---

Gods, for how short the day had begun, it had turned into a complete mess awfully fast. People were feeble things, and living in peace and prosperity for so long softened them. Sometimes the stress would get to them and they’d commit a crime, but in this scenario, a human was capable of the worst of the worst, even the friendliest of neighbours could turn to murder when put into a sick game like this; it brought out the worst in people, so that only the strongest and purest of them remained.

Unless Flare could do something about it. If they wanted to let this group kill each other to find a way out, then Flare would just find a different way. If they wanted to test this group and weed out the weak, Flare would just make every single one of them strong. If they wanted to crush the mentalities of the people here, Flare would just glue them back together. She was going to help in every way she could, and she was going to save them. Of all the people that the kidnappers could find, they just had to get the one that would ruin their plan. That bear picked the wrong girl to mess with and soon they would find out just how wrong they were.

---

Snow however...When first laying her eyes upon the grotesquely ridiculous bear, she could do nothing but scoff at his words. They were the ravings of a lunatic, nothing to be taken serious...but then she looked around. Everyone was panicking, some were getting angry, and some were probably already plotting things. But of course they would take Monokuma’s words seriously, it was so like humans to fall for this obvious ruse; idiots…

But that meant that they were already considering murdering each other, including Snow. They couldn’t be trusted, for each of them would stab you in the back as soon as they got the chance. As she stood there, getting more paranoid by the second, she looked at the bear once more, biting her nails in frustation and mumbling under her breath. “The hell do you want…”

Which Flare just happened to hear, turning her face towards Snow and answering calmly, yet deadly.

“It’s an experiment. Twisted scientists with no regards to human life who want inhuman answers to satisfy their inhuman questions. just look at that ridiculous bear; it’s obvious these people are toying with us.”

Her words fell on deaf ears though, as all the attention was quickly drawn by Chikako going in guns blazing. It was a kind of boldness and courage that Flare didn’t expect when she first met the girl. Even though their interaction was brief, Flare had quickly grown fond off the sassy attitude, talking with her about parties and even planning one for this group!

So seeing her run off like that, Flare couldn’t help but chase after her, warning her not to do anything stupid...unsuccessfully. From several feet away, she saw it all, and stopped moving, her vision blurred as she peered at the blood seeping from that guy...the boy who tried to rally everyone together; he had saved Chikako at his own expense.

But that wasn’t why Flare stood there frozen in place; no her eyes were still focused on the blood, almost obsessing over it with a terrified expression on her face; who knew where her thoughts were at the moment, but with every passing second, she seemed to get lost in them more and more.

Until she snapped back; when ginshi suddenly shouted for help, Flare almost jumped into the air of shock. But quickly regained her thoughts, which were now focused on one thing.

“Yes-”

She said as she ran towards the injured party, taking off her jacket and ripping it to pieces. Underneath her jacket was hidden a very peculiar black shirt; the collar was entirely made of black feathers which protruded upwards. In any case, she soon had the jacket laid out into several pieces to serve as bandages.

“Lay them on the ground carefully, we need to check for exit wounds,” She proclaimed as she took hold of Chikako to observe her shoulder at multiple angles until she indeed spotted one. “Alright that’s good. Any luck with him?” She questioned Ginshi before carefully tying the bandage around Chikako’s shoulder.

“We’re gonna need a medical arm sling for that shoulder, and crutches for mister speech, it’s important that you don’t move excessively, as hard as that may be for someone as bouncy as you.” She smiled at Chikako, an obvious attempt at comforting her.

Meanwhile, Snow was just in utter surprise, she knew that this group was quick to turn to panic, but those two were on a wholly different scale. Though the guns didn’t shock her as much as the others, mostly because she was already familiar with them, thinking back to the pier.

After observing the crowd one more time to look for any abnormalities, Snow finally turned around to walk away, sifting towards her new handbook for any intel that would give her an edge, and off she went in the direction of the cabins.

---

Interacting With:: Everyone (@Ammokkx, @Pyromaniacwolf, @TheSeriousJoke, @xxlanatjexx, @addamas, @AimeChambers, @KenjuGuy, @Vocab)

---

"... though, to be fair, it would of helped if Snow gave out her talent," the thief uttered, keeping his eyes on the road, though very seldom would he glance over at Ryuma and listen to his own replies... so this was what it was like, huh?

For the most part, this felt like a minuscule reverie in the storm of confusion as the duo eventually made it to the amphitheater... and from the looks of it, they were the last ones... fitting, he supposed as Aurel tapped his lip for a moment, before raising a finger to the air, muttering numbers as they approached.

"... fourteen, and the both of us make sixteen, so I was right," he uttered more robustly and triumphantly... though, his robust was probably how loud a normal person would speak. Though, he did crack a brief, but small smile for a second. Myriads of things were on his mind as his mouth slowly declined and became more straight-lipped as they approached.

Of course, the moment they were within the area encompassing the amphitheater, the hairs on his back suddenly began to stand up... though they did momentarily flatten back down the moment he spotted something quite prized to his very eyes - a ragged stuffed animal; it was just as cute as the girl holding it, but she didn't matter at the moment. What mattered right now was that rabbit.

"... a moment," he hastily vocalized to Ryuma before taking one step and swiftly vanishing from sight. Before dissipating into the legendary "smokescreen" known as walking, there was a glint in his eyes; one of unparalleled avarice and desire.

...

...

...

Aurel ended up fading out of everyone's line of sight as soon as Monokuma appeared. While he was doing whatever in the shadow of the sun, he still reacted as he would to the sound of his irrepressible, grating voice... but there was still consideration for what he took away from this all...

Though, funnily enough, he started thinking once more, clutching the small bunny to his chest, tightly and gently as he could before staring up into the cloudy sky. A small chill went down his spine as he both listened to the bear and felt the nip of the wind; it was... too cool to be spring.

"... stolen memories, huh," he expressed, chewing his free hands index finger as he instantly appeared back beside the Parkourist. If anything, he promptly began sifting through the words the vexing bear continued to squawk out, intermingling it with his own ideas on the matter, piecing it together, little by little.

While the thief continued to keep a careful eye on the bear, his eyes widened more than usual, his senses attuned and sharp as he paused briefly to gaze at the damning smile of their "counselor..." And in that abhorrent moment, the boy became as still as a statue.

"... kill... someone," it sounded as if he was musing over it, but there was spite and poison mixed with fear into the midst of it, making a boiling concoction of denial. As the bear began closing out the speech, the only thing he could think about was the docks and what he observed.

He blinked. Terror slowly crept up his spine, before shooting straight up without warning.

Aurel just... he just strode into a quick prowl, taking about a second or two before returning to his companion, a second pad... their PDA in hand. While the thief looked detached and unfazed by the whole situation, his free hand sang a different tune. Grasping the extra PDA, he slowly put his arm out, waiting for Ryuma to take it...

... it wouldn't be hard to take notice that his hand was shaking; while mild, it was more than noticeable; even his other hand that was tightly hugging the bunny and now his own PDA was vibrating as well.

Once the Parkourist took it, a bit of that intensity from this whole situation, the stress or at least some of it decomposed. "... so-"

Before he even got a word in, the thief abruptly flinched and clamored up at the resounding cry of defiance one of the girls made. It was really loud, and at this point, relegating himself to silence was possibly the best thing he could do as he dove in, nose first into the PDA.

---

The only thing he really did between listening to the myriads of of speak out against the bear, he was fidgeting around more with the tablet and getting familiar with the functions, finding each portion to be interesting - a list of the rules, a map, a dossier of all the students here (with information about him being all revealed, great, just great), and another... blackened out portion.

That was quite... curious, but regardless, he embalmed all of this data into his mind before quietly exiting out and pocketing the item... all of this was just... hm. Aurel shifted rather uncomfortably on the spot, his mind focusing on the words he had picked up, as well as going back on the bears words...

There was a... certain amount of truth to this all, yet there were some obvious contradictions that he couldn't shake off, even with the looming threat. A small bead of sweat began to form, sliding down his side as he began to muse and contemplate some more, before being shaken from the process by a rude, piercing, and over the top squeaking voice.

... which was then followed by the same girl who shouted in defiance earlier screeching before sprinting directly at the bear.

The only thing Aurel could do was stare in horror as the whole situation played out, ridiculous and whimsical as it treacherous and unpredictable as it was. He could barely move to try and stop it, stuck on the spot like some ingenue, shielding his mouth with a hidden, agape jaw.

How... even with the multiple contradictions, it still...

...

---

...

It... no.

No, no, no. He wasn't just going to let all his ideas get scrambled, even as he watched two people shuffle to the stage in an attempt to help the duo, even as he watched Snow slowly beginning to depart. Even with the medical attention, others might get in the way, trying to do the right thing, fear and possibly even doubt might get sewn.

The thief wanted to believe, but... he had to try something... something like that boy did earlier.

He took another shaky step forward.

"... Ryuma," Aurel's head slightly turned to face the boy as he stared at the dirt, murmuring the Parkourist's name. "I... I'm going to try something and I need everyone here... if I can't get Snow to stay, please keep her here," he spoke, his voice wispy as the wind, and shaky as the trees about the area as he vanished for a second, the sound of some bushes rustling a few meters away behind the amphitheater.

Following that, he reappeared once again, trudging passing Ryuma. While his eyes were directly on those acting on stage, he had another target as well; someone as important as everyone in the area. "... Snow," Aurel spoke in a gravely voice as he tightly grasped her shoulder in an effort to stop her.

Following that, he did something he hoped to not have to do for another eternity or two... he... he forcibly turned his head to look directly at her, secretly biting his own tongue to avoid his teeth chattering. If she would gaze back, he would meet her own with a solemn and piercing, but pleading stare before deftly placing his other hand into his pocket before it began shaking.

