(3rd Person's POV)

DING, DONG! BING, BONG!

"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!" Monokuma's voice rang throughout Sora's room.

"Mmmph..."

"Oh, that's right! I wanted to let you know that your e-Handbooks have been updated! New regulations have been added, so please take a look and enjoy your school life more than ever before!" The monitor than shut off.

...He must be talkin' about the rule he added yesterday. Sora thought. "Loaning your e-Handbook to another student is strictly prohibited."

"But...I need to head to the dining hall. Auuugh..." Sora groaned.

---

Despite every single part of her wanting otherwise, Sora immediately went to the dining hall. Per the norm, she was one of the first people there.

Soon, the others started piling in. Makoto eventually came in, but unlike the other days, he wasn't the last one there, as Byakuya and Taka had yet to attend.

"Mornin', Naegi!" Hina greeted him with a smile.

"Good morning. Is everyone here already?" Makoto asked.

"Nope! Still waitin' on Togami and Taka." Hiro said. "Togami's no surprise, but it's strange Taka's not here yet..."

"Knowing Taka, I imagine he is trying to get the King of Tardiness up and out of bed." Celeste commented.

"I'm sure they'll be here soon enough. Just be patient." Sakura spoke up.

"I don't mind waiting for them, but there is one problem..." Celeste said.

"Which is...?" Makoto inquired.

"I am thirsty." She said, causing the others to sweatdrop.

"That sounds more like a you problem..." Sora told her, making a dismissive wave.

"Yamada, would you make me some tea?" Celeste sickly smiled at the writer.

"...Huh?" Hifumi tilted his head.

"Milk tea, if you please."

"Wh...why me?"

"Your roundish figure reminds me of the owner of the coffee shop I used to frequent."

Well, that's offending... Sora thought.

 "I can feel my throat drying out. Quickly, please." Celeste requested, though it sounded more like a demand.

"O-Okay..." Hifumi nervously nodded, apparently unable to man up and refuse Celeste's order. He sulked his way into the kitchen. And a few minutes later...

"Thank you for waiting!" He reappeared with tray in hand, the gentle aroma growing stronger as he approached.

Celeste giggled. "Hmhmhm. Finally..."

"You c-could've made some for the r-rest of us, you know..." Toko narrowed her eyes.

"I emphatically decline! You're not my type at all!" Hifumi exclaimed. "Hmhm... It's all about the law of causality, basic instinct, act and react!"

"Grr..." Toko growled.

"Well then, if you don't mind..." A small smile played across Celeste's lips as she held the tea cup delicately in her hand... "...Wait."

She cocked her head to the side...

CRASH!

And threw the cup as hard as she could at the wall!

"Well, that was a waste of a perfectly good cup. And tea." Sora casually said.

"What the--!? H-Hey! What are you doing, my little white rabbit!?" Hifumi asked.

"I HATE this kind of tea!" Celeste raised her voice a little.

"U-Umm...I don't understand..." Hifumi said while sweat ran down the side of his face,

"Imagine we are at a coffee shop--just any normal, everyday café. I sit down, and I order some tea." Celeste started to explain. "They then ask me, "Would you like lemon, or milk?" Now, further imagine that I replied, "Ah, yes, I would like milk tea, please." In this case, along with my tea they may bring me a small container of milk, yes? But this is not for me! I am among those who prefer the milk to be part of the process from the outset! The fragrance is just so overwhelmingly sweet that way... Adding milk or lemon right before you drink is like dousing your fries in ketchup--mere condiments! Whenever looking for a café, I first review their menu to see if it offers the proper style of milk tea. And I cannot acknowledge any "milk tea" that does not add the milk during the brewing process!"

...What. Sora deadpanned. If she had to describe the students shared reaction to what they'd just heard, she'd have to go with "wide-eyed bewilderment".

"Umm...I went to all that trouble to make you that tea...and you wanted me to go even farther?" Hifumi stammered.

"Yes, I realize it can be a bit of a hassle... Even in cafes that offer proper milk tea, it is always more expensive than simple tea with milk." Celeste concurred. "It takes more time to prepare, surely, but...why even bother creating a menu if you are not going to offer the highest level of quality!?"

Good grief... If you're gonna criticize people on how they make your tea, why don't you just make it yourself? Sora thought.

