Ding dong, bing bong!

The monitor turned on, showing off a balding Monokuma. "..." The monitor simply turned off once more.

"Well if that wasn't weird," you mumbled to yourself before yawning. "Agh, geez... So tired... I think I'll just go get a drink of water, maybe that'll help..." You pinched your cheek before moving to the dining hall. Upon entering, you immediately were attacked with a headache.

"They blocked the manhole that leads to the underground!" Kaito yelled angrily.

"The manhole?" Shuichi repeated questioningly.

"Gonta put heavy rocks on top of manhole, so no one can use it anymore."

"I could've made it disappear with my magic, but I decided to let Gonta handle it this time."

"Why...would you do that?"

"'Cause the manhole is a reminder of our desire to leave this place," Angie answered the detective. "We don't want another tragedy to happen again, like what happened to Kaede."

"You said it, Angie!" Tenko called out. "We need to forget all about that underground tunnel and start fresh!"

"Dammit! She just does whatever she wants without even asking our opinion!" Kaito growled.

"It is certainly important to hear everyone's opinion, but if we did, nothing would get done," Tsumugi commented. "That's why we just decided to obey the student council president! If it's Angie, then'll she'll make the right decision! She can hear Atua, after all!"

What is she, schizophrenic? you wondered. I wonder...if I would have eventually became like this, too, if I had joined...

"Man, she's a lost cause," Miu groaned. "Plain Janes like her are total rubes when it comes to cults."

"Tsumugi, thank you for your fantastic speech! I was truly moved by it." Angie wrapped her arms around the cosplayer, just like she had done with you and Gonta. "Hmmmm... Thank you for always supporting me. Atua smiles on you for your plan and simple service."

"I've been wondering...does Atua have red eyes and hair as black as night?"

"Atua has whatever features you desire."

"A red-eyed, black-haired god... Ah, what a cool god I have watching me! When can I meet him!? I want to meet him as soon as possible!"

"Atua exists beyond time itself, but I'm certain you will feel His presence very soon." Angie let her go.

Tsumugi blushed, some drool coming out of her mouth. "So cool! Atua's so cool!"

"...Cults like this can be reaaally annoying if you get on their bad side," Kokichi remarked.

"But, but why are you guys so mad over the manhole being covered?" Angie questioned. "Is it 'cause you guys wanna use it to escape? You still haven't given up on leaving here?"

"You haven't given up?" Himiko repeated.

"You haven't given up?" Tenko seconded.

"Wh-What the hell is wrong with you guys!?" Kaito exclaimed.

"The student council cannot ignore that," Kiibo remarked. "It seems we must tighten our control."

A sudden wave of panic and shock crashed down on you. A cult... I thought it was just a joke...but no, there's a literal. F*cking. Cult. In this academy... Angie even got Gonta and Kiibo—well, Gonta is pretty gullible and oblivious...but still. Kiibo??

"Tighten...? Are you callin' me loose!?" Miu interjected.

"You were in the computer lab during nighttime yesterday, weren't you, Miu?" Tsumugi snapped.

"Eh? S-So what if I was?"

"So was Maki," Tenko added on with a blank face. "She didn't go back to her room until way past nighttime."

"Shuichi...you too, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Geez! This isn't good! If your life is in disarray, your mind and body will be, too." Angie then clasped her hands together with a smile on her face. "Atua is right... We must forbid everyone but the student council from walking at nighttime."

"Wh-What!? What I do and where I do it is none of your f*ckin' business!" Miu exclaimed, distressed.

"No, as long as everyone still wants to leave, that is not acceptable."

"Why is the student council exempt from your rules?" Korekiyo questioned. "That is blatantly unfair, yes?"

"Nyahaha! I'm not worried about the student council. They don't want to leave anymore."

"That's right." Himiko pulled down on her hat, shadowing her face. "Why would we even need to go outside anyway? Here, we have food, clothing, shelter, wonderful friends, and best of all, Atua."

"What else do you need? It's not good to be greedy, you know?" Tsumugi joined in.

"Nyahaha! Everyone in the student council is so divine!" Angie beamed.

