Your POV:

I had a hunch that the training tonight would be somehow different. I mean... normally the training sessions were always different in some way from each other. These sessions could differentiate between the types of exercises we did to what we talked about during these training sessions.
Despite those differences, the one thing that stayed the same was the fact that Kaito always procrastinated on his exercises. I knew that even though that was the case, I still enjoyed training with everyone, and I enjoyed the fact that Ryoma decided to join too.
With a smile on my face, I walked over to Ryoma's dorm room. Similar to what I did when I hang out with him earlier, I pressed my index finger against the doorbell button. I waited a few seconds for Ryoma to answer. I came to his dorm just a minute after the Nighttime announcement, so I knew I wasn't going to be late for the training session.
To my surprise, the all too familiar clicking sound, signifying that someone was unlocking the door came into fruition. Ryoma unlocked to door faster this time than he did the last couple of times I saw him. The door soon opened, revealing Ryoma. As soon as he saw me, he gave me a small wave as he walked out of the door, closing it after.
"I'm guessing you're here to get me for training, right?" Ryoma asked.
"Yeah, that's right," I replied with a bright smile, "you are a part of this now, so you have to come every night, but being sick is an exception."
Ryoma seemed to snicker lightly in response to that. I didn't get why he found that funny, but for some reason, he did. I think it was the part about being sick. I mean, no one should force themselves to do something when their sick. In any case though, Ryoma seemed to just snicker for a few seconds before he regained his composure.
"I had a feeling you'd come by to get me for that," Ryoma explained, "that's why I decided that I'd wait for you to come get me from my dorm. I guess I was right about that, but I'm not complaining."
"I don't know what exactly we're going to be doing tonight during training, but I think it's going to be different than the usual stuff we do," I explained.
"And how do you know that?" Ryoma asked in response.
"It's a hunch..." I muttered, "it's nothing more than a gut feeling."
Ryoma seemed to take out a candy cigarette as he walked over to me. He seemed very carefree about the whole topic. Ryoma always seemed so carefree and calm, even though that he has a dark past that I only know the surface level of.
"You should listen to your gut feeling," Ryoma explained, "it's your instincts, and they're not wrong. Many people have trouble being able to trust themselves, but you don't seem to have that issue."
    "Maybe not..." I laughed nervously in response, "but you're right about that..."
    "In some situations, not listening to your gut could result in life or death... believe me when I say that," Ryoma explained in response, "in any case, it's uncool to talk about the bad that could happen right now. We should head down to the courtyard."
    Ryoma was right about that. I shouldn't focus on the bad things that could happen right now. All I should be focusing on is what's happening now, and what was happening was nighttime training. We had to head over of course, but it was what we were going to do nonetheless.
    When Ryoma said we should head to the courtyard, I defiantly agreed on that. I got to learn a little more about Ryoma than I knew before, and I was hoping I would be able to learn more about him since he joined our nighttime regiment.
    "Yeah, we should go," I replied with a small smile.
    After I agreed with him, we both headed to the courtyard. For some reason, I had a feeling that dropping by Ryoma's dorm room to walk with him to the courtyard would become a normal thing. He honestly pegged me the type to just go places on his own, so I wondered why he waited for me. I couldn't place my head around that, as we exited the dormitory.
    Maybe it was because I wanted to be his friend. Maybe it was because he wanted to open up to me a bit more. I honestly didn't know for sure, but I hoped I would find out. I hoped that I would be able to help Ryoma in any way I could.
As we walked over to the courtyard, I could see Kaito, Shuichi, and Maki standing in the open area of the courtyard. Ryoma and I approached them, and I could tell something was slightly off when I saw them.
Kaito had a look of pain on his face that wasn't present earlier when I was hanging out with him. Kaito looked like he was fine earlier, and I had a lot of fun hanging out with him. This caused me to realize that Kaito must've been hiding how he was actually feeling feeling.