"... I... mmm... please stay; I-I'm gonna try something and i-its important that e-everyone is here t-to hear... me," he uttered the last portion out of some form of tense contempt for going up onto that stage, as if he would keel over from doing so. "... that includes y-you," were his last words to her for now as he freed his grip from the girls forward and trudged forward.

That's all he-

No...

That's all they could do.

Blending between the small crowds, mixed and intertwined, his pace was more tightened, sped up as he quickly accelerated towards the centerpiece, scooping up the two PDA's that were discarded and briefly noting the lack of any cracks or scratches. Upon passing the final line of Ultimates, he came back into focus as in one fell swoop, he hopped onto the stage.

... he wasn't here to help the injured; he lacked any sort of medical knowledge, outside of CPR for certain situations, plus clumping up to assist would probably cause the situation to be even worse...

"... here," he murmured briefly, kneeling down beside the defiant girl and red-haired young man. Quietly, he slid over two of the PDA's to them; they were the ones that "dropped" theirs. That was really the only thing he was going to contribute to this situation, rising back up to his full height, gulping as he did.

... fuck, was he really going to do this?

It felt like his heart was going to burst from his chest and in turn make the whole amphitheater a crimson splash zone as he stepped forward. God damn, he really didn't want to do this. And another. Just... oh no...

And another...

... dear god he really was going to do this.

It was tough keeping his arms from being visibly shaky, legs almost turning into gelatin and him tumbling over like that one time he stole Buddha's Tooth... at least no one was around to see that. For a second, he inconspicuously bit down on his lip as he stood, front and center... in front of a bunch of people... after they had all witnessed someone getting shot...

... and everyone was probably staring at him.

... could the bear come back with the irksome voice, please?

"... ah, uhm... h-hey, could I g-get everyone's attention," he suddenly shouted, his voice reverberating with an unprecedented loudness that startled even himself. Dear god, he was certain that if they weren't already starting at him.

... his pulse was increasing, pumping, rushing...

Aurel's mind nearly went blank, almost forgetting the thoughts for a second that he had put together, set up and all... swiftly, he stared into the relatively empty stands, devoid of any souls. Good, no one there... the thief could feel most of the stares on him, but there was some comfort in not having to give them the same response with his eyes, as relatively minute as it was.

"I-I'm pretty sure we all kn-now that... th-that bear has some form of truth to its words, h-however, there are o-other things that bother me as well," while his tone was cool and aloof, he began to feel his toes, twisting and curling painfully inward as he paused, feet quivering in his boots... yet it was one of the few things that was unseen by the crowd...

... if he could only say the same thing about the way he began speaking.

"... wh-while Monokuma stated he took away certain memories, the thing is... which ones? While I'm c-certain that we have an idea of which ones, there might be some others we haven't realized were stolen." Pausing briefly, he took the moment to raise an arm partly up, index finger pointing directly at the sky. In that moment, Aurel took one gulp of the crisp air in, before calmly breathing it out. Come on... you've already dug yourself an even deeper hole.

"... have any of you noticed the weather? May sound out of l-left field but humor me for a second here. Its crisp, getting a bit cooler, and the c-color of some of the trees are beginning to change... from the looks of it, the current season we're in is the Fall." This was the last time he would do this, cold turkey after this all; most he would speak, period.

"Based on the information accrued, we're all students from Hopes Peak... but the o-only memory I have is standing in front of its gates in the midst of Spring... I-I'm sure most of you know this, but school starts in the Spring in Japan, and that includes Hope's Peak Academy as well."

"... which means our memories as classmates from Spring to Fall were stolen."

At this point, he gave the longest paused, letting these words, this "revelation" of how much time had gone on sink in. Despite the stares making this process even more painful, Aurel utilized this brief moment of silence as some form of false reassurance; an escape from the storm he was now caught in. He raised both of his arms and crossed them over, feeling his heart surge even more so than before.

Dear god, he was going to have a heart attack at this rate.

But there was one curious word he had uttered: classmates.

Aurel gave himself a couple of seconds more as his own personal break before jumping back into the heat of things. The way it was signified that he was continuing was with the boy shutting his eyes, taking one huge breath in before slowly breathing out.

"... you heard me right - I said classmates and I mean it... which means we all befriended each other at some point," were they and did they? It... was a good guess, but even then he was moderately unsure... but even so, it was one of the few safeguards at least, _{and it would of been nice if they were all...}

"We all lost all our memories of our t-times spend with each other at the start, and I'm c-certain Monokuma just didn't just abduct random Hope's Peak students out of the blue... call it Thief's Intuition," right, "Intuition." Still, there it was better than putting the chips on the bears motives based on the way it articulated a certain word... and that would be a more asspulley lie than usual.

"... so yeah; while I have other theories at the moment, there are more important matters right now, such as tending to the wounded, and," Aurel stopped, quickly navigating his tab before pulling it up, displaying the map on the screen as he pointed to it.

"... getting a better understanding of the area around us and trying to figure out a way out... based on our n-numbers, we should go in groups of four..."

"... four go to investigate this gate, four g-go to investigate th-the lake and other piers, four take the wounded to the cabins, and the last four sh-should check out the Mess Hall just in case we get stuck here for more than a couple of days."

Pocketing the pad, he then directed his "attention" to the masses yet again, crossing his arms to stop them both from convulsing. Aurel had bravely done his part, as much as he could anyways... god that was just an experience, but it wasn't the end of it all. There was one final, parting statement the thief gave to the crowd, further increasing the chances of him mentally shutting down due to the last couple of minutes.

"... does that sound like a plan?"

Momoe Mizuno

Momoe was sliding through the tabs of her tablet as a gunshot rang out shortly after a cry of defiance, startling her and causing her to look up.

"What in the goddamn..."

Apparently, the local 'Hero' had decided to live up to his talent's namesake and dove in front of the bubbly girl from earlier, who had apparently been stupid enough to try and attack their captor. She wasn't surprised that said captor then decided to give out a warning shot, even if it was still a rather... shocking sight.

No, what made Momoe actually freeze up was the bear then needlessly shooting another bullet straight through the shoulder of the girl who'd tried the assault. She should've already learned her lesson from her hero getting shot; there wasn't a need to be cruel enough to do it again to prove a point. Momoe took a step back and blinked at the sight, dazed. Whoever was behind that bear was serious about all this. She looked around her as everyone apparently rushed forward to try and help the duo. The girl glanced to her side and saw a Platinum-haired girl- she was called Snow according to the handbook- walk away next to her. Momoe would've taunted her if it wasn't for the fact that the thief among them wanted to stop her.

"...You're kidding me," Momoe mumbled to herself as she watched Aurel go up to the stage. The girl groaned and knocked her lighter out of the sleeve of her coat, and pulling a cigarette out of its pocket. While Aurel went up and delivered his speech, Momoe was struggling to get her lighter to work. She paid enough attention to get the gist of what he was saying, but she needed some stress relief in order to not pop a blood vessel. Once she got the damn thing lit, only then did Momoe decide to go up and walk in Aurel's direction.

"So what?"

The smuggler's voice rang out as she slowly strode up the small steps of the stage. She didn't close her eye as she was pulling out the smoke of her cigarette, instead finding her sight locked straight onto Aurel as she paced towards him. Once close enough, Momoe at least had the courtesy to look away instead of giving him a face full of smog.

"Sure, if I believe you, we might've been friends..." she growled at him. The smuggler's one eye darted back to meet Aurel's.

"...but as far as I'm concerned, we're strangers now. And I don't intend to play the friendship game, or follow the leadership of some trembling lamb."

Momoe took a step back and took another drag from her cigarette, taking her time to enjoy the sensation before exhaling again. The smoke gently floated up in the air as she took a second to appreciate it, basking in the tranquility it gave her. The girl looked down after a blink, one last thing left to say.

"Stop preaching. Trusting someone just means you're an easier target."

Momoe turned on her heel and started to walk away from the stage, taking another drag of her cigarette as she moved.

Hisakawa Hiroki

Hisakawa had dealt with death before. He wasn't at the hospital when his father died—his mother didn't bother to tell him and his brother about it until after he had passed. Hisakawa used to be mad about it, but he had let go of that a long time ago. He had mourned at the funeral, but he was never particularly close with his father, and… he missed him more than he expected, but he eventually got over it.

He himself had been hospitalized before. He was unconscious for most of the affair, but he had vague memories of his last conscious moments before going to the hospital. Passing out in the bathroom, being faintly aware of the life leaving his body. He had woken up mostly recovered, but he remembered, at the time, being unsure if he was really okay with dying. But he also remembered what he was told when he voiced these thoughts, “Dozens, maybe hundreds of people die here every week, you know. We’ve worked hard to give you life, so don't be so damn ungrateful.”

At the end of the day, he wasn’t totally okay with dying. There were things in life he still cared about, and he wasn’t ready to let go just yet.

But, well, death was a pretty good way to not have to deal with the problems of life anymore. It was, perhaps, a bit of a morbid thought, but the reality of death suddenly seemed a lot closer to Hisakawa than he was really ready for. Even in the best case scenario… this Monokuma guy was definitely serious about keeping them here. Worst case, someone might actually die.

The commotion was a lot to take in. Hisakawa often struggled to respond to one person, so he didn’t even know where to start with this mess. Two people were shot, two were helping respond to it, one was trying to lay out a plan, the other was giving reason to not follow it. It was… really confusing. So… what the hell does he do?

