I woke up to the sound of the Monokubs' morning announcement, although I was half asleep so I couldn't make out what they were saying.

Getting out of bed, I noticed there was something on the nightstand. It looked like some sort of Monopad, but it's not.

'When did this even get here?' I thought. Picking up the unknown object, "Kubs Pad" was written on the back. Curiosity had gotten the best of me, and I touched the screen to see a video had started playing.

"Y/n L/n's Motive Video!" Was written in bold on the screen, and a familiar voice started speaking.

"Alright! Back by popular demand, it's time for the ! Who's the most important person in your life? And now, without further ado... Y/n L/n, the Ultimate Fire Dancer.."

My eyes suddenly widened as the screen displayed a picture of me and another girl (or boy! You can decide ofc but I'm gonna go with a girl). She seemed so familiar, yet I can't remember who she is?

"This young girl was born with a very unique gift, despite it being a dangerous one, she continues to strive and work non stop to maintain the title of the Ultimate Fire Dancer. Our team has managed to score an exclusive interview with her best friend! Aka, her Fire Dancing partner. She (or he) says that she misses training with her dancing partner, but hopes that Y/n can succeed! But don't just take my word for it! Let's hear it straight from the source!"

The screen turned black for a moment, and when it lit back up, the same girl that was with me in the picture before appeared again.

"Y/n and I have been best friends for years! Although she was always better at Fire Dancing than I was, she still accepted me to be her partner. And ever since then, we always preformed together. Well...kind of..I do hope that one day, we can dance and preform together again, but for now...I hope she's doing well without me as her partner.." The girl had spoken with a bright smile, but there was a hint of sadness evident in her voice.

"Her only wish...is for Y/n to succeed without her. Will Y/n be able to fulfill her best friend's wish? Ah yes, one more thing..." the familiar voice of Monokuma spoke again, taking a few seconds before continuing his sentence. "Shortly after this interview wrapped, this young girl suffered an unfortunate accident during one of her shows. What kinda accident? It's a secret! Find out for yourself. Puhuhuhu..."

The video was finally over, and memories of who that girl was came trickling in.

*flashback time..!*

"Fire dancing? That's a cool profession! Aren't you excited to preform in front of other people?"

"...No.. I've never liked crowds! And especially now that I'm going to be preforming alone...I'll be a total mess! What if I mess up on stage!? Everyone will think I'm a loser!" I cried as my best friend brought me into a hug.

"Hey, hey! Don't cry. I'm sure you'll do just fine! Not everyone has the gift to Fire Dance—"

"Can you fire dance with me..?" I asked, pulling away from the hug and waited for her answer.

"Y/n...I can't fire dance... unlike you, I don't have any talent, and you know that! You have a chance at becoming an ultimate studen—"

"Then I'll teach you! It'll take some time...but I can't do this without your help. So please... please become a fire dancer with me!" There was a pause before she spoke up again.

"Fine...I'll help you. I'll help my best friend become the Ultimate Fire Dancer!" We both smiled and then went to my dancing studio, where I started to teach her how to use the equipment.

*end of flashback*

'That's right...she..helped me. I considered her family and we had a tight bond for years..I remember her now, my Fire Dancing partner... she helped me become who I am today. Jeez, how could I ever forget her!' I felt my eyes tear up and soon enough I was sobbing. While crying I remembered the last part of what Monokuma said in my motive video.

"Shortly after this interview wrapped, this young girl suffered an unfortunate accident during one of her shows. What kinda accident? It's a secret! Find out for yourself."

'What kind of accident is he talking about..? He doesn't mean that she's— no. Please don't tell me that she..' My mind started to race. 'She can't be dead! We... we always preformed together right!?'

*Another flashback..cuz yes*

"God can't you try a little harder to be in sync!? We totally messed up that performance because of you!!" I yelled, we were backstage after one of our performances

"You are the one who made me do this stupid profession anyway! You're Ultimate Fire Dancer! Of course this talent is gonna come easier to you! But it's not easy for me!" My best friend had yelled back and soon we got into a heated argument.

"You could at least try!—"

"I trying!! I'm trying to be a worthy Fire Dancing partner, but it's hard when your best friend's an Ultimate! I look like an idiot compared to you when we're preforming, because this talent comes so easy to you, you don't even have to try!"

"You don't think I'm trying!? I worked my ass off to become an Ultimate. Sure it was easier for me then to others, but I still do work very hard!" I argued. Tears forming as I yelled. I never thought I'd get into a fight with my best friend, but here I am.

"That's my point! This talent comes easier to you then it does to me, I just need more time to practice! But you're always rushing me!"

"Ugh! Fine then, find another partner!—" words that I never meant to say suddenly slipped out. She was shocked at my response and the room filled with silence.

"If that's what you really want...then fine. Goodbye Y/n. I'm...sorry I couldn't be a good enough partner for you." Her eyes filled with tears and she ran out of the room.

*end of flashback*

'I never got to...apologize to her. And if what Monokuma said about her dying during one of her shows is true...then...she died..because of me. If I had never asked her to be my Fire Dancing partner...she would still be alive.' I threw the Kubs pad across my room in frustration, and continued to cry.

——

It's been a bit since I saw my motive video. I had already gotten dressed and ready for the day, but my eyes were still red and puffy from crying. While cleaning my room a bit, there was a knock at my door. However I was a bit hesitant to answer it because it would be obvious that I was crying.

