Kokichi loitered around the school until class was over. When the bell rang, students came pouring out into the halls to go to their lockers and gather their belongings to get ready to go home for the day. Among the students, he found one who he thought would be interested in helping him carry out his greatest scheme ever. 

   "Heeeey, Gonta!" he said as he casually strolled up to Gonta with a seemingly innocent smile. Gonta gave Kokichi a cordial, yet cautious, smile in return.

   "Hello, Kokichi," he replied. "You need Gonta's help with something?"

   "Y'know, funny you should ask that, Gonta, because as a matter of fact, I do!" Kokichi replied with a cheeky grin. 

   "Oh," Gonta mumbled warily. "Well, what you need Gonta's help for, Kokichi?"

   "Weeellll...you know that dance we're having this Friday?" Kokichi began, a sneaky grin forming across his face. Gonta nodded hesitantly in response. "I have a great idea to make it waaay more fun and exciting! So...are you in?" Gonta broke out into a smile of relief and happiness.

   "Oh! Gonta thought you wanted to pull prank on everybody at dance," he said. "But you only want to make things more fun! That very kind of you, Kokichi!"

   "I'm glad you think so, Gonta," Kokichi replied with a devious grin. "C'mon, let's go talk about it in our room and-"

   "Gonta...what's going on here?" interrupted Mahiru, who glanced at Kokichi with suspicion. 

   "Oh! Well, Gonta was talking with Kokichi about-" Gonta began.

   "It's none of your business!" Kokichi interrupted, frowning at Mahiru. "You wanted me to find other people to bother and so I did, now run along, Red!"

   "Ugh!" Mahiru scoffed, glaring at Kokichi. Then, she gave Gonta a kind smile. "Gonta, would you like to join us on the School Dance Committee? We could use a gentleman's help, after all."

   "But...Gonta already promised Kokichi that Gonta would help him," Gonta said. 

   "Gonta, I don't know what Kokichi is up to, but I'm pretty sure he's just trying to use you," Mahiru continued. 

   "Not true!" Kokichi huffed. "C'mon, Gonta, let's go, already!"

   "Um...o-okay," Gonta stammered hesitantly. Mahiru grabbed his arm to stop him.

   "No, Gonta," Mahiru said, shooting Gonta a warning look. 

    "Butt out, Mahiru," Kokichi said, grabbing Gonta's other arm, trying to pull him away from Mahiru. 

   "What's going on here?" Kaede asked.

    "I'll tell you what's going on here," Kokichi said. "I finally found a friend, like you guys wanted, and now Mahiru's trying to take Gonta away from me!"

   "Gonta's not your friend, especially since you treat him like a slave," Mahiru said, sighing with exasperation before turning to Kaede. "Kokichi's using Gonta for something, Kaede, I just know it!" 

   "You have no proof of that!" Kokichi said. 

   "I don't need proof! This is you we're talking about!" Mahiru countered, thrusting her fists on her hips. "You're always manipulating Gonta!"

   "She's not wrong, Kokichi," Kaede said. "I also think you should leave Gonta alone." Kokichi's eyes darted back and forth between Kaede and Mahiru, who both crossed their arms expectantly at him. He knew he wasn't going to win this battle, so he gave them a fake smile. 

    "Wooow...I didn't know Gonta's mommy-wommies were so protective over him," he teased with a cheeky grin as he released Gonta. "Fine. I don't wanna be arrested for kidnapping, so if you want your son back so badly, take him." 

   "Whatever," Kaede scoffed. She and Mahiru smiled kindly at Gonta.

   "Let's go, Gonta, okay?" Mahiru said as she and Kaede led him away. Gonta turned back to Kokichi with an apologetic expression. 

   "Gonta sorry, Kokichi," he said.

   "You don't have to apologize to him, Gonta," Kaede said. "C'mon, let's go." The three of them walked away, leaving Kokichi by himself. His fake smile turned into a frown of annoyance as he sighed and rolled his eyes, scanning the hallways to find another potential lackey. He spotted Hiyoko leaving school grounds. Smiling sneakily, he slithered like a serpent over to her. 

   "Hiyoko, what's up?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows and smiling flirtatiously at her. Hiyoko frowned in disgust at him.

   "Ugh...what do you want, pig barf?!" she exclaimed. 

   "You know how you hate Mikan, and would just looove to see her suffer?" Kokichi murmured. Hiyoko perked up.

   "I'm listeniiiing," she replied with curiosity. 

   "Well, I was wondering if you'd like to help me with something important that has to do with the dance this Friday," Kokichi answered. 

   "Are you thinking about playing a prank on Mikan?" Hiyoko asked as an impish grin crossed her face. Kokichi tilted his head in a boyishly cute way.

   "And all the other...pig barfs in this school," he answered, giving Hiyoko a wink. Hiyoko blushed and frowned.

   "A-Are you trying to flirt with me?!" she exclaimed. "You are, aren't you?!"

   "No way!" Kokichi lied. "There's no way I'd try to take advantage of your girly feelings! You deserve respect!"

   "Th-Then...why did you wink at me?!" Hiyoko asked accusingly. Kokichi merely shrugged his shoulders.

   "What, I can't be nice?" he asked. 

  "No!" Hiyoko said. "Because if you're being nice, it means you're up to something! I don't want anything to do with whatever you're planning!"

   "Even if it means making Mikan's life miserable?" Kokichi asked with a sly grin. 

   "I can do that by myself! I don't need your help!" Hiyoko said, sprinting away. Kokichi rolled his eyes in annoyance as he watched her run off. Throughout the rest of the day, Kokichi tried looking for someone who could help him plot a scheme for Friday night's dance. He asked Akane, but she was too busy eating all the time. He asked Angie, but she kept blabbing about Atua. He asked Rantaro, but Rantaro figured Kokichi was up to no good. He asked Yasuhiro, but Yasuhiro was too afraid of him. He asked many others, but like everyone else, they all turned him down. 

   Later that night, Kokichi sat on the roof of Casa V3, looking up at the night sky, which was glittered with bright, silvery stars. He sighed longingly. It seemed that even the stars had friends, making Kokichi feel more alone. He rolled his eyes and shook his head to clear his mind.

   "I don't need any friends," he growled to himself. He thumped his head with his hands. "Stop it! You're not lonely! You don't need friends! You're better off without 'em!" He sighed as he looked up at the sky again. He closed his eyes as the realization kept haunting him: he did want a friend deep down. He wanted a friend more than anything. Scrunching his legs between his arms, he rested his chin on his knees and continued to stare longingly at the starry sky. A shooting star flew across the darkness like a little ray of hope. Kokichi groaned. 

   "This is stupid," he muttered to himself. He frowned as he closed his eyes. Then he sighed. "Okay, okay...fine, I give up. I...I wish I could have a friend. Just any friend, I guess. One who'll stay by my side, no matter what. I don't wanna be alone anymore." With one last glance up at the sky, and a bit of hope in his heart, he silently stood up and climbed down the roof before heading inside.