Graham Forester's Story

Lottie?

Romano couldn't explain why, but somehow, he believed her. They already had a bunch of crazies in their little gang--why should Amelia be exempt?

Settling on just accepting this, Romano bowed to "Lottie". "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Lottie. In case you have not heard my name, I am Romano."

Faqir stared at Lottie, distracted. "Oh my God she's beautiful. Can we keep her?"

Romano's eye twitched. "Please do not encourage each other--"

"Yo Lottie, what do you call a country where people only drive pink cars?"

"I already have quite a headache--"

"A pink carnation."

"Dear Lord."

Faqir beamed. "Wait wait wait, I have more, I have more. Why did the botanist cross the road?"

"Why?!" Oni demanded. Romano groaned, pressing a hand to his temple.

This is never going to end, is it?

"Because the grass is always greener on the other side!"

"Boo," Madoka called.

"Okay, okay, I admit it, that one was a bit of a reach. Wait, no, everyone shut up. Hey Lottie. What did the florist say to the angry customer who refused to pay for his roses?"

"I suppose forcing you to pay for my inevitable funeral will not make you stop?"

"'Kiss my aster.'"

"I did not think so."

Even Clair seemed amused, however; Romano heard her familiar chuckle. She held a hand to her mouth quickly, withdrawing as if afraid to be caught smiling. Madoka patted her shoulder.

---

Amelia--no, Lottie, cheered. "Yes! Yes!"

Graham shot up out of his chair, bowing. "All hail Pun Queen Lottie!"

"YES!" Lottie roared, jumping up onto the table as though she'd done it a thousand times before. "Why couldn't the gardener plant any flowers?"

Vivara rubbed her forehead.

"Because he hadn't botany!"

"Your majesty, may I?" Graham asked.

She pointed to him. "Take it away, Graham Cracker!"

"What did the lawyer say to the judge?" Graham asked, looking around.

"What'd he say?" Lottie asked, grin spreading across her face.

"Iris my case!"

"Lottie, would you give it a rest? You're giving us a headache," the girl suddenly spoke, her tone completely changing. It was as if a different person was speaking--or more specifically, Amelia.

She scoffed. Lottie scoffed, that is. "Li, you're no fun. All you've been doing the entire time is standing in whatever corner we can find, not saying a word. Things suck, but that doesn't mean we have to let them. We have puns."

"Puns," Amelia replied to herself, "puns are fun at times, but again, we have a headache. At least keep the noise level down, please."

Lottie bit their lip. "Golly, I just wanted to make an impression. They're already going to think we're weird enough, may as well be the good kind of weird."

"You mean the obnoxious kind of weird?" Amelia retorted, placing their hands on their hips.

"I made an impression on the people who count, Li. I think I've achieved what I wanted to achieve." She paused, sighing. Her energy level seemed to have evened out considerably. "I'll take it down now."

"Thank you," Amelia said. "You know, getting off the table might help."

As if in defiance, Lottie sat down on the table, dress spilling out below her. "Too late. I like it up here."

Faussin watched her, admittedly intrigued. Had Lottie been with Amelia the entire time? Were they that good at hiding their different personalities, or had he just been completely oblivious?

Tentatively, he said, "It's nice to meet you, Lottie."

She looked over at him, then smiled warmly. "You too, Fauss."

It was unusual, that was for certain...but wasn't everything about this place?

Still...

"I would greatly appreciate if all of you could stop putting your filthy feet on our dining table. We do, in fact, use that for eating. It would reduce the amount of time I must spend cleaning tremendously."

Predictably, Faqir immediately propped his feet on the table.

"...Even I do not know what I was expecting."

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't said anything." Faqir waved to Amelia--Lottie?--whoever. "'Sup, by the way? I'm Faqir. Nice to meet you, almighty Pun Queen. So like, you seemed a little excited back there, is this a fetish of yours or something?"

"Why does everything have to be sexual with you?" Madoka muttered.

Faqir scoffed. "Pfft, what else would everything be? You don't understand the sophistication of dirty jokes."

"I...I don't think I want to."

"Sure you do. Maybe you can ask Clair, I'm sure she'd love to teach you."

Oh dear. "I must insist no one responds to that. If you all do not mind, I believe Miss Vivara was trying to share something with us."

Clair shifted uncomfortably, staring at her lap. Madoka clutched her hand defensively, glaring at Faqir, who waved his hands in surrender.

Oni frowned. "I see a new Queen has risen to usurp my throne over these mortals. Well, hear this, rival Queen! I have already subjugated this mortal swine under my mighty rule as the Great Demon Queen Kurano Oni! No matter what realm you rule over, I am afraid there is no contest--all shall bow to me! ALL!"

Why do I even try?

Sighing, Romano moved to stand against the wall, resolving himself to just letting the chaos happen.

---

Faussin frowned at Faqir. Why'd he have to be so vulgar at times?

Oddly enough, though, Lottie didn't seem to mind. She snorted. "A pun fetish? Your mind likes to make big jumps, doesn't it? Amelia and I aren't really active in that way. Just sounds weird to us. Besides, pretty sure we're even weirder. That being said, we know this introduction is sort of sudden, but it had to happen sometime, right?"

Faussin watched her, curiously. "Did you guys plan this introduction out?"

Lottie shrugged. "Ehh, not really. It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment 'there's no reason in hiding it anymore' and 'Amelia's having a mental breakdown and this is my chance to cheer her up' thing, if that makes sense at all, haha. Suffice it to say, Amelia feels quite suffocated."

"Why are you telling them this?" Amelia asked, her voice lowering considerably. "When we talk, it's not so that you can around and tell everyone our personal thoughts."

