With the 3rd Motive <strike>confiscated</strike> safely taken care of, Kaede had nothing to do but walk around the Ultimate Academy, exploring the third floor. Angie's lab she steered well clear of because the Atua Student Council was having some sort of prayer session, but she did take a good look at Korekiyo's lab. It was humongous, with a bunch of floors filled to the brim with cool books and shiny artifacts. ("Don't touch those," Shuichi warned her. "Or Kiyo might have a field day with your nerves.") To be honest, Kaede was just a teeny bit jealous. Her lab was excellent and all that, but Kiyo's was in a completely different league.
She got the chance to peek into Tenko's lab too. It was like a typical dojo, with tatami mats and wooden dummies. What was different were weird metal chains hanging from the ceilings and some sort of wooden guardian, staring at her intimidatingly.
After Kaede had finished her leisurely walk(with Kokichi well out of the way to mess things up), Shuichi gently took her arm and pulled her towards the Ultimate Maid's lab, where the Anti-Atua gang was apparently having a meeting.
It looked more like a slightly glorified tea party than a serious discussion about the fates of the Ultimate Academy's students. The long table was stacked with tiny cakes and drinks, so much so that the lacy tablecloth underneath was barely visible. The other 4 Ultimates were sitting at the opposite end of the table, Kaito nursing a swollen finger wrapped in bandages and ice for some reason and Maki rolling her eyes so hard they looked like they were going to roll off her face any second.
"What... happened?" Shuichi asked, pointing at Kaito's finger.
"The <em>idiot</em> wanted to hammer the Anti-Atua sign onto the wall but ended up hammering on his own finger." Maki pointed at the haphazardly nailed wooden sign on the wall.
"Yeah, well, the Atua Student Council has these really cool banners and everything, so I thought we could do something too!" Kaito argued.
"The Atua Student Council has the Ultimate <em>Artist</em> leading them," Korekiyo reminded him. "They are in a completely different league,"
"But the Luminary of the Stars will do something! Just wait and see!"
Korekiyo sighed and sipped his tea through his mask, a feat Kaede still did not understand. "Leaving Momota's idiocies aside, what are we going to do about our current predicament? As much as I regret it, I do not trust any of the Atua Student Council with the motive,"
"Neither do I," Maki's glare turned icy cold. "Our priority is to get the motive back from them and keep it safe. It's a video game. It might have some clue about the standard of technology in the outside world,"
"We must retrieve it before Angie gives in to curiosity and plays the game," Kiyo added.
"But I don't like our chances of getting it back by force." Kirumi put the pretty Victorian teacup down and took a seat, brushing her long skirt down as she did so. "They have the Ultimate Aikido Master and the modern rendition of Tarzan on their side, and--no offense to anyone here--we aren't exactly teeming with physical strength."
"Which means that we're going to have to persuade them to give them over." Shuichi made a face. "Can I just say I am <em>not</em> looking forward to hammering some reason into Angie's head? She'll never listen!"
"Not to mention she's got pretty much everyone in her student council--no, cult--brainwashed. The only exception is Kokichi, but since Kokichi is a major asshole, I really don't care what happens to him," Maki took another bite of a frosting-covered scone, before seeing Kaede staring and scowling. Kaede didn't know the Ultimate Child Caregiver had a sweet tooth; she certainly didn't look like she did.