"Well, um...we don't actually have a menu..."

"That does not matter." Celeste said, and in the blink of an eye, she removed her calm exterior and blew up in Hifumi's face. "HURRY UP AND BRING ME WHAT I ASKED FOR, SWINE!"

"WHAAAAAT!?" Hifumi exclaimed. "O-Okay! Your little piggy will bring it right out!"

Intimidated by Celeste frightening new persona, Hifumi ran off back into the kitchen. And as if it never happened, Celeste went back to normal.

"Hmhm. I do so love coercion." Celeste smiled, clasping her fingers while doing so. Of course, this change in personality didn't go unnoticed by the other students.

"You were like...a totally different person just now." Hina pointed out, looking frightened.

"Yeah, shit... You really went psycho there." Mondo added.

"Hmhmhm..."

Sora narrowed her eyes at Celeste. She knew there was more to Celeste when they first met. 

...One of these days, that girl is gonna become blackened. Mark my words...

Suddenly, the dining hall doors flew open, and one of the late arrivals came storming in. But...

"Bad news, everyone! There is a mystery afoot!" Taka said as he came into the dining hall.

"Huh? What happened?" Hiro asked.

"It would seem Togami refuses to leave his room! I stood there pressing his doorbell over and over, but he never showed himself." Taka said.

"Maybe he just...wasn't there." Makoto guessed.

"I'd like to think so. But I'm worried something might have happened to him." Taka said. And what he meant...he didn't have to explain any further. Everyone already knew what that might mean.

"I-It might be a good idea if we all split up and go look for him." Makoto suggested.

"Ah! I was just about to suggest the same thing!" Taka exclaimed.

"Stop trying to one-up e-everyone..." Toko muttered under her breath.

"Okay, then I'll go check his room one more time." Hina spoke up. "I'm just gonna keep on hammering that button till I get a response."

"Very well, then the rest of us can go check the rest of the building." Sakura said.

Hiro nodded. "Yeah. Before it's, y'know...too late."

"..."

---

"Good grief.... This is such a bother. Why do I have to waste my time with Togamoney?" Sora complained. "I could be eating right now..." She walked around the second floor for a few minutes before simply leaning on the wall, not caring to look for the progeny.

Makoto, who was walking by, saw Sora chillin' and walked up to her.

"Shirayuki...aren't you gonna look for Togami?"

"There's no point. He's obviously somewhere in the school. He's fine." Sora asked, looking slightly irritated.

"B-But...aren't you worried?" Makoto asked. "Something bad might've happened to him."

"...Does any part of my face give off the impression that I care?" Sora glared while Makoto widened his eyes a little in shock. She then sighed as she folded her arms. "Plus, I already know where she is, so why should I waste my energy looking for him?"

"Huh? You know where he is?" Makoto inquired.

"..." Falling silent again, Sora turned her head to the side, avoiding eye contact. Makoto sweatdroped a bit and walked off.

Soon...she heard him cry out in surprise.

"Togami?!"

"Eh?" Sora raised an eyebrow in intrigue as she went into the library to see Byakuya was...sitting in a chair. Reading a book.

"Oh..." Sora whispered. Out of all the things she expected, this wasn't one of them.

"Hey, uh...what are you doing?" Makoto asked.

"I'm fishing. What does it look like I'm doing?" Byakuya rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to read. So if you could be quiet..."

"Oh...sorry." Makoto apologized before remembering why he was there in the first place. "Wait, no--! What are you doing here? Everyone's super worried! We've all been looking for you!"

Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "Who asked you to do that?"

"B-Because...we're all supposed to meet up in the morning and eat together." Makoto told him. "We made a promise!"

Rolling her eyes, while the two Ultimates were having this one-sided conversation, Sora went over and sat on the desk near the book shelfs and spectated.

"A promise...?" Byakuya sighed. "Can't I get a second's peace and quiet around here?" He snapped his book shut, and slowly stood up, smooth and silent as a shadow. Meanwhile, the others must have heard Makoto yell and started showing up, one after another.

"Togami! So this is where you've been hiding!" Taka shouted.

"The heck are you doin' here, man?" Hiro frowned, crossing his arms.

"We were very concerned..." Sakura said.

"Well you had no reason to be." Byakuya brushed all of them off. "I was just reading. I've never read such a...coarse novel before, but it might just prove useful at some point."