"They're your friends, right?" Lottie asked. "Fellow students. We have to tell them how we're feeling. We should all tell each other how we're feeling so that we understand each other, right?"

"More or less, perhaps," Amelia muttered. "But at least ask for my permission first."

"Permission, shmermission. You'll be fine," Lottie declared. As if suddenly remembering Romano's request for her to get off the table, she glanced back at the Ultimate Butler, then hopped back onto the floor. "Someone said the librarian has something to show us, right?"

Vivara seemed to suddenly remember her rectangles. "That's right. If everyone would be quiet for a moment and look this way..."

She briefly went into the hallway to fetch something. After a moment, she came back in with four easels, most likely taken from the art room on the third floor, which had recently opened up to them. She took the rectangles (which what had originally looked like two ended up being four) and placed each one on an easel, sheets still covering their fronts.

Taking a deep breath, she whipped the sheets off, revealing four detailedly drawn portraits of the students who were no longer with them.

Romano's breath caught in his throat.

Whatever he had been expecting from Vivara's secret project, it certainly hadn't been this. The portraits looked like they were drawn with the fallen students sitting right in front of her. Life was in their eyes despite the two-dimensional image, expressions just the way Romano remembered them. He felt himself smile and did nothing to force it down; to break character every once in a while was alright when it was so well-deserved.

"Viv..." Madoka brushed a stray tear from his eye. "Those are beautiful."

Silently, Oni moved to stand in front of the drawings, observing them with a sense of somber nostalgia.

Faqir rose from his seat, moving towards them. Gently, as if afraid a single touch would shatter them, he drew his fingers along Bonnie's portrait, tapped Xhevona's once, cupped the side of Eriko's, and tapped a fist to Braeden's. Though he released a soft chuckle and the smile remained on his face, his eyes shone.

Romano was quiet for a moment. "Am I correct in assuming we will be placing the fallen student's jewelry with these portraits?"

"I dunno, they might look pretty amateur compared to this," Faqir admitted. "I didn't really have the right tools to make everything as good as I could have."

Clair let out a hiccup. Romano glanced over his shoulder, noticing her bury her face in her hands. Her body shook as Madoka rubbed her back gently.

Faqir instantly went quiet, his lighthearted smile replaced by a somber frown. He returned to staring at the portraits, quiet.

---

For a moment, the room felt full again.

Faussin found himself smiling as if he was seeing an old friend. Warmth radiated from the portraits. Looking at them, he'd almost forgotten that the students were no longer with him--it was jarring to think that he couldn't walk up to them and give each student and give them a hug.

As he took time to soak in each one, when he came upon Eriko's portrait, he found himself glancing over at Mercy. She'd buried her face in her hands, fingers trembling. She made no sound, but something told Faussin that it was taking everything she had to keep herself from breaking down.

He wanted so badly to offer her some kind of comfort. Shifting, he thought about things that he could do, but chances were Mercy would only push him away.

No use in not trying. Tentatively, he moved a seat closer, reaching a hand out to hold hers. Upon realizing what he was trying to do, she scowled, flicking his hand away. He saw her face for a split second--she was crying.

Lottie--Amelia?--Lottie and Amelia silently moved toward the door, then left without a word.

Graham rested his chin on his hand, smiling fondly at the portraits.

Seeing everyone's reactions seemed to make Vivara stand straighter. She--Vivara, of all people--smiled slightly, took a deep breath, then regarded everyone, erasing the smile and taking on her usual, neutral, composed stance. "That was my plan, yes, Romano. I lost a considerable amount of sleep trying to give these the effort that they deserve, so I'm warning you all in advance that I may not be here during the beginning of tomorrow's morning meeting. Though it doesn't happen often, I have been known to sleep late when absolutely exhausted the day prior."

"Thanks for this, Viv," Graham said, sincerely.

There was a tired smile that Vivara seemed to be holding back. "I would rather thank the students for bringing their personalities to this conference table for as long as they could."

Somehow, it was almost as though Romano could hear their voices.

He observed the group, noticing that some of their members had clearly broken down at the mere sight of their faces. Still, at least everyone seemed to be getting along if nothing else.

"You have earned a long rest, Miss Vivara," Romano said softly. "Please do not worry about us tomorrow--if needed, I will inform you of what happened during the meeting."

There was a brief moment of quiet. Then...

"I...I-I'm sorry."

It was the first time Clair has spoken a word out loud since she arrived in the conference room. Though her face was still buried in her hands and her voice was hoarse, Romano was just glad to know the portraits hadn't hit her too hard.

Faqir, conversely, tensed up almost immediately. "'Sorry' doesn't bring them back or fix what you did."

"I know," Clair whispered. She sniffled loudly. "I...I-I'm so sorry."

Faqir whirled towards her, genuine fury in his eyes for what had to have been the first time as his fist slammed onto the table. Clair jumped. Madoka flinched.

"What are you doing here?!" Faqir demanded.

"I-I just thought--"

"You thought what, that we might want to see you again after what you did?! You killed them, manipulated Madoka, broke Mercy's heart, and used me as your little tool with no regard to my safety! I still have scars on my face thanks to you! Why did you come here?!"

"Faqir, please!" Madoka cried. Romano cast a glance at Oni, who groaned--she was clearly frustrated her exorcism hadn't worked to fully purge the feelings.

She opened her mouth to speak, but Romano shushed her. Oni looked at him quizzically.

"Perhaps we just need to talk about it," Romano said quietly. "...Let them talk about it, and perhaps the poison can be purged."

Oni nodded. "Sometimes demons do like to possess one's speech..."

