[hr][center][h1][i]8:00 AM[/i][/h1][/center][hr]

It had been a strange week. Strange in that nothing of note happened. The carnage sisters only made occasional appearances, Monokuma only appeared on the morning announcements, but that was it. There was no motive called or anything of that sort. For the first few days it felt tranquil. Some even suspected the killing games might be coming to an end. Others were expecting something horrible to happen. 

Faith, Daimyon, Isaiah, Alice, and Henry were all enjoying breakfast together. Enjoy might be a strong word for what those gathered felt. The Isaiah/Alice/Henry clique was its usual edgy self, with Faith falling into her role as matchmaker. Daimyon sat apart from them, though not too far, preferring the company of his notebook this early in the day.

“I’m telling you, you’ll be sorry~” Faith waived her fork around like she was a music conductor. “Isaiah, it is such a shame Calvin-” he voice cracked. She forced a smile and tried to speak again. “You had great chemistry with him. I think it’s too soon for you to settle on Alice.” She turned away from the edgy people and looked to Daimyon. “Mmmmm, I don’t think I’ve had much time to work with you.” She squinted her eyes, and Daimyon could feel her eyes look into his very soul. “You seem like you’re ready for a relationship though. I could give you some pointers, if you need them <3.”

“Me?” Daimyon blinked, averting his eyes from the woman's piercing glare. “Oh, no, I don't think—there's too much to worry about for that. Much too much.” He picked at his breakfast omelette, thinking, then looking back at Faith with a smile. “But that's perhaps when love truly blooms. You would know better. And I wouldn't mind spending more time with you, what with the days being as quiet as they've been.”

“Me?” Faith tipped her head and thumped her fingers on the edge of the table. “I hope you’re not implying that you’d fall for me. I mean I wouldn’t blame you after all. Few can resist the wiles of a demigoddess and her tome. BUT!” She gave Daimyon a sideways glance while leaning towards him. “It is simply noit right for a matchmaker to match someone with herself! That would be like a mother feeding her young by allowing them to cannibalize her. It does happen in nature but it’s super icky and doesn’t make sense in the long run. Soooooooooo.” She swung around and leaned back towards Ice. “I could get you matched up lickety split, Daimyon. I already know the first person I’d introduce you to.”

Daimyon gave her words a chuckle. “But of course. Be careful though—goddesses can fall harder than any mortal.” With that wisdom, he finished his meal, picked up his tray and brought it back to the cafeteria. There was no one there to take it, nor was there anyone in the kitchen behind it, but somehow, the plates were always clean and the food was always fresh. He had long learned not to question it.
Back at the table, he noticed Faith was still intently sizing him up, her mind no doubt running wild with matchmaking possibilities. “I do wonder. Who would you introduce me to, if you could?”

Ice threw up his arms “You musical chigger! Haven’t you been paying any attention? She’s trying to-”

Faith placed her finger over his lips. “Shhhh, you’ll ruin your chance at future happiness!”

“‘Musical chigger!’ Can't say I have heard that one before. Very creative!” Daimyon said. One could have dismissed it as sarcasm were it not for his earnest smile and quick scribbling down the insult into his records.

Faith gestured towards Ice. “It is a work in progress, but the two of you have a very unique world view. At the very least, I think the two of you would be great friends if nothing else came of it.” She huffed and folded her arms. “But that’s why we need some quality time together, Daimydoo! Once I know what makes you tick, love won’t be too far behind~”

“I do believe we've been through an adventure or two together already...but I could be mistaken. Hard to, erm, remember these things. Amongst everything else, I mean. I need fresh memories!” He half-winked at Faith. “That goes for you too, Miss Demigoddess. We have nothing but time in here, don't we? Let's do something together!” With arms welcomingly open, he extended the invitation to the entire table. Then, in the next moment, a dark thought rose in his head, and his breath caught short. He fiddled with his shirt neck that suddenly felt suffocating. “—later. For now, just...enjoy your day, everyone!”
He hurried out of the break room, sweating, confused with himself. What had happened? He thought about it as he bee-lined back towards his room: an image, it was, that had taken over his mind's eye for just a moment. An image of a lively break room on a pleasant morning, with plentiful chatter and energy and hope in a bleak situation. The long table had been full with at least a dozen people. He had been among them. Now they were all dead. Dead!
He just about made it inside his room; slamming the door closed, he collapsed with his back against it. He felt like the air was being sucked out from around him; he felt like he was dying. He wished he was dying. Something enormous weighed him down, and it did not let up until he started sobbing.

