Gou
There's no place for me to drive a real race car, at least not yet. So when I'm not learning other people's talents, I mostly spend my time using that little RC car. I'm getting better at it! My curves are getting smoother and I'm starting to be able to handle the higher speeds. After my tenth consecutive loop, I stand up and cheer. "Ahaaaaa! Gou Kita has won the Grand Prix!" I yell, waving the little prop checkered flag around.

The door bursts open suddenly. "AYE! I'm bored outta me wits!!! Wait, what're ye doin', laddie?" Wakumi interrupts.

I freeze in place, with one leg in the air and my arm extended with a baby flag. I can't help but die laughing at her bewildered and almost angry expression. I nearly start to cry from the hysteria, and I ball up onto the ground. She starts to nudge me with her foot, first gently, but then progressively rougher to the point where my guffaws are interrupted by small "ouch"es.

"Answer me question, ye land-lubbin' picaroon!!"

"I was just— hehe, OW! Okay, that actually really hurts now! Stop!— I was just celebrating the fact that I conquered the remote control racetrack!"

"Conquer? Aye, I like yer style! I could go for some conquerin' meself! I want an ol' fashioned scrap, maybe with somethin' on the line. Bet with me, I dare ye!" she bellows, pointing dramatically. The fact that I'm on the floor makes her tower above me. If I were anyone less confident in my convictions, it would intimidate me.

I hop up, rubbing my side, and smile at her. "You got it, sister."

"Sister? What, d'ye think we're mateys just cause ye agreed to gamble w'me?" she mutters, confused.

"Why not? But anyway, what kind of game were you thinking? And what are we betting?" I ask. Wait, does she intend to bet our lives?! Somehow I feel like that's something she's crazy enough to try.

"Well, last time I poked me head in here, I saw some hagoitas and hanes, so are ye up for a few rounds o' Hanetsuki? We could bet doubloons! Course, we'd still draw on each other's faces. Yer failure will be literally marked on yer mug."

"I don't have doubloons. None of us have any real-world money, right? Or am I the only one whose money got stolen?"

She scoffs."Fine. I mean 'Monocoins' or whatever that lackluster booty is called," she explains, taking a coin from her pocket and flipping it between her fingers.

"You're on!"

We grab the paddles, prepare the ink pot, and start rallying the small plastic shuttle. The competition is fierce. Neither of us are afraid to dive, and, honestly, neither of us are afraid of overturning items or furniture either. Maybe we should've been more afraid of accidentally breaking something, but Monokuma said we can't break the cameras specifically, so we kind of just ignore potential damage to other things. We're just about equal in terms of capabilities. We end with about the same amount of Monocoins as before and with several ink drawings each.

"Yer fun, laddie. Unlike that stick-in-the-mud Joanie. I wanted to have a costume party, but that jejune, humdrum lassie whined 'bout not likin' havin' to stay in character."

"Maybe we still could! But I mean, not everyone would have to come. It'd be open invitation!"

She sharply snaps on her eyepatch. "I like the cut o' yer jib."

"Let's go tell the others!"

Before she can get too excited, I force her to help me clean the game room so that we don't come across as total slobs and jerks. If we're gonna be forced to live with each other for a while, it's best that we make it as pleasant as we can. Not that I feel like Wakumi is particularly bothered with that part, considering she just trash-talked possibly the most jaded person around. Even so, at least I want to make it pleasant. Once everything has been checked for damages and returned to their proper places, we call a group meeting to discuss our idea.

Some of us are more enthusiastic than others. Joanie, Keiji, Nari, and, perhaps most surprisingly, Sayuri, decide against attending. Yuu doesn't want to come, either, but he extremely eagerly announces his intent to help others with their costumes. Most of them just kind of wonder where they're going to get costumes, but Yuu points out that there's materials to make stuff in the craft and game rooms, and Kana brings up that the store has accessories and some clothes, as well. We give ourselves a deadline of a week, and we all leave to do our own thing.

I look around. First, I check the store. I notice a bunch of suits of armor and get really curious, but, unfortunately, Monoinu essentially declares them off-limits. So I decide, hey, I can still be a knight! I'll just make armor out of cardboard! It'll definitely be pretty scrappy, since I'm not really the artsy type, but I honestly think it's funnier anyway. I run to the craft room. A few people are already there. Chimon is attempting (and kind of failing) to paint his own face like a skeleton. Fujiko is trying to craft cat ears and Ren is playfully flirting with her as he makes a karate gi out of his bathrobe (since we were all given one).

Wakumi is hunkered down, howling in excitement as she uses a carving knife to make a sword. I kneel down beside her. "I need one of those, two. Mine needs a different shape than yours, though."

"Aha! Proof! Ye must be obsessed with me! Ye played fair n' square w' me, and ye listened to me idea! I'll let ye be me underling, if ye like!" she boasts raucously.

"No, thanks. A 'Thank you,' would be perfect, though."

"I'm not savvy, ye son of a biscuit eater," she scowls bitterly.

"C'mon. You can do anything, right? So obviously, a 'Thank you,' wouldn't be a problem!" I goad.

She grumbles a bit, stubbornly defying me, before almost incomprehensibly offering me thanks.

