Kokichi's POV:

The events that happened yesterday went all according to plan. I decided to visit my lab during yesterday night and there were many thoughts going through my head. Everything was making sense now, and I could feel a smirk form on my face.
"Nee-heehee~!" I laughed, "finally, I was able to catch the cheater!"
I felt myself burst into a fit of maniacal laughter. I felt the pride well up inside of my body because I finally knew everything. I knew her secret. I knew it was her...

(y/n)...

'I'm going to take you out of this game, (y/n),' I thought, 'I can't have you cheating anymore, my beloved. Things are starting to finally go my way, and soon, that damn playboy will be out of the equation. I'll have you for myself once I take you out of this game, and I can't wait for the fun games I have in store for you...'
I could feel myself getting excited from the mere thought of finally having my beloved to myself. I had a plan, and part of it was based off of her character. The fact that she'd put herself in danger just to keep everyone safe. I knew I could use that to my advantage.
Once I remove (y/n) from the game, I would be able to toy with her. I was going to make it so she would lose hope of being able to escape. Soon enough, she'd see that all she needed was me. All (y/n) needed was me, but she didn't see that yet. Soon enough, she would find out that she's only alive because I want her to be alive. She's at my mercy, and soon enough, she'd be begging me for her life. I chuckled darkly as I thought about it, but I knew I should be focusing on something else.
I needed to start the first phase of my plan for this chapter. Since that trashy whore was saved because of my plan to expose (y/n), I had to do what I have been doing to keep the game more interesting.
I knew soon enough, I would be able to separate (y/n) and Rantaro. I just had to keep pulling the strings for that to happen. That was what I was best at. I knew everyone wouldn't want to see me in the morning, but I wasn't planning on going.
"Monokuma, care to chat for a bit?" I asked.
As soon as I said those words, I could hear the sound Monokuma made as he entered the room. Monokuma seemed to have a giddy expression on his face as he came in, and I had a smirk on my face.
"Puhuhuhu~ it's your beary best friend~!" Monokuma exclaimed, "congrats on catching the cheater! So, what do you need from me?"
"You know exactly what I need from you," I replied, "I'm starting phase one of my plan for this chapter, and I need you to unlock the new areas of the school."
"Roger that, Kokichi!" Monokuma exclaimed, "I hope you're okay with what you're planning!"
Monokuma left right after he said that, and I felt myself start to laugh once more. The first step of my plan was to unlock the new areas of the school, specifically the ones for the rumored *chapter five*. I knew at this point, Rantaro's lab would finally be unlocked. Once he watched that video his previous self left for him... he won't be able to trust anyone... not even (y/n)...

Your POV:

