No one noticed Kirumi's odd behavior at first. I mean, with the shock of being forced into a killing game and being bossed around by a teddy bear, that was the last thing on everyone's mind. She was just... an afterthought, really. This ignorance just increased, especially after the first set of murders.

Rantaro and Kaede, two of their fellow 'classmates.' Dead. Everyone was down on their dumps. Especially Shuichi, she noticed. She would often clean his room and do his laundry without asking. She could tell he didn't really pay mind to it through his greiving.

But, that's not the point of the story, huh? Shuichi's mourning of his love interest is not our central point.

All Kirumi really did was ask for requests, clean, and cook. Ocasionally, she would have to set Kokichi straight. That was about it: Rinse, wash, repeat. The only interruption on these days was Ryoma Hoshi, the Ultimate Tennis Pro. Oh, Ryoma. When she first tried approaching him, he had said something along the lines of "You shouldn't be around me, I'm a murderer." He always tried to push everyone away. But, she saw through his cold exterior. They hung out a lot when she had nothing to do. Eventually he stopped trying to push her away. He had tried explaining what he had done in his past, but she had looked past that.

One day, she realized what that warm feeling in her chest was whenever she saw him.

Love.

Her heart fluttered at the sheer thought of him.

This aforementioned odd behavior set in on one of those rinse, wash, and repeat days.

She had finished most of her tasks and was moving on to cook a quick snack for Kokichi, as he was sooo insistent that he was on the edge of starvation. Kirumi had just went to grab another block of cheese when she started to feel ill. The urge to vomit hit her like a train. She threw the cheese on the counter and slapped her hand over her mouth. Ohhh, she needed to find a bathroom and FAST. She ran down the hallway, not caring in that moment who saw her. Luckily, her dress nor her shoes were tripping her up. That would end terribly.

The door to the girl's bathroom banged open as she came through. She knew she couldn't make it any farther than the sinks, so she ran to one of those. She could barely close the door before she started throwing up. But, it felt.. different. She rarely got sick, but she had a couple times when she was younger. From what she rememebered, it felt thicker on her mouth and throat. But, what she was expelling out of her stomach felt like more of a liquid than anything. It would make sense if she hadn't had anything to eat earlier. She had had a moderate-sized breakfast and lunch when the allotted times for those events came up. So, that wouldn't have made sense.

She knew what she was about to do was considered repulsive. Yet, not one contradicton came from her mind. Most, if not all her dignity, had been lost from running down the hallway like that already. She slipped off one glove and touched her hand to her presumably vomit-covered mouth. When she drew it back, however, there was a disturbing sight.

It wasn't vomit. It was blood.

The glistening substance had gotten smeared when she checked what it was, but it was still slightly recognizable.

The maid jerked her head up to face the mirror.

More blood dripped down her face in shiny vermillion streams. They converged at a point in the middle of her neck, where several crumpled flower petals were stuck. They were a brilliant dark blue, fading to a deep, deep black color.

Kirumi screamed. She realized her mistake too soon.

You see, every single one of her 'classmates' had made an agreement: If one was in trouble or screaming, at least one person would come to their rescue. They didn't want to let anyone else die. She agreed with that sentiment, yet at that moment, she wished she hadn't. Now, this wasn't because she was selfish. Oh no no, that certainly wasn't it. She just didn't want anyone to see her in that vunerable, ill state. She was supposed to be the one person that took care of everyone else. She needed to clean up, and FAST.

***

Ryoma Hoshi sat against the wall, blearily blinking. He already had nothing to live for before the killing game, what with the murders he had comitted and everything. But, in this situation, he might as well let someone kill him. They would at least have a chance to escape; it would be slim though. He was almost about to get up and retrieve another box of his candy cigarettes from his dorm when he heard a scream. Not any scream. It was familar: The scream of Kirumi Tojo, a 'student' who he was quite close with. He shot up and ran towards the sound. He didn't want anyone he was close with to die. Well, he assumed she was getting attacked by a 'classmate', anyways.

