"What are going to do? Nighttime in two days...will be here in an instant," Tsumugi spoke nervously.

"Th-There's gotta be somethin' we can do... I can't die... The world needs my genius!" Miu squealed.

"I-I don't wanna... I...don't wanna die yet!" Kokichi said, lip turned in awkwardly as if he were about to cry.

"You don't need to worry. Atua will welcome you with open arms," Angie chimed in.

"...That's after we die, right?" Himiko said, aggravation showing a bit through her normally flat voice. Die, dying, death, you thought to yourself. That's all everyone is talking about, now. Is it really...the only option, though? You bit your lip a bit, listening to the others' input.

"W-We can't panic about something like this," Kaito announced. "I'll...do something about it."

"...Did you have a course of action in mind?" Kiibo asked the Ultimate Astronaut. Your eyes turned to Kaito again, hoping that at least someone would be able to think of something useful.

"I'm...gonna start thinking of one right now!" You bit your lip harder and shook your head before averting your gaze down.

"W-We gotta fight back then!" Gonta said slowly.

"Y-Yeah! If we strike them with some sneak attacks, we might have a chance of winning!" Tenko added, putting one of her arms up in front of her.

"What kind of Aikido moves even involve sneak attacks...?" Tsumugi asked.

"Come, everyone! Gonta use body, keep everyone safe!"

"You're going to go against those machines barehanded? Isn't that too reckless?" Ryoma questioned, finally deciding to speak up in the charade.

"B-But...we have to do it! If we don't, we'll die!" the Ultimate Aikido Master exclaimed.

"Wait! We still have plenty of time to calculate other possible options—"

"We've no time to be indecisive. We are being urged to make a decision..." Korekiyo spoke up. "To die fighting...or die from the limit."

"Why do both choices involve us dying!?" the Ultimate Cosplayer cried out.

"We're in a killing game, that's why," you said softly. "There's no way that we're going to find a way to escape where no one dies in only two days..." You raised your gaze a bit to examine the other teens around you.

"N-No way... Are we really gonna die? I don't wanna die yet..." Kokichi spoke out again. His voice seemed to have grown desperate. "I'm gonna survive! I'm gonna make it no matter what!" You noticed that his eyes were getting cloudy. Kokichi...

"N-No matter what?" Kaede repeated. You could obviously tell that she was thinking of something. "Wait! You can't do that, though! Even if you make a mistake, you can't—"

"Then you'll accept the blame?" The purple-haired boy suddenly washed off all evidence of his break down from his face, and put his hands behind his head and tilted his body a bit.

"Huh?"

Kokichi lowered his hands and got into a regular position. "Will you accept the blame if I die? I have people who will be sad if I die, y'know."

"U-Um... Well—"

"Nishishi...I'm lying. No one will be sad if I die." The male put his hands behind his neck again and put on an abnormal smile. You instantly felt something tick inside of you, and your eyes widened a bit. "...But I dunno if the same can be said for everyone else. Anyway...I'm gonna take off now."

"Take off? Where are you going, Kokichi?" Rantaro questioned.

"Oh, I don't knooooow. Maybe I'll go back to my room and just think things over. Alone." The purple-haired male put his finger up to his lips. He walked over to the dining hall's doors and exited.

"A-Alone in your room? What do you mean by that? Are you invitin' me to come kill you?" Miu called after him. "N-Not that I'd...try to claim that perk for myself... I-I'm way too classy to kill someone! Talkin' to you idiots is exhausting... I'm gonna go to my room and rest!" The inventor quickly left the room in embarrassment.

"Miu! You better not do anything shady, okay!?" Kaede yelled as the other female walked through the doors.

I have no business left here, you thought. There was something I wanted to do... Come on, just remember it...! You started walking away from the others as well, feeling your pace quicken.

"And where might you be going, (Y/N)?" Korekiyo asked slyly.

"Huh!?—(Y/N)!?" Kaede was now calling out to you.

"Hey," you briefly turned around to the others, "I've got my own stuff to attend you. Now I'll be leaving... No, I'm not killing anyone at this stage yet." 'Yet'... That was the keyword. If you added that one word in there, then your eyes wouldn't have to change to their mysterious purple. You turned back around, face close to the door. Your hand grabbed softly on the handle and turned it so you could leave.