It seemed that what Monokuma told me the previous night was true. The morning time announcement went off at the time it usually went, but it seemed that the things that happened during the night were mostly wiped clean.
As I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, I recalled the events that happened from the previous night. I remembered Monokuma visiting me and having a conversation with me about the Key of Love. I knew I decided to use it, just to try it out, so the key was missing as soon as I woke.
That wasn't the only thing I was thinking about when I woke up however. The images of Kokichi... Miu somehow being brought back... Kaito coughing up blood... it was all still fresh in my mind. I only purchased the key to get my mind off of everything, but sadly... I couldn't really recall what happened, so it didn't do much good for me.
As all of these thoughts swimmer around in my head, I took care of my morning routine. I took a shower, letting the warm water wash over me, and as soon as I was done, I brushed my teeth, my hair, and put on a clean uniform.
It seemed as soon as I was done, I could hear someone ringing the doorbell, meaning someone was waiting for me. I walked over to the door, and I opened it. Who I saw, was Rantaro, and he seemed to look happier than usual.
I couldn't help it but feel a smile form on my face. I could feel myself bubbling and beaming with happiness. The best part of my morning was always seeing him come by my door to walk with me. Even though so much has happened, his presence always put a smile on my face.
"Hey, princess," Rantaro greeted, "good morning."
    "Hey, Rantaro," I replied with a smile, "how did you sleep?" I asked in response.
    "I actually slept quite well," Rantaro replied, "for some reason, I feel a lot happier today than usual. Maybe it's because I have a beautiful princess to protect."
    I couldn't help it but blush in response to that. It was nice to see that Rantaro was happy. It did make me think about last night's events even more. If Rantaro was so happy, maybe it was because he was the one I came into contact with last night when I used the Key of Love. I couldn't be so sure, but I still found myself wondering what events happened during that whole situation.
    "I know a lot has happened yesterday," Rantaro explained, "I know how scary it was to see everything that happened. I know we have to meet everyone in the dining hall, but please try to keep calm, yeah?"
    I nodded lightly in response to his words. I knew I needed to stay calm. I knew I had fo be strong. I had to be there for everyone, and I knew that things were going to be different today...
Everything had to be different. If Kokichi was going to be at the dining hall, I knew I would have a hard time keeping my cool. I knew that it would be a lot better having Rantaro with me.
    "Don't worry, Rantaro," I said in response, "I'll try to stay calm. I should be able to manage as long as you're here with me."
    "I won't leave your side then," Rantaro told me, "we should head to the dining hall and see how everyone is doing. I'm sure we all are very worried about Kaito and Gonta at this point. Hopefully we can talk to them."
    "I'm worried about them as well," I muttered, "Kaito coughed up blood, and Gonta is upset... I just want them to be okay... I'll do everything in my power to make sure they're alright."
    Rantaro seemed to just smile lightly in response as he tussled my hair with a smile. I couldn't help but giggle lightly when he did this. I knew Rantaro always loved to give me praise by ruffling my hair, and it was comforting to me.
    "I knew you would stay that," Rantaro told me with a chuckle, "just remember to be careful. I know you care about everyone, but I don't want you to get hurt, so please just stay safe, alright?"
    "Alright, I'll be careful," I replied, "we should head to the dining hall, though."
    Rantaro nodded, extending his hand to me. I placed my hand on his, and we started walking to the dining hall. We always entered through the outside entrance because it was shorter, but the thoughts of yesterday's events were still fresh in my mind.
    I knew there was a huge chance the mastermind found out about me, but I still didn't know how. I didn't even know what the mastermind was even planning. I didn't even know why I was still alive. The only thing I knew was that my mind was drifting to a certain person being the mastermind because of the way he acted yesterday...
     I sadly didn't have much proof on the matter. Rantaro and I walked into the door that was the outside entrance of the dining hall. As soon as we walked in, I noticed everyone was there... Everyone aside from Kokichi, Gonta, and Kiyo.
    I was honestly baffled when I saw Kaito in the dining hall. I couldn't believe that after all that's happened... after Miu was supposedly dead... after Kokichi revealed that he manipulated Gonta to his will... after Kokichi punched Kaito... after Kokichi's twisted words... and... after Kaito coughed up blood.
I could still see the image of the fresh pink spilling from his mouth as all of us were in complete and utter shock. I could still see the image of Kaito staggering out of the computer room, trying to pick himself back up. Despite that... Kaito was here, and he was trying to cheer us all up. He was still trying to brighten up everyone's faces.
Kaito looked like he was better than he was yesterday, but part of me thought it was some sort of lie. He seemed to be letting out a sigh as everyone was gathered around him, while I was dumbfounded in complete and utter shock.
"Geez, don't be stupid guys," Kaito told everyone, "there's no way I'd die, y'know? Cuz I'm Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"
"You say that, but... are you really okay?" Tsumugi asked in response.
"I-I agree with four eyes!" Miu shouted, "I know I was almost dead, but you coughed up so much fuckin' blood! How do we know you're not lyin'!?"
"I'm telling you guys!" Kaito shouted, "I'm just fine! I wasn't feeling great yesterday, but after a good night's sleep I'm all better. I'm one-hundred percent better now!"
"K-Kaito," I stuttered nervously, "I-I don't think it's possible for you fo recover after what happened last night. I was terrified when I saw yoy coughing up all that bloo—"
"I already told you, didn't I?" Kaito asked in response, "I just coughed too much and cut my throat a little, that's all."
