Your POV:

It seemed that like every day, the same thing would wake me up from the world of dreams. The monitor always was like an alarm clock, and in all honesty, that monitor was the only indication of time we had. It was that aside from the darkness from night, and the light from daytime.
Even though that could be an indicator, it would never tell us the exact time. The only way we'd be able to tell the time using the placement in the sky is if someone had the ability to do that.
In any case, the monitor showed Monophanie telling us that it was eight a.m, and after that she was talking to herself wondering where Monotaro was. She then mentioned that if he was happy, she was too. It seemed that Monotaro did appear, and it was kind of weird. I turned away from the screen, hearing these siblings basically talk about being together, how they needed each other. The scene was so weird to me that I was wide awake now.
I did my usual daily routine that included brushing my teeth, taking a shower, brushing my hair, and putting on a new outfit. Even though I was still trapped here, it didn't mess with my motivation to keep my hygiene well. There was another reason I did this, and it was to take my mind off of every weird thing that happened in each announcement. And by my eyes, that announcement was way too long, and before I hopped into the shower, I heard what sounded like a classical closed curtain ending to the announcement.
I made sure my hair was at least mostly dry. I knew I had to head to the dining hall, and I didn't want my hair to be dripping all over the ground as I headed there. That was my state of kind every single morning with this same routine.
I heard someone ringing the doorbell to my dorm, around the same time that usually happened. I knew that it was most likely one out of two people. It could be my boyfriend, or it could be Kokichi. There was no middle ground, unless someone needed to see me about something important.
I walked over to the door and I opened it like I usually did. I saw Rantaro standing there with a carefree smile on his face. At that moment, all of the things that happened the previous day hit me like a brick. Him pinning me to his bed... him kissing me... us cuddling and sleeping until the nighttime announcement.
I could feel my face growing bright red when I remembered, and Rantaro seemed to just chuckle lightly in response to my flustered face.
"Ah-haha, good morning," Rantaro told me, "I'm guessing you're still pretty flustered about last night, huh?"
I nodded lightly in response to that. He chuckled once more before he ruffled my hair slightly with a bright smile on his face. What I instantly thought was that Kaito would probably do something like this with Maki.
"I-It shouldn't matter whether I'm flustered or n-not," I explained, "we should head to the dining hall."
    Rantaro seemed to nod in response to my words. It looked like he did agree with me. He still had a smile on his face, and I could tell something about that smile. He was planning something.
    Rantaro seemed to smile lightly as he walked over to me. His arms wrapped around my waist as he lifted me off of the ground, and he slid his arm down in order to catch my legs. I didn't know why, but it seemed like Rantaro loved picking me up. I kinda felt slightly like a doll in regards to that, but I couldn't complain. I loved him.
    "Alright, now we can go," Rantaro told me.
    It didn't take us long to reach the dining hall. It never really took us long considering we used the outside entrance every morning to save time. It was always easier. I could feel the cool air blow across my cold cheeks as Rantaro walked up to the door of the outside entrance with me in tow.
    I decided not to have such an attitude today, and I opened the door, so he wouldn't have a chance at dropping me. As soon as Rantaro and I entered the dining hall, I noticed everyone there. Angie, Gonta, Himiko, Kaede, Kaito, Kirumi, Keebo, Maki, Ryoma, Shuichi, Tenko, and Tsumugi. I knew Kiyo was still held up in Ryoma's lab, and someone would most likely deliver his breakfast.
    Kokichi was probably avoiding everyone since the events of last night. I could understand why he was gone, but there was a question going through my mind as I noticed that a certain dirty minded inventor was missing.
    'Where is Miu...?' I thought, 'why isn't she here this morning...?'
    It seemed like I wasn't the only one who noticed that Miu and Kokichi weren't there. There was a reason for that. That specific reason entered my mind as soon as Rantaro and I entered the dining hall, me in his arms.
    "Hm? Where are Miu and Kokichi?" I heard Shuichi ask.
    After Shuichi asked that question, I felt myself slowly being placed on the floor. I was guessing that since we were in the dining hall, Rantaro chose to put me down, so we could both eat. I was pretty sure it would be hard to eat while carrying someone, considering the fact that his arms would be full... but that wasn't the topic here. I needed to stay focused on the topic at hand.
    "I understand why Kokichi's gone, but where's Miu?" Kaito asked in response. 
