Monaca Towa gets into an argument.

I stared at the top of the classroom. The clock hands needed to move a tiiiny bit to the right and I could finally get out of here. I moved my focus from the clock onto the teacher, still explaining how to do stupid maths problems on the board.

I forced myself from scowling. I kept the smile plastered on my face, and clasped my hands on my desk to stop myself from fidgeting with anything. Ever since I told my accomplice about the prank on the school roof, I had to promise him to follow a series of rules.

Rule number one was to inform him of where I was as soon as school ended. It's a hassle to follow, but overall it's nothing to get too worked up about.

Rule number two was to behave myself at home and at school, so no more of my fun pranks. Okay, now I was starting to get annoyed. But it should be fiiiine right? I'd just find another source of entertainment.

… And then there's rule number three. Rule number three was that I must not do anything "harmful" to anyone at my school and my accomplice's school. I thought this rule was quite vague on what could be considered "harmful," but apparently it meant any activity that would result in them getting hurt, physically or emotionally.

I would understand if rule three only applied to my acquaintances and my accomplice's friends, but to everyone from his school and my school? Wasn't that a bit much? It was thanks to this rule that I'd been feeling this sense of boredom in my everyday life. Even though I tried so many activities just to get rid of it, it wouldn't go away.

The school bell started ringing, signalling the end of school. The teacher turned away from the board to look at us.

"Alright class, that'll be the end of today's lesson!" the teacher called out. "Make sure to do your homework, but above all else stay safe out there okay?"

"Yes teacher!" we all said. Everyone in the room started picking up their school stuff. I waited for most of the students to be gone before I moved towards the back of the classroom. Standing there huddled together with schoolbags on their backs were my acquaintances. I couldn't think of them as my toys anymore. After all, toys were something you play around with to your heart's content, and I could no longer do that because of these stupid rules.

"Finally, we can go home!" the red-haired boy said. "Math class always makes me want to fall asleep."

"That's only because you're too dumb to understand it all," the pink-haired girl said.

"A-Am not! I can answer any math question no problem; I just don't because I want to give everyone a fair shot."

"Really? What's one plus one?"

"Pfft, easy! It's two!"

"What about twelve times twelve?"

"One hundred and forty-four!"

"What's one million times fifty thousand divided by twenty thousand divided by the square root of six hundred and twenty-five minus one hundred thousand?"

"That's… Um… Just give me a couple of seconds and I'll—"

"It's zero," the blue-haired boy answered.

"Wow! You're super-duper right Nagisa!"

"Hey! Who said you can butt in?! I was just about to answer the question!"

"I doubt that."

The red-haired boy was about to say something back, but then the creep spoke up.

"Uh… guys? Shouldn't we be going back to our house?"

"Golly, would you look at the time!" the pink-haired girl said. "We should all be heading back now!"

"Umm… that's what I just sa—"

"Yeah, let's leave right away!" the red-haired boy interrupted. "I want to start hunting some Demons!"

My acquaintances looked at me. Oh, so now they noticed I was here? How rude; they used to give me their full attention whenever I was around.

"Hey Monaca, are you free this time?" the red-haired boy asked. "I want to show you my super awesome Demon hunting skills!"

Ugh, how annoying. For the past few weeks my acquaintances had been pestering me to join them in this "Demon Hunting." I had no idea what kind of game this "Demon Hunting" was, but it sounded childish, so I declined whenever they asked me to join.

But maybe I should just go for today. Even though I hung out with them at school, I feel like I was losing control over them. Perhaps joining them in this childish game would allow me to re-exert my influence, and it might even get rid this nagging sense of boredom…

… Or I could go home instead. Hanging out with them was a chore already, so why torture myself even further?

I looked down at the ground and forced myself to frown. "Sorry Masaru, but Monaca has to do her homework today…"

"Oh… okay. I guess I'll show you my cool moves next time."

I glanced at the window to the right of me. Standing by at the school gate was a hooded figure. I took out my phone from my skirt pocket; at this time I should be getting a text message right about…

My phone vibrated. I checked the front to see my accomplice's text message.

Where are you Monaca?

I sent him a message.

I'm on the school roof with my friends!

I looked at the window and saw that my accomplice was running towards my location. I sent him another message as fast as possible.

I was joking! Look at the window!

My accomplice's sprint towards the school slowed down a little after I sent the message. It was only when he checked the phone in his hand did he stop his mad dash. He was examining the school in front of him, his eyes passing by my classroom window until he did a double-take. I waved at him, and soon after my phone vibrated again.

Don't joke about that Monaca! You almost gave me a fright. I'll be waiting for you outside, but don't take too long because I need to go somewhere.

Okay! See you soon!

I placed the phone back inside my pocket. How embarrassing; couldn't he tell that I was joking? My acquaintances were watching my accomplice the entire time as well, and they turned to me once he was walking back to the school gate.

"What was that about Monaca?" the blue-haired boy asked.

"Oh, nothing. He just took a joke way too seriously," I answered.

"Oh my, getting along with your adoptive family Monaca?" the pink-haired girl said. "I thought you said they were a group of monsters?"

"Well… I guess I was wrong."

The pink-haired girl covered her mouth. "No way! Monaca was wrong for once? Did I step into another dimension!? But I guess this just proves Monaca isn't right all the time."

… Y'know, I couldn't help but feel like the pink-haired brat was getting too cocky around me.

"Of course, things might change in the future," I added, "so I might be right after all."

"That is a possibility," the blue-haired boy said. "Even if your family is treating you well at the moment, their attitude could change in the future."

"Ha! They definitely will!" The red-haired boy crossed his arms. "All adults are Demons anyway; I bet they're just hiding their true colours until Monaca lets down her guard. But don't worry! When that happens I'll come rushing in to save you!"

"Rushing in by yourself wouldn't help her at all. Going together would be the better option."

"Yeah, Nagisa is right as always!" the pink-haired brat said. "Did you forget that you needed help from Jataro for your first Demon kill?"

"Yeah Masaru," the creep said. "I had to cut up that Demon when its brains didn't splatter on the ground. But… it was kinda fun cutting it up into little pieces."

"W-Well it was my first time alright! Next time I'll kill a Demon all by myself!"

My acquaintances had quite the active imagination. They were making this "Demon Hunting" game sound fun to play! But unless they were actually killing something, Monaca was still not going to join them in playing this game.

The blue-haired boy approached me. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to me. I examined the paper in my hand; written on it were numbers and the names of my acquaintances.

"What's this Nagisa?" I asked.

"It's our phone numbers," the blue-haired boy said. "Big Sis Junko gave each of us a phone recently. If you're ever in any danger from your adoptive family, call any of these numbers and we'll come to save you."

"Wow Nagisa! Thank you sooo much!"

"My my, I didn't know you could be so bold Nagisa," the pink-haired brat said. "Already planning to go on a date with Monaca?"

The blue-haired boy was blushing. "I-It's not like that! I-I'm just making sure Monaca has a way to protect herself, that's all."

"It better be!" the red-haired boy gave a glare to the blue-haired boy. "Don't think you can hog Monaca all to yourself!"

"I'm telling you it's not like that!"

"Oh no guys, Nagisa is burning up!" the creep said. "Should I chant a healing spell on him?"

I stayed silent as my acquaintances squabbled with each other. Now that I was watching them, were they always this… cheerful? Their smiles and laughter looked and sounded the same to me, but it felt a bit more… genuine.

This was making me feel very… angry, to be honest. My life was better than theirs, and yet how come I was the one feeling unsatisfied with my life? It's sickening. What was the one thing missing in my life that could finally make me feel content?

"Guys, let's not tease Nagisa so much," I said. "We're all friends here right?"

The pink-haired brat was the only one who heard my voice over the commotion. "Oh, don't be such a spoilsport Monaca." She smiled at me. "We're just having a bit of fun."

"Having a bit of fun is fine, but we shouldn't overdo it if hurts our friends. Don't you think you should be more… considerate, Kotoko?"

For a brief moment I saw a hint of fear in the brat's eyes. At least the ace up my sleeve was still working; if she starts acting out of line again, I juuust might say the G word by accident…

"Y-Yeah, of course Monaca! I'll keep that in mind."

"Great! Now then, isn't it time for you to go off and play that 'Demon Hunting' game?"

"Oh, that's right!" She turned towards the still bickering boys and clapped her hands to get their attention.

"Alright, that's enough!" the pink-haired brat said. "It's time for us to leave and start hunting some Demons! As the leader of the Warriors of Hope, I'll be choosing our target."

"Hey, that's not fair!" the red-haired boy cried out. "You already picked a target last week! Let me choose this time!"

The pink-haired brat wagged a finger at the boy. "No can do Masaru. If you want to choose a target then you have to be the leader. That's what we all agreed on right?"

The blue-haired boy and the creep nodded their heads. "That's correct," the blue-haired boy said. The boy had regained his composure and wasn't red in the face anymore. "If you want to pick a target Masaru, then you shouldn't have lost that rock-paper-scissors game."

The red-haired boy grumbled at that. "She just got lucky, that's all! I'll definitely win back my leader position, and when I do you'll all be following my orders."

"Pfft, good luck with that," the pink-haired brat said. "Now let's go already! We're not going to catch any Demons if we just stand here and talk."

The pink-haired brat approached me and gave me a hug. "Goodbye Monaca! I hope you have a great time with your family!"

I returned the hug. "Thank you Kotoko!" I said. "I hope you have fun hunting down some Demons!"

The brat let go of me. She gave a small wave as she walked out of the classroom. Following after her were the red-haired kid and the creep, and they too also waved goodbye to me.

"See ya Monaca! If those nasty Demons even lay a finger on you, call me and I'll come beat them up!"

"Goodbye Monaca… I hope you'll join us next—"

"Thank you Masaru!" I said. "Have fun!"

"Aww… she didn't even mention my name…"

"Just suck it up."

The two exited the classroom. Now it was just me and the blue-haired boy. I smiled at him, but it only seemed to make him nervous.

"What's wrong Nagisa?" I asked. "Aren't you going to go play with them?"

"Yeah, I will…" the blue-haired boy said. He wasn't looking me in the eye. Instead it seems he preferred to stare at the ground rather than my cute face. Now that's just very rude of him.

"Monaca, I…"

"Yes, Nagisa?" What's with him all of a sudden? Did he need to go to the bathroom or something?

"… Nevermind. Stay safe Monaca."

"I will! See ya Nagisa!" I waved goodbye to the boy. He smiled at me, although it appears he was forcing himself to. He returned the gesture and walked out of the classroom.

Now, wasn't that a complete waste of my time. I got my schoolbag out of my locker and exited the classroom to meet up with my accomplice. He was outside the school gate, leaning against a wall nearby with his hands in his pockets. He approached me once I was close and walked alongside me as we began the journey to our home.

"What's wrong Big Bro?" I asked. He seemed unhappy for some reason.

"That wasn't a funny joke Monaca," he replied. "You shouldn't make light of something that serious."

"Oh, don't be like that. You should have known that I was only joking. Didn't I already promise you that I'd follow your rules? Don't you trust me?"

"I do. It's just… you're not exactly the most honest person in the world…"

"So you don't trust me. I mean what you said is true; in the past I might have told a lie here and there. But haven't I been behaving myself at home and at school?"

"Yes, but—"

"So don't you think you can put a tiiiiny bit of faith in me? Monaca feels pretty sad that Big Bro here can't trust her, even though she's been on her best behaviour for a while now…"

"… I guess I am being a bit paranoid here."

I smiled at him. "Does that mean you'll start trusting me more?"

"Yes, but you still have to follow those rules I set out for you."

I was hoping that he'd at least make the rules a bit lenient, but I guess I'd be asking too much from him. "Okay!" I said. "Monaca will continue to follow your rules, while you learn to stop being so suspicious of her every move."

I stopped in my tracks and offered a hand to my accomplice. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yeah, we have a deal." We shook hands and continued on our way.

I leaned back in my wheelchair. It's quite a shame that my accomplice was so distrustful of me. I mean, he's my partner in crime right? But I guess it was kinda my fault for playing too many pranks in the past. If I could go back in time, I would have made sure to keep myself in check. He would have never discovered the unsavoury parts of my personality, and I could continue playing my pranks without all of these rules.

But then again, would our relationship still be the same? It could be a lot better, but I wouldn't mind if it stayed like this forever.

…

"Is something wrong Monaca?"

"It's nothing Makoto. I'm just thinking about something."

"Well, alright."

"… On second thought, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

I focused my attention onto him. "What makes you happy in life?"

"What makes me happy?" My accomplice placed a hand under his chin as he thought up of an answer. "I guess that would be hanging out with my friends and my family."

Hmm, was that the solution to my problem? Hanging out with my family was fun and all, but it didn't do anything to alleviate this sense of boredom.

"Is there anything else?"

My accomplice shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing else comes to mind. If everybody's happy then I'm happy. Why are you asking such a question anyway?"

"I'm just looking for some new hobbies. It gets pretty boring at home sometimes, y'know? I can't go outside without an adult accompanying me, and the channels on TV keep on talking about that stupid parade crap. Even playing videogames was starting to be boring. I want to do something fun and exciting!"

"I see."

"You're free today, aren't you? Want to help me search for a new hobby?"

"Uh, about that…" My accomplice had a nervous smile on his face as he avoided my gaze. "I have to go somewhere today…"

"… Oh. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to a friend's place. I have to work on a group project, so after I drop you off at home I'll be heading off."

"Really. The school is making you work on a project during a protest?"

"Yeah… I don't understand it either. Maybe it's their way of reassuring us that everything is fine?"

"More like burying their heads in the sand. How long is it going to take you?"

"It depends. Maybe three hours at best, or eight hours at worse. It's a pretty big project, so… I might be busy for the next few weeks as well…"

How disappointing… I could always ask my sister—or Kurokuma if I was that desperate—for help, but they didn't know me as well as my accomplice.

"I can still help you once I return home though!" my accomplice added. "I'll try and get home as early as I can so we can spend time together."

"It's okay," I said. "Take as much time as you need to finish this project. We wouldn't want you to fail this project now, would we? I'll ask Komaru or Kurokuma for assistance."

"If that's what you want… I'm always here if you need me."

My accomplice looked a bit regretful, so I placed the most charming smile on my face to cheer him up. It was very easy to lift up his spirits; all you needed to do was smile and say happy things!

"I know Big Bro, so just relax and have fun with your friends!" I said. "Having fun is the most important thing in life after all."

He looked more like his usual carefree self now that I reassured him. I unzipped the schoolbag on my lap and took out my diary and some stickers.

"Let's see…" I flipped through my diary until I was at my record of stickers. "You get one sticker for picking me up, so that gives you a total of… one hundred stickers! Congratulations Makoto! For reaching such an amazing milestone, you get to order me around three times. Isn't that amazing?"

"Uh, I guess?" he said.