I couldn't help but think that Kaito was pushing himself too hard. It was too convenient for him to say nothing was wrong. Keebo seemed to agree with that statement even though I didn't say anything else on it. Keebo soon asked Kaito if he was suffering from a chronic illness. I thought it was possible that was the case, but chances were... Kaito wouldn't admit to it. He was too stubborn to admit that he needed help.
In response to Keebo's words, Keebo was not only cut off by Kaito, but Kaito completely brushed off the words Keebo was saying. Kaito told everyone not to be stupid. If he had a chronic illness, he would t stand a chance as an astronaut in training. Kaito seemed to be pretty giddy that we were all worried about him because we "loved" him so much. Maki replied to him, saying that they were worried.
I felt Maki was most impacted by what happened. Kaito was helping her get out of her shell, and not this was happening. I wanted to be there for her, and help her when she needed it. That's what I felt I needed to do.
Kaito was silent for a moment in response to Maki's words. Kaito soon told everyone that he was serious. He didn't want anyone to worry about him, and I understood that very well. I didn't want anyone to worry about me, but they did. Kaito told us we were worrying over nothing, but Maki glared at him slightly.
    Kaito seemed to be slightly shocked that Maki was glaring at him, so he told us if he felt sick again, he'd let us help him. Kaito soon said that we all should eat. I decided to glance over to Kirumi who had a worried expression on her face.
    On the cart, she had many different breakfast pastries. It seemed like she wanted to give us something small. That's how I figured out she was pretty stressed out as well.
    Kaito cheerfully walked to the cart to grab his meal. It was like there was nothing wrong with him... the image of Kaito coughing up blood entered my line of sight again... was there really nothing wrong with him? How could I act like nothing was okay when I saw what happened? How could Kaito act like everything was okay after that.
    I knew that there was a huge chance that the mastermind found out about me... even if that was the case, if Kaito's life was in danger because of what happened yesterday. Even if it would give more of a chance for my death... I would help Kaito. I didn't want him to be in pain. I wanted him to get help.
    Shuichi, Kaede, Keebo, Angie, Tenko, Himiko, Miu, Maki, Rantaro, and myself were in a group at the table, discussing Kaito. Keebo mentioned that Kaito should get medical attention, and Rantaro agreed. We had another reason to get out of here, and Tsumugi brought that to light. We had to do something, and something fast about Kaito. Himiko then asked about what the outside world would look like.
    We didn't even get to find out the secret of the outside world, and Gonta's Alter Ego wouldn't tell us for the sole fact that it would give us so much despair that we'd want to die. Kaito soon returned to the table in which we all sat with his arms full of the pastries Kirumi made for all of us.
    Kaito seemed to be in the mood to eat, but I found myself not very hungry. I was guessing it was because of the stress I was under. I couldn't help but be too stressed to even eat. There was a lot to think about, as well as a lot of things to process. Because of that, my stomach was empty, but my mind was still full.
    Kaito seemed to just add on to the discussion we were having about the outside world. He told us not to waste our brain power, and that we couldn't figure this out by just speculation. Kaito soon brought up that there was a chance that the outside world was messed up because of Monokuma, but worrying about it was just what Monokuma probably wanted.
    In Kaito's words, Kokichi and Gonta both snapped under pressure. He told us that the same could apply to Kaede, Kirumi, Kiyo, Angie, and Miu. Kaito mentioned that these people attempted murder, and the plans were foiled. What Kaito didn't know however was that Kaede was actually innocent. The point was, Kaito was saying that the outside world was probably fine. With the memories we had, I couldn't help it but think that wasn't the case.
    I was trapped in thought as I was thinking about what Kaito was saying. Everyone continued to talk while I stayed silent, trapped in my own head. I soon felt someone tap my shoulder, causing me to jolt up slightly. Rantaro pulled his arm away from me with a smile. This caused me to believe that he was the one who tapped my shoulder.
    "Princess, Keebo is asking if you have any thoughts about what's going on," Rantaro told me, "you should probably answer. Shuichi already stated his piece, so you're next."
    I nodded lightly in response. While there could be theories on what's going on, I actually had no clue on what could be outside. There weren't any clues, and the only lead we had was AI Gonta. He wouldn't tell us anything, so it was obvious that no one would have any clues.
    "I honestly don't know..." I muttered, "there are barely any clues that could act as evidence aside from the Flashback Lights. We don't even know if those are accurate or not. I know I'm normally very observant, but I honestly have no idea... I'm sorry..."
    "It's okay, (y/n)," Himiko muttered, "it's understandable. Like you said... there are barely any clues."
    "Himiko, it breaks my heart to see you sad over this!" Tenko exclaimed as tears entered her eyes, "I'm sure more clues will pop up soon! If not, use your magic!"
    "Stop fuckin' supporting the donkey-lipped magician!" Miu shouted, "I feel like I'm gonna turn fuckin' stupid just by listening to you yap about how your body is aroused by a midget magician!"
    That started a whole argument between Miu and Tenko. While they were both screaming at each other, Kaito seemed to look upset. I tried looking over at him, but for some reason, he was avoiding my line of sight. He wouldn't look me in the eyes, and I felt myself grow concerned. I didn't know why he was upset... maybe it was because he was convicted as a prime suspect, and we had no choice but to believe it at the time.
With what happened... how Gonta left the room. If Miu was still dead, we would've found out about this in the trial. Gonta would've been executed if that happened. I didn't want to lose anyone else, but I couldn't shake the fact that I felt as if Kaito was angry with me. We were friends... I didn't want to make him upset with me.