Your mouth trembled, wanting to open up and say something. Hopefully I don't make a fool of myself... You let out a short breath. "...You know, if we stay here for the rest of our lives...then soon we'll die one by one, which could possibly mess with the our psyche if we haven't already gone insane at that point for having been trapped here for so long."

"..."

"...You dare defy Atua?"

"Greedy; selfish..."

"Oh no no! You've gone corrupt already."

"But (Y/N) has a point...!" Kaito spoke up. "Do you all really expect us to just sit still and act fine!? Some of us still have things they wanna do! Goals still needing to be accomplished! I still need to make it to space!"

"I have someone...very dear I must return to," Korekiyo joined in.

"This world...needs my genius!" Miu shouted.

"Ehh, I don't know about you guys, but I still gotta wreak havoc and be evil...~" Kokichi smirked.

"(Y/N)! You started this, so tell us—what do you still need to do?" Kaito asked.

"..." Your eyes widened. You didn't expect to be spoken to. "I...a-ah, uhm..." You hesitated for too long.

"A-And what about Kaede's wish!?" Shuichi added, voice raising.

"Rise and shine, ursine!" the Monokubs called out, jumping into the scene.

"...ARE-YOU-ALL-FIGHTING?"

"I-I don't think so! I think maybe they're not actually fighting!" Monotaro told the other bear.

"Y-Yeah!" Monophanie seemed to be sweating bullets...somehow. "And even if they were fighting, it looks like a friendly one!"

How can a fight ever be friendly...?? you questioned inside your head.

"What are you here for? We're busy right now," Tenko scoffed.

"WE...WANT-YOU-TO-GET-EVEN-CLOSER-WITH-EACH-OTHER... SO, WE-BROUGHT-THIS..." The green bear suddenly took out a Flashback Light.

"It's part of our 'Use the Flashback Light to restore a new memory and become better friends by talking about it with each other' plan!" Monophanie cheered.

"Wow, I've suffered way too many blows to the head to remember a plan name that long."

"Ah, let me see that," Angie quickly piped up.

"AH—!"

Not a second later, the girl grabbed the Flashback Light from the robot-bear's hands. Before anyone could understand what was happening, she threw the poor thing onto the floor, it landing with a loud crash! She relentlessly stomped on it until it was barely recognizable...truly, a poor, poor thing.

Let the Flashback Light rest in peace... you thought only half-jokingly in your head. But it is still...

"AH...AHHHHHHHH!" Monodam awkwardly yelled out.

"Nyaha! The student council has decided that we will not use Flashback Lights anymore."

"What!?" Monotaro asked quizzically. "Wh-Why!?"

"Because the Flashback Lights only restore our memories of the outside world. But we don't need those memories anymore. We realize now that we don't belong in the outside world... We belong here, at the Ultimate Academy..."

"O-Oh no...if you don't use our Flashback Light, our plan is a bust..." Monophanie said nervously.

"Wh-What are we gonna do, Monodam?" the red bear asked.

"..." Monodam left without a moment to waste.

"Hey! He ran away!"

"Heyyyyyy! Monodaaaaam! Waaaaait!"

"So long, bear-well!" Monotaro and Monophanie left as well.

Angie waved. "Nyahahahaha! Bye-onara!"

"A-Angie...what are you doing!?" Shuichi shouted out.

Korekiyo glared darkly at the girl. "We could've remembered something about the funeral or the Ultimate Hunt!"

"There's no reason to remember all that. We're not returning to the outside world." She gave an out of place smile.

You furrowed your brows. "You're wrong...! We are—"

"Angie right. It pointless now," Gonta cut you off.

"Wh-Why you... You've gone way too far!" Kaito growled. "Even if you want to stop the killing game, you're going way too far."

"Sorry, but you should take that up with Atua."

You grumbled. It was obviously that most of the others were rather disgruntled at this answer as well—more like the entire situation that the girl was setting up.

"Geez, I don't think you're sorry at all." Kokichi casually put his hands behind his head. "So, do you have a plan for the 'you-know-what'?"

"You mean the resurrection ritual? Oh, we have a plan for that!"