He didn’t want to be a burden on anybody, but he almost feels as if that’s kind of inevitable. No matter what he does he’s probably going to be some sort of annoyance, but choosing not to act is always worse, so he had to choose what he was going to do carefully. He was conflicted about whether he should—oh fuck, that’s the guy from before! Yeah, no, he was definitely doing whatever he can to avoid talking to that guy.

Thinking on his feet, he pulled out the tablet and began sifting through the students once more, figuring out a plan in his head. No, no, no, no, no—Wow, there really was nobody with any sort of real medical training, huh? Then again, they were just a bunch of high schoolers…

Hisakawa breathed in and out. He had pretty decent medical knowledge, from combined independent study, some baseline anatomy lessons he had gotten in middle school, and the medical horror stories he keeps saying he doesn’t want to hear but always gets told about anyway. Their injuries could be pretty serious—the two helping the injured pair might need another set of hands, or at least somebody to get supplies while they focused on treating them. He was… squeamish, but he felt he had to do his best to help.

He got up onto the stage, approaching the woman who seemed to be at the forefront of treating them. He kept his head low as he spoke, saying, “Um, excuse me, but, if you think it would be helpful, I could provide some assistance. Oh course, I don’t want to clutter anything up, or mess anything up, it was just a suggestion…” He glanced over to the injured duo, observing their current state, “Uh… It might be best to—” He promptly cut himself short, “Never mind, I’m sure you got it. I’m just here to help, if you want it.” He took a small step back, wringing his hands as his stomach turned, fully prepared to turn tail at any second.

---
Himura Chikako

Himura was having a hard time understanding what was going on. From the adrenaline to the loud blast to just the general confusion, she wasn’t really able to get a grip.

She was aware of the fact that she wasn’t dead, but was in a great deal of pain. As she became more and more aware of the pain in her shoulder, she became aware of her own bubbling emotions—anger, fear, confusion. She turned her head to the boy who had collapsed in front of her, a scowl, “You didn’t need to do that, asshole, I’d have been fine,” she said faintly.

She tried to get up, but she was dizzy and weak. She was kind of losing a lot of blood, wasn’t she? No, no, she was fine. She just needed a moment to collect herself. She tensed up, preparing to rise once more.

She let out an exhausted sigh, barely paying mind to the movement that occured from some people trying to help her out, “Ah, fuck off, I got it, I don’t need any help!” Once more she tried to get up, but collapsed back down. Oh, lord, that definitely jostled something.

“Alright, fine, you can help, I guess.” She said, annoyance obvious in her tone. She felt like a child again, having her wounds taken care of by somebody else like this. It sucked, “But don’t think it’s cause I can’t do it, I just don’t wanna!” She said. There, that was better!

She sort of stopped paying attention after that point. She wasn’t really able to focus on anything else. She tried to keep her mind off the pain, thinking back to her party plans—this place wasn’t as nearly cool as she thought it was gonna be, but she could still do something with it. A party’s just a group gathering with some music, yeah? So all she’d really need a group and some tunes…

Her thoughts continued on a similar path, until they faded into what was essentially nothing, only barely conscious of her surroundings.

Ryuma couldn't seem to figure out why, but he really liked this kid Aurel. Maybe it was the competitive streak in him gauging Aurel's reflexes or the way the kid seemed to tick, but all the athlete felt was that the kid was a good potential ally and he forgot to analyze why. "The party don't start 'til I walk in-" He muttered when they arrived, then started chuckling quietly at his own reference. The atmosphere was tense, but that was expected, they had been kidnapped after all. These turrets on at the docks made this situation no laughing matter.

Sixteen... Aurel must have gotten that number from the cabins. Ryuma himself wanted to check them out now rather than later, but no way was he gonna miss whatever shitshow this-

...And the kid vanished. Why Aurel did, who's to say? As long as he didn't randomly shiv a person, Ryuma would let it lie. Besides, it seemed as though their host had arrived.

Normally, the athlete wouldn't believe a talking teddy bear. Normally, Ryuma would shrug off threats to his life or 'to the world as they knew it.' But normally he always knew how his mother was doing... And with stolen memories, who could say. "What kind of shit..." Ryuma scratched at the back of his neck again, his nails biting slightly into his skin enough for slight moisture to fall back onto his fingertips. Ryuma barely acknowledged Aurel's existence as his complexion went as white as a ghost.



The giggly shit-tastic voice knocked Ryuma out of his down-spiraling worries. While Ryuma had thought there were far too many hostages or victims, it made sense now. This sick twisted fuck wanted to watch them dwindle their own numbers down. He didn't seem to care about money or power, just seemed batshit crazy. And who better than the students of Hope's Peak Academy?

It took Ryuma a second before he took the PDA, mindlessly scrolling through it, only paying it mind as he scrolled through the familiar faces of Aurel and Prin- Snow. Only later did the Parkourist remember that the kid's hand had been shaking. How the hell was his mom going to survive...

The next time he looked up, there was a gunshot. Ryuma immediately dropped his PDA and moved into a defensive stance, scanning the area for Snow and Aurel. What the fuck had the others done to provoke the couk? Ryuma wasn't reckless enough to get involved in that shit, his heroic streak couldn't be stretched so thin. Why had he thrown away that chair leg again? To look cool?

At the sound of his name, Ryuma turned to look at the Thief. The boy gave him a stiff nod and watched as he disappeared again. While the athlete was a lot slower than Aurel, he still was able to show up behind Snow with little to no sound. He crossed his arms over his chest, ready to catch the kitten in front of him by her scruff if he had to. It was the least he could do for the kid who looked like he was going to faint at any moment.

There was truth to his words. At the very least, it had been at least three to four months of memories stolen. Three to four months that his mother had to fend for herself... But it wasn't the time to be thinking about her. Hopefully, Aurel's speech would force the others to face the gravity of the situation. ...And then he said something utterly stupid.

Friendship? Who the fuck cares about friendship now? Well obviously Aurel, but it didn't matter without their memories. No one here was going to act friendly to each other now unless they had already fostered ally relationships. A large part of Ryuma wanted to consider everyone but Aurel and Snow enemies, with his more optimistic side chastising his mistrust. His plan meant well, but sounded as fragile as the Thief looked, and someone beat him to the punch in explaining that.

Either way, Aurel was his ally and no one wanted some smoky smartass to voice what they were all thinking. She was placing a target on his head that made Ryuma's blood boil. Forgetting about keeping Snow from leaving, the athlete took a few large, meticulous steps, before standing in front of her. "Hey emo chick, instead of acting like a shitty teen smoking in the girl's bathroom, why don't you take your apathetic dirty ass and fuck off? No one needs your 'input.'" The boy was ready to pivot out of the way if she attacked him but for now, he just stood there, his expression stone cold.

@ammokkx@savo@addamas

---

Just her luck to be stuck in this hell hole. There were a lot of things that Naomi didn't give a shit about concerning Monokuma's speech, but a slight feeling of triumph echoed in her black heart. She had been right not to trust these people. Now she even had to worry about Yukimori killing her. But they were trapped here... That was a much more pressing problem. There was a small chance her family was looking for her, but the majority of them wouldn't give a shit that she was missing and considering so much time had passed, they had probably adopted some fawn to shape into their heir in her place.

The other captives were letting out profanities and threats, but a cold blanket was starting to wrap the Linguist's insides, leaving her apathetic at best. Yukimori was acting stranger than usual and before Naomi could even start to think maybe Shirou would show his true colors, he was already spouting bullshit.

Ultimates... It was such a cruel and disgusting term. They were the 'chosen ones' the 'elite of the elite.' It was all some huge networking scheme. Labels were what lent to arrogancy, to feeling 'special.' They would all die the same way, wouldn't they? Their blood all drained the same color. And this arrogance was shown plainly in the man-like boy Shirou Emiya, arrogant enough to play god and decide all of their fates.

But as soon as Monokuma's words reflected her own thoughts, Naomi felt repulsed. What kind of twisted soul had she been turned into against her Mami's wishes? Why did the glass have to be half-empty?

...And why was she hesitating to go help the two wounded?

She didn't run after the orange-haired boy to help catch the wounded, she didn't follow the blonde to help stop the blood. Instead, she started following in the white-haired stylist's footsteps, attempting to leave the scene. But Naomi stopped her tracks when she noticed two boys stopping the Stylist. How to leave without anyone noticing her?

To wait it out was hell, to stay here was hell, to live was hell. But she couldn't die, if for nothing better than to spite the shitty world she lived in. So hell it was.

The boy was stupid, the girl was stupid, but that boy stopping Snow was gone, leaving Naomi's escape route open. Quickly, she slipped off her awful shoes and started off towards the woods, hoping she wasn't making too much noise.

@Vocab@xxlanatjexx

Yukimori didn’t pay much attention to what was around her at first, she was too busy with observing her PDA. It was very fascinating that such a small thing can contain so much information about every single person walking around here. Plus a very detailed map about this place where they have been put in. As she turned her PDA around to look at the wiring and software that was put into it, she got interrupted by shots… Gun shots. Two small and painful screams were heard when the shots ended. Her body was frozen on place, the fear of those screams combined with the gunshots made a shiver run through her body. Her lips trembled as she wanted to scream? But instead of screaming she pressed them together, looking the other side of the scene. Her mind went blank for a few moments when a few thoughts popped up, she wanted to turn around and look what happened but on the other side she just wanted to run away. Yukimori turned around, seeing two people laying in a stranger’s arms. A red liquid was seen, know as blood. (Blood… Blood… T-They are injured… H-How? Because they stood up for themselves..?) 