By now, Faqir's posture made it clear he was livid. "God, at least Xhevona died for what she did! At least we could try to tell ourselves she deserved it! At least she got some kind of punishment! Even if losing her sucked too, at least there was some kind of justification, but Braeden?! He didn't deserve that! You threw him under the bus like he was yesterday's leftovers just because you were scared of some secret getting out?! Just because you didn't want to die?! H*ll, I would have rather you died!"

"Faqir!" Madoka gripped Clair's hand with both of his. "Please, you have no idea what you're talking about, okay? Clair has suffered enough, trust me!"

Faqir laughed, though the sound felt forced. Oni tensed--Romano grabbed her shoulder to keep her from intervening. Obediently, she fell silent.

"How are you okay with what she did to you?!" Faqir demanded. "She made you into an accomplice! She probably would have sold you out just like she did with Braeden! If it weren't for her, Eriko would still be sitting right there!"

His finger pinpointed Eriko's old seat, which sat depressingly empty. Romano averted his eyes. Even looking at her old spot was somehow difficult to do.

"I-I'm sorry..." Clair said feebly. "I-I really tried to...I-I thought, I just...I wanted..."

"God, you still don't get it, do you, you thick b*tch?" Faqir had begun pacing by now, running his hands through his bangs. "I don't forgive you, okay, and I don't think I ever will. You should have died in that trial, not Braeden. You should have died to keep your own secret, not Eriko. You got people killed out of pure selfishness, and you know what?! You weren't even punished for it!"

"I-I tried!" Clair insisted, drawing her hands away from her face.

"If Monokuma really wants to keep the peace, he should have executed you!" Faqir whirled to face Clair, shaking with rage. "H*ll, you wanna know something! I even voted for you!"

Clair sprung to her feet, fists clenched by her sides and tears streaming down her face. "So did I!"

For a moment, Faqir didn't respond. In the silence, Romano remembered Monokuma's strange choice of words during the voting.

Majority rule. So that is what he meant.

Clair sniffled, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. After a moment's pause, she began to unzip her jacket. "D-do you really think I haven't been torn up by this too? I know this is all my fault, I know you must all hate me, I...I don't even expect you to forgive me because I can't even forgive myself! I tried to die in that trial!"

"Well, you didn't try hard enough." Faqir crossed his arms. His teeth clenched. "If you knew we didn't want you here, why did you come?"

"I don't know!" Clair turned to face Madoka, her lip quivering. "Madoka, I told you I wanted to leave twice already, y-you said we could leave..."

"I-I just wanted them to like you!"

"I know this is petty, okay?" Faqir groaned, tugging at the chain around his neck. "I know it is! But I just--I just want you to suffer like they did, okay?!"

Clair tugged off her jacket and shoved her bare arms towards Faqir, her eyes locked into his. Romano peered at her skin, noticing what had to be hundreds of lacerations of various sizes carved into her body. Pricks had been made on her shoulders, and wounds from where her fingernails had scratched her chest, face, and neck were on clear display.

"Is this suffering enough for you?!"

Faqir appeared caught off-guard, taking a single step backwards. His eyes locked on the scars all over Clair's body. Madoka, sitting beside her, forced himself to focus on the portraits rather than Clair. Oni began mumbling more blessings. Romano observed her, realizing the wounds had clearly not been properly cared for--some even seemed close to infection.

To be expected. She has not come out of her room in days. Is this what she was doing in there?

"I tried again and again to bleed enough so I would stop breathing!" Clair cried. "I hate myself for what I did to them! I-if I could do the whole thing over again, I would have killed myself instead of taking it all out on them! B-but I was selfish, I-I was just so obsessed with finally...finally stopping this, I just wanted it all to end so I could try to get back to a stable life but it only made things worse...s-so, so much worse..."

Faqir's hands shook, staring at her. "Clair--"

"No, it's..." Clair slowly lowered her arms, slipping her jacket back on. Her sleeves once again covered her wounds, the zipper rising to conceal her body. "I...I-I didn't show you do you would pity me. I didn't show you so you would forgive me, or so you would think I was looking for attention. I just...I-I just wanted you to know that I'm suffering."

Madoka reached out to take her hand in his. She allowed him, her posture going limp.

Faqir stared at her, eyes wavering. "...I didn't mean it like that."

"Don't worry." A hint of Clair's familiar smile returned--but by now, Romano could tell even that was fake. "I...I've been at this for a long time. I-I'm just used to it, h-haha."

Romano couldn't take the tension anymore. "If you will allow, I am sure one of us with basic nursing knowledge--I have a bit myself, though nowhere near what Master Finnian and Miss Vivara must have--would be glad to treat those wounds, Miss Clair."

Clair tugged on Madoka's arm. "D-don't bother. Madoka, I-I want to go back to my room now."

"C-Clair--"

"Please." The brokenness in her voice was scarily familiar. Romano watched Madoka slowly stand and move to the door with Clair, who nearly threw open the door and made to escape the conference room. Her hand tugged out of Madoka's, leaving him some paces behind as her pace brought her back down the hall. Madoka paused, slowly looking back towards Faqir.

"...She was just trying to make up with everyone," he muttered, voice low. "I was really hoping that if I managed to get her to come, she would see that everything could still carry on like normal. That maybe we could still treat her like a person. ...I guess that was my mistake."

"No one asked you to take her." Faqir refused to even look at Madoka, eyes locked on where Clair had just been sitting.

"Well, that's fine." Madoka paused. "Maybe I'll just stay with her. Someone can just tell me what happens in the meetings, I...I-I don't know if I can come anymore."

