Masaru didn't even know how he made it back to his dorm after the execution. There was a lot of crying and attempts to fight Monokuma but of course Matsuyama didn't let them.

Masaru had to admit that the first trial they had meant nothing to him because he thought Asya's actions were selfish. Other people could tell him otherwise but that's just how he viewed it. But this time he almost felt guilty for bringing the truth to light because just like Kaneko, all Arata was trying to do was help them escape. Even his dying wish was for them to not give into the motives and find a way out but Masaru highly doubted the killing would end here.

In the midst of his thoughts, a knock sounded from Masaru's door and he wondered who would even be out at this time. He walked over to open it and saw none other than Nao standing before him.

"Pinku's staying in my room I suppose," Nao started, "I moved her things from Kaneko's room to mine."

Masaru didn't know why she was telling him this and she continued.

"Anyways, isn't this what you wanted?"

Masaru looked down at her hand and saw the bottle of nail polish remover he had asked for. He took it gratefully.

"Thanks—"

When Masaru looked back up he saw that tears were now in Nao's eyes and before he could question it, she started bawling and buried her head into his chest.

Masaru could have never imagined her breaking down like this but he still said nothing and let her grieve. After a while, Nao finally pulled back and wiped her puffy face.

"If you tell anyone about this, I'll kill you for real."

"You already said that before," Masaru said, "you really did care for Kaneko, didn't you."

Nao crossed her arms. "I was ready to tear into whoever took her life but now..."

Masaru knew what she meant. For some reason he felt like he would miss Arata's lively energy. It was hard to stay mad at someone who had good intentions. Especially someone who greatly regretted what they've done up to the point where they've accepted death.

"You should go back to your dorm now," Masaru told her, "you can't stay here."

"I wasn't planning to," Nao said and her face turned even redder, "thanks though."

"For what?"

Masaru and Nao grew a bit closer.

Nao didn't say another word and walked off before Masaru closed his door. He wasted no time in grabbing the hidden book and putting the nail polish remover to work. He scrubbed over the sharpie for about a minute and sure enough, the words started to become more visible. He started clearing one sentence at a time and a name appeared to him that wasn't seen before.

"Junko Enoshima," Masaru spoke out loud as he read the page, "the Ultimate Despair?"

He's never heard of an ultimate title like that before and it sounded dumb to him anyways. What would an ultimate despair even do anyways? The more he read answered that question.

"The tragedy can be described as a massive form of social unrest that quickly escalated into uncontrollable, meaningless chaos, violence, and death. This tragedy was created by the one and only Junko Enoshima."

Masaru blinked down at what he was reading. "How could a high school girl cause this much trouble?"

That got him thinking; if a high school student did all of that then if the mastermind was a college student like Masaru was then there's no telling what this person had in mind.

Masaru turned the pages that talked mostly of the three most known killing games. One was in a high school which was obviously Hope's Peak, one was on an island, and the last one was in an academy for gifted juveniles. The descriptions of each one were exactly what Masaru and his classmates were going through now but the dates were so long ago. Has Monokuma been around for ages?

"Matsuyama was right," Masaru spoke out loud, "this has to be a copycat."

Masaru decided not to read further for now and thought if he should show Priscilla and Shoji the book at some point. He stashed it back under his bed then stayed in his dorm for the rest of the day which he assumed the rest of his classmates were also doing.

...

.....

Knock knock!

...

Knock knock!

.......

"Masaru?"

"Masaru!"

Masaru's eyes flew open and his head immediately started pounding. He sat up and felt chills all over his body as the person in front of him put a hand to his forehead.

"You're burning up," Matsuyama commented then pulled his hand away from Masaru.

"How did you get in here?" Masaru asked.

"Monokuma let us in again," another voice said.

Masaru looked to his doorway and saw Umeda standing there with his arms crossed.

"Is he sick?" Umeda asked.

"Yes—"

"No," Masaru interrupted and stood up only to stumble causing Matsuyama to catch him.

"Stop being stubborn," Matsuyama scolded and made Masaru sit back down, "you're obviously not feeling well. I'll bring you food."

"People don't just get sick out of nowhere," Masaru said.

"Actually they do," Umeda corrected, "and I don't blame you. I'm starting to feel sick from all these class trials as well."

Umeda then covered his mouth with his shirt. "But I'm not trying to catch whatever you have so I'm leaving now."

"I'll be right back," Matsuyama told Masaru before following Umeda out of the dorm.

Right as the two boys left, Monokuma popped up onto the bed.

"How are you feeling, sport?" The bear asked in a cheery voice.