Confused as she was, she didn’t know what to do next. The want to help those people, they were hurt and not even a little. But she had no medical experiences, so how could she help? Struggling with this, a sudden voice was heard, saying that she had the medical experiences they searched for. A girl with blond hair ran to the two people that were injured and started to help them (Good… I could have made it worse… So I’m glad someone with the right knowledge can help). A small sigh from her mouth was heard when she got curious all of a sudden. Who are these people that jumped to the rescues of these strangers? Yukimori took out her PDA and scrolled through the profiles. Seeing the boy with orange hair, he was the first one that acted to help those people. (Mhm… Ginshi Hamazura... Of course like we assumed, he’s an ultimate as well. Like everyone here. He’s the ultimate Judo master? Makes sense… Explains the speed and the strength he showed back then.) She glanced up to take a closer look, he’s seems strong. Her eyes went to the blonde girl with medical experiences.  (Flare Dawnray.. Ultimate Dog trainer? I love dogs… Her talent is pretty cool! Must explain the medical part… I guess.) Nodding at what she had found out she looked up once again. Happy that those two helped them after all that we just took in from the bear. Everyone must be very confused at the moment.

A male voice was heard from behind her. Some words he said caught her attention as she slowly turned around to have a look at who was speaking. A white-haired boy, he seemed shy to speak to such a big group of strangers. (I would be too though…). Yukimori walked closer tot he crowd, listing closer to what he had to say. He was right… Our memories, she almost forgot about those. Suddenly her thought started to spill out in words coming from her mouth. “We went to Hope’s Peak Academy in spring indeed… I checked the date a lot, making sure to not come late on my first day… Looking at the weather…” Lifting her head lightly up as she saw the brownish and yellowish leaves hanging on the trees. “It’s fall… That must mean we spend time together in the summer… Hope Peak must have held a summer camp as well like all the schools… The boy is right, we must have know each other before all this happend… But putting ‘friends’ or rather said ‘classmates’ together to… “ She gulped “To kill each other… What’s the reason? Amusement? Game? Survival? He must have a reason to all off this right?” Yukimori looked up as she finished her speech. Suddenly a blush came on her cheeks as she looked at all the people around her that may had listened to what she said. Shaking her head lightly.“I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to spill my thoughts out like that.. .I-I have this habbit when I’m thinking very deeply about something… Y-You all don’t have to listen to this…” Whispering a last apoligizie as she sighed.

 Nodding at the last words the boy stutterd out, this time her voice was gentle and rather quiet. “I… I think it’s a good idea to check what this place might have in store… But I guess people were already planning that… It’s better… To not force us all in groups, after the news some of us… Might want a little alone time or space right?... That’s what I think at least…” Her last words faded away as she thought that it might bother them when she talked. Her eyes wandered off tot he side as her thoughts went wild again, but this time she didn’t pay much attention to it(When I have some alone time… I would like to find more information about the people around me as well… I-I mean through my PDA of course…). What’s most important is that they need to find information about this place and their memories… A start of a fearful and dangerous adventure. 

Izo looked upon the unfolding scenario with disdain. He could have attempted to help with the gunshot wound but that had already been attended to by those more able and willing. Instead he watched as several members of the group made speeches to try and formulate a plan and raise moral, their voices were weak as was their spirit in his eyes. Already one of the students had left and another pair seemed to be about to break into a fight.

The robed student laughed. Well, it was less of a laugh and more of a single rapid exhalation of breath from his mouth. [color=f7976a]"If it is true that we were all friends at one point, a part of me cannot help but feel sad knowing that within the week one of us will have killed another." he paused for a moment as he considered how to word his reasoning for such a conclusion "Look at us, we are putty in that bear creatures hands. It merely told us it's intentions and we have began to fall into hate and malice ourselves.Not that I am surprised of course,many of you seem to have resolves of glass." the ultimate fanatic finished speaking without any real change in his somewhat disturbed expression but a surge of somewhat strangely familiar dread began to settle in his mind. He would die here. The other fools would play this bear's game and kill each other for the slim chance of survival but he would not. He would stand strong in his resolve against whatever powers had placed him here to break his will and die if he must, he would not give in to this twisted creature's demands nor would he end the life of a being that showed favor with the divine-as all people of their skill did in his eyes.

As he thought on his inevitable fate Izo Saitou began to move backwards,fidgeting with one of his many iron rings as he did, assuming nobody interrupted him after several steps he would turn and return to the spot he had awoken.

Momoe Mizuno

Momoe had her eye closed as she walked, intending to enjoy the sensation of sweet smoke filling her lungs. When she then bumped against some hard surface and stumbled back, the smuggler wasn't very pleased. She slowly opened her eye and looked up with ire at the guy standing between her and sweet release of the peanut gallery.

"So, what do you want big guy?" Momoe taunted Ryuma, taking another drag of the cigarette as he explained to her that her opinions weren't welcome in a school environment. As much as the smuggler would've loved to blow smoke right into this guy's smug face, restraint was something she'd learned to harness over the years and instead opted to look away as she blew it all out into the ether. Momoe took a step back, then a sidestep so Ryuma wasn't invading her personal space quite so much.

"That's great, Mr. White Knight. Gonna just take you up on that offer, kind of like what I was planning to in the first place," she snarked and walked past him. Momoe glanced back at the raving madman preaching about... something. Fanatic, was it? Sure acted like one. Well, none of her concern. For now, the girl had to make sure she got a good grasp on everyone. Honestly, though, she didn't expect much out of this bunch of wimps. Momoe looked dead ahead as she spun around her lit cigarette, ashes trickling down to the floor. A set of five buildings... she wondered what they could've been about.

---

Taka Tsuin

Insane. Absolutely, positively, insane.

Everything happened like a blur for the cross-dresser. After he'd tossed his small pad to the ground, the other girl that shouted in defiance had rushed up to the stage. A boy dashed almost immediately after her, causing both to get shot. The bear was mad, lording its power over them to show them just how powerless each of them were in this situation. For being a student with an incredible amount of talent, Taka sure felt incredibly useless right now.

What didn't help matters was the bitch fit that multiple people decided to throw up on stage. As the events unfolded and verbal blows were exchanged back and forth, Taka still just stood there, staring at this absolute madhouse. He'd all but ignored whatever plan the white haired boy up there thought up, instead opting to pick up the pad Taka threw to the ground earlier. He sorted through the profiles again, one by one, trying to learn as much about everyone as possible.

(One of them... is going to try and kill someone.
...Maybe even me.)

It was a chilling thought, and not even original. Taka'd thought it before, right as the monochrome bear did its initial speech. The cross-dresser didn't trust anyone here. Not now, not yet.

...but what could he do right now? If he wandered off alone, he'd risk himself getting stabbed in the back. On the other end, Taka was curious about the island and didn't trust anyone here to begin with.

...Maybe just check the cafeteria. If he's lucky, he might be able to grab something to drink and calm his nerves...

---

Holy…man this was a complete clown fiesta. Even as Snow was preparing to leave, she immediately got interrupted by the deceitful thief. Whatever his plan was, it wouldn’t be worth her time, nor that of any in this place from the looks of it...and yet, she listened.

it was like an unconscious feeling gnawing away at the back of her skull, forcing her to stay and watch these morons as they dealt with the situation in all kinds of ways; none of which were competent. Not that she had much of a choice, what with Ryuma blocking her exit like he did.

Stolen memories, good, bad; spring, autumn, the passing of time; Hope’s Peak, class...friends.
the memories of going to school she could accept, but being befriended with these people? Ungrounded, baseless, impossible accusations.

when Aurel’s speech had faded into chaos, so too did Snow’s feeling fade into a different emotion: Anxiety.

These people were at each other's necks, and Snow wanted no part of it. On one side you had the ’bro’s’ consisting of Aurel, Ryuma, and the red hair insisting on peace and comradery, the white haired glass about to shatter seemingly taking their side. And in the other corner there was a complete maniac with no care for hygiene or fashion, and she had a mouth that spoke words of antagonism which could only be described as: gutter-rat language; nobody sided with her though.

In any case, Snow wanted to get away from this chaos as soon as she could, so when Ryuma allowed her to leave, she didn’t hesitate to start walking in the direction of the cabins, hoping to find some semblance of peace; a place where she could gather her thoughts, and think of a solution.

He had done his best to prevent a situation from arising. Somewhere in his mind, Shirou had thought that, maybe, if he attempted to group their group together immediately, the chance of infighting, and injury, would be greatly reduced. He had hoped that vainly, with a certain misplaced sense of arrogance in the face of the unknown. It was a flawed idea, but it was his best at the time, on the spot, especially considering the circumstances. There was no way to disprove the notions the bear put forward, but maybe, just maybe, they didn't have to listen.

Of course he would be wrong about that. The arrogance came gift wrapped alongside ignorance, a belief that things would go alright. It was his failing here - his mistake, his fault, his flaw - and he would pay for it. If maybe he had said different words? Attempted another, more drastic approach? There were so many ideas that he could have had at the time, and a multitude more ways to prevent the future. The future. It was always scary, but he would always meet the future head on to prevent the worst from passing.

From his vantage point, between the other Ultimates, watching the stage, he caught the glimpse of a girl running, just in his periphery. That bright orange hairstyle could only be attributed to one person, even despite his only brief scan through the Handbook. That was Chikako, running, full speed, towards the stage. And the arrogance went along with her, in the opposite direction, torn away like wallpaper. It crashed all around them in a meteor shower of fire and death and chaos. Everything burnt around them, the world crumbling and collapsing.

Shirou didn't just move. Whatever it was, it didn't look like a move. With everyone's attentions directed to the stage, as Chikako lay helpless, the gun bearing over her, paralysed by the situation, he took the initiative, driven purely on the kinds of instincts that gave him his title, and ran to the stage. It wasn't an active decision; the cause and effect clicked into his mind effortlessly, and his limbs moved on their own, carrying him forward as quickly as humanly possible. People always said that adrenaline and panic supercharged the way a human acted - there was no greater wielder of such a trait than him.