    There was one thing on my mind however. Where was Kokichi...? I could understand why Gonta wasn't here, but Kokichi... I didn't see him at all this morning, and I was concerned. It seemed Kaito had a similar thought as well, considering he did ask where did *he* go. As soon as Kaito mentioned his name however, I felt a nervous energy shoot through me. Everyone seemed to have a similar reaction, including Ryoma who normally didn't show his emotions that often.
    That's when the replies to Kaito's question started. Everyone who was talking at the table mentioned that it was like Kokichi vanished. No one has seen him, and that in itself was concerning. Himiko mentioned that he was really good at hide and seek, and he was probably just hiding somewhere.
    "Nyahahaha!" Angie exclaimed, "maybe we should have (y/n) try and find him! I did hear from somewhere that she was able to find him!"
    "I wouldn't want to force (y/n) to go through that," Tsumugi replied, "but we can't just let...that person...be. He's...a little too dangerous. No...not just a little... because he... He enjoys watching us suffer. His face just screams that he's having fun whenever he sees us suffer."
"I know what you mean, four-eyes," Miu muttered, "that fuckin' psychopath defiantly has something wrong with him."
"If we weren't in this killing game, I would've assassinated him already..." Maki muttered with a glare, "ironic... The rules of this game actually make it harder to kill..."
I understood what Maki was saying, but even despite that... despite the fact that Kokichi had a grin that screamed malice and happiness to watching us suffer... I didn't want him to die. The goal here was to escape with everyone, but now there was something I was starting to realize. I'm pretty sure Kaede was realizing this as well, granted we had the same goal for what we wanted to do.
I wanted to be friends with everyone once we even had a chance to escape this school, but I realized that a lot of the others wouldn't want to be friends with a select few people. Those people were Kokichi and Kiyo. As much as I wanted to escape and be friends with everyone, I couldn't help but understand that wasn't something everyone wanted to do.
Kaito soon told Maki that she shouldn't be thinking like that. Playing this killing game is just what Monokuma wanted, and Kaito was right about that. Even though this conversation was getting serious, it took a slight turn to more whimsical when Himiko mentioned the nickname that Kaito gave Maki. Himiko was going on about the nickname, "Maki Roll" and how it made her want to take a bite out of her with soy sauce and spicy mustard.
Maki had a glare on her face in response to Himiko which caused her to have a nervous expression on her face. I was thinking that Maki would only allow people close to her to call her "Maki Roll". Himiko mentioned that she wasn't as close as she thought she was.
    Soon enough, the conversation went back to Kokichi. Tsumugi said that if we didn't do anything, Kokichi would try and kill us next. She even said that he was probably hiding somewhere, plotting against us. I knew Tsumugi had a point, but Kokichi's objective was to win the killing game. Ryoma stated that was his objective. Rantaro added to that, explaining that Kokichi wouldn't murder someone if it would implicate him. Soon enough, Tsumugi was saying that we needed to find Kokichi soon, but she was cut off.
    I heard the all too familiar sound of Monokuma popping up, but something was different. I didn't hear the Monokubs popping up as well which was pretty odd to me. Monokuma was popping up in even weirder ways than possible, literally jumping around before standing himself in the center of everyone.
    "Here I am!" Monokuma exclaimed.
    "M-Monokuma!" Miu shouted, "where's my Monokub son you fuckin' bitch!?"
    "Don't worry about my cubs," Monokuma replied, "I decided to send them on a vacation. They are off campus at the resort I stayed at during their little skirmish. Aka, when the student council was a thing! They are all okay, I can assure you all!"
    "I don't think any of us care about that," Ryoma muttered, "what are you doing here?"
    "Puhuhu," Monokuma laughed in response, "I've got business with you guys, of course."
    "It's our *prize,* right?" Maki asked, "even though the murders that happened were miraculously reversed, you still give us a prize. Hurry up and give it to us."
    "Caaaaaan do!" Monokuma exclaimed.
    "You seem to be acting very compliant..." Kirumi stated, "why is that?"
    "Well, since I decided to send my kids on a vacation, I'm now alone and outnumbered," Monokuma explained in response, "even so, I'm used to it. Back in the day, I was alone from start to finish... Anyway, here's your prize this time!"
    After Monokuma said that, he revealed two items. There was a black key with glowing blue on it, as well as an old looking key. Usually, there were three items that we earned, but this time... there were only two.
   "You got two keys!" Monokuma exclaimed, "this one is the last real key, and this one is the real last key!"
    I had a deadpanned expression on my face in response to that. Why was Monokuma having such weird word play with these keys...? Himiko was shouting about what the difference was, but Monokuma just told us to find the areas these keys unlocked.
    Even though no murders happened like I wanted, we still were expected to find the new areas of the school. I was wondering what was going to be unlocked, but there was one thing I had to do first.
    I had to talk to Gonta. I knew he was upset, so before I would look around for these new areas, I would defiantly talk to him. I wanted him to be happy, so that was going to be my goal.

Hello all! I am here with another update! I know I was on hold last week due to moving in to college, but I'm here now! I hope this was worth the wait, because I really didn't want to disappoint.

So the monokubs are on *vacation* just to match up with events for chapter five for Kokichi's plan. In any case though, I know where I'm going with this chapter, and I hope you are all ready for the next chapter. Things are going to get more interesting from here on out, and there will be some trigger warnings in the future.

I hope you all have a good weekend, and please stay tuned! Ciao- yuki_no_fuyu