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Total darkness, empty mind, no sound.The silence was the only thing that was ringing my ears, while my eyes were immersed in an endless black. Everything was calm, so calm that for a moment I almost felt sorry to leave that place. It was like the end was come, a truce, the solution to all life's problems, created without stopping. A sentence to suffering. But I liked that, I always liked life. Mine was special after all. I was an Ultimate.A nasty noise brought me back to reality, but this one was something new to me. I was completely alone, in unknown place.
It took me a few moments before I realized the room I was in was a classroom, and I was fell asleep sat on the cold floor made of stone. I suddenly stood up, dazed and confused. I looked around, searching for a landmark, something that could remind me why I was there, how long, and what had happened to me. But I didn't remember absolutely nothing. It felt like my brain had been emptied: a complete clean state.
I couldn't identify the source of that annoying noise, it had lasted, just enough to allow me to wake up abruptly.
I decided to try to move, and I difficultly took some steps towards the windows; the first thing I noticed were the bars that kept them securely shut. I froze for a few moments, even more confused. I reached out an hand towards those bars fixed to the wall. The contact with that cold metal felt as icy as the one I had with the checkered floor on which I had been sitting until a few moments before. My skin felt the sudden contact, and a shiver ran down my spine. I tried looking outside, but I couldn't see much except a deep blue panorama. More perplexed than before, I walked away from there.
I looked around, trying to concentrate.
The classroom was similar to many others I had seen in the past, if it hadn't been for one detail that made my blood run cold. I felt like I was being watched, something wasn't right... and I soon understood why. A camera was pointed steadily at me, and not very far from it there was a monitor equipped with a speaker hanging on the wall, probably the strangest one I had ever seen. I tried to gesture to the instrument with that dark lens, waving my hands."Hey! Is there anybody out, there? Can someone tell me where I am?"No response came. I felt more tense than ever. I certainly couldn't stay in there much longer, I felt the need to leave. The door was there, standing in front of me.
My hand reached the knob, and once again felt the cold contact of metal. My heart was pounding, yet I wasn't in such a strange place. It was... a school, right? I took courage, and finally opened that door.
What I found before my eyes was nothing absurd, it was just a corridor. Dimly lit, with several doors. I couldn't even see the end very well from that point.
I turned towards the door I had just left: next to it, a sign saying "1-A" indicated which class that classroom belonged to. Next to that there was another one, 1-B.
Startled, I looked back at the corridor.I was afraid to continue, I was invaded by that typical man's fear of what he doesn't know. The more I explored that place, instead of receiving answers, more and more questions arose. The most frustrating thing, however, was that I couldn't explain how I got there. I swallowed, and touched my forehead, realizing how much I was sweating. It was all so absurd, I had never felt such anxiety even at one of my tournaments.
Anguish had always been a dear and old friend to me, like one of those people who have always known each other and who know each other too well... but never had it been so strong, so damn intrusive. My feet were glued to the floor, I couldn't move. I felt suffocated. The feeling that something was wrong had grown enormously, I was so uncomfortable that I was on the verge of vomiting. And I was just walking out of a classroom.
I felt the urgent need to go to the bathroom, or I knew I would leave a mess on the floor. I quickly looked around and, seeing what seemed to me to be the service door - a nauseating electric blue - I rushed in that direction, managing to move and lock myself inside that room. I lunged for the sink, taking deep breaths. The feeling of nausea was always present, however... that damned anxiety didn't seem to subside. I put my hand towards the tap, opening it, and a jet of crystalline water began to flow over the surface. I wet my palms, my fingertips, and splashed my face. Only once I lowered my hands did I notice my reflection in the mirror.
It was always me, the usual me. Perpetually messy dark brown hair, with a rebellious quiff tending upwards, blue eyes, skin that is far too pale. All my earrings were always there, not a single one was missing. My clothes were similar to what I usually wore, except that I didn't remember ever actually seeing them in my closet: a beige turtleneck, high-waisted fabric trousers with a checkered pattern. My favorite scarf, in grey cashmere, kept my neck warm, the two ends falling in front and behind my back. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The reflection of that young teenager had reassured me about my person, I had not lost myself. At that moment, my identity was the only certainty I had. I took a deep breath, trying to think calmly.
I was - or so I thought I remembered - Masao Nozomu, sixteen years old. Good-looking, with average height, apparently the most common of teenagers. However, I was more than aware that I was anything but normal. I was perhaps one of the chosen few - one of the superiors. I was an Ultimate, the Ultimate Chessplayer.
I remembered all my matches, from the first to the last. I closed my eyes, trying to picture some of them in my mind: the first ever, in which I had faced my father, the first time I won at the school tournament, and then moved on with impressive speed to say the least to the challenges with real and own robots, even in world championships. There were no failures in my memoirs. I had always been the best, a complete winner in the art of chess. I remembered the hours spent in front of that black and white marble slab, spent racking my brains to try to predict the opponent's moves, to try to achieve victory. The dilated pupils of each of my spectators, the palpable anguish, the great tension among the audience... I remembered how those people looked at me, and everyone always thought the same question. Would the great Masao win again? Punctually, my checkmate arrived directly, and here was the applause, the whistles, the tears of joy from my mother, from behind the scenes. Mommy loves you so much, darling.
But at that moment there was no audience, there was no my mother, there was no damn chessboard. There was only me, my reflection, and the water still running over the sink. Everything seemed ghostly, gloomy, in my eyes it was even worse than it was in reality... but finally something freed me from that trance state.It was the sound of a door opening and, immediately after, a voice. A girl's voice."Oh! So I heard right, there's someone else too! Did you come here out of nowhere too, by any chance?"I turned to the person who had just spoken, and froze even more than before, if only for a few moments. From the door of the bathroom where I had taken refuge, the figure of a young woman had emerged. She was shorter than me, her hair was a dark pinkish blonde, gathered in a low bun, with two tufts framing her face. She had yellowish siren eyes, with long black eyelashes, her lips were full, highlighted by a red tint, and she had a small mole on her cheek. She stared at me with a genuine smile, and the more I looked at her, the more I realized how hypnotic those irises were. I cleared my throat after a few moments, not realizing how red my cheeks had become."Um... y-yes, that's right. I woke up in a classroom just a few minutes ago."The girl crossed her arms over her chest, nodding."Yeah, it's the same thing that happened to me. I can't really remember how I got there
here..."We remained silent for a few more moments, and I took the opportunity to observe her better. I had never seen her before, but for some reason she looked familiar. She wore a white shirt, open just enough to allow any man to imagine everything imaginable. A loosely tied black tie trailed down her chest to the leather belt that held her over bluish bell-bottom jeans. She seemed focused, probably trying to remember something, anything. But, like me, she didn't seem to be succeeding."I don't remember how I got here either, to be honest. But I have a bad feeling."She turned her gaze back on me, staring at me. He seemed to be looking at me intensely, so much so that it almost put me in awe. I gulped, why was she staring at me like that?
Noticing my discomfort, she smiled again, this time more mischievously."There's no need to be so tense, Mr. Blue Eyes. I'm just as lost as you are, we're in the same boat."Mister blue eyes? That nickname only made me blush even more. But what did this one want? I cleared my throat, trying to remain calm. I had to calm down."You're... right. Sorry if I seemed... way too agitated."She shrugged her shoulders. How could she be so impassive? She seemed amused, almost. At that moment, I envied her with all my being."Don't worry. I understand, after all we don't know where we are. Did you have a panic attack?""Eh? Oh- yes, yes, I really think I had one... when I don't understand the situation I'm in and I have no points of reference, I always get a little anxious... moreover, I suffer from claustrophobia, so this situation is definitely the worst to me."The question left me perplexed, how did she figure this out? This bothered me slightly, but I responded politely anyway. I wasn't used to being seen in that state, especially by a complete stranger.
At my statement, her eyes seemed to scrutinize me even more."Oh, I see...Are you better now?"I nodded hesitantly, I had never liked answering personal questions. I never liked talking about myself in the first place. What did this little blonde want? She certainly wasn't worried about me, since she didn't even know my name."How did you figure that out, exactly?"In response, the girl smiled again.
That ironic smile made me even more in awe."What? That you were having a panic attack? Hehe... let's just say it's my talent."When she said that word, a doubt assailed me.
Would it be...?"Your talent, you say? So... you're an Ultimate too?!"Finally that damned smile vanished, replaced by an expression of pure surprise."Yes, that's right! So are you too?"The answer gave me a strange sensation.
Of course, my questions were even more now, but at least I wasn't alone anymore. A hope was kindling in me. Maybe I would have been able to understand what was happening. Maybe I would have been able to get to the truth."That's right. Masao Nozomu, Ultimate Chessplayer. And you are...?"That damned smirk reappeared on her lips."A chess player... I guess you're very smart, hm? Good to know..."Having said that, the girl offered me her hand, staring into my eyes."My name is Miwa, Miwa Sugiyama. I am the Ultimate Psychologist. It is a pleasure to meet you, Masao."When she told me his talent, everything immediately became clearer to me. Her persistent gaze, her questions, her acumen... but of course, she was a psychologist. Or aspiring, at least.
A shiver ran down my spine, it was as if I had been exposed. Was this what shrinks felt like? I should have been careful with that girl..."Um... my pleasure, Miwa. Psychology, then? Is this your talent?""Exactly. I've always been interested in psychology... the idea of knowing what goes through people's minds fascinates me so much. The human mind is so rich in mysteries... it's something stronger than me, I feel I have so thirsty for knowledge about it."I listened to her interestedly, noticing how her eyes sparkled as she talked about her talent. She must have particularly cared for it, since even I felt the passion with which she spoke to me about her desire to know."Wow... that's really cool, Miwa. I'm sure you're doing more than admirably."She giggled."Oh, thank you, although I must confess that in reality I cannot yet be defined as a real psychologist. It takes many years of study, and although I have informed myself on my own and have a more than acute predisposition on this type of work, I still have a lot to learn."While we were talking, the girl started walking. Following her out of that bathroom was almost natural for me, I didn't know where else to go after all."Makes sense. But I guess you have what it takes to pull it off."
I replied, observing the atmosphere around us with a curious look. Now that I had calmed down, the place seemed decidedly less spooky. Of course, the dim lighting didn't help to make it more welcoming at all, but it didn't seem that different from a school. A pretty run down and dismal school, but a school.
We remained in silence for a few moments, with only the sound of our footsteps accompanying us. After that, I gathered courage and spoke again."Um... do you have any idea where we are, or...?"Miwa turned her large yellowish eyes on me again."Honestly no... since there were classrooms, it would be logical to say that this is a school, even if it looks more like a prison...""Yeah, I agree, even if I didn't see any cells... rather, did you see the bars on the windows? They weren't reassuring at all.""Why, are those monitors and cameras reassuring? They give me the shivers... and to make matters worse, the stairs to the upstairs are blocked." She answered me.I sighed. What kind of situation...
Suddenly, Miwa had an epiphany."A school... hey, Masao... tell me, does the name Hope's Peak Academy mean anything to you?"When she mentioned that academy, I opened my eyes wide. Obviously I had heard of it, given my social position. Hope's Peak Academy was nothing more than an élite school, to which only a certain category of students were admitted - unless one attended the paid reserve course: those who particularly excelled in one talent, the hopes of future. The Ultimates...students like me.
