"K-Kaede?"

Shuichi looked at the door in disbelief as the blonde pianist came through the door. "H-Hey, Shuichi! Long time no se- oh!" Shuichi hugged Kaede as he silently cried. "W-What... I thought you were... dead..." Kaede pulled back. "I... I thought I was, too." Shuichi kept his head low, tears still spilling from his eyes. "Come on, sidekick. I don't wanna see you cry again!" Shuichi's eyes widened as he let the new voice filter through his ears.

He looked up and saw Kaito, who had died just yesterday, but it seemed like he hadn't seen him in years. "Where's Maki Roll?" Kaito asked. Shuichi was speechless. "Sh-she's investigating somewhere... else." He covered his mouth and looked away.

"Seriously, Shuichi, you need to pull yourself together." Kaito said, putting his hand on Shuichi's shoulder. Shuichi turned and hugged Kaito, letting out his sobs.

"You expect me to pull myself together?! I-I saw you guys die, in front of me!" He yelled. His mouth slightly opened when he realized something. "Were you... the only ones who woke up?" Kaito and Kaede looked at each other, and shook their heads. "Everyone did."

.

.

.

"What?!" Himiko yelled. Kaede nodded. "Do you want to find Tenko and Angie?" Himiko nodded, hope filling her eyes. "B-But first, Shuichi I need to show you something."

She led Shuichi, Kaede, and Kaito to the girls washroom and opened the door to the storage room. Shuichi pushed at the back wall, revealing a pathway to the hidden room. "This is where I helped you out!" Kaede recalled.

She explained that she had woken up where the bodies were thrown away, along with everyone else, and immediately went to the washroom to see if it was a dream, but then she saw Himiko exit the storage closet.

"Well? Was the pathway I found useful?" Himiko asked. "Yes... I think you just cracked the case!" Shuichi said.

Himiko threw her hat in the air in triumph. "Now, let's find Tenko and Angie!" She concluded, running back up the pathway. They exited the bathroom and ran into Maki. "Shuichi what were you doing in... the girl's... bathroom..." She met eyes with Kaito. "K-Kaito...?"

They slowly walked towards each other until they were inches apart. Maki's eyes filled with tears as she pressed her head up against Kaito's chest. "You... idiot." She whispered.

Kaito wrapped his arms around her, his eyes filling with tears. "Hey... Maki Roll." Shuichi smiled. "We were going to find Tenko and Angie. Wanna come?" Maki nodded, then remembered something.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a picture.

"Ah, Rantaro!" Kaede exclaimed. "He and Kokichi went together." Shuichi put the picture in his pocket. "Are they looking for Y/N?"

Kaede nodded. "Do you know where they are? I was expecting them to be with you." Shuichi shook his head. "Y/N went investigating by themselves to cover more ground."

All of them ran around the school, running into a new person each time. It was almost like their first day here. First, they ran into Kiyo, then Gonta, then Miu, then Kirumi, and then Ryoma.

"Kirumi, you got your clothes back!" Himiko noticed. "Yes, I immediately went to my dorm so you wouldn't see anything... of disturbance." Himiko looked down. "Where are Himiko and Angie?" Himiko looked at Kiyo, who was rather silent. Even when they ran into him, he merely greeted, "Hello." and was silent once more.

"Kiyo," Himiko began, gaining his attention. "I'm not mad at you, you know? Y/N told me that holding grudges is what will hold me down."

Despite the fact that Kiyo had a mask, Himiko knew he smiled. "Y/N... such a kind person... even in my final moments, they were concerned for me."

Himiko tilted her head. "Ah, right. Y/N asked me if my sister was really... proper for me. I thought they would be mad at me for killing two people, but they held more kindness in their heart than anyone."

Kiyo looked around. "Where is dear, Y/N?" Shuichi looked back at him.

"They went to investigate on their own. I'm surprised we haven't run into them yet. Same with Rantaro, Kokichi, Angie, and Tenko." Shuichi turned a corner, and put his hand in front of everyone.