    "She's probably still messing with that computer on the 4th floor," Himiko replied.
    "Or she might be in her lab, working on another invention," Keebo added, "I saw many half-built machines in her lab when she performed maintenance on me."
"Maybe her absence has to do with what she said yesterday," Kaede explained, "she did say something about saving us."
"Well, messing with machines and computers is about all she's good for," Himiko said in response.
"I wonder what Miu is up to," Kirumi pondered, "I don't know if I can tell whether her intentions are truly good."
"I don't know either," I muttered, "she tried using me as a guinea pig on her inventions... spoiler alert they were pretty inappropriate..."
    "The way Miu acts is consistent with some actions of a degenerate male..." Tenko muttered.
    "Don't say that," I replied, "I still consider Miu as a friend like the rest of you..."
    "(y/n) is so sweet!" Tenko exclaimed in response, "she cares about all of us, and I find that amazing!"
    I couldn't help but be embarrassed after Tenko said that. I always felt embarrassed when someone complemented me in anyway. I always had a hard time accepting that, so it always did embarrass me when it happened.
    To try and get myself set straight, I looked into Gonta's directions, but I noticed something right after that that caused me to instantly calm myself down. Gonta looked very stressed about something. He looked like he was genuinely upset. I felt myself growing concerned for him.
    "Gonta, are you alright?" I asked, "you look kind of upset about something." 
    "(y/n) is right," Kaede replied, "what's wrong, Gonta?"
    "Gonta still thinking...since yesterday... How can Gonta be useful?" Gonta replied, "but...Gonta no can think of anything! So...frustrating!"
    "Okay, but you don't need to make such a scary face..." Kaito replied with a nervous look on his face, "besides...it's not just you. That's something we all gotta think about."
    "Kaito is right," I replied, "I'm pretty sure everyone has at least thought once on how they could be useful... I know I have thought that many times... Gonta, we should all be thinking more on what our game plan is. Please don't put yourself down. We are all still in the same position, so we need to work together."
    "(y/n) is right," Keebo replied, "but how can I make myself useful to survive?"
    "Use your self-destruct system to save us," Himiko replied, "that's how robots make themselves useful."
    "Even though that is true, at least hesitate before you blurt out something like that!" Keebo exclaimed in response.
"You just admitted it though..." Rantaro muttered.
    I couldn't help but think that Keebo did admit it was true. Rantaro hit that right on the bullseye. Keebo basically admitted that he did have a self-destruct function. Despite that, I didn't want anyone to lose their lives. If Keebo decided to use that function and sacrifice himself, I didn't know if I could bring him back or not. Thinking back on the book I read having to do with my rare gene, it said nothing about whether or not it would work on a robot.
    "I'll...keep thinking about it too..." Tsumugi told us, "if I come up with a good idea, I'll tell you guys."
    "I'll try to think on everything as well," Kirumi replied, "I believe I might be able to come up with a plan that will keep everyone safe."
    "Nyahahaha! Why do that when I can just pray to Atua for our safety?" Angie asked.
"Angie, quit trying to get us to believe the Atua shtick!" Tenko exclaimed, "you saw how that went when we had the student council!"
"Hey, hey whoa!" Kaito exclaimed, "we already got everything settled that we needed to, so let's eat! If you guys don't eat, then you can't think well!"
After Kaito said that, we all ate breakfast. Kirumi decided to make crepes today, with many different types of fillings to choose from. There was chocolate, banana, strawberry, and more. Heck we could even make combinations for the crepes.
I couldn't help but be deep in thought while I ate with everyone who was here at the moment. Kokichi and Miu specifically weren't here. Even though Kokichi seemed to like to cause a lot of drama with the others here, I couldn't help but be concerned. I guess the same could be said about Miu, but it was more or less the dirty comments they made. I wanted them to have a good breakfast. Same with Kiyo, who was still being held in Ryoma's lab.
As soon as everyone was done eating, we all headed back to our designated dorm rooms. As I walked back, I couldn't help but be concerned for the people who haven't eaten anything this morning yet.
While I wanted to worry about that, I couldn't right now. I like everyone else needed to get our thoughts together. But despite that, I couldn't help but be unaware that an unspeakable malice was brewing, steeping as if it was tea in hot water.
I knew that I had some free time today, and I honestly wondered how I was going to spend it. I knew from yesterday's events that if I didn't hang out with Rantaro, he would be jealous, and he would come to find me. I could feel my face growing pretty red at that thought.