It had been involved in a series of scandals until a few years earlier, as "The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History", but it did not take long before thanks to the members of a particular association, the Future Foundation, the situation was resolved stabilized and the school reopened. Strangely, at that moment I couldn't remember exactly what had happened during that catastrophe... I decided not to give it much thought, I had more important things to pay attention to."Yes, absolutely...! It's the high school I enrolled in... or rather, they called me.""Yes, yes, I know how it works, it's the faculty members who look for students for the main course, you can't sign up. However, I was called too." She told me in response."Um... you say this school... could be Hope's Peak Academy?" I asked her."It could be, but... don't you also think that it's a bit of a strange method to show us the building from the inside?"Miwa looked towards the glass windows of the corridor. Seeing those bars blocking the windows again made me feel a shiver."I don't like that stuff at all..." I muttered."I think that's the least of it. The point is that we're completely alone... or at least I think so."She retorted, looking at the crumbling walls surrounding us.
It was all too strange.
The floor was exactly like the one in the classroom I had woken up in: cold white marble in a checkerboard pattern, cracked in a few places. The windows were all blocked, the corridor was illuminated exclusively by LED lights that flickered on the ceiling."Where did you wake up?" I asked her, trying to look beyond those grates in front of the bellies, in vain."I said it, right? I was in a classroom. 1-B."I remembered the layout of the classrooms the moment I left, realizing that it was the one next to where I had woken up."I was in 1-A... strange though, I didn't see you come out."Miwa gave me a small smile."I think I woke up at least half an hour ago. I took a walk in the opposite direction before I caught you."I was taken aback by his statement. Half an hour earlier, she said?"So... you've explored quite a bit already, I'd say.""I wouldn't say quite a lot, but a good part of it. Besides the classrooms and bathrooms, I saw a couple of interesting rooms... if you want, we can explore them together afterwards. I don't think you have anything better to do, d 'moreover."I nodded, in fact Miwa wasn't entirely wrong. We were stuck there, and who knows how much longer we would be. It was worth giving it a try and exploring a little."Okay, then. That doesn't sound like a bad idea."We continued on, not saying a word. However, as we neared the end of the corridor, we heard some strange noises. There was a sort of buzz, a chatter, coming from one room in particular, which neither of them had yet entered. Miwa and I looked at each other, and we both thought the same thing."You think that...?""Yes, there is no doubt about it. We are not alone, Masao."I looked at the door rising before us. Next to it, there were a series of shoe cabinets, each labeled with last names. Kikuchi, Ishikawa, Sutēji, Kojima, Sugiyama, Nozomu... when I saw my last name, I was dumbfounded. There was also Miwa's."Hey, look at this..." I called his attention, kneeling in front of the various doors, to check them better. I opened the one with my name written on it, finding some gym clothes and a change of shoes inside. The size was mine, 10,5... they would have fit me like a glove. I found it extremely disturbing."Mh? Found anything interesting?"The girl approached curiously and, when she saw her last name on the locker, she giggled."How cute, they even put some lockers in there!"Her response made me nervous. Was it possible that she didn't realize the situation we were in? How the hell could she be so carefree? I jumped up, grabbing her by the shoulders."Hey, look, there's nothing to laugh about! Is it possible that you're underestimating the problem like this? Damn, we don't know where the fuck we are and you're giggling about lockers?! I find it disturbing, how do these people know our last names? ! Even my shoe size is correct... and then... what kind of place are we in?"Miwa's gaze suddenly darkened."First of all, get your hands off me."I realized I had been impulsive, so I pulled away from her."Ah... forgive me, I... I did it without thinking."She sighed, then her expression softened. Her eyes returned to mine, but this time they looked... reassuring."You're such an anxious little fellow, aren't you?"She smiled sweetly at me, putting her hands on her hips. She stood looking at me for a few moments, then lowered her head, letting out a sigh. She didn't seem so calm anymore."Listen... I'm a little worried myself. In fact, I'm terrified. I... I'm not used to being alone."She remained silent for a few more moments, then she raised her head and looked at me."But we shouldn't panic, okay? It wouldn't do any good, and we'd just end up despairing. For the moment, let's try to explore this place, maybe we'll discover some clues, who knows..."I felt guilty for reacting that way. I didn't even know her, and I already had objections to her way of doing things? If you don't know something, you shouldn't judge it. A sense of embarrassment made itself felt within me."You... you're right. I'm sorry, I always get so nervous when...""Don't apologize. It's not your fault. That's how it works when you're anxious."We turned to the door where the chatter was coming from, again."I guess it's the gym." I told her muttering. "Well, there are lockers and change..."The blonde looked at me, nodding towards the door."What do we do, try to get in?"I swallowed and once again looked at the door. I took deep breaths, trying not to rant. I felt so nervous... the unknown had always been my greatest fear. For someone like me, used to doing exclusively what I was good at... challenging myself on the rest has never been easy. Plus, I kept having that bad feeling... but I had no choice. Sometimes you just have to keep going.
I took a few steps towards the entrance, and when I reached the handle... I hesitated for a few seconds, then I opened the door and, finally, all my doubts about what it hid disappeared.The place, as I had imagined, was a huge school gym. A basketball court was drawn on the floor, and two baskets were placed at their respective ends. At the far end, a large stage stretched out and took up the entire front of the room. The thing that most caught my attention, however, was something else: besides me and Miwa, there were fourteen other people, who must have been more or less our age."Hey, there's two more!""Do you by any chance know where we are?""Oh my, what a situation..."Some of them spoke, some others were silent. Miwa and I exchanged looks for a few seconds, and then I spoke."We... we have no idea where we are either..."Silence fell. Before I said that sentence, there was an atmosphere of hope, as if we could finally receive an answer to all the questions that were storming their minds. But, unfortunately, I was as ignorant as them.It was Miwa who spoke again."Um... I think... it's time we introduced ourselves. I'm Miwa Sugiyama, and this is Masao Nozomu."Some of them nodded to us, and then silence fell again. The blonde reopened her mouth only a few moments later."Um... why are you all here in the gym, exactly?"A black-haired boy with bright green eyes answered her."We all arrived two by two, to tell the truth. And we couldn't get out of here for a very simple reason..."He looked at the door Miwa and I had just entered through."We were locked in. It probably only opens from the outside.""From the outside?" The psychologist turned up her nose, it seemed very strange to her.As soon as I realized what this meant, my blood ran cold. Not only were we stuck inside a school that felt like a prison, but now we were inside a gymnasium, with no way out. I felt my heart beat faster, and my breathing become more labored. Another panic attack seemed to be taking over.
Miwa, noticing my situation, put her hand on my shoulder and looked at the others. The warmth of his skin seemed to calm me, if only for a moment."Is there no way we can try to open it again or at least try to break it down? I don't think any of us really want to be stuck in here growing mouldy."A very short and not very curvy girl, with fluffy cotton candy pink hair, looked at her worriedly."Breaking in? Are we sure this is a good idea?""There's no harm in trying, right? Besides, honestly, someone like him could easily do it." Sugiyama replied, looking back at a very tall and muscular boy, dressed to the nines.
He snorted, straightening his tie."I'm not a battering-ram, I have no intention of ruining my dress."A young woman with long blue hair and crimson eyes was taken aback by his statement and responded contemptuously."Listen Hulk, break our balls less and try to make yourself useful, no one wants to stay here a minute longer! In a similar situation do you worry about the dress? Pathetic to say the least.""Appearance is the first impression you have on others, my dear. If I were you, I'd work on it for a while, seeing how you go around. I have high standards to keep.""How dare you, you know who I am?!"While those two were arguing, another girl, this time with long scarlet red hair and aqua green eyes, approached the door, about to open it. To everyone's great surprise, although the psychologist had closed it once she entered with me, it opened. My anxiety suddenly subsided."Ta-da! It was much easier than expected."A young man with very short white hair and black eyes rolled his eyes."What? How come it opens now?! We tried at least ten times!""It must be because we're all of us now."
The speaker was an apparently thoughtful-looking woman, with long straight blond hair, tied in a low ponytail, wearing a bluish uniform.
"So there are sixteen of us. Eight girls and eight boys... curious." She added.We all looked at each other, looking each other up and down. I felt a sort of deja-vu sensation, they all looked so familiar, but I was more than certain that I had never seen them before..."So... what do we do now?" A girl with large magenta eyes and long wavy hair asked."I'd say we split up and explore this place more, obviously! We need to find an exit." The girl dressed in blue replied."Okay, then... we could set up a time to meet up again and exchange some information about what we found." A boy with a platinum blonde quiff on his face suggested."I would propose that we meet here again in exactly an hour." Said a very short boy, with a perpetually angry look. We all looked at the large clock hanging on one of the walls of the gym: it was 11 AM."Sold on. If anyone finds anything, we'll all explore it thoroughly together later." Was the response of the redhead, the one who had opened the door.And so, one by one, each of the strangers I had met in that gym left the room. Only Miwa remained, and she smiled at me."So? How about we go exploring? No one said we can't go together. Besides, I promised you."I nodded. I just wasn't able to be alone at that time.
I felt like a failure, more confused than ever. A myriad of questions were bombarding me. I felt abandoned, abandoned to a fate I couldn't escape. I was extremely pathetic, I wasn't used to this kind of thing at all..."Hey... Masao? Is everything okay?" She asked, noticing my discomfort.I sighed, and looked at her face."Yes, yes... I'm fine, there's no need to worry." I cut it short, walking out.
I didn't even recognize myself anymore. Usually at my tournaments I was confident, convinced that I could always win, without the slightest doubt... and so it was. I was a winner. And at that moment I felt like a failure.
Miwa didn't say anything to me, but I had the feeling that she actually understood that I wasn't well at all. Luckily, she didn't answer me, but continued to walk along beside me in silence.
As soon as we left the gym, we returned to the corridor we were in before.
Not many meters from us, there was the boy with the blond tuft, who was looking at the windows."It's a shame... you can hardly see the sky from here..."I approached curiously, standing behind him."The sky, you say? I hadn't noticed... I was more focused on the bars on the windows..."He turned around, letting out a sigh. Meanwhile, my partner also joined me."I hope I have a way to watch it again... it's my favorite thing in the world."Miwa remained silent for a few seconds, then asked a question, which honestly I had been wondering myself for some time."Um...are you an Ultimate too?"The blond man smirked."So we're all here, apparently. I'd say it's time to introduce myself, at this point... I'm Daiki Oomori, the Ultimate Astrophysicist. I've already written a couple of treatises on space, but I don't think I'll you've ever heard of. It's boring stuff read by boring people who talk about boring things, after all."An astrophysicist. I was amazed, I knew how difficult it was to study such a subject..."Wow... you have all my admiration." I admitted."From what I know, astrophysics is really complicated." Miwa added, looking at him with her amber eyes.I looked at him better too, while I was at it.
He was taller than me, with medium-length blonde hair, with one strand tickling his face. She had no particular features, except for a splash of freckles on her cheeks and light brown eyes. He was a singular guy, but despite appearances he seemed composed, rather calm. But this was only the first impression, of a calculator like me, but the first impression."It may be complicated, but it is undoubtedly fascinating. And what about your talents?""Oh, I'm an aspiring psychologist." Sugiyama smiled at him, and Oomori looked interested."Psychology... reminds me of astronomy, in a certain sense. Behind it is the desire to want to know the reality in which we live, and to know how to deal with it... that's how science works, after all.""Do you believe in science a lot?" I asked him, suddenly.He chuckled in response."I study astrophysics, Masao. I firmly believe in science. An human being... is truly capable of doing great things."He closed his eyes for a few moments."But we must be careful not to have the arrogance of considering ourselves superior to everything."I didn't answer. I didn't have the mind to engage in a philosophical conversation... not at that moment, at least. Rather, he was the first to open his mouth again, addressing me directly."Ah, forgive me... I think I missed your talent. You know, I think I've seen you somewhere before...""I'm a chess player." I replied, decided.Daiki's eyes widened, as amazed as I was when I heard his talent."Ah, that's where I've seen you before! On TV! I remember a few years ago the news about a middle school boy who had beaten the world chess champion. So it was you, huh?"I smiled slightly and nodded. I didn't consider what I did that special, to be honest. I did what I was good at.