"Himiko, I think you want to be the first one."

Himiko's shoulders stiffened as she slowly walked over and looked around the corner. She saw Tenko and Angie, both talking, Tenko looking more irritated than ever, and Angie most likely talking about Atua.

Himiko took a deep breath and walked around the corner. "Angie, didn't you see that Atua doesn't... Himiko?" Angie turned around to face the way Tenko was, and the normal happy smile on her face disappeared. "H-Hey..." Himiko stuttered. Dang it! I wanted this to be super cool, not all sad and gloomy! Himiko looked up at the two girls before her.

Both had the same shocked expression.

"Are you going to say-" Both girls ran up to Himiko and gave her a hug. "Himiko!" They yelled simultaneously. Himiko was shocked, but slowly began crying and hugged them both back. "I.. I thought I lost you guys." She whispered. Angie smiled. "Of course not! Atua wouldn't allow it!" Tenko looked at Angie. "You're kidding, right?" She turned back to Himiko and smiled. "It's so great to see you again, Himiko!"

Art by Miyumi on ZEROCHAN (I believe)

Everyone came from around the corner. Angie and Tenko eyed Kiyo. "Hey there! I see Atua hasn't punished you?" Angie pointed out. Kiyo pulled his hat down a bit. "I understand apologies will make no difference, so I-" Suddenly, Angie and Tenko hugged him. "Your sister sounds like a degenerate, even though you're one, too." Tenko said. Kiyo shut his eyes. "Humanity... truly is quite beautiful." Shuichi made a breathy chuckle. "It's almost dawn, so we need to find Rantaro, Kokichi, and Y/N so we can talk to Monokuma."

"Ah, I am aware of Kokichi and Rantaro's location." Kirumi said. "They notified me that they would be going to the dining hall." Shuichi nodded and everyone followed him to the dining hall. "What happened to the academy?" Kaede asked. "Yeah! It looks (swear word) up!" Miu pointed out. There was rubble everywhere, and there were barely any exterior walls that were still up. Shuichi explained that K1-B0 and the exisals were having a battle outside of the school, and they only had until dawn for K1-B0 to knock down the school.

"We have to find Rantaro, Kokichi, and Y/N fast!" Kaede said. Everyone quickly ran towards the dining hall, where Rantaro and Kokichi were staying. "Rantaro! Kokichi!" Both of the boys turned around. "Oh! There you guys are!" Kokichi said. Shuichi remembered everything that Kokichi had revealed, but he knew there was no time for that. "Look, I know Y/N's still missing, but we have to talk to Monokuma fast! It's almost dawn!"

The group ran out of the dining hall. "We haven't found Y/N yet..." Kokichi whispered. "I'm sure they'll turn up. Shuichi always has a plan, and so do they." Rantaro assured. Kokichi reluctantly followed Rantaro and the group outside. "Whoa! There's 4 times more people now!" Monokuma pointed out. "Where'd you all come from?"

"Monokuma.. we have a proposition." Shuichi said. "One last class trial. To end this killing game." Tsumugi ran out of the school. "I saw you all gathered here! How are you-" She stopped. "Class trial? To end the killing game?" Shuichi nodded. He looked at Monokuma. "Well?" Monokuma agreed to the last class trial. "But, if you don't reach the truth in the end, you all will be held responsible."

Everyone went to the Shrine of Judgement. "Wait, what about Y/N?" Kokichi asked. "I'm sure they'll turn up. They have to." Tsumugi reminded. Gonta was very quiet. Kokichi walked up to him. "U-um... Gonta?" Gonta looked at the small boy. "Gonta... I'm really sorry. I didn't... I wanted to take your.. I'm-" Gonta gave Kokichi a big hug. "Gonta forgives Kokichi. Kokichi had good intentions, right?" Kokichi teared up and gave Gonta a hug. "Dammit... you're too nice sometimes." Gonta turned to Miu. "Gonta is sorry, too!" Miu waved her hand around. "Whatever, I knew you weren't bad. This lying abomination was the one who told you to do it."

