Fujiko

"Mmm, melon soda, yum yum yum!" I exclaim to myself as I grab a can from the fridge. I'm off to indulge in childish delirium again in the playground! My big bro and I would drink these in the summertime. I know it's not summer anymore, but it hardly matters to me!

I would run up to the fourth floor, but I'm just barely smart enough to remember not to shake up my soda. So I take my time, whistling little melodies to myself. It's a good day.

I throw the door open and am surprised to find it already in use. "Oh! Chimon! Hiyaaa!"

"Huh?! Oh, um, hey," he greets, sitting on a swing and barely moving. Just previously, he'd been looking super deep in thought, but it looks like me being here made him panic a bit.

"I'm surprised to find you here! I'd expect that you'd constantly be trying to show everyone that you're more of an adult than you look!"

"Au contraire. Looking this little means nobody looks at me funny when I go to playgrounds on the way home from work," he answers, still seeming off.

"Are you okay? You look a teensy bit sad," I ask, sliding into the swing next to him.

"I'm sad because— no, I shouldn't lie." He closes his eyes briefly and takes a deep breath, playing with his key necklace. "Fujiko, can I test something on you?"

"More hypnosis? Whatcha got?"

"No, that's not the sort of thing I wanna try out. It's more like you're a... trial run... for something I have to admit to someone," he explains vaguely, tilting his hat a little lower to shade his eyes.

"A confession? Aw, do you have a crush on someone?" I croon.

"NO! God no, that's not it at all!" he denies forcefully. "It's just like— I feel like you're one of the people here I know best... and you're very compassionate, so I figured I could just maybe give this a shot." He starts to actively tremble. "You cannot tell ANYONE."

"I swear I'll keep quiet. This is a scary confession?"

"I'm... petrified, Fujiko. I can't even remember the last time I've been so terrified."

"Even more terrified than when we found all the bodies? Even more than watching the executions?"

"That's the problem! I'm... I'm not normal! I have... extremely limited capacity to care for people. It wasn't always this way, but— anyway, I've been lying to everyone about my personality, and faking my reactions to so many important things, and I hate that I am the way I am!"

I can barely even speak, but what comes out is a soft squeak. "What? What does that mean?"

"When I entranced you to help you relax during the second investigation... it was because I thought you'd be a better searcher if you were calmer. And when I did the big favor for you and Joanie— I thought maybe it could prevent us from having to do more trials, and that maybe you two would be willing to stick your neck out for me if I needed it. And I wasn't angry at Keiji for what he did to Hachi and Nari— it made logical sense to me. And the worst part is that I couldn't even feel sad for the people who have died! Bisque is the only one so far, and even that is just a tiny fraction of a percentage of what I should feel. But all of my tears are fake! I've been trying. I've been trying so hard to just be human— to just give a shit about people. I call you guys friends, because I enjoy spending time with you, but I'm practically incapable of feeling bonds the way you feel them." The words just keep going and going, as though a floodgate has burst.

"Okay, okay, pause game real quick. What can you feel?" I ask, just trying to soak this all in. My mind is fucking reeling. I could never have possibly expected this.

"Fear. Annoyance. Boredom. Confusion. I guess, um, contentedness? Since I've got here, I've had the smallest hints of heartwarming and sadness on two occasions. Noticing those things may have been my happiest moments since I was around ten..."

"Why did you feel like you had to hide this?!" I exclaim, gripping my head.

"Oh, come on, Fujiko! We're in a death game! The social environment is so important. Keiji tried to play himself up as threatening, but it was because he was a jerk that Sayuri chose to kill him. I have to be cute. If people know that I can't feel love, they're gonna be fucking horrified. They're gonna think that I'd be willing to kill in an instant. So they'd obviously decide to kill me before I can do anything awful. And I could do NOTHING to fight back. When the schism happened, I was almost sure I was done for. If I'd come in admitting to my brokenness, I would have been offed first for sure."

I can see the fear of death in his eyes, and I instinctively pull his swing closer to hug him. "Then I'm glad I had the chance to know the fake you. Because now I know some things about the real you that I might've gotten wrong!"