"So, what do you want me to do for you? Want me to bake you some cookies? Help you with your homework? Clean your room? Name it and I'll do it, if it's within reason of course."

"I don't have anything in mind at the moment."

"That's fine. Tell me what you want once you've come up with something."

For the rest of the trip we continued on in silence. My accomplice busied himself on his phone, tapping away at whatever was on the screen. As for me, I used up all of my brain power thinking about what to do for the rest of the day…

"Goodbye Monaca. Don't do anything dangerous while I'm gone, and never—"

"Open the door to strangers. I know Makoto, so go out the door and meet up with your friends."

My accomplice was still standing right by the open door. I gestured at him to get out of the house already, and he finally took the last step out the door.

"Make sure to ring me if anything comes up," he said.

"I knooow, so can you go now please?" I said. "Have fun out there!"

My accomplice nodded and started to walk away. He only took three steps away from the house until he looked back behind him, forcing me to give him a smile and a wave before I shut the door.

I turned around to face the living room. Lying on the couch was Kurokuma, smoking (or as he called it, "breathing") away as it watched the TV. On its left leg was an ankle monitor, a reminder that I actually paid two hundred thousand dollars to bail the damn bear out.

Just thinking about how much I lost was making me irritated. That feeling only intensified when examining the room around me. Nothing but boring cabinets, boring floor lamps, boring pictures on boring walls, a bum of a bear lying on a boring couch watching a boring show on a boring TV… How was a girl supposed to entertain herself here!?

I moved to a cabinet near me and opened up a drawer. If I didn't find anything fun to do right now I was going to go insane! I took out the first thing that caught my eye; a large red book with the title "Family Photos." I flipped it open to the first page.

… Huh, I didn't know they had a dog. One of the photos had two kids playing with a dog in a park. The boy with the single hair sticking out was obviously my accomplice, but who was the girl with him? Was that Big Sis? If it was where was that idiotic strand of hair?

I flipped through the book. There was nothing particular interesting in it; it contained all your standard baby photos, birthday photos, family photos… Y'know, all the things I never had for most of my life. I flipped through several pages until I spotted one particular photo.

I took the photo out of the book. It was a photo of me dressed up like a tree, surrounded by my family. Looking at it was making me feel sooo embarrassed. My family all had natural smiles on their faces, while mine looked like I was forcing myself. I placed both of my hands on one side of the photo. I was sure my family wouldn't notice if this photo went missing. All I had to do was rip it into tiny pieces and my mind would be at peace…

… I put the photo back into the book. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't do that. I closed the book and placed it back into the drawer. I searched around the drawer some more, and when I couldn't find anything interesting I pushed it back into the cabinet. Left with no other options, I unfortunately approached Kurokuma.

"How's your day Kurokuma?" I asked.

"Boring as shit," the bear replied, its voice muffled by the cigar in its mouth. It took the cigar out from its mouth and let out a puff of smoke. "It's bullshit how I can't go out of the house."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have started rapping in public."

"And waste an opportunity to promote my mixtape? Hell no."

"Your 'mixtape' placed someone into a one-day coma, and that's not even the worst of the damages you caused. Do you want another reminder of how money I lost because of you?"

"Eh, I'll pass. How about you boss? Did ya screw anybody over today?"

"Nope. I already told you I can't play any more pranks."

"Then do it in secret. Come on Monaca, don't you want to raise some hell? I'll even give you a hand."

"That's a very tempting offer, but no means no. Besides, you wouldn't be much help with that ankle monitor."

Kurokuma muttered some profanities under its breath. I must say the idea of rewriting its personality was getting very, very tempting. I wasn't going to do it now, but if it caused trouble for me one more time well…

I reached inside my school jacket and took out my trusty revolver. Kurokuma raised up its hands to me.

"Whoa boss! Let's talk it out first!" Kurokuma cried out. "I know I can be a pain in the ass, but ya don't have to murder me!"

"Relax, this isn't a real gun."

I pointed the gun at the bear and pulled the trigger. A plastic pellet flew out of the gun, hitting Kurokuma in the face before bouncing off from the bear. Kurokuma lowered down its paws.

"Well, ain't that reassuring. Why are you carrying around a toy gun anyway?"

"It's to protect myself. It's getting pretty dangerous going outside, what with adults getting murdered and all. Anyway, want to play Russian roulette?"

"Sure! It's gonna be hard for me to shoot myself though, 'cause I don't have human hands."

"Don't worry; I'll shoot you when it's your turn. Let's go to the kitchen and set things up—"

The sound of the doorbell echoed throughout the house. We both turned our heads towards the door.

"Looks like your sister's back from school," Kurokuma said. "Why don't we invite her to join us?"

"I don't think it's her," I said. "If it was then she would've unlocked the door instead of pressing the doorbell. I think it's them again."

"What, those assholes from Hope's Peak Orphanage? Aren't they busy covering up their asses with 'The Parade'?"

"Apparently not if they got time to visit me."

I placed the toy gun back inside my school jacket and approached the door. I took out the house key in my skirt pocket, and unlocked the door juuust a tiny bit to take a peek outside. Standing there was a tall woman in a suit, hands clasped behind her back as she gave me a smile.

"Hello Monaca," Miss Jellyfish said. "It's been quite a while hasn't it?"

I returned the smile. "I'm sorry, but have we met before?"

"Now, don't be like that. How about you invite me in so we can chat?"

"My mum said not to talk to strangers."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice here Monaca. Please open the door; else I'll be forced to report this action to the orphanage. We wouldn't want to trouble your parents now, would we?"

Despite how much I wanted to close the door on her face, I moved aside to let her into the house. Miss Jellyfish examined the living room, the smile on her face dropping for a split second once she spotted Kurokuma standing near the couch.

"Wassup yo!?" Kurokuma shouted. "Came to check up on us Miss Director?"

"I take it this was the bear at that competition?" Miss Jellyfish said. "I must admit, I'm impressed at what you created. You might have even won first place, had it not malfunctioned in the end."

"Why, thank you!" I said.

"Hey! I didn't malfunction alright! I was just so excited that I didn't hear her telling me to stop, that's all."

"Hmm, is that so?" Miss Jellyfish walked towards the kitchen. She entered inside, and like before she began examining the room around her.

"Ah, why don't we talk over there," Miss Jellyfish called out. She disappeared away from my line of sight, so I followed after her into the kitchen along with Kurokuma. The woman had made herself comfortable at the kitchen table, and was gesturing for me to join her. I approached her while Kurokuma stood nearby the entrance.

Miss Jellyfish began speaking once I made myself comfortable at the table. "I would like your bear friend to leave the room."

"The fuck? Why the hell do I have to go!?" Kurokuma shouted.

"This is a private matter between Monaca and me."

"Yeah, well I don't take orders from you so piss off."

"Monaca, please tell your invention here to leave us."

"Why should I?" I asked. The woman in front of me let out a sigh.

"Do I really need to explain what would happen if you don't comply?"

"Alright, alright. Kurokuma, go to the living room."

"I would prefer it if you send it somewhere far away from here as possible."

"Jeez, fine. Kurokuma, go to your room."

The bear grumbled out something as it left, probably a swear word. Soon after, the sound of a door being slammed shut rang throughout the house.

"Now then. How are you doing Monaca? Is your new family treating you well?"

"Indeed they are!" I answered. "They're the best family in the world!"

"Are they now… Don't be shy to voice out any problems you have with them."

"Sorry to disappoint, but they really are a perfect family. Why are you even asking such a question anyway? Don't your goons report anything to you at all? In fact, how come you're the one paying me a visit?"

Miss Jellyfish dropped her fake smile. "Hope's Peak Orphanage is understaffed at the moment."

"And why's that?"

"Do you know about the situation at Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Mm-hmm. A human experiment escaped from its lab and murdered a bunch of helpless students. Such a tragedy… But hey, now the school has a couple less mouths to feed."

"I guess that is one silver lining, twisted as it may be. Since Hope's Peak Academy is coming under fire, many of our staff have quit under fear that our more… unsavoury duties, would be discovered by the media. Thus a few others and I are forced to pick up the slack."

"Sounds like you're in a tight spot Miss Director. Why don't you take a nice, looong vacation away from here? I hear Tahiti is lovely this time of year."

"If I had a lot of money maybe I would go on a vacation, but I don't. So unfortunately, you're going to have to get used to these visits."

How wonderful! Instead of doing something fun, I was going to spend my evening hanging out with Miss Jellyfish! Today just keeps getting better and better.

"So… what now?" I asked. "Are we going to sit here and talk until you leave?"

"Indeed," Miss Jellyfish answered. "I still need to confirm whether you've kept quiet about our operations."

"Relax, Miss Director. Monaca's a good little secret keeper. Not a single soul knows what you're doing to those poor, poor orphans."

"And that's the truth?"

"Absolutely!"

"Then can you explain this?"

Miss Jellyfish reached inside her suit and took out several photos. She laid them around the table. All the photos showed a location outside the orphanage, along with a man who was trying his best to not look suspicious.

"Why is it that the headmaster is snooping around the orphanage?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you and your buddies got sloppy in covering your tracks?"

"I can assure you that it's not us. I believe that one of our adopted orphans spilled the beans on our duties."

"And you think it's me? Now that's just unfair for poor Monaca! Why don't you check on the other orphans first before you accuse her."

"I already did. Unlike you, they've all been staying out of trouble. Ever since you've been adopted all kinds of incidents happened. You caused an experimental event in Hope's Peak Academy to fail, was held hostage at a doughnut store and created a robotic bear that ripped off someone's arm. With such a history is there no wonder that you're the prime suspect?"

… Damn it. I knew that telling the headmaster was a bad idea, but my accomplice just had to ignore my warning.

"If what you said is true, which it isn't by the way, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to take me back to the orphanage?"

"Not the first solution I had in mind, but it's not off the table. Depending on how this conversation goes you might only receive a mild punishment."

"Monaca has a better option. How about she receives no punishment at all and you let her go instead?"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. As the director it is my job to ensure Hope's Peak Academy's reputation is spotless, and if something were to come along and threaten that it falls upon me to eliminate the problem."

"So you're going to kill Monaca?"

"I wouldn't go that far just yet. Despite your problematic personality, I really am quite fond of you."

"It's a sin to tell a lie Miss Director."

Miss Jellyfish smiled at me. "It's the truth. If it's possible, I would very much like to avoid hurting you in any way. Tell me, how is your adoptive brother doing at school?"

"He's doing fine. Why are you asking?"

"Just curious, that's all. From what I've read from his files, he doesn't seem to have any extraordinary aptitude in anything. His test marks and athletic abilities are all average compared to his peers. The only reason why he isn't in the Reserve Course is due to a lottery ticket, and even then having a talent in luck isn't viewed in high regard at Hope's Peak."

"… What are you getting at?"

"I'm simply stating facts. While the headmaster says luck is a talent, many others at Hope's Peak would disagree with him. If your brother were to do poorly at school, there's a good chance he would get kicked out regardless of his talent."

"I guess it's a good thing he's doing well at school."

"That's true, for now. Things could always change in the future Monaca. He could, for example, fail to complete an essential project due this month, putting him at risk of expulsion."

How oddly specific, and I doubt it was by accident.

"Such misfortune might even spread to the rest of the family," Miss Jellyfish continued. "Your father might get laid off from his job, your sister might not get admitted to a prestigious school, and your mother might suffer a major accident that'll leave her in a hospital bed."

"Threatening my family, Miss Director?" I said. "That's a pretty low thing to do. But then again there's nothing you and your group wouldn't stoop to if it kept your secrets safe."

"I never said anything of the sort. The future is unpredictable; terrible things can happen to anyone at any time."

"And what should I do to ensure these terrible things won't happen in the future?"

"It's very simple. For starters, we'll be visiting you every day from now instead of two times per week. These visits will take place either in the morning or afternoon, depending on your schedule."

That didn't sound so bad to be honest. I could handle a couple of annoying pests visiting me. Then again I doubt that was the end of her demands.

"Is there anything else?"

She reached inside her suit again and placed down something on the table. It was a flat, rectangular device, small enough that I could hold it with two fingers and black all around except for the middle. The camera lens on the device clued me in on its purpose.

"We'll also place you under twenty-four-hour surveillance. You are required to wear this device at all times unless we state otherwise."

"What if I need to go to the bathroom?"

"You still need to wear it."

"Even when I go to sleep?"

"Even when you're sleeping the device stays on."

"This is an invasion of privacy y'know?"

"Perhaps it is, but you'll get used to it. It's not like you have to accept these suggestions. All you need to do is say no and we'll continue on with our old schedule. Although, I don't know what'll happen to your family in the near future."

Some choice this was. It was painfully obvious that the woman was trying to force me to accept these terms by threatening my family. Not that I was planning to anyway. I liked my family and all, but I valued my own privacy more than them. If they were going to suffer in the near future then too bad, so sad…

"… How about I make a deal with you?"

… God damn it.

"I'm afraid I'm not—"

"Just hear me out first," I interrupted. "What I'm going to propose will be beneficial to both of us."

"Oh?" Miss Jellyfish raised an eyebrow at this. "I don't believe you have anything useful to offer me, but I'll humour you. What is your deal?"

"I'm going to pay you some money to leave me alone."

"… Is that it?"

"Yep."

The small, irritating smile plastered on Miss Jellyfish's face finally dropped. "If you actually think that bribing me would do the trick, then I don't know what to say to you."

"I didn't say how much money you'll be getting though. Does half a million sound good to you?"

"… I'm sorry, did you just say you have half a million dollars lying around?"

"I did. I'll even prove it to you. Can I ask for Kurokuma to come back inside?"

Miss Jellyfish didn't answer me. She kept looking at me with an expression that told me nothing on what she was feeling. Just when I thought she had gone brain dead, she nodded her head, giving me permission to shout for the bear.

"Kurokuma!"

Not even a minute passed and the bear was already inside the kitchen.

"Hearing you loud and clear!" Kurokuma replied. "You finished talking?"

"Not yet. I want you to do something for me. Bring me half a million dollars."

"As you command!"

Kurokuma exited the kitchen. For the next few minutes, I stayed silent and watched the woman in front of me with a smile. Miss Jellyfish had her arms crossed, face expressionless as she stared at me as well.

There was a lot of noise outside the kitchen, along with the frantic footsteps of Kurokuma running around the house. The footsteps eventually grew closer, and soon enough Kurokuma appeared inside carrying a briefcase.

"Here it is Monaca!" Kurokuma exclaimed, and plopped the briefcase in front of me. "Half a million dollars at your disposal."

"Thank you so much Kurokuma! Now leave."

"Wait, what."

"You heard me. Go away."

"Are ya fuckin' kidding me…?" The bear dragged itself outside of the kitchen. The sound of a door being slammed shut once again rang throughout the house.

I opened up the briefcase, counting the bills inside to double-check the amount before turning it around to show Miss Jellyfish. The woman reached for the briefcase, but I moved it away from her.