In the rest, I was a total incompetent."Yes, that's right. But at least two years have passed since that time.""I didn't think you were that famous, Masao." Miwa murmured, surprised. Evidently she wasn't the type to watch television very often.I scratched the back of my neck, a little embarrassed. I hadn't received any compliments in a while, actually."Changing the subject... so they're all Ultimates here? Miwa and I thought that... well... that this might be Hope's Peak Academy."Daiki gave us a bitter smile."My, you have some imagination... honestly, that's a renowned school. I doubt it would fall to pieces like this building... and then, I don't understand why we should give us such a disturbing welcome."He wasn't entirely wrong, after all. It wasn't a logical conclusion... maybe it was just a vague attempt for me to hope that reality was as I believed it to be."It was just a theory... although I don't deny the truth of what you say. And besides, no school keeps their windows closed with bars, that I know of." Miwa murmured. Somehow, she seemed to be disconsolate too.Oomori looked back at the window."This situation... is frustrating." Sigh. We were all in the same situation, the fear of the unknown was present in each of us... and it was stronger than ever. I felt lost, lost. I hated that feeling."I think it's time for us to continue exploring..." Miwa cut in, noticing how the atmosphere between all three was getting worse. I nodded, I agreed with her.
Daiki greeted us, and we continued on.
The corridor was long, and several doors faced its walls. A few meters from the gym, there was the entrance to another room."I didn't come in here either before I met you... so I don't know what to expect."The blonde confessed to me. I shrugged, we didn't have much to fear. Now there were no longer just two of us, but sixteen of us. If help was needed, someone would come.
We entered slowly, and surveyed the room we had just entered.
It was a dining room, and it looked much tidier than the rest of the school. The yellowish walls had just a couple of cracks, and the windows - despite being barred - flooded the room with sunlight. A large white clock sat above the front door, and it matched the large table in the center of the room.
Besides us, two other people were exploring the room. One was the first boy who had spoken to us: long pitch black hair, bright green eyes, a little shorter than me. He was wearing a sort of mask pulled down, a pair of large protective goggles on his forehead, and a pair of latex gloves. She seemed to be conversing something to the other person in the room, a girl with purple-magenta eyes, long wavy mahogany hair, with a treble clef pin in her hair."...so that's how it works.""Thanks for the explanation, but... I don't understand anything about science...""Look, it's more interesting than it seems! Do you have any idea how much interesting stuff can be done with chemistry? Compounds, reactions... even poisons or drugs! Hehe, if you ever feel like getting a little high, you know where to find me."The boy laughed heartily. The brunette on the other hand didn't seem very convinced, in fact, she seemed rather uncomfortable."I... I don't think it's necessary... no.""You don't know what you're missing. I know how to make psychedelic pills that are the bomb. I can't wait to learn how to cook meth properly!""The what...?""Methamphetamine, honey, come on! What country do you live in?!"The two only turned around once they finished speaking, noticing how Sugiyama and I had arrived in the canteen."Ah, we're not alone anymore, I see. Oh well, we might as well introduce ourselves, I guess. Are you...?" The raven asked."Uhm... we met a few minutes ago... I'm Masao, and this is Miwa...""Ah, yes, I forgot, you introduced yourselves before. I'm Yoshino Kikuchi, the Ultimate Chemist. This one is... um... what's your name already, sweetie? I have a terrible memory when it comes to the names."The girl blushed at his nickname. She had a faint voice, she must have been very shy indeed."Oh, um... I'm Setsuko Akamatsu. Ultimate Violinist."Other Ultimates... it was an absurd situation. Who knows why we, all over the world...
Miwa smiled toothily, looking into the eyes of the brunette, with the particular magenta eyes."Oh! Yes, I remember you! My parents love classical music very much, we often play it in the background while we have family dinner and most of the time we play recordings of your works, and also of another girl playing the piano, your sister if I'm not wrong... you're really good! Your way of playing the violin has something so magical... it's as if it touches my heart every time I listen to it."Setsuko blushed even more. She almost made me tender, she had a truly fragile look, as if a simple gust of wind could carry her away. That long mahogany hair, the drooping eyes, the upturned nose... although she was very pretty, she had a disconsolate look, as if she lay down carrying a strange melancholy in her heart."How touching we are. Well, this kind of thing isn't for me." The raven snorted, looking disapproving."Why, what kind of hobbies are you typically interested in?" I asked with curiosity. I had to admit, my companions in misadventures really seemed like strange types. Maybe we were all crazier than each other."Lmao, I like making things explode. And money. I really love money." He replied, his tone far too calm for what he was saying."Explosions..? It seems a little dangerous to me..." Miwa retorted, without however giving any signs of wanting to make the same mischievous smile as before disappear."I don't give a fuck, 'kay? They're so cool, making atoms react to create explosions is really fucking exciting...! But even better is creating drugs."I remained silent for a few moments, too stunned to speak."Sorry, what?"Yoshino started laughing out loud.
"You heard right Rambo, drugs! They're the best way to earn fucking money, the market is huge, and what's more I can deal them in class. Nobody ever checks anyway, nobody ever catches me and I pocket the bucks.""Rambo? Could that be me?" I thought."What are you, some sort of Walter White from Breaking Bad?" Miwa exclaimed, quite perplexed."I wished that! My dream is to become a great like him. Do you know what a great life I would have with all that money? Other than looking after my family..."Sugiyama and I exchanged a puzzled look, after which she turned to Akamatsu, deliberately deciding to ignore the other."Um... look Setsuko, tell me... this is a cafeteria, right?"The brunette nodded. "Apparently so... and it seems very well stocked. There are a lot of supplies... it's unusual. Especially since this place is abandoned..."The mystery was deepening. It was weird like what, why all the food? Could it have been planned to keep us there for days? But for what purpose?"This is all so strange... but they really don't want to keep us here to rot any longer." The psychologist sighed."Have you found an exit?" I asked, trying not to think too much of the worst. Unfortunately, Akamatsu shook his head.
"The second door here brings to a food storage. Nothing more."She fell silent again, while Yoshino seemed to be muttering something to himself about some test tubes he had in his pocket."Well... I don't think there's much else to explore here. I guess we can leave." I sighed, turning on my heel. Miwa followed me in silence, without saying anything else.
Of fourteen of our companions, one might expect that some might be... extravagant. Statistically speaking, it was more than likely, right?"Honestly, I don't feel very comfortable being stuck in a building with someone obsessed with drugs or explosions..." Miwa commented. I smiled slightly, I couldn't blame her. However, I had a feeling that she would be just the first of the strange people we would meet.We continued along the corridor and, once we reached the classrooms from which we had woken up, we met another girl, it was the one with the blue uniform, irises of the same color and long blond hair, who had taken control of the situation when we were all in the gym."HEY! Did you guys find anything?" She stopped us suddenly, in an extremely forceful tone of voice."Um... no?" I replied, slightly perplexed. Now what did she want?"I see... keep looking, then!" She urged us accordingly.Miwa looked at her unconvinced."And what about you...? Are you going to sit here twiddling your thumbs, forgive me?"She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest."Of course, of course not! I, Rei Masayoshi, as the Ultimate Policewoman have the task of supervising the situation and making sure that each of you is giving your best to get out of this absurd situation!"A cop? All we were missing was this. In fact, it was more than obvious from her uniform, even she barely wore a medal."Oookay... sounds like an excuse to me to do absolutely nothing and leave the dirty work to others, honestly..." Sugiyama commented sarcastically.The cop crossed her arms over her chest, huffing."NEVER! Danger is always lurking, do you understand? ALWAYS!""It still seems like an excuse to me." Miwa admitted.Rei seemed to get excited, but I couldn't decide whether it was from anger or excitement."Don't challenge me, do you understand? Right now I represent the law, and if you contradict me, you contradict the law! And do you know what happens to those who contradict - or rather, break - the law?""Um... do they end up in prison?" I said, vaguely."Exactly! But the boy is perceptive!" She laughed loudly. Next, she unhooked a pair of handcuffs from her skirt, swinging them in front of Sugiyama."So watch what you say or I'll arrest you!""But don't tell me... And with what accusation, please?" Miwa replied. It was the first time since we spoke with the other Ultimates that I had heard her use such an ironic tone."Contempt against a public official, without a shadow of a doubt!"Sugiyama looked at me for a few moments, and I felt all her discomfort. As bad as I felt for her, the situation was so pathetic and hilarious that I couldn't help but laugh."What's funny, young master? Look, I'll arrest you too!" Masayoshi yelled in my face, still waving the handcuffs."She's is not a clown. She's the whole circus." Miwa whispered, making me laugh even more. Luckily, she didn't hear that."So, Masaru? Do you find this funny?" Rei continued.
I calmed down and shook my head."No ma'am!"My answer seemed to comfort her."Very good. Then come on, don't waste any more time! GET AWAY!"Without having to repeat it again, Sugiyama and I hastily slipped into the first room we found, 1-B."God... what kind of problem does that one have? Other than a policewoman... what a freak..." Miwa complained nervously, making me giggle again."Yo, who's a freak?"We both turned to whoever had just spoken.
It was the boy with very short white hair and black eyes, with a tanned skin. He wore a jacket and a loose-fitting tank top, which left room to admire his biceps and part of his pecs. On his sweatpants, black roses were embroidered. On his head he wore a crooked hat, and around his neck was a golden chain. It didn't take me long to hypothesize what his talent might be, even more so after hearing him speak. He spoke as quick as light."The crazy blonde out here." I replied, in a calm tone."Ah, yes. Yes, she's been pissing me off before, too, with all her threats of arrest. Let her try to get me if she can, I live on the edge of the law, man!"Miwa seemed to be the only one who wasn't amused in that situation."I don't want to have anything to do with that one.""Come on, he didn't do anything special..." I replied, but Sugiyama immediately interrupted me."It bothered me. And it pisses me off. Regardless of whether it's serious or not, I can't stand it."The boy who was with us chuckled."Wow wow, chick, don't listen to that one, she must just be jealous because you have a nicer ass than hers!"Miwa's cheeks turned red."Excuse me?!"I stifled another laugh. Despite the delirious situation, I certainly couldn't say I wasn't having fun."Come on, it was just a joke! But I could put it on one of my tracks. I could, like, write... I was locked in, man, these bitches want me to get them out, they shake their ass, those chicks are fighting, there's competition. To make the continuation even more interesting I should fuck you, but you have to agree on this too."I held Sugiyama by the arm, she looked furious. Fortunately, I managed to prevent her from slapping him."How dare you, you pervert?!" She shouted at him, and in response he started laughing again."Oh, come on, are you really offended? You've obviously never read the lyrics to a rap song, baby! I assure you, you'll find even worse! And then, I could have said much worse... for example... these sluts have lost their minds for me, they all want to jump on my cock, man I fuck them like cows!""You're a rapper, then?" I spoke before Miwa could yell anything else at him.He smiled big and nodded, crossing his arms."Bingo! The greatest artist of the century, is here before your eyes, man! Also known as Minoru Murakami, Ultimate Rapper! Although unfortunately I still haven't been able to find an artist pseudonym...""I've heard of you before... although I admit I don't listen to rap much. I'm more into 70s rock. You know... Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin..." I confided in him. He shrugged."Dude, I certainly don't force other people to listen to my stuff. But be warned, you're missing out on some killer tunes! You and the chick!"Sugiyama wanted to reply, evidently that nickname was making her uncomfortable, but she only opened her mouth for a moment. After that, she was silent again.