"What do you mean?"

"You said we'd assume that you'd be dangerous... I can't lie and say that there's noooo way I'd do that. But even if everything you've done up to now has been for cold, calculating reasons, you've only ever helped us. The fact that the way you act follows some sort of moral code despite your... um... defi— defe—"

"Deficiencies?"

"Yeah! I think it's proof that you're really not a bad guy! I feel like you think you're a major slimeball, but even if you can't care about me, I still care about you! It's definitely gonna change the way I view you, but I pinky promise that you're still my friend!" I offer my pinky.

"You're... always surprising. But that's a huge relief." He takes my pinky with his own, and all the tension in his body seems to disappear. "You know that I don't want bad things to happen to people, right?"

"I do. If you need help telling Monterio— I'm like ninety nine percent sure he's who you were talking about earlier— just lemme know what I can do!"

"Damn. You're seriously one of the most sugary-sweet people I've met in my entire existence."

"Aww! It's really not a big deal, I swear! But, um, th-thank you! Lemme push you on the swings, okay?"

So I do, for a while. And the silence is good, cause I obviously still need to process the fact that everything is different than I thought. I'll honor my promise not to tell anyone, and I do seriously think he doesn't mean any harm. But I'll try to make sure that nobody I love gets used.

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

Gou

"Gou!" Ren calls out to me, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Hey! What's up, man?" I greet.

"You and me, that new bathhouse slash spa area. We're gonna treat ourselves!" he enthuses. "I could give you a nice massage to ease all the tension," he winks, lightly tugging at his choker.

"Sure! Sounds great! Can we invite Yuu? I haven't really gotten to check up on him in a while."

"Ah! The more the merrier. I can't even imagine seeing him relaxed for once, so I think it'd be nice to get pampered alongside him."

"I think... everyone just needs some TLC," I agree, turning away to head toward Yuu's room. He's mostly been off on his own for the past week and a half, presumably trying to deal with all of the shit we've had to deal with. I wanted to give him some space, but I think now's the time to start reaching out. I ring the doorbell and rock back and forth on my feet while I wait. He opens up after a minute, seeming slightly frazzled.

"Oh. Hey. What can I do ya for?" he asks, cracking his knuckles.

"Wanna hang out?"

"I told you last time, Gou. I don't need or want any pity, okay? If you have better things to do with your time, don't feel like you have to waste it on me. I'm not very fun to be around," he urges.

"Nonono, it's not pity, I keep telling you! I genuinely just wanna spend time with you."

"Are you sure this isn't some elaborate ploy to get me to open up and stupid shit like that? Cause it's not gonna work a second time," he scoffs playfully.

"C'moooooon. Come to the bathhouse with us. We'll be sure to take extra good care of you," Ren interjects, leaning in.

"I thought I asked you to stop that?" he raises a confused eyebrow with a slightly weak smile.

I give a heavy sigh and gently shove Ren's face away, which makes him laugh cheerfully. "Yes, we did want to invite you to the bath and spa area, but I'll make sure this knucklehead doesn't do anything."

"I... don't think that's a good idea. Letting that lunatic see me naked sounds like fucking trouble," he teases.

"I'll behave! I'm a flirt, not a fuckboy!" he calls. I noogie him and cover his mouth with my hand, stifling his ever-increasing laughter.

"But I'm not kidding. I don't want to be in a public bath. It's really not my sort of thing."

"Please? You can just wear your swim trunks, dude! Pretty please? Pretty-as-you please?" Ren practically begs, escaping my grasp and grabbing Yuu's hand.

He flinches and yanks his hand out of Ren's grip suddenly, eyes wide in alarm. "No touchy! Not allowed! I'm drawing the line in the mud— dirt— sand— shit. You know what I mean!"

Ren laughs even harder, face going so red that he could be a literal firetruck. "I'm sorry, Yuu. Asking you to hang out while this actual agent of chaos is around was a bad idea," I apologize sincerely.