"Remove yourself from my line of sight."

"How mean!" Monokuma cried, "I was just being hospitable! I had to unlock your door once again."

Masaru sighed and his headache was getting worse. "What time is it?"

"It's already the next day and way past breakfast!"

Monokuma then looked down and spoke with fake sympathy. "Since you're not feeling good, I'll tell you what- you'll be the first to hear about your next reward."

"Next reward?"

"Yeah! For continuing the killing game of course!"

Masaru attempted to stand again but Monokuma still continued to talk.

"I'm unlocking the second floor of the school!"

That got Masaru's attention and he turned back to the bear. "What?"

"I'm sure you're all bored of the same old rooms so I'm giving you new ones on a new floor! Go see for yourself!"
Monokuma observed Masaru's state. "Or maybe you can't..."

Masaru scoffed and stubbornly walked over to his room door and out into the hallway. It was empty so he assumed everyone was already up. When he got to the main area he began to hear a loud rumbling noise and he followed it to where the medic room was near the blocked off stairs he had found before. The gate was now sliding open revealing a beige staircase behind it that he prepared to climb immediately but a voice stopped him.

"You never listen, do you?"

Masaru turned around to see Matsuyama standing there with a bowl of soup in his hands covered in Saran Wrap. Mizuno and Toma stood at his side and soon the others had come over due to the noise.

"I thought you said he was sick," Mizuno said to Matsuyama.

"Well, he sure looks like it," Shoji commented.

"I'm fine," Masaru told them but the fit of coughs that followed after did not convince them.

"You should rest," Winona said with concern.

"She's right," Herb agreed, "If you are sick then you need to lay down."

Masaru stared at his classmates worried gazes then turned back to the stairs and began to climb them like he intended to.

"This guy..." Nao clicked her teeth.

"Yeah, that didn't seem like it would work," Seto said, "looks like a second floor is open now so we should follow him."

Masaru entered the second floor and saw that the walls were now a lively blue color. The first area he entered had two doors; one was blue and the other was pink.

"They look like locker rooms," Mizuno said, coming up behind him.

The other students entered and they all spread out.

"Locker rooms for what?" Nao questioned.

"Guys!"

Masaru and everyone else turned to see Valini standing in front of two double doors that were near the locker rooms.

"Look!" Valini cheered excitedly then disappeared inside.

Masaru walked over and saw that the room Valini went into was actually an indoor pool.

"Oh, sweet," Umeda breathed out.

The pool's water was crystal clear and there were yellow sun loungers lined down the row. There was also a tall diving board and a closet that Priscilla walked over to. She opened it and inside were pool floats, pool noodles, and even water guns.

"That must be what the locker rooms are for," Winona said, "maybe there are swim suits in there."

"I can't swim," Shoji spoke and Umeda looked horrified by that.

Umeda dragged Shoji away as far from the water as possible and Shoji cried out in annoyance.

"I can teach you but for now stay away from the pool," Umeda told him.

Shoji huffed. "I never said I wanted to learn."

Masaru peered closer to see how deep the pool was but Mizuno pulled him away as well.

"Don't get too close," Mizuno instructed, "we don't need you passing out and falling in."

Masaru rolled his eyes and left the pool room to inspect the other open place. The next room he walked into had black walls and the first thing he saw were arcade machines. A pool table sat in the middle and there was a book shelf sitting against the wall with soft brown chairs around it. There was also a chess board that sat on top of a small wooden table and artifacts you'd usually see in a museum hung on the walls.

"Sit."

Before Masaru could register who even spoke to him he felt himself being pushed down into one of the brown chairs. He then looked up to see Matsuyama handing him the bowl of covered soup.

"This won't make me better," Masaru said.

"But it will help. You shouldn't even be out of bed."

Masaru was ready to argue about that but a sharp gasp came from the doorway to the game room.

Umeda walked in with starry eyes and was obviously drawn to the game machines first.

"Is this heaven?" Umeda spoke softly.

"Don't get too use to this place and forget why we're here," Matsuyama told him but Umeda was lost in his own world.

Masaru removed the Saran Wrap from the soup and had to admit it smelled promising. He took a sip and the warmth from it soothed his sore throat. He didn't know how he got sick; maybe it really was from the pressure and deaths these class trials caused.

"You don't need to stand over me," Masaru said to Matsuyama without looking up.

Umeda finally snapped out of it and looked over to them. "Hey, you should be grateful big brother Matsu is even taking care of your sorry ass."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Matsuyama asked.

"Just accept it, I'm getting everyone on board with it, okay?"

