(3rd Person's POV)

Hina leaded the students to the bathhouse, where she apparently saw this "ghost" of Chihiro.

"I-It was right here... I saw it right here in the dressing room!" Hina exclaimed.

"Urg... I'm getting goosebumps..." Hiro nervously said.

"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!" Hifumi chanted.

"Shut up! What if he actually shows up!?" Hiro yelled.

"Hina...where was it you saw Fujisaki's ghost?" Sakura asked.

"Well, I heard a sound...and when I opened the locker..." Hina started to explained as she shivered at the memory. "I saw a kind of...pale outline of Fujisaki..."

Sora walked over to an open locker and looked inside to see...

"A laptop?" Sora spoke out loud as the other students gathered around the locker where she was.

"What's something like that doing here?" Makoto inquired.

"I remember seeing this..." Kyoko mused as Sora nodded, flashing back to when she saw the laptop in the library.

"But how did the laptop get from the library...to here?" Makoto asked.

"And...I guess it's in sleep mode, but...the power is definitely on." Kyoko added.

"Huh? But I thought it was broken..." Makoto said.

"I would bet that Fujisaki fixed it." Sakura assumed. "After all, he was known as the Ultimate Programmer."

"More importantly..." Celeste looked at Hina. "Hina, you said you saw a green light, yes? Surely you did not mistake the light of the monitor for a ghost?"

"..." Hina's silence and expression said it all.

Celeste sighed at this. "I am surprised you are able to dress yourself in the morning."

"Oh man. If I had the "loves clueless girls" attribute, I would've fallen in love big-time just now! I'm so glad I don't have it..." Hifumi chuckled.

"Really, Hina?" Sora deadpanned. "I knew you were ditzy, but this...this just takes the cake."

"Sh-Shut up! What would you do if you saw something like that?!" Hina tried to defend herself.

"Oh, I dunno...not think it was a ghost and scream my lungs out?" Sora snarked in a deadpan tone.

"Look, I didn't really expect to find a freaking laptop inside a freaking locker, okay!?" Hina yelled.

"It's okay. I mean, anyone can make a mistake like that." Hiro told her. "As a matter of fact, one time I thought I'd spotted a Grey alien, but it turned out to be a tadpole!"

"Don't compare what happened to me to one of your stupid delusions!" Hina exclaimed.

"Don't be mean! I was just trying to make you feel better! What if I get all depressed forever now!?" Hiro complained as Sora rolled her eyes.

"But listen, isn't this really strange? What's this laptop doing in here?" Makoto spoke up.

"Maybe someone hid it here." Kyoko guessed.

"If that's the case, we found it pretty easy..." Hiro said.

"Whoever put it here, I don't think they were trying to hide it from us." Kyoko said.

"Huh...? What do you mean?" Makoto questioned.

"Haven't you noticed? There's one big difference between this room and all the others."

Sora looked around and slightly widened her eyes. "There...no surveillance camera's here..."

"Precisely." Kyoko nodded. "There's no camera in here. Which means, this is the one spot where the mastermind is blind."

"So you're saying someone put the laptop here so the mastermind wouldn't know about it?" Hifumi asked.

"And what Hina saw wasn't the ordinary glow of a computer screen. It was...the figure of Fujisaki, shining pale green." Kyoko added. "I think it would be best if we investigated this laptop in a little more detail."

"Alright...!" Sora nodded, looking at the laptop before sweatdropping a little bit. "What are we supposed to do again?"

Everyone did an anime fall at this.

"And you call me the airhead?!" Hina asked.

"First, you need to wake it up." Kyoko told her as the others got up.

"Oh yeah, yeah...I knew that." Sora said as the others gave her 'are you kidding me' looks. The blonde then started to hit random buttons on the keyboard...then the display instantly began to glow a pale green. There were a bunch of different icons on the desktop. Two of which got Kyoko's attention.

"There--the two icons on the far left." Kyoko said.