"Not so fast," I said. "Do we have a deal or not?"

"… I'll admit that your offer is tempting," Miss Jellyfish said, "but I don't see how this deal will benefit me in the long run. I could make this much money in around two years."

"Maybe you could if you stick around with your job, but is that really a good decision?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on Miss Director, don't you see the signs? No matter how hard the media tries to downplay it, Hope's Peak Academy is finished. Sooner or later everyone will find out what you've done, and when that happens, do you really expect the Steering Committee to come and help you out?"

"…"

"That's why I propose you take the money I'm offering you, and go on a journey far, far away from here. Of course, you have to do something for me as well."

"And that is?"

"I want you to put a stop to these visits, permanently. I don't want to see you and your goons near my family ever again."

"You know, I could just take the money and not agree to your deal."

"You could, but if you do… well, your life's going to turn upside down."

"Is that a threat?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. All Monaca is trying to say is that you really, really, don't want to get on her bad side. Let me ask again; do we have a deal?"

I leaned forward on the table and extended a hand towards Miss Jellyfish. The woman's blank expression gave no hint at all if she was going to accept my deal. If she didn't accept it, then I guess I was going to have to kill her.

Fortunately (or unfortunately), she reached forward and shook my hand.

"I agree to your deal," Miss Jellyfish said. She was smiling now. "Hope's Peak Orphanage will no longer bother you and your family ever again."

"That's great Miss Jelly— Miss Director! You won't regret this decision."

"I hope not." She motioned towards the briefcase near me. "Now, about my payment…"

"Let's not get too hasty here. You're only getting half of your money today. The rest will be delivered once I see proof that you held up your end of the bargain."

"And how will I know that you'll keep yours?"

"You won't. We're going to have to trust each other, and that shouldn't be too hard right?"

There was a look of displeasure on Miss Jellyfish's face. "Hey, why the long face? I'll have you know that Monaca is one hundred percent trustworthy!"

"That is quite possibly the biggest lie I have heard from your mouth today."

"What a mean thing to say. I really won't stab you in the back, promise!"

"We'll see. Just know that there will be severe consequences if you renege on this deal."

"Mm-hmm. The same goes for you as well."

Miss Jellyfish got up from her seat. She motioned at the briefcase again, and while I hated having to part with my hard-earned money, I began handing over the agreed payment. Every stack of money I gave to her was deposited somewhere inside her suit, disappearing into pockets that seemingly had no limit to their capacity.

Once the last stack of money had disappeared forever from my life, Miss Jellyfish began to walk out of the kitchen. She looked satisfied now that she had robbed me of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

"Aren't you going to take your camera back?" I called out.

"You can keep it," she replied back. "Think of it as a gift from me."

She exited the room. I grabbed the device on the table, examining it for a bit before shoving it into my skirt pocket. I followed after the woman to the living room.

Miss Jellyfish was waiting nearby the front door. "I'll pay you a visit once I dealt with things on my end," she said once I got close. "When I have the rest of my money, you and I will never see each other ever again."

"Are you getting sentimental, Miss Director?" I asked. "How unexpected, I always thought you were a heartless adult."

"Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm as happy as you are with this outcome. I'm simply feeling some… regret, on how you were treated at the orphanage."

"It's a bit late for that, don't you think? It's thanks to you that I'm stuck in a wheelchair."

"I'm not the one you should blame for that. The ones at fault were the people who got too excited about performing their duties."

"Yeah, but who was the one who turned a blind eye to all the abuse?"

"There was nothing I could do about it. The abuse had been going on long before I became the director. If I were to speak out against it I would lose my job or even my life. What would you have done if you were in my position?"

"Easy, I would turn a blind eye as well."

The woman chuckled at that. "See, I knew you would understand. You always were the smartest kid at the orphanage."

"I was, so how come I got beaten up the most?"

"Who knows? Perhaps it was your appearance, your voice, or your personality that made you a target. Whatever their reasons, I'll admit that perhaps I share the blame for your tragic loss. I am truly sorry that my negligence robbed you of your legs."

"That's the worst apology I've heard in my life, but I forgive you." I reached for the doorknob and opened the front door. "Now please, get out."

"As you wish. Have a nice evening Monaca."

Miss Jellyfish walked out of the house. I watched her move further and further away from the house until she disappeared into the streets, so I closed the door and locked it with my key.

"Is she gone?"

I turned around. Kurokuma was leaning against a wall, arms crossed with a cigar in its right hand.

"Yep," I answered, "she's gone for now."

"Thank god for that. I was getting bored as hell lying around in my room! So, what happened in the kitchen?"

"I made a deal with her. I promised to give her half a million dollars if she stopped these annoying visits from the orphanage."

"So you paid her to fuck off. I gotta say, giving away half a million dollars seems a bit much dontcha think? But then again, you're not going to fulfil your promise right?"

"I am actually."

"… Wait, seriously?! Aren't you worried about her backstabbing ya? I reckon we should betray her first before she betrays us."

"There's no need to worry Kurokuma. The woman's an opportunist, and she should know by now that Hope's Peak Academy is a sinking ship. It is in her best interest to follow through on this deal. And if she does betray me then I'll simply eliminate her in the future."

Which was easier said than done. Murdering an official from Hope's Peak Academy and getting away with it was going to be pretty difficult, especially with the tools available to me.

"Now that sounds like the Monaca I know and love! Now I'm hoping for that bitch to betray us! I gotta be honest here; I didn't expect you to have such a caring side to ya."

"… Really now?"

"Uh… Did I say something wrong? You seem kinda angry at me."

"What do you mean Kurokuma? Can't you see that I'm smiling at you?"

"… Alright, I'm gonna head off now. I'll be inside my room."

Kurokuma walked away, although I could tell it was one step away from bolting into the hallway. What the bear said made me realised something, and the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to smash something in this house to bits.

Me, having a caring side? What a joke. It's obvious that this deal was all to my benefit. Getting rid of these annoying visits would put Monaca's mind to rest, and having a healthy mind was very important in life!

… But maybe giving away half a million was a bad idea. Crap, the more I thought about it, the more I regret giving away all that money! Now my dream of building a multibillion-dollar company was getting further away.

I took out my toy gun and stared at it. If only this had real bullets; I'd be able to blow my brains out for making such a dumb decision… That was a joke of course.

I placed the gun back into my jacket and went after Kurokuma. I moved maybe three feet away from the door until someone rang the doorbell, causing me to turn around. I sighed as I once again unlocked the door and opened it, half expecting to see Miss Jellyfish standing in front of me.

What I got instead was my sister, leaning against a wall looking ready to pass out at any moment. She shambled towards me, and I backed away from her in response.

"Welcome home Big Sis!" I greeted. "How was your day?"

"R-Rest…" my sister replied. She moved past me without even giving a glance. I followed along after her.

"Uh, Big Sis? Are you feeling okay?"

"I… need… to… rest…"

She collapsed on the couch. From the corner of my eye, I could see Kurokuma poking its head out from the hallway.

"What the hell happened to her?" Kurokuma said. It approached my sister and peered down at her. "She looks like a zombie."

"W-Water…" my sister muttered out.

"What was that? Waffles?"

"Water. She wants water," I said. "Go get her some."

Kurokuma went inside the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. My sister yanked the glass as soon as it was within reach, spilling some of its contents onto the floor. She drank the whole thing in seconds, and placed the empty glass in her hand on the small table next to her.

"Phew… I feel much better."

"What happened at school Big Sis?"

"I, uh, ran five laps around the school."

"And why did you think that was a good idea?"

"Hey, it wasn't like I had a choice! The P.E teacher forced me to when I kept talking in class."

"How terrible! My Big Sis doesn't deserve to be treated in such a way."

But if I was being honest, I didn't sympathise that much for my sister. It was rather amusing to imagine my sister running laps around the school.

"Thanks, Monaca. But to be fair I really should have kept my mouth shut."

"You're being way too forgiving here. Monaca thinks we should complain to the school about this abuse."

"Isn't that a bit much? My P.E teacher may be strict and picks on me a lot, but he's not a bad person. I don't think we should get him into trouble just because of this."

She really was my accomplice's sister, kind to a fault that they border on being a doormat. How disappointing. I was getting excited at the thought of ruining someone's day…

… Wait a minute. I think I found it; the perfect activity that not only satiates my boredom, but also avoids breaking any of my accomplice's stupid rules!

"Okay! If that's what you want then I won't complain any further," I said. "I'll leave you to rest for a while. Let's go Kurokuma."

"Huh? Where to?" Kurokuma asked.

"To your room. There's something I want to discuss with you."

We went off towards my accomplice's room. Once we were inside I locked the door and got up from my wheelchair.

"So, what do you want to discuss Monaca? You want to hear me rap for ya?"

"No. You're going to help me set up a prank."

"What? Am I hearing this correctly? Didn't I hear you say that you don't do pranks anymore because of some wack-ass rules?"

"That's true, but after that little chat with Komaru I came to a realisation. Rule number three states that I can't do anything harmful to people from my school or Makoto's school, but it never said anything about someone from Komaru's school."

"Oh man, talk about a loophole! So who's the unlucky son of a bitch you got your eyes on?"

"We're going to prank that P.E teacher."

"Huh? That guy?" Kurokuma scratched its head. "I don't want to ruin the moment here, but didn't Komaru said to leave him alone?"

"She did, but you know what the people in this family are like. They're too kind for their own good, and that leaves them vulnerable to be taken advantage of."

I approached my accomplice's computer and turned it on. "That's why it's up to me to protect them! Who knows what awful punishments that P.E teacher has planned in the future? I'm going to give him a little warning to leave Komaru alone."

"So this whole thing is all about protecting your family eh?"

"Of course it is. Aren't I such a kind and selfless individual? Now come over here and sit down on this chair."

I pointed to the object in question. Kurokuma approached it and did what I asked. I examined the ankle monitor attached on the bear.

"Hmm, this should be easy enough to take off…" I said. "Once this computer loads up and I work up my magic you'll be able to walk outside again."

"Seriously!? That fuckin' rocks!" Kurokuma shouted. "I can finally buy all the shit I need for my music career! You're the best Monaca!"

"Keep your voice down. I'm only removing this for a short while; once you've done what I ask of you you're putting this thing on again."

"Wow, talk about a mood killer." Kurokuma exhaled from his cigar and puffed out a ball of smoke. "What do I have to do?"

"You're going to spy on that P.E teacher. I want you to find out any dirty secrets that I can exploit him with, so you miiiight need to break into his house as well."

I took out the gift from Miss Jellyfish out of my pockets. "You'll also be planting these things as well. There's only one at the moment, but once I figured out the design and the parts needed it should be a piece of cake to create copies."

"Whoa there Monaca. I love that you have so much faith in my abilities, but look at me. People are going to notice me standing around on the street if I look this fabulous."

"Have you never heard of disguises? I'm going to give you a trench coat and a fedora to cover yourself up."

"Will that even work?"

"If it works on turtles it'll works on bears."

"And what about breaking into his house?"

"I'll help you out if possible, but for the most part you'll be on your own."

"… Shit. Well, it was fun while it lasted Monaca."

"Oh, don't be like that. Think of this as an adventure. Come on, it's going to be fun!"

I smiled at Kurokuma. The bear shrugged at this, continuing to smoke in its seat as we waited for the computer to load itself up.

It's been a while since I felt this excited. I finally found something that would alleviate my boredom for the coming weeks, or even months depending on how this goes. Hiding this from my accomplice should also be easy enough, since he's busy with that group project of his.

"Hey Monaca, the computer finished loading itself."

… He'd probably get very mad at me if he found out about this though. I finally managed to get him to trust me a teensy bit more, so maybe I should keep searching for another fun activity…

… Ah, screw it. I was sure he'd understand if I gave him a justified reason for doing this—which there was—and that's only if I get caught. As long as this whole thing was kept secret I should be in the clear.

"Uh, Monaca? Are you there?"

And even if he didn't understand, I'd just say sorry in a really sad voice and everything would be alright. He didn't turn against me for that rooftop prank, so I was sure he'd forgive me for this.

"Helllooo? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, I hear you okay. Stop bugging me or else I'm putting you into silent mode."

I typed in the password for the computer. The desktop loaded itself on my screen.

"Now then, let's begin stage one of my fun prank!"

"Remember Monaca, never—"

"Open the door to strangers. How many times are you going to repeat this?"

"I'm just making sure. Stay safe Monaca."

"I will. See ya Makoto, and have fun out there!"

I waved goodbye and closed the door before my accomplice could say anything else. Perhaps it was a little rude to do that, but I couldn't help it. Today was the day after all.

I headed towards my accomplice's room right away. I knocked on the closed door and waited for Kurokuma to answer.

… I knocked on the door again. I knocked on it several more times. When the damn bear still didn't open the door I took out a key from my skirt and entered it into the doorknob. I opened up to Kurokuma; headset attached on its head watching a video on my laptop.

I took out my revolver and shot at it. The pellet knocked away the headset, which in turn grabbed the bear's attention.

"Fuck just hit me?" Kurokuma touched the spot where the pellet hit and turned its head at me. The sight of me at the door startled the bear.

"Oh, welcome home Monaca! I uh, didn't hear ya coming."

"That's rather obvious considering how many times I knocked on the door. What are you watching?"

"Top ten famous rappers around the world. The list's pretty shit though; they put this Eminem guy at number one instead of me."

"They must have great taste then. Now, is everything set up? Or did you just waste time sitting here watching videos?"

"What do you take me for, a slacker? Everything that you need for this prank has been set up perfectly."

"I'll be the judge of that. Get out of the seat please."

Kurokuma moved out of the seat. I picked up the headset from the ground and placed it on as I made myself comfortable at the desk. I inserted the headphone jack into the laptop and began checking if all the necessary programs were working.

"Looks like everything is working perfectly," I said. "Good job on not screwing up this simple task Kurokuma."

"Thanks Monaca! Do I get a reward?" Kurokuma asked.

"No. Now be quiet."

I began rearranging everything on the screen. The least important programs such as the voice modifier were all minimised, leaving only the most essential programs for this prank. My laptop screen was now showing various sections of that P.E teacher's house; all thanks to the various spy cameras planted by Kurokuma.

"Oh man, seeing this is bringing up some awful memories!" The bear next to me leaned in close to the laptop, its head blocking my view of the screen. "I had to do some crazy spy stuff to break into this house. Crawling in vents, lock picking doors, hiding under cardboard boxes, shit was real—"

"Yes yes, very interesting." I pushed the bear's head out of the way. "Are you going to keep your mouth shut, or am I going to have to put you into silent mode?"

"Oops, sorry Monaca. I got beary excited there for a moment. I'll stand by at the door and keep an eye out for your sister."

"Good."

Kurokuma left my side. I could finally feel some peace and quiet now that the bear wasn't talking my ear off.