My face went back to its normal color when I heard the doorbell sound reverberating in my skull. I knew very well someone wanted to see me, and now the possibilities were endless on who it could be. I knew it would most likely be Rantaro, but I couldn't be so sure.
I walked up to the door, and I opened it. My eyes instantly widened when I saw Kaito standing there. I wondered what was going on. Did Kaito want to hang out with me some more, or did he need something else?
"Hey, (y/n)!" Kaito exclaimed, "I've decided to hold a special training regiment for us today because Shuichi came to me with a practice sword! Since you are one of my sidekicks, it's mandatory for you to go!"
    'Wait... a special training regiment..?' I thought in response to that, 'why didn't Kaito tell me sooner?'
    This was the first I was hearing about a special training session today. If this was something that was going to be planned for later today, why didn't Kaito tell me sooner. He had more than plenty of time during breakfast today to let me know what was going on. I found myself feeling slightly bitter that Kaito didn't tell me about this sooner.
    "Kaito you could've told me about this during breakfast," I told him with a frustrated sigh, "it's no matter though. Let's go."
    "The reason I didn't tell you during breakfast was because everyone was stressed out!" Kaito exclaimed in response to that, "I'm pretty damn sure you wouldn't want to stress anyone out more either!"
    I understood what Kaito was saying when he told me that he didn't tell me because everyone was stressed out. I very much had the mindset not to want to stress others out, but I thought that was more of an excuse than anything.
    "Kaito, I understand where you're coming from, but please don't use it as an excuse," I told him, "you have a track record on using excuses to get out of training. In any case, let's go."
    Kaito dejectedly nodded in response to what I said. It was then that we walked to the area in the courtyard where we usually held our nighttime training. In all honesty, it was weird walking here during the day. That's what having a set schedule would do... it would make you used to one thing, but then plans change.
    Soon enough, we got to the courtyard, where Shuichi, Maki, and Ryoma were waiting. It looked to me that Kaito seemed to already gather everyone. I knew for a fact that the only ones that weren't surprised about this whole thing was Kaito and Shuichi. I was among the number that didn't know about this until the last possible moment.
    "Alright!" Kaito announced, "I brought (y/n)!"
    "...I was surprised when you mentioned a special kind of training," Maki explained in response.
    "Yeah, same here..." Ryoma muttered, "what type of special training is this...?"
    "Well!?" Kaito exclaimed, "you brought the thing we need for our new training, right?"
    "New training?" Maki asked in response.
    "Pass it here!" Kaito exclaimed.
    "Here, but...is it usable?" Shuichi asked in response.
    My mind was spinning as I heard the back and fourth conversation between mostly Shuichi and Kaito... Mostly Kaito. That fact didn't matter right now. I witnessed Shuichi handing off a practice sword to Kaito. I knew very well that Kaito mentioned a practice sword to me not even ten minutes earlier. He told me that Shuichi had a practice sword.
    "...is this a practice sword?" Maki asked, "why would you have something like this?"
    "Huh? Why are you making such a disgusted face, Maki Roll?" Kaito asked in response.
    There could be only one reason that Maki was making a sour face as soon as she saw the practice sword Shuichi brought. During the investigation for Angie before she came back to the world of the living, Maki did inform me of something. There weren't any swords in Maki's lab because she didn't like to use them.
    I didn't know why Maki didn't really like to use any types of swords or katanas, but she did tell me, and I'm sure she probably told Shuichi too. The only thing I actually knew was the fact that she messed up a mission, using a katana. I didn't know the details about that. Maki turned towards me as I was thinking back on what she told me in the past.
"...So you didn't tell them yet," Maki muttered, "when I first started working, I botched a mission with a katana. Since then, I decided not to use swords..."
"Oh, I see," Kaito said with a shocked look on his face.
"Don't make that face," Maki replied, "I know you didn't mean any harm by it."
I think we all knew that Kaito didn't mean any harm by it. I couldn't help but feel bad myself for not mentioning the fact that Maki didn't like swords when I heard him bring up a plastic sword. I guess that fact about Maki was in the back of my head, not heeding much mind to it until it was actually mentioned.
"No, it's my fault for making you remember something that makes you feel bad," Kaito told Maki, "alright! Tell us about it now! I'll listen to all of it!"