He realized then that he was heading towards the girl's bathroom. One side of him felt strange entering a bathroom exclusively for girls. The other side didn't care. If someone was in distress, he should help them. It was the least he could do. He stopped outside the pink door, looking up at the handle. Should he enter or should he knock? The scream had faded by now; he could also hear some small shuffling and murmuring inside. Her voice was soft, but he recognized it instantly: Again, it was Kirumi's. If she wasn't in trouble, what WAS happening? He didn't want to be nosy, but he was concerned for her. He knocked softly and stood back.

The noises stopped.

He perked up a brow, confused.

The door opened before he could think any longer. He took that as an invitation, taking two steps forward. He didn't want to go any further, because, again, it was a girl's bathroom. Kirumi was standing at the sink, looking into the mirror. He was quick enough to spot her throwing away a paper towel stained with red smears. Ryoma decided not to comment on that.

"Are you ok?" He asked slowly. "I heard you scream." He popped a candy cigarette into his mouth to soften the awkward silence that followed. Finally, she responded. "I am alright, Ryoma. I just cut my finger with a knife by accident." She gave him a respectful nod, and he gave a small one back. As he procceded to exit, his thoughts came back to him. There was something.. slightly off about the way she responded. It was like she was hiding something.

Although, he might be overthinking it. He didn't want to get attached to her or her problems. It's not that he was unsympathetic, no. That certainly wasn't it. He was doing it for her own good. Ever since he had picked up that metal tennis ball, he deemed himself.. dangerous. He didn't want to harm her, especially not with those growing feelings in his chest. Now he was more confused than ever.

***

She let out a small sigh as she looked back at the trash can. The paper towels sticking out of it reminded her of her plight. Oh, what was she to do about this? Those towels and the blood and flower petals in the sink reminded her that this was all real. Kirumi shook her head softly and walked towards the door, closing her eyes. This was one of the rare moments where she really did have the time to freely think.

She pushed the door open and walked out, sticking to the walls so she wouldn't be spotted as easily. Well, not that one would've paid attention to that anyways.

She wondered what had happened back in the bathroom. Surely that wasn't natural, to throw up flowers like that? Then, she had a horrific thought. What if it was one of Monokuma's new motives..? Ok, she had to go to him to confirm her theory.

But, there was one problem. Where *was* the demonic teddy bear? She hadn't seen him around at all that day. She sincerly hoped he wasn't up to anything horrible. That would be disasterous if so.

Kirumi returned to the kitchen to finish Kokichi's snack. Whatever, she could probably find Monokuma later. He enjoyed popping up at random times.

But, when she entered the place, she found him cleaning up the food she had left there. He was shaking his head and grumbling under his breath, something along the lines of "These kids.. " The maid walked over to him slowly. "Excuse me, Monokuma. I was cooking Kokichi a snack with those materials." His ears perked, and he moved away, growling. "...GRARRR!! Why did you just leave it here, Miss Tojo??" She regathered all the food, forming a response to his question. While no one could really trust him with anything, it didn't make much sense to lie to him about her current.. ailment. Plus, she wasn't a persistent lier like Kokichi; in fact, she didn't exactly lie at all. It was just that one lie she had said when talking to Ryoma earlier.

The bear moved to leave, but that was when she took her chance. "Monokuma, please wait." He looked over his shoulder. "Ehhh??" She lowered her head. "There is something urgent I wish to speak to you about." Now she had his attention. He turned fully around, looking up at her and awaiting her next line. "Well, what is it, Miss Maid~?" She ignored the teasing name. "I have been afflicted with a strange ailment of late. Well, I assume it is an ailment, anyways. I feel as though you might have had something to do with it." He let out a 'Puhuhuhu!' as she finished her sentence.

"Symptoms?" he questioned. "I have thrown up in the lavatory just a couple minutes ago. But, my vomit was, well, pure blood. That is concerning on its own, but flowers came out with it. They were a color I have never seen before, but that is the least of my worries," she responded. Then, she added on, "Is this a new motive of yours? If so, it is not amusing in the slightest." He put his paw to his chin, tapping his foot like he was thinking. Then, a wide grin broke out on his face.