"No!" The force of Oni's cry caught Romano off-guard. The Ultimate Exorcist took a step forwards, genuine sadness in her eyes. For the first time, it seemed, she was speaking out in her worry instead of hiding as she usually did. Admittedly, Romano was surprised by her boldness--usually, she hated anyone seeing her even remotely close to different from usual. "We can't start doing this now! We're already losing people because of that stupid bear's horrible game, and now if everyone who is still alive keeps leaving then soon...soon we won't be a team anymore! What kind of team just lets people go like that?! We're supposed to be sticking together and trying to find away out, because if we start giving up on each other, eventually we're going to give up on everything and we'll all be just like Clair!"

"O-Oni--"

"SILENCE, PEASANT! Don't you get it? We're all hurt and sad and we all hate this and everything is terrible and the demons are pressing in from every corner, but if we let them win then it's game over! That's why I became an exorcist--because I resolved to never let the demons win! They're big and scary and everywhere and they're stronger than us, but not when we're together! When we're together, we're stronger than any demon because we have each other's backs, we support each other and when one of us falls, we pick them up and finish the race together! And darn it, I AM NOT FINISHING THIS RACE WITHOUT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU MORTALS! NOW GO GET YOUR GIRLFRIEND BACK IN HERE AND EVERYONE MAKE UP THIS INSTANCE, SO DECLARES THE DEMON QUEEN!"

"B-but she's not--"

"DID I ASK YOUR OPINION, PEASANT?!"

Startled into obedience, Madoka ran down the hall to chase Clair back and bring her back. Oni stomped over to Faqir and jabbed him in the side with a finger.

"As for YOU, mortal swine, sometimes friends betray us and sometimes people do horrible, awful things, like kill people and then laugh about it or say they just did it for fun! But look at those portraits--not a single one is missing, because all of those people were a part of us, even the horrible ones like Xhevona! If you can accept her for betraying us all and gleefully murdering someone even though she didn't even feel bad for it or say she was sorry, then you can forgive Clair for betraying us all and murdering people and NO I don't want to hear your flimsy human excuses! She is one of us whether you like if or not, so even if you can't forgive her ever, never ever, just...just don't let those demons drag you down because if you do you'll never get back up! You'll be stuck in hell like she is and as the Queen of Hell I can tell you it is a horrible place to live and...AND WE DON'T EVEN GET INSURANCE PACKAGES FOR WORKING THERE!"

Somehow, this actually got a chuckle out of Faqir. He groaned, placing his hands on the table and hanging his head. "I just...I just don't get it. I just don't see how this happened. I trusted her. ...I guess I just wanted to see that she hated herself as much as I do."

"Pfft! I'm pretty sure ALL of us hate ourselves right now! Or probably all the time! I know I do! But some of us choose not to mope around like SUCKERS and WIMPS and instead we get rid of our problems by SCREAMING AT THEM LIKE REAL QUEENS! NOW QUIT FEELING SORRY FOR YOURSELF AND LET US FEEL SORRY FOR YOU INSTEAD, BECAUSE CLEARLY REAL FRIENDSHIP IS BUILT OFF OF EVERYONE KNOWING HOW MUCH WE ALL HATE EVERYTHING AND PUNCHING THE HATE RIGHT IN ITS STUPID DEMON FACE!"

"Yeah!"

Romano had no idea how she had done it, but somehow, Oni had managed to invigorate Faqir with the worst motivational speech he had ever heard.

"ARE YOU WITH ME, GENERAL?!"

"Yes ma'am!"

"GREAT! NOW TAKE ALL THAT ANGER AND SELF-HATRED AND GRIEF AND ANXIETY AND SCREAM IT INTO SUBMISSION!"

"YEAH!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"YEAH!"

Oni pointed at everyone else. "NOW ALL OF YOU! LIFE SUCKS RIGHT NOW AND WE ALL HATE IT A LOT! BUT THAT'S JUST STUPID DEMONS TRYING TO FORCE US TO HATE EVERYTHING! YOUR QUEEN DEMANDS YOU SCREAM TO RELEASE THE NEGATIVE ENERGY!"

Romano rolled his eyes, but he couldn't help a smile. She was insane, and he knew her plan would most likely fail miserably and make the situation worse...and yet, Oni's antics somehow made things feel okay again.

If nothing else, they were almost back to normal.

I have the worst headache in the best way.

---

Faussin had found himself staring at Clair's self-inflicted wounds before she left, then looked down at his arms, which were most definitely bleeding now.

Oh god, he realized, feeling a thousand weights stack upon his chest. I'm sympathetic towards Clair because she just reminds me of myself.

Somewhat terrified by this revelation, he scratched at his arms with even more ferocity, trying to put on his regular face. He watched Oni psych up Faqir with a smile that was, at first, forced. But as he saw the light return to Faqir's eyes, he felt the smile become more genuine, if not any less nervous.

Ysabel covered her ears, but laughed lightheartedly, watching as Graham began to shout about all of the things that frustrated him (which was mostly him ranting about treasure), as per Oni's command.

Mercy seemed numb, which was to be expected, but at least she was there instead of sitting alone in her room.

At this moment, Lottie and Amelia reentered the room, panting. They held several flowers in their hands, all of varying colors and sizes.

They brought flowers for the portraits, Faussin realized almost immediately, watching as they looked around, trying to figure out what had happened while they were gone.

After a moment, what Faussin assumed was Lottie shrugged, grinning. "I DON'T KNOW WHY WE'RE SHOUTING BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I'M FAIRLY GOOD AT! ALSO! I BROUGHT THESE FLOWERS FOR THE PORTRAITS BECAUSE I THOUGHT THEY'D MAKE A NICE TOUCH! WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? THINK THISTLE LOOK GOOD? HAHA! JOKES!"