I looked at her, feeling sorry for her. I felt guilty, maybe I should have said something to that Minoru..."Okay, just... maybe don't write any pieces about, um... chicks, okay? You're making Miwa uncomfortable."Murakami blinked for a few seconds, then burst out laughing."Ah, I get it! You're defending your woman! If you're jealous, you don't want a playboy like me to fuck her before me!""Huh? HUH?! What?! No, I mean- I-! I didn't mean that!" My face felt hot, I must have been as red as a pepper. I didn't have the courage to look at Miwa, why was this guy embarrassing us both so much?"Don't play dumb with me man, I totally get it! I've seen that look on tons of guys, I have to admit you have really good taste in chicks!"This time I was the one who almost raised my hands to him, and Sugiyama was the one who held me down. She was staring at the floor, her two pinkish blonde bangs covering her flushed cheeks."Let's just leave, okay?" She murmured, in a small voice.I nodded and, without even saying goodbye to Minoru - who was laughing under his breath - we both left the classroom. Luckily, Rei didn't seem to be around, so I took the opportunity to talk to Miwa for a moment."Hey... are you okay? You shouldn't worry about someone like that."She sighed, then looked at my face, and her trademark smirk reappeared."I could tell you the same thing... anyway, yes, I'm fine. Don't pay too much attention to it... I'm just... I'm not very used to being sought after by men, that's all."I empathized a lot with her words... I too, to tell the truth, had always had problems with girls. But I was very ashamed to admit it out loud."Don't worry, I guess. Instead, let's continue exploring." I replied, cutting it short.Sugiyama nodded, and we both walked towards another door, in front of the classrooms... but this one didn't open."Huh? This damn door won't open!" I exclaimed.Miwa looked at the door, a little confused."Oh, really? Not bad, there wasn't anything that interesting. Before, during my exploration, it opened... there was only a small closed garden, with a very poor taste fountain. Nothing useful."With that, she continued down the corridor. I listened to her, and yet... there was something about that door that didn't convince me. I had a bad feeling...
What diverted my attention from this was the meeting with two other companions of our misadventures: one was the tall - TOO tall - and muscular man, who wore the elegant suit, with dull lilac hair, tending towards grey, with violet eyes. The other was a dowdy girl, much shorter than him, with a pair of large round glasses on her face. The hair was thick, not very tidy, shoulder length, light blue coloured. Her greenish irises, however, stood out among the dark circles surrounding her eyes."This door still won't open?""No... it says dormitories though... I don't think it will be a surprise what awaits us back there.""I see. What about the boat? Is there really no way to build one?""Not at all. I saw absolutely nothing... I'm sorry, I'm afraid we should find another way out of here.""Of course, not knowing where we are in the world doesn't help at all..."I found their conversation interesting, although it rekindled in me that sense of anguish I had felt before. He was the man who noticed us first, and immediately greeted us with a bow."Ah, the two who arrived last. From what I remember, I didn't have a chance to introduce myself. Reiji Yahari, Ultimate Defense Attorney."He smiled brightly, then turned to the blue-haired girl."And this gentle miss at my side is...""I can introduce myself, really, no problem." The other interrupted him. She also bowed, decidedly more awkward than his, and then adjusted her glasses."Himari Kojima, Ultimate Historian. Nice to meet you..."A historian and a defense lawyer. I found it particular as a pairing."My pleasure." I replied, giving a small bow in greeting in turn. Miwa also did the same, but since that rapper had started saying those things, she had strangely fallen silent. I hoped she might feel better, but I didn't stay to comment for the moment.
Maybe it was time to leave her alone for a while."If I may ask, what were you talking about?" I asked, with a hint of concern in my voice.Reiji shook his head, smiling at me again."Ah, no trouble, we would have said it anyway at the meeting with everyone in the gym. We simply can't escape."His response petrified me."Sorry... what?! What do you mean?! Isn't there a way out?" I exclaimed, in an agitated tone... but I immediately composed myself. It wasn't plausible, it wasn't logical. This couldn't be the truth."No... that's not true. You were talking about boats... do you mean to say... that we are on an island?"Yahari nodded, pleasantly surprised."Exactly, it's just as you say. I asked dear Himari to check in here if there were any materials to build one, but I checked outside. But unfortunately there's no trace of anything similar."The sense of anxiety grew within me again. My heart started pounding again... I hated all of this. With all my might."The outside... what's it like out there?" I asked in a small voice."See for yourself..." Kojima replied, moving from in front of the exit. Followed by Miwa, my hand once again came into contact with an iron doorknob.
When I finally opened it, it was like waking up from a dream. The air. I could feel it, on my face that fresh breeze was making me feel alive... were we outside? Were we... free?
I immediately felt more euphoric, however... my enthusiasm plummeted as soon as I had a chance to look at the rest of the environment around me.
It was just an illusion, that of freedom.
Beyond several meters of land, on which I could see a secondary building not far away, there was only the sea.
We were surrounded by water. Completely."We'll let you continue on your own... for anything, if you need, you can come and look for us." Himari smiled at us. With that, she and the lawyer turned their backs to us and closed the door.It didn't take long before a girl with long red hair, who was exploring that area, joined us."Oh, you made it too!" She giggled. She seemed so... amused. I couldn't understand if he was underestimating the situation or if he was already slowly abandoning himself to madness... I hoped with all my heart that it was neither of the two options."Hey... out here exploring too?" I asked her, smiling ironically. Sugiyama was still strangely silent.
She nodded."I didn't have many other options. You are Masao and Miwa, right? Hehe, my pleasure, you can call me Asteria."I blinked a couple of times, surprised."Asteria? Aren't you Japanese like us?"She burst out laughing, nodding."Of course I am, silly! I simply... have no intention of telling you my real name, much less my talent. You don't need to know, after all... and then, I don't think you'd take me seriously if I told you."Her turquoise eyes... had a strange light as she uttered those bitter words. Anyway, how could I blame her? In fact, her answer was logical, sensible. I couldn't possibly blame her on that."So you don't trust us?" I only asked her, in a reductive way.You don't have much trouble smiling and nodding."That's right. I don't trust anyone... and I don't see why I should. I don't know you, after all! Who's to say that some of you can't use what they know about me to turn the tables?""I don't think I have a good reason to do this..." I commented, with a hint of sarcasm in my voice.
She didn't answer me. Her gaze was focused on Miwa for a moment. the two had exchanged a look, for several seconds, in total silence. After that, Asteria grinned again, and turned her attention to the sea, turning in that direction."Surprised, right? Apparently there's no escape."I was slowly losing all hope. Was this... going to be my life from that moment on? The idea of having to go through life like this... it was just terrible. I didn't know anything. Absolutely nothing. It was my biggest fear."We'll... find one." I muttered. "Someone will notice we're missing from home. My mother... my mother couldn't live without me. They'll come get us."The redhead laughed again.
"Stop laughing." I thought. "There's nothing to laugh about."
Yet, even though I thought this... my heart didn't believe my own words."This fervent belief in hope of yours is so funny! Your mommy will never come looking for you. You have to accept reality for what it is. We're stuck here, just fucking accept it."When she said those words, she wasn't laughing anymore. Her expression was deadly serious.
I swallowed. My mind, that of a skilled calculator... agreed with her. The problem was my heart. She didn't seem to want to accept such a situation."This thing... is illogical."It was finally Miwa who spoke. She looked straight into Asteria's eyes, with a serious expression."You can't take it for granted. If you don't look at all the possibilities, you'll never know the truth. So there's no point in what you say. Unless you know for sure, 100%, that no one is coming to save us. Am I right?"The two stared at each other intently for a few more moments. After that, Asteria looked away."You really don't want to give in, huh? Well, well... I expect great things from you."Without giving us any further explanations, she walked across the sand, heading towards the sea. She never uttered a single word again.
Miwa sighed, and I looked back at her."Hey... are you feeling better?"She nodded hastily."Yes, yes... I was just thinking, I told you there was no need to worry about me."Sugiyama raised his face, pointing his eyes towards the figure of Asteria, who was observing the sea at that point far away from us, with her back to us."That girl... she gives me the creeps."I let out yet another sigh of that day. That situation... was so absurd that it almost seemed like a bad dream. I prayed, silently, in my heart, that I would wake up soon if that were the case. But it was all too real to be fiction. My anxiety, it was fucking real."Me too. But... she's right."I closed my eyes. To face reality... would I really have been able to?"Excuse me, did you happen to see a girl in a tutu walking by here?""Huh?"I turned around, and found myself face to face with another boy. He had soft orange hair, which reached almost to his collarbones, brown eyes, a band on his forehead."No... no, we didn't see her."Miwa murmured. Her smile no longer appeared... she must have been as confused and scared as I was. Maybe she had been from the beginning, but she had been good at hiding it."But where did it go..."
He sighed, then put both hands on his hips.
"That girl is going to drive me crazy.""Were you paired up with her to explore?" I asked, with a curious tone.He nodded his head at me.
"Exactly, except that I was distracted for a moment looking at the sea, and then she disappeared... women, how many problems they cause me...""Um...sorry...if I may ask, who are you?" Miwa then asked, taking advantage of the situation."Huh? HUH? You don't know who I am?!"Sugiyama and I both exchanged confused looks, trying to find support in each other... but no, we had no clue who he was.
He seemed rather disappointed by this admission."Oh, come on! I've been in tons of music videos, but where do you live?! My name is Takefumi Ishikawa, and I'm a dancer. The Ultimate Breakdancer, to be precise.""Never heard of..."
Miwa voiced my thoughts.He snorted, clearly offended."Stay totally out of touch, let me tell you.... I would like to stay here and tell you four things, but I can't afford to waste any more time. I have to find Emiko."So, once this was said, the boy immediately rushed back into the main structure."Poor thing." I commented, and Miwa smiled bitterly. At least, those new life companions of ours knew how to make us laugh a few times.
I turned to her again, pointing to the secondary building, not far from where we were."What do you say, let's go explore over there?""Yes, it seems like the most reasonable idea..."Having said that, we walked in silence towards the other structure, which stood a few meters from the main one. We were in dead silence, neither of us had the courage to say a word. We were probably both at our limit. Scared, with strangers... it was certainly not a situation for everyone. Even less so for two sixteen-year-olds who had just met.
The atmosphere around us, however, was undoubtedly calm.
The sea waves caused that pleasant noise that was so reminiscent of summer, accompanied by the seagulls flying above us. I looked at them for a few moments, and I envied them. If I could, I would have done like them. I would have flown away, away from that place.
At the time I still didn't know that this would only be the beginning.
Miwa was also silent. The feeling I had towards her was strange. We had just met, I had already misjudged her a couple of times, but... I was wrong. I felt like I wanted to be his friend. As a couple, some things are easier to bear than alone. And maybe we both just needed this, a friend.It didn't take long before we finally arrived in front of the secondary building. Externally, it was exactly the same as the school, it was just... smaller. But the height and the walls were identical, the latter were equally ruined.
Above the door there was a bright sign, with a large lettering: ULTIMATE LABS."What do you think that writing stands for, Masao?" Sugiyama asked me.I had no idea, honestly.
"I don't know... maybe they are laboratories for us Ultimates? That's the only explanation I can come up with.""Well, we'll only find out one way."So, with a slightly more determined attitude, we entered.
I immediately noticed how the stairs to the upper floor were blocked here too, and how the various accesses to the other rooms were colorful. There was a much happier atmosphere in that room than in the school."Well... choose a door. We have to explore them all anyway." Miwa told me.I opened one at random, without even reading the sign, and we both entered the room.
It was a laboratory, unlike any I had ever seen.
There were movie sets, movie posters, stage costumes, mirrors, cameras, and a vast library. Sitting on a chair, the typical director's chair, there was a boy. I recognized him immediately: it was the little "dwarf" with the angry face that we had seen with the others in the gym.