"Y/n?? It's Tenko! Please open the door" her voice muffled as she shouted, making sure I could hear her.

I decided to open the door, looking down to the floor so I could avoid eye contact.

"Hey Tenko..what's up?" My voice was quiet and clearly not as cheery as usual.

"Oh well everyone needs to meet in the dining hall because of this kubs pad thing we go—OH MY GOD, Y/N YOUR EYES ARE RED ARE YOU OKAY??" Tenko's attitude changed and she raised her voice trying to ask what happened. "Wait were you crying? Did some degenerate come in here and hurt your feelings!? Tell me who it is! I'll kick their a—"

"No, it's alright Tenko..." I was debating on whether I should tell her the real reason I was crying or not.. looking at it now, I sort of see my best friend in Tenko..(I can't think of a name so um... she's gonna be known as 'best friend') maybe that's why I trust her so much?

"Oh, well you don't have to tell me why you were crying, Y/n! It's your personal business, I hope you feel better!" Tenko then pulled me into a hug, to which I gladly returned.

"Thanks...Tenko.." my voice got shaky and I could feel the tears threatening to fall, but I just hugged her a little tighter and then pulled away.

——

"See, they're here." Maki said bluntly, referring to Tenko and I entering the dining hall where the rest of the students stood. She stood in front of me, so the others didn't noticed my puffy eyes. "So what is it? Why did you drag us here?" She asked Kaito

"Didn't I tell you? It's about the Kubs Pads. Monokuma gave us a new motive. We can't not talk about it."

"Oh..so everyone else got one too." I mumble to myself

"That thing that looks like another Monopad? That was a motive?" Maki asked

"Maki, haven't you watched the video on the Kubs Pad yet!?" Tenko questioned

"No. I ignored it because I figured it was something stupid."

"You don't have to speak up, but this is important, so you should at least listen," Kaito said

"So, what are these videos?" Kokichi asked

"No doubt they're more motives from Monokuma, but why were they all mixed up..?" Said Keebo

'Mixed up..? How come I got my own..' I was about to voice my thoughts, but I figured it'd make me suspicious and the others would think I'm more likely to kill if I said I got my own motive video. So I kept quiet.

"Yeah! Why Gonta get Tsumugi's video—"

"No! Don't say it, Gonta!" Keebo shouted

"Aah...I heart it... I see... so Gonta has my video.." Tsumugi said, looking nervous.

"...Huh? Gonta not supposed to say it?"

"Who fuckin' cares!? We're gonna exchange 'em anyway, right?" Miu asked

"No, we cannot exchange them." Keebo responded

"Why not? They're videos of the most important people in our lives." Ryoma asked

"And that is precisely why we cannot exchange them. Although we do not know why our motives were mixed up, as long as we don't exchange them, we don't have to see our motives at all." I looked down to the floor at keebo's words.

'I should've just ignored the video...jeez what's wrong with me..? Why would I watch it..' I thought

"That's true...if we ignore them, then we won't have a motive.." Tenko added

"I'm against that." Ryoma said bluntly

"Huh? Against it? Why? If you see that video, it'll turn into a motive, right?" Tsumugi questioned

"That's why I want to see it."

"He was saying something like that before...that he doesn't plan on surviving." I spoke up and tried to make my voice sound as normal as possible, but I continued to avoid eye contact.

"It might not matter to you whether you get killed or not, but.. we're different! We all want to live!" Kaito said to Ryoma, raising his voice. "Wake up already! You're like some zombie wandering around with no will to live!"

"No will to live, huh? Hmph, if that's how you see me, then so be it. But I've got no plans to change my opinion. That's just not cool."

"What did you say!?"

"Who cares? Ryoma just stated his opinion. Actually... I feel the same way as him." Kokichi spoke up.

"Are you... trying to cause trouble again?" Keebo asked

"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not saying we shouldn't care about killing or dying... but I think it'd be better if we didn't cooperate with each other... actually we definitely shouldn't cooperate with each other!"

"Why not?" I ask

"Think back to all of Monokuma's actions so far. Whenever we tried to work together, Monokuma would retaliate with a plan to make us suffer. It happened when Kaede wanted us to cooperate, and again with these motive videos, right? Which means, the more we try to cooperate, the more he'll try to make us suffer." Kokichi explained

"You are saying that if we do not rally together, we will not be made to suffer?" Kirumi questioned

"That's why I had no choice but to screw with you guys. But you ingrates didn't even notice."

"And you're not lying to us right now?" I ask

"...Whether I'm lying or not, what I'm saying is still true. Anyway, we shouldn't force ourselves to cooperate. Let's just all do our own thing. So, I agree with Ryoma's suggestion." The room went quiet for a second. "Anyway, I'm warning you all for your sake. Let's just exchange our motive videos instead of cooperating with each other."

"...I cannot comprehend that logic." Keebo said

"Well, now that I've said I won't cooperate, I can't afford to be seen with you losers. C'mon, Y/n. Let's go."

"Huh..?!"

"We promised to think of a way to get everyone to exchange their motive videos, remember? Anyway, Kirumi, I'll hit you up later when I'm feeling hungry." Before I could even reply, Kokichi grabbed my arm and ran out of the room.

——

A/n: this is the longest chapter I have ever written, I hope you guys don't mind! Tysm for 1k reads! It means so much to me and I can't wait to see how much this book will grow :)