Almost like magic, Vivara began to chuckle, a genuine smile forming on the girl's lips. She held a hand up to her face almost as though to hide the smile, but Graham stopped her before she could force it back down.

"VIV!" He bellowed, breathless from shouting. "You're smiling! Guys, look! The stone-cold librarian is smiling!"

Finnian stared. "Holy crap, you're right!"

Faussin grinned.

Vivara, clearly taken off-guard, began to chuckle more. She looked away, but her forced down chuckles quickly developed into real laughter, as finally, she seemed to give up on hiding it. "You're all too silly for your own good, you know that?"

"Leaf us to our silliness!" Lottie demanded lightheartedly. "Silliness makes the world a better place!"

By the Lord above, she actually did it.

How on earth a crazy little girl like Oni had managed to quickly turn around the tone of the room in a matter of minutes never failed to amaze Romano. Perhaps it was why he had adapted so quickly to her following him around; she was insane, she reveled in it, and she made sure to drag everyone else into her world with her. Oni's world was one where people could laugh about their problems and admit the hurt without collapsing into a pit of despair.

It was a nice world to live in with her.

"Speaking of people with no souls smiling, Romano's doin' it too!" Faqir gasped. Romano let out a chuckle despite himself, shaking his head.

"While I do protest having no soul, I suppose none of you have ever seen me smile. I assure you I am quite capable of it, though I never find it inherently necessary." Romano paused. "For a bunch of mannerless degenerates, you lot are quite amusing."

"I would take offense to that but you're totally right."

The door was carefully nudged open. Practically dragging the girl, Madoka entered, Clair's wrist in his grasp. She spluttered in protest, trying to pry him off.

"I-I had to actually physically drag her back by the arm and she scratched my face, b-but I got Clair back..."

Yes, she had indeed scratched him, it seemed--there were distinct nail marks across one of Madoka's cheeks. He scratched at it idly, then stumbled back at a particularly strong tug from Clair.

Oni hopped over to them, prodding Clair in the shoulder. "You! Den-dwelling demon general! It is my great pleasure to inform you that we have all decided to stop wasting energy hating you and instead hate the stupid bear and also ourselves and probably a lot of other things! JOIN US IN THE CEREMONIAL SCREAMING CATHARSIS RITUAL!"

"W-what does that even mean?" Clair complained. "M-Mado, I want to go back!"

Faqir sauntered closer to her. Clair winced.

"Why would you do that?" he complained. "You haven't even gotten a chance to slap me for pressing all your triggers yet."

Clair sniffled, cracking open one eye. "...W-what...?"

"Listen, I'm..." Faqir sighed, scratching his neck. "...I'm sorry too, Clair. It's just--what you did really hurt, okay? Because I really thought of you as a good friend. I guess I kinda thought you felt the same way. So...knowing you'd just use me like that hurt a lot, and on top of that everyone else was hurt and everything was terrible and I hate that f*cking bear and Braeden was my bro and Eriko was practically perfect and it just all f*cking sucks d*ck. I just wanted to blame someone and you were an easy target."

Clair sniffled again, rubbing her eyes. "No, it...I deserved it. I-I deserve to be hated."

Faqir shrugged. "I mean, yeah, but we kinda all do, honestly. I mean, I practically just bullied you to tears. That's not exactly a 'good guy' thing to do."

Clair cracked the tiniest smile, though it quickly faded.

"So, yeah..." Faqir stretched, looking vaguely embarrassed. "Sure you're a b*tch, but you're my b*tch. That came out wrong. Everything I say comes out wrong. I came out wrong."

"What...what does that even mean?"

"I have no idea. I have no idea what anything I say means. Anyway, my point is...I'm not sorry for getting hurt, but I'm sorry for hurting you back. Besides, if I really wanna honor my bro, I should remember his last request and hate that bear instead."

Clair giggled, relaxing slightly. "...I-I'm not going to hit you. I'm not even mad at you, I...you were right, and I'm sorry. I don't expect any of you to forgive me. I just...I just want to try to make things right somehow. I-I know it can never bring them back, but maybe..."

"Would it make you feel better to hit me?"

"Why...do you want me to hit you or something?"

"Getting hit by pretty girls has to be a fetish and I won't know if it's mine until I try it."

"In that case I'm definitely not going to hit you."

Oni seemed pleased, looking to Romano as if for approval. He offered her a genuine smile, patting her head. Oni beamed.

"Then..." Nervously, Faqir held out a hand. "Truce? At least for now?"

Clair sighed, tugging at her bangs. "...Truce." She took Faqir's hand.

He immediately pulled her into a hug, dragging Madoka with him. Madoka was instantly locked in a headlock.

"W-wait, h-how did I--I don't know--I-I think you're choking me!"

"Too late, dude, this is a bro hug, deal with it!"

"This is very distinctly not how men hug!"

"Should I do it? I'm totally doing it. Yo guys, I'm callin' a group hug, all you losers get in here!"

"O-okay wait, actually, I-I'm okay with certain people but I really don't like being touched--"

"NOPE, GROUP HUG, IT'S HAPPENING. IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW."

"O-oh dear Lord--"

Oni joined the group hug immediately, practically tackling more Madoka. Romano decided to stay to the side, content just to watch the madness unfold.

---

Lottie almost immediately flung herself into the hug, laughing endlessly.

Ysabel smiled, standing from her chair and moving into the hug, almost cautiously.

Faussin briefly debated joining, then resigned himself to his seat where he would not feel suffocated by everyone scrambling to hug one another. He liked hugs, of course--just not huge group hugs. Group hugs involved too many people and touching and were generally very uncomfortable.