As soon as he noticed us, he took a megaphone from the ground and said something to us from that point."You are not allowed in here! Only members of the set are allowed!"Miwa and I exchanged a puzzled look."...we're just exploring, as we agreed before!" I tried to say it myself, but that damned dwarf turned up the volume on his megaphone."I said YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED! The great, magnificent Tatsuo Honshiro, the Ultimate Director, forbids you from entering! So DISAPPEAR!"I opened my mouth to reply, but Sugiyama stopped me."Forget it... let's not waste any more time. We'll have other opportunities to explore here."Annoyed by this "defeat", I followed what Miwa had said, and closed the door behind me."Damn... you're saying that was really Tatsuo Honshiro?" She then murmured, as we approached another door, opposite that of the dwarf's laboratory."That's what he said...""Wow... if it was really him, it would be absurd... he's an amazing director, he made so many of my favorite films..."Since I wanted to become her friend, I thought that asking her more about herself wouldn't be a bad idea."You really like cinema, then?""Yes... it's one of my greatest hobbies. It allows me to immerse myself in different lives... and to be able to escape from reality... even for just two hours..."She closed her eyes for a few moments and then smiled warmly at me."And you, Masao? Do you have a favorite movie?""Well, yes... I really liked Carlito's Way. At the final scene I cried like a baby. I can't deny it, gangsters's movies are my favourite." I confessed to her, laughing too, as I scratched the back of my neck.I wanted to ask her which films she loved the most, when suddenly the door of the laboratory we were heading to opened.
A girl, the shortest of all those we had met, had just opened the entrance to her little kingdom."Oh, hello! Did you want to explore here?"
He asked, with a sweet smile.
Her candy pink irises matched her cotton candy colored hair, tied in two large fluffy braids. She had practically no shape, for a moment I thought she was a little girl... even more so because of the way she was dressed. It had so much lace and bows on that lilac skirt..."Yes, that's right. What lab is this?"
Miwa asked.The girl replied with a soft and welcoming voice."Oh, mine obviously, the one from the Ultimate Sewist. Since I have to sew you will find several needles in it, I beg you, be careful where you put your hands!"We both thanked her and entered the laboratory.
It was quite spacious, with rows of dresses, fabrics of every color... it seemed like every costume designer's favorite playground. Resting on a table, a record player was playing classical music, but I couldn't identify it.
The little seamstress sat down behind a white desk, with a sewing machine placed on it. She rolled up her sleeves, licked her lips and got to work."Um... excuse me, what's your name?"
I asked her, while Sugiyama was looking at some clothes hanging inside an open closet."Haruka Shimizu. It's nice to meet you... oh, please, don't touch anything!"She exclaimed in Miwa's direction."Those clothes are full of pins, I don't want you to get hurt."She seemed to understand, and smiled back at her."Of course, sorry. Did you make them all?""Yes... in fact I wonder how they managed to get here. Before arriving here, they were in my shop... I really don't understand, there are even those that had been put up for sale and reserved..."The girl seemed puzzled by the voice, but didn't take her eyes off her work. In fact, looking at it from the outside, she seemed really focused."...sorry, but are you already working? Even if you're a child?" I asked her, a little confused."A child? Hey, I'm sixteen, duh!" She snorted, puffing out her cheeks.I blushed in embarrassment, while Miwa giggled in amusement. What a fool..."Ah... sorry, I... I had no idea."The psychologist changed the subject, and I couldn't help but thank her silently. She was looking at all the various instruments lying on a table, in particular two pointed metal splints, approximately eight inches long.
"Wow, these needles are so big! You should put them away...""They're the ones for knitting. Be careful not to prick yourself, please." She replied, continuing to sew."I have no intention of touching them..."Haruka remained silent, staring at the sewing machine. She didn't even seem interested in the idea of exploring or trying to escape from there. She was just concentrating on her work, and the musical notes coming from the record player must have been helping her."Maybe we should let her work in peace... I don't think we'll find anything useful here." Miwa whispered in my ear.
I nodded, there was no need to disturb Shimizu further. She had been kind to let us in, but now it was best to leave her alone.
With silent steps we walked away from the room, closing the door behind us."I saw that there is another door outside, do you want to go there first or to the one that remains in here?" Miwa asked me."Mh... the one on the outside seems more interesting to me... let's see that one first, even if I doubt it will change anything."We walked towards the outside of the structure, but before we could enter the laboratory, two girls came out of the room.
One was a little taller than Miwa, and she was the one who had almost gotten into a fight with Reiji while we were in the gym. Long blue hair, asymmetrical bangs, scarlet red eyes. A well-formed female body, put on display by blacks in fashionable and tight clothing. She was a beautiful girl, but she had a wicked look.
On the contrary, the other girl was decidedly different. She was wearing a tutu, dressed in white, and was extremely thin, perhaps too thin, with her brown hair tied in a high ponytail. The eyes were tired, light blue, with long eyelashes, and the face seemed even more haggard than the other's sharp one. I didn't know exactly why those two struck me... they were so different they were similar."Oh, come on Emiko, do you really feel guilty about that shitty ginger?""I left him all alone! That wasn't polite at all! I feel so despicable..."As soon as they saw us, the second one immediately came towards us."Sorry! Did you happen to see-""Yes, he stopped by earlier, you're talking about Takefumi, right? He was looking for you too." Sugiyama cut in, snorting.The brunette looked disconsolate."Oh, but how? Poor thing, I abandoned him out of the blue just to follow you...""Don't blame me, do you understand? I was sure I saw an escape route!" She yelled at the other one, in an authoritative manner."You actually dragged me into your laboratory..."The blue haired girl silenced her with a glare.
Miwa and I looked at each other perplexed, but as soon as she noticed us, the one with the ruby eyes completely changed her expression."Oh oh! Have you come to explore my laboratory? Please come in!"Her tone was saccharine, sweet, so sugary that it made you sick to your stomach."What lab is this, if I may ask?" Sugiyama asked, trying to read the name on the sign next to the entrance door, but evidently she couldn't."Huh? Oh, the Ultimate Influencer one, of course! That's me, Akame Meisei!"I looked at the other girl curiously."And what about you?"She blushed shyly."Oh, Emiko Sutēji, Ultimate Classical Ballet Dancer."The other got back in the way."Sorry, but Emiko and I really have to go. See you at the gym~"And before Sutēji could reply, she grabbed her wrist and the two walked away in the direction of the main building."So... what do we do, take a look?" Miwa suggested.I nodded to her, and we both explored that room.
It was decidedly more bare than Haruka's colorful room. There was good lighting, and various materials for creating online content were left on the desk in front of the window. make-up tricks, designer clothes, movies... that girl must have been a well-known internet star."Uhm... have you ever seen this influencer around?"Sugiyama nodded as she was looking at all the various cameras and tourist photos featuring Meisei."Yes, she's quite popular on various online platforms. I've watched some of her make-up tutorial videos, but from what I know she often also sponsors important brands... clothing, make-up... and she also travels a lot. She has several million followers."I was struck, why had I never heard of her? Maybe it was simply because she ran a channel for girls...
Out of curiosity, I sat down at the desk, turning on the computer. Maybe we could have found out a little more information about where we were... but much to my disappointment, this one didn't seem to be able to connect to the internet. I sighed, I had tried."Nothing useful here either... I would suggest you go and explore the last room.""Yes, that seems like the best idea."We both walked towards the room, noticing how the words "AV ROOM" were emblazoned on the door.
It didn't look like a laboratory, on the contrary, it looked like a very normal computer room.
There was a guy in there, messing around with the various devices."No way..."He sighed dejectedly. He had gray hair, and eyes the same color. He was wearing a pair of headphones and a white sweatshirt, both with fluorescent blue embroidery. The tips of his hair were fluorescent green, to give a touch of personality, probably."What are you doing?"I asked, walking closer and watching him work."I was trying to figure out if these computers were hiding any information, but nothing... they don't even connect to the internet. Plus, aren't there even programs for video games?" He complained, huffing."Are you a gamer?" Sugiyama asked him."Ah, no no. I develop video games, but I'm not that good at playing them..." He admitted, smiling sheepishly."My name is Kota Miyamoto, Ultimate Videogame Developer. You are Miwa and Masaru, right?""Yes..." Sugiyama looked very dejected. "I really wanted to find something useful.""Maybe... the others found something... we have to be hopeful."
But I didn't believe those words either.I sat down at one of the computers, breathing a long sigh.
I understood her disappointment... I was as disconsolate as she was. We didn't understand anything, that situation was total chaos. We were alone... completely alone.
Every second that passed, the more I felt abandoned by the world.
No one would have come to save us... my mother wouldn't have come, nor would my fans, patients and Miwa's family...
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miyamoto messing around with those computers again... but in the meantime, I noticed how the psychologist instead seemed to be in pieces. She was scared, a lot.
Exactly like me.We remained silent for a few minutes, after which I decided to take matters into my own hands.
I stood up, smiling at Miwa."Come on, let's go back to the gym."She sniffed, her face was partly hidden by her hands, perhaps she wanted to hide the fact that she was crying from me, so as not to make me more agitated than necessary. I pretended not to have noticed."Sure, let's go."Sugiyama stood up as well, but... then, suddenly...
As we said goodbye to Kota, ready to leave, something strange happened.
The monitor in the computer room, the same as all the ones Miwa and I found in the other rooms we explored, showed a disturbance signal. It didn't take long, then, before it made a sound: an annoying noise, which I immediately recognized as the same one that had woken me up, but I couldn't identify it. Soon after, a metallic voice could be heard throughout the room."All sixteen students of Despair Reformatory Academy report to the gym immediately!"We looked at each other, with a perplexed expression, and, hastily, we all went to the place mentioned in the advertisement.
Soon, we all gathered in front and only when Rei was sure that no one was missing, we entered, one more confused than the other. Nobody was understanding the situation.
Waiting for us in the gym was a sight that none of us sixteen expected.
Two teddy bears, one completely white, while the other was all black (with disturbing red eyes, I might add), were standing in the middle of the room. But the biggest problem was they were talking."Hey hey hey! I'm happy to see that you've already settled in! Dad will be more than happy!" The snow-white one exclaimed."Teenagers. Bastards." The other added, staring at us with contempt.Setsuko screamed, terribly scared."P-Possessed stuffed animals!!!""They're not possessed, you idiot, they're robots! If they had been possessed, they would have been much uglier than they already are." Asteria replied, who instead seemed amused by the situation."Don't just compare us to some miserable robots, you bunch of evacuees! We're a lot smarter than that!"The little white bear looked offended."I'm Shirokuma! And he's my beloved little brother, my little twin, Kurokuma! Forgive him, he's like that, he's a bit rough..."The black bear-like robot didn't even say hello, he was focused on... smoking a cigar?"Everything becomes more absurd every moment... I want to go back to sewing..." Haruka commented sadly, holding one of her large pink braids in her hands.Akame crossed her arms, yawning.
"Well, I hope I don't have to get used to it. Well, so... now that this wreckage is here, we can get some help. So, where's the exit?! I need to update my blog.""But how? You've been exploring all this time and you still haven't realized that there's no way out? You're such a disappointment!"Shirokuma laughed out loud."Nothing to do, you will stay here with me, my brother and dad! Don't you want to abandon us too? Dad had already abandoned us for our big brothers... it was so painful..."The little white bear sobbed, but for some reason I didn't feel sorry for him at all."Can someone at least tell us what the fuck we're doing here?" The chemist exclaimed, looking nervous."Well, you're at school, obviously. As of today, you are classmates." Shirokuma replied.
"In your new institution! The Despair Reformatory Academy!"Asteria snorted, amused by that absurd name.