"What is it? They say...Doppelgänger and Alter Ego...?" Makoto spoke up.

""Doppelgänger" and "Alter ego" literally means..."another self," I believe." Celeste informed them. "In the field of artificial intelligence, it is not uncommon to create different aspects of a personality. You can consider it something like...a pen name."

"Could you let me see it, Shirayuki?" Kyoko requested as Sora nodded.

With that, Kyoko moved between Sora and the computer. She moved the cursor over the Alter Ego and Doppelgänger icon...and when she double-clicked them...

The screen suddenly went dark. And then, a voice spoke to them...and then another...

"Master! You're here!"

"Good grief... Who the heck...?"

The faces of Chihiro and Sora appeared, taking up the entire display. They had a green color scheme and light blue scheme, respectively.

"G-G-Ghosts! Buddha and sweet baby Jesus, save me!" Hiro screamed in fright.

"Calm down. They're not ghosts." Kyoko said.

"Huh?"

"Then...what are they?" Hina asked.

"I'm sure if we just talk to them, we'll find out." Kyoko replied as she began to type, her hands blurring across the keyboard.

"What are you two?"

And then...

"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Chihiro Fujisaki... Eheh... I always get so embarrassed introducing myself." The

"Ciao. I'm Sora Shirayuki."

"Th-Those voices... The tone and everything..." Makoto stammered.

"It's...Fujisaki." Sakura stated in shock.

"And the other one is definitely you, Shirayuki!" Hina exclaimed.

"Alter Ego and Doppelgänger... I've heard about these kinds of AI programs, but I've never seen one for myself." Kyoko mused.

"AI program...?" Makoto looked at her.

"It's how Fujisaki earned his title of Ultimate Programmer. The AI's live in a computer, and by repeating different tasks, they gains knowledge and grows bit by bit. Apparently, Fujisaki used a support vector machine and reinforcement learning to develop them... Eventually, he came up with a breakthrough in artificial intelligence design."

"Support vector machine...? Reinforcement learning...?" Makoto tilted his head in confusion, having trouble understanding Kyoko's choice in vocabulary.

"To put it simply, it's a learning method for computers." Kyoko told him.

"If you wanna know more...just Google it, okay!?" Hifumi exclaimed.

"But if these AI's continues to grow, they will become more than just pieces of software to help people. Some say that AI's like these might someday replace people." Kyoko mused.

"And that is why they are called Alter Ego and Doppelgänger? A fine choice then, I must say... They can create memories, have thoughts, and "grow up." The process isn't much different from how humans work." Celeste stated. "If you were to raise your own AI that way, it would make perfect sense to refer to it as your alter ego or doppelgänger."

"Perfect personalities that can never forget or grow old. That's what Fujisaki created. That's...Alter Ego and Doppelgänger."

"Fujisaki...made two full-functional artificial intelligence systems...we're just acceptin' that?" Sora asked.

"Yes." Kyoko bluntly said.

 Sora rolled her eyes. "Good grief..." She sighed, giving up on the logic of this situation.

"Kirigiri... How do you know so much about this?" Makoto inquired.

"..." Kyoko refused to respond.

"Anyway, so he fixed the broken laptop and put his own program on there. That is what this means, yes?" Celeste asked. "Then he brought the machine to this dressing room, where the mastermind would not be able to see it."

"Hmm, but you know... All this about "Master" and whatnot from Alter Ego... Yes, yes... I...I believe I'm on fire..." Hifumi drooled perversely.

"I thought you were only interested in 2D..." Sora cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"This is the most EXCELLENT 2D possible!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"But Alter Ego's modeled after someone who was born a male. And he's a computer program." Sora pointed out.

"Oh, those aspects is no problem." Hifumi waved it off.

"...What." Sora deadpanned.

"Anyway, let's talk to them a little more." Kyoko said as she typed away rhythmically.

"How much do you two know about what's going on?"

"Eh, not much." Doppelgänger shrugged. "We were only given the general idea."