There was certainly time between the move and the outcome, but to Shirou, time blinked forward. The bullet tore through his leg, forcing him to the ground immediately. Even despite the adrenaline surge, the pain clawed its way along his synapses nigh instantly, leaving the gaping hole buzzing with searing heat and excruciating pain. He rolled onto his side, and then his back, hands pressed into the wound to stem the bleeding as best as possible. In the pain, the world seemed to fade, distanced and monochromatic, like he was viewing an old black and white movie.

His ears rang, both from the nerves and the close range gunshot, and his eyes stung and swam, their vision blurred. Faintly he could recognise the things that were going on - another shot rang out, though against who he didn't know, and people ran around, some attempting to help, whilst others gave speeches or argued. The only thing he could tell for certain, though, was that she wasn't dead. Chikako hadn't died. And that made everything, all the pain, and anguish, and trauma, worth it. Because that was what it meant to be



Blinking away the pain as best he could, Shirou sat up from the floor, shrugging off his jacket and placing it a small distance away from the pool of blood that had spread underneath him. Pulling the string from the hood, he then proceeded to wrap the jack around his leg, before fastening it with the string, forming a makeshift tourniquet. He was far from a trained medical professional, but he knew basic first aid. Any hero did.

And then, even despite Flare's comment about the two of them not moving around much, he stood up. It took great difficulty, and great pain, but still he did it, pushing himself up from the floor to stand upright in front of the group. Even as the pain shot through his body, causing the sound in his ears to warp and dull, he could tell that people were arguing. Fighting amongst themselves. Instinctively, he ground his teeth together - both to stave off his frustration, and his pain.

"Why don't you all stop fighting?" he said aloud - as loud as he could - despite the clear strain to his voice, "What the hell is fighting going to solve? We've got an injured, unconscious girl here and you think the best course of action is to start arguing amongst yourselves?" no doubt he sounded like a nagging parent, but the tone of his voice gave it a sense of weariness, as he turned his head to the people nearby the stage, "We can't rely of makeshift bandages... Flare and... Ginshi? I want you two with me." his eyes scanned the group, "Yukimori Maiya - Improvisational Engineer - you too. And..." the gaze flitted from Maiya to Hiroki, "You want to help? You're smart, I want you as well." with his role-call finished, he took a limping and painful step off the stage.

"There are... supply cabins on the map. It's the other-side of the camp, but we're not going to get medical supplies here. Ginshi can carry Chikako - when we get there, Maiya, Flare, Hiroki... get her patched up." and then, provided there was no resistance and no one stopped him, he would begin making his way there - hopefully, with the band in tow.





Lilly stood watching, entirely uncertain, though, of what she was watching. The monochromatic bear emerged, talking about killing games, murder - all sorts of nonsense. People started arguing, a girl ran onto the stage, and then a boy followed suit, before they eat met a bullet. And then more people started arguing, and more people started making speeches. It was all terribly confusing. People doing this, people doing this, round and round, almost enough to make the poor girls head spin.

But Lilly wasn't sure what was really happening not because she couldn't pay attention, but because her attention was diverted elsewhere. Her mind was fixated on something clearly very real, and very serious, to a degree that some in the group might have been concerned about. Her eyes were wet with tears, her face was red, and she was somehow physically curled into herself, despite being stood up-straight. Both her hands were placed to her chest, and her head was low down, creating the impression that she was trying to protect herself from someone, or something

People might have looked upon the strange scene as though she was simply shaken to the core about the revelation Monokuma had given. But those astute enough would have noticed that she had been like she was, even before the speeches, and shootings, and all the other nonsense, had even begun. No, she was facing a far more terrible, and immediate threat. More dangerous than murder, and more petrifying than a killing game.

Her stuffed rabbit, Rosetta, had been stolen.

Lilly's body seemed to physically shake in sadness and frustration. From right under her nose - from right in her hand - someone had managed to take her bunny. She hadn't dropped it. She hadn't left it behind. Her head shook frantically around the amphitheatre in search of the thing, but her gaze fell on nothing. How could she let this happen? He was held so close to her, and so firmly. There should have been no way, and yet...

Still it had happened. Something had to be done about it. Something. Anything! In her annoyance, she took her student handbook, and wielding a face sticky with tears and a terrifying pout, she flicked through the pages of the thing - looking at the map, the rules, the students, the -- her finger stooped tapping and swiping, her search seemingly finished. Her eyes stared into the face of a stranger, a boy she had never seen before, and her pout softened, slightly. A minor amount of tension had been released.

Because now she knew his face. As quickly as she took in the picture, she lifted her head, looking around to find the boy from her vantage point, but seeing nothing. From where she was, at the back of the group, she could barely see the stage. Her vision skimmed straight over her target. So she looked back down, to find everything she could see. His height, weight, talent - everything. And then she skipped to the map, to find his room.

Satisfied, Lilly Hart turned away from the group, and walked away. She was heading in the same direction as Snow - towards the residents cabins - but she didn't register her. For she had something to do; a plan to enact, and a score to settle. If playing dirty was the only way that Aurel boy knew how to play, then by the nine circles of hell, she would outplay him.

Such was her vow.

---

Interacting With:: Maiya(@xxlanatjexx), Shirou(@Vocab), Hiroki(@TheSeriousJoke), Flare(@addamas), Ryuma and Hibiki(@AimeChambers), Ginshi (@KenjuGuy)

---

... well, that could of gone better. One person slowly approached, appearing just as composed as him, save for the warbling voice the thief displayed. But still, as her question rang, Aurel's heart sank at this confrontation, keeping steady as he blinked before taking a momentary glance at the girl. In his mind, "Ultimate Smuggler" pulsed, beating with the rhythm of each step she took.

The only thing that allowed him to keep "eye contact" with her was the fact that one of her eyes was shut due to a scar, sewn away like a nicotine doll. Sure, it felt like this girl, Momoe, was glaring daggers with both sides, but less so with a supposed damaged eye.

The moment she stood before him, the boy could only hold his breath, in anticipation and to avert breathing in the foul air she displaced beside him... and what could only follow was just disappointment and silence from Aurel. In that brief amount of time she spoke, she managed to reduce Aurel to nothing but a false bravado of a scowl and furrowed brows, discreetly gritting his teeth in the process.

Her final words though... he could only dig his eyes into the back of her skull as much as his own fingers to the palms of his hands. Even with his plans ruined, she was smart, but those words meant something else... and that watchful glare never left, up until Ryumas confrontation with Momoe, which caused him to blink back into reality.

He could only mentally cringe at multiple things, standing in the middle like some set-piece as he witnessed the Parkourist's reaction. While he did feel elated and relieved some of the pressure from his hands, something in the back of his mind told Aurel that they were both wrong in their actions, that this is what Monokuma wanted.

"..."

The thief's lips didn't even budge an inch, physically standing still as a statue, accruing and deducing this whole spiel... heck, he didn't even physically acknowledge the boy who quickly shuffled passed him, mentally noting him as the Ultimate Type A Student, as well as his mysterious girlfriend who was somewhere in the crowd.

The crowd... a few were dispersing, such as Snow and the Smuggler... plus he was certain he saw a girl making a mad dash away from them all out of the corner of his eye, segregating herself from the vicinity. He could only frown, leaning over just a hair, trying his best not to sulk as writhing doubt began to rear its ugly form.

... that is, until a girl with hair as white as his began speaking up, not in a way that incited an incident. Aurel could only slowly rise up, briefly glancing at the girl before focusing on the top of her head. He could only nod as she affirmed what she said, but for a second, felt some fragment of success as his chest rose up and down, restrained and unidentifiable as the breath of reassurance taken.

Aurel could only look away the moment she started stuttering, crossing his arms, closing his eyes and breathing in through his nose. "... it's... fine," he muttered in an almost methodical way as the girl spoke about her habits, but not before pulling up his PDA and performing a deft, swipe to the rules, temporarily shutting out the cries of the Fanatic to respond to this small light he was granted.

"... good points... but being in a group can deter murder," Aurel spoke up a bit, though he mostly remained in that aloof, quiet state before jumping up onto the stage. His fingers scrolled through the PDA for a couple of seconds before landing on the fifth rule. "... to leave, someone needs to perform a... murder," he hesitated on the last portion of his explanation, clearing his throat before continuing.

"... it's easier to murder a lone 'wolf' than a pack of them, especially with the other rules in place," the thief uttered, scrolling through, attempting to almost predict what she might question next before stopping at eight.

"... along with that, only the murderer can leave... even with the help of an accomplice; there's no real benefit in helping a murderer, as it will result in their deaths as well," and with that said, he quickly slid the PDA to who knows where, before crossing his arms, staring once again at the snowy peak of the girls head... Maiya Yukimori, the Ultimate Improvisational Engineer, right?... hm.

There was an arbitrary thought floating through his head, but nevertheless, one that he gleaned as useful before wrapping it all up. "... to summarize, groups prevent murder from people outside said group and within... plus... people who fly solo are just enabling Monokuma, especially with what just happened..."

"..."

"... so yeah."

With that said, Aurel just let a hand fall back to his side, leaving one arm up, fist pressed against his chest. His pulse was abating, slowing from the prior trauma that had occurred that was... somewhat necessary. His head bent over, making the thief almost look as if he was preparing to make some sort of bow... but all he did was smile at the ground, smile in a way that no one could see it.

... now the next course of action...

That smile was instantly replaced with a cool, collect, distant stare, lips once again straightened to the point where a drawn line couldn't even compare. He merely peered back over to watch how the congregating group was still attempting to remedy the situation. Pivoting to face the five, he continued doing what he did best - looking the other way, as if he could not give a single shit in the world.