Finnian grinned, going in to join the hug. Vivara hesitated at first, then had a look that said "why the heck not" and joined as well, taking a moment to actually get comfortable. (Or as comfortable as he imagined she'd be able to get. Vivara didn't seem to like being touched.)

When Lottie realized Faussin was content to stay in his seat, she briefly squirmed out of the hug and wrapped her hands around his wrist, attempting to pull him out of his chair. "Come on! Group hug means the whole group!"

He shook his head nervously. "Sorry, I don't really like group hugs."

"No exceptions! You're getting hugged!"

"L-Lottie, please--"

She wasn't taking no for an answer. Tightening her grasp on his wrist, she began to quite literally drag him over to the group, her strength rather surprising.

Graham watched as Mercy and Romano decided not to join. Perhaps inspired by Lottie, he first walked over to Romano and grabbed his wrist, then set his sights on Mercy.

Mercy shook her head. "Not in the mood, Graham."

"You don't have a choice," he replied plainly. "Faqir, help me. Mercy needs a hug!"

"I will smack you both across the face with bottles. I did to him once, I'll do it again."

"I am willing to take the risk. If anyone needs a hug, you do. Right, guys?!"

Lottie began cheering. "HUG! HUG! HUG!"

"Don't you dare--"

"DON'T FIGHT IT MERCY! EVERYONE NEEDS A HUG ONCE IN A WHILE!"

Graham ended up releasing Romano to try and drag the Ultimate Hunter into the group hug, but considering she was the Ultimate Hunter and he was only the Ultimate Thief, things weren't working out very well.

"GET OFF OF ME I HATE HUGS."

Lottie realized that Romano was at risk of not being hugged and went to drag him over in Graham's place.

Romano looked vaguely uncomfortable. "You are merely joking, right? There are many people involved in this germ festival and if it is quite alright with you I would very much prefer to only take one shower tonight."

In a somewhat muffled voice, Clair called, "I don't think being highly uncomfortable with prolonged physical contact matters in this group."

"It totally doesn't!" Faqir wriggled his way out of the hug (abandoning Madoka, whose face ended up pushed against Clair's chest for a moment. He screeched, managing to get himself upright to properly return the hug. Clair blushed.) "Viva la hug force! No resistance!"

Sighing, Romano resigned himself to his germ-infested fate and allowed Lottie to drag him into the group hug. Faqir went to try and help Graham drag Mercy into the hug.

"No way you're sitting this out! You need the magical comfort of hugs! The only thing more instantly satisfying would involve breaking one of Monokuma's weird rules and finding a place with a comfortable surface and no video cameras!"

"Why do you always do this?" Madoka asked.

"Because I'm a lonely virgin and they let me imagine I have a more active sex life than I actually do!"

"That--that answer was far too real and definitely not what I expected you to say."

I am going to have to take at least three showers tonight. Romano sighed, tentatively patting Oni and Finnian, who he had been dragged to, on the back.

---

Faussin was mercilessly hugged. He tried to squirm free at first, but Vivara of all people pulled him back into the hug. "If I have to be hugged, so do you."

"This is hurting me."

"We suffer because we love each other. It'll be over soon. Speaking of," Vivara cleared her throat, "Mercy, just come be hugged so we can all get on with the day."

"I hate hugs and I always have, there is no way this is happening."

"Come on! You would've joined if Eriko asked you to!" Graham cried, he and Faqir's efforts to physically drag her over getting them nowhere.

She paused, briefly, then scoffed.

Graham watched her reaction carefully, as if not sure if he'd said something that was going to completely ruin the good mood. He swallowed.

Without warning, Mercy pulled both Faqir and Graham into headlocks, making an effort to smile. "So this is how guys hug, huh? Comfortable."

Despite being caught in a headlock, Graham cheered. "YES! It worked! Haha, I-I was kind of scared for a second there that I was going to completely ruin the mood. H-haha. Ow, this kind of hurts."

"You almost did, you moron," Mercy admitted, her grip on their heads tightening.

Faussin smiled, trying to bask in the brief happiness and ignore how the hug was causing his jacket to rub against his scratches and irritate his arms even more.

Romano started to step away, but predictably, Oni pulled him back.

"DID YOUR QUEEN GRANT YOU PERMISSION TO LEAVE, SERVANT?!"

Romano sighed. Make that five showers. I will need at least five showers tonight.

Madoka's head poked out of the hug pile. "I told you chokeholds are definitely not a proper hug!"

"I am actually highly okay with this but also kind of not breathing right now!" Faqir exclaimed.

Clair squeaked suddenly. "O-okay, I-I'm pretty sure I just felt something touch my butt and I would very much like to get out of here now."

"APOLOGIES, MORTAL, THAT WAS MY LEG, FOR I WAS ATTEMPTING TO NOT LET IT FALL ASLEEP!"

If nothing else, the tension had been completely alleviated for now. Perhaps a brief sacrifice of Romano's high standards of cleanliness was necessary to get everyone back on track.

"O-on the bright side," Faqir began, trying to pry free of Mercy's grip, "I got a pretty good view of Mercy's tits from here."

"I want her to punch you right now," Madoka stated, deadpan. Clair chuckled.

Faqir flashed a weak thumbs-up.

On second thought, Romano thought, perhaps the tension was better.

---

Mercy knee'd Faqir in the crotch, almost as if she'd expected him to say that. "God, you're stupid."

"Whatever she did, you deserved it," Vivara called.

"The guys here are weird," Lottie decided.

Faussin frowned, thinking. "You're not wrong. ....C-can we stop hugging now?"

"Nope!" Lottie chimed, pulling those next to her in closer. "We've gotta make this moment last for as long as we possibly can. It's a rare, beautiful moment. Right, Li?"