A few other students found the game room too and walked in. Seto went over to the book shelf and pulled out what looked to be comic books. Priscilla walked in as well and observed the hanging artifacts while Nao came in and her eyes found the chess board. It seemed like the safe space had something that would satisfy each student.

Masaru continued to down the soup as he saw Winona come in and sit down next to him.

"Are you feeling any better?" She asked, "and don't lie."

"Like I said, I'm fine," he replied then turned to look at her fully. He never really got a chance to speak to her one on one, "you're an allergist, right?"

"Yup!" Winona's eyes lit up from the mention of the topic, "why do you ask?"

"What made you choose that profession?"

Winona beamed. "I've never been allergic to anything my entire life so I'm able to enjoy all the tasty food in the world. I just want to help people who do have allergies do the same."

Masaru almost laughed at the ridiculous reason in his opinion but he sort of understood it.

"I love finding ways to prevent or treat people's allergy problems," Winona continued, "and I love the relief on their faces when I do!"

"As long as it makes you happy I guess," Masaru said and Winona nodded because it really did.

Masaru and Winona grew a bit closer.

While everyone was marveling at the game rooms luxuries, Masaru finished his soup then stood when Matsuyama wasn't looking so he could go back to check the locker rooms out.

The other students were still inside the pool room when he made his way over to the locker rooms. He observed both the boys and girls door to see that there was an electric slot for their mono pad. So it could only be opened by their respective pad just like the hallway bathrooms.

Masaru used his to open the boys locker room and stepped inside. The walls were ocean blue just like the door and the lockers inside were silver. There were wooden benches placed in the middle of the room and exercise equipment such as dumbbells, jump ropes, and even a portable fitness pedal.

Masaru walked in further and saw that there was also a clothing rack beside the lockers that indeed held male swim suits. He then looked around at the posters of rock bands and girls showing off two piece bathing suits. He saw nothing more of interest in here and decided to leave for now.

As soon as he stepped out of the locker room, his head began to pound and he reached up to hold it. He shut his eyes hoping that it wouldn't last long when someone spoke to him.

"Are you okay?"

Masaru's eyes fluttered back open and he saw Toma staring down at him.

"Do you need to sit down?" Toma asked.

Masaru groaned and hated that his body would not let him investigate more.

"I'm going back to my dorm now," Masaru answered and headed back to the stairs. He then stopped when he felt he was being followed. "What are you doing?" He asked Toma who was right behind him.

"If you are sick you should not walk downstairs by yourself."

Masaru narrowed his eyes. "I am perfectly capable of doing so."

Still, Toma held Masaru's arm as the two walked back down to the first floor and all the way to Masaru's room. Masaru grumbled a thank you before closing his door and sitting down at his desk. He didn't even realize when or how before he blacked out.

*. *. *. *

The next time Masaru woke, he felt only a tiny bit better. He was desperately missing the sun and night sky by now and he lifted his head off of the desk which felt heavy. He really wanted to continue to inspect the three new rooms that were given to them but his body did not want to move. He hated the feeling of wanting to do so much but physically not being able to.

When a knock sounded at his door yet again, it took all of Masaru's energy to get up and open it. He half expected it to be either Mizuno or Matsuyama but instead it was Priscilla and Shoji.

"Since you're sick we figured we'd come to you," Priscilla said and closed the door behind her.

Shoji had his laptop and was covering his mouth with his hoodie.

"Don't be so dramatic," Priscilla told him.

"He should be quarantined," Shoji said then sat  as far away as possible on the bed.

"Why are you two here?" Masaru asked.

Shoji opened his computer and when he turned it around, Masaru saw the same screen with Monokuma's evil eye but now it was at 67%.

"Just thought we should keep you updated," Shoji told him.

"When it finally loads, what if you don't find whatever it is you're looking for?" Masaru asked.

Shoji groaned. "Don't say that and jinx us."

"Whatever we find, we need to take immediate action," Priscilla said, "we should also find something that'll help us break down the doors in case we are actually able to shut off Monokuma."

Masaru nodded then glanced over to the bottom of the bed. "In the future, let's continue to meet up in one of your rooms. Monokuma likes to come in unannounced at times."

Priscilla raised an eyebrow at that and Shoji looked down at the bed.

"What are you hiding?" Shoji asked suspiciously.

Masaru waved a hand for him to go ahead and see so Shoji hopped off to pull out the book that was hidden.

"What is it?" Priscilla walked over to Shoji.

Shoji made a face at the title. "Danganronpa?"