"What...are you planning?" Shuichi asked the girl in a serious tone.

"Just a necessary precaution. The more friends we have, the more fulfilling our lives will be."

"What do you mean by a 'necessary precaution'?" you asked, deciding to step in.

"Ummm... What if we get another time limit motive, like the one that got Rantaro killed? ...Shouldn't we have a sacrifice prepared, just in case?"

"You mean...if someone has to die, we should volunteer someone we resurrected?" the detective inquired.

"You're going to resurrect someone...just to kill them all over again?" Maki chimed in.

"Kehehe... You have some cruel plans for someone who wants to stop the killing game."

"Agreed..."

"Life cannot always be fun and smiles... Atua must make difficult, even cruel, decisions," Angie claimed. "But, but! We must submit to Atua's will if we're to live a peaceful school life."

"Our school life here will never be 'peaceful,'" you quietly spat, venom laced within your tone.

"Atua's will is absolute."

"If Atua says so, then there's nothing we can do about it."

"Nyeeeh...it's just like Atua says."

"A-Are you serious about this?" Kaito questioned, looking slightly terrified to say the least. "Did you forget that thing's a motive for the killing game?"

"That motive is of no concern to us, as long as you cast aside your desire to escape."

"By the way...who are you going to resurrect?" Kokichi asked the girl slyly, a finger up to his lips.

"Wh-What kind of stupid question is that!?"

"Hmm... After discussing the matter with Atua, the transfer student we will revive is...Rantaro Amami!"

"Rantaro?" Shuichi repeated.

Ah, that kind of makes sense. He did seem a bit too...collected and organized, like he already had everything sorted out... He must have known a lot more than we already did. You mentally sighed. It's a shame that he died so quickly.

"Well, we simply cannot resurrect convicted murderers, such as Kaede and Kirumi..." Angie started. "Nor criminals like Ryoma, who violated the rule against sharing one's motive video... Which leaves Rantaro as the only one who'd be of use to the student council."

She let that settle in, with the entire room pausing everything. Everyone was most likely going through their thoughts before she started talking once more.

"Oh my, it's already so late. I need to get going now. I mist pray to Atua and begin preparations for the ritual."

"Nyeeeh...you're right. It's time to pray to handsome Atua."

"Well then, let's go."

"Nyahahaha! Bye-onara!" The cult leader and her followers exited the dining hall, leaving everyone else who wasn't brainwashed behind.

"...My head hurts just from hearing them babble on like that," you complained.

"She acts like she's carrying out Atua's will, but this is her will, isn't it?" Maki asked.

"Even so, we cannot defy her right now. Extreme faith is frightening, indeed," Korekiyo commented.

"Then, it's an all-out war against the student council!" Kokichi exclaimed. "Six versus seven! We can win this! Also, we have the assassin on our side! Let's have her kill them nice and quick!"

"Ah, no... We have to resolve this peacefully," Shuichi told the small purple-haired leader.

"Sure, that'd be great, but I don't hear anyone coming up with a plan to end this peacefully." He put his hands behind his head. "...What about you, Kaito? You've been quiet this whole time. I bet you have some great ideas."

"..." Kaito still looked terrified. "Huh? You say something?" he asked, voice quivering slightly.

"Uh-oh... Someone was zoning out."

"Kaito...what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" Shuichi questioned.

"O-Oh, it's nothing. I just feel a chill is all... If I rub some spit on it, it'll feel better."

"...Rub spit on what, exactly?" Maki stepped in.

"A-Anyways...there's no such thing as resurrecting the dead. Th-There's no way... It's just not possib—Dammit...no. I can't stop these chills! Sorry guys. My bad. I-I'm gonna go back to my room." Shakily, the male walked out of the dining hall.

"...What was that about? Is he getting sick?" Maki wondered.

Kokichi hummed before answering, "We were just talking about all that occult stuff. Maybe he's possessed..." He brightened up a bit. "Hahaha! I'm starting to worry about that guy!"

"He could be scared of the paranormal, but that's obviously too simple of an answer," you spoke up, humoring the boy.

"Kokichi, you seem to be enjoying this..." Shuichi commented. "...And I'm starting to wonder if you brainwashed (Y/N)."

