{ Mastermind Chihiro. } [ON HIATUS]

Another Time.

An hour after the motive. An hour after the news of Toko had reached Chihiro. And here he was, a smile on his face as he played chess with Monokuma.

"I've only played chess against computer AI, but I think I prefer this!" Chihiro exclaimed. It was nice to have an opponent you could talk to.

Monokuma snickered. "Well, I am particularly likeable! Us bears are the smartest of the smart, the true Einsteins of--"

"Checkmate!"

Monokuma was cut off by Chihiro's celebratory cry, as the boy punched the air. He sat there silently across the table, as Fujisaki finished his small celebration.

"Fujisaki, if you weren't the Mastermind I would execute you."

Chihiro laughed. He'd been here, what, a week and a few days? Yet he felt right at home in his office, with the robot he once despised to keep him company. If his former self could see him now.. well, they certainly wouldn't be overjoyed.

Suddenly, a thought came to mind. "Hey Monokuma, who makes the execution's anyway?

The bear picked up a sheet of paper. "Oh, nobody special! Just a little acquaintance of mine."

Monokuma handed Chihiro the paper, it seemed to be an excerpt from a document, similar to the student files he'd been given to study. He read the name aloud.

"Kazuichi Souda? Wow, look at his teeth!"

A smiling boy stared up at him from the page. A small caption stated that the image had been taken about a few months prior to the present day. Did this guy really make the executions for the killing game? He looked so.. happy.

"It's an old photo, no need to worry about it!"
Monokuma snatched the paper back, slipping it into a clear binder, where Chihiro could see various other files of people he didn't know. A thought struck him.

"Hey, Monokuma, who was the Mastermind before me?"

At this, the bear fell off his chair comically, straightening his imaginary glasses and sweating like maniac. "Well, Fujisaki, that's certainly private information!! Maybe another time, you know?"

His disappointing answer had been expected, and Chihiro internally sighed as Monokuma vanished.

Was he really in charge? There was so much that was kept from him, sometimes it was hard to believe he was in any position of power. But nonetheless, he had to keep going, power or no power. For the game.

For the game? He hadn't heard that one before. And Fujisaki certainly didn't hear the noise of Monokuma now adding to the motive. Though he didn't specify who was near death. Good, that'll keep things tense. He'd update the motive later, for now he can just rest. Maybe mess around even?

Chihiro brought up an extra tab on one of the screens and searched for good online games. He managed to find a cool cooking game about running a pie bakery, which he spent the next hour playing. Overall, he enjoyed the relaxation.

But there was someone else who wasn't having such a good time.

------------------------

The force of the impact sent her spiralling, tumbling down the stairs with a scream. In the moment, the world seemed to pause.

So was this.. it? She could see the carefully constructed spike trap laid at the bottom of the stairs. Designed for her to land on. Skewered like a kebab? This was not cool in the slightest.

If she had the time, she would cry. Cry and cry, till she ran out of hydration and could only cough and sob. Five stages of grief? Damn, she'd have to do it all in about 3 seconds at this rate. Maybe she'd set the Guinness world record. Here goes nothing.

And so, Aoi Asahina's world unstuck as she screamed and fell, down and down until a loud SHUNK sounded. Her body lay there suspended, as eight spikes reached into her back, pointing to the ceiling above. Huh. She actually did manage it in three seconds.

The culprit dispersed at once. Nobody would walk these steps till the morning, they were sure of it. Who would go to the fourth floor at three A.M.? Aoi only came because of the note, nobody was going to arrive.

And Chihiro Fujisaki? He watched, shocked, as our killer left the body. There was an absence of tears, only a confused expression set upon his features. One of deja vu.

Chihiro grabbed the binder, the one he had managed to steal off of Monokuma. He opened it, flipping through till he saw the page labelled "Chiaki Nanami."

The girl's body, impaled by a number of spikes in the back, blood mid-spray. Chihiro didn't even know who this was, hadn't even bothered to read the file. But now he compared what was on the paper and the screen. They were almost identical, save for Aoi having died right away.

Aoi. It hit him like a truck, sending his emotions careening into utter chaos. Aoi was dead, one of the only people who had wanted to spend time with him. Only now did tears spill from his eyes, splattering on his notes. No sound came forth, only his small strained breathing.

Behind him, Monokuma stood. Not even I know how long he'd been standing there, but enough to understand what was going on. A sad Mastermind wasn't a good Mastermind. He'd have to do something later.

Interacting with the boy was a chore, something Monokuma didn't enjoy. The small fry wasn't even despairing, why would a bear such as him want to talk with the kid?

Because he had to, for the game. It was necessary for Chihiro to feel comfortable in his environment. So he had to do something at least. For the game and the game only.

For the game. Everything was for the game.