I stared at my laptop screen. Showing on one part of the screen was the front door of my target's house. The teacher should be opening the door right about…

The door opened, and stepping inside was a middle-aged man wearing a green tracksuit. From the information given to me by Kurokuma he should be around his thirties, and yet he looked quite good for his age. The only thing that gave his age away was that his slicked-back dark hair had a bit of grey in it. I wonder what colour it's going to be once I was done with him.

Another person also appeared on my screen. A short, rather chubby woman came running down the hallway as soon as the door was open, giving my target a nice, big hug. He returned it, and the next few minutes consisted of them whispering sweet nothings to each other. Watching the whole display made me bored to tears, but it was a necessary evil.

The target's wife finally let him go and departed somewhere else. On another part of the screen I saw that she went into the kitchen, her voice grating my ears as she muttered about what to cook for dinner.

I muted that part of the screen. Now then, time to play!

I called a phone number using my laptop, and immediately the sound of the landline phone was ringing in my ears. I lowered the volume as I watched my target move towards the noisy object.

He picked up the phone. The ringing in my ears vanished and was replaced with my target's voice.

"Hello?" my target said.

"Hello!" I replied back. Thanks to the voice modifier my cute voice sounded deeper than it actually was. "Am I speaking to a Mister Taro?"

"No. I think you got the wrong number."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Are you absolutely sure I got the wrong number?"

"Is this some kind of prank?" I could tell from his voice that my target was getting annoyed. "I'm ending this call. Good—"

"Wait just a moment please! I want to ask you one very important question. If you can answer this correctly then I won't bother you anymore."

"… Fine. What is your question?"

"What colour is your wife's hair?"

"Why do you even need to know that?"

"Please answer the question."

"… Why the hell am I even playing along with this crap…" my target muttered. "My wife's hair colour is black. Are you happy now?"

"Hmm, was that correct? I'm pretty sure her hair's blonde."

"… What."

I could hear Kurokuma chuckling to itself at the door. I wanted to let out a chuckle too, but I contained myself.

"I'm correct, aren't I?" I continued. "Two days ago you and your wife went to a love hotel together. I have photos of you two entering and leaving right here with me, and her hair is definitely blonde from what I can see. Unless… the girl I'm talking about isn't your wife at all."

My target was beginning to pace around on my screen. Every so often he would glance at something beyond the camera's line of sight.

"How do you know about that!?" My target was hunched over near the entrance. His voice had lowered in volume now that we were discussing his favourite pastime.

"That's a secret! You should worry more about what I'm going to do with this information rather than how I obtained it. Maybe I might send these photos to the school, or even better, to your wife. How will she react when she finds out her lovely husband did the nasty with a student?"

"W-Wait! Whatever you do, please don't reveal this to anyone! I'm begging you!"

"Well… Since you asked so nicely, I won't!"

My target had stopped his pacing. He leaned himself against a wall and let out a breath.

"Thank y—"

"But in return, you must give me something as well."

"… What do you want?"

"I require a payment of ten thousand dollars, every week until I say otherwise. That should be doable, yes?"

"This was your plan all along huh?" My target rubbed his head. "Never thought I would get blackmailed in my life…"

"You can think of it as blackmail, but I prefer things in a more positive light. How about you think of this as… compensation for your wife?"

I heard a sound from Kurokuma. I glanced at it; the bear was trying to stifle itself from laughing aloud by covering its mouth with both hands.

"So, do you accept these terms?"

"… Yeah, I do…"

"Excellent! I'll send you the details on how to send me your payment later on in the day. See you next week, Mister Cheater!"

I ended the call. It was at this moment that Kurokuma finally erupted into laughter.

"That was fuckin' hilarious Monaca!" Kurokuma cried out. "I almost couldn't contain myself during all of that!"

"I'm surprised you could even hear what he was saying," I said. "Can you stop laughing?"

"But I can't help it! Can't you let me make some noise, just this once?"

"… Alright, I guess just this one time wouldn't hurt. Laugh away!"

Kurokuma continued on laughing. Normally I would tell it to shut up, but since I was in a good mood, I was going to let it laugh its non-existent heart out.

I looked back at the screen. My target was no longer near the entrance of the house. He was instead in the living room, sitting by himself at a table looking absolutely miserable. What a lovely sight. I wanted to call back just to add salt to the wound.

Buuuut I restrained myself. It wouldn't be any fun if I broke him too fast now, would it? Let's give him a few days to recover before giving him another call…

"Goodbye Monaca, and don't forget to never—"

"Are you a broken record, Big Bro? I'm starting to get annoyed hearing you say this over and over again."

"I'm just worried about you. More of those murders are happening lately, and the police still haven't got a lead on the killer…"

"You worry too much. From what I've read online this killer looooves to murder adults in dark alleyways. Am I an adult in a dark alleyway Makoto?"

"No, but—"

"You see! There's nothing to worry about. In fact, you should look out for yourself rather than me. You're the one who keeps going outside during these dangerous times."

"True… Alright, I'll stop repeating myself."

"Perfect! Have fun out there!"

I waved goodbye to my accomplice and closed the door. The growing number of murders wasn't a concern to me if I was being honest; it made this dull and boring world a lot more fun to be in.

Speaking of fun, I think it's about time I gave that teacher a phone call. I headed off to my accomplice's room and knocked on the closed door.

"What's the password?" a voice called out.

"Open Sesame!"

A click was heard and the door opened. I strolled in, and once I was inside Kurokuma closed the door and locked it again.

"Did you set everything up?" I asked.

"Sure did!" It replied, and leaned itself against the closed door. "Everything's so perfectly organised the dictionary should put my face next to the word!"

I didn't believe it for a second. I moved towards my accomplice's desk and examined the front screen of my laptop.

"Hmm… I suppose you did do a good job this time." I grabbed the headset next to the laptop and placed it on. "But keep your voice down. Komaru is studying in her room at the moment, and I don't want her to come knocking on the door."

"Oops, sorry about that. I'll tone myself down a little."

"Good. Also, give me a reminder around… fifteen minutes that I have to help Komaru out with her assignment."

"You got it boss!"

"…"

I called my plaything on the laptop and waited for him to pick up. My unexpected call startled the man on my screen, and I watched as he fumbled around in his pocket for his phone. He took it out, and for a while, he only stared at it with a look of annoyance. He eventually answered my call and placed the phone near his ear.

"Hello, Mister Cheater! How have you been?"

"Why the hell are you calling me today!? I already transferred the money to your account!"

"And? Is there a problem with me wanting to chat with you? If you really don't want me around I guess we should end our arrangement. Good—"

"W-Wait, I'll talk! Just let me finish something first!"

"Okay, but you got three minutes!"

I watched my plaything rush through the reports on his desk. Should I tell him that there were several hidden cameras inside the house? Eh, probably not. His house wasn't the only place that was bugged; his car, his clothes and even the nearby streets all had several of my cameras hidden in place.

"… Time's up! Let's talk."

My plaything groaned. I could see on my screen that he still had some unfinished reports, but he still placed down the pen in his hand.

"What do you want to discuss…" he mumbled.

"Let's talk about you!" I answered. "Tell me more about yourself."

"What's there to talk about? I'm just a high school teacher."

"A high school teacher who participated in the Olympics. You were pretty decent too, considering you have a couple of gold medals under your name."

"Is this why you're blackmailing me in the first place?"

"Oh please. I didn't target you just because you were an Olympic medallist. My motives are more complex than that, but we're going off-topic. Here's a question for you Mister Cheater; why are you working at a crappy public school? A man of your fame could earn more money at some private school."

"I'm not teaching for the money."

"Oh? What's your reason then?"

"It's nothing complicated. My friends and family always said that I would make a great coach. Add in the fact that I could make a positive difference on today's generation no matter how small, becoming a teacher seemed obvious."

"Wow, that's truly admirable! It's nice to know that there are still good people like you in this world… Soooo, how does cheating on your wife help today's generation?"

"…"

"… Helllooo? Is anybody there?" I could see that my plaything still had the phone to his ear, but he wasn't answering my question.

"… I made a mistake."

"Oh, there you are! I thought I lost connection or something. But anyway, that's a pretty big mistake to do Mister Cheater. I understand though; your wife's not the prettiest thing to look at on this Earth."

"Don't talk about my wife like that!"

My plaything looked agitated on my screen. What a great reaction! Let's take it even further.

"Why are you getting so angry?" I asked. "I'm not the one doing the cheating here. Saying a few mean things about your wife hurts her less than what you're doing. If what I said was wrong then go ahead and refute me."

"I…"

"Well? What are you waiting for? Give me one good reason as to why you're cheating on your wife."

"… I don't have an excuse…" The anger on my plaything's face had disappeared. What was on his expression now was the perfect mixture of sadness and disgust.

"What a surprise. You truly are a failure of a human being. But don't worry; your secret is safe with me."

"Was that meant to reassure me?"

"Not really, but I understand the fallout of revealing this to the public. It's a shame how quick people turn on you once they know you did something wrong. It doesn't matter if you solved world hunger or cured every single disease in the world. If it's revealed that you're a murderer, a paedophile or the person who puts soy sauce on white rice, that's all you're going to be remembered for. What's the point of doing good things if people only remembered your horrible actions?"

"If you understand so much why don't you just leave me and my family alone?"

"Didn't I tell you before? My motives are complex. All you have to do is obey what I say and you juuust might walk away from this unscathed. And besides, this whole situation happened because you couldn't keep it inside your pants. It's your own fault."

"…"

My plaything looked down at the table, his face obscured from the cameras. Despite that, I could tell I was very close to making him snap. Just a few more words and—

"Psst, boss!"

I pressed a button on my laptop to mute myself. "What do you want Kurokuma?" I turned my head to the bear standing at the door.

"Aren't ya forgetting something? Look at the time."

"Huh?" I glanced at the time on my laptop. "What are you— Wait, now I remember. I have to go help Komaru."

"Yep, so are you gonna go or…?"

"… Yes, I suppose I have to." It was rather disappointing to end things here, but family matters come first before fun. I unmuted myself to say goodbye to Mister Cheater.

"I'm afraid it's the end of our chat," I said. "I know that you're just as upset as I am, but don't worry. Our next conversation will be just as fun as this one! Goodbye for now, Mister Cheater!"

I ended the call before my plaything could answer. Not that I was expecting an answer in the first place.

The bear at the door started to applaud. "An excellent display as always Monaca!" it said. "Keep this up and you'll be number one at spreading despair!"

"I thought I already was?" I took off my headset and closed my laptop. "Is there somebody else?"

"Whoops, did I say that? Of course you're number one!" Kurokuma chuckled and placed a cigar in its mouth. "Forget I said anything."

Kurokuma acted rather odd there for a moment, but whatever. "I'll leave the surveillance to you. If he does anything suspicious report it to me immediately."

"Got it! Have fun with Komaru!"

The bear unlocked the door and stepped aside. It's only been two weeks since my prank started, but I was having a ton of fun with my plaything! There's still some fun I could squeeze out of him next week, so until then I have to act like a good girl and stay out of trouble.

"Stay safe out there Big Bro," I said. "And remember to never walk into a dark alleyway. It would do me no good if you got your head smashed like a watermelon."

"Yes, I know Monaca…" he said. "You don't have to keep telling me that."

"But I have to! You may be a teenager, but you're still so gullible at times. If somebody offered you candy from a van I bet you'd jump right in without a second thought."

"You're making fun of me now aren't you?" My accomplice let out a sigh. "I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye Big Bro!"

As always I waved goodbye and closed the door. Now then… What should I do with my free time? I know; how about I make another call to my playthin—

"And I win again!"

There was a noise coming out from the living room; a noise I recognised as being the most annoying thing in the world, Kurokuma's laughter. I turned my attention towards the commotion. Kurokuma was sitting on the floor while my sister was sitting on the couch. In between them was a table, and from the cards lying on it along with the cards in their hands, they were playing some sort of card game.

"Oh come on! How could I lose seven times in a row!? You must be cheating!"

"Nope, it's all skill!"

My sister groaned and tossed her cards onto the table. I moved away from the front door towards them, my approach attracting their attention when I got closer.

"Hey there Monaca!" Kurokuma greeted. "Are ya here to join us in this game of cards?"

"What kind of card game is this?" I asked. "Why are there shogi pieces and a checkers board on the table?"

"This is a new game me and Kurokuma made up," my sister answered. "It's a combination of blackjack, poker, checkers and shogi!"

"Wow! What an amazing idea Big Sis!"

Amazing wasn't what I would call this nightmarish mess of a game, but my sister brightened up from my false praise.

"I know right!"

"So how do you play this game?"

"It's really simple, but I'm not the best person at explaining things… Why don't you explain it Kurokuma?"

"Sure! Do you have three hours to spare Monaca?"

"… Maybe next time. Also, shouldn't you be doing your assignment at this time Big Sis? Your school gave you a day off because of the murders happening outside, so maaaybe you should use this time wisely."

"Well, uh… about that…"

"… You need my help again."

"I'm so sorry! I promise that this will be the last time!"

I could feel the migraine from last week returning to my head. How wonderful.

"You should learn to be a bit more independent, y'know?" I said. "Monaca won't always be around to help you out whenever you're in a pinch."

"I know…" my sister replied. Her usual bright demeanour had dampened from my words. It was a nice look, buuut I had to get rid of it if I wanted to avoid a scolding from my accomplice.

"Fiiiine. Monaca will help you out Big Sis, so stop with that gloomy look!"

She brightened up immediately. "Thank you so much Monaca! You're a lifesaver!"

These people were too easy to please. I turned to Kurokuma and pointed at the hallway.

"Can you be a good bear and set up my game?"

"Huh? Aren't ya helping out your sister here?" Kurokuma asked.

"It's for when I'm done, so get going please."

Kurokuma got up and left the living room. It's very unlikely I would have any time for my prank once I was finished here, but I like to take my chances.

"Show me what you wrote so far."

My sister grabbed a piece of paper on the table and handed it to me. I skimmed through it, made a mental note of all the mistakes on the paper, and handed it back to her.

"What do you think?"

"… It's pretty mediocre in all honesty. Why couldn't you pick a good book like Socki the Sock?"

"Hey! I can accept that my writing is garbage, but 'The Bomb Inside Her!' is absolutely a top tier manga! You take that back right now!"

"Jeez, alright!" I raised my hands up to the scowling girl. "No need to get so angry at Monaca…"

"S-Sorry. I get really passionate whenever someone says manga is trash."

"No kidding. At least we both understand your writing is terrible."

"You really like to rub that in huh." My sister sighed and leaned back on the couch. "What do I need to improve on?"

"Nearly everything, but the one that comes to mind is when you're talking about themes. From the examples you've given, I can't tell if this is a story about true love or abusive relationships. You need to pick out better scenes and quotes to support what you're saying."