"... Flare... Ginshi... and Hiroki, right? How about we get these two to the c-"

... and out of nowhere, he heard a boisterous scream go straight into his ears, interrupting him mid-sentence to lecture them to stop fighting... when it sort of already ended...

Regardless, Aurel had no idea what cardiogenic shock felt like, but he was certain that currently, this was the closest he was going to get to it right now. He could only recoil, jumping back like a cat (save for a lack of hissing) and clutched one of his ear, reeling in pain from the loud noise, teeth clenched and grinding to numb out such pain.

"... noisy," he growled at the back of his throat, sounding guttural in his speech as he bore witness to the boy shouting orders at the others... Aurel's only counter to this was covering the other ear. By all accounts, couldn't he tone it down a notch or twenty? Just as bad as the bear...

Regardless, Aurel still did absorb his idea... and by all means, it was logical, but not completely sound. The only thing he did to display he was against the idea was doing the same thing the Hero, Shirou Emiya did, and cut him off. The thief stood against the bloodied boy, analyzing his state briefly before sighing softly.

"The cabins," he contested, raising his voice to a relatively normal level of sound for most to hear before continuing, "... are a better place to go; you both need to get some rest in relative safety, especially with the both of you having lacerations," Aurel pointed out, jamming an index finger out in the direction of Emiya's blood-soaked leg, before moving beyond the boy, gesturing to those behind him.

"... plus, there are others in better condition who can retrieve the supplies with relative ease... how does that sound?"

Momoe Mizuno

Momoe brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face as she calmly paced down the oval road, the one eye of hers locked onto the five cabins and one huge building a short distance away. She kept one hand firmly pocketed in her coat and the other wrapped around the little treat in her mouth, though it was starting to burn out completely. She wasn't going to have much more time left on it, and the girl didn't want to light another as she'd be burning through her supply much too quick. It didn't last long before she tossed it out.

Arriving at the cabins, one things stood out immediately. They were built a lot more recently than anything else in this camp. The form was more refined and the paintjob still fresh, and nothing had the air of renovation about it like the rest of the camp. It also helped they were slightly bigger and that each door had a vastly different colour scheme. Momoe walked up to the closest one to her, its door being the most classic out of all of them. It was simple oak wood, polished and homey.

"Research lab for Matsuo Hibiki, the Super High-School Level Tutor..." Momoe muttered as she read the label out loud. She reached for the door handle and found the cabin was unlocked, as the entrance opened without any resistance.

"A library?"

Momoe was caught off-guard by a quiet voice that echoed from behind her, turning on her heel to see a small, black-haired, glasses-wearing girl peer into the building from behind her. Said girl noticed Momoe's staring and stared back, leaving the two in an awkward silence that lasted several seconds. Momoe frowned and decided to break that silence.

"Were you following me?"
"Sort of."

After the other girl's short and blunt reply, her attention was cast back to the inside of the room. Momoe had to take a step back to allow her to pass, as the girl stepped forward with little regard to the smuggler's location within time and space. Before scanning the insides of the room, Momoe took out her Student PDA.

(Ayu Usui, the Super High-School Level... unknown.)

Well, at least Momoe knew the girl's name. She was suspicious as to why her talent wasn't listed when flattering sights like 'Thief' and 'Smuggler' were in full view, so Momoe decided it might've been better to not walk away from this girl and let her be weird on her own. Following Ayu into the cabin, it was clear why the tiny gremlin called it a 'library'. The entire room was lined with bookshelves. Teensy labels with even smaller lettering stuck to the front of each shelf, possibly to denote their use. In the middle of the room were several chairs for reading, while the walls to the left and right of Momoe each had a large desk. Ayu already seemed to have picked up a random book and flicked through the pages, her dull eyes moving surprisingly swiftly as she scanned each page. Momoe caught a few stray words escaping the girl's lips.

"...grouped by subject, human cognition and neuroscience..." she was muttering to herself.
"Having fun?" Momoe snidely remarked. The other girl blinked and looked up, seemingly surprised that the smuggler bothered her.
"Loads, yeah. It's interesting to learn about new things. This room's filled with all kinds of study books, and each of them are lumped into categories."

Momoe took a mental note that sarcasm and irony were going to be lost on this individual. Though, what the other girl said would line up with the general vibe this room gave off.

"No shit. Seems to be for this 'Matsuo' guy," Momoe commented as she walked further in. Curiosity got the better of her as she was also intent on sorting through the shelves, but more because she wanted to confirm something. She walked over to the science section and picked out a book on chemistry. Flipping through it, the book detailed the various kinds of common chemicals found in everyday products and even pointed out toxins that could be deadly if extracted in large enough quantities.

"Figures. Not all of these are innocent."
"Isn't that kind of the point?"

Momoe looked back at Ayu, who had her head tilted in confusion.

"The hell are you talking about?"
"Well... mmm... this room kind of looks like it's to help his talent grow, right? So... since he's a tutor, he'd need knowledge on every subject. Which... would give the bear an easy excuse to sneak in some books to help everyone come up with a murder plan easier, I think. The other cabins are probably the same."

(She seemed terrifyingly calm while talking about murder plans...)

Momoe closed her book and shelved it again, more suspicious of the girl now than when she started. She turned, leaned on the bookshelf and had her arms crossed while staring Ayu down.

"Why did you follow me?" she asked, the one eye narrowing as if this was an interrogation.
"Mmm... I was bored, I guess."

The small one did it again. She was so casual about everything. It's as if nothing phased the other girl. Momoe turned her head to follow Ayu as the unknown talent went to sit down in one of the chairs, eye locked onto the book in her hands. From a far-off glance it was relatively inconspicuous, just a book about psychology. Momoe furrowed her brow and took a seat in the chair opposite to Ayu, the soft cushion being a lot more comfortable than anything else she'd sat in for the past few years.

"Why a smuggler?" the other girl asked without glancing up from her book, giving Momoe no time to ask a question of her own. She was stunned from how sudden it was, but recovered in no time at all.

"That's none of your concern."
"I guess not."

Silence fell inside the cabin again, and the cyclops grew more and more frustrated with it. She leaned forward and stared at Ayu again, who looked disinterested from the current situation.

"Alright, fair trade. I'll tell you why I'm good at smuggling if you tell me why you don't seem even remotely fucking concerned about the shitty situation we're in."
"Sure."

Well, at least they were getting somewhere now. Momoe leaned back again, throwing her hands behind her head and bending one leg over the other.

"My mom didn't like me very much and my dad was too much of a deadbeat to care. Sat in the couch and drank all day. I stole their booze and sneaked it into school and other places, seemed like I just had a knack for that. Your turn."
"Mm... you don't have to lie about your father," Ayu commented as she glanced up from her text. Momoe narrowed her eyes, which Ayu seemed to pick up on.

"Your tone changed slightly when talking about him... that's how I could tell," she added.
"Fantastic. Now answer my question."
"Mm... right. Well, let me think..."

As Ayu took a moment to pause, Momoe crossed her arms in anticipation for the answer. She wasn't any less suspicious than before; despite this girl's unassuming looks, she'd snuck up on the smuggler and left her briefly speechless multiple times now. The girl was clearly more dangerous than she appeared.

"I guess... it's that I don't think anyone has a reason to kill me. Nobody ever really pays attention to me, anyway. I don't stand out much."
(...That's your reasoning?)
"I could choke you right now and there'd be no witnesses."
"Mmm... I guess, but you haven't yet, right? So you're not really a dangerous person."

Never mind, the girl wasn't dangerous at all; just incredibly gutsy. And naïve. The two of them continued to talk inside Hibiki's lab like this, in part due to not having much else to do.

---

So the chaos started, and so the chaos continued, and the people around Flare had thrown order and composure completely out the window. But even though it was understandable to do so, Flare still found it to be rather pathetic and childish. There were real and serious issues to deal with right now, feelings and speculation could wait.

But even Chikako, who should understand the stakes, acted like the rest of the group as she refused the help that Flare offered. It saddened Flare, but if those were Chikako’s wishes, she would-owh, she changed her mind again; well Flare was just about finished with the bandage anyway, though she still sat down next to Chikako, holding her so that Chika could comfortably lie down without straining her shoulder.

While she was stuck being a cushion for Chika, Flare could focus a bit more on her surroundings, and she immediately noticed a white-haired boy starting to speak up on the stage next to her, and as she looked up to him from her sat-down position, his words started sinking into her mind.

This boy...was barely holding it together. He was probably scared out of his mind, stuttering like he did; scared of crowds, scared of dying, scared of failure, there could be many reasons he’d be scared, but right now he seemed to fit the bill for all of them. And yet he still tried to calm the crowd and settle things, despite his shortcomings; it unconsciously put a smile on Flare’s face, albeit it a melancholic smile, due to his struggle to convey his message.

It didn’t take long for that smile to fade, as the next contender entered the fray; the one-eyed grizzly veteran looking girl. It wasn’t like Flare was particularly scared of Momo’s imposing stature and tone, but she wouldn’t have picnic with her; probably stinks like smoke too.

The bigger issue however, was the contents of her words. She probably drew the attention of everyone present, as she antagonized Aurel, as well as the others indirectly. Whatever caused her to have those thoughts, Flare was sad that it was aimed at people she didn’t even know. seeing the worst in people was the opposite of what Flare believed, and those who didn’t trust could never earn trust; it must be a truly solitary life with a mindset such as that.