[hr][center][h1][i]9:00 AM[/i][/h1][/center][hr]

Daimyon got about an hour to himself before...

“Everyone!” It was Emily. The panic was evident in her voice. “Come to the first floor break room right away! Zachary and Jezebel, they aren’t moving!”

The announcement hit Daimyon like a bolt of lightning—yet that was exactly what he needed. He was still sitting against the door; though his tears had long gone dry, his thoughts did not quieten. It took a woman's panicked voice to break through the fog that had settled in his mind, to jolt his inert body to action. He stood up. As he dusted himself off, he dared speak back against the accusations in his head. No, it was not his fault that others had died. No, he should not have been in their place. He deserved life. He deserved freedom. 

Though he could not fully convince himself, it was enough to get him going.

The room was already crowded with people when the poet arrived. Max was lightly slapping Zachary’s cheek with a hand on his neck. “They’re still alive.” Max stood up. “Just out of it.” He looked over his shoulder at Emily. “Just what did you find in here?”

“What…” Daimyon broke through the lines of people to the front, only to recoil. “...happened?”

Emily was fidgeting. “R-right. They were both lying there like that. I found a bottle of pills by Jezebel. They appear to be sleeping pills. I’m not sure why she has them. Was this part of some suicide attempt, or a murder?”

Bliss shook her head. “It’s too early to make those kinds of assumptions.” She turned to look at everyone. “They’re kind of vulnerable out here. We need to do something.”

The Infinites looked from one to another, feeling the sudden responsibility of guarding their two unconscious fellows. Daimyon felt the urge to step back, to let the cooler, stabler heads figure this out. But before he gave in, he found himself blurting out, “They can't stay here. Someone's room—someone should watch over them in their room.” His thoughts eventually caught up with his mouth, and he hastily added, “T-they could stay in mine. That's okay. I’ll watch over them.”

"Good idea." Cyrus adjusted his glasses. “But I hope you don’t mind if I object to them both being placed in your room. We have no idea what happened here. If this was an attempt at a joint suicide, then I agree, they need to be watched. But if it was something else, it would be best if they could be interrogated separately.”

“I’ve got Jezebel.” Emily picked the woman up, and the bottle of pills rolled out of her hand. “I think they’ll be safest in their own rooms.”

Noel picked up Zachary. “That would probably be for the best. It would also give us a chance to inspect their rooms.”

“I wanna come with!” Lucy said as she walked after Noel.

“I'll help with Jezebel, then,” Daimyon said, equal parts surprised and relieved at the positive response to his idea. He went after Emily who seemed to hardly break a sweat as she carried the young woman. The poet wanted to inquire about the matter, but his tactful side got the better of him.

Everyone else slowly disbursed. There wasn’t much left to see, just a waiting game to see what would happen when they woke up. 

Daimyon and Emily did not talk much during the way, mostly because the grave situation made any attempt at small talk quite awkward. When they arrived, he fished out the e-handbook from Jezebel's elaborate outfit, and they lay her down on her bed. Emily sat down on the bedside, while the poet took the table. There was silence for a minute.

“What a terrible incident,” Daimyon sighed. “I'm glad you found them, but I'm afraid what is delayed can still happen.”

Emily had her eyes on Jezebel. “I know what you mean. But such thoughts won’t help us now.” She folded her hands together and leaned on the edge of the bed. “The only thing we can do is be as vigilant as we can with our respective duties.” But if you don’t mind watching her with me. Um…” She pulled open a dresser and picked up a card sleeve. “Maybe we can play cards until she wakes up?”

[hr][center][h1][i]9:15 AM[/i][/h1][/center][hr]

A bit later, there was a knock on the door. Emily stood up from the table to go answer it. “H-hello?”

