Finally, the buses arrived at the zoo. The students climbed off the bus, waiting for further instructions. 

   "Students, you're free to roam around the zoo, but make sure to stay with your group at all times," the science teacher said. "Also, lunch will be at 11:45, so make sure you all stop at the rest area around that time. At 2:15, I expect everyone to be here to head back to Hope's Peak, are we clear?" The students all agreed. "Great! You may go ahead and explore to your hearts' content!"

   "Nya-hahahaaa...so exciting!" Angie chirped to Himiko and Tenko. "Where do you two want to go first?"

   "Wherever Himiko wants to go first," Tenko said. "Maybe it'll stop her from hating me." Himiko sighed deeply.

   "I don't hate you, Tenko" she muttered irritably.

   "Really?! You don't hate me, Himiko?!" Tenko asked, her expression brightening. 

   I'm trying not to, Himiko thought to herself. "No," she replied. 

  "AAAAAHHHH!!! Well, in that case, lead the way, Himiko!" Tenko cheered. Himiko rolled her eyes. 

   "Nyeh...I think Angie should lead the way," Himiko said. "I don't care where we go."

   "Oh, no, Himiko! Are you going back to your old self?!" Tenko exclaimed in alarm. Himiko looked at Angie with pleading eyes.

   "Please..." she whispered in agony. Angie smiled at her.

   "Don't worry! Atua will lead us the way we should go!" she said. Tenko scoffed.

   "Screw Atua!" she said haughtily. "Himiko and I don't need to rely on your imaginary friend, Angie, right, Himiko?"

   "No...I think we should just listen to Angie for today," Himiko replied. 

   "WAAAHH!! Oh, no! Angie's brainwashed you, Himiko!" Tenko shouted in shock. She then grabbed Himiko's shoulders and started shaking her. "Get ahold of yourself, Himiko!"

   "Nyeh...let go! You're hurting me!" Himiko growled. 

  "I'm so sorry, Himiko! I didn't mean to!" Tenko said, letting go of Himiko. She then glared at Angie. "See what your Atua caused?! I hurt Himiko because of you!"

   "Nuh-uh! That was your fault, Tenko!" Angie said cheerfully. "You need to learn to control yourself!"

   "Tuh...you're worse than those degenerate males, Angie!" Tenko spat. "Maybe you're the one who needs to change, right, Himiko? Himiko?" Tenko and Angie looked around, but Himiko was nowhere to be seen. "Uurrrggghh!! See what you did, Angie?! Now Himiko's lost!!! How is a cute, innocent, little flower like her ever going to survive without me?!"

   "Well, we are not going to find her just by standing around," Angie said with a shrug. 

   "You can look for her on your own," Tenko said. "But I'll definitely find her first!" Without another word, Tenko flipped one of her braids at Angie before marching off to find Himiko. Meanwhile, Himiko ran deep into the zoo, trying to find a safe place where she could be alone and have some peace. She looked at each animal with fascination. From the big cats, to the monkeys and apes, the birds, and even the reptiles. She found each and every one of them interesting. It wasn't long until started getting hot. She took her hat off and started fanning herself.

   "Nyeh...just when this day couldn't get any worse," she muttered grouchily.

   "Hey, Himiko!" came Kaito's from behind her. She turned to see him, Maki, and Shuichi. "You lost?"

   "No, I'm not lost," Himiko replied.

  "Then, why aren't you with your group, Himiko?" Shuichi asked. Himiko winced with anger. The last thing she wanted was to be bombarded with questions.

   "It doesn't matter!!" she shouted angrily, startling Kaito, Shuichi, and even Maki. 

   "Whoa, Himiko!" Kaito said.

   "Just...leave me alone," Himiko growled, stomping right past them. She entered a building, which, thankfully, was a lot cooler inside. It was the marine area of the zoo. Himiko marveled at the various-sized aquariums all around her. Some tanks were holding small, colorful fish, while other, bigger tanks held creatures like octopi, sharks, and even dolphins. Himiko stumbled into a room, where the biggest tank stood before her. Inside was an enormous whale shark surrounded by manta rays, sharks, and other fish. Himiko breathed in awe at the sight before her. The sound of a voice she didn't want to hear at that moment, however, forced her out of her trance.