"That's the stupidest academy I've ever heard of.""I don't care, I want to go to my house! I don't intend to spend another moment in this place!" Meisei screeched, stomping her foot on the ground. The dancer, who was still next to her, put a hand on her shoulder."Akame, please calm down..."But the other one forcefully shook it off."Oh, shut up Emiko! You're not helping me!""Why did you lock us up here? Is it possible that no one can give us an answer?!""That's right dude, I can't concentrate for the songs here!"It was Daiki and Minoru who spoke. While there was someone who didn't seem fazed by the situation... an air of pure terror could be felt in the large gym we were in."Calm down, calm down you bastards... now the headmaster will arrive and explain everything to you."The headmaster?
I was more and more confused... and when I heard that sentence, my dear old friend, anxiety, came back to press in my chest, even more than before.
We all turned towards the gym stage... and from a lectern, a third little bear appeared.
He was bigger than the others... and he was half white and half black.
One eye was normal, the other scarlet red.
It was the perfect union of the other two robots."Pupupupupuh! Sorry for the delay! But I can't give the reserves the same treatment I give to the others. Oops! I've already said too much..."Reserves? But what was it talking about?"I'm your headmaster, Monokuma. Did you understand correctly? So show some respect!"I was far too shocked to even say a word."Headmaster? A stuffed animal? What kind of joke is this?" Kota said perplexed."I'm not a stuffed animal! I'm Monokuma!" The nervous one blurted out.A confused murmur escaped our mouths."Anyway, seeing your ugly faces disgusts me. I hope you haven't treated my beloved children badly!""Your lovely bastards called us ugly." Kurokuma said, staring at us with those disturbing red eyes."WAAH! How rude! These guys really need a lesson!""Enough of this rambling! We demand answers!" Rei exclaimed, waving her arms."You really want to know, huh? Alright then. You'll be here forever!""F-Forever?!" Reiji thundered. He had lost that elegant calm that surrounded him before. But Monokuma ignored him and continued speaking."We have a lot of money anyway, supporting you isn't a problem! And then you can't leave here, as you idiots will have noticed! The bars on the windows, the absence of boats... come on, it could have been worse! Here it is too the sea! This island is your playground, you can do whatever you want!""I don't intend to stay here...!" Setsuko moaned, starting to sob. She must have been panicking... and so was I."Calm down, there's no point in crying yet! Come on, if you want to leave, there's an alternative!" The two-colored bear exclaimed."And what would that be? Come on, don't waste my time!" The director shouted.Monokuma started laughing like crazy... the situation for him was nothing short of hilarious."You will stay here for life... unless... you agree to participate in a killing game."Silence fell on the gym, if it weren't for the irritating laughter of that damned robot."Go ahead daddy! You're great!" Shirokuma cheered him on.
The second bear, however, remained silent. Maybe it wasn't a very talkative stuffed animal?"No... this has to be a joke! Of course!" Takefumi exclaimed, his face now completely dark."I- I don't- I don't think I understood correctly..." Miwa whispered, in a small voice.But that damned two-toned bear didn't seem to want to stop screaming."You understood very well, however. If you want to leave, you have to kill one of your classmates."My heart skipped a beat. What did that mean? What was this damned torture?"This is a killing game. You want to get out of here! SBAM! CLENCH! SPLAT!!! BOOM SHAKA-LAKA! Kill one of your classmates! Be careful not to get caught, but... well... you don't want to be executed, right?!""Executed?!" This time it was me who shouted."I think it's time to explain the situation to you... it's very simple. If you want to leave, you have to kill one of your classmates, one of you sixteen. Then, after three students excluding the killer find the body, an investigation will begin between you to understand who the culprit is... and immediately afterwards, a class trial. In the end you will all have to vote... and if you catch the killer red-handed, he will be punished... that is, executed. .. and the game will continue, stopping only when there are two of you. Otherwise... you bastards will say goodbye to us from beyond the grave, except for the culprit, who can leave! Simple, right?"It was chaos. There were those who cried, there were those who screamed... no one would have ever accepted these conditions."No, I will never accept this!""Please tell me it's a nightmare...!"And while that robot named Monokuma laughed like a maniac, I could feel desperation and panic taking control of me and the rest of my new classmates.
At that moment, even though I couldn't know it yet... I understood it. It wasn't a joke.
I had no way out... I had been forced, against my will, to participate in this madness, a killing game.
It had begun.
My life at Despair Reformatory Academy.
And I couldn't go back anymore.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Gym, Daytime - 12:00 p.m.Minutes passed slowly.
To this day I still wonder how much time actually passed from when I received the news to when I actually realized it.
Despite the chaos around me, between Setsuko's cries and Minoru and Takefumi's angry shouts, I couldn't hear anything. It was as if, for a moment, my brain imagined that I was no longer there. I was in a situation of total anxiety: another time, a panic attack afflicted me.
My eyes were wide open, and I kept staring at the floor, my face dark.
My breathing was labored, my legs were shaking.That was a fucking nightmare.That was just the first time he felt it in that place... despair.
Had I ever really felt it, I wondered?
My life had always been free of great dark moments. It was just me, the things I was good at, my mother, my audience and a chessboard.
Me, a young man in whom the hope of humanity was placed.
I, who for the first time was in the grip of desperation.The one who called my attention was Miwa, who put a hand on my shoulder.
"Masao..." The girl whispered my name, looking at me with her big, hypnotic amber eyes, like those of a feline."That thing over there, Monokuma... is talking to us again."I noticed the silence that had fallen in the room at that moment. I didn't want to listen to that voice and that annoying voice, I fucking didn't want to.
I just wanted to go home... but I was well aware that this was not possible. I simply raised my head and stared at that hateful robot again, flanked by its alternative versions, one white and one black."So my beloved and dear students! I hope with all my heart that this fantastic school experience can be as interesting as possible! Of course, I mean deadly interesting, puhpuhpuhpuhpuh!""I have some questions." It was Reiji who spoke, trying to maintain a certain composure, even though we all clearly saw how agitated he was."Of course, my dear! You can ask anything you want!" Monokuma looked satisfied."Does this killing game... have an end?"The two-colored bear remained silent for a few moments... then, he grinned once again."It will last as long as absolutely necessary. There are no rules about it. I just decide."A few faces lit up, and Haruka looked up at the three robots.
"So... is there a chance it ends without anyone dying?""Oh, no youngsters! I never said that! What kind of show would a killing game without deaths be! Uh-uh, there's no talking about it! But you'll see... everything will go according to plan."
Monokuma grinned with satisfaction.Takefumi took a few deep breaths, trying not to get more agitated than necessary.
"This is absurd. I doubt any of us will kill a classmate...!""And what do you know? There's someone here who doesn't trust~! Hehehe, right, girlie?"Yoshino turned in the direction of the red-haired girl, Asteria, who didn't seem at all alarmed by the situation. She replied with a smile."Don't push your luck, lil dwarf. This is just the confirmation of one thing... that I did very well not to trust anyone. And I will continue to do so.""Uh-hu... I see there's a lot of tension here already." Kurokuma smirked, smoking his cigar.
"Seeing all this despair is a sight for sore eyes.""Shut up! Nobody asked you!" Asteria replied sourly, obviously annoyed. Who could blame her, after all she had just been interrupted by him. The little black bear didn't say anything else, simply continuing to smoke."Puhpupuh! Tension is the perfect ingredient for murder!" Monokuma laughed out loud, watching us from that damn podium on the gym stage.
"It's going to be monstrously fun... hihi...""You're telling me you find this stuff funny, really? A stupid killing game?!" Daiki exclaimed, staring at the bear with uncertain eyes."No one can, like, break it? So we're getting out of here, right?" Akame replied, who had started blowing bubbles in her mouth with some chewing gum she took from who knows where."Just try it, Christina Aguilera! I assure you, you won't have a good time at all, as written by the rules, after all!"
The robot bear screeched, waving its arms upward."No, no! No violence, guys! Just murder!" The little white bear placed himself in the middle."Killing someone is violence, you moron!" Kurokuma answered directly, but before the other one could answer, something happened."Ah, fuck it man, I don't care! Have a nice little trip, you fucking bear!"
As if to confirm what Meisei had proposed, Minoru rushed towards Monokuma, grabbing him by the head and throwing him forcefully against the wall. Yet, as it reached the wall, it suddenly exploded, causing a sudden bang. Not even the wreckage remained.Akamatsu and Sutēji both screamed in fright, but Kikuchi yelled in excitement."WOOOAH!! THAT FUCKING THING EXPLODES!! IT GOES LIKE KA-BOOM! DO IT AGAIN BIGGY, PLEASE! I WANT TO SEE IT EXPLODE AGAIN!"Murakami deliberately ignored Yoshino, yet a smug smile appeared on his lips.
"Very good! Problem solved! No more killing games! So, ladies? How was this move?"Akame immediately smiled at him flirtatiously and satisfied.
"Great! Now that's a real man! Thank you so much dear~""I found it extremely careless! Imagine if it had exploded in your hands! We wouldn't be here talking about it!" Rei exclaimed instead, she must have been worried."Ah, shut up cops, it's obvious that you really don't know how to appreciate the exploits of knights like him, you're not the only one who can save people, heh!" Now Meisei's tone was acidic and sharp again."How dare you?! It has nothing to do with who did it, but the gesture itself! It was reckless!""Oh, shut up and don't bother me! Shit, I'm surrounded by chickens...""NOOO! Dad!!!" Shirokuma interrupted them sobbing, while Kurokuma took a drag on his cigar."Wow... what a glorious death... worthy of a hero...""Huh?! You don't even shed a tear, do you?! You're an ungrateful son! He had so many nice things in mind for our bastard friends...""Oh yeah? Damn Shirokuma, puberty has changed you a lot! I didn't remember you considering splatter things cool!" The other robot replied respectfully, laughing."BE QUIET YOU TWO!" Takefumi thundered, he couldn't stand those there anymore... like all of us, after all.
"Now guys... what do we do with them, now that Monokuma is no longer here?""PLEASE LET'S BLOW THEM UP TOO!" Kikuchi replied excitedly.Rei stepped in, with an authoritative tone.
"No, no more explosions. Too dangerous! If anyone were killed, it would be MY responsibility!""Nobody gave you any responsibility, you know..." Asteria pointed out, rolling her eyes."As a public official, it is my duty to ensure the safety of all of you! So I take it upon myself to look after you!"
The blonde seemed really confident. Personally, I ignored her. I was tired of that situation. I was tired of everything."Look, I don't really care about these two guys. Can't we just leave?" proposed Kota, who had been silent the entire time."S-Sounds like the best idea... have any of you... found anything?" Setsuko murmured shyly.We all looked at each other in silence, hoping with all our hearts that someone would say yes. But nothing. Absolutely and unequivocally nothing. Only after a few moments did Himari speak."On Reiji's advice, I searched all along the coast to see if there was a boat... but to no avail."The lawyer sighed and nodded.
"I confirm... we were exploring together, and we divided the tasks. I explored the buildings in detail, she explored all the external territory. Apart from a splendid beach, there wasn't much to be found..." Yahari murmured desolately."Puhpuhpuhpuhpuh! How cute, do you really think you can escape from here so easily?"That voice made my blood run cold.
From the same podium where Monokuma had been sitting before... here the latter had just reappeared."WHAAAAAAAAT?! But I made you explode!"
Minoru put his hands in his hair in panic, almost knocking off his hat."You're truly deluded! It's not that easy to get rid of me! But... you... made me experience a pleasant deja-vu, so for this time I'll break the rules and I won't kill you for putting your hands on me on."
The two-colored bear had pulled out his claws, glaring menacingly at the rapper, but it didn't take him long before he was as carefree as he had been until a few moments before."A pleasant deja-vu, you say? However, you must have some really strange kinks." Tatsuo noted, already thinking about who knows what.
