed when I saw a hint of orange in the sky. The realization sent adrenaline through my veins, as it dawned on me just how long I was gone. I scramble to sit up, wincing in pain as I do so. It was at that point I noticed a few scrapes on my legs. The leaves that were in my hair. I open up my school bag, which just so happened to be filled to the brim with medical supplies, acting as a make shift emergency kit.

The sting of the antiseptic made me a bit more aware, as I began to regret not getting up and treating the wounds sooner. I could only hope that they wouldn't get infected at this point... but I couldn't think about that right now. I quickly bandage the cuts up, testing my leg by bending it. Nothing seemed broken, so I could probably walk back to hopes peak...

But...

Not like this. Not so... so disheveled. I close my school bag, leaving out only a bottle of water. From there, I pick the leaves out of my hair, and do a quick finger combing to try and make it as presentable as possible. I then take the waterbottle, and clean up all the dirt on my arms and legs. Once that's done, I also pour some on my face... just in case. I then place the bottle back into my school bag, and finally straighten out my uniform. Bruises weren't visible yet so... I would have to deal with that tomorrow.

And from there... I walk. I walk and walk, back to hopes peak. Back to the place where I probably should have stayed this entire time. It was long, and at the end of it I felt absolutely exhausted. But I make it through the gates. Through the long walkway to get into the building. Up the stairs, where the dorms were. Where a warm bed was... were some semblance of safety was. Those thoughts drove me forward as I opened the door...

To find Kokichi waiting for me.

I felt horrible lying to him- I really really did! If I could have just.... Just said everything that happened right then and there, I would have. But when I thought back to everything... to what they had on me... I couldn't bring myself to do it. And more than that, I couldn't bring myself to be so selfish as to make him possibly worry about me... if that was... something that he possibly had the capacity to do. So I try to shut down the conversation as quickly as possible, telling a partial lie about an internship at a hospital. It was true a hospital had offered me an internship as a nurse, however I never took it... who knew it would come in handy now.

As the conversation ends, I find myself falling into my usual routine for this time of night. I pull the book i've been reading off my bookshelf, and curl up in bed to try to read it. But no matter how hard I concentrated, I couldn't get myself to make any process. It was like my mind had a physical barrier, stopping me from thinking about anything else other than the aching that still lingered in my leg. I got tired of it, so I just... put the book down, pulled up the covers, and tried to sleep.

It was then, right then, when I closed my eyes, I became aware of just how tired I was. So... so very tired...

I fall asleep in minutes. And nothing could have woken me from my sleep that night.