"...Huh?" Maki asked in response.
"Kaito, isn't it kinda weird to admit fault for making Maki remember something bad, and then you tell her to tell you about it...?" I asked, "does that not sound weird to you?"
"Not one bit!" Kaito exclaimed in response, "but in any case. It's difficult to talk to people about your failures, Maki. I get that. But didn't I tell you? Being able to share your burdens with others... That's how you get stronger!"
I couldn't help to laugh lightly in response to that. I knew Kaito could be somewhat oblivious to the things he says and does... but I knew that every one of his actions were to help people. Not for himself. He wanted to believe in everyone somehow... I knew that his intentions were good ones.
"Don't hold on to your past forever!" Kaito exclaimed, "you gotta confront it to move on! And I'm gonna help you with that!"
"...What are you saying?" Maki asked in response to that, "you're ridiculous. Anyway, that failure doesn't bother me anymore. But I don't mind talking about it. Just be warned, it's a boring story."
I knew one thing was for certain. If I would've asked Maki about this in the past, she would've just told me to mind my own business... to just leave her alone. Honestly, I was quite happy that she was able to trust us enough to tell this story.
    I knew very well that Maki had changed a lot since I first met her. She truly has, and it was something that made me happy. She didn't have to feel like an outcast anymore. She finally found herself a group of friends, and I felt more than honored to be in that group.
    It was at this point that Maki started telling her story. I honestly had no idea what caused her to botch a mission with a katana, but I was very curious to find out what happened. What I didn't know however, was that this story was going to go into the terms of my talent.
    "...When planning an assassination, you need to gather detailed information first," Maki explained, "you need to know the target—their schedule, movements, friends and acquaintances... For this particular target, he normally worked late into the night..."
    Hearing details on what Maki had to do because of the field of work she was forced into. It wasn't as simple as just going up to a target and killing them. I honestly never thought I was going to learn first hand what you had to do to be an assassin. I thought that all I was going to get information from was out of the assassination animes out there, Akame Ga Kill being a prime example.
    "But when I looked further into his schedule, I found out he was into some nerdy hobbies," Maki explained.
    "Nerdy hobbies?" Kaito asked in response, "you mean like Tsumugi and (y/n) are?"
    Once I heard the phrase, "nerdy hobbies", I knew most well the type of hobbies being referenced. I could feel my eyes glow and sparkle. Maki was the one who mentioned that first, and when Kaito brought up my name, along with Tsumugi... there wasn't any doubt that she wasn't referencing anime.
    "Yeah, just like them," Maki muttered, "he especially liked cosplay."
    "You say that this story would be boring Maki, but it isn't for me!" I exclaimed, "anything having to do with anime or manga is a winner for me!"
    Even though I was excited that this story mentioned anime and cosplay in some way, shape or form, I never thought I would hear the word "cosplay" leave Maki's mouth. Maki was normally so reserved, and she normally didn't really speak much about anime. It was quite surprising that she even said that word, and Shuichi seemed to think that too.
    Maki seemed to be holding a slightly shocked and nervous expression on her face in response to what I said. It was like she didn't expect that I would react the way I did. She really couldn't blame me. I was an Otaku, and that meant that I was still an anime nerd.
    "A-Alright then?" Maki seemed to question, "anyway, while I observed my target's private life... I thought of a good plan to get close to him while concealing my weapon."
I was thinking about how Maki would've concealed her weapon as she got closer to the target she described as an anime nerd. I knew very well that cosplayers normally went to anime conventions to show off the outfits they've made or bought. I did wonder how Maki concealed her weapon though.
"How?" I asked, "what did you go to conceal your weapon?"
"...A prop carrying case," Maki replied.
"What's that?" Kaito asked in response to that, "how's it different from a normal carrying case?"
"Tsumugi would know, but I don't know about (y/n)," Maki replied.
In terms to regular carrying cases, those were normally built to carry things such as real weapons, and even instruments. A prop carrying case can be used for more than one thing. I knew that some cosplay items came with carrying cases for those items, but I knew that prop cases were just used for props.
"I know the difference," I replied, "you see Kaito, a regular carrying case normally accompanies an item that was solely made for the case, such as a guitar or a keyboard. A prop case however normally is used for just props. Prop cases are normally specially made for cosplay props, and that is the difference."
"(y/n) is right," Maki replied, "it's a specially-made carrying case for cosplay props. It can accommodate large props, so it's convenient to carry around..."
