Note: The long awaited new chapter, complete with perspective shift, as Tanaka is out of commission. Sorry, I've been caught up in school things and what not. Hopefully I'll have enough time (and motivation) to pick the pace back up with this. As an additional note, trigger warning for some uh... body horror in the chapter. Enjoy.

Hiyoko Saionji is not one for surprises. This was a habit that had come from primarily from her life before Hope's Peak. Living with a mother that didn't care, a father that wasn't your's, and a grandmother that wouldn't let you see them made surprises not all that great. Oh, and doing shows where you were more likely to die from a falling light or a 'gift' of poisoned food than get to sleep that night made surprises a rather unenjoyable experience. As did living in a ruined world where murderers, rapists, and psychopaths roamed the streets, not to mention the unstable buildings and supposedly disarmed explosives hidden everywhere. But all that isn't important. What is important is the fact that she's being woken up before the morning announcement by an insistent banging on the door of her cottage. Hiyoko slides off of the bed angrily, plodding to the door.

"Shut up! I'm coming!" The dancer rubs the sleep out of her eyes and grabs the doorknob, twisting it. The door swings open, and Hiyoko finds herself looking up at Komaeda, a concerned look on his face. The luckster looks relieved when he sees her. "...What? It's too early. I've only been sleeping for like... ten minutes."

"Actually, it's been about five hours." Komaeda says. Hiyoko narrows her eyes at him, unamused.

"What do you want?" She crosses her arms, trying to look annoyed.

"Oh, right. Togami-kun wants everyone to meet at the pool." Komaeda states.

"What? Why?" Hiyoko stares at him suspiciously.

"Hey, don't look at me like that!" Komaeda smiles wearily, holding up his arms in defense. "I don't know either. All I know is that he wants us there and won't let anyone into the restaurant."

"...Hold on." Hiyoko grumps into her cottage, fixing one of her enormous twintails and marching back over to Komaeda. "Let's go." The luckster just smiles at her and walks next to her. Hiyoko yawns, still tired, and frowns as the morning announcement pings over the monitors everywhere.

"Greetings, island dwellers! This is the Hope's Peak Field Trip Committee! It's seven am, and yet another perfect, tropical day! I think today will be extra exciting! Upupu..." Monobear's voice cuts out with the end of the announcement.

"Ugh. Something's going on..." Hiyoko grumbles, making Komaeda nod. They arrive at the pool not moments later. Togami stands near the entrance to the restaurant, with his arms crossed and legs squared, blocking the doorway with his girth. Next to him stands Mioda, mirroring his pose. Nidai stands under an umbrella, staring at the lodge. Hinata and Tsumiki sit next to each other on some of the chairs there. Togami stares them down as they arrive. Hiyoko notices something floating through the air, some sort of... sound.

"Finally. Looks like everyone's here."

"...No, that's not right." Hinata grunts. "In case you haven't noticed, there are four people missing." Hiyoko glances around. Hanamura, Sonia, Tanaka, and Koizumi aren't there. The first two she's fine without, but a little seed of worry sprouts in her mind when she fails to spot the latter two.

"That's true. However, everybody that's going to be here, is here. You see, we've got a problem. Don't we, Komaeda?" Togami raises an eyebrow at the luckster, who nervously rubs the back of his neck. "I'd say it's our new motive, wouldn't you?"

"Er... yeah..." Komaeda admits eventually. "We've got big problem."

"What in the dickens are you talking about?" Nidai asks, glancing around. "What's the problem?"

"...Let me show you. Nidai, Hinata, walk with me. The rest of you, stay back. Just trust me on this." Togami waits for the two boys to come up to him, then pushes open the door to the hotel. The lobby sits empty and Togami quietly marches towards the stairs. The others start tiptoeing, and Hiyoko finds herself grabbing at Komaeda's jacket in anticipation. Something, two somethings actually, dart from his jacket into her kimono, nuzzling fearfully at her neck. She glances down in confusion. Tanaka's hamsters? What are they doing here? Komaeda glances away. As Hinata and Nidai are the first two into the restaurant, they're the first to see what the problem is, surprised gasps coming from them. It's then that Hiyoko realizes what the sound it. It's laughter. The rest of the group scramble up the stairs, finding four figures around one of the tables. The four missing students. Tanaka, Sonia, Hanamura, and Koizumi. Hiyoko doesn't get too well of a look at them because of her height and the fact that they're not facing the stairs. She jumps onto Nidai's back, scrambling up so she can peer over his shoulders.