I felt a slight pang of guilt as I realized this, and Maki seemed to notice that Ryoma and I were here. She looked at me for a few moments before walking over to me.
"Why do you look like you're at fault for something, (y/n)?" Maki asked, "Kaito has been like this because of what happened this morning."
Maki seemed to notice the fact that I had a look of guilt on my face. I thought I was getting past blaming myself for not knowing everything, but in reality, I wasn't. Why did I always feel so bad when I didn't know someone was actually in pain...?
"That was my bad," Kaito explained with an expression of pain on my face, "I hang out with (y/n) earlier today, and I hid the fact that I wasn't feeling well. I didn't want to burden her, but I guess I should've told her, huh?"
It seemed that Kaito backed me up when he told Maki that fact. Kaito was trying not to be a burden towards me, and that was why he hid it... I was still concerned now, but that also made me realize another thing. How I was feeling now... it was how the others were feeling when I would act like I was okay when I wasn't. I didn't want to be a burden to them, but that didn't stop them from caring.
"(y/n) also spent some time with me today," Ryoma explained, "but Kaito, shouldn't you be resting in your dorm? It would be uncool to get everyone sick."
"Ryoma, I understand your worry, but I'm fine..." Kaito replied, "...my stomach just hurts is all... I just explained that to Shuichi before you two got here..."
Kaito looked like he was in so much pain as he was saying that. I could see the cold sweat dripping down his face as he tried wiping his chin. I was honest to got worried. He looked very ill. It almost looked like he'd collapse at any moment, and that still was concerning.
"Kaito, a-are you sure you're going to be okay?" I asked nervously, "maybe you should go rest."
"I'm fine, (y/n). You don't have to worry about me," Kaito replied
I let out a small sigh in response to that. Of course Kaito was stubborn. He was headstrong to the point where he would try and help others, but not help himself. It really did frustrate me that this was happening. No matter how much I would tell him go rest, he wasn't going to. And I had a feeling this was why I had a hunch about training being a bit different than usual.
"Hey, for today's training, instead of exercise..." Kaito explained, "how about the four of us just talk?"
It seemed that as soon as Kaito mentioned the four of us talking, he didn't look sick anymore. He had a huge smile on his face as left hand was now giving a thumbs up.
It wasn't just me that was shocked about this. It looked like Shuichi, Maki, and even Ryoma were also taken by surprise. This was different from our usual training. And it was because Kaito wasn't feeling well, but now it looked like he was just fine.
'I guess my hunch was right after all...' I thought.
After thinking that, I turned my attention back towards the others who were looking at Kaito with a slightly shocked look. I knew that Ryoma wasn't usually one who expressed his emotions, but this seemed to genuinely take him by surprise.
"Talk...? About what?" Maki asked in response.
"What is there that we need to talk about?" Ryoma asked.
"Stupid! Nobody decides what they talk about before they start!" Kaito exclaimed, "well...let's go find somewhere to sit!"
    After Kaito said that, he seemed to look around for a moment. Kaito soon picked a random spot in the courtyard, and he sat down. Seeing this, the rest of us decided to join. Kaito sat with his legs crossed, Maki was on her knees, Shuichi was in a more reclined sitting position, and so was Ryoma. I however sat in a side saddle sitting position, the reason being that it was comfortable for me, and I had to keep my dress in mind. I didn't want to be in a sitting position that would be inappropriate for the outfit I was wearing.
    I knew that the sitting position I decided to do was one that looked more flirtatious for some reason, but the only reason I chose this was to be comfortable, and to keep my dress down.
    In any case, I was wondering what we were going to talk about. Chances were, this was going to be more of a bonding activity to become closer friends. I was honestly pretty happy about that.
    "So what are we gonna talk about?" Kaito asked.
    "Beats me," Ryoma replied.
    "...Also, didn't you just say that we didn't have to decide that?" Shuichi asked in response to that.
    "C-C'mon man, that was...just a joke. Ummm...ah right! Then..." Kaito responded before he trailed off, "let's talk about Maki and Ryoma."
