(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!"

Awakened by the morning announcement, Sora yawned as she got out of her bed and did her morning routine. Once she was done, she got out of the bathroom and sighed.

"I guess I gotta go to the dinin' hall." Sora said. "Got nothin' better to do..."

---

The lazy blonde headed straight to the dining hall. As usual, she's one of the first people to attend. And soon, the others starting piling in as well, with Makoto being the last one to enter. But...

"Is this...everyone?" Taka asked, looking around the dining hall. "It feels a little...small. Even the table looks bigger, somehow."

Sora shrugged at Taka's comment. Byakuya and Toko stormed off and renounced their "allegiance" to the group, so it's not much of a surprise that they aren't here.

"I assume that is because three people are dead, and two are abstaining." Celeste said.

"Yeah, with five people missing, I guess it would feel kinda empty." Makoto conceded.

"Still... I know Togami's whatever, but shouldn't we go check on Fukawa?" Hina asked.

"I vote no. She's super annoying." Hiro bluntly responded as Sora nodded in agreement. The less schmoes she has to deal with, the better.

"How can you be so cold? You are like a piece of rock candy." Celeste said.

"What!? No, rock candy isn't cold! It's sweet!" Taka corrected, comically missing the point.

"...Anyway, Togami's the real problem. If we don't keep an eye on him, he might really kill someone." Mondo spoke up. "You can see it in his eyes..." He then banged his fist on the table. "We got no choice! Get some rope! We're gonna hafta keep him bound and gagged!"

"I think that's going a little overboard..." Makoto sweatdropped.

"But, you know, Owada's right!" Taka spoke up. "In this situation, there's nothing scarier than when an ally turns loose cannon! It's just like when we were kids, and someone would go crazy at sports day or whatever!"

Mondo gave him a weird look. "What the fuck are you talking about!? You gonna use the rope to do tug of war or something!? Idiot!"

Taka seemed to take offense to that. "I'm not an idiot...! YOU'RE an idiot!"

"Wow, great comeback Taka. You sure showed him." Sora sarcastically clapped without a hint of emotion in her comment.

"Thank you very much!" Taka exclaimed. It seemed he doesn't understand sarcasm. "I've been practicing verbal self-defense in case situations like this arise!"

"She was bein' sarcastic, dumbass!" Mondo told him. "And who're you callin' an idiot?!"

"..." While this was going on, Chihiro had her head down in sadness.

"Huh? What's wrong, Fujisaki?" Makoto asked, noticing this. "You don't look so great..."

"Oh, I'm just going through a little...self-loathing."

"Huh? Self-loathing?"

"Well, after what Togami said to me yesterday...I just got so nervous, I locked up. I couldn't say anything." Chihiro explained. "Owada ended up having to help me out. And even he said I was someone who "can't fight back"... I...I hate how weak I am."

"Ahh, I see. So Owada made you depressed." Hina nodded.

"I wasn't tryin' to be mean! Besides, girls are just naturally weak anyway right!?" Mondo said.

"..." Sora, Kyoko, Hina, and Sakura all gave Mondo deadpan, unamused stares.

"Gh..." Tears started dribbling from Chihiro's eye sockets, making the biker soften up his expression.

"A-Are you...crying...?"

"It's cuz you were screaming like a lunatic!" Hina puffed her cheeks out at him.

"Nng..."

"Ah, Majesty..." Sora sighed in annoyance, treating Chihiro's plight as a bother more than anything.

"Hey, c'mon, don't cry...I-It's my fault, okay? I won't yell at you anymore..."

"Really? Not sure I can believe that..." Hina commented.

"J-Just shut up..." Thinking how to make it up to Chihiro, Mondo finally got it. "I got it! I'll make you a promise as a man!"

Chihiro briefly stopped tearing up as she looked up at Mondo. "Promise...as a man?"

"Maybe I mentioned this before, but... Ever since I was a kid, there was one thing my brother told me over and over again." Mondo said. "He said that no matter what, a real man ALWAYS keeps his promises. That's what he left me."

"Left you..." Hifumi asked in confusion.

"Oh, yeah... My brother's dead." Mondo put his head down as he sighed.

"Oh...I see..." Makoto muttered, empathy written all over his face.

"Anyway, I don't wanna talk about it. Don't wanna make all you guys cry!" Mondo then turned and grinned and Chihiro. "Anyway, so you can trust me when I make that promise. So you don't gotta cry anymore!"

"O-Okay." Chihiro nodded. Her tears went away as she smiled at Mondo. "Thank you...Mondo."

"S-Sure..." Mondo stuttered, embarrassed at Chihiro using his first name.

Chihiro frowned. "But...I still don't like how I am right now. I have to get stronger... If I'm so weak anything can make me cry...that's not good."

"Still, don't stress out too much about having to get stronger." Makoto advised her.

"No...I want to get stronger. Maybe I should...start working out..." Chihiro suggested to herself.

"Even so, in that case, I would be happy to help you out anytime." Sakura spoke up with a smile.

"Oh, I'unno about that..." Sora sweatdropped.

"B-But then Miss Fujisaki would get smashed into a billion pieces!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"Shut up, you." Hina shot a glare at him.

"Hmhmhm..." Seeing the support everyone's giving her, Chihiro couldn't help herself as her lips formed into a smile.