"Hahahaha! Foolish mortals! You have entered the lair of the ascended!" Tanaka snickers from his place near the table. His voice sounds slightly slurred and muffled. He stands with his back to the group, arms crossed. The other three stay silent, facing away from them as well. "We are the pinnacle of evolution! The ultimate- hahahahaha!- in biological power!" Tanaka's statements are peppered with sadistic laughter and giggles. He whirls around, and the three others turn to face the group as well. Hiyoko barely holds back a scream.

"My god..." Togami mumbles, hand coming up to cover his mouth. "When did this happen?..." Mioda squeaks and grabs onto Togami's arm.

"Wh-wh-wh-what's going on?!" Tsumiki cries out, clutching at Hinata. Said boy stares in horror, whispering a quiet 'holy shit' to himself.

"..." Nidai and Komaeda silently look at the four. Hiyoko lets out a quiet 'eep' in fear. She clutches onto Nidai's shoulders, digging her nails into his jacket. The scene before her is like something she's only seen in horror movies. The four kids are flushed and sweaty, with their hair matted to their foreheads and their clothes clinging to their skin. But the worst part isn't them. It's what's coming out of them. Plants. Some sort of strange, viney, things cover parts of them. Tanaka has various vines pouring out of his mouth and nose, drooping down to his stomach. They sprout into almost beautiful, yellow flowers on random points on his vines. Hanamura has similar, thinner vines sprouting from his ears and mouth, and they are covered in small, black buds. Sonia's vines come from forearms, apparently sprouting from there, and are laced with long, needle-like thorns. Her arms are covered in lots of thin scratches. Koizumi's vines grow from her cheeks, starting right below her eyes and spreading out from there. They somewhat resemble tear stains, and are complimented by a small amount of blue fluid leaking from the base of the vines. It runs in rivulets down the length of the vines and drips off of her chin.

"Gahahaha! Come, see your leaders!" Tanaka laughs again, vines swaying with every breath he takes. He wipes away a tear, chuckling all the while.

"Excuse me?! I am the leader here! You'll all bow down to me! Me alone!" Sonia shouts, lashing out violently towards the new arrivals with her arm. Her vines follow, snapping forward and then swinging back, hitting Tanaka and Koizumi.

"Oh... Did you want me to do that now?..." Koizumi asks quietly, sniffing. She wipes at her cheeks, blue fluid smearing across her hands.

"I'd never bow down to you!" Hanamura proudly declares, then quickly drops to his knees in front of the princess. Koizumi moves to do the same, but Togami speaks up before she can.

"Enough! Stop it!" He bellows angrily. Hiyoko can hear a twinge of scared in his voice. She'd snicker if her friends didn't look like freaks right now.

"What makes you think you can command the mighty heiress, Sonia Nevermind?!" Sonia takes a threatening step towards the group on the stairs, making them all take one back. She laughs, which fuels on Tanaka. The animal breeder cackles wildly, doubling over. "That is right! Fear your queen!"

"I'm not afraid of her!" Hanamura goes back to bowing.

"...I am..." Koizumi mumbles, dropping to her knees. Tanaka laughs.

"Get up, both of you!" Togami yells.

"You can't tell me what to do!" Hanamura proclaims, then gets to his feet.

"I'm sorry..." Koizumi sighs sadly, getting back onto her feet.

"Oh my... What's going on in here? There's a lot of yelling!" Monobear snickers, standing nonchalantly on one of the tables. The two groups turn to him, one receiving him a bit more positively than the others.

"Oh it's you..." Koizumi mutters, glancing away. "It's good to see you again... I guess..."

"Ahahaha! The monochrome influence hast returned! Dost thou seeketh the power of the chivalrous GUNDAM TANAKA?!" Tanaka lets out a haughty laugh, tilting his head back.

"You!" Sonia yells, whipping her vines at him.

"What an ugly bear. Truly something to despise, yeah?" Hanamura snickers, glancing at the others.

"Monobear." Togami states. "What the hell did you do to them?"

"Oh Togami-kun, you really must blame me for this? You act like everything that's happened is my fault! That really hurts my feelings, y'know." Monobear taunts.

"Shut up and answer my question." Togami clenches his fists, taking a step towards Monobear. "What. Did. You. Do?"