    Looking towards both Maki and Ryoma, I noticed that both of them looked pretty surprised. They didn't really seem too thrilled about it. That wasn't very surprising to me, considering both of them didn't really like talking about their past. Maki, not wanting anyone to know about her talent, and Ryoma not wanting to get close to anyone.
    "...Me...? What about Ryoma and I...?" Maki asked.
    "Is this some sort of plan to get me to talk about myself...?" Ryoma asked.
    "Nothing like that, this isn't a ploy... I just wanted to know..." Kaito replied, trailing off, "y'know, like general stuff about you two. There's a lotta stuff we don't know. For example...what blood type do you both like?"
    "I think you mean what's our blood type..." Ryoma replied with a sigh.
    "I think that too... I think what Kaito meant by what blood type do we like, is just asking what our blood type is..." Maki replied.
    "Hm? Did I say something weird?" Kaito asked in response to that, "well, whatever! Ahahahahaha!"
    'Kaito is kinda bad at starting conversations... isn't he...?' I thought.
    I was honestly slightly taken aback when he tried to ask Maki and Ryoma what blood type they liked. That's not supposed to be a good way to start a conversation. I noticed Shuichi had a nervous look on his face as he witnessed this as well. I had a feeling both him and I had similar feelings to this whole situation.
    "Kaito...you're kind of bad at this..." Shuichi muttered.
    "I agree with that..." I replied with a nervous expression, "I don't think asking someone what blood type they like is a good conversation starter...and believe me... I'm not that good at bringing up conversation topics either..."
"Th-Then you guys ask something! What's a question you have for both of them, huh!?" Kaito asked in response.
Kaito seemed very dejected when Shuichi and I said that. That's what caused him to ask us what the conversation topic should be. It shouldn't be this hard to find a conversation topic. Kaito always was so straightforward, so I wondered why he has trouble picking out a topic.
"...Are we like guinea pigs to you guys?" Maki asked.
"Well, I *have* been meaning to ask..." Shuichi explained, "when we first met, you said you were the Ultimate Child Caregiver. Why was that?"
I knew I had a question. I was curious on why Maki called herself the Ultimate Child Caregiver, but Shuichi beat me to asking that. It didn't really bug me that much. I had a question for Ryoma. Since Kaito wanted to know more about Ryoma and Maki, that's what the topic of the conversation would be. Ryoma and Maki.
"Ryoma, I have been meaning to ask this, but I find it kinda too straightforward, and I feel like it makes me seem like I want to pry... but..." I trailed off, "before Kirumi killed you, you always told everyone that you had no will to live. I'm wondering what the reason for that might be."
    "(y/n), Shuichi! That's way too direct! You can't just cut to the chase like that!" Kaito exclaimed.
    "Ah, really? Sorry..." Shuichi replied.
    "T-That's why I felt like my question was way to straightforward..." I muttered in response to Kaito, "sorry..."
    "Alright then!" Kaito exclaimed, "let's play it safe and ask about their favorite spaceship—"
    "I grew up in an orphanage," Maki explained, interrupting Kaito.
    "Hm?" Kaito asked in response.
    "I guess I was put on the spot with Maki," Ryoma explained, "however, I feel like I owe it to (y/n) to explain everything, so I will do that after Maki..."
    I looked over at Ryoma when I heard him say that. I wasn't expecting him to agree to answer my question. I didn't want him to feel like he owed me anything. I didn't want to make any of the others feel like they owed me anything for my actions. I did this... I kept doing what I could to save the others because I cared... not because I wanted anything in return.
    "Ryoma, you don't have to feel like you owe me or any of the others anything," I explained, "if you want to share the answer, do it by your own volition, not mine... not any of the others."
    "Alright," Ryoma replied, "alright Maki, you can continue."
    In response to his words Maki made sure that everyone was silent. Her eyes scanned Kaito, Shuichi, Ryoma, and myself to be sure. Once she noticed everyone was silent, that was when she started talking once more.