In the end it was good to hear parkour-boy and Improv-girl stick up for the little thief, but seeing most others dissipate and walk in their own directions proved how dysfunctional this group was. It would probably take a huge unifying event to even get everyone in one place at all after today, which was so stupidly stupid; at this rate the killing game might actually begin soon…

In any case, right now, the wounded took priority, so with Chikako still resting on her lap, Flare looked towards Shirou...who stood up and started talking.

All she could do was stare dumbfounded at the hero dishing out another speech in a last effort to unite the people; most likely in vain. the time for talking was over, at least for now, and to be honest, it shouldn’t be Shirou’s concern at the moment at all. But he seemed to think about it much differently as he started walking…

“Idiot!” Flare suddenly shouted at Shirou’s back, not necessarily ignoring Aurel as much as leaving the others to deal with him to focus on Shirou's idiocy, “You’re in no condition to be walking! Have you even checked for an exit wound!?” She gently laid Chikako down next to her and abruptly stood up, her eyes becoming lit with fury as she stomped towards the boy and surveyed the wound with no care for Shirou’s opinion.

“Yeah, there isn’t one, so the bullet is still lodged in your leg...honestly-” she sighed as she took Shirou’s arm and put it around her neck to lift the weight on his wounded leg. “you shouldn’t even be standing? the pain alone would make most guys faint.” While Flare could understand why Shirou would prioritize helping others over himself, she honestly couldn’t believe how anyone would be able to endure a bullet to the leg while acting so confident and calm. It wasn’t like he didn’t feel the pain, as his strained voice obviously hinted at it, so why did he do it? Was he too proud? Did he not want to burden others with his problems? Was he determined to not rely on anyone but himself? Flare wanted to ask, but…

“Gods what did I get myself into…” Was all she said as she guided Shirou towards their goal.

The light hadn't dissipated one bit, but the Tutor was finally starting to begrudgingly adjust to the sun. The amphitheater's white stone bounced the sun further into his retinas causing Hibiki to flinch. What he wouldn't do for Ritsu's hug therapy right now... Something to help his throat and a spot with blackout curtains would be much needed after this. Maybe even some strawberry milk, but it wasn't good to hype up his expectations.

The blue-haired boy got a good long look at the bear before succumbing to the sun again, turning his eyes toward the ground. The first thing that seemed to pop into the Tutor’s head was the fact that the stuffed bear didn’t seem to be picking up too much dust. Was the amphitheater usually swept or was it just outright magical? Secondly, it appeared that this semi-mechanical bear's voice quality was strangely both clear and confounding at once, driving Hibiki to want earplugs to drown out its enthusiasm. Based on his lack of understanding of its hardware, the Tutor couldn't say this wasn't some daydream and the Ultimates around him seemed to come to this conclusion all too quickly as well.

Ritsu was waiting, so he couldn't stay for very long. But considering the only way to get out of here was to kill someone, they’d have to outsmart the bear, it would be better to find someone who had the ‘umph’ to do such a thing. Some kind of supporting role would fit his talent and benefit the group as a whole. A PDA soon arrived in his hands and leaning over to block out the sunlight, Hibiki read through the rules.

They seemed like they would be quite the hassle, did he absolutely have to nap inside of the residential cabins or was anywhere an option during the day? At some point, he would have to take the two-toned bear aside and ask these quintessential questions. Based on age and appearance, there were at least a few people that could step up as leader and start on strategy, the question was, who to endorse?

His first prediction came out rather spontaneously. A speech was thrown out, shots fired, and people bleeding out on stage. Help arrived quickly, even if not very efficiently, and Ginshi was there to both help the mind and body. While there was a newfound reluctance starting a new relationship with someone so passionate, some form would do Hibiki well in the future. When glancing down at Lilly however, something else seemed to be upsetting her. Was she really so fragile as to be worried about the game itself? His hand started to subtly move towards her shoulder, only for her to angry switch through her PDA. Better to not interfere, lest he ruin his first impression and give help where it wasn't warranted.

As he tried to not continue eyeing the poor girl, he glanced up at the stage where a new boy had arrived front and center. The boy's posture and mannerisms reminded him of the many students who had come to him with stage fright. Many of the basic steps to overcoming stage fright were missed on the boy, but a small part of Hibiki was already rooting for him. Without having the material practiced in advance and having a good health habits prepared beforehand, many may react in the same way as him. The Tutor pressed a few buttons on his PDA to switch to his profile. Aurel Fuchs, Ultimate Thief. Could he be the reason Lilly was so upset?

His approach to creating ties was nicely planned, but poorly executed. While Aurel himself might not have been scared of the killing game, the worried atmosphere oozing off of him certainly appeared that way. Building trust was something that needed to be done quickly, but this may have been a bit too preumptive. Without the time to think and decompress, this would just turn into a further mess.

And so it did. The words of the Ultimate Smuggler were harsh and to the point. Whether or not this was Momoe's true personality or because of situational emotions, she didn't fall short at cutting Aurel down and showing him off as an easy target. The other white-haired boy didn't seem to help things either. His blatant swearing just led to others thinking Aurel needed protecting, not addressing the main issue of his speech getting discredited with faulty logic. The new challenger, Ryuma Hitsugaya, had actually driven her to cause a fault in Aurel's grouping strategy. Such was the problem of impulsive outbursts.

Yukimori's words of encouragement were drowned out by the Ultimate Hero, who didn't seem to have enough self-preservation to sit still. A sigh slipped out of Hibiki's mouth before he even realized it. Did he truly know what he was doing? Probably not all, but at least his North personality might pave the way to getting something done. As Aurel brought up the voice of reason, Hibiki stopped himself from sighing again, there was no way that Shirou was going to do as he was told, not even if it was well-meaning.

"Thank you for your input Aurel... I hope... It does not fall on deaf ears," His throat really did need some lubrication if he wanted to talk more easily, "Do take care not to get killed." He took a glance in Lilly's direction, only to see that she had already fled. "Let's meet, later."

With those words, Hibiki moved towards Chikako to help Ginshi transport her. Even if he couldn't help carry her, he may be able to keep pressure on her wound.

Hisakawa Hiroki

…Smart? He thinks I’m smart? What gives him that idea?

Hisakawa was temporarily lost in the turmoil of wondering how, exactly, someone thought he was smart, but if stopped freaking out for two seconds, it’d make sense. After all, his talent was related to being a good student, which is definitely misleading. He’s not smart, he just knows how to pay attention, and how to reproduce the information—though even then, that’s begun to fail him.

Well, in any case, the internal logic of his world was set back in order. Just in time for him to notice the entire conversation had gone on without him. He should probably point out that he had totally tuned out of that last part there—though, actually, it might be better if he worried about the pressing medical concerns that he was now partially responsible for. Was it really a good idea for him to have volunteered for this? Sure, he knew something about biology, but he was no professional. He really should have just left it to better suited people, but no, he had to get all prissy because he didn’t want to talk to Aurel, which didn’t make much of a difference since Aurel was part of it now, anyway.

Currently, the plan seemed rather nebulous and people seemed to be talking it out, but more than anything, Hisakawa was anxious to tend to the wounded as soon as possible and then go have a breakdown somewhere. Though, what he should be more worried about is the wounded themselves, and how they really needed to get tended to now. He doesn’t want to interrupt discussion going on, but he needed to get something done, at least. He gave it a moment of thought, trying to think of what he could do, before settling on a plan.

“I'll grab supplies. I'm not super fast or anything, but I, uh…” It was a bit of a risk, potentially overselling himself, but he felt he could probably do this right, “I can get what we need. Stuff to suture and clean the wounds, and get the bullet out.” He pulled his monopad out, using his map to find where he would go for the supplies, planning out a route in his head. There’s was probably a first aid kit somewhere, but that wouldn’t have stuff to suture. Where would... hmm...

A frown came to his face, “Um…” He looked up, looking up to find the face he was looking for. His gaze soon settled on her, before quickly darting to pretty much anywhere except directly at her, “Uh, Yukimori, right? Um, I was thinking I’d go to your lab for some stuff, but I don't want to go into your space without your permission. So, if it's alright with you, may I go through your lab to get the supplies? Uh, I understand if you don't trust me to. You can come with me to make sure I don't mess anything up, if you want. Or, you know, you can handle it yourself, also.”

However she responded, he soon after made his way to grab whatever he could.

@Vocab@Savo@addamas@KenjuGuy@TheSeriousJoke

Yukimori stopped and became a little shy after her entrance in the group. Speaking her thoughts out loud while so many people watched her in silence, she had never done that before. At home they never really listened to what she had to say, it was like talking to a wall and expecting an answer from it. In school it was just the same. When they asked her something, the moment she wanted to respond they already done other things instead of waiting for her reply. This time, they all listened to her even when she was stuttering… It felt strange but she didn’t put too much thought in it when all of a sudden the ultimate hero spoke up. Looking surprised at Shirou when he mentioned her name, like she was being ordered around. “M-Me…? But we just said that…”
She stopped talking, and her gaze went to the injured people laying on the floor. (He’s right… Makeshift bandages won’t work… B-But he can’t expect for people to listen to him… W-We all just met each other very uncomfortably…)

Yukimori didn’t know what to do at this moment. Why would she listen to someone she met in such a short amount of time, taking orders from him wouldn‘t be such a great idea, wouldn’t it? Eventually she nodded, with the injured people in mind of course. She wanted to be a bit of help in this situation.

Her heart throbbed when she saw Flare getting mad at Shirou for being reckless, it wasn’t great for him to think he could order people around in a situation like this. That’s why she responded Shirou in a short way. “A-Alright, but please… Don’t order people around like that… We still need to get used to his situation… O-Okay?” Being a little embarrassed at what she said she quickly walked up to Flare, Ginshi and Chikako. Not knowing how she did it, her body acted on its own. Instead of being all shy and hiding from people around her, to acting what she wanted to do. “I-I might not off such big use but… Can I help with something here? I can help you carry him…? Or help the other injured person… Just tell me what I can do” She said, Nodding confidently afterwards. Like she was proud of herself for asking them such a simple question.