"Wh-What were you reading?" Hina asked.

"A mystery novel."

"Ooh..." Sora quietly gushed. She wonders if they had any gore-y murders in it.

"W-Wait, so are you gonna use what you're learning in there to betray us!?" Hifumi stammered.

"Don't be stupid." Byakuya rolled his eyes.

"Yeah!" Makoto agreed.

"It's just something to keep in mind."

"Yea--what?" Makoto looked at Byakuya with a shocked expression.

"If I decide to fight, of course I'll come up with something original. Otherwise, this game of ours will be totally boring, right? It's not often you get to take part in such a high-stakes, high-tension activity. So if you're going to do it, you have to make sure it's entertaining. Mhmhmhm..."

Sora tilted her head. His words sent a chill down the students spines. There was an undeniable smile on his face as he spoke. He looked like he was actually enjoying himself. Enjoying this deranged "killing game"...

"What the fuck do you mean, "game"!? That's fucked up!" Mondo yelled.

"But it is a game." Byakuya responded. "It's a game of life or death, which can have only one winner. That's all there is to it."

"He is right. It's a zero-sum game." Celeste nodded.

"Huh?" Makoto inquired.

"It is a part of game theory, a mathematical model. In game theory, what we are going through now is called a "zero-sum game."" Celeste explained. "In this type of game, in order for one person to gain something, another must necessarily lose something. In other words, it is a situation in which participants must compete for position or resources."

"You mean like...a kind of elimination match." Sakura said.

"Entrance exams, sports tournaments, job openings--most social interactions fall into this category. Everyone must scramble to obtain something which is limited. For you to succeed, someone else must fail." Celeste said. " This also applies to the school life we have been subjected to here. In this case..." She looked at the students with her unsettling "leaning into your face" stare. "Our "limited resource" is that only one of us can successfully become the blackened."

"So, this game was designed from the beginning to force one of us to try and defeat all the others." Byakuya said with a smirk on his face.

"Th-That...that can't be what they had in mind!" Makoto exclaimed.

Celeste chuckled. "This is why adaptation is so crucial. If those who want to escape were to disappear, there would be no reason to continue playing the game."

"But why would I want to stop playing? It's so much fun..." Byakuya smiled. But it wasn't one of joy. This was a smile filled to the brim with callousness and deceit. It twisted his face into something inhuman...

"It sounds as if you do not acknowledge even the possibility that you may lose, am I right?" Celeste asked for confirmation.

"Of course." Byakuya nodded.

"You do not speak like the others. Exactly what I would expect from the Togami heir apparent." Celeste smirked at him.

" ...It's just normal arrogance, isn't it?" Hiro asked, confused as he ruffled his hair.

"You talk like that, but what if you end up dead!?" Hina yelled at him, appalled at his enjoyment towards this 'death game' that the students found themselves in.

"I won't. It simply isn't possible." Byakuya said.

"Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Mondo yelled.

"You know, I still just can't believe it..." Byakuya muttered, though it was loud enough for Mondo to hear.

"Believe what!?"

"That an uneducated, brain-dead, useless piece of garbage like you has survived this long." Byakuya bluntly said while Sora quietly giggled. She loved conflict. All this chaos and discord...it entertains her.

"I'M GONNA FUCKIN' KILL YOU!" Mondo roared.

"Like I said. I won't die." Byakuya chuckled.

"You keep saying that, but--" Hiro tried to retort.

"Do not bother arguing with him." Celeste spoke up, interrupting the fortune teller. "For him, the concept of losing simply does not exist. He is the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, after all--a boy raised to succeed from the day he was born. He considers victory his destiny, and has lived his life accordingly. Tests and challenges are merely ways for him to stand victorious. Even if it is a life-and-death situation. Is that not so, Togami?" She smiled at him.

Byakuya proudly smirked. "At least one of you seems to understand."

"It is because I am the same as you. Games are meant to be won." Celeste said, though Byakuya didn't take the first sentence too well.

"Are you trying to suggest we're on the same level?" Byakuya glared at her. "Close that vulgar mouth of yours."

Oof. Denied...

"Well, well. I do apologize." Celeste said, though by the tone of her voice, it was most likely sarcastic.