    "I don't know anything about my parents..." Maki explained, "they were gone before I can remember."
    Maki slowly began to tell us her story. I knew from what was going to be told to all of us... we would become closer to Maki... seeing that she even felt comfortable sharing this kind of thing with us... it told me that she trusted us... it told me that she considered all of us her friends.
    That's when Maki told us about the orphanage. She explained that the older kids would normally have to take care of the younger ones. It was because of that rule that she started looking after the younger kids. From what Maki told me when I first met her, she explained that she looked after the kids in the orphanage she grew up in. What she said wasn't a lie.
    "I see... So that wasn't a lie, then," Kaito told her.
    "For some particular reason...kids like me," Maki explained, "but I'm not particularly fond of taking care of them."
    "Maybe that fits you better than being an assassin," Kaito replied.
"It's not a matter of whether it suits me or not," Maki explained in response to that, "I never had the right to choose from the start."
"The right to choose...?" I asked in response to that.
After I asked that, Maki told us about something that started happening when she was around ten years old. Apparently, strangers started visiting her orphanage around that time, and they seemed normal and kind. Her words told us that those men would watch the kids play with smiles on their faces, without approaching the kids.
"Thinking back on it, I'm sure they were scoping out our talents," Maki explained.
"They were scouting for assassins?" Kaito asked, "and that's why you were picked?"
Maki explained that she didn't want to go, but she heard that those men would donate a huge sum of money if she did. She remembered thinking she had to go.
I honestly felt sad about hearing Maki's story thus far. It seemed that she felt like she had no choice in the matter, but that orphanage was all she knew... even though she told us she wasn't fond of taking care of the younger kids in her story, I was sure she cared for them. I was released from my thoughts when I heard her say "but...that was the beginning of hell."
"Ever since that day, I trained to become an assassin. I think I had some natural talent to begin with, but I worked incredibly hard as well. If I couldn't keep up as an assassin, the orphanage would no longer receive funding..." Maki explained, "and then, I wouldn't have a purpose in life anymore."
'So that's what drove her...' I thought, 'she thought that she would no longer have a purpose if she quit this...'
    Maki was driven to do this because she cared about the orphanage. If she didn't stop this, the place she grew up would no longer receive funding. I wish she knew more that she did have a purpose... but that purpose didn't have to keep her as an assassin.
    "Training was difficult. I vomited this very day...and cried every night. But after vomiting and crying over and over again, my heart gradually became empty. Eventually, I got used to it," Maki explained, "it was the same after my first job. For awhile, I couldn't eat or sleep. But after doing this for such a long time, I felt numb. There were times I wondered why I had to kill these strangers... But I eventually stopped thinking about that. I adapted to the lifestyle...of killing people...of stealing their lives... And...of being a horrible person. Even to this day, I think the same thing after I finish a mission..."
    Listening to this... listening to Maki's story... how she explained how she felt when she first began... to explaining how she felt to this very day. Hearing what Maki had to go through made me feel awful. She thought she was a terrible person because of all of this, but I didn't agree. I wondered why she thought these same things when she finished a mission.
    "...What is it?" Shuichi asked.
    "What would I ha e been like if I stayed at the orphanage?" Maki replied, "I still think about that...all the time."
    Maki seemed to sigh deeply after revealing her story to us. We all were silent when we listened to it, making sure not to interrupt her while she was in the middle of speaking. She wondered what she would've been like if she stayed at the orphanage. She constantly thought about that after each of her missions.
    "...That's all. It wasn't an interesting story to listen to, was it?" Maki muttered, "Ryoma, it's your turn..."
    Ryoma seemed to just huff lightly in response to that. I knew that he was most likely going to open up about it. He had time to think about what I told him before Maki started to tell her story. Hopefully if he wanted to say anything...it would be because he wanted to trust us... not because he thought he owed it to me.
    "I have no reason not to tell you guys..." Ryoma muttered, "after all Shuichi here looks more interested, but not as his detective self, so I don't see why I shouldn't tell."