"I appreciate that! Now, would you please do me a favor and pass some cardboard over?"

Azumi
"You can't just DO that!!" Yuu yells, chasing me. His shoes clack against the tile floor.

"I can and I will!" I respond defiantly as my feet slap the ground. I latch onto some of the cabinet shelves and start bounding up so he can't catch me.

"That's totally cheating!" he complains. "Why do you even insist on going barefoot ALL the time?!"

"Shoes feel strange! I do not like how they feel! They constrict my motion and they do not provide adequate grip! They are better than just socks, but my bare feet can do better anyway! Not that I believe your talent is anything less than admirable and wonderful! I just think you are wasting your time on me!"

"Even for a costume?! C'mon, princesses wear pretty shoes, it's part of the package deal!"

"What if I disguise myself as a woodland princess?!"

"What did you tell me? You were making the skirt out of mesh to resemble tuule? I don't think that sounds very much like a woodland princess!"

"Well, have you ever MET a woodland princess?" I ask, pushing myself further into the cabinet. I bend my legs all the way to my head so that he has no choice but to stare at my feet as we talk.

"No, but I've met a real princess, and multiple of her dresses use tulle!"

"You HAVE?" I gasp, still yelling but now genuinely fascinated.

"YES! Honestly, it was one of my proudest moments to help design a pair of shoes for a fancy ball she was hosting!"

"I find that... incredibly commendable, and I would love to hear the story sometime!" I yell.

"THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE THE COMPLIMENT!"

"WHY ARE WE STILL SCREAMING?!"

"I DON'T KNOW!" We each take a moment to catch our breaths and relax a little. He grasps at his hair. "Really, what is it about you and being barefoot? Were you raised in a barn?"

"No, I was raised in a circus! That should be relatively obvious."

"What were your parents like? Cause if I were a father, I'd be concerned if my kid always ran around like that! They could get splinters. Or track mud in the house, or blister their feet, or... there are just so many things wrong with that!" he rants, seemingly in a panic.

"Um... I do not really know how to answer your question," I admit, rubbing my foot a little self-consciously.

"About your parents? Sorry, is that a sore subject? I don't wanna be like Sayuri. She's sweet, but..."

"I understand. And... it's not a sore subject, per say. Just a confusing one."

"What do you mean? Are you an orphan or something?"

"Honestly? There is no way for me to know that. I have come to learn recently that my circus's way of life is... objectively odd, and it perplexes many people. We kind of... share the children? My parents could be any of the adults involved in the circus. They all sort of raised me in equal amounts, as is the case with all of the children. My biological parents might be dead, somewhere else, or right there with me. I might have ten biological siblings or none at all. Either way, the whole clan is my family. And they pass down their virtues, values, and advice!"

"Such as?"

"Such as that going barefoot will improve balance and bodily awareness, as well as exercise muscle groups that we don't use very much with shoes!" I tease.

He makes little exasperated sounds. "Okay, but that could also expose your feet to fungus, infections, et cetera, and that CAN'T be fun to worry about!" His eyes are wide and he's talking significantly quicker than he was before. My, he's just about as neurotic as I am. Perhaps he would benefit from my meditation ritual.

"Do you happen to be a germaphobe, Yuu?"

"What gave you that impression?" he asks. The unsettling part is that I am sincerely unsure whether that question is sarcastic or not.

"Well, I wash them frequently, I'll have you know. With antibacterial and antifungal soap. We may be circus freaks, but we are not savages dragging disease behind us."

He lets out a visible sigh of relief. "Sure, I'm worried for me, but I'm worried for you, too. Like, your toenails could freaking fall off! And then you wouldn't be able to perform for a long time, cause you would have to wait for them to grow back! And you'd better HOPE they don't grow back infected again!" he rambles.

I sigh. "I am sorry. It must cause you great anxiety, but I simply cannot wear shoes for the majority of my life. Since I am not accustomed to them, they would severely undermine my performance. However... if you insist I have to wear shoes for the costume party, I suppose I will comply to appease you." His entire body seems to relax. Tozen walks in and gives me a quizzical, bewildered expression. I feel my cheeks heat up from embarrassment. "Apologies! I apologize greatly," I fumble through my words as I climb out of the pantry. I check my hair nervously, trying to make sure my bun is still intact.

"Am I allowed to know the context?" Tozen smiles warmly.

"No," I joke, before quickly clarifying, "We were just... debating the merits of shoes. And I happened to run. And he happened to chase me. And I happened to climb in here. By happenstance."

"And I happened to walk in here?"

"Exactly!"

"At an inopportune time?"

"No time is inopportune. If it were anyone else, then maybe," I express, not sure if I want it to come across as flirty or not.

"Um, let's go, Azumi. I need to get your measurements," Yuu chimes in, dragging me along by the arm. When we're far enough away, he gives me a very annoyed expression. "What was that?"

"I could not begin to explain myself."

"Well, c'mon. We need as much time as we can get. Not only do I need to make shoes for you, but I need to teach you how not to die in heels."

"Do you have much experience in that field?" I inquire. In such a short period of time, I have learned to abandon all expectations of what this man has and hasn't done.