"That... it is nice," Amelia (or what Faussin assumed was Amelia) admitted. "I could stay like this for a while."

Graham chuckled nervously. "Y-yup. Sure could."

Mercy smirked, finally letting him go. Predictably, he crumbled, nearly gasping for breath. His freedom did not last long, however. After a moment, she pulled the boys toward her again, but for an actual hug this time. "You're lucky, jewelry boys. You guys remind me of someone."

"I am inclined to agree with Miss Vivara, Master Faqir," Romano called. "It would benefit you to learn some tact."

Faqir took a moment to keel over in pain before responding. "G-gee, th-thanks, guys."

"I'm just saying, Madoka here has had way more luck with me than you and he's been a perfect gentleman," Clair said.

Madoka spluttered. "N-not that kind of luck! Friendly luck! I-it's all friendly luck!"

Faqir snapped, patting Mercy's back. "So that's what your talent means! Lucky with girls! ...Oh gosh everything still hurts--"

"So?" The cheeky tone had returned to Clair's voice; admittedly, it warmed Romano's heart to hear her beginning to settle back in to life with the group. "Is getting hit by pretty girls a fetish of yours or what?"

"N-not like this! Not like this!"

"But seriously," Clair continued. "A-as happy as I am that you're willing to at least consider letting me rejoin the group--m-maybe just as an outsider, I don't want to pry, I-I can just hang out near the back of the room or stand outside the door--some of us are very uncomfortable with physical contact, so..."

"I second this." Romano once again tried to back away from the hug and was once again pulled back in by Oni.

"Yo, I'll take that extra physical contact!" Faqir called.

"Do you want to get kicked in the balls again?"

"Oh God please no I swear I'll stop--"

"I-is this what we are? I-is this what our group does now? Hug each other and make terrible jokes at each other's expense?"

"That's pretty much what this group has always been," Oni announced. "Personally, I LOVE IT!"

"There was considerably less hugging when we first started out," Romano sighed.

"WELL, THE HUGGING MAKES IT BETTER SO SHUT UP AND STAY IN THE HUG, SERVANT!"

"I disagree," Clair squeaked. Madoka patted her head.

---

"I don't mind Clair being here," Faussin admitted, though that was probably obvious already. Hearing Faqir and Clair talk to each other like they used to--even if just for a moment--made his heart rise in his chest. There were many emotions brewing in the room, but somehow, they could all get through it.

He feared what another death would do to bring things down again, but hoped with all of his heart that they'd be able to recover if something terrible happened again. They had to stay strong so that they could find a way out.

"I don't really know Clair," Lottie admitted, "but I would like to. I... I never really got to know the others, so I--I should at least try now, right?"

Mercy smiled sadly, hugging the guys tighter. "Eriko would've loved you."

"I... thank you," Lottie replied, softly.

Faussin felt himself smile. Mercy was right.

"Sh*t," Mercy muttered, quickly wiping away a tear. "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t. Not happening. Not right now."

Graham laughed lightheartedly, patting Mercy's back. "It's okay to feel, man."

She shook her head, muttering curses under her breath, but somehow smiling. She sniffed, burying her head in Faqir's shoulder, beginning to tremble. Her voice came out muffled. "Feelings are exhausting."

Faussin glanced over at her. Despite being more talkative than she had in the past two days, it was clear she was still hurting. Exhausted, emotionally drained, and numb--that was only beginning to describe her, but at least she was there. That was a step in the right direction.

Not to mention, she was in the same room as Clair--Clair, whose presence in the room was also nothing short of a miracle.

He sighed. Everything felt okay for a second.

Of course, his arms were killing him now, but so long as no one noticed he could sneak off to the nurse's office to bandage them up. ...Again.

Clair let out a long sigh. "I never said thank you, did I, Fauss? I really appreciate you trying to make me feel welcome when I came in earlier. I-I was terrified of seeing everyone again."

For once, Faqir decided not to make any crude comments. He moved his hand to hold Mercy's head against his shoulder, stroking her hair. "Yeah, feelings are the worst. That's why guys punch ours in the gut. Unless it's anger, then we f*cking embrace that sh*t."

"A-as a man who cries rather often, I find that offensive," Madoka complained.

"Don't ruin this for me, dude."

Romano moved slightly to offer a smile to Lottie as best he could while still trapped in the hug pile. "I am sure you would have gotten along well with all of the others, save perhaps Miss Xhevona. Which brings up a question--are you aware of what Miss Amelia sees at all times, and she of what you see? Or does one of you 'black out', per se, to make metaphorical room for the other?"

"Actually, I was wondering that too," Clair admitted. "I-if you witnessed everything Amelia did, I...imagine you have a pretty negative opinion of me. I-I can't blame you, I have a negative opinion of me too. Ah, no..." She groaned, leaning against Madoka. "I-I'm sorry, I-I keep saying these depressing things and you're probably all getting sick of it..."

"Hey, it's okay," Faqir assured, reaching out with his free arm to grab Graham's shoulders. "We're all kinda emotionally traumatized forever right now. And if all that depressing junk you talked about during the trial was as bad as you made it sound, you've probably been at this for a while. It's stupid to assume you'll just be fine."

"Still, I feel bad ruining the mood like this." Clair looked around nervously. "H-how long have we been hugging? Because seriously, I really hate being touched and this has been going on for an uncomfortably long amount of time, c-can we all go sit down yet?"

"I don't know about you, but I am very much enjoying my cuddle puddle, thank you. I'm never sitting down again."

"Faqir, what...what the heck is a cuddle puddle?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like."

"It sounds like something a pedophile would use to pick up children in a white van."

"Yeah, and?"