"It's fine, it's fine. If you guys seriously want me around, I guess I can just do what Ren suggested and wear my trunks," he murmurs, holding his wrist as though reclaiming that hand. "Just lemme go to the bathroom first."

"We'll wait here, and then we'll go up together," I reassure him. He gives a slight nod and rushes off. As soon as he's out of earshot, I joke, "Damn, I can't take you anywhere, can I, Ren? You're more trouble than you're worth."

"You know you love me," he winks, blowing air kisses.

"Do I know that?" I continue to play. Eventually, Yuu zips past us, already in his trunks and holding a fabric bag. "Dude, hold up! We told you we'd wait!" He stops at the stairs, shrugs with a nonchalant expression, and waits for us to catch up. It costs a hefty amount of Monocoins to enter, but we all have enough by far.

The bathhouse is freaking transcendent. Lit with warm lantern light and full of wispy steam, it exudes a relaxing aura. "Aww, yeah, this is the sort of paradise I've been hoping for," Ren sighs contentedly. "Is this a sake bath? This is way fancier than I expected." Though he and I would typically be the type to run in, it's as though nobody wants to disturb the stillness by being too rowdy. So we walk in, quietly. I watch the ripples as the sake parts around my body. The warmth seeps through every part of me, making me feel as cozy and safe as if I was being held by my mom.

Yuu starts out somewhat slow, just dipping his legs in. "Of course you'd have water shoes. Always prepared, aren't you?" I compliment. He gives the slightest trace of a smile, but says nothing as he lowers himself in.

We bathe for a while, and then get treated. Considering the Monoinu are robots, they're surprisingly warm. Whoever decided to give them a heating function is brilliant. They give us facials, massages, pretty much anything we could want. Ren and I get pedicures, as well, but Yuu instead gets a scalp massage. I'm honestly shocked at how good my body feels by the end. Like, how is this even possible?

"Broooo, everyone should be able to experience this shit. Am I in Nirvana?" Ren asks. I would say that he's being overdramatic, but I feel similar sentiments.

"I think my brain melted... and I'm honestly okay with that," Yuu chimes in. I watch Ren's expression go mischievous, and he silently slides his hand toward Yuu's. "Still not down for that. The only reason I let the robo-dogs touch me is cause they're gloved and this is their job. Nice try though," he smirks, opening one eye.

"Ah, I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles. I'm too happy to care."

I chuckle slightly. "I'm just happy to be here with you guys. My friends are so great."

"Really?" Yuu asks, suddenly a lot more intense. It's not nearly as bad as it was before we got here, but I guess his ease can be unraveled with minimal effort.

"AHEM!" My stomach drops.

"Now? Seriously right now?" Ren asks with mild frustration. "What could he want this time?"

"Once again, I'd like for all of you to join up in Meeting Room A! Please and Thank you is the polite thing to say, but you all know this isn't optional. See you soon!"

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

Ren

I'm determined to keep calm. My limbs feel a little like jello, and they're the slightest bit sore, but somehow, we make our way all the way down through three flights of stairs. I even get to lean on Gou a bit! I just have to maintain this state of bliss long enough for Monokuma to not piss me off. We open the door to the meeting room-- we're nearly the last ones inside, since we had to come down from the fourth floor, but Wakumi gets dragged in by a group of Monoinu shortly after us, swearing in pirate.

"What is it now?! Didn't you already give us a motive?" Kana demands.

"AYE. Weren't those inane letters s'posed ta be our incentive ta kill?!" Wakumi yells, taking her typical position (foot on the table, of course).

Monokuma merely laughs. "Didn't I tell you? Those were just presents! The motive is far more interesting than that mushy-gushy loved ones spiel!"

"Aren't you the one constantly trying to convince us that we're your friends? You make no sense at all," Tozen pointedly remarks.

"That's completely beside the point! As for the heart-thrumping, thrilling, chilling motive... microphones were hidden all throughout the building during the third trial! And for a low, low price, you can hear exactly what the other participants are saying about you!"

"The price of a murder? Why would we do that, if escaping means offing everyone anyway?" Chimon asks.