Once you were outside, your grey orbs scanned the halls. "Now where could he have gone?" you whispered to yourself. You furrowed your brow a bit. "Wait, he said he was going to his room... I guess that's where I'm going now." You rushed over to the dorms, hoping to make it there before he did. Whenever you halted to a stop in the building, looking around you already saw a door starting to close. You rushed up the stairs to the second tier where your target's room was. Oof, right in the face... You found yourself standing in front of a presumably locked door. You were so close, too...

"Agh, damn it..." you mumbled, lightly stomping your foot to the ground.

Apparently, someone from the other side of the door heard you. A voice started speaking, "Aww man, thinking over things is much more boring than I thought it would. I can save it for later." The voice was actually remarkably close, like they hadn't moved so much more than just a foot or two into the room. "Hmmm...then what should I do now?" he asked loudly while putting on a fake tone. "Ooh! How about I go out and explore!? Maybe I'll run into some other classmates while I'm out there...~? Nishishi!" You heard the sound of the door being unlocked, and after a second you were face to face with a certain purple-haired boy.

"Hello, Kokichi..." you greeted awkwardly in a low volume.

"Oh! (Y/N)! What brings you to my humble abode~?" the male asked you while stepping out of the door frame, leaving him to be just another step closer to you.

"Well, I just wanted to talk—"

"Ooh!! So we're hanging out now!? Yaaaay!!!" Stars appeared in his eyes. "So, where are we gonna go to?"

"Th-That's not what I...wait, huh?"

"Place to hang out! Y'know? We can't just stay here, it's boring...!" He started to move up and down on his toes, eagerly waiting for your response.

"Uhh... Hm... I guess, maybe the library," you said slowly.

"O-kay! Let's get going!" Kokichi grabbed your wrist and started hurriedly making his way over to the library.

"Woah, woah! Slow down..." You tried to grip his own wrist with your encapsulated hand to keep him from running. "There's no rush, now is there? Can't we just...walk and talk along the way, maybe even have a nice chat or something?"

Kokichi opened up his mouth almost to say something, but shut his lips and just nodded at you with a smile. "Alright, you bring up a good point!" You two had descended down the stairs and outside whenever you noticed something.

"Hey...Kokichi?"

"Hm?" He tilted his head at you.

"You... You do know that you don't have to still be holding my wrist, right? Besides, your grip is a bit too tight to where it's uncomfortable..." Wait, hasn't this happened before? you thought. Huh...

The male looked down at where he was still clutching onto you, unusually tight for some reason that you didn't quite see. He bit his lip but then looked back up at you with his normal prideful and mischievous persona. "Nishishi! Can't have my prisoner escaping, now can we?" You gave him a look of sheer confusion. "Yeah. I caught you, and now I'm bringing you back to my organization!" You rolled your eyes, but attempted to stifle a smile and decided to just play along. "But! Since I like you, I'll make sure you're a bit more comfortable!" He loosened his grip and allowed his hand to slide down a bit to yours. "That better?"

"Ah, um, yes..." You still felt a bit awkward, considering the situation you had just been put through. It took a while for you to realize it, but you noticed that Kokichi was gently swaying his arm back and forth; which carried your own arm into the motion as well. You glanced over at him, and noticed that he was staring intently at you and eying you up and down. Having seen that, you quickly averted your gaze and continued to not speak. I know that I was literally the one to offer that we spoke while making our way over to the library, but....and I was wanting to bring that up! But...how should I...?

"Hey (Y/N), why are you being so quiet all of a sudden?" Kokichi's voice entered your mind and cut your thoughts short.

"Oh! Uh, well..." Now or nothing. "You said you wanted to survive this killing game, right? And that you'd do anything for it, right? So, does that mean...you'd even kill?" Flashbacks of the male's face popped up into your head. It looked like he was on the brink of tears, and even though no one else may have felt it, you couldn't help but to sense the desperation practically radiating off of him. Could it have been a lie and a trick? ...Yes, but your instinct was guiding you somewhere.

Kokichi stiffened for a bit and paused. "W-Why do you...want to know?" Your eyes widened. Wow, that's the first time he's been this serious with just me, you thought. "Well, I mean, yeah...!" Using his free hand he put a finger up to his lips he said, "Why? Are you wanting someone to take your life?"