This whole time, Maki didn't leave Kaito's side. It was almost as if she were protecting him. "Maki Roll, we're all here together. I can't get hurt or everyone will see the culprit." Kaito assured. Maki shook her head. "That's not why I'm staying close to you." She leaned her head on Kaito's shoulder. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Kaito nodded. "Yep. I've been called that for a while."

Kaede looked around and met eyes with the green haired boy. Some of his hair was still stained with blood, but other than that it looked like he hadn't died at all. "Rantaro..." She began. "E-everyone's apologizing and stuff... and I guess I should, too." Rantaro tilted his head. "You're the one who killed me? I honestly didn't know who did." Kaede smiled. "Y-Yeah... I thought you were the mastermind and-" Rantaro shushed her. "Hey, I'm back now, aren't I?" Kaede smiled and looked down. "Y-Yeah..."

Kirumi and Ryoma were standing next to each other. "U-um... may I ask how you're not simply... bones?" Kirumi awkwardly asked. Ryoma shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I don't feel like I'm just bones, so maybe my skin grew back or something?" He shivered. "That's a gross thought." Kirumi put her hand on her arm. "I'm... I apologize for the awful thing I did to you." She said. "I'm not going to use the excuse of it was for my country, so if you want to stay mad at me, you have full rights to do so." Ryoma shook his head. "Look, after being dead for a month or so, you don't really hafta hold grudges on how you died. You had good intentions." He opened and closed his hand. "I wonder if that tennis ball got to Y/N." Kirumi nodded. "It did, do not worry. They were very grateful for it."

Everyone that had died looked up. "Wait, did we all give something to Y/N?" Kaede asked. "I didn't." Angie said. "No, Y/N took your paintbrush. And they had one of the paper stars they had made with you, Kokichi." Shuichi mentioned. He put his hand on his chin. Why did you need something from everyone that had died? "I didn't give them anything." Kaito said. Shuichi thought for a moment. "Um... I think they took something from your room? They said they investigated there." Kaito scratched the back of his head. "Damn, they started a whole collection."

Monokuma appeared. "Why are you all still here? Oh, someone's missing." He giggled. "I think you should look for them." The doors to the Shrine of Judgement opened. "We should split up. They could be anywhere." Shuichi said. "I'm going with you." Kokichi said. No one argued. They were all more worried about you.

"Why'd you decide to come with me?" Shuichi asked while checking one of the classrooms. "You seemed like you wanted to ask me something." Kokichi answered while looking under some rubble. Shuichi looked away. "W-well, you seemed to know a lot more than us about this place... is there a specific reason?" Kokichi was about to answer when he heard someone scream. "What was that?!" Shuichi asked. Kokichi shrugged and ran towards the scream with Shuichi following close behind.

"What ha-" Kokichi froze in his tracks as he looked at Rantaro, Kaede, and Tsumugi, all crowded around a pile of rubble. Kaede turned around, tears streaming down he cheeks. Shuichi slowly walked over while Kokichi stayed at the door. He looked where Kaede, Rantaro, and Tsumugi were looking and covered his mouth. "K-Kokichi... get everyone else." Kokichi gritted his teeth in worry, but went to get everyone else.

He came back and was about to walk over when Shuichi held up his hand. "N-no, everyone else should see first." Kokichi stayed back as everyone walked passed him, each of them losing the life in their eyes once they saw what Rantaro, Kaede, and Tsumugi had found. "When are you going to let me see?!" He yelled. Everyone looked back at him, and even Kiyo had a horrified look on his face. "U-um... everyone just step back." Kaede said.

Everyone moved back, just enough for Kokichi to walk through. Rantaro didn't move an inch, though. He was still as a statue, and you could barely hear him breathing. Kokichi slowly walked over, his palms sweaty, and his knees trembling. He walked up beside Rantaro and covered his mouth.