"It wasn't my fault per se..." Monobear begins, motioning lazily with his hands. "It's just a little thing that started growing on the island a little while ago. There used to be some bugs on the island, see, and they could cause a bit of fever. And they ate these plants. But then they died off, and the plant started growing! You better be careful! You might get it too!" Monobear snickers, which makes Tanaka laugh behind him.

"Get... what? What is 'it'?" Nidai asks cautiously, peering at the four kids that stand behind Monobear.

"'It'? It?!" Monobear cackles. "The fever! You could easily catch the fever!"

"Wh-wh-what's the fever?" Tsumiki cowers behind Hinata, tightly grabbing onto his shoulders.

"The fever," Monobear starts, "is a sickness induced by contact with the spores of the plant!" He motions towards the four sick kids. "Symptoms include growth of small, viney plants on and within the skin, high fever, personality change, tendency to despair, memory loss, and my personal favorite," Monobear leans forward, his red eye flashing devilishly. "Death!"

"Death?" Komaeda squeaks, taking a surprised shuffle back.

"Yup! Just look at them!" Monobear prances over to Tanaka, grabbing his scarf and yanking it down. Normally, Hiyoko would expect the animal breeder to fly into a rage, but Tanaka just begins laughing crazily, grabbing at his head with one of his hands. "Heck, I'm surprised these bastards aren't dead now!"

"Perhaps you should leave my subjects be! They are mine alone to degrade!" Sonia proclaims, arm vines whipping around and leaving more scratches on her arms.

"Yeah, well I certainly see the personality change..." Hinata grumbles, widening his stance.

"I'm glad you've noticed!" Monobear cheers. "Sometimes it takes you bastards so long to see the obvious, I mean dang!" The bear snickers. "But the symptoms also vary with each person, mainly the personality change! See, Tanaka-kun has 'Laughing Fever', Sonia-san has 'Tyrant Fever', Koizumi-san has 'Submissive Fever', and Hanamura-kun... well uh..." Monobear scratches the back of his head. "Um... I believe it's 'Lying Fever'? But uh... that sounds kinda lame, right? Like it's been used before... Maybe we should call it 'Opposite Fever' instead?"

"No one cares about that." Togami grunts, carefully watching the sick students. "How do you cure it?"

"Cure?" Monobear cocks his head in mock confusion. "I'm not sure there is a cure."

"S-s-so th-they're going t-t-to be that way f-f-f-forever?!" Tsumiki wails, clutching Hinata's arm.

"Oh, I don't think so." Monobear says, his grin twitching further upwards. "I've heard there is something akin to a cure, although it's a rather severe method, if you ask me. Do you wanna hear it? Huh?" Monobear leans forward, staring excitedly at them.

"Just tell us." Hinata says. Out of everyone there he seems the least worried.

"Murder!" Monobear cackles. "Kill one of your friends and maybe I'll try and find a cure for you bastards!" Tsumiki starts crying, burying her face into Hinata's shirt. Tanaka and Hanamura start laughing, prompting Koizumi to let out a quiet chuckle and then glance around guiltily. Mioda gasps, hiding behind Togami. Nidai grunts, taking a step back. "Better hope there's a murder before you bastards catch it too!"

"It's contagious?" Togami asks, eyeballing the four infected students.

"Yup! How else do you think they got it?" Monobear snarks. "It's spread by spores produced by the plants. You might wanna be careful, the spores spread through the air. Some versions produce more spores than others though! I'm not telling which!"

"Jesus, if it spreads through the air, then we need to get the hell out of dodge." Hinata turns to leave, but Togami grabs his shoulder and pulls him back.

"Stop. We don't know where these four have been. The spores could be anywhere." Togami states, pushing the boy back to where he was before.

"So then what do you propose we do? There's no way I'm catching that fever." Hinata crosses his arms angrily, face contorting in concern and irritation.

"..." Togami stares at Hinata, thinking for a moment, before turning to the sick group. "Koizumi. Where have you guys been since you caught the fever?"

"Um..." The photographer emptily stares forward, thinking, before slumping down and sighing. "I... I don't remember... I just... we were here for as long as I remember... maybe in our rooms too... I'm sorry..." She sniffs pathetically, trying to wipe away some of the blue fluid on her face. It smears on her cheeks, quickly being replaced by more. Hiyoko cringes. There's no way this is her big sis Koizumi. It must be a... a trick or something.

"So the hotel isn't safe anymore." Togami clenches his fists, pressing one to his chin in thought. "That means... we'll have to stay at the motel."