Madoka actually laughed at this point, something that startled Romano. Admittedly, there were few people in the room he had heard genuinely laugh--even Oni tended to go for a robust, "evil" laugh rather than a real one. Hearing one of those people sound truly amused now reduced some of the more unpleasant thoughts he had about the current situation.

"Both of you are crazy," Madoka admitted, grinning. "Honestly..."

"B*tch, I will wear that like a mother*cking badge."

---

"Well," Lottie withdrew from the hug somewhat, "it's more the former. In front of most people, she's in charge and I'm watching from the sidelines. I'm aware of what's happening. I just don't pay attention a lot, is all, and sometimes it gets hard to remember things that happen when I'm not in control. It's the same for Amelia. I'm not in charge as nearly as much as she is, though, so it happens a lot less with her."

"Interesting," Finnian muttered. "I've never heard anything like that before."

"If you think you're doing some wacky science experiments on us, you're sorely mistaken," Lottie called.

He laughed. "I would never, don't worry. Actually, Mercy, Faqir, how are your heads? And by extension, Faqir, your face."

Mercy mumbled something incomprehensible in response, hugging Faqir and Graham tighter. Turning her head on its side, she muttered, "do me a favor, you two. Don't die."

Faussin felt his heart pang. Of course. In the days that Eriko was here, she and Mercy grew rather close, which was no doubt why the girl's death hit her so hard. If she was growing attached to Faqir and Graham, then the first thing that would come to her mind would be them being taken away from her, too.

Though, to be honest, Faussin never quite understood what made the two girls click. He almost wanted to ask her. Considering her unstableness lately, though, asking would probably be a terrible idea. No, it was definitely a terrible idea.

He sighed. Would that there was a magic trick that would wash away everyone's pain. "Are we done hugging now?"

"I think at this point in the hug, those who are opposed can take their seats," Vivara declared, "but personally, I'd like to stay for a little longer."

Oh, thank goodness. Faussin squirmed his way out of the hug, careful not to let his rub his arms against anything. They were already hurting enough as it was.

Finally. Romano immediately backed away from the hug. Squealing, Clair wriggled downwards and escaped by crawling between Oni's legs. She made a beeline for the table, collapsing into a chair with a long sigh. Madoka remained in the hug without her, seemingly enjoying everyone's company.

"That's interesting," Clair murmured. "Usually DID manifests far more...well, dissociatively. I asked because your particular case seems to be an anomaly, but given the common professional opinion that DID may be a cultural phenomenon rather than a true biological mental disorder I suppose it wouldn't be entirely out of the picture to somehow have an identity more aware of things. Still, it raises a few important questions--such as the question of whether or not two separate and distinct personalities can truly exist within the same body of an individual with full awareness, and considering the rapid switches you two seem to be capable of it would also be worth asking how your brain determines when to 'switch over', so to say, as multitasking in such a way would seem to contradict with a few findings..."

Clair trailed off, realizing the amount of people staring at her.

She plastered on a ditsy grin. "But then again, I'm just a makeup artist--it's not like I know anything about pathology, haha."

"Psychology," Madoka corrected on instinct. "A-and it seems like you know an awful lot..."

Clair shrugged. "Not really--I have a bit of insight on my own problems, of course, but that's about it. On that note, Fauss, wanna go for a walk?"

Her comment surprised Romano slightly--Faussin didn't seem to have any connection at all to the previous topic, but perhaps Clair had heard him say something earlier somehow.

Romano focused on Faqir and Mercy, scanning for any obvious lingering damage. They both appeared fine, but it was hard to be certain.

"I threw up for an hour straight last night, I feel drunk, I have a terrible headache, and everything is spinning right now," Faqir announced cheerfully. "But my face is sexy as h*ll. Right, Graham?"

At least he had stopped targeting poor Mercy. On that note, Romano suddenly became very worried for her mental state. He had no personal insight to offer beyond conflict mediation, but perhaps there was something he could do to keep her mood light.

If nothing else, Faqir seemed to be cradling her more gently than Romano expected. "Oh yeah, about dying. Yo, everyone. There's no way in h*ll I'm gonna kill anyone, so how about we all just agree to not kill me back and that'll be perfect. Mercy asked, y'know. I can't deny a request from her, on account of she would probably chop my d*ck off."

"I-I won't kill you," Madoka offered.

"If I were to kill, it would be a demon, not one of you filthy mortal scum!" Oni scoffed.

"I don't think it's physically possible for anyone to hate me more than they do right now, but I'm not willing to find out," Clair admitted, rubbing her arm.

Romano bowed. "I may, depending on my personal tastes at the moment."

Understanding his sarcasm could be taken seriously, Romano smiled good-naturedly at Faqir, offering a wink. Faqir laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind, buddy."

---

Faussin blinked. "A walk? Why would... I mean, okay, I guess?"

Clair wasn't going to try and manipulate him like she did the others, was she? Why was she relating him to the topic in the first place? Was he that obvious?

He moved to scratch his arms again, then stopped himself, hands suddenly finding themselves with nothing to do. Ha--maybe she'd noticed how self-destructive he got when he was nervous. Huffing, he took out his deck, beginning to toss cards back and forth between both hands.

"So sexy, man," Graham said to Faqir, offering a bro-five and a wink. "I'd bang you anyday."

Mercy snorted.

In response to Clair's spiel about Lottie and Amelia's condition, Lottie just shrugged. "Who knows. All I know is that's how it works for me. Also, I won't kill you, Faqir. I would never kill a fellow pun-lover."

"I would not kill you," Vivara offered.

Finnian flashed him a thumbs up. "I don't plan on killing anyone anytime soon, so no worries here."

Somehow, Faussin found himself afraid to speak up.