It was your turn to act weird. You turned your head away from him and just tightened your lips. You unintentionally let your hand tremble slightly.

"Hey, hey! What's wrong~? Did I hit a weak spot of yours?!" Kokichi continued. Stop doing this, you begged inside your mind. The both of us...know that this is wrong. So why...why do you insist on going on like this? You sighed, which was noticeably shaky, and unintentionally let out a sharp breath. One that sounded like a breath one would make when they were. . . You desperately clasped your free hand onto your mouth.

Voice muffled by your hand, you still forced yourself to mention another thing. "And you lied. You said that no one would be sad if you die...but there are people who truly care about you. I'm sure you already have some people in mind, but there could also be others that you don't know of; cheering you on from the sidelines without your acknowledgement. So...it'd be mean if you just threw them all under the bus and totally disregard them." Kokichi just looked at you with a surprised face; his eyes had went wide and his jaw was open just so slightly from shock.

"Do... Do you... Do you care about...me...?"

"I don't know, it's too early to decide on that!" you rushed, emotions mixing and flowing together inside of you like a raging river.

"(Y-Y/N)—"

"Uhm, we're here." You looked up at the library doors. Huh, I didn't even notice that we were actually getting closer to the place while that went on. "Come on," you urged. You grabbed the door and pulled it open, allowing Kokichi to go in first. "Let's just try and find something fun to do in here, okay? I just want to forget about that for now." You tried to give him a soft look; at least, a look that was softer from your normal expression.

After that, the two of you just picked up random books to read. Sometimes, one of you would find something funny and share it with the other. At one point, Kokichi happened to find a more...inappropriate book, and tried to show it to you; in which you just tossed it away from him and pushed him back a bit, all with slight color dusted on your cheeks. Nevertheless, the hang out turned out to be much more fun than you originally thought it would end up.

"Hey (Y/N)! Now here's an interesting story!" Kokichi piped up, holding a really old book in his small hands. You looked at it a bit more and realized that the title had worn down so you couldn't read it. "Wanna hear?"

You shrugged slightly. "Sure," you said calmly.

"Alriiiiight~! Come in here, get closer. We're about to go on a journey!!" Kokichi suddenly wrapped an arm around you and squished you into his body sitting comfortably on the floor. "Nishishi~ This is gonna be fun! I'm gonna read it to you, okay?" He flipped the book open and quickly scanned over the first few lines. "Ehh...this is boring, actually. Hey, why don't we skip to the end!?"

"Huh?" You glanced up at the boy and raised a brow. "What's the point in that? We won't understand anything if we don't read the entire—"

"Shhh~" He put a finger to your lips to shut you up. "Who's the Ultimate Supreme Leader here? Me, of course! So that means you are under my power! ...Or am I? Either way, we are so not going to spend hours reading the thing just to finally see the ending. That'd be a waste." You rolled your eyes at him with a sigh.

"Okay, last page!" Kokichi cleared his throat. "Katzami held Airyo in her arms, with a smile on her face and tears of joy threatening to spill. Airyo happily returned the gesture, feeling his heart and soul sing. 'Airyo,' she stammered. 'I...I want you to be my...' Airyo just hushed her by putting a finger up to her mouth. 'You want me to be your what?' Airyo asked slowly."

"Woah, slow down," you interjected. "Kokichi, you didn't tell me that this was some sappy romance book." Romances were just never your thing, for some reason. It didn't mind you much, but you did wonder if you felt that way because that certain genre was never relatable. The warm feeling of love being given and returned from someone other than family... You didn't allow yourself to ponder any more on the topic.

"Shut up, (Y/N). I have a feeling it's getting good!" The purple-haired male continued, "The two of them stood in each other's embrace, recollecting their thoughts on their long journey. Without any of their warning, they locked lips for a passionate kiss; neither of them did it on purpose, it all just...happened almost on instinct. They then promised to stay together forever."

"...That the end?" you asked after a moment's silence. Kokichi nodded.

"Yep. Well, there's the acknowledgments but that's all that's left." You tugged at the book in his hands, and he let go so you could look at whatever you were wanting to. Your eyes turned to the acknowledgments and you started reading them in your head. It was really short compared to other books that you had picked up in the past, so this surprised you.

"What are you doing...?" Kokichi asked you, confused.