"Ohh, finally cracked a smile, huh?" Hior teased

Chihiro looked embarrassed as she nodded. "Y-Yeah... Everyone...thank you."

And thus, today's breakfast meeting ended on a heartfelt note, especially in Chihiro's eyes. Many of the students became hopeful of this outcome. Perhaps if they kept helping each other out like this, they're bound to get out of this place sooner or later! Maybe...

---

Later, in Sora's room...

"Well, that was sure something." Sora stretched her arms before sighing. "So bored. I wonder if anyone's willing to kill some time with me...?"

---

Free Time Event: Toko Fukawa

"Hey, Fukawa!" Sora called, seeing her in the dorm hallway. 

"W-What do you want, b-blondie?" Toko narrowed her eyes. "If you're h-here to i-insult me, then g-get it over with, already!"

Sora rolled her eyes. "I'm not here to do any of that. I just wanna talk to you."

"H-Hmph!" Toko scoffed. "V-Very well. If you're that d-desperate for company, I-I guess it's your funeral..."

Sora spent some time conversing with Toko, though it was pretty one-sided on her side. She feels like they've gotten a little closer... Or she thinks so, anyway.

...

...

...

 "..."

Sora cocked her head to the side. Toko... She's just standing there...and she's looking at me.

"..."

But...she's not saying anything.

"..."

Maybe I should try to break the ice. This is getting way too awkward. "So... Fukawa?"

"What? You wanna t-talk to me?" Toko finally spoke, an unnatural grin on her face. "Well, I can't stop y-you. So talk already!"

"Okay..." Sora rubbed the back of her neck. "So, uh... What do you like doing in your spare time...?"

"Why do you w-wanna know...?" Toko furrowed her eyebrows.

"I mean... We're all trapped in this crazy place together. If me and you are gonna be friends, then we might as well get to know a bit about one another..." Sora said.

Toko froze. "Huh? What'd you just s-say?"

"Huh?"

"After that p-part about being trapped... We're gonna be wh-what?"

"Friends...? What, is there a problem with that...?"

"Hmmmeeheheheeh..." Toko creepily giggled before shaking her head in refusal. "Whaddya mean, f-friends!? You think I'm s-stupid? You're trying to trick me! I've already been h-hurt once before... I'm not gonna l-let it happen again...!"

Huh...? What happened to you...?

"Come on, y-you don't really care about m-me... You don't want to kn-know about me! Even I know that...!"

Sora puffed her cheeks out. "Hey, come on now, that's not true..."

"Fine. Then t-tell me..." Toko glared at her.

"...Tell you what?"

"You know why they c-call me the Ultimate Writing Prodigy, right?"

"Well, sure. You've won a bunch of prizes for your outstanding literature..."

"Then tell me wh-what I'm good at... Tell m-me what my genre specialty is!" Toko demanded. "If you r-really wanna convince me you give a crap, you should at least kn-know that...!"

"Romance, obviously." Sora quickly answered.

Toko widened her eyes in shock. "That didn't even take a couple s-seconds... You a-actually knew?"

"Yeah." Sora nodded. "Your biggest success was "So Lingers the Ocean", right? Everyone says it's your masterpiece. The book was such a hit that fishermen shot to the top of all the "Hottest Men" polls. Am I right?"

"How did y-you know all that...?" Toko bit her thumb nervously. "There's no way you c-care about me...!"

"I do, I swear! I want to be your friend, Toko!" Sora puffed her cheeks out again.

"Nng...! I'm blind! Your s-straightforward nature blinded me!" Toko shrieked. "Hyeeeeeeeehhh!" She ran off, screaming like a bansee.

Sora sweatdropped. That was weird... Does she believe me or...?

---

Free Time Event: Celestia Ludenburg 

"Ah, Shirayuki." Celeste approched her. "Perfect timing. I was looking for someone for me to share my perfect gambling strategy."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "What? But...there's no such thing, right? Isn't gambling completely reliant on luck?"

"Actually, that's exactly it." Celeste nodded. "There are only two types of luck—good and bad. There is no in-between. And that luck is built into every human at the moment of conception. Like a computer program. Some call it fate. The bottom line is, luck is life. Do you see what I am saying?"

"That's your perfect strategy, huh..." Sora mused, scratching her cheek.

"Correct. You see. I was programmed to have good luck when it comes to gambling. This is why I have never lost." Celeste smiled, hiding a layer of arrogance behind her.

"You don't say..." Sora mumbled.

"Shirayuki, you are the Ultimate Volleyball Champion, yes?" Celeste recalled. "Surely, your consecutive wins involve a fair degree of luck in it."

Actually... I think it has more to do with skill than anything else...

"Does your luck perhaps exceed my own...? One day, I hope to put that to the test." Celeste giggled. "Hmhmm. Well then, have a nice day." She then quietly disappeared from Sora's sight.

...Well, that was super weird.

---

In her room, Sora laid on her floor, doing a full-split. She did some dances where she showed off her flexibility. She laid her leg on the floor as she read "How To Be A True Hedonist" before her stomach grumbled.

"Mmph..." Sora groaned. "I guess all this has made me a bit hungry..."

The blonde woman went out her room and headed to the dining hall. She then opened the door...

Something to eat. That's all Sora wanted. And now she's about to get dragged into something like this.

Chapter 12: End

To be continued...?