   "Himikoooo! Are you in here?" Tenko called out. Feeling her frustration returning, Himiko headed deeper into the marine life exhibit. She shivered. It was getting a lot colder than she would have liked. She figured that this must be where the animals from the colder environments lived. She looked to the side of her and saw a polar bear waving to her. She smiled and waved back. She moved forward, hearing what sounded like a bunch of bird noises. She came across the penguin exhibit. There were many different kinds that she didn't know existed: macaroni penguins, gentoo penguins, galapagos penguins, and others. She finally found herself at the emperor penguin pen. The loud birds were flapping their wings and shaking the water from their heads. Himiko giggled to herself at how cute they were. Her smile began to fade as she noticed a baby emperor penguin standing by himself, making tiny, sad squeaks. Himiko listened closer. She swore she could hear the chick crying for his father.

   "Papa!" the chick cried. "Pa-pa! Pa-pa!" Himiko blinked in shock. Was it Himiko's imagination, or was the chick really calling for his father? She decided to investigate, so she walked up to the pen. 

   "Nyeh...hey..." she murmured softly to the chick. The chick turned to look at Himiko. She could see that he had tears in his eyes. The little penguin waddled up to her.

   "I...want...my...papa," the chick sobbed. Himiko felt, both saddened and shocked, at the same time. Her magic must have been allowing her to communicate with nonmagical animals. Himiko knelt down against the fence separating herself from the penguin. 

   "Where's your papa?" Himiko asked. 

    "He's far away from here...back home," the penguin wailed.

   "Oh..." Himiko breathed. "What about your mama?"

   "She's gone," the chick replied forlornly. "Gone...taken...by the Great Sleep."

  "Great Sleep?" Himiko repeated. The chick nodded its head.

   "Tall creatures that walk on two feet, like you, took me and my mama away from my papa," the penguin explained. "After we got here, something happened to my mama. Everyday since we've been here, she would get sleepier and sleepier. One day, I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't move. That's how I knew...she entered the Great Sleep. Back home, the bigger Flappers would tell us little ones all about it."

   "I'm really sorry about your mama," Himiko replied sadly. "Um...what are 'Flappers,' though?"

   "That's what my kind is called," the penguin answered. "We're the Sea Flappers, but there are also Flappers of the sky, the ones who can actually fly. But, us Sea Flappers can't. We can only swim and walk on snow. The tall, two-legged creatures who captured us called us 'pinkwins.'" Himiko smiled.

   "Oh...no, it's pronounced 'penguins,'" she corrected. "Nyeh...but, that's a cute name for you! Oh, my! Do you have a name?" The baby penguin shook his head sadly. 

   "No," he answered with a melancholy whisper as a single tear fell from his eye. "My mama and papa never got to name me."

   "Well...I think you should be named Pinkwin," Himiko said. "It's a cute name for you." Pinkwin looked up at Himiko with a happy smile. He started bobbing up and down with his stubby, little feet.

   "Oh, boy! I have a name! I have a name!" he shouted. "I'm Pinkwin, the Sea Flapper!" Himiko giggled. Suddenly, Pinkwin became sad all over again. "I'm glad I have a name, but...I'll never see my papa again." The little penguin buried his fuzzy head into his small wings and began to cry. Himiko felt her heart plummet. She wanted nothing more than to help Pinkwin reunite with his father. But it's not like she could just snatch him away and walk out of there, right? Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. She turned back to Pinkwin.

  "Nyeh...Pinkwin, I'm going to help you, okay?" she said. Pinkwin's little face lit up.

   "You are?!" he squeaked. 

   "Yes, but..." She paused to look around her to make sure nobody was listening. "...I have to come back at night. Do you think you can wait for me, then?"

   "Mmm...okay! Okay!" Pinkwin exclaimed excitedly. "Wow! I get to go home! I get to go home! I'm gonna see my papa, again!" 

   "Okay...I'll be back tonight, okay?" Himiko promised. 

    "Okay! Okay!" Pinkwin replied, happily bouncing up and down. With one last smile, Himiko stood up and discreetly observed her surroundings, looking around for any cameras. Like Kokichi was doing at GameSlop at that very moment, Himiko herself began casing the joint.