"I don't want to insinuate anything, but...""God, don't make this weird, please!" Miwa immediately retorted."Ah, teenagers... always thinking about this kind of thing! Kinks, sex, the passion under the sheets... ahh, I bet you've already gotten into it! Even among you, isn't that the case? "I stared in disgust at Monokuma, who had started to... drool?"We've known each other for two hours, copulating isn't exactly the priority-" Himari pointed out to him, who judging by the blush on her cheeks must have been considerably embarrassed."Besides, I'm not going to fuck with virgin beta boys." Akame snorted."And who tells you we are, eh? I have an explosive charm to say the least!" Kikuchi sneered, his green eyes shining with excitement."You certainly are, given how much of a loser you are! You seem like the type who would spend hours poring over porn magazines, what a failure!""Hey, how do you know this?!" Akame was a little taken aback by that response, while the raven-haired one seemed both surprised and offended."Look, can we, well... change the subject?" Sutēji interrupted them.
"I'd say we have more... important things to think about.""That's right, Emiko is right! Kurokuma and I have something to give you!"
Shirokuma and the other mysteriously took out a pile of tablet-like tools, which they began to hand out to us one by one."Well students! These are monopads! You will need them for the school map, for the rules and also to get to know each other better! And who knows, maybe when the killing game starts completely, they might unlock some new functions... hihihi... "
The two-colored bear looked at us with a mocking and satisfied look."Well... this thing doesn't even connect to the internet...! I want my cell phone back!" Meisei complained."Don't worry Akame, you won't need it!" Shirokuma replied with a sweet smile. Or at least, he tried to be sweet... but it didn't seem to cheer the blue-haired girl up one bit.Through it all, I continued to stare at the monopad in disbelief. I hadn't said another word. My heart was pounding, my forehead was sweating cold. I was examining it with distrust, it was like a kind of cell phone, half white and half black. I tried turning it on. The screen was very bright, it was almost blinding. I turned the brightness down immediately, annoyed by this.
A series of options had appeared on the screen... the map of the two buildings, the school rules, the profiles of all of us students.
I clicked on the icon of the latter, and saw all the various information about us.There were photos, talents, birthday, height... everything. Even the thing we liked most and least, I found even disturbing. How the heck did they know I hate oranges, the fruit?It was like a tiny ID card, when in reality it was a kind of digital student card.
We were all marked, no one was missing. Out of curiosity, I went to check Asteria's profile, who hadn't told us what her Ultimate title was... but there was nothing to do, there were simply three question marks in place of the name of the talent. What a shame...
I moved on to the other sections. The regulation was made up of thirteen rules, all indicated in the different screens.Rule #1 - Students must live at the Ultimate Reformatory Academy for the remainder of their foreseeable future.
Rule #2 - Once a murder takes place, all surviving students must participate in a class trial.
Rule #3 - If the blackened is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed.
Rule #4 - If the blackened is not exposed, all remaining students will be executed.
Rule #5 - If the blackened survives the class trial, they will graduate and re-enter the outside world.
Rule #6 - "Nighttime" is from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. The dining hall and gymnasium are off-limits at night.
Rule #7 - Violence towards Monokuma, the headmaster of the Ultimate Reformatory Academy, is strictly prohibited.
Rule #8 - Monokuma will never directly commit murder.
Rule #9 - Your Monopads are very important items. Please do not damage them.
Rule #10 - The "Body Discovery Announcement" will play when three or more students discover a body.
Rule #11 - With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore the campus at your discretion.
Rule #12 - Students who violate these rules will be immediately exterminated on the spot by Kurokuma or Shirokuma.
Rule #13 - Further, there may be new additions to the school rules according to the convenience of the headmaster."Are the rules clear to everyone, my dear students?" Monokuma asked with a chuckle."It doesn't take much to understand them, huh. I mean... we're not idiots. Or at least, I'm not." Tatsuo snorted, crossing his arms."I just want to know one thing..." Takefumi murmured. "What exactly are all those cameras for? What about the monitors?"The two-toned bear continued to giggle.
"Puhpupuh! Seeing what you do all the time, of course! How could I understand who is doing what, otherwise? They've already played this trick on me once, I have no intention of falling for it again. Ah, the monitors will instead project the various announcements, such as the start or end of Nighttime.""This thing too, uh the... Body Discovery Announcement mentioned in rule 10... right?" I asked.Monokuma nodded.
"How perceptive we are! That's right, when three people excluding the killer find a body, then that announcement will appear on all the screens! I can't wait to play lots of them...!""It can't be true... I... I don't want to stay here..." Setsuko had started sobbing, and Haruka and Emiko also seemed to be in crisis. Looking at them, they both seemed so fragile... the kind of people who wouldn't easily survive in a killing game.A killing game. It was so absurd that it didn't even seem real to me."Fuck, stop crying! You're making me feel more anxious...!" The rapper exclaimed, more agitated than ever."Let's all try to calm down..." Reiji began, trying to maintain that aura of composure that characterized him... but by now, any attentive eye would have understood that he was lying even to himself.I couldn't stand them, God I couldn't stand them.
I've never been the extroverted type. I was always that kind of quiet boy, a little on his own, immersed in a world almost entirely his own. Sure, I had my friends, and being the center of attention had never really caused me any distress. However, the thought of having to spend the rest of my life with these weirdos... was inconceivable. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home."There... there's no way..."I raised my head, finally speaking, after several minutes of silence, spent filling my head with the echoes of other people's voices."There's no way I'm going to participate in a killing game...! I'll never do it! Never, ever!"I pointed my finger at Monokuma, shaking with anger and frustration. My heart was pounding, adrenaline pumping through my veins. Thump-thump, thump-thump."Do you understand me, you piece of shit?! I'm not going to get the blood of one of my comrades on my hands. If I have to use them to stop someone... that someone will be the damned one controlling you!"That damned mechanical bear kept laughing, irritating me even more. How dare he?! How could he even allow himself to laugh at my frustration?! I clenched my fists, shaking with anger.Miwa put a hand on my shoulder, trying to ease my tension.
"Masao...please calm down...or he might-""No, he can't kill me. It would go against his own rules." I interrupted her. "Rule 8, to be precise."I was challenging him. I was playing with fire, and I was more than aware of it. But I was certain, absolutely certain, that logic was on my side."Puhpuhpuhpuhpuh! You're a really interesting little guy, you know that?" Monokuma laughed heartily."Don't fucking laugh, I'm not-!""Joking? Oh, but I'm not either. This drive, this frustration... it's exactly what I wanted. It's the perfect ingredients... for despair."I rolled my eyes, my fist still clenched. I tried to contain my anger in vain, I wanted to throw a fist straight into that damned puppet's face. But it would have been useless, all useless."Despair...?" Kota muttered, his face turning pale... just like the rest of us."Puhpupuh. We'll have the opportunity to talk on other occasions too. For the moment... I think it's best to leave you free. We'll have the opportunity to talk to each other soon, you'll see! I could appear around somewhere, who knows...! Bye- bye!"And then, in no time at all, Monokuma disappeared, followed by the other two bears.Once again there was silence. We were abandoned, lost, alone. Forced to participate in a killing game. It couldn't have gone any worse."So... what do we do?" Takefumi was the first to break that tension. He seemed to have calmed down a little, even though he had been tapping his foot rapidly on the floor the entire time, due to anxiety."For the moment... I doubt we have any particular alternatives."
The lawyer adjusted his glasses, then put his hands in his pockets."We will adapt to life here.""Sorry, what?! It doesn't exist! I want to get out of here! I don't want to participate in a stupid killing game!" Akame complained, putting her hands on her hips."Stop it, for God's sake, I can't stand you anymore!" Tatsuo snorted, placing a hand on his forehead."You're not the only one who wants to leave here, you know? I have a movie to shoot."The blue haired girl crossed her arms over her chest.
"And I have a blog to update, as well as my social profiles! Nowadays no one goes to the cinema anymore, so my talent is more important!""How dare y-""Oh my goodness! I can't stand you anymore."They both turned to Asteria, who had just spoken. She lay calmly on the stage, arms and legs spread wide, staring at the ceiling. She was calm, almost as if she were at peace."You're pathetic, you know? Turning each other off is the best way to do what the stuffed animal wants. And honestly... if you die, I really don't care."Both didn't seem to take it well, but it was the director who responded."Hey, watch what you say-""For me, girlie is right!"Yoshino stretched his back, and Asteria glared at him. She must have not taken that nickname well..."After all, we've only known each other for so long! I'm pretty sure none of you assholes care about me!""Why do you seem so excited about this...?" Himari asked, but received no response."Staying here arguing is pointless, period. I think it's time to collaborate instead."
Daiki interjected, placing his hands on his hips with a sigh."Yes but I want to leave, dammit!"Emiko had started to cry too, and looked decidedly in crisis. She was shaking, still staring at the floor and sobbing, she had fallen to her knees."I... I-I have to train for my next show...! I... I have to... I have to go home... I don't want to... I don't want to...!"Akame snorted, and walked over to her.
"Jeez, could you fucking stop being so weak for once in your life?!""Hey chick, don't talk to her like that! It's not nice, you know that?" Minoru stepped in between, looking at the blue haired girl. His expression was a mixture of disgust and... well, almost excitement, in a way. These words coming from someone like him seemed the height of hypocrisy to me, but... I had only spoken to him for a short time, after all. I kept this judgment to myself."You shouldn't treat people like that! You may be a famous influencer, but that doesn't make you superior to anyone."Suddenly Meisei's mood changed, and a sweet smile appeared on her face. She began to bat her eyelashes, placing a hand on Murakami's chest and moving her whole body closer to him. Her busty breasts were almost pressed against him, while her scarlet eyes stared at the boy with a flirtatious expression. She had the same face she'd given me earlier, when we were exploring the outside of the building. Was she trying to... seduce him?"Sorry hot stuff, you're right... but... I know how to look after my little cousin, okay? I know how to keep her going. She just needs to be provoked a little, hm?"Minoru's face was completely red, he must have been more than embarrassed by that situation, but also... decidedly excited. On the contrary, in his place I would definitely have panicked."U-Uh-Uhm... A-Akame, what are you-?!""Shhhh. You just do as I say, okay?" She winked at him.The rapper simply nodded as if dazed, and then Meisei pulled away from him, with a laugh."Hihi, I like you like that, you know that?""What a pathetic scene..." Asteria commented, who still hadn't gotten up from the stage."Rather, did you say cousin before?" Miwa asked, looking at the two girls. Suteji was still on the ground, she hadn't stopped crying, but she remained silent."Exactly. Emiko and I are first cousins, but we practically grew up like sisters." The blue-haired one replied, blowing another bubble with the chewing gum, which she had had in her mouth for several minutes now.
"I'm the only one who knows how to treat her. Kindness has never helped her be stronger...""I think this is bullshit."It was Takefumi who spoke, who had also approached the two. He leaned towards Emiko and, with a worried look, asked her:
"Hey, is everything okay...? If you need me, I'm here.""H-Huh...? Y-Yeah, I'm fine, I-!"To everyone's surprise, the orange-haired boy hugged the dancer, making her face completely blush."I understand your fear, you know? I'm so scared I won't tell you... but you have to be strong. We'll all get out of this together! Everything will be fine, there's nothing to worry about."
Ishikawa also seemed embarrassed by his own action, but... he was convinced by his own words, and it was clear from his expression."A-are you serious...?" The girl looked at him with her big blue eyes.He nodded, giving her a smile."Of course! And then I promised you before while we were exploring, right? I still have to teach you some breakdancing moves! Of course, I wanted to do it right away, but then I lost you both...""You actually got distracted looking at the sea..." The influencer snorted."This has nothing to do with it!" Takefumi's cheeks turned even redder than before."I hate to interrupt this sweet moment..." The historian interrupted them. "...but I think it's necessary to take stock of the situation a bit.""Arguing like this certainly doesn't do any good." I sighed in stress. What could we do at such a time...? In the meantime the two broke away and returned to their feet, decidedly embarrassed."I have a proposal."