"But we do know things have become very grave." Alter Ego added. "Master found himself caught up in this without any warning..."

Kyoko immediately shot out another question...

"Why are you here?"

"Are you asking what Master had planned for us?" Alter Ego asked. "Well... He wanted us to analyze the massive number of files stored on this laptop. One of us working on it more than the other..." He added, looking at Doppelgänger.

"Hey, what's with the stare? I just don't feel like doing some of 'em, that's all." Doppelgänger defended herself.

The other students sweatdropped. That's Sora, alright...

"Anyway, I believe the files are related to the school, but the protection on them is surprisingly strong. So it's taking us a little longer than we thought. But here's what Master must have been thinking... The fact that the files are protected so tightly means they must contain some important secret. For example, perhaps...the secret of this school."

"...!" Makoto gasped. While he was busy struggling to make a sound, Kyoko pushed forward and asked her next question.

"How much longer until everything's unlocked?"

"Umm...it's gonna be a while. But we're definitely gonna do it, so you can just leave it to us!" Alter Ego exclaimed.

"So just be patient, capiche? This hacking stuff is harder than it looks." Doppelgänger told them as she yawned.

"So because of how long it would take, he designed Alter Ego and Doppelgänger to handle the workload." Kyoko mused.

"Smart. It also means that the work remains uninterrupted, even after his death." Celeste added.

Once again, Kyoko typed quickly...

"Keep it up. But be careful not to let the mastermind notice you."

"Don't worry. I've got a secret plan all ready, just in case..." Alter Ego said. "Actually, we can see what's going on using our built-in webcam, so if anyone suspicious shows up... We'll just scream for help real loud!"

"Actually, they're gonna be the ones doin' the screaming." Doppelgänger clarified. "I'm not gonna risk the chance of ruining my voice..."

"It's a pretty...basic plan, I have to say..." Makoto sweatdropped.

"That is fine during the day, but nighttime is a concern..." Celeste spoke up.

"Huh? Why?" Makoto asked.

"Have you forgotten? All our rooms are completely soundproof. Once we close our doors, he can scream as loud as he wants but we won't hear a thing." Celeste pointed out.

"Okay, then how about once it's nighttime, we each take turns guarding the dressing room?" Makoto suggested.

"There's a good chance the mastermind would notice us all going in and out of the dressing room like that." Kyoko pointed out.

"Then...what can we do?" Makoto asked.

"Once nighttime comes, I'll leave the door to my room open. Then there's no way I can miss Alter Ego yelling." Kyoko volunteered.

"B-But...if you leave your door open all night, then..." Hiro nervously said.

"There's a chance I may become a victim myself, I know." Kyoko concurred before she folded her arms and looked at the students. "But I'm not as weak as you may think. I wouldn't go down without a fight, I assure you."

There was an undeniable strength in her voice when she said that. She was totally confident she would be okay. That confidence was somewhat similar to Byakuya's tone, but at the same time different... It was like someone who'd been dropped onto a battlefield versus someone who'd been born on a battlefield...

"Umm...would you mind if we asked a few questions?" Alter Ego suddenly spoke up. "I haven't seen Master for a while. When you got here, I thought it was him, but... Is Master...?"

The entire room went silent. For a split second, Kyoko seemed to not know what to do. But she recovered just as fast, and quickly began typing. Her answer was clear, concise, direct.

"Fujisaki's dead. Owada killed him."

Alter Ego put his head down in sadness. "I see... To be honest, I knew all along... I knew the chances that Master would survive this situation were very low... So...I was prepared for this moment..."

"Somehow I feel kinda...sorry for her..." Hifumi said.

"I can't even imagine how it must feel to lose your "other self"..." Hina put her head down, sympathizing with the A.I.

"It is a simple computer program. It does not have feelings." Celeste reminded them without a shred of empathy in her voice, though she still had that deceitful smile on her face.

"Are you sure about that...?" Hifumi asked.