"I get what you're saying, but there are too many great scenes and quotes in the manga. I can't decide which ones to use."

"Then pick the ones that stick to your mind. For example, I love every page of Socki the Sock, but the one that always comes to mind is page ten. On page ten Socki gets a hole in her, and as we learn on page four, this is basically a death sentence for the socks. Socki, however, is too tired to make a fuss and accepts her death. This is a perfect example of the theme of the book; death comes to anyone at any time, so try and make the most out of your life."

"Wow, really? That's a bit dark for a children's book."

"That's what makes Socki the Sock so great! Page six is also another favourite of mine. Many people see that page as random nonsense, but I disagree! Page six is actually about—"

"Boss! Boss! We got an emergency!"

The frantic yelling of Kurokuma caused us to look at the hallway. Soon enough Kurokuma appeared in our sight, its body crashing into a wall with such speed he bounced off it into the ground. By some miracle the wall was unharmed. Kurokuma, however, was not so fortunate.

"Fuck… I think I broke my arm…" Kurokuma gripped its left arm as it got up from the floor.

"What do you want Kurokuma?" I asked. "I'm busy explaining the intricacies of Socki the Sock to Big Sis."

"Code black! We got a code black situation!"

"Code black?" Uh oh, this couldn't be good. If it was a code black situation that would mean something serious had occurred to my prank.

My sister looked confused at all of this. "Uh, what's a code black?" she asked me. "It sounds really serious…"

"It's nothing to worry about Big Sis! It just means Kurokuma stuffed something up with my game. I'm going to go fix it quickly, so stay right here and don't move a muscle!"

"Um, okay…?"

Kurokuma and I hurried to my accomplice's room. Upon entering I could see that the bear had already set up my laptop. I grabbed the headset on the desk and placed it on as I examined the screen. Sections of it were split into various parts; some showed the interior of a car, while others showed the street outside. Driving the vehicle itself was my plaything.

"… Is this really what you called me for?" I asked the bear next to me. "He's just driving."

"That's the problem!" Kurokuma replied. "We're gonna be in some deep shit boss!"

"What are you talking about?"

"He's going to meet that fuckin' detective!"

"Detective? Wait, are you talking about her?"

"Who else!? The bastard had been trying to call her since morning! I managed to block every one of his attempts, but as soon as I looked the other way he was on a payphone across the street!"

"Please give me one good reason why you didn't think to tell me this sooner?"

"I, uh, thought I could handle it myself…"

… I took a deep breath, held it, and let it out after five seconds. Now wasn't the time to get angry at the stupid bear. I called my plaything's number on the laptop and waited for him to pick up.

"Where are they meeting?" I focused my attention on Kurokuma.

The bear shrugged. "No idea," it answered. "Couldn't hear a word of what they were saying."

"Isn't that just perfect." I looked back at the screen. I could hear my plaything's phone ringing, but the man seemed to be ignoring it. A few seconds later the noise stopped, so I called again.

… He still didn't answer the phone. The vehicle came to a halt, and on the bottom corner of my screen I saw his destination—Hope's Peak Academy. All the way in the distance, I could see a crowd of people nearby the gates of the school.

But what really caught my attention was the fact that the Ultimate Detective herself was standing across the street. She looked as boring as ever since the last time I saw her.

My plaything unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the car door next to him. The phone had stopped ringing, so for the third time in the row, I called him again.

My plaything was almost out of his car when his phone started ringing. I heard him let out a sigh as he got back inside and closed the door. He reached into his pockets, took out his phone, and answered my call.

My plaything placed the phone near his left ear. "Hello?"

"Hello!" I replied back. "Guess who!"

My plaything flinched on the screen. "God damn it…"

"How rude! Is this how you treat a friend?"

"We are not friends. What do you want?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want to continue our fun chat from last week! Are you busy?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Oh? What are you doing?"

"I'm writing down reports."

"… Really." If I wasn't spying on him at this very moment, I might have believed him. Too bad this wasn't his lucky day. "Why do you need to be in your car to do that?"

"Wha—"

My plaything swerved his head in every direction. Nobody was out on the streets from what I could see. "How did you—"

"Find out? I have my ways. But more importantly, it's not nice to lie to a friend, y'know?"

My plaything's expression was changing by the minute. A grown man, looking sooo frightened from hearing a couple of words… how uncool.

"Trying to hire the Ultimate Detective to flush me out? How sneaky of you," I said. "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to punish you for this transgression."

"P-Punishment?" my plaything said.

"I'm going to have to reveal those photos."

"No wait! For the love of God don't reveal those photos!"

"You're really in no position to demand anything from me. Buuuut since I'm such a kind individual, I'm willing to overlook this for a small fee of… one million dollars."

"One— One million!? Are you insane!? I wouldn't be able to pay the bills if I gave you that much!"

"That's not my problem. You should be thankful that I'm not asking you to give me all the money in your account."

"I'm not giving you a million dollars!"

"Are you really sure that's your answer? If you don't pay up those photos are going to be leaked everywhere. Everyone in Japan will know how much of a terrible human being you are, and let's not forget how that'll affect your family. You do care about them right?"

"…"

"Don't you have an eight-year-old daughter? If these photos get leaked your wife is one hundred percent going to file a divorce, and I'm pretty sure she's going to take the kid as well. Are you going to let your daughter grow up without a father figure in her life?"

"…"

"This is what you deserve after all. Had I not intervened you would have continued to cheat on your wife without a second thought. Do you really believe that you deserve no form of punishment whatsoever?"

My plaything continued to remain silent. I glanced at the bottom corner and saw the boring detective girl walking towards the car.

"It seems your friend is approaching," I said. "What's your answer?"

"… I'll pay you the money…" my plaything muttered. From how lifeless he sounded it seems I had finally broken him. Oh well. I was beginning to grow bored playing with him anyway.

"That's what I wanted to hear. As for Miss Detective here, well, you know what to do right?"

"…"

"I'll take that as a yes. One more thing; let's make this our last call okay? I realllly enjoyed our weekly chats, but it's becoming difficult to make time for them. Do you have anything you want to say to me before I go?"

"…"

"Thank you sooo much for the kind words! Goodbye Mister Cheater, and take good care of yourself!"

I ended the call just when the boring detective had reached the car. She stood near the driver's door, eyeing the window until my old toy rolled it down.

"Were you the one who called?" the boring detective asked in that boring voice of hers.

"Uh, shouldn't ya do something Monaca?" Kurokuma asked. "It's going to be a pain in the ass if that ice-cold detective gets hired."

"Oh, she won't," I replied. "Look."

I motioned at the screen. My old toy avoided eye contact with the detective as he gave his answer.

"… Sorry, but I think you got the wrong guy…"

"… Is that so."

My old toy rolled up the window. Moments later the man was driving away from the boring detective. The detective showed no hint of being annoyed by this, and soon walked back towards Hope's Peak Academy. That was a shame, but it was all made up for by the pathetic face my old toy was making.

"You see. Problem solved." I looked away from the screen to Kurokuma.

"Sure seems like it," it replied. The bear took a moment to smoke a cigar before asking, "You're not really gonna let the guy get off scot-free right?"

"What do you think? I'm going to give him maybe… four days of peace before I leak those photos everywhere."

"Uh… Isn't four days too long? Why not release them after he gives up the dough?"

"I want to give him hope. I want him to have a sliver of hope that everything is all over; that maybe there's a chance to salvage his own mess. If I crush him like that it'll be much more satisfying, don't you think?"

"Wow, that's super fucked up Monaca! And here I thought you'd gotten all soft on me. I bet you could drive the whole world to despair if you put your mind to it!"

"Awww, I'm flattered!" I smiled at the bear and returned my attention back to the screen.

"… Why don't we give that idea a go?"

"Huh?" The bear's comment made me look at it again. "Are you being serious?"

"I am. Think about it Monaca; with your brains and my rap skills, we can cause the biggest tragedy to the world since the death of disco!"

"I don't think your rap skills will be of any help. Your idea does sound fun… Though I doubt we will go far with our limited resources."

"Oh, that won't be a problem." Kurokuma wrapped an arm around me. "Your good pal Kurokuma here has some valuable connections. Give them a call and they'll provide whatever we need, no strings attached."

"Really? You have connections that would supply me with anything? I find that hard to believe."

"It's the truth. I'll do whatever it takes to make this plan a success Monaca, so ya ain't got anything to worry about. You want an advisor? I'm your bear! You want a rapper? Sure, I'll sing for ya! You want me to make you a motherfuckin' milkshake? I ain't got any hands but shit, I'll do it for you Monaca!"

… How strange. Kurokuma actually seemed reliable for once, which was a cause for concern. What was even more worrying was the fact that it thought of a fun idea. Plunging the world into despair would make for a nice long-term hobby…

"So, what do you say?" Kurokuma asked. "Want to end the world with your pal Kurokuma?"

"… Nope, I'm good!" I answered.

"Great! I knew you'd say— Wait, what?"

"I'm not interested." I removed myself from Kurokuma's arm. "Since we're done here, I'll be heading back to Komaru. Grab everything here and hide it in the usual spots."

I moved towards the door. I reached for the doorknob once it was within my grasp, but Kurokuma moved in front of it.

"Hoold up!" Kurokuma said. "How about we, uh, talk more about it before you make a decision?"

"Didn't you hear me?" I asked. "No means no, so move out of the way please."

"Come on, can't you at least reconsider!?" Kurokuma dropped down to its knees, clasped both of its paws, and raised them up to me. "I'm literally begging ya!"

The sight of a grovelling Kurokuma made me curious. Why was this bear being so persistent? Was there a bug in its program? I might need to crack open its head in my spare time.

"Why do you want me to end the world so badly?" I asked.

"I just think it would be a nice fun activity for ya! Isn't it better than extorting old farts for money? Don't ya want something a little more challenging to do?"

"I guess. Destroying the world is a pretty big leap though."

"Maybe it is, but you never liked the world anyway."

Kurokuma placed a cigar in its mouth. After a moment a puff of smoke came out from the bear.

"For one thing, you got abandoned by your own family. For another, you got abused so hard you had to fake a disability to escape it. And lastly, you didn't get that limited edition Socki the Sock book. Most of your life had been pretty fuckin' shit, wouldn't ya say?"

"…"

"All I want you to do is give it a go Monaca. Don't you want to get back at this unfair world? Don't you want to fulfil your life's goal of making the world fall into despair?"

"… I think you're misunderstanding something."

"Huh?" Kurokuma tilted its head. "And what would that be?"

"What's the most important thing in life Kurokuma?"

"The most important thing in life? Ha, that's piss easy! Life's all about getting rich and banging hot chicks!"

"Nope! You're incorrect as always Kurokuma. The correct answer is to have fun."

"Have fun? I guess that makes sense, but why are you asking me about the meaning of life in the first place? Ya trying to be the next Socrates or some shit?"

"I'm asking because you're misunderstanding my intentions. My time at Hope's Peak Orphanage taught me many lessons, but the most important of them all was this; life's too short, so why waste it worrying about stuff that won't matter once you're dead?"

"Uh… Okay? So are you in or…?"

"No, I'm not. Do you want to know why? It's because ending the world sounds like a chore. Having to plan the collapse of entire societies, while also having to hide this from my family, is just soooo much work. Let's stick to what we're doing now okay?"

"But it won't be! Sure, we might have to do some boring shit every once in a while, but it'll allll be worth it in the end! How about we start with an easy country, like Antarctica?"

"Do I really have to repeat myself? Monaca is not interested in ending the world, so drop it!"

"…"

Rather than grace me with an answer, Kurokuma decided that staring was the better option. I had no idea what was going on in its mind, but if I had to guess, Kurokuma was probably thinking of what to say. This staring game continued for about a minute, only ending when Kurokuma let out a sigh.

"Alright, I give up!" Kurokuma cried out. "If ya really don't want it then I ain't gonna force it."

"I'm glad you understand!" I said. "Now move."

Kurokuma stepped away from my path, finally letting me leave the room. I opened the door and closed it once I was outside. Even though I had rejected Kurokuma's plan, I kept thinking about it as I returned back to the living room.

Plunging the world into despair… Once upon a time an idea like that would have been appealing, but nowadays I think the world should continue on existing juuuust a little longer. There were still some tasks I needed to do while I was still alive, and I also want to have more fun with my new hobby.

And that's what life should be all about, having fun. Life's pretty meaningless when you think about it; everything we do in life wasn't going to matter after a few thousand years, so why bother doing anything at all?

But I think that's what makes life so great! Since nothing we do in life matters in the long run, we should all just focus on making ourselves happy.

Does playing games all day make you happy? Go ahead and play until the sun goes down!

Does dancing all day make you happy? Go ahead and dance until your legs break!

Does hurting people make you happy? Go ahead and hurt as many people as possible!

Life should be all about the pursuit of your own happiness, regardless of the consequences. Causing someone to break down and fall to despair was fun, but it wasn't what I would consider my life's goal. If spreading hope was as much fun as spreading despair I'd be doing that instead. But it wasn't, so I was going to continue on tormenting random strangers until it gets boring.

I reached the entrance to the living room. "I'm back Big Sis!" I called out as I entered inside.

My sister was still sitting on the couch, twirling a pen in one hand as she stared at her assignment paper on the table. My announcement made her look away from the paper to me.

"Welcome back!" she replied. "Did you fix your game?"

"Yep, everything is fine now." I stopped next to her and peered down at her assignment paper. "Kurokuma just made a silly mistake."

"That's a relief. What kind of game is it anyway?"

"What kind? I guess it's a… life simulation game."

My sister tilted her head a bit to the left. "Life simulation game?"

"It's those games where you control the lives of virtual characters."

"Huh, sounds interesting."

"You should give those types of games a try Big Sis. It's really fun messing around with the lives of others. Anyway, let's stop talking about games and focus on this piece of paper right here."

I picked up the assignment paper and held it up to my sister. "You haven't written a single thing on this paper while I was gone. Care to explain why?"

"Uh… I was thinking of what to write," my sister answered.

"For fifteen minutes?"

"… Yeah."

"You need to think faster. At this rate, it's going to take us the entire day to finish. When is this due?"

"… Tomorrow."

"…"

My sister closed her eyes. "How screwed am I?"

"Very." I answered.

My sister groaned at that. "Don't worry Big Sis. With Monaca's help, you might be able to finish it in eight hours."

"B-But it's six p.m."

"I know, so we're going to be pulling an all-nighter."

My sister let out another groan and collapsed on the couch. It seems today was going to be another miserable experience like last week… Oh well. At least I had some fun with my old toy before this.

Speaking of toys, I was going to have to find another one to play with. I should ask my sister tomorrow if anybody was bothering her at school. Of course, it would look very suspicious if I kept targeting people at my sister's school, so maybe I should target some random stranger on the street. Anybody was fair game so long as they committed a crime, and that should be enough justification if, and only if, my accomplice caught what I was doing.