Priscilla took the book from his hands and opened it. She flipped through it and her eyes instantly widened.

"These are all about the killing games," she said, "why do you have this?"

"I found it in the library when it first opened up."

"You just found it?" Shoji didn't look convinced, "why would Monokuma even leave something like that lying around?" He looked closer at the pages. "It even looks like it's been marked out."

"It was," Masaru confirmed, "that's why I was asking for nail polish remover. It's a good way to remove sharpie."

"Junko Enoshima?" Priscilla spoke out loud from reading the name, "that name definitely sounds familiar."

She then closed the book. "But Shoji's right. Why would Monokuma have something as valuable as this in the library?"

"Maybe he forgot to take it out before he unlocked the room," Masaru said.

"Or maybe he wanted someone to find it," Shoji suggested then shrugged when the other two gave him strange looks, "it was just a guess."

"Why would he want a student to find this?" Priscilla questioned.

"Probably to confuse us even more," Masaru said, "or to make us believe that the stories are real."

Masaru pushed himself to stand and took the book from Priscilla then put it back in its hiding place.

"I guess we'll let you rest some more," Priscilla said and actually looked concern, "don't try to push yourself."

"Yeah, stay in your room," Shoji agreed, covering his mouth again and left along with Priscilla.

Masaru made his way over to his bed to lay down. Monokuma was no doubt lurking behind the scenes already preparing their next motive and Masaru didn't know how many more people would break until this all ended. He hoped whatever Shoji was doing worked successfully so they could all escape before anyone else perished. He now regretted ever feeling bored and wanting something to happen because to be honest these trials were getting tiresome and draining.

The other students frequently stopped by to see if he was okay and bring him meals which he didn't know why they would even bother. Then before he knew it, the nighttime announcement went off and he tried to let his body get its rest so he could fully participate tomorrow.

...

"Ahem! It is now 7am, get ready for another beautiful day!"

Masaru was surprised to see that he was feeling much better but his head still had a slight ache. He stayed in bed for a few more minutes before getting up, figuring if he didn't then the others would start to worry again, and attempted to go the dining hall.

Once he arrived, he saw Winona and Seto setting various breakfast foods on carrying trays that sat on the tables. He was surprised not to see Mizuno and Toma anywhere.

"What are you doing?" Masaru asked, stepping closer which startled Seto.

Winona also looked shocked by his presence. "Oh! Everyone wanted to have breakfast at the pool so we're preparing to take it up there. Matsuyama's still in the kitchen finishing up."

"And you didn't invite me?" Masaru intended it to be a joke since he didn't really care but Winona looked extremely guilty.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized with her hands together, "we figured you were still sick so we wanted you to rest."

"And we don't want whatever you've caught," Seto added.

"But I feel better."

"Then you should come!" Winona offered happily.

"Fine, but you need to help us carry all this," Seto said, gesturing to the trays.

Masaru nodded slowly then walked out of the dining hall and to the stairs. He entered the second floor then went to the pool room where everyone was waiting. As soon as he stepped in, Mizuno saw him first and rushed over.

"Get back to your bed now—"

"I'm fine," Masaru stopped her, "just a slight headache today."

Mizuno huffed and crossed her arms. "You'd think Monokuma would have medicine or something. Have you checked the nurses room?"

"No but I'm not going back downstairs." Masaru then observed her a bit more and saw that she was actually now wearing a green one piece bathing suit.

Mizuno's face went red when she noticed his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"So, the girls locker room has bathing suits also," Masaru noted then looked around at the others.

Everyone else was wearing swim attire too except for Toma and Shoji. Valini was sitting on a flamingo float in a sparkly two piece she most likely got from her own room. She had a huge smile on her face and since she was the Ultimate Swim Suit Model, she was probably in heaven.

Shoji was sitting far away from the pool with his laptop and Umeda was in the water splashing Herb who tried to defend himself. Priscilla sat on one of the sun loungers and Nao was doing the same with Pinku in her lap.

"Are you going to join?" Mizuno asked, nodding to the pool, "you'll need a swim suit."

"Not a chance," Masaru replied right as Matsuyama, Winona, and Seto walked in with the food.

When Matsuyama spotted Masaru out of bed his eyes narrowed and Masaru made his escape by going over to Priscilla.

Matsuyama let the other two take care of the food as he walked towards Mizuno.

"Why is he here and not in bed?" Matsuyama asked with his eyes still on Masaru.

"He said he's feeling better."

"And you believed him?"

Mizuno waved her hand. "That's not important right now. He said he won't swim."

Matsuyama blinked.