"Anyway, that's enough for today. If we linger here too long, the mastermind will start to suspect something." Kyoko said as she typed on last sentence.

"I'll come back later."

"Yes, please do! It's a promise, okay? Bye-bye!" Alter Ego smiled.

"Ciao." Doppelgänger said as the power turned off.

"Hurm..." Hiro hummed as he looked to be thinking about something. A very rare occurrence.

Makoto noticed this. "What's wrong, Hiro?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering if we might be able to get this laptop online. Then we could call for help from the outside..." Hiro suggested.

"But this is just a dressing room. I don't think you can get online from here..." Hina pointed out.

"Well, if we take it out of here and find somewhere that does have online access...!"

"Th-That's way too dangerous! The mastermind would find out in no time!" Hifumi exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah...true." Hiro rubbed his head.

"This is no time for taking needless risks. For now, I'll monitor the progress of the file analysis." Kyoko spoke up. "I'm confident we'll uncover some kind of clue once its finished."

"This feels like a detour more than anything else, but...I suppose it can't be helped." Celeste sighed.

"Well, for now all we can do it wait for Alter Ego and Doppelgänger to finish their work." Sakura said.

"So, should we get going?" Hiro asked.

Kyoko nodded. "Indeed."

"Goodbye! We'll be back, I promise!" Hifumi exclaimed to the laptop.

Hina rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Yamada, let's go!"

"O-Okay..."

---

And they all left the dressing room. As soon as they were out in the hall, Hina let out a joyful shout.

"Isn't it awesome!? I ended up doing something totally awesome, right!?" Hina looked towards the others, expecting agreements.

And as if he'd been waiting for his cue...

"Dun da-da duuun! Hina has gained enough experience to level up!" A voice exclaimed as Monokuma popped out of the ground. "So...what was this awesome something?"

"M-Monokuma!" Makoto stammered.

Out of all times to appear! If Monokuma were to find out now...

"You guys all seem in remarkably good spirits. Did something happen!?" Monokuma asked.

"N-No, nothing in particular...!" Makoto said.

"Ooh, keeping secrets? No fair! I demand an exclusive interview!" Monokuma exclaimed.

"Denied, denied, super denied!" Hifumi comically exclaimed.

"Y-Yeah, just because you demand something, doesn't mean we have to do it!" Hina said.

"Do it...? You mean, like, do it do it?" Monokuma smirked.

"Wait, what? What do you mean, do it do it?" Hina blushed.

"Ewww, gross! You said "do it"!" Monokuma childishly laughed.

"What!? You said it first!" Hina yelled.

"We were just talking about going to the bathhouse." Celeste spoke up. "We have not had a chance to relax in some time."

"...Huh?" Monokuma tilted his head.

"But unfortunately, the bathhouse is not divided into men and women sections. So we decided to do rock-paper-scissors to decide which group would go first. Hina won the match for us, and that is why we are all so pleased."

Hina looked confused, but decided to go along with it. "Y-Yeah, that's right! Speaking of which... Okay, boys! Why don't you head on back to the dining hall or something? We're gonna take a nice, long bath!"

"Ahhh, jeez, what're ya gonna do, right!? We lost, fair and square!" Hiro said.

"Well, ladies? Shall we go?" Celeste asked. She didn't hesitate coming up with the ruse, and her poker face didn't even flinch. So she and the other girls headed back into the dressing room...except for one...

"Huh? Shirayuki, you comin'?" Hina turned to the blonde, who stiffened up.

"...I'm good. I don't really feel like takin' a bath right now..." Sora said, though through her neutral expression, her face turned red.

"Oooh? Are you sure that's the reason you're staying behind? Or maybe it's because you like...playing for the other team...?" Monokuma teased.

"...I have absolutely no idea what you're talkin' about."

"Aw c'mon, it'll be fun! Let's go!" Hina urged as she grabbed Sora's wrist and dragged her into the bathhouse with her.

"Wah!"

Chapter 18: End

To be continued....?