It took a long, loooong time, but my life was finally perfect. There was still the slight chance it could all go wrong if, for example, Kurokuma were to spill the beans on my hobby, but what were the chances of that happening? The bear was stupid for sure, but it couldn't be that stupid right?

He could only sigh as he looked over his report. At this point, he was starting to believe that no letters existed beyond C.

"A pass is a pass…" he muttered. He got up from his seat and made his way to the back of the classroom. He crouched down in front of his locker, unlocked it, and grabbed his bag out before locking it once again.

He stood up and gave a look around the classroom. Only a few of his classmates still remained inside. On the left side, there was Celeste, drinking her royal milk tea as she watched the protests happening outside. On the right side, there was Yasuhiro, examining a crystal ball he bought online for half a million.

And sitting right in the middle there was Kyoko. Spread all around her desk were files, although he couldn't see what was on them from where he was standing.

He decided to approach her. There was still some time before he had to pick up his little sister, so there shouldn't be any harm in having a quick chat. He moved through the gaps between the classroom desks and stopped himself next to Kyoko.

"Hey Kyoko," he greeted.

"Hmm?" She gave him a quick glance before looking back at her files. "Is there something you need Makoto?"

"Not really. I just wanted to talk."

He peeked at one of the open files on her desk. He wished he hadn't though, for he was greeted with several photos of mutilated bodies. He immediately looked away.

"A-Are you working on a case?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "Not officially at least. Are you aware of the murders happening outside?"

He nodded. "The local police have requested my aid for this," she continued, "although my involvement is being kept a secret."

"Huh? Why?"

"People are starting to grow discontent with Ultimates."

"Really? I haven't noticed anything like that."

"I don't blame you. Apart from the protests happening outside, it seems as if the public had already lost interest in the Student Council murders. Look around online, however, and you'll find that people are only growing more resentful each day. It's only a matter of time before things get ugly."

"That is worrying… Still, maybe this whole situation will die down before it gets too bad."

Kyoko smiled a little. "I see you are still as foolishly naive as ever, but perhaps there is a slim chance for things to quiet down."

He sure hoped so. This whole conversation wasn't exactly making him feel excited about the future…

"…By the way Makoto. Do you know about that incident with the teacher?" Kyoko asked.

"Incident? You mean the one three days ago?"

"Yes, that one."

"Well, yeah. It's hard not to when it happened at my sister's school. From what I heard he was cheating on his wife with a student at the school, and on the day he was fired he climbed onto the school roof and…"

"Jumped off from it," Kyoko finished for him. "Although he survived the fall, he is currently still unconscious for the time being."

"At least he's alive. My sister didn't see him jump, but she was horrified when she heard about it. I couldn't imagine how she would react if he had died… Why are you asking about this anyway?"

"I actually encountered the man several days prior to his attempted suicide. He wanted to hire me to investigate a problem of his."

"And what problem was that?"

"He wouldn't tell me. He said it was too risky to talk over the phone, so we agreed to meet up near Hope's Peak Academy. However…"

"However?"

"Once we met up he acted as if he didn't call me at all, and drove away immediately."

"Wow, that's pretty odd."

"Odd indeed. He was also talking on the phone when I met up with him. I was too far away to hear anything, but from the man's expression I doubt it was a pleasant conversation."

She placed a hand under her chin. "This whole situation with the teacher has got me curious. What was the problem he wanted me to solve? Who leaked those photos out to the public, and how did they get them in the first place? Was someone blackmailing him using those photos? If so, then for what reason?"

Kyoko continued on with her questions. Blackmail huh. Hearing that word was bringing up some unpleasant memories…

"… Are you okay Makoto?" She was looking at him now.

"Oh uh, yeah. I'm fine," he answered. She continued to look at him for several seconds, but she eventually returned to examining the files on her desk. "So you think he was being blackmailed?"

"It's a possibility, but I won't know for sure until I ask him myself." She sighed. "I would have preferred to search for clues rather than wait for his recovery, but right now I am rather preoccupied with my current case."

Despite looking as calm as ever, he had a feeling that she was bothered by this. "Maybe I can gather clues for you instead?" he suggested. "If you want, I can ask Komaru if she noticed anything suspicious going on at her school."

"That would be helpful. Perhaps you should head home right away and ask her."

"I'm not really in a rush to go home though."

"Are you sure? Isn't there somewhere you should be right now?"

… Oh crap. He completely forgot that he had to pick up Monaca.

"… I think I should go now. See you tomorrow Kyoko!"

He hurried towards the classroom entrance and threw open the door. He had a leg out the door until—

"One more thing Makoto!"

He stopped in his tracks and turned to face Kyoko again.

"Be careful out there."

"I will!" he smiled and waved goodbye to her before he ran out of the room. He couldn't leave through the front entrance of Hope's Peak Academy due to the protests, so he had to travel through the trees at the back of the school. Once he got through that he ran as fast as he could to Hope's Peak Elementary School, all the while brushing off the leaves and sticks clinging onto his hair and clothes.

It took him thirty minutes to reach his destination. Right outside the school gate all alone was Monaca, head resting on her left palm as she stared at the empty road in front of her. Her expression made it clear that she was bored out of her mind.

That expression disappeared once she noticed he was approaching. "You sure took your sweet time getting here Makoto," she said. She might be smiling, but the tone in her voice made it clear that she was displeased.

"Sorry. I lost track of time talking to a friend…" he said.

"That's a pretty poor excuse, but whatever." She shrugged her shoulders and started to move down the street. He followed along after her. "Monaca forgives you. Just don't do it too often, okay?"

"I won't." He moved in closer to her left and slowed himself down to match with her pace. "How was school today?"

"Same as all the other days. I sat around listening to boring stuff while my to— acquaintances, nag me to play their 'Demon Hunting' game. Honestly, I'm surprised at how stubborn they are. At this rate, I'm going to run out of excuses."

"Maybe you should just give in and join them? I don't see a problem with spending time with your friends."

"But I don't wanna spend time with them. All Monaca wants to do in the afternoon is stay at home and relax. Plus, going outside while there's a serial killer roaming about is a very bad idea, don't you think?"

"Yeah, that's true." He looked around his surroundings. Not a single person was walking about in the streets. Combined with how quiet everything was it felt as if he and Monaca were the only people left in the world.

He walked a little faster. He knew he was being paranoid, but it's better to be safe than sorry right?

"What about you Big Bro? How was your day?" Monaca asked. She didn't seem to notice that he was walking faster, but she was still keeping up with him.

"It was fine," he answered. "I got my result for the group project."

"Oh? Did you get a good score?"

"Yeah, I did."

"I see. I never knew a C was considered a good score."

"Why do you think I got a C? I could have gotten higher than that."

"Then tell me. What score did you get?"

"… I got a C."

"Thought so. Did anything else happen today?"

"Well… Do you still remember what happened several days ago?"

"Several days ago?" Monaca placed a finger under her chin, head tilted to the left as she looked deep in thought. "Hmm… Oh! Now I remember; Big Sis got a B for her book report! That was quite the day; she was soooo happy with her report she was crying for hours! Want to see the picture I took of her?"

"I don't, and I'm not talking about that. Do you remember that teacher incident?"

"Oh, that. What about it?"

"I'm trying to gather clues for Kyoko. She's trying to find out who leaked those photos online, but at the moment she's busy with another case."

"So you're investigating in her stead. That's very thoughtful of you Big Bro, but maybe you should think twice before helping her. You could get into some serious doo-doo if you try to play detective, y'know?"

"I'll be fine Monaca. I wasn't planning on doing anything dangerous anyway. I'm just going to ask Komaru if she noticed anything strange at her school. That should be perfectly safe right?"

"Monaca still thinks you should mind your own business. Despite being the Ultimate Lucky Student you always seem to get into trouble wherever you go."

She had a point there. Then again, she was the cause of most of his troubles in the first place…

"Bad luck or not I'm still going to help her with this."

"Why am I not surprised about your answer?" Monaca sighed. "Suit yourself Big Bro. Don't say I didn't warn you."

He heard the sound of sirens in the distance. He didn't know whether they were from police cars or ambulances, but he nevertheless took it as a sign to get out of the streets before it gets dark.

Thirty minutes later they were standing at the front door of their house. He unlocked it with his house key and stepped aside to let Monaca in first. He also took a minute to check both sides of the street, and when he was sure there wasn't a serial killer following them, he stepped inside and closed the door.

"Welcome back!" Coming out of the hallway to greet them was Komaru. "Did you run into any trouble?"

"We did!" Monaca answered. "Big Bro and I saw a body on our way back!"

"A-A body!?"

"No, we didn't. Please don't lie to my sister Monaca."

"Oh, fine. We didn't see any bodies."

"Jeez, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Komaru sighed. "At least you two got home safely. This week has been pretty bad with all the murders and… well, what happened at school."

"Are you still thinking about that?" Monaca asked. "Why do you care so much about that teacher? Did you forget that he was cheating on his wife?"

"I didn't forget. I just… feel sorry for him. He did something bad for sure, but that doesn't mean I wanted him to jump from the school roof…"

"You're just too kind Big Sis. Bad people don't deserve any sympathy, so stop thinking about it, okay?"

"… Okay…" She didn't look at all relieved. Monaca either didn't notice or didn't care about that, as she was now peering at the living room behind his sister.

"That's great! After I talk to Kurokuma we'll start working on your drawing practice… Where is that bear anyway?"

"I think he's in the bathroom at the moment…"

"In the bathroom? He doesn't even have the capacity to poop." Monaca moved towards the hallway. "Oh well. I'll be waiting in your room once I'm done."

She disappeared from their sight. Now would be the perfect time to ask Komaru some questions, but with how she looked maybe he should ask at a different time…

"Are you feeling okay Komaru?" he asked.

"… Yeah, I'm fine." She flashed him a smile and a thumbs up. "I'm absolutely fine now Makoto!"

"Uh, are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I was just a bit overwhelmed by everything that's happened."

"You don't have to force yourself. If you want to talk I'm—"

"Oh come on Makoto." The smile on her face was gone as she crossed her arms. Now she looked rather annoyed. "I know I can get a bit emotional sometimes, but I'm fine now."

"Alright, if you say so…"

"I appreciate the offer though." She dropped the annoyed look and gave him a grin. "If I ever feel down again I'll be sure to talk to you or Monaca."

She started walking towards the hallway. "Hold on Komaru!" he called out. She turned herself back around.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Huh? Well sure; what do you want to know?"

"Can you tell me if you noticed anything strange at school before the incident? I'm helping out a friend with an investigation."

"Anything strange?" She placed a finger under her chin, face in deep thought. "Nothing really comes to mind…"

"It doesn't have to be from your school. If you noticed anything strange elsewhere that'll be fine as well."

"Hmm… I guess maybe that thing with Monaca was a bit weird…"

"Wait, what was that about Monaca?"

"Oh, it's nothing really. I was just remembering this time when Kurokuma came running down the hallway, shouting about an emergency."

"An emergency? What kind of emergency?"

"Apparently something went wrong with a game Monaca was playing. It didn't seem like something to get worried about, but Monaca pretty much dashed straight into the hallway when she heard it."

That did seem odd. It didn't sound like it had any relation to the incident… but what if it did? Could it be possible that Monaca was involved in some way…?

…

No no no, he was overthinking it. There's no definite proof that Monaca was in any way involved with this. If he accused her without anything to back up his claims it would only strain their relationship.

He promised that he would place his trust in her, so that's what he was going to do.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, that's all I could think of…" Komaru lowered her head. "Sorry Makoto. I wasn't that much help, was I?"

"It's okay. If anything this just means I'll have to work hard to find some clues."

"Big Sis, where are you?" They looked at the hallway. Calling out from somewhere inside was Monaca. "I've finished talking to Kurokuma."

"I'll be there in a minute!" Komaru replied. She looked back at him. "Do you still need help? If you want I—"

"No no, it's fine." He waved her off. "I can handle this, so go and have fun with Monaca."

"Well… alright. Good luck with your investigation!"

Komaru walked into the hallway. Since he couldn't get any clues from her, maybe he could search online? He entered the hallway as well and followed the path to his room. He opened the door and the first thing that caught his eye was the pile of papers in the middle of his room.

"Oh not again…" he muttered. This mess on the floor had to be the work of his roommate. He walked towards one of the scattered papers and picked it up.

"Idea for rap song one—that time I got arrested by the police," was written at the top left. In the middle of the page were lyrics, although if he had to be honest… they weren't that great.

He picked up another piece of paper. "Idea for rap song five—that time I placed dried tofu in Makoto's food for two weeks," was written on it this time.

"Well, that explains the weird aftertaste in my food…" He folded the paper and placed it into his pocket. He picked up another piece of paper.

"Idea for rap song twenty—that time Monaca and I drove a teacher to suicide," was written on this one.

… Wait. This couldn't be talking about—

"Hey hey, wassup! It's ya boy Kurokuma in the house!"

He turned around and was greeted with Kurokuma standing right behind him. He flinched, and at that exact moment, Kurokuma grabbed the sheet of paper right off his hands.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Kurokuma examined the paper in its paws. "Trying to sneak a peek into my latest album? That ain't cool bro."

He tried to grab the paper, but Kurokuma backed away from him.

"Whoa, easy there! This is my life's work after all."

"Give that back!"

"Huh? Why should I?" Kurokuma tilted its head. "This is my shit ya know?"

He lunged at Kurokuma. The bear dodged his charge without any effort, and so he ended up crashing into a wall. He could hear Kurokuma laughing behind him as he lay on the floor.

"Damn Makoto! That was quite the crash!" Kurokuma shouted in-between his laughter. "I think the whole house shook from that!"

"Ugh…" He placed a hand on a wall for support as he picked himself up. The world was still spinning as he stared at Kurokuma. "Give me back the paper…"

"You really want this paper huh?" Kurokuma flapped the paper at him. "Maybe I should just give it to ya… or not."

Kurokuma scrunched it up and tossed it inside its mouth.

"No!" He dashed at Kurokuma, but it was too late. The bear had closed its mouth by the time he reached it. He tried to force it open, but its mouth wouldn't budge.

"Man, that's some good ass paper!" Its mouth didn't even open when it talked. "You should give up on ever getting it back Makoto. Once something goes in my mouth it ain't ever coming back out!"

He let go of the bear's mouth and crouched down on the floor. He picked up and skimmed through every single paper for almost anything related to the incident, but none of them contained what he was looking for.

"You ain't gonna find anything," Kurokuma said. It walked over to his desk and opened up a drawer. "Why don't you just give up and forget what you saw okay?"

"You know I can't do that." He placed the papers back on the floor and got up. "You and Monaca had something to do with that incident, and you're going to tell me."

"Oh, I'm so scared!" Kurokuma took out a cigar from the drawer and placed it in its mouth. "Whatcha gonna do, kill me?"