"Oh, no! The price isn't a murder! I'd ask you to give a penny for my thoughts, but that's much too cheap. The way this works is that... you can ask if any particular person had a conversation about you. And if they have, you can listen in on it. The only payment is... a nail!"

"A nail? Like, nails and screws?" Kana wonders.

"I'm guessing it's more like fingernails," Gou winces.

"That does indeed sound more likely... pain and despair are what Monokuma feeds off of, it seems," Azumi elaborates.

"Bingo! Bullseye! Right on the money! One nail per conversation! We've got some juicy details on tape, just waiting to be revealed! And, of course, every conversation you have after this point will be up for grabs as well!"

"Ew! I mean, ow! Er, both!" Yuu exclaims, all traces of calm gone.

Azumi and I catch each other's gaze briefly. Shit. Shit. Shit! Shit! Shit! All of my cool is gone, and I can already see multiple people grow concerned.

I see Fujiko's hand slowly creep up. "No, Fujiko, fake nails don't count," Monokuma answers.

"Damn," she mumbles.

"Fujiko! Are you sincerely considering trying this out?" Azumi scolds lightly.

"I think we know by now that at least somebody is going to. Perhaps, instead of expecting everyone to completely refrain, we should just monitor each other," Monterio pipes up.

"Right! If the price is fingernails, then we can easily check up and make sure that nobody's going apeshit crazy!" Kana confirms. "So, what do you say, all? Let's limit ourselves to, say, three conversations each? Each day, right after the nightly announcement, we can meet somewhere and check everyone's hands!"

"I-I suppose... perhaps we have no better option," Azumi concedes meekly.

"If anyone one o' ye little bilge-suckers had anythin' bad ta say 'bout me, I'll keelhaul ye quicker than ye can plea fer yer life!" Wakumi threatens, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

"Here is the collection box, and here are your pliers! If any of you ever want to give it a go, simply yank out one of your nails and put it into the box!" Monokuma chimes in.

The box is black and shiny, and there's a strange metallic insignia on it. "WDR? What is that? What does that stand for?" I ask, peering at it. Monokuma merely chuckles.

"WDR. Does anyone know anything with those initials?" Chimon asks.

"Umm... the only thing I can think of is a German broadcasting station, but I don't know how that could possibly be related," Monterio answers.

"Damn. If Keiji were still here, he'd probably know all sorts of potential answers," Tozen clenches his fists with regret. Oh dear God, please, I just wanna curl up into a ball and die.

"Guys, this could potentially be something really important! Maybe we could do some investigating around the building with this in mind! The library would probably be a good place to start, right?" Gou suggests, brows furrowed in concentration.

"The Warehouse, too. That place has never failed to give us any information, huh?" Kana points out.

"Let's split up into two teams, then! One group with Kana, one with me!"

I notice Azumi immediately creep toward Tozen to team up with him. Normally, I'd be pretty open to being in either group, but if her goal is to confess to him before he hears any of our conversations, I can't just idly sit by and let it happen! Sorry, little lady, but it's game on.

The bands split up pretty much exactly as you would expect: Gou, Azumi, Tozen, and I fall into one group, and Kana, Monterio, Fujiko, and Chimon into the other. Yuu silently offers to play rock-paper-scissors with Wakumi to see who gets to team with us, but her response is to kick him hard in the shin, so that answers that question. That's kind of annoying, if I'm being honest. The last time I was in the library with Wakumi, she purposefully landed on top of me. But at the very least, she's around the team parents and her personal impulse control, so hopefully, things will go better this time.

"We'll meet up a little before lunchtime, so I have time to cook. Okay?" Tozen says.

"Sounds like a plan! See you soon, guys! Mwah!" Fujiko bids us, smiling sweetly.

We turn off towards our own pursuits. As we make our way to the second floor, I can't help but examine my own nails, painted black. Who do I think has been talking about me? Do I even want to know the sorts of things they've been saying?

Azumi grabs my hand and squeezes it. But whether it's to reassure me or to ask for reassurance, I'm not sure. All I know is that I'm scared. Like always. Was I really so euphoric only fifteen minutes ago?