"Yeah... It's the only other designated sleeping area we have besides the hotel." Komaeda remarks. He sighs. "But what do we do about those four? We can't just leave them alone. What if they... kill?" The luckster shudders slightly.

"We'll bring them to the hospital." Togami says. "We'll have to get some things from the supermarket to help protect ourselves from the spores. Masks, gloves, jackets."

"U-Um... I-If we need it... I can take care of the sick kids..." Tsumiki timidly offers.

"Are you sure?" Togami asks, concerned. "You'd be taking a big risk."

"I'd do anything for m-my... my... f-... fuh... frien... my friends!" Tsumiki breaks down, latching onto the imposter's arm and sobbing. "I w-want them to be okay! Waaaaaaah!" Togami awkwardly pats her back. Komaeda, Nidai, and Mioda look away. Tanaka and Hanamura bellow with laughter.

"Fools!" Tanaka proclaims. "You think that this is a curse?! That this- Hahahahahaha!... This condition is malevolent? Ha! Haha! You are all stupid mortals, foolish imbeciles, idiotic compatriots of this foul island! You will never, ever, be valuable to this world! Not like we are! Ne-" He's cut off by a bout of coughing, which devolves into laughter.

"...Do you really think we're better than them?" Koizumi sighs.

"Obviously we are! Or, at least, I am! I doubt the rest of you nitwits are!" Sonia proclaims, lashing at the photographer, as well as Hanamura, who was probably closer to Koizumi than he should have been, with her vines. Thin, red lines appear on the exposed skin of the two, causing them to flinch away from her.

"That was a completely necessary response!" Hanamura says angrily, tracing a scrape that's deeper than the rest with his finger.

"That's alright..." Koizumi murmurs, watching as blood beads up on her skin. "I deserved it anyway..."

"I've seen enough." Togami turns away from the four, facing the healthy students. "Nidai, Tsumiki, Komaeda. You three go get supplies from the supermarket and take the sick kids to the hospital. The rest of us will address something else." The three nod, Komaeda and Tsumiki tromping down the stairs. Nidai carefully sets Saionji down before following them. Togami turns to glare at the four at the table, plus Monobear. "You four stay put. Monobear, you can go die in a hole."

"Fuck you! I am superior to you!" Everyone, even the other sick kids, turns in surprise as Sonia swears at Togami. She flips him off and sprints forward, vaulting through one of the windows onto the terrace of the hotel. Hiyoko and Mioda scamper over in time to see her leap off the terrace with a surprising amount of grace and skill for someone in a dress. There's a hollow 'thwump' as she hits the ground. The two girls watch as the princess runs away from the hotel, towards the first island.

"Holy cow!" "No way!" Mioda and Hiyoko marvel at the fleeing girl, catching but a glimpse as she rockets past the cottages and turns the corner, disappearing from view. Hiyoko glances back at the other three. They don't seem to be moving anytime soon, what with Koizumi and Hanamura's obedience paired with Tanaka's crippling laughter. The animal breeder bangs his fist on the table, laughs cascading from his mouth humorlessly. The photographer keeps her hands in her lap, staring guiltily at the table. The cook mutters something to himself, chuckling nervously. Hiyoko narrows her eyes. There's no way these are her friends -and Hanamura... right?

"Crap..." Togami heads over to the window, looking over Hiyoko's head at where Sonia went. "Damn it, this is bad."

"Oh Mr. Porkfeet." Hiyoko giggles despite herself. "You're so observant! And here I thought somebody who could potentially get us all sick and cause a murder escaping to who knows where was a good thing! Thank you for clarifying!"

"Oh be quiet." Togami shushes her with a glare. "Now is not the time for your imbecilic tomfoolery. Seriously, shut up." Hiyoko flushes angrily, about to yell back at him when Komaeda runs up the stairs. A gas mask hangs around his neck and he has a pair of thick rubber gloves over his hands. He looks around before finding Togami at the window.

"Uh... Togami-kun? Did Sonia-san le-"

"Yeah." Togami cuts him off. "She jumped out of the window and ran away. Why?"

"Well... Nidai-kun and I were coming back from the supermarket to get the sick kids and then someone charged past us. We were startled and she got away." Komaeda scratches the back of his neck. "Nidai-kun went after her though."

"...Fine. Did you bring extras?" Togami crosses his arms, motioning at Komaeda's gear.