    It was now apparent to me that Ryoma was going to tell us... and it wasn't because of what I said. It seemed like it was truly of his own free will. That made me feel more at ease when I knew he was going to tell us what happened. Hopefully after Ryoma tells us what happened, he could get whatever weight was on his chest off of him. I hoped that him telling would help him.
"It all started with an invitation," Ryoma explained, "it was to an underground tennis competition held on a mafia-owned luxury liner."
Those words started Ryoma's story. Like Maki, he slowly began telling the story on why he felt like a murderer. Why he felt as if he had no motivation to live. It seemed that Ryoma's story started with him being invited to play in an underground mafia tennis competition. That much was obvious.
"An underground tennis competition?" Shuichi asked in response to that.
"They were gambling on the matches. It was just a vulgar hobby of the rich," Ryoma told us, "I didn't want to get involved with it, but they wouldn't let up. I thought I'd teach them a lesson by showing up and ruining things."
From what was explained so far, I understood it perfectly. Ryoma was invited to participate in an underground tennis competition, and he didn't want to take any part in that himself. The mafia wouldn't let up, so he decided to take things into his own hands.
"They called it a tournament, but it was just a bunch of fixed matches. I didn't like that, so I pretended to go along with their plan... And at the last second, I crushed the opponent I was meant to lose against," Ryoma explained, "and I'm sure you all know what that meant for me."
I knew very well what Ryoma meant. I didn't really know much about the mafia first hand, but I knew that they hated their reputation getting messed with. I had Bungo Stray Dogs to thank for understanding at least that much.
"Mafiosos get really upset when their reputation is ruined," Ryoma explained, "back then, I was naive... Too naive..."
Ryoma continued to slowly tell us his story. I felt like I knew what his story was going to lead to, but that was just speculation for now. I wouldn't know for sure until he finished telling us. That was the truth, and from this story do far, I felt like I was getting closer to Ryoma as a friend.
"It never crossed my mind that they'd massacre my family for revenge... even though it never crossed my mind, it happened..." Ryoma explained, "I had a lover too at the time. She was safe, but I didn't know when they'd get to her. That's why I had her run somewhere far away... sadly... it was no use. They found her and killed her anyway... I was the only one who escaped the mafia, and even then, just barely."
At this point... Ryoma's story took a turn on the darker side. He explained that the mafia killed his family, and then they found his lover at the time. I knew that even though Ryoma didn't show it in the beginning... on the inside, he held many regrets. That much was obvious to me.
"I shouldn't have let her go. I should've kept her by my side and protected her. If I'd done that... at least she wouldn't have been alone. That was my one of my many regrets," Ryoma explained, "you all should know what happened after that, right? I massacred the mafia in revenge to them killing my family and my lover. That's why I was thrown into prison."
I felt like I understood Ryoma even more than I did earlier today. I knew that all of this must've hurt. The reason why he felt like he had no reason to live... it was because everything he had was taken away from him by the mafia.
"And there you have it," Ryoma explained, "that's why I felt like I had no reason to live. That's my story. Not very interesting was it..?"
    "*Interesting*? No, Maki, no, Ryoma. Those were...the burden you've been carrying all this—" Shuichi replied before.
    "Geez. You both are carrying too many burdens for someone too small," Kaito interrupted, "well, I could say the same for Shuichi and (y/n)..."
    "I guess that's true..." I muttered nervously."
    "Really?" Shuichi asked.
    "Don't try to shudder everything on your own. You gotta trust other people," Kaito told us, "once you're able to share your burdens with your friends, then you'll be stronger. Well, if Maki Roll and Ryoma were able to talk this much, it means they've gotten stronger already."
    It seemed that in response to Kaito's words, both Maki and Ryoma agreed. Maki expressed that it was probably because of training, and she had a small smile on her face. Kaito seemed to agree, telling us that his training was based on a systematic method. It was kind of vague, but in any case, I did have fun.