It laughed. He was starting to lose his cool, but he forced himself from raising his voice.

"I'm being serious. If you don't tell me then I'll force you to."

"Drop the tough guy act Makoto. Everybody knows you're not one to use force."

"I will if the situation requires it."

"Oh really? Do your worst then!"

"… Don't say I didn't warn you." He walked towards his closet.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm standing right here y'know?"

Kurokuma chuckled. Getting physical with Kurokuma was suicide considering the bear was made entirely out of metal. But there was another way he could get the bear to talk…

He opened up the closet and took out one of Kurokuma's belongings. In his hands was a cigar bigger than one of his arms.

"What are you doing Makoto? You tryin' to have a smoke?"

He placed both of his hands at the end of the cigar and held it up to Kurokuma. "If you don't tell me, I'm going to snap this in two."

"Pfft, yeah right. You ain't got the balls—"

He snapped the cigar in two and dropped the pieces on the floor. Kurokuma didn't look down at the pieces. In fact, the bear wasn't making any movements at all; it was standing as still as a statue as it stared at him.

"… What the FUCK!" Kurokuma screamed out. It dashed towards the snapped cigar and dropped down to its knees. "Do you know how much I paid for this shit!?"

Kurokuma picked up the two pieces of the cigar and held it up to him. "I paid a goddamn fortune to export these from Cuba! Why the hell did you break it?!"

"I told you I was going to break it if you didn't listen," he replied. He felt bad for doing this, but he had to learn the truth. He grabbed another one of Kurokuma's belongings from his closet; a vinyl record with a signature on it.

"Get your hands off that!" Kurokuma jumped up to its feet. It tried to approach him, but it stopped in its tracks when he placed a hand on each side of the record.

"I'll put it back once you tell me what you know."

"Why are you being such an asshole Makoto? I told ya I made it all up! Just give me back the record and—"

He snapped the record in half.

"NOOOO! My fuckin' Jimi Hendrix record!" Kurokuma dashed at him and grabbed what remained of the record off his hands. "I had this signed by the man itself at one of my concerts!"

It dropped down to its knees again. "Oh, you done did it now Makoto! I'm going to make a diss track on you and post it on my social media!"

… Was he just wasting his time? So far his actions were just making Kurokuma angry, but there had to be something that would make the bear talk.

He examined his closet for any more of Kurokuma's belongings. Only one item stood out to him.

"Please let this one work…" he muttered. He reached in and grabbed the item out. What was in his hands was a miniature golden statue in the image of Kurokuma, made from pure gold… or so the bear said.

"Oh fu—" Kurokuma stood up once it saw what was in his hands. "N-Now just hold on for a moment."

It seems like he picked the right one. "Tell me what you know Kurokuma, or else I'm going to smash it," he said.

"C-Come on Makoto. We're roommates, aren't we? How about we just talk this out—"

"I'll give you five seconds. Five…"

"You're bluffing! How can anyone possibly think to destroy a statue in my own image? I mean look at me! I'm fuckin' baller man!"

"Four…"

"Fuck you Makoto! After everything I did for you, this is what you do to me!? I thought we were soulmates!"

"Three…"

"If you give me back the statue right now I'll pay you one thousand— No, two thousand Monocoins!"

"Two…"

"… Ah shit, Monaca's gonna fuckin' kill me now…"

"One…" He raised the arm holding the statue.

"Okay! Okay! You fuckin' win!" Kurokuma held up its paws. "I'll talk!"

He lowered down his arm. Kurokuma let out a sigh and started to smoke on the spot.

"Start talking."

"Can't ya let a bear have a smoke first?"

He raised his arm again.

"Sheesh, alright man!" Kurokuma took out the cigar from its mouth. "Since when did a herbivore boy like you get so ballsy… So uh, promise me you won't get mad?"

"Just start talking."

Kurokuma began explaining to him everything. From how Monaca made him set up hidden cameras in the teacher's house, to how she blackmailed him into giving her money… and to how she leaked out those photos to the public.

"… And that's how Monaca and I made a million dollars in a couple of weeks!" Kurokuma said. It placed the cigar in its hand back to its mouth. "You got any questions?"

"… No."

"Perfect. Now, can I have that back please?"

Kurokuma held out a paw. He handed over the statue, and as soon as it was in its hands the bear moved as far away from him as possible.

"Phew, that was close!" Kurokuma said. "You looked like you were about to throw it on the ground Makoto!"

"…"

"… Uh, Makoto? You okay there buddy? Wait, where are you—!?"

He was already out of the door before Kurokuma could finish. He moved through the hallway towards Komaru's room, and when he saw the door was closed he forced himself to open it with as little force as possible.

His sister was hunched over her desk, back turned towards him as she drew on something in front of her. Monaca was watching right next to her, and when he entered she turned her attention away from the desk to him.

"Oh, Big Bro!" she called out. She was smiling at him, but that smile morphed into a frown as she continued to stare. "Is something wrong?"

"… I need to talk to you," he replied.

"Ummm, can it wait a bit? Monaca's sorta busy helping out—"

"No! We need to talk Monaca!"

His outburst made Komaru yelp in surprise. She placed down the pencil in her hand and turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong Makoto!?" she asked. "Did something happen!?"

"… No, no, nothing happened," he answered. "I just need to talk to Monaca privately."

"Really? You seem kinda… angry."

"I'm fine Komaru." He forced a smile on his face. "I just got a bit excited there for a moment…"

"Well… alright." She didn't look so convinced. He focused his attention back on Monaca. Unlike his sister she wasn't startled by his outburst; she instead seemed rather curious about it.

"Please Monaca. This is important."

"… Okay Big Bro!" Monaca smiled at him. "If that's what you want!"

She looked at Komaru. "Don't slack off while I'm gone, Big Sis!" She waved goodbye to her as she followed him back to his room. Once inside he noticed that Kurokuma was nowhere to be found. His closet was also closed, even though he was pretty sure it was opened when he left his room.

"Sooooo, what is it you want to talk about?" Monaca asked, and closed the door to his room.

"… I know what you did Monaca," he said.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" She tilted her head.

"Stop pretending like you don't know. Kurokuma told me everything that you've done in the past weeks."

"… Did he now?" Her expression wasn't giving him any hint to what she's feeling. "And you believe what he said?"

"I do."

"… Alright!" And just like that, she was smiling at him. "I guess there's no point in trying to hide it anymore."

"So you admit it?"

"Yep! That teacher incident was all caused by Monaca!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouted.

"Why are you getting so angry Big Bro?" She still had a smile on her face.

"Why am I— Because you hurt someone!"

"And? He was a bad person who was cheating on his wife, so he deserved it. Anyway, how did you get Kurokuma to talk? I can't imagine him telling you all of this out of nowhere. Did you beat him up with your fists? Poked his other eye out? Made him listen to jazz?"

"Stop trying to change the subject! You promised me you wouldn't hurt anyone Monaca!"

"I promised not to hurt anyone from your school or my school. You never said anything about Komaru's school."

"What difference does it make?!"

"Plenty in my opinion." Monaca stopped smiling. "I didn't hurt him for fun y'know. I was just trying to protect Big Sis."

"You're lying!"

"It's the truth. You know what Komaru is like Makoto; she's too gullible. That makes her the perfect target for creeps like that teacher to take advantage of her."

"He didn't do anything to her though!"

"That's true, but it doesn't change the fact that he had an affair with a girl around her age. Are you really comfortable having a man like that around your sister?"

"I… No, I wouldn't," he admitted. "But that doesn't explain why you extorted him out of his money!"

"I was doing that to punish him. Plus, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to regain all the money I lost. Did Kurokuma tell you about how I spent half a million to protect you?"

"What? No, he didn't."

"And I thought you said he told you everything. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago the director of Hope's Peak Orphanage came by to visit me. She threatened to do some awful things to you and our family, but thanks to Monaca we managed to work something out."

"How do I know if you're telling the truth?"

"We aren't getting any more visits from them, are we?"

"Well… I guess not."

"You see." Monaca looked down at the ground, a frown on her face as she continued, "I just want to protect the people I care about Big Bro… Maybe I did go a bit overboard with the teacher, but it was all for Komaru's sake, honest. Won't you forgive me…?"

She sounded so sincere he felt awful that he still doubted her. "I… appreciate you looking out for us, but I just can't overlook what you did. You caused someone to jump off a building."

"But he survived, didn't he…?"

"He's in the hospital Monaca. Even if your intentions were good it doesn't change what happened."

"… Why do care so much anyway?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I'm saying why do you care so much about that teacher?" Monaca looked up at him. The sad expression from before was gone; now she seemed rather curious. "The man had an affair with a student, and yet you don't seem all that bothered by it. Are you interested in that sort of thing Big Bro?"

"No, I'm not."

"Really? Then are you friends with him?"

"No."

"So why do you care if he jumped off a building?"

"Because you caused it! He did something terrible for sure, but that doesn't give you the right to treat him like some sort of toy!"

Monaca sighed. "Y'know, there's such a thing as having too much empathy for others. The world is an uncaring and dangerous place Makoto, filled with people who wouldn't hesitate to abuse that kindness of yours."

"Not everyone is as cruel as you think they are!"

"And not everyone is as kind as you think either. You're too soft-hearted, and that's going to come back to bite you. In fact, I just thought of the perfect scenario to demonstrate that. Would you like to hear it?"

He nodded. "Let's say a serial killer broke into our house and took everyone hostage except for you," she continued, "He hands you a gun and tells you to kill someone. If you comply, he'll leave and the rest of us gets to live for another day. If you don't, well, he'll kill us one by one until you're the last one alive."

"I'm guessing I can't talk him down in this scenario, can I?"

"Nope, so who do you choose? Is it me? Komaru? Mum or dad?"

"… I—"

"Oops! Too late! The killer points his gun at me and blows my head clean off!"

"What?! You didn't give me enough time!"

"The killer doesn't care. So, who do you choose next?"

"I… I…"

"Bang! There goes your dad! Only two people left Big Bro. Are you going to choose your mum, or are you going to choose Komaru?"

Damn it, Monaca wasn't giving him any time to think! How the hell could he make a decision like this in the first place?!

"…"

"What's wrong Makoto? Did you give up?"

"I… I can't choose…" he muttered.

"Well, that's a shame." Monaca looked disappointed. "I guess we can say bye-bye to Komaru and your mum."

"What would you do in that situation then!?"

"Me? Well, I'm glad you asked!" She smiled. "I would have shot someone!"

"You— You would!?"

"Yep! Care to guess who?"

She had to be joking… How could she make a decision like that so easily!? He couldn't even imagine hurting anyone from his family, and yet the girl in front of him told him she would with a smile!

"I'm not joking if that's what you're thinking," Monaca said. "Monaca really would shoot someone."

Who out of his family would Monaca shoot? Could it be Komaru? His mum? His dad? Or maybe…

"Is it… is it me?"

"…"

Monaca's smile dropped. No way… she… she wouldn't—

"… Pffft! Why would I shoot you Makoto?"

"H-Huh?"

"You're my accomplice remember? Why would I kill someone so useful to me?"

"T-Then who would you shoot?!"

She giggled. "Isn't it obvious? The killer of course!"

"The— The killer? B-But I thought—"

"That you had to kill someone from your family? The killer never said you couldn't shoot him, riiiight?"

"Well… no, he didn't…"

"You see. It's such an easy answer to a difficult solution… and yet, it never even occurred to you to shoot him."

"Th-That's because—"

"Because what? Because of how I said it? Even so, killing someone from your family should be the last thing on your mind, don't you think? You could have even said that you'd shoot yourself to save them, but you didn't. Do you value your own life over theirs?"

"N-No… That's not…"

"But y'know, I don't even think that's the worst part. Even if you knew you could shoot the killer to save your family, you still wouldn't be able to pull the trigger. Am I wrong, Big Bro?"

He glanced at the ground as Monaca gazed at him. He wanted to refute her, to say anything to prove her wrong… but he couldn't.

"Do you finally understand? Sometimes you have to do bad things to help the ones you love."

Would he do whatever it takes to protect his family, even at the cost of someone's life…?

"… I'm sorry."

"Huh?" He looked back at Monaca. Her head was lowered towards the ground, eyes avoiding his gaze as she… teared up?

"I'm sorry for putting you in such a difficult spot…" Monaca's voice quavered as she spoke. "Murder is such an awful thing, isn't it?"

"Well… of course it is?"

"And yet I forced you to consider it. I forced you to think about killing your mum, your dad, Komaru… all to prove a point. You must really hate me now…"

Tears were starting to drip from her eyes. "H-Hold on Monaca!" he said. "I don't hate you!"

"R-Really?" She wiped away her tears and looked him in the eye. "I don't believe you…"

"I'm telling the truth."

"Then… can you say you forgive Monaca?"

"I…" Should he really forgive her that easily, after everything she did?

"Isn't it better to just forgive and forget?" she asked. "Why should our relationship be ruined because of something like this?"

"It's not that simple…"

"But it is. All you need to do is say the magic words and everything will be back to normal. We can go back to setting up another date with Big Sis Junko, or maybe we can go and help Komaru with her drawings. Don't you want that?"

Monaca reached out and clasped her hands onto his left.

"I know it may not mean much, but I promise that I'll never do something like this ever again. You don't have to believe me now, but if you forgive me I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you."

Maybe… maybe he should just forgive her…

He opened his mouth to say his answer, but then he saw it. For almost a split second the corners of Monaca's mouth twitched upward.

Damn it! She was manipulating him!

He pulled his left hand out of her grip. The sudden movement caused Monaca to step back, confusion clear on her face.

"What's wrong Makoto?" she asked.

"You— You were just trying to manipulate me just now!" he said.

"Huh? What are you talking abou—"

"Don't lie to me Monaca! This whole conversation was just a trick to make me forgive you, wasn't it?!"

"…"

"Answer me!"

… Monaca smiled. "Well, you got me!" she answered. "I'm impressed you managed to figure it out."

She walked towards her wheelchair and sat down in it. That damn smile was still on her face as she asked, "So, what now? Are you going to punish me?"

"You…!" The fact that she could sit there and smile at him, after what she did moments earlier, was starting to make him lose it! But the anger he was feeling towards her was nothing compared to how ashamed he was.

Was… Was all of his efforts to change her pointless? He really wanted to believe that his actions were having an effect on her, but after this… he didn't know what to think anymore.

Why couldn't she understand that hurting people was an awful thing to do?!

… Wait. Maybe… maybe she actually couldn't understand why it's bad.

"Monaca… can I ask you a question?" he asked.

"A question?" Monaca tilted her head a bit. "Hmm… Sure! Ask away!"

"Do you feel any remorse for how you treated me in the past?"

"Remorse?" She placed a finger under her chin, her expression making it seem like she was deep in thought. "I mean, not really? It's all in the past right, so why should I waste my time thinking about things that I can't change?"