"Puhuhu, did you really think it WASN'T?! Of course it's a motive of mine! Y'know, it could really raise the tensions.. get the despair goin'.." Kirumi's facial expression went flat. She stared at him, deadpan. "Please, just tell me what this is, Monokuma." Monokuma held his paws up. "Ok, ok! Chill Miss Tojo!" His eye glowed a little bit as he spoke gloriously. "So.. the disease I have placed on you is called 'Hanahaki Disease.' You know those flowers you coughed up? They are currently growing in your lungs. That's because you have 'unrequited love'! I assume the lucky guy is Mr. Hoshi, correct?"

"U-uh-" she sputtered. Her face grew a bright red. It wasn't common to get her all flustered like this, but he wasn't stopping for that. "They'll grow bigger and bigger, until full flowers will be coming outta your mouth! By that point, it'll be too advanced~~" he chuckled. She opened her mouth to say something, but he held up a paw. "Nuh uh uh, Miss Tojo! I wasn't finished yet! There's actually ways of treatment, if you really wanna know." She nodded her head. "Please, go ahead." She still wasn't able to fully take in the headmaster's words, but she needed some affirmation that there was a way to remedy it.

"There is three ways. Either you confess and he feels the same way, you get a surgery, or you DIE." He chuckled loudly. "While the surgery seems the best way out, there is some drawbacks. You'll forever lose your ability to love him, and you may or may not forget key moments between you two. If you choose death, it will be extremley painful. Your lungs will fill up with blood and flowers, and you will suffocate. If you choose the confessing route and he actually likes you back, the disease will instantly dissapear. You must act quick though! This form of Hanahaki I've given you takes over quickly."

As it finally sunk in, she clasped her hand over her mouth. Her eyes grew wide, and tears started forming in her eyes. This 'Hanahaki Disease'.. all routes were dreadful. While she would have the surgery preformed on her, there was something that held her back. That warm feeling in her chest -- she didn't want to let it go. Not once, not ever. She thought that was selfish of her, but her love interest had always told her to be more selfish. The thought of confessing, though, also struck fear through her heart. Kirumi just KNEW he didn't like her back. After all, who would love her? She was just a lowly maid, living to serve. Also, knowing his past, she knew he probably wasn't even into the concept of love anymore. The last option, death, would cause chaos to their already distressing situation. It would most likely screw it up badly, what with Monokuma's description of the death.

Ohh, her head hurt. What should she do? At this point, she couldn't even cook anymore. She put the food items away, legs shaking, while steeling herself for Kokichi's inevitable loud whining later. He was quite annoying, but she had to deal with him either way. To her, he was just another client to serve. That mindset helped her deal with him a bit.

She headed to her room and grabbed a notepad and pen. The SHSL Ultimate Maid had not really gotten any requests that day, but she had to have those things on hand just in case. A maid had to be prepared for anything, after all. Yet, she wasn't prepared for the onset of the illness Monokuma had given her. Why? It was lost on her. As she traveled through the hallways, she felt her stomach lurch. Uh oh. Kirumi was feeling sick once more. But, she had to hide it; no one could know about this. *No one.*

Soon, she came across a familar, short teen.

Ryoma.

***

He sat on a bench in an open area, and she stood in front of him. He proceeded to look up at her. She looked.. rather disturbed. There was a strange glassy look in her eyes. Maybe that was connected to her 'cut finger'? But, she portrayed no signs of pain or discomfort, so he left it be. Again, it genuinely wasn't any of his business. 'I really need to stop intruding into her business,' he thought to himself tiredly.