    We all spent a long while talking about whatever came to mind. It might've been pointless conversation topics, but honestly... this was the first time I felt like I truly forgot about everything. It was the first time I actually felt like I had friends, being able to have fun, being able to laugh. One thought came to mind as we talked.
    I had to find out who the mastermind of this game was. I had to find out the secrets behind this school. I had to keep my friends alive. That was the truth. No matter what, I wanted to keep everyone alive. Those were the thoughts I held as I went back to my dorm room.
    I knew what I had to do, but I could feel the warmth in my heart as I collapsed onto my bed with a smile. I truly felt closer to both Maki and Ryoma. It was nice. With those thoughts governing my mind, I fell asleep with a smile on my face. It was quite the eventful day, but it ended on a happy note, in more ways than one.

Kokichi's POV:

I was waiting in the game room with my all too iconic smile on my face. It seemed that I forgot about one minor detail. I told Monokuma to meet me in the library when I meant to say the game room.
It seemed that Monokuma realized my mistake, and it was quite a laughable mistake I made at that. The mastermind? Making mistakes? What kind of idiot did the viewers think I am!?
Soon enough, I heard the sound of Monokuma popping up. He knew that he had to stay with the planned script. Monokuma may be an idiotic bear, but he still knew when to follow through.
"His white half's whiter than freshly made rice! His black half's blacker than the darkest night!" Monokuma exclaimed, "it's Mono-Mono-Mono-Monokuma!"
"You actually came. Hmm, so I guess I'm allowed to do this, huh?" I asked in response, keeping character, "is it really okay for me to talk to you in private like this?"
Monokuma laughed lightly in response to this. I knew the bear was more than likely getting into the script. I had to fool everyone. This was a part of my master plan.
"Technically, it's not a rule violation..." Monokuma explained, "besides, I can't pass up an opportunity to make this killing game more exciting."
"Riiight? I was thinking the same thing!" I exclaimed in response, "this fun and vicious killing game is the only thing on my mind!"
"With that said, you're not even gonna try and use that motive?" Monokuma asked me in response.
"Ah-haha, you don't get it..." I explained as I looked down at my hand, "a crazy motive like this should be used in a more...dramatic way, no? That's what I've been thinking, so I tried coming up with ways to use it...And I finally came up with an idea. So, this is my proposal..."
I had a certain plan when it came to this game, and it was questionable that I was putting my role on the line to fulfill this crazy plan. The way my plan was going to work was going to allow me to remove my sweet beloved toy from this killing game if I did this correctly. It took a lot of thinking to come up with this, and I was going to do this plan.
"A certain someone is planning something interesting, so if we use the motive there... Then I think that would really spice up the game," I explained with a dark look, "so, are you in?"
Monokuma stayed silent for a few moments before he spoke once more. This was all crucial to the plan. I wouldn't allow any screwups in this plan.
"Puhuhu. You really are an evil bastard," Monokuma laughed.
"Of course... I *am* the Ultimate Supreme Leader, y'know?" I asked before I made a terrifying expression, dark and evil like, "I will drag this world into the pits of terror, using my villainous power to commit evil."
And that was the end of the meeting. I soon went back to my dorm room, smiling to myself since my plan was going so smoothly thus far. (y/n) better be ready for what I have in store for the next chapter... she better be ready for what is planning...

Sorry this chapter is a bit later, I was visiting home, and I just got home for the weekend.

So I may or may not have posted a meme on TikTok having to do with the canon game ;-;

I don't know whether to laugh or cry at my sin. Anyway, Kokichi has a plan, and it's going to be similar up until chapter five. I'm trying to keep this plot running with the plot of the main game for as much as I can, adding twists and turns.

I really hope you all are enjoying the new updates. We all know what's going to happen with a certain someone, and predictions for chapter five are due in June still.

I know this was short, but I want to just publish! Anyways, see you all next week! Ciao- yuki_no_fuyu