"…"

"… Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"… You're a sociopath."

"I'm sorry? Did you just call me a… sociopath?"

He nodded. Monaca stared at him for a few seconds… and then burst into laughter.

"That's a pretty funny joke Big Bro!" Monaca shouted in-between her laughter. "I mean, a cute girl like me, a sociopath? That's impossible!"

She kept on laughing, but her laughter eventually slowed down as she continued to look at him.

"… Wait, are you being serious?"

"I am," he answered.

"Oh please. I never met a sociopath once in my life, and do you want to know why? It's because sociopaths are just like unicorns; they don't exist."

"They do exist, and right now you're fitting all the traits of one."

"I never knew you were a psychologist, Big Bro. And what are you going to do about it if I am a sociopath? Are you going to throw me into a mental hospital? Kick me out on the street?"

"I'm going to get you a therapist."

"A— A therapist?"

"Yes, a therapist."

She looked rather annoyed at hearing that. He really had no other choice here; how could he alone help someone who was incapable of feeling empathy?

He needed an expert, and the only one that came to mind was the Ultimate Therapist.

"Please tell me you're pulling my leg," Monaca said.

"I'm not," he replied. "I know somebody at school who can help you."

"I! Don't! Need! Any! Help!" She scowled at him. "Monaca is perfectly healthy in body, mind, and spirit! I don't need therapy!"

"It's for your own good! Whether you like it or not I'm going to book a therapist!"

He moved towards the door to leave, but his path was blocked by Monaca.

"Move Monaca! I'm not going to change my mind!"

"Just think about this for a moment! How would your family react if I suddenly start to go to therapy? They'll start to think that there's something wrong with me!"

"There's nothing I can do about that!"

"Yes! There! Is! Just don't book a stupid therapist and forget about this!"

He tried to move around her, but Monaca kept blocking his way every time. This kept going for a while, and eventually, he decided to just force his way through her. But before he could do that…

A knock on the door made them froze.

"Um… Hello? Is everything okay in there?"

They both looked at the door, and then at each other.

"… Play along." Monaca changed her scowl to a smile as she approached the door. She opened it up and stepped aside to let Komaru in.

"Hello Big Sis!" Monaca greeted. "Is there something wrong?"

"Well, um, I heard a lot of shouting from this room." She glanced at them both with a worried expression. "Are you two fighting?"

"Fighting? Oh no no no, we weren't fighting! We were just excited that Big Bro passed his test! Isn't that right?"

They both looked at him. "Yeah, we just got too excited that's all," he said.

Just like before Komaru didn't seem so convinced by his lie. "I don't know… It definitely sounded like you two were arguing."

"It must be your imagination. Big Bro and I get along like a house on fire! What reason would there be for us to fight?"

Monaca moved towards his sister and clasped her left hand onto her right. She then tried to lead Komaru towards the door.

"Now that we cleared things up, I think it's time you get back to your drawings! Big Bro and I still have something we need to discuss."

"Actually, I think we're finished," he said.

"Huh?" Monaca stopped in her tracks and turned around. "What are you talking about? We still need to talk about that very important thing, right?"

"We can talk about that tomorrow. Besides, I promised you I wouldn't take too long to talk, remember?"

"… Did you now." He was almost certain that she was angry, but neither her expression nor tone showed it. "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to talk a while longer."

"Sorry Monaca, but I have something urgent to do today."

"… Alright then. Have a good evening, Big Bro."

He walked towards the door, one foot on the outside when—

"I hope your decision doesn't come back to haunt you."

He paused. A part of him wanted to glance back to see what expression Monaca's making, but he took the final step out of his room and closed the door.

"…"

… Well now, that conversation went rather poorly. Not only did my stupid accomplice found out about my fun little hobby, but now he was convinced that I was a sociopath.

"Um, what did you mean by that Monaca?"

Really? Me, a sociopath? How absurd. Just because I couldn't care less about other people didn't mean I had some sort of illness. I simply had more important things to worry about in life.

"… Monaca? Can you hear me?"

And now my idiotic accomplice was planning to send me to therapy. Just thinking about it was making me so, sooooo mad. Now everyone in his family was going to suspect that something's wrong with me.

"… Are you there? Y-You're sorta squeezing my hand too hard…"

Ever since I came back from Towa city he had grown bolder against me. Maybe Kurokuma was right; I really had grown soft because of this family's bad influence. My past self would be disgusted to see what I was like now…

But there's still time to change that. My slave still didn't know that the blackmail photos were deleted. Maybe I could still threaten him with those non-existent photos, or perhaps I needed to create new blackmail material. If blackmail still didn't work then I'd—

"Monaca!"

"Huh?" I looked at my adoptive sister. I also let go of her hand once I realised I had been squeezing it.

My adoptive sister shook her right hand. "Jeez, I've been calling your name for almost a minute now!" she said. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah Big Sis!" I replied. "Monaca was just thinking hard about something."

"Does it have to with Makoto?"

"Nope! It was just something about school."

She sighed. "You're hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"What? Why would Monaca do that?"

"Do I really seem that dumb? I know I'm not exactly the brightest person on the Earth, but even I could tell there's something going on between you two."

"Well…" Oh great, now my adoptive sister was starting to get suspicious of me.

"I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to! You must have a pretty good reason why you can't tell me, right?"

I nodded. "So, uh, all I'm really trying to tell you is… that you can rely on me too you know? I may not be my brother, b-but no matter what kind of problem you have, I'll always be there to support you! So please, try and have some faith in me!"

"…"

"… Um, did I make you upset?"

… Perhaps I shouldn't be too hasty in dealing with my traitorous accomplice. My relationship with him was on shaky ground because of this stupid incident, and if I want to be successful in life I have to do all I could to maintain it.

If I had to go to some stupid therapy session to please him, then so be it.

I smiled at my sister. "Not at all Big Sis! It's nice to know that you'll do anything to help me."

"No problem!" my sister said, and gave me a smile as well. "Although I don't think I'll do anything to help you…"

"That's fine." I pointed at the door. "Let's get back to your room Big Sis. Big Bro Makoto might not be happy with us if we stayed here any longer."

My sister walked towards the door, but when she noticed that I hadn't moved she stopped and turned around. "Aren't you coming?"

"I just remembered that I have one last thing to do here!" I replied. "Go ahead without me."

"Well, alright." My sister opened up the door and closed it on the way out. Once I couldn't hear her footsteps anymore I looked around my surroundings.

"Come here Kurokuma!" I called out.

There was a crash behind me. I turned around to see that Kurokuma had fallen out of the closet.

"Fuck, I can finally breathe…!" Kurokuma muttered. It got up and looked around, its body freezing up once it saw me looking at it.

"… Oh shit."

"There you are!" I approached Kurokuma. It held up its hands as it backed away from me.

"L-Listen Monaca! I know that you're pissed at me, b-but I really had no choice but to tell him!"

"Why are you so scared Kurokuma?" I gave the bear my best smile. "I just want to talk to you."

"H-He was breakin' my shit okay! Do you know how much money I had to borrow from his mum just to pay for the shipping!? Close to half a million!"

"So your valuables are more important to you than me? That makes Monaca soooo sad…"

Kurokuma's back touched a wall. It looked around back and forth as I came closer and closer, and once I was close enough it dropped down onto its knees and placed its head onto the ground.

"C-Come on Monaca! I'm literally begging ya here!"

"… Okay, I forgive you."

"I don't even like rap! I'm more of a jazz fan myself! So please— Wait, what?"

Kurokuma looked up at me. "I forgive you," I repeated.

"Y-You do…?" Kurokuma jumped up to its feet. "I mean, of course you do! Who wouldn't be able to forgive a bear this awesome?!"

It laughed. Its laughter was cut short, however, when I reached into the closet and pulled out a gaudy statue in its image.

"Uh, Monaca? What are ya doing?"

"I'm just taking a look." I examined the statue in my hand. "Now that I think about it, isn't it unfair that you get to walk away without any form of punishment?"

"P-Punishment?" It seemed scared for a moment, but then it chuckled. "Oh, stop joking around Monaca! Didn't you say you already forgave—"

"Should I smash this statue as a form of punishment?" I placed the statue on the ground and lifted a foot up.

"Wait wait wait! Anything but that!"

"Anything you say?" I placed my foot back down. "So anything else will be better than smashing this statue?"

"Y-Yeah! You can do whatever you want with me, but just don't break that statue!"

"Then rewriting your personality will be fine, right?"

"Huh? What do you—"

"Shut up."

Kurokuma stiffened, its body twitching on the spot as I watched it with a smile.

"You don't have to worry about a thing Kurokuma," I said. "All I'm going to do is make you a bit more… obedient, okay?"

It didn't respond of course, not that I really cared. I moved to the side of the bear and began pushing it towards the only computer in the room.

If there's one good thing to come out of this, I at least wouldn't have to hear Kurokuma "rap" for a while now…

Days since relocation to Hope's Peak Academy: One month, three weeks and five days.

Number of patients received during period… zero.

…

She sighed. Transfer to Hope's Peak Academy had thus far proven to be a waste of time. Students in the Main Course seemed almost hesitant to attend any of her sessions, despite her (or more appropriately, her avatar) giving a speech on the benefits of therapy.

Asking the students if they wanted to attend her sessions had also been a wasteful expenditure of energy. One reason was due to the fact that students were allowed to live off-campus; a far cry from her time here as a student. Students who chose to live somewhere else rather than their dorms have all given her different variations of the phrase, "I'm busy."

As for the ones who chose to stay in their dorms, they had proven to be rather… difficult. They all regarded her with varying degrees of suspicion. One of them even had a preconceived notion that she was "a robot assassin sent by the mafia." All attempts to communicate with the student had ended in failure.

… Despite all of that, there were some benefits to her temporary transfer. Lack of patients meant she had valuable time to work on the Neo World Program. Estimated time of completion had progressed to seventy percent, and if things were to stay the same the program should be ready in three more months.

She glanced around her office. Living conditions were, albeit marginally, also improved by coming to Hope's Peak Academy. The dorm provided to her by the Steering Committee had belonged to a member of the student council. With a few adjustments, the dorm now looked similar to her old office, although with far less clutter due to the large space.

But the most significant (and most beneficial in her opinion) improvement was the almost complete lack of interaction with other people at Hope's Peak Academy. Her duties did not require her to leave her dorm unless it was absolutely necessary.

As of today, she held a total of two complete conversations. Increasing this total any further was deemed unnecessary.

She glanced at the time on her monitor. Five more minutes left before her work was concluded. The probability of her receiving a patient at this time was close to ten percent—

A pop-up containing a phone number appeared on her screen.

"…"

… She frowned. Probability of receiving a patient now was eighty percent. She answered it and began typing in her response.

"Hello!" her avatar said. "This is Miaya Gekkogahara speaking! How may I help you?"

"Uh, hi. My name is Makoto Naegi, and I'm calling to make an appointment?"

"Are you a Main Course Student at Hope's Peak Academy?"

"Yeah, I am."

She searched the caller's name on her monitor. A file popped up on her screen. She opened it and began reading through it.

Subject name: Makoto Naegi.

Occupation: Main Course student at Hope's Peak Academy.

Attributes: Subject currently held the title of Ultimate Lucky Student. Subject appeared to have no particular strengths or weaknesses in anything.

Therapy required: No. Apart from being involved in a few incidents subject appeared to be behaving at school and in public.

"I've just confirmed that you're telling the truth," her avatar said. "So you wish to make an appointment with me?"

"Well… not for me. It's for my little sister."

"Your little sister? Is she also part of the Main Course?"

"Uh, no, she isn't."

Caution, annoyance levels were rising. "I'm sorry Makoto, but my services are only for Main Course Students."

"Really? But I thought anybody could make an appointment with you?"

"It's unfortunate, but the Steering Committee has forbidden me from offering my services to anybody else aside from the Main Course…"

"Not even for Lil' Ultimates?"

"Not even for them."

"Well… that's a shame…"

"Is your sister a Lil' Ultimate?" her avatar asked.

"Yeah. Her talent is the Lil' Ultimate Homeroom."

"That's a rather interesting talent. What's her name?"

"Her name's Monaca."

"…"

"… Uh, hello? Is anybody there?"

Warning, heart rate was increasing dramatically. Recommended to take deep, deep breaths to calm down.

She took a deep breath and let it out. Perhaps her auditory functions were simply impaired at the moment.

"I'm sorry, but could you please repeat her name again?"

"Um, sure. Her name's Monaca."

"…"

"… Hello? Is everything all right there?"

"Does her name contain a c instead of a k?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, it does."

She searched for the Lil' Ultimate on her monitor. She immediately opened up the file that popped up and began reading through it.

Subject name: Monaca Naegi.

Age: unknown. Assumed to be around ten to twelve years old.

Date of birth: Unknown.

Attributes: Was given the talent of Lil' Ultimate Homeroom. Was raised in Hope's Peak Orphanage and was currently in the "trouble-makers class" at Hope's Peak Elementary School.

Therapy required: Unknown. More information was required.

… So that's what happened to her. There was a fifty percent chance that he would send her to an orphanage, but to send her all the way over here was a possibility she had not considered. Had she known this sooner then perhaps she might have—

She frowned. Thinking about the past now was pointless. Her current objective should be deciding her next course of action based on this information.

The most logical option available to her was to direct the subject to another therapist and forget what she just learned. Re-entering the girl's life after all these years would do more harm than good. If the girl were to learn who she was there was a high probability that she would react… poorly, to put it mildly.

… But for reasons unknown, a part of her wanted to meet the girl despite the potential consequences. Was this out of some sense of guilt, or perhaps she was simply curious? Whatever it was, it played a part in finalising her decision.

"… Perhaps I can make an exception just for you."

"Wait, really? Didn't you say the Steering Committee forbade you from helping people outside the Main Course?"

"I did, but I just can't ignore someone that needs my help, especially since it's a child!"

She could hear the subject sighing in relief on the other end. "Thank you so much Miaya! You don't know how happy I am to receive your help."

"There's no need to thank me." She opened up a new document on her monitor before continuing, "Now, please tell me what kind of problem Monaca is experiencing."

The subject began explaining about the girl's situation. She wrote down everything he said onto her document, her eyes occasionally glancing at the profile of the girl in question whenever her name was mentioned.

It seems this trip wasn't a waste of time after all…

A/N: I was thinking of splitting this chapter into two parts considering how long it was, but I was pretty much almost at the end, so I decided not to.

This wasn't exactly a fun chapter like the last one, but I felt it was necessary to show that Monaca still had some issues, most notably her complete lack of empathy. I'm pretty sure Monaca in canon is a sociopath, considering how even before she met Junko she seemed perfectly fine to watch her classmates jump of a building as a "prank." All Junko really did was give her a goal to work towards.

Ah well, I doubt anybody really cared about my thought process for this chapter. I'm at least happy to know that my story here is entertaining to some people.