It was Max “Greetings.” He folded his arms. “It seems like everyone’s settled down, but I’d like some help looking around and seeing if we can figure out what happened.”

Emily looked to Daimyon and then back to Max. “There’s only two of us here, can’t someone else go?”

Max lowered his head. “No one seems particularly interested. Noel, Cyrus, Bliss, and Lucy are in Zachary’s room, and are perfectly content waiting for him to wake up. Ice, Alice, George, and Faith are MIA, Which only leaves Denis and Henry to help me.”

“Well, someone needs to watch Jezebel...”

“I think that should be you.” Max then looked at Daimyon. “With just three of us, I feel like it would be too easy for something to go unnoticed. Given how intelligent Denis and Henry are.. ” He sighed. “You don’t mind tagging along, do you?”

Daimyon pushed himself up with some strain. "No, I don't. In fact I'm quite curious myself." He stepped up to Max, putting his notebook back into his jacket pocket. "Stay safe, Emily."

“I will.”

Daimyon and Max didn’t have to walk far before Henry and Denis joined them. They were talking amongst themselves in a hushed tone while Max and Daimyon walked in front. “Hmm, no situational awareness. Stay on your toes.”  

[hr][center][h1][i]9:30 AM[/i][/h1][/center][hr]

After a second look at the break room, everyone walked after Max and Daimyon. 

“How sleep medicine though?” Denis scratched the side of his head. “You no need pharmacy access for that?”

“Everyone’s rooms should have a medicine cabinet in it.” Max tucked his hands into his pockets. “We should probably check Jezebel’s cabinet at some point. But for now, I’d like to see if the chemistry lab was-” As soon as Max tried to walk up the stairs, his foot was caught on a fishing line, nearly causing him to stumble onto the stairs. The other end of the tripwire went into an eyehole, and pulled a storage cabinet down the stairs. “Get back!” As soon as the closet fell onto the stairs, it zoomed towards them. There must have been something heavy inside. 

Right behind Max, Daimyon quickly realised their predicament. He turned and ran, almost right into Denis and Henry. He brushed into the former anyway but in the end all of them got out of the way in time, just moments before they saw the trap cabinet tumble into the wall. The crash was harsh, and it made Daimyon gulp as he imagined how it could have easily squashed any of them into a pulp. Max, on the other hand, quickly recovered and was already taking cautious steps towards the cabinet. The poet soon followed, content with staying firmly behind the resolute officer.
“Who could have done this?” he voiced what everyone in the group was wondering. “And why?”

Max opened one of the doors. The entire thing was filled with tools.“That cabinet is pretty heavy. It could have really hurt someone.” 

Denis and Henry just looked on. “We watch crime scene!” Denis finally responded.

“Good.” Max turned to look at Daimyon. “We have a few people to track down. There’s no reason not to have everyone present. This was an attempted murder.”

“Attempted serial murder, it was!” Daimyon nodded at Max, and the two began to walk briskly towards the patients’ rooms. “What a curious trap…” the poet murmured to himself, taking one last glance back, vowing to be more careful.

[hr][center][h1][i]11:00 AM[/i][/h1][/center][hr]

Zachary stirred before finally waking up, his eyelids still heavy as he slowly gazed around the room. For a moment, his expression was vacant, as if he wasn’t entirely there, but it soon became clear he’d realized something was amiss. He very nearly gained some air time from fright and backed into his bed, clearly suspicious of everyone. “W-what is going on?! Why are you all in my room?” he demanded. Though that did force him to consider something else. “...and why am I in my room?” he added. 

Bliss and Emily were the only ones present, but those were two people he usually didn’t expect to see in his room.They were startled by his sudden movements. “Calm down Zachary!” Bliss raised her hands in a calming manner. “You were knocked out, so was Jezebel. We took you to your rooms and watched over you. But now that you’re awake...” Bliss took in a deep breath before going on. “Jezebel’s room is locked, and whoever’s inside isn’t answering or opening the door. We’re currently trying to gain entry.”

Zachary’s attention was grabbed immediately by the mention of Jezebel. He looked at Bliss with concern written all over his face. “She’s… locked in with someone…?” 