Yukimori’s eyes could tell that she meant what she said. Even though she was shaking a little from all the stress she had build up from talking so much. Standing there with her hands balded into fists, telling them with her body language that she really wanted to do something for them to be of some use.

Before they left to the location they were heading to, she turned around and bowed towards Aurel. Like she was saying sorry for not understanding what he meant with his statements before. “Y-You are right… People who are alone are easier to be targeted, i-it must be like a small bunny in a forest… It’s an easy prey for an hungry fox or wolf…” Ruffeling her own hand in her hair as she smiled a little awkwardly towards them. “I-I don’t really know what i’m saying or doing… I’m just very confused at this moment from everything that happened… D-Don’t mind me...”.

After she finished her apolagies, she wanted to go back to the injured people, but a gaze got her attention as she stood still. The dark eyes that met hers belonged to Hisakawa Hiroki, the ultimate type A student. But those eyes turned away, as also her gaze went to somewhere else, like the sudden look he gave her flustered her. His words caught her attention. (Lab…? Do I have my own lab…?) Confused, she took her PDA and search for the button that brought you to the map. He was right, she had a lab of her own marked with her name. Why would Monokuma build some labs for students to use on their own? Shaking her head, as she just ignored that thought and went on with what she was doing.

Yukimori put her PDA away as she nodded slowly towards Hiroki. “Y-Yes of course… I didn’t look at the map yet, so I didn’t know I had a lab that belonged to me… If you don’t mind I would like to check it out with you myself… But, I would like to bring the injured people to a calmer place first where we can tend their wounds…” She gulped down, she was talking too much once again. It felt uncomfortable but good in some way. She continued “Afterwards, we can go to my lab… So I can gather supplies myself.. To make better bandages for the wounded people…” 

As her cheeks were flushed red, and her heart beating faster and faster in her chest. Everything she did up till now, was really heavy for her in some way. Saying all these things and even acting like this, isn’t like her normal self at all.  Is it this situation that made her act like this? Probably… Her mind is just really messed up at the moment from all the information they all just recieved. “How will this play out..” she whispered, followed by a light sigh

Hisakawa Hiroki

Hisakawa listened as Yukimori spoke, nodding along with what she said, “Okay, I’m going to go ahead. I don’t think I’ll be much help with the relocation process. I wanted to go look for supplies in other places too, anyway.”

With that, Hisakawa made his way out of the amphitheater and on the path to the sports supply cabin—and honestly, thank God. The stress of the day was starting to get to him, and the sooner he could have some time alone, the better. People were overwhelming.

He wasn’t going slow or anything, because he was actually doing something important, but he would exhaust himself by running, so he walked at a pretty rigorous pace. Perhaps it was kind of a dick move to leave everybody else to handle the actual injured people, but he was actually helping, yeah? And he wasn’t going to be much help when they no doubt could have carried everyone themselves, and it would make sense to get supplies as soon as possible. Of course, just cause that’s what he thinks doesn’t mean that’s right…

But that’s not something he’s got to be so worried about right now. It’s something he could answer to later. Right now, he could take a moment look at trees and feel the air, and whatever other things people do when walking outside—without dally, of course. He opened the door to the sports cabin with little affair, searching for a light switch even in the relative brightness of the sunlight beaming in through the windows.

He didn’t stick around long—he let his eyes wander over the various pieces of sports equipment, smiling at the memory of a few different sports he tried as a kid. He was almost tempted to pick up a basketball from a collection kept in the corner, but ultimately decided against it, knowing it wasn’t his stuff and that now wasn’t the time. Soon enough he found the first aid kit. It was smaller than he expected, but as he opened it up, checking for bandages and disinfectants, he found that it would do.

He exited the cabin, turning the light off as he left, and pulled out the monopad to double-check the location of Yukimori’s lab. He doesn’t know what to expect to find in there, but, he figured, chances are he’d find something to work as a needle and something to work as a thread. Maybe something to work as better bandages—the ones in the first aid kit were probably not meant for bullet wounds.

He stood outside of Yukimori’s lab, holding the first aid kit in his arms. He stood upright and tried to pay attention around him, not wanting to seem inattentive. Not being home was weird, and being around all these new people was scary, and he was by no means super comfortable or relaxed, but… right now, he had a few merciful moments to not think about it so hard, having no choice but to sit and wait anyways.

Mizuno Momoe, Usui Ayu, and Hisakawa Hiroki

“Oi. The hell are you gawking at?”

Hisakawa jumped a little, quickly turning to see the girl from before (Usui Ayu, he was pretty sure) and another girl he only vaguely recognized, who seemed to have addressed him. He muttered a bit, as if his tongue was tripping over itself. He really wasn’t expecting to see anyone besides Yukimori, and it took him awhile to speak clearly and recover from the surprise, “Um, well, I’m gathering supplies to help the injured. Some of the things we need should be in here. Of course, this is Yukimori’s property, so I’m waiting here so she can let me in, as she said I should. After all, it’s rude to enter somebody’s property without their permission, especially a lady’s.”

He kept his attention locked on the door and shifted his weight a little bit. He tightened his arms closer to his chest, consequentially bringing the first aid kit closer to him, as if making himself smaller will somehow bring the attention off of him, “I guess I got a little lost in thought though. I apolo— uh,” Hisakawa didn’t even finish his sentence, as the new girl simply bypassed him entirely. He wasn’t totally sure how to respond to that, until he realized she was intent on entering the lab.

“Um, I don’t mean to— that’s not—uh, shouldn’t you wait for Yukimori?”

“Give it a rest. Nothing here’s ‘our property,’ much less hers. I don’t intend to wait on anyone,” The girl bit back. She glanced over her shoulder at Hisakawa, her one eye narrowed.

“Don’t just take everything here for granted.”

Those were the girl’s final words of warning to Hisakawa before strolling back over the door, opening it and entering the building without any regard to his words.

“Mmm… I think you should follow,” Usui chimed in from next to Hisakawa. He turned his head to look at her, seeing her stare back with her head tilted. Just about everything was telling him this was an awful idea—everything except the two girls there telling him to go in and invade Yukimori’s own property. Or, not property. Whatever they wanted to call it, he walked into the building with his head down, faintly able to hear Usui’s soft steps behind him.

Inside, Hisakawa could tell the taller girl was already rummaging through all kinds of junk, shamelessly tossing it onto the floor. She looked to have taken notice of him, because she’d turned her head back again.

“What? Not waiting for your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” He said, suppressing a sigh. He had a feeling he was going to be the one cleaning everything up, but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell her to stop messing with it, “I just don’t want to do anything to upset anyone.”

As he said that, he began to pick up abandoned containers and refill them with their contents the best he could, trying not to get in the girl’s way while doing so.

“So, the hell you come here for, anyway? Said you were lookin’ for something?”

The girl paused her rummaging and turned fully to face Hisakawa, both hands stuck into her coat’s side pockets.

“Yes. I came to find some materials that will work as a needle and thread,” Hisakawa responded, keeping his focus on the task in front of him.

“I see,” came the response out of her. A moment later, Hisakawa flinched from something being tossed in front of his face. The object made a ‘Clack!’ sound when it hit the floor, and when he turned to look, it turned out to be a half-used roll of pink sewing thread.

“Found it earlier. Can’t say I’ve come across a needle yet, though.”

Hisakawa picked up the spool, examining it before putting it in his pocket, “Thank you very much. I appreciate your help,” He said, refocusing on the clean up efforts, “Although, you don’t need to worry about what I’m doing, it’s my job, after all.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Have fun with that,” the girl answered dismissively. Hisakawa could hear her footsteps echo through the cabin and the door shut soon after, leaving only him and Usui in the room. She crouched down next to him and started to help him pick up some of the objects on the floor.

“You’re bad with girls… right?”

“Uh… y-yeah,” Hisakawa said, pausing in order to find the best way to word what he was about to say, “Girls just, uh, I don’t know, I get all tense. I don’t really like upsetting people, girls especially, but I seem to be really good at doing exactly that. At least I’m better with that now… I think,” He shoved a restocked container back into its proper place, moving on to the next collection of items. Usui walked past him and started to ruffle through a different one.

“I think… you should be careful. People might… take advantage of that. Someone like me, or... her.” Hisakawa looked over to her, his mouth having difficulty forming words.

“I… What do you mean by that?”

Usui didn’t answer. She looked to have found what she was looking for, though, and stared at it for a few seconds. Usui turned and walked over to Hisakawa.

“Here.”

She put a small metal object in his hands, before walking past him and towards the exit.

Hisakawa watched her leave for a moment, before looking down to see the needle she had put in his hand. He stared at it, as if taking a moment to process it, “... Thank you for your help.” Usui paused.

“Yeah.”

After saying that, the girl opened the cabin’s door and walked through, leaving Hisakawa alone in Yukimori’s lab.

That was… kind of weird, and Hisakawa wasn’t sure what to think of it. He took the spool from his pocket, examining the two objects he had been given. If he brought them back to the group, they would know he had gone into Yukimori’s space when she said to wait. He didn’t want to see unappreciative of the help or anything, but… Well, they wouldn’t know, right?

As he finished packing up the materials that got knocked to the floor, he stuck the thread and needle into one of the boxes. It was maybe a bit of a waste of time, but the idea of how mad Yukimori might get if she knew he had come in just wasn’t worth risking. He opened the door, checking that no one was out there, and once more waited in front of the building.