A day had passed, but the mood hadn't changed. Everything was still tense and brimming with despair, and I was personally terrified. I wanted to believe that no one would murder anyone, but now I couldn't be so sure.

I was sitting in my room with Itsuki and Koichi, and we had just given up for the day after searching for a way out. I sat on my bed next to Koichi, and Itsuki was on his other side.

I let out a small sigh, twirling around a strand of my brown hair. "We're still gonna get out... right?" I asked no one in particular.

"Of course!" Itsuki replied. "Don't lose hope, Ikeda-chan, we'll find a way out!"

Koichi nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, we will... we just gotta keep looking."

I let out a small sigh, doubtful, but not wanting to crush their hopes. "I guess... I hope you're right."

Itsuki gave me a small smile. "Of course! We'll definitely..." he trailed off, twitching a few times before his eyes widened. "N-no... I-I don't wanna be here... I-I wanna go home...!"

I felt both shocked and confused. I had never heard Itsuki stutter before, and with that expression, it felt like a whole different person. "Takahashi-kun... are you okay?" I hesitantly asked.

"N-no, no... I-I need Jirou... w-why isn't he here?!" Itsuki quietly exclaimed, before cowering behind Koichi.

Koichi sent me a look which both looked apologetic and apprehensive, before turning his attention to the shaking boy now clinging to him. He whispered something to Itsuki I didn't quite catch, but it seemed to make him calm down a little.

"Thanks Ko... you're the only one I can trust here..." Itsuki said quietly, and I definitely didn't miss the bit of pink on Koichi's cheeks.

"Oh hush, you're more of a problem than you're worth. You're just lucky I know about this stuff." Koichi said, but wrapped an arm around Itsuki anyways.

"Um... so, what just happened?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Nothing you have to worry about... he just gets like this sometimes, he's not himself... that's all." Koichi replied, avoiding answering my question.

I tilted my head in confusion, but let it go.

~*~

It was noon, and we were all seated in the dining room with our daily meal. I looked down at my plate with a small frown. There really wasn't much, and it didn't look very appetizing either. On my plate was a messy scoop of mashed potatoes and a half cooked pork chop. Usually, I'd be complaining, but I was too hungry to care and just silently ate it.

"S-she still isn't eating... I-I hope she'll be okay..." Nise said from where she was seated beside me. I looked up and followed her gaze, which led me to Reiko.

She was sitting at another table, staring at her food, but not touching it. Her bun was sagging, strands of pink hair sticking out. She looked undeniably depressed, and I couldn't blame her. She had just lost her child.

I gave a small nod, a sunken feeling in my chest. "Yeah, I hope so too...."

Kimiko stood up from her seat with a loud sigh. She flipped her red hair out of her face with a defiant glare at the security camera in the corner of the room. "You really think that's enough food to last twenty four hours? Dammit, you're even stupider than Ichiko was!" She turned to stomp out of the room, just as Tomi was coming in.

"Ooh, what's going on? Is there some drama?" Tomi asked with a bit of childish excitement.

Kimiko shook her head. "Nope, just going to the storage room to check if there's any hidden food!"

"No point checking, I was just there." Tomi said with a shrug. "But whatever, go waste your time." He stepped out of her way, before coming to sit by me.

"Did you find anything?" I asked, and Tomi shook his head.

"Nope. The walls are all reinforced there too, it's almost as if we're underground or something. I can't break out." Tomi explained with a small smile on his face, and I tilted my head in confusion.

"Uyeda-kun, why do you look so happy about that?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes a bit.

Tomi let out a light laugh. "I love a good challenge, it really makes things interesting! Especially when lives are on the line, it's great!"

I just slowly shook my head. I had given up on trying to understand Tomi.

~*~

I tossed and turned, unable to get comfortable when the bed was anything but. Not being able to sleep wasn't anything too new to me, but something about tonight was different. I had this strong feeling of dread, that something was going to happen that couldn't be taken back. I tried to ignore it, but as the minutes went on, the feeling only grew stronger.

CRASH!

I jumped at the loud sound outside my room, and immediately shot out of bed. I stayed still for a moment until my heartbeat returned to normal, then headed over to the door. I had to know what it was.

Grabbing onto the cold, brooding door handle, I pulled it open. The scene in front of me would be engraved in my mind forever.