That was when [i]it[/i] showed up Beside Zachary. Monokuma poked the young man on the cheek. “Hey! Glad you finally woke up!” He placed his paws over his mouth. “You know I’m not usually this nice, but I’m going to let you be the one to open up Jezebel’s room.” Killgood raised his paws into the air. “Badabing badaboom! You can enter her room!” And without uttering another word, Monokuma sunk into the floor. 

By this point in time, Killgood appearing out of nowhere was rather routine. And there were much more important matters to focus on than being startled. Zachary listened to what the bear said while anxiety gnawed at him and despite the bear’s ‘generosity’, Zach became ghostly pale. “T-that doesn’t sound… there’s nothing good about this. I don’t like the sound of any of this one bit!” he immediately hopped up from his bed, not even bothering to make direct eye contact with either of the others in the room. “Jezebel is… I have to go to her…!” 

Clearly frantic, the one-eyed archer would bolt out the door and dart straight for Jezebel’s room. Emily and Bliss ran after him, neither swift enough to stop him.

“Zachary!” Bliss called out, but his attention was elsewhere.

Jezebel’s room was surrounded by everyone.  They all wore looks, ranging from annoyed to concerned. Few of them registered to Zachary, who simply pushed his way past them. As soon as he was in front of the door, he could hear the sound of it being unlocked. The tiny monochromatic bear presented the door to him. Before he could say anything, Zachary pushed his way inside.

It was horrible.

The room was exactly the way Zachary remembered it being. With the hay covered floors and the circus motif apparent everywhere in the room. But unlike before, there was a chair in front of the bed. And Jezebel was sitting in it. Her large hat obscured her face, but she didn’t look like she was awake yet.  

Would she wake?

"Jez!" 

The moment Zach saw Jezebel, he lost sight of anything and everything else. The irritated grunts of the people he pushed away, the horrible bear that was obviously leading him here, and even the state of the rest of the room escaped him now, his focus was so narrow. In no time at all, he found himself before the chair, his tone advertising his worry as well as anything could. Reaching for Jezebel's arm, Zach intended to rouse her from her unconsciousness with a shake, only to notice something was off. "...J-Jez...?" he stopped his approach.

His eyes centered on the woman's neck, where it appeared as though something had torn into her skin. His anxiety grabbing hold of him, he couldn't even manage to confirm if this was true before he assumed the person in front of him was dead, his heart sinking. "J-Jez..." with tears threatening to pour from his eye, he moved his vision up to her face. 

...And then the tears that had nearly erupted from his face vanished.

Zachary became nonplussed, and remained still for a few seconds before the gears began turning again. "T-this... this isn't Jezebel." he stated softly, perhaps still affected by the confusion, and then again louder, once he'd taken the reins back. He was partially disgusted at how relieved he was. The one before him was still another person, after all.

"Gah…" Jezebel crawled out from under the bed. "Agh!" She stumbled and fell on her stomach. "Like, what the hell?" She pulled at her sleeve. “Zachary! Like, what did you do? I’m wearing like, gosh!”

Upon hearing her voice, Zachary's head turned towards the bed, and the sight of her crawling out from beneath the bed was the final straw. He lost all coloring in his skin and his eyes began to roll back. The spirit within was attempting to free itself from the mortal prison it was confined in. But, somehow, he managed to prevent himself from dying right here, and soon returned to normal. 

"J-jezebed!? Bedejel?! Jezebel?! Where have you been?" he hurriedly moved to her side, offering his hand for the woman. "...I just got here, what were you doing? And... what are you wearing...?" 

Jezebel was dressed in a maid’s uniform. It was a little ill fitting, clearly made for someone a bit taller than Her. She let Zachary help her to her feet before looking down at the apron. “Like…” She looked between Zachary and the apron. “Faith totally did this! These are [i]her clothes[/i]!” That was when Jezebel noticed someone sitting in a chair wearing her clothes. She cautiously approached, not letting go of Zachary’s hand as she did so. "She-" Jezebel stumbled backwards, nearly bumping into Zachary. “What-” Her voice cracked. “What’s going on here?”