"Oh uh... yes." He reaches into his jacket. Komaeda roots around for a few moments before turning to Togami, a guilty look on his face. "Uh... hold on..." He bites his lip in concentration while Togami looks on, annoyed. Hiyoko thinks it would have been funny if she couldn't see the other three out of the corner of her eye, sulking (or laughing in Tanaka's case). "Um..."

"..." Togami sighs, walking up, and sticks his hand into the other side of Komaeda's jacket, pulling out a medical mask and a pair of work gloves. He stares at Komaeda, unimpressed, as he slips them on. "You three." He turns to Mioda, Hiyoko, and Hinata. "Head to the motel. I'll send for you when we're ready." They stare at him blankly. "Go on, git." Hinata grumbles, walking down the stairs.

"But Byakuya-chan!" Mioda protests, trying to go over to him. Hiyoko grabs the back of her shirt and digs her heels into the ground, holding the light music club member back.

"I'll be fine Mioda. Go." Togami turns away, then starts to head over to the infected kids with Komaeda. Hiyoko begins pulling Mioda towards the stairs, then falls over when she stops resisting.

"Hey! Watch it!" Hiyoko bangs her elbow on the ground, little sparks of pain shooting up her arm. She glares at Mioda, who grins.

"Sorry Hiyoko-chan!" Mioda picks her up and they leap down the stairs, taking them three at a time, and bolt out the front door. They nearly knock Hinata, who seems to have been waiting for them, into the pool as they charge past. Hiyoko hears his footsteps as he feet smack the ground behind them. She wonders why they're running.

"God, this place sucks!" Hiyoko had forgotten how much she thought the motel sucks. She sits in the room she had chosen, on the lame bed in the dirty room with an icky bathroom and crappy furniture. She pouts, jumping off of the bed and kicking it, and heads out of the motel room. Hinata leans against the truck parked nearby while Mioda chatters to him about god knows what. She plods over to them, crouching down and poking the ants scuttling around near Hinata's feet. He glances down at her, but doesn't say anything. Mioda just keeps talking. Hiyoko catches something about turtles and chocolate, but tunes the rest out. They stay like that, waiting, for what seems like forever until they hear footsteps. Hiyoko glances up, seeing Togami, Nidai and Komaeda approaching. She stands up, brushing off her kimono, and addresses the three boys.

"Ugh, what took you so long?" Hiyoko puts her hands on her hips and raises an eyebrow. Komaeda glances to the side.

"Well uh... we had to restrain Sonia-san after Nidai-kun caught her..." He scratches the back of his head and lets out a nervous chuckle.

"...What is with you guys and tying people up?" Hinata leans against the truck and crosses his arms, clearly annoyed. Togami stares silently at him, taking a few steps forward, so that he's about a foot from the other. Hiyoko and Mioda glance at each other, while Hinata raises his brow in confusion. There's a dull thump and suddenly Hinata collapses to the ground, Togami having decked him in the face. Hiyoko screams in surprise, matching Mioda in volume. They screech together and stumble away from the fallen boy and a frowning Togami. The imposter shakes his fist out, then goes down on one of his knees to check the already reddening welt on Hinata's head.

"Mr. Porkfeet, what the hell?!" Hiyoko watches as Nidai, who looks really guilty, walks over and gently picks up Hinata, slinging him over his shoulder. "Why'd you do that?!"

"For the good of the group." Togami states simply. "I need to talk to that 'Kamukura' and I'm pretty sure Hinata wouldn't just willingly switch over to him."

"You're crazy!" Hiyoko squeaks, motioning towards Nidai and Hinata.

"Byakuya-chan!" Mioda manages.

"Maybe they're right, Togami-kun..." Komaeda turns to the imposter. Hiyoko watches as he considers, a look of slight regret crossing over his face.

"Maybe. But we still need to do this." Togami's face hardens, and he turns to the Mioda. "By the way, Mioda, you're queued up for the next shift at the hospital, so get some sleep."

"...Shift?" Mioda cocks her head.

"Yeah. We don't want to risk anyone being around the infected kids for too long, or they could catch the fever." Togami says, motioning at Nidai. The coach sighs and carries Hinata away, Komaeda following soon after. "We're going in shifts. Since there will only be five of us, as I am unsure about that Kamukura, we'll each be going in overlapping shifts."

"What about Mikan-chan?" The light music club member asks.

"She'll be there as well, but I don't want her to overwork herself, so she'll take a break every other shift change." Togami responds, glancing over his shoulder. "I'll join you within the hour, but I need something done first. Saionji, come with me." Mioda grins at something and scampers off towards the hospital.