"He should have fun like the rest of us. We need to convince him to put on a bathing suit."

Umeda had got out of the pool, grabbed a muffin from Winona's tray and walked over along with Shoji who joined him.

"What's wrong now?" Umeda asked, observing Mizuno's determined face.

"She wants Masaru to put on a bathing suit," Matsuyama explained.

Shoji made a face. "I think you're the only one here who wants to see him half naked."

"That's not it!" Mizuno's face flushed.

"Why not just ask him?" Umeda suggested.

"I did."

"And what did he say?"

"No."

"Well, you can't force him," Shoji said.

"I bet twenty dollars that you can't convince him," Mizuno said and Umeda's eyes lit up.

"You don't even have twenty dollars." Matsuyama laughed.

"This is stupid," Shoji said then walked back to his seat after grabbing a plate of food.

"I bet you I can do it," Umeda said and put his hands on his hips, "I'm a very persuasive guy."

"How about this," Mizuno started, "whoever succeeds in getting Masaru to join our fun can have the first hit when we beat up Monokuma and escape from here."

"I like the sound of that," Umeda nodded.

Matsuyama looked unsure. "Or we can just let him be. I mean, he is still sick."

"Can I get in on this action?"

The three looked down to see Monokuma pop up between them. The others students all froze from their fun when they saw the bear as well.

"You're always ruining our fun," Umeda complained, "is this gonna become a regular thing?"

"You better not be here to give us our next motive," Mizuno sneered at it.

"Why not?" Monokuma gestured around the pool room, "it's not like you're doing much grieving."

The three fell quiet out of guilt and the bear cackled.

"Relax, I'm not here to give you your next motive," Monokuma said and the three slumped in relief.

"That starts tomorrow! Just thought I'd let you know!"

Matsuyama cursed under his breath and Umeda bawled his fists causing the bear to flee from a potential fight.

"We've just gotten out of the last class trial," Mizuno sighed, "what if we never get out of here until two of us are left?"

"Don't say that," Matsuyama said, "we'll... we'll find a way."

"You know, winning that bet sounds a whole lot more tempting now," Umeda growled, still ready to throw hands.

"You're right," Mizuno said and shook off the despair, "let's ignore that thing for now and you two can watch me win this bet."

Umeda laughed at that and Matsuyama shrugged while Mizuno made her way back over to Masaru who was sitting next to Priscilla.

"Hear me out, okay?" Was the first thing Mizuno said and Masaru already wanted to leave. "You've been doing so much lately and you deserve to relax just like the rest of us. So how about you go put on a pair of swim trunks and join us, okay?"

Masaru stared into her soul. "Not. A. Chance."

"But why?" Mizuno whined but Umeda was now at her side and pushed her away.

"Look, man," Umeda said and put his arm around Masaru.

"I must have gave you two whatever cold I had," Masaru said then removed the guy's arm.

"If you're insecure I understand," Umeda spoke sympathetically, "but don't you want to show off that sick tattoo? The girls will love it." Umeda observed Masaru's strict face. "What are you thinking about?"

"Murder."

Umeda got up and walked back over to Matsuyama. "Welp, it's your turn buddy."

"I think I'll pass," Matsuyama said but Umeda and Mizuno frowned and he shook his head before walking over.

Matsuyama sat down at the edge of the sun lounger Masaru was on and when he opened his mouth, Masaru cut him off.

"Are you here to convince me to participate as well?"

"Actually I think it'll just make you more sick," Matsuyama said then sighed, "but if you ever do want to join us at some point, you're welcomed to do so. If it makes you too uncomfortable you can just wear a shirt and a pair of shorts."

Masaru held his head and Matsuyama looked concerned.

"Or maybe you should just go back to bed—"

"Not happening," Masaru said and stood up before leaving the pool room. When he came back he now wore a black tank top accompanied by a pair of black shorts.

"I wasn't really trying so yeah..." Umeda huffed then looked to Matsuyama, "of course big brother Matsu won."

"Yeah, no one calls him that except you," Mizuno said, rolling her eyes and forgetting all about the bet that she created.

Masaru sat at the edge of the pool this time and put his legs in first. The water was obviously freezing at first touch but before Masaru could get used to the feeling, Umeda cannon balled in  right next to him.

When Umeda came back up for air he saw Masaru shivering and giving him a death stare.

"My bad."

Masaru would've loved to get in and dunk the guy's head under water but he still didn't know if he himself could swim or not due to his memory. Instead he sat back and watched his classmates enjoy themselves and soon he started to feel himself do the same.