I knew very well Maki was right about that. In all honesty, most of my Otaku talent came from just watching anime in my room all the time. Sadly, I was only able to go to a few anime conventions before the said meteorites hit.
(Flashback light did say meteors)
Another reason I wasn't able to go to many was because I was constantly kept in my room after the time that my friend died. Since those people still blamed me for what happened, I didn't go out much. Despite that, I knew it was more convenient to carry around a prop case. I saw so many cosplayers with those.
"So I placed a katana into that carrying case and made my move," Maki explained, "but then...the people around thought I was a cosplayer, and something odd happened."
"What happened?" Shuichi asked.
"I'm pretty curious too," Ryoma added.
"On that day, they were holding a cosplay event in the same hall the target had gone to," Maki explained, "unfortunately... I had the same height and hairstyle as a popular character who also carried a katana."
I didn't want to interrupt Maki. I knew very well that the people in her story most likely would've gathered around her. Sadly, I couldn't think of a character on the top of my head who had brown hair in pigtails, red eyes, and carried a katana. If there was any katana-wielding character I would say maki would look like, it would be Akame from Akame Ga Kill. That would be if she put on a black wig anyway.
    "They thought I was cosplaying that character..." Maki explained, "...so I got dragged into a hall by a group of excited people with expensive cameras. They almost saw the weapons I had in my case... If they had, they would have found out my katana was actually real..."
    "Sounds like a close call..." Shuichi muttered in response to that.
    "I agree..." Ryoma replied.
    "Hahaha! I was wondering what this *serious failure* of yours was going to be!" Kaito exclaimed. 
    "Yeah, honestly...it was much cuter than I was expecting," Shuichi said with a smile.
    I knew I had the urge to start laughing. Shuichi was right about what he said. It was a lot cuter than I was expecting to be, and honestly, being passionate about anime made me want to smile and shout to the rooftops. I didn't want to say anything in response to Kaito because I knew that even though this failure was cute... it was serious in Maki's eyes.
    "Don't laugh..." Maki muttered, "for me, it was very serious... I was branded as a failure, because of something so stupid. If they didn't donate to the orphanage anymore...then it would've...been the end..."
    I looked down in response to that. I knew that was most likely what this was about. Since Maki told us about how she was scouted as an assassin, I knew very well that her orphanage was receiving money from the ones who scouted her. A mess up for Maki meant that there would be a chance that her orphanage wouldn't be funded.
    "I knew that...." I muttered in response to Maki's words, "I had the urge to laugh, because it was pretty cute... but I didn't want to be rude."
    "Yeah, Maki is right... that's not funny," Kaito muttered, "I'm really sorry for laughing..."
    "Yes, me too... Sorry for laughing, Maki," Shuichi said.
    "We don't want to offend you," I muttered, "I know I'm an anime nerd... but I know that if I laughed it would make you feel worse..."
    "...Y-You guys don't need to apologize. I'm not mad," Maki replied.
    I noticed that after Maki said those words, she turned her head to the side with a pout. I never imagined that I would see an expression like that come from Maki. I never imagined that Maki would be able to trust us enough to tell us her story.
    I knew I didn't know much about Kaito, Maki, Ryoma, and Shuichi, but I wanted to know more. It seemed that after a while if training with the sword, we all went our separate ways. I never knew what it was with training, but it always made me pretty tired. I wondered if I should sleep for a bit... something told me that I should, so for my next portion of the day... I was in my bed, with my eyes closed, replenishing the energy lost from training.
    What I didn't know was the malice forming that would take place sooner than I thought it would... something that would make or break everything I was working so hard to do... all of the things I put in to keep everyone alive... hopefully it wouldn't all be for nothing...

Hello everyone! We all know what's going to happen really soon! And in all honesty, a lot of you are already trying to guess what's going to happen next. Sorry, no spoilers XD

In terms to this chapter, I thought it would be cute to add this event because I loved it. Maki is adorable, and I wanted her to be able to share that story with reader-chan!

In any case though, I know I've said it before, but we are nearing the end of chapter four. So chapter 5 predictions are still due in June.

One more thing. I might not be able to update next week because finals. I mean it's only 5 hour classes, but studying is important. If I can't update next Friday, then I'll see y'all in another couple of weeks! Have a good rest of your day, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!- yuki_no_fuyu