"This better be good..." Hiyoko grumbles under her breath. Togami shoots a glance at her then heads off in the direction that Nidai and Komaeda went. Hiyoko reluctantly trots after him.

"Ah yes, your famous hospitality, Mr. Byakuya. How I missed it, trapped in the cynical mind of my other half." Kamukura raises his brow at Togami, face blank. He sits, tied to a chair, in the music club. Hiyoko sits on the stage, watching silently. Nidai stands behind Kamukura and Komaeda stands at Togami's side.

"Whatever." Togami folds his arms, glaring at Kamukura. "Tell us what you know about this 'Despair Fever'."

"Fever?" Kamukura looks at Togami questioningly. "I'm afraid I can't help you with this supposed disease you face here." Kamukura stares at the wall in thought for a few moments before the edge of his mouth twitches up. "...Ah. I see. This is quite the interesting sickness..."

"Yeah, alright." Togami cuts to the chase. "Can you cure it?"

"You doubt me?" Kamukura asks, cocking his head.

"Then do it." Togami grunts.

"But what would be the fun in that?" Kamukura's expression rises into a gentle, malicious smile. "I think it's a great motive."

"You're... not going to cure it?" Komaeda asks.

"No, why would I do that?" Kamukura rolls his eyes. "That seems like a silly and convoluted way to get around the inevitable. It would take a lot of time you don't have to synthesize something like that from what's available here on the islands. Plus, somebody's going to die anyway, might as well make it easier."

"You don't know that." Nidai growls from behind the tied up boy.

"Really now?" Kamukura scoffs. "I'd say I do. In fact, I'm the most qualified person around here to know anything. I do, after all, know you people better than you know yourselves." Nidai clenches his fists angrily and looks like he's about to object.

"Give it up. He's not going to do it." Togami sighs in exasperation. Nidai holds up his index finger, about to protest, but drops his arm to his side and looks away. Togami stares him down, then turns to Kamukura. "Then you'll do something else for me."

"And that would be?" Kamukura cocks his head.

"I need a communication device that works between the motel and the hospital."

"That's doable. Now if you'll excuse me," Kamukura wiggles his shoulders and stands up, the ropes binding him to the chair falling away. Nidai and Komaeda jump back in surprise. Hiyoko places a hand over her mouth, startled, and Togami raises an eyebrow. "I'll get right on that. I'll be in the Electronics District if you need me." Kamukura sticks his hands in his pockets and casually strolls out of the music club.

"H-How did he-?!" Nidai stares at Kamukura until he exits, then turns to Togami. "How?"

"Perhaps his is as talented as he says..." Togami grumbles, staring at the doors.

"What are we gonna do, Mr. Porkfeet? You're really going to trust him to just walk around. He's the reason big bro Souda killed our big sisters Nanami and Pekoyama, y'know." Hiyoko snickers at him questioningly. Togami just shakes his head and sighs.

"Look." He starts. "I don't like it any more than you guys do. But with this disease here, there's no way we're going to get by with what we have right now. We've got Tsumiki. She's probably our best bet with anything disease related. We need some sort of advantage, and a way to communicate with those at the hospital without actually being there is a valuable thing to have. Kamukura can give us that and, quite frankly, he's another invaluable asset. We're going to have to trust him. Do I make myself clear?" Togami stares down the remaining three kids, arms crossed.

"...Yeah..." Nidai sighs, an unhappy grimace on his face.

"I believe you need to get to Mioda-san at the hospital, Togami-kun." Komaeda responds. Togami just nods.

"Remember what I said. And despite it... be careful. Saionji, you'll be replacing Mioda later, so get some sleep." Togami leaves the music club before Hiyoko can protest. She crosses her arms and pouts. As much as she cares for Tanaka and Koizumi, she doesn't want to get infected. What's the point if she does?

"I don't like this." She grumps.

"None of us do." Komaeda points out. She shoots him a glare and he returns with an appeasing look. "This is very unfortunate, but we've got to persevere. For Tanaka. And the others." The luckster smiles, and Nidai nods in response. Hiyoko sighs. The three exit the music club to find the sun is setting. They tromp back to the motel in silence. Hiyoko immediately retreats to her room, falling onto the bed. God, today sucked. She scrambled to get under the scratchy blanket, turning over until she found herself staring at the stained ceiling. And soon she found herself asleep.