"Plenty."

Again, he says it in such a way where I really cannot decipher whether it is sarcasm, and that is incredibly jarring. But I suppose I will just go along with it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ren
Honestly, I think my idea was pretty genius. Nobody else thought to use the bathrobe. Then all I needed was something for the belt (black, of course. What do you take me for? A martial artist any worse than absolutely exceptional?) and a headband for a pop of color. The latter was taken care of by a bright red napkin found in one of many sets Tozen had. The former was from a ribbon that Fujiko mentioned she was hoping to make a headband out of. So overall? I'm set! Getting out and bonding with the crew sounds like fun. I grab my guitar case in case anyone wants a live performance and bounce.

We decided as a group to do this in the parlor. It's bound to be a bit cramped, but you won't see me complaining about that. The lighting is somewhat dimmed, but warm. We have a bunch of treats all lined out on the table, and Wakumi kind of went buck-wild in terms of decorations. Interestingly enough, though, she's not even here yet. Of course someone like her would be late to her own party.

Among the people present here are Chimon (who's rocking a not half bad cosplay of Sans), Kana and Monterio (a magician and a rabbit, respectively, which is way funnier than it has any right to be), Fujiko (a cat, but I knew that already), and Azumi (princess). Tozen comes in a second later dressed as a classy waiter, and Bisque and Gou come in together. Gou is in a hilariously clunky knight costume, and of course Bisque went all out. He made this... rain cloud headband type thing, with paper raindrops dangling from string. I even lended him my parasol for it, on the condition that he not tell anyone that it's mine. He has a coat and cute little rain boots on, and it's just an adorable look on him. Wakumi finally shows up, still in pirate regalia, but she has a new pair of boots that Yuu whipped up and she made herself a prop hook. I'm so freaking excited to dole out pickup lines. The ideas are fucking unlimited.

Tozen goes around pretend-serving everyone off a platter. So when he gets to me, my obvious response is, "My food is perfect, but you're somehow rare and well-done at the same time." For Bisque, I have to keep it innocent. "You remind me of a thunderstorm: positively striking." Kana and Monterio normally would be off-limits, but since they're together, I figure I can just flirt with them both at once. For Kana, "Are you a magician, cause Abraca-Damn" suffices nicely, and for Monterio, "I'm on a hunt... for your number" is the only non-disgusting thing I can think of. Meh. They can't all be winners. I already used one for Fujiko earlier, but I manage to come up with, "Are you feline the chemistry between us?" as a buy-one-get-one-free bundle. For Azumi, a spin on a classic. "Ye gads! Didst thou do injurious disrepair pon thine wings when thou plummeted from yon Heavens?" Gou gets a very similar concept, because even I get tired: "Oh, my sweet Knight! For a moment I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Now I see that I am very much alive, and heaven has been brought to me."

The snacks are delicious, and the music is pumping (though I still intend on playing my own a bit later). Everyone is laughing and relaxing and it's just a really nice time. The worry that's on all of our shoulders seems to melt away. As I keep track of my mental list of flirtees (Chimon looks too much like a child for me to feel comfortable, and Wakumi would probably hurt me), I notice that somebody's missing. It's Hachi. I check the clock; it's only about fifteen minutes after the time we agreed on. Maybe she just got distracted or she's having difficulty with her costume. She never told anyone what her idea was. It's possible that she forgot about the party altogether. I'll give it a little more time, then I'll go looking. She might need help with something, but I don't want to potentially embarrass her by calling attention to how late she is. I play some music for everyone, being sure to include some awesome riffs to really showcase my skills, and then excuse myself to go to the bathroom.

I check her room first, since it makes the most sense. I ring the doorbell and wait patiently. No answer. I turn around and nearly scream, because Sayuri and Ikinari ninja'd their way behind me and they just... didn't say anything.

Sayuri speaks up first. "Did I scare you? Sorry. Just... are you looking for Hachi?"

"Sayuri wanted our inputs on a poem she was working on... figured our expertise might be helpful."

"Was she not at the party?! I was just about to go see!" Sayuri asks, tugging at one of her pigtails.

"No, she wasn't! That's why I started to check! Where have you two looked?"

"Sayuri went to the girls' bathroom, I tried the bell already and then checked the warehouse to see if she was grabbing anything last-minute for her costume," Ikinari clarifies.

"Well, then, we've gotta look everywhere else! C'mon!" I command, feeling a bit unsteady. We check the store, the kitchen and dining area, the study. Then we head back to check out the garden. Nari still has the flashlight with her, so we huddle around, following her as she scans through rows of flowers. If Hachi would be anywhere, it'd be here.

What we see in that moment... I can't even describe it. All of my building anxiety, horror even, crescendos like a melody, a forbidden, forsaken tune tolling in my head. A funeral song. Dangling from the willow tree by a noose, Hachi Endo rests, dead. She's blindfolded.

"...Why?" I ask, my voice sounding meeker than it ever has before. My hands tremble. Sayuri falls to her knees. Nari can't seem to tear her eyes away, but her expression is wrought with mortal terror.

Ding Dong Dong Ding.

"A body has been discovered!"