"Just reading the acknowledgments...? Look, I don't know, I just find it interesting to see what the author has to put in there sometimes..." You continued to eye the page, trying your best to ignore any possible looks the male beside you may have been giving. "'There is one thing, and one thing that I know for sure'," you mumbled, reading what the author had wrote. "'Someday in the long future, this ending will become one with reality itself.'"

"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" Kokichi suddenly spoke in your ear. The purple-haired male seemed to have forgotten just how close the two of you were. You jumped, immediately regretting it, and you started to feel anger bubbling in your chest.

"Agh! Kokichi! Why'd you have to surprise me like that!?" you whined. Let's just say you hated being tricked, even if it wasn't an intentional act. Why? ...I don't know. I guess I can't have anyone over me. That sounded bad, but it was how your mind worked and told you.

"Ah-haha!" He just laughed at you. Okay, that makes it worse, you thought while a frown appeared on your face. "Aww, what's wrong? You embarrassed or something?" He started clinging onto your arm playfully, at which you shoved him to the ground in return. You stood up and gave out a short breath, dusting yourself off. Kokichi looked up at you with a smile, but you could just barely sense the smallest hint of a strange melancholy in his eyes.

You turned around a bit in place to look somewhere else. Giving a sigh, you reluctantly let yourself forget the recent humiliation. When you turned around, the teen was still looking up at you with those sad purple eyes of his. You held out a hand. "Come on..." The two of you connected, and you lifted him up off the ground. He was pretty light. Once he was back up on his feet you loosened your grip on his hand, but he for some reason refused to let go. He...probably is doing this unconsciously. Maybe he doesn't realize it, you tried to reason inside your mind.

"You know (Y/N), you definitely are not boring!" Kokichi told you.

"Uh, thanks," you awkwardly responded. You put a hand up to your neck. "But I assume you've had enough of dealing with me...right? We can go ahead and head back to our dorms, and then continue the day from there."

"Awww, but then what will I have to do?" The boy suddenly let out a yawn. "Ignore that." His eyelids started to flutter shut, but he kept standing. You smiled a bit at the sight.

"Come on, now, let's move. It seems like I've managed to get you sleepy by just being present."

"No!" Kokichi suddenly wrapped his arms loosely around your neck. "If you want me to go back to my dorm then you'll have to carry me...! Carry me, carry me! Carry this supreme leader!" he demanded. His voice was soft though, since he seemed to be fighting the urge to fall unconscious right then and there.

"Oh, you're just like a whiny child," you commented while rolling your eyes. However, you still took his legs and wrapped them around yourself so he was now secure on your back. You could feel the purple-haired male's steady breathing when his chest rose up and down against your own body. It was a bit of an awkward position for you, considering that Kokichi probably still thought of you two as strangers, at the very best acquaintances; as well as your height. You two were almost the exact same in height.

As you started walking back to the dorms, you decided to talk just a bit, not too much. You didn't want to wake Kokichi up any more than what little he already was. "You know," you mumbled to him, "if people see us like this then they're gonna think that I killed you."

"Nishishi..." His voice trailed off into tired slurs. I should really hurry back, you thought. You quickened your pace, and within a few moments you were standing outside of Kokichi's door.

"Okay, I'm going to need to have your key to enter," you told him.

"Uh-oh, I think I left it at the library," the teen responded. All of a sudden, however, he slowly pulled something out of his scarf, over your head and in front of your face. "But I am a liar after all~" Ignoring his attempt to tease you, you gently took his dorm key out of his small hand and put it into the door lock. Turning it and hearing a click that signaled that it was unlocked, you entered his dorm. The room was already starting to get filled with piles of random junk that you didn't know where it came from. What questioned you the most was the whiteboard near the back, with its front facing you.

Remembering what you had came there for, you walked over to the bed and helped Kokichi down from your back. He settled himself under the covers before turning and giving you a small smile. "Sleep well, okay?" You were about to tell him to have his best time while he could, but you didn't want to recall the time limit, so you kept your mouth shut after that.

"Mm...can you give me a goodnight's kiss...~?" the boy asked slyly.

You paused for a moment, immediately taken back by his question. "No.." You waved him goodbye, setting his key down on the nearby table and walking out of the room. Geez, wonder what that was for...

Word Count: 3600