He gasped dramatically. "Oh my goodness! I can't believe you of all people would accuse me of brainwashing someone, let alone (Y/N)!" He skipped over to you and grabbed your arm, hugging it tightly. "We get along great, don't we?"

"Why are you letting a brat like him act all nice to you?" Maki asked while glaring daggers at the boy latched onto your arm.

"WAHHHHH!!"

"Wh-What the hell!?" Your eyes widened in surprise as Kokichi suddenly started crying, too many tears coming down to be natural...but it was still a bit startling.

"MAKI'S GIVING ME THE DEATH GLARE! SHE'S GONNA KILL ME AND I NEED A HUUUUUG!"

"I can already feel my arm going numb..." He was squeezing your arm even tighter. You just sighed before looking up at the others. "I'll be heading to my room, now... Not that any of you needed to know or would even care." The last part came out in a mutter under your breath.

"Yay!! We can have so much fun in your room!" Kokichi spoke innocently, a bright smile on his face.

You just bit your lip, face heating up as you began to sweat nervously. You weren't going to lie. Although you liked Kokichi spending time with you, only then did you realize how much it kind of put you on the spot.

"Kokichi...I think that's enough," Shuichi told the boy, noticing how uncomfortable you seemed.

The purple-haired leader opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. With an exaggerated dejected look, he let go off your arm and took a few steps back.

"N...Now, I'll really be off..." You turned away from the others and towards the door. An embarrassed blush had managed to creep onto your face. You let out a deep breath before walking out of the dining hall.
***

"Why, hello there..."

"...Eh?" You looked up from your book, only to find the one and only Korekiyo towering above you. "Wah! K-Kiyo!?" You instantly shut your book close, shifting in your spot at the bottom of the stairs. "What are you doing here...??"

"Same question could be applied to you, (Y/N). Why might you be sitting here in such an odd place...?"

"I...didn't expect anyone to be walking around here and staying in the library for too long...gives me the chills."

"Ah, so I see." Korekiyo brushed some of his long hair back before sitting down next to you.

"Huh? What are you doing...? Why are you wasting your time on someone like me?"

"I believe that time cannot be wasted if it is spent on talking with someone so...peculiar," the anthropologist replied in a calm tone.

You tilted your head. "...Uh, 'peculiar'...?"

"Yes, peculiar."

"And what part of me is so peculiar that you're wasting your time?"

Korekiyo looked at you through his narrow, piercing yellow eyes for a moment before finally answering. "..I just find your relationships with everyone rather intriguing. You stay on the quiet side, and appear to be rather cold... Yet, from what little I've already seen and heard, that boy seems to destroy your almost your entire demeanor—leaving it to crumble away into small pieces, returning just barely some time after the wall was put back up."

"..." Kiyo is...oh so, very weird. Very is just an understatement. You mentally sighed before remembering the situation before you. "...Okay? By boy, I'm assuming you mean...Kokichi?"

"Precisely," he said with a nod. "Would you mind explaining your relationship with him?"

"No, not at all. So um..." Awkwardly, you cleared your throat. "Is there, uh...anything in particular that you're trying to find, or...?"

Korekiyo tugged lightly on his hat. "I suppose I could ask you individual questions so that your mind can better comprehend everything and give clearer answers. So, describe the relationship as a whole, not necessarily any specific events for now... Do feel free to say about as much as you'd like."

Is this really that interesting...? you wondered. Agh...I still need to answer his question. "Um... Well, I guess Kokichi isn't as bad as he makes himself out to be. He's p...pretty nice, and amusing, so... I think we get along well."

Korekiyo leaned in, interest starting to take over him. "Since when might you have gotten the chance to see this other side of him? Or when did you decide to hang out with him more often?"

"Ah, uhm..." You gulped. You remembered what happened in your room. The razor blades...Kokichi's interference...all of it. You were still thankful, and actually quite touched that he had decided to trust you and comfort you...

Kokichi let out a heavy breath before bringing you in close, making your foreheads touch. "I'm not messing with you, and that's not a lie. I've gathered all I need to in order to understand that you...you're s-special. I'm pretty sure that I can trust you."