She bowed. "Greetings, Ryoma. Do you have any tasks you would like me to preform?" He seemed to ponder that for a second, then said, "Nah, but thanks." She bowed once more. "Alright, then. Please let me know if you wish for me to do anything later." Hmph. She was always on the move, seemingly never taking a break. He didn't say anything, though; he just let her walk off. Besides, was there really anything he could do for her? No, there certainly wasn't. There was nothing he could do for any troubles of hers. Or, anyone else's, really? He was just a god damn criminal-- he needed to remember that, he thought bitterly to himself.

He watched her as she went.

She was almost around the corner, when she doubled over.

Her arm wrapped tightly around her stomach, and she let out what seemed to be a small cry of distress.

He was up and over to her in a split second. "Kirumi, what's wrong?!" he yelled. While that was out of character for him, he didn't care-- she was in visible pain. She startled at the sound of his voice and started to shake. Ohhh, he couldn't find out about this. Kirumi crouched down, the feeling rising to her throat. "N-nothing, Ryoma. I am fine," she bluntly stated. "Obviously not," came the reply. She groaned.

This wasn't going well for her, she could tell.

***

She didn't even think he would spot it, yet look what's happening now. Seems she wasn't *entirely* out of sight, like she hoped. But, she had no more time for mere regrets, she thought to herself as she stood up abruptly. Maybe she could get to the bathroom in time. He looked up in bewilderment as she zoomed off, hand clasped to her mouth. "Uhm..?" He mumbled, in a state of confusion. She looked quite uneasy when he approached, but not because of his past misdeeds. How he knew that, you may ask? She was ok all those other times they had encountered, with the exception of their last one and this current occurence.

She was ok with him then, so why wasn't she now?

Maybe she was sick from the food. Yeah, that's it, he thought to himself. Although, he didn't exactly commit to that idea.

***

A couple weeks had passed, each day dumping more and more misery on Kirumi's shoulders.

Her lungs started to ache, and she could almost feel the flowers filling them straight to the top. The vomiting sessions became more and more frequent, to the point where the others were starting to notice. She had thought that Ryoma had told them what was going on at first, but after some investigating, seems he had kept this lock and key.

Good, she thought. No one needed to know about her illness; she was the one supposed to be taking care of others. She was the strong one, the one who would take the fall for others.

And.. Ryoma. While he already knew of her illness (as a result of her failure, she thought), he COULDN'T know the reason why. Absolutely not. He would never love her. He's got enough to deal with. Besides, she would be ultimately failing her duties and everyone needing her. She couldn't do that to them, no.

As she lay, fetal style in her dorm, she didn't bother to clean up the bloody vomit trailing down the side of the matress. Flower petals fluttered down the side of it, laying alongside more.. fully formed flowers. She was unbearably pale, almost the color of Monokuma's right side. The pulsing pain in her lungs increased, and she let out a soft groan. She knew she didn't have much time left.

The flowers were growing larger.

The poor maid.

She could feel the struggle to breathe begin. As the flowers grew more and more inside her, her vision become blurrier and blurrier. She *needed* a breath. Just one breath, and she would be ok. Just one.

But, she knew it wouldn't be coming.

The lack of air started to hurt her even more. She raised herself up, wanting to do something, anything. Tojo could feel her limbs becoming weaker and weaker, and her eyelids started to droop. Before she could do anything, anything she wanted to do before she died, she fell.

Everything went black.

***

Ryoma hadn't seen her for a while.

That was never a good sign, especially in a killing game.

He felt his heart beat rapidly, threatening to rip out of his chest as he approached her dorm room. It wouldn't hurt to check, would it? No one else took the initiaive to do it, anyways.

He raised a fist to place a few tentative knocks on her door.

Nothing.

He grumbled in slight embarassment as he did it once more. Nothing, once again.

Welp. He didn't really wanna do this, but if it confirmed she was safe, then so be it.

He reached up to open her door.

Huh. It was unlocked.

He nudged it aside softly, not even recognizing the scent of iron.

The tennis pro almost screamed when he saw what was laying in there for him.

No no no NO NO NO. He had FUCKING LOVED HER. 

*Ding dong dong ding!*

"A body has been discovered!"