"Anyway, let me just say this to all of you." Byakuya looked at all the students. "You all need to try harder. If an opponent isn't going to give it their best, where's the fun for me?"

"Th-That's a terrible way to look at it..." Chihiro spoke up.

"Hmm?" Byakuya raised an eyebrow.

"This...isn't a game. Our lives are on the line, you know..." Chihiro told him. "To kill your own friends is...is... It's horrific!"

Bold of you to assume that all of us are friends... Sora thought. Turns out, Byakuya was thinking the same thing. He was just more...vocal about it.

"Friends? Who decided that?"

"...Huh?"

"We're not friends. No, quite the opposite. We're in competition--we're enemies." Byakuya folded his arms.

"B-But...you know..." Chihiro stuttered.

"But what? Stop trying to force your contradictions on me and just accept what I'm telling you."

"U-Um..."

"Yes? If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, keep your mouth closed."

"..." Chihiro stayed silent for a while. The argument being too much for her emotions, tears started falling. "I-I'm sorry..."

Sora sighed. Good grief... So cruel... She thought while looking at Chihiro with pity.

That could've been the end of it, but someone didn't take Byakuya's verbal beatdown lightly.

"Hey, shithead! You get off on bullying people that can't fight back?" Mondo scowled at Byakuya. "You wanna try that on me!?"

The progeny simply chuckled in response. "So, you're back to pretending to be friends, huh? And how long do you think that's going to last?"

"Fuck you!" Mondo let his words of anger slip out his lips.

"Is that all you can say?" Byakuya rolled his eyes. "It's unfortunate you would waste your breath on such empty gibberish."

"That's it! You're fuckin' dead!" Mondo would try and rip Byakuya a new one, but Hina would hold him back.

"H-Hold on! Just calm down!"

"I AM calm!" Mondo yelled, though the others gave him 'are you serious' looks.

"How is this "calm"!? Hina made a rough sigh while Sora playfully kicked her legs in joy.

"Anyway...I don't have any intention of working with the rest of you any longer." Byakuya spoke up, turning his back away from the students. "To cooperate during an elimination game is... Well, frankly, it's a waste of time. And I hate wasting my time."

"...Waste of time?" Sora spoke up for the first time since this whole conversation started. Something that Byakuya took great interest in.

"I'm sure you feel the same way. Don't you, Shirayuki...?"

"..." And just like that, Sora went back to staying silent.

"Engaging in "friendly" group meals is out of the question. Someone could easily poison our food. And I'd rather not become part of the Last Supper just yet."

"Quit talking like you're in a fuckin' movie or something!" Mondo yelled, though it fell on deaf ears.

"All I'm saying is that, ultimately, you are all free to do whatever you want on your own. Goodbye." Byakuya said as he left. There wasn't anything the students could do to keep him from going. His way of thinking was just beyond anything most of them could even comprehend.

"Was he serious about all that...?" Hiro asked.

"He was, without a doubt." Celeste confirmed, twirling a strand of her hair.

"Well fuck him, then." Mondo clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"I mean, to be fair, someone just killed someone the other day." Sora pointed out.

"Shirayuki!" Makoto frowned at her in disapproval.

"What? Just sayin'." Sora said in her defense with an unapologetic shrug.

"T-They're not n-necessarily wrong..." Toko stuttered. "I mean, can you s-say for sure someone won't poison our f-food?"

"Hey, come on! You too, Fukawa!?" Hina called her out.

"Well, it's n-not like anyone would care even if I w-was gone, right...? Actually I bet you all w-want me gone! You all think I'm d-disgusting!" Toko scowled at them, her eyes full of paranoia.

You said it, not me...

"None of us think that..." Makoto tried to assured her.

"You j-just think you don't think that!" Toko pointed at them.

"...What?" Sora tilted her head. That doesn't make any sense...

"I know some people like to play the victim, but this is just...totally out there." Hiro commented.

"You think I d-don't know, but I do... You want me g-gone! And I'm s-sure...the rest of you want the same th-thing, don't you?!" Toko then ran off.

"Ah, hey! Fukawa, wait!" Makoto reached out to her.

"Just let her go." Celeste advised. "Once she gets going like that, there is nothing you can say to bring her back."

"..."

Ultimately, the students' breakfast meeting came to an end without answering any questions. Everyone headed back to their rooms.

Chapter 10: End

To be continued...?