.
.

Kokichi awkwardly pulled you into an embrace. You felt something wet trail down from your eye and down your face. They slowly became more frequent. It took you a moment to process that you were...crying. You wanted to sob, but it would just be gross and utterly embarrassing. Though, it probably would feel nice to let it all out while you're still with someone who trusted you—you couldn't even remember the last time you had cried.

Upon noticing that you were starting to cry, Kokichi held you even tighter. He patted you on the back. "Hey...can you say that you'll also trust me, no matter what I might do?"

.
.

Kokichi chuckled. "Just so you know, we can stay like this for however long you want to."

"...It's personal." Just thinking about the moment... Agh, why is there this weird fluttery feeling in my chest? H-How do I get it to go away...?? It felt so weird...yet so addictive already...somehow? What the hell is wrong with me...!?

"Kehehe..." Korekiyo's chuckle cut through your thoughts. "Might I say that your face is getting a bit red?"

"...You're probably seeing things," you mumbled as you pulled Kokichi's scarf up to cover your face. You decided that you would occasionally cover your eyes with the scarf until you could get contacts, but for other times, you would just let it hang around your neck normally.

"Now, if I might say something, then I'd say that I believe you...are in love...~♪" the anthropologist hummed.

"I'm not," you instantly replied.

"Ahh, such denial that us humans possess... It truly is wonderful...!" He spread his arms out as wide as he could without hitting you. "Marvelous! Just marvelous! Except...when I first found the person whom I had just realized I loved, I didn't deny anything... No, not a single word of denial..."

"Ah...uhm..." Kiyo's acting extra creepy now, you thought nervously. "...There aren't enough signs to determine that."

"...Ah, yes." Korekiyo backed away from you slightly. "Maybe I was a bit quick on assuming conclusions...but still. You should check for signs, coming from both you and him."

"Ah-haha..hahah... Yeahhh..." Not like I'd know what exactly the signs are that I'm supposed to be looking for. You felt like a deer in headlights when you noticed that the anthropologist was staring at you. "Uhm... I-I'll be no my way, if you don't mind."

"Go ahead."

You immediately stood up, brushing yourself off and making sure to grab your book before speed-walking away.

Word Count: 3492
~~~

Ehhh—

Sorry that this is relatively shorter compared to the last two chapters. The ending on this one...ew. Note: I should definitely aim for more cliff hangers...

Also, I highly doubt that any of you would know this, but I already got homework on the first day... -_-;; So there's school, which takes up six hours of the day and the homework will cost me some more time once I get home. By the time this is published, I should be somewhere from home for a weekend trip. Some time during September, I will also be flying down to Disney. I'm excited for the trip, but that does mean I probably won't have as much time on this fanfic. (Yes, this will still be publishing by September if I keep to my schedule—I've narrowed the time of when the main plot will be completed in the description of this book.)

On a lighter note, however, I just wanna say thank you all so much for the support about school and this story...! To be honest, I'm not sure how to respond to your nice comments since I don't wanna seem repetitive/like someone really full of themselves but is just acting all nice and innocent. I'm not like that, I swear, okay...!?

But...still...I just wanted to say thank you for 50k views and recently, we also hit 2k votes!! I remember when this story only had around 300 views... Agh, geez, I'm acting weird, aren't I? ^^; Also, I hit 917 followers...!! Only 83 away from...1k!? o_O I never thought I'd be this successful or even make it this far! True, though, if I do get 1k followers then it'll most likely happen in months from now, but still.

To celebrate, you can send me ideas for stories to write in the future, ask me questions, or both if you really wanna! It's not like I'll actually get any comments about this...I guess I just kinda threw it out there just in case. If some of you do decide to comment about this then please note that anything commented after next week won't be responded to.

((Edit: I plan on answering questions n stuff like that at the end of next week's chapter.))

((PS: (Y/N) or (__)? It'll stay (Y/N) for this story but I'm just wondering which one would look nicer for my next project.))

((PPS: What do people do on breaks...? Do they stop writing for a bit or do they take a break from publishing but still do work?))