Kokichi's POV:

After breakfast and class finished, everyone found themselves hanging in the classroom. I sat on top of a desk, observing each of my classmates. A few pairs had caught my eye- first up was the emo kid and his preppy piano obsessed... well I guess already girlfriend. The two of them had formed a close bond rather quickly, already looking like a lovestruck couple.

Then there was the bitch Tenko and her pet, Himiko, whose name Tenko would not let us forget. I call Himiko her pet since the redhead didn't seem to reciprocate her enthusiasm. It was almost funny, in a way, the way Tenko was always constantly being rejected by Himiko, though she seemed to be oblivious to it.

The last pair, however, is what truly caught my eye. Kaito, the idiotic purple astronaut, was with Maki, the edgy brunette in red. It was Maki who had truly caught my eye- though to be honest, I had been keeping tabs on her since yesterday. The thing about liars is, they can always spot their own kind.

And Maki was lying through her teeth.

Yesterday, while we were all doing introductions, she had told us that her talent was "Ultimate child caregiver". The thing is, I wasn't buying that bs for a second. Of course, there was the obvious fact that she didn't look or act like a person who took care of children. But there was more to it than that. 

There was a certain coldness... roboticness, to it. Like the line had been rehearsed time and time again. That in itself was a tell. And so, I took it upon myself to keep an eye on her. If nobody else was going to be suspicious, then it was my job to be. Even so...

I push myself off the desk and walk over to someone, not wanting to blow my cover. The person in question was none other than Kirumi Tojo, the ultimate maid. She had a modern gothic vibe about her, and a mature and caring face- and more importantly, personality. 

"Hey, hey, Kirumi! Whacha doin?" I ask her excitedly, getting a bit closer so I could see her actions better. "Ah, Kokichi. Do you have a request?" she asks, gracefully turning around and folding her hands together. "Uh, yeah! I just asked you what you were doing, right?" I say, pouting a bit. 

Kirumi smiles a, tilting her head. "Is that all? Then if you must know; I am cleaning the desks." she said, holding up a rag that was in her hand. "It appears that the desks in this classroom have a few stains, so I took it upon myself to clean them off." 

"Woooooow! That's so considerate of you! Nishishi, with you around we won't even need the janitors" I say, placing my arms behind my head and laughing. That's when a stalky figure with long hair walked up to us- "My my, and what is happening here?" he asks, a smug expression visible despite the mask he was wearing.

I frowned at Korekiyo- partially because I was acting annoyed to keep up my mask, and partially because he is also someone that I'm wary of. "Hello, Korekiyo. I am just answering a few questions for Kokichi- " with a huff, I interrupted kirumi. "Yeah, so buzz off! Hmpf!"

They're staring at me.

Welp, that got their attention.

"Oh my, it appears that I am interrupting something. I shall leave the two of you be." says Korekiyo, causing Kirumi to turn to him once more. "No no, it is alright. If you have a request then please, make it." she says, ignoring me once again.

"Well then, if you aren't too busy, I happen to have some papers and files that are in desperate need of organizing- However such would interfere with some other... plans. Could I count on you to come to my room later and make things right?" he asks. "But of course- I shall take on this request." says Kirumi.

Seeing as they were completely ignoring me at this point, I left in a huff. Of course, it was for show, but I was legitimately upset. Something about that Korekiyo just felt... wrong. It seemed he was also someone lying through his teeth...

Even if he wasn't as bad as Maki, who I went back to keeping my eye on afterward.

Mikan's POV:

"Noooooooo Ibuki lost again!"

A frustrated Ibuki called out for the once more, having just barely lost a game for the fourth time in a row. Chiaki had set up her gaming consoles to help everyone get along better after breakfast but...

"Pffft, stop being such a sore loser! You obviously just suck at this game-" mocked Hiyoko, who had been specifically targeting Ibuki's avatar ever since they began playing. Even though it was really mean... I couldn't help but feel happy that everyone was having fun together!

"Okay, four rounds are up!  Who else wants to try the games?" asks Chiaki, turning around with a sincere smile on her face and a controller in her hands. Ibuki, Mahiru, and Hiyoko, who was playing before, turned around as well. The room went silent for a bit, each person thinking things over before-

"I would like to try these video games!" says Sonia, raising her hand and walking forward. Another hand shot up, as an enthusiastic Kazuichi spoke- "Me too!". A few more moments of silence passed, before an aggravated Fuyuhiko spoke up. "Tch, whatever. You're probably just going to force me to join in later so I might as well get it out of the way." He says, his arms crossed.

"Great! That makes three. Now we only need one more..." says Chiaki, looking around the room. However, no matter how long she waited, nobody stepped up. Everyone looked around the room, an uncomfortable tension as nobody wanted to be the next to play at the moment. After a bit, Chiaki had had enough. "Hmmm... well we still need four people- and if nobody else wants to play then..." 

She's looking right at me.

Why is she looking right at me?!

"Mikan, right? Would you like to try?" she asks, smiling gently as she holds out her controller to me. I look at it for a few seconds, her words processing in my mind. However, once they did... 

"M-Me?! Really!? But I d-don't know if I'll even be any good or-" before I could say any more, Chiaki walked forward, held out the controller, and spoke. "It doesn't matter whether or not you're good. This is for fun- and if I'm right, and you haven't played before, then you have no way of knowing if you're bad. Just try." she says, once more giving me that gentle smile.

I looked around- everyone's eyes were on us- on me. I really wasn't... in any position to deny, was I? "T-Then... okay." I say, choking back my fears and taking the controller before me.

Chiaki once more smiled, before moving out of my way and ussuring me to the front. I take a few shaky steps forward, before sitting on one of the pillows that were set up. A few more seconds passed by before I realized I was holding the player 1 controller. I... I kept everyone waiting. Crap.

"S-Sorry!" I say, before hastily pressing the start button. And with that, the game started. It was a close call, but by some miracle, I actually wound up winning the first round! And the second... Sonia won the third, while Fuyuhiko finally wound up winning the fourth.

"Aaaaug! I can't believe I didn't win any of them!" cries a frustrated Kazuichi, running his hands through his hair. "Don't worry Kazuichi, I'm sure if we played more rounds you would have eventually won one!" says a smiling Sonia, being a little tone deaf in her attempts to cheer up the boy.

"Heh, at least I was able to beat you bastards one time." says a smirking Fuyuhiko, placing a hand in his pocket. "But damn, I didn't think nurse girl had it in her." he said, jabbing a thumb my way. "Aug, yeah. I have to admit you did pretty good." said Kazuichi, a defeated smile on his face.

"A-Ah, it must have b-been um, some kind of fluke-" I say, not even believing it myself. However, before I could protest more, a smiling Chiaki came up behind me. "Don't say that- you did a really good job. See, I told you. You never know until you try." 

Her signature smile encouraging me, I was dissuaded from protesting any more. It really was fun... And... it really felt like we were all friends.

It made me... happy.

I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! With this going on some of the plot can finally get started, even if it's still going to be a slow burn. Thank you for sticking with the story, and I hope you enjoy the next one as well!