Rei took a step forward. She seemed decidedly less wealthy than before... indeed, now an aura of determination seemed to surround her."It's much simpler than expected... don't start the killing game. As Reiji said before, the option that best suits us is one and only one... adapting to life here. That damn bear He didn't give us a deadline to start this game, if you can call it that. For now, what we can do is stall. Surely someone will notice our absence, right? We are Ultimates after all. Someone will come to save us. And what if if it weren't so..."The blonde clenched her fists. "I'll do my best to put an end to this damned thing myself.""Huuuuuh?? And how do you plan to do that?! Blowing up the whole island?!" Yoshino looked at her excitedly, his bright emerald eyes sparkling like never before."Absolutely not! It would be an detonation of explosives in a residential area, a crime!" The blonde answered him with the same pedantic tone as before.
"Be thankful I haven't already arrested you for drug possession!"The raven-haired shrugged.
"Even if you wanted to, you couldn't. Mine are substances that have a scientific purpose, I am absolutely qualified to have them, as the Ultimate Chemist!"Masayoshi sighed, then shook his head and turned his attention back to the rest of the group."...I was saying... I'll find a way. But before we get to something drastic... I think it's time to continue investigating this matter further. This place could be hiding information that could help us understand why we are here..."Haruka - who had also finished crying for a while now - looked at the girl with great admiration."It's true, you're right! You're really smart, Rei!""Don't get to her head... she only proposed to stall, after all." Tatsuo retorted, but luckily for him the blonde didn't seem to hear him. She was blushing, and had taken both hands of the pink-haired girl."Do you really think so?! I... I promise I will give my all!"Shimizu gave her a sweet smile, nodding.
"Of course I think so... I trust you! You're a policewoman after all!"Rei seemed more excited than ever after what the little seamstress had told her.
"I promise, no... I swear I will protect you all! It's my duty!""Again. How many times do I have to tell you that no one asked you..." Asteria snorted, and only after this last comment did she finally get up from the stage, joining us again."I don't care. It remains my duty as a public official!""If you say so..."Miyamoto cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention.
"So... are we agreed? We'll do it like this for now?""I would say that for now it is the most feasible option. Only time will truly reveal our destiny." Reiji smiled, crossing his arms over his chest."You can't say that this isn't an experience, after all. I'm curious to see where all this will take us.""We could... concentrate on our talents in the meantime. Or on getting to know each other better." Miwa definitely seemed calmer than before. She put a hand on her chest, then smiled the same smile she'd given me the first time we'd met."I look forward to getting to know each of you.""Uh! It's enough for me that you don't psychoanalyze me with just one look!" Kota exclaimed with a half laugh, scratching the back of his neck.Sugiyama shook her head, snorting in amusement.
"But no! I don't have superpowers, I'm not capable of doing it! I don't do magic, after all.""Of course. After all, magic doesn't exist." Oomori retorted. I couldn't expect a different answer from an astrophysicist."Hey, you can't prove that, blondie." Asteria put her hands behind her back, leaning towards him.
"You know, hm? It has never been scientifically proven, but neither has it been disproven...""Come on, that's absurd. If spells really existed, then we'd all have gone home by now. It's absolutely and unequivocally anti-scientific.""Man of little faith..." A mocking grin appeared on the redhead's face.
"What if I told you that the supernatural is real? After all, there are so many stories about ghosts, curses, black magic...""Stories that are based on nothing proven." Daiki snorted, rolling his eyes."You know, in ancient times magic has always been fundamental for human beings. According to various anthropological studies, for the ancients this was the belief in the possibility of being able to influence the course of events through gestures such as rituals or with words used as formulas. For our ancestors, nature was animated and moved by forces far superior to human beings..." Kojima explained to us, placing a hand on her chin. She must have known a lot about history... it was her talent, after all.
"Who knows... maybe they weren't entirely wrong.""I just find it pathetic." Oomori commented impassively. "For that matter, the stars were even thought to be gods. Absurd, right? Not to mention astrology.""Judging by how skeptical and stubborn you are, you must be Taurus." Asteria giggled.The blond remained silent for a few seconds, then he snorted and crossed his arms over his chest."Yes and then?""Huh? How did you know?" Emiko asked.The redhead continued to sneer. "It's because I'm a witch!""How funny. You read my birthday on the monopad, didn't you?" Daiki rolled his eyes.Asteria simply shrugged, without letting the grin fade from her face.
"Who knows, who knows!"The atmosphere was already decidedly dampened. Somehow, I myself felt calmer. Nothing had been resolved, however... feeling sorry for yourself certainly wouldn't have helped much. In fact, it would only have led us to Monokuma's goal."To return to the previous discussion... how do we organize ourselves, then?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. But then something distracted us all once again."I... I-I... I don't want to be killed..." Setsuko was still sobbing, for who knows how long now. She had been doing this for so long that I had almost forgotten about her."Come on sweetie, no one's going to kill you!" Kikuchi gave her a strange smile."I don't care. I... I don't want to know."
She hastily dried her tears and, after looking at us with her big purple eyes, hurriedly approached the entrance door of the gym."I-I'll stay in my room. I... need some alone time..."
Without adding further explanations, the brunette disappeared from circulation."Poor thing..." Sugiyama murmured. We hadn't considered her at all, in fact... maybe it was time to go and talk to her later."...I was saying..." I continued, but before I could say anything else, someone else spoke in my place."I would use this afternoon to get to know each other better. After all, to collaborate as much as we can, we must also understand what our strengths are. I would suggest that we all meet again for dinner time in the canteen." The game developer responded with a thumbs up.
I had nothing to say, so I just nodded, as did everyone else. Although... why did everyone always have to interrupt me?!"Okay, okay... but honestly, I'm a little tired. I need to get some rest. Don't come looking for me, okay?" Asteria turned her back to us and, before we could even say anything, she walked away from the gym, closing the door behind her with a light thud."Hey, wait-! Nothing to do, the girl is gone." Yoshino breathed a disconsolate sigh, but a second later her all-too-carefree air returned.
"BUT ANYWAY! I'm curious to see how those fucking bears have arranged my room. See you, if you need me I'll see you there~"In no time at all, the chemist also left us."They cut away, huh?" The director commented sarcastically."You'll see, if they do anything shady I'll catch them! Especially that junkie!" Rei exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest."Who knows, maybe that guy wants to hit on the redhead..." Minoru reflected, and then burst out laughing. "He would definitely have good taste! That's a real chick right there.""Maybe... but there are much more beautiful girls, isn't there?" Akame answered him almost with a moan, brushing his arm with the tips of her fingers. Murakami felt a shudder, and immediately nodded quickly."Y-Yes yes, of course...! Absolutely...!""Could you flirt somewhere else? Seeing each other on the verge of jumping on each other due to sexual tension isn't exactly my favorite thing." Kota said ironically, clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth in an annoyed manner.The influencer snorted, then grabbed the rapper by the wrist."Okay! It means we'll be leaving too! Emiko, come on, let's go.""Why do I too...? I don't want to watch you-" The dancer muttered."I think a virgin with a wooden pussy like you would be more than happy to watch porn every now and then, you know?" Meisei replied acidly."Hey-!""Can I come with you at this point? So I can teach her those moves I was telling her!" Ishikawa interrupted.Akame seemed nervous for a split second, but as soon as her gaze met the breakdancer's, her cheesy smile reappeared on her lips."Of course, that's fine. Look Emiko, apparently you've found a seemingly healthy boy who considers you! I would consider it an achievement!"Having said that, that strange quartet also left the large gym."Well... at this point I'd say we all split up." I proposed. There was no point in all of us staying there.
"We get caught around, I'd say."The others nodded, and within minutes the entire room had emptied. Again, there were only me and Miwa left."Uhm... I think I'll go and see what some people are up to around here, maybe even get something for lunch from the canteen. And you? Will you do the same?""I don't know... I think for the moment I want to keep to my own business for a bit. Maybe I'll come look for you later." I replied, trying not to sound too cold or distant. She was one of the few people I could consider normal, I certainly didn't want to hurt her or anything. It wasn't exactly the right situation.The psychologist, however, nodded with a smile.
"Of course, I understand! It's fine, you don't have to worry. If you need me, let me know!"And having said that, she too went through the door of the large room, leaving me alone.
I was alone again. But this time I was more calm.Sure, I was surrounded by decidedly strange people... but there wasn't much to do now. This was the situation, and certainly my complaining about the company I found myself in wasn't going to do much good.
For now... all I could do was move forward, and hope for a better future. The reality of things was one, and I had accepted it... or at least, that's what I tried to do. I had to start somewhere... and if I had started thinking about the killing game again... I would have panicked again.
Once again I found myself staring at the floor... and, to my surprise, I spotted something glimmering behind one of the game balls piled up a few feet away from me. I approached suspiciously and, when I bent down to see what it was... I noticed that they were tokens. A kind of bronze-colored coin, with Monokuma's face engraved on it. I looked at them with disdain."What a shitty taste..." I commented."Hey, how bad taste?! I came out great on those tokens!"I suddenly turned pale when I saw how that damned two-colored bear had revealed itself in front of me without even giving me time to realize it."Fuck! What's your problem?!" I blurted out, I was frightened because of him."Puhpuhpuhpuh! Are you really scared for so little, Masao?"His annoying laugh only irritated me more."Get the fuck out. Now.""But how? Don't you want to know what those are for?" The little bear tilted his head slightly.I looked again at the coins I had collected, there were three."They look like rubbish to me to be honest." I replied."How mean of you! I see you don't mind hurting my feelings!"I sighed, I wanted to answer him, but I knew it would be useless."Come on, then... what's the point of this stuff?"The little bear started giggling again.
"Puhpupuh! You know the Monomono Machine in the room near the bathrooms?""Um... no? Which room?"
Then I remembered... of course. I had only noticed it out of the corner of my eye, but Miwa and I were too busy running away from Rei to even remember that room. I didn't worry too much about it, if it had been fundamental, surely the others would have pointed it out... but I would have jumped in anyway, it was time to investigate a little."Ah... yeah, okay... so what? What's there, a slot machine?""Exactly! And you can use these tokens to get prizes! You'll find them around the school, hidden somewhere a bit scattered... Who knows, maybe you'll find something interesting or a nice object to give to your beloved classmates!"Beloved? He must have really enjoyed teasing me."If you say so. Can you get the fuck out now?""Moderate your terms! How vulgar you are... you're the first protagonist I've found who is so rude!""Huh?"This moron was going haywire."Ah, forget it, you wouldn't understand. See you, puhpuhpuh!"In no time at all, Monokuma disappeared as quickly as he appeared. I let out a sigh, yet another of that day.
I was really exhausted, and I hadn't done anything special.
I was going to the dorms for now... I needed to think.
I put a hand in my hair and walked towards my destination.I passed Kota and Himari just down the street, near the canteen, but I didn't even say hello to them. In a few minutes I reached that infamous corridor, whose light was soft.
I started looking door by door, noticing a curious detail: on each of these, to indicate who each room belonged to, in addition to our names there was a little drawing, it was like a version of each of us in a chibi-pixel style. I'd never been a fan of that kind of stuff, but I couldn't deny that they were definitely... cute.
It didn't take long before I found the door to my room, it was in the middle of Takefumi and Yoshino's. In front of me, on the opposite side of the corridor, was Setsuko's room.
I decided to pluck up courage and, after a few moments of silence, I finally entered.***Dormitory, Daytime - 01:30 p.m.My room... was gorgeous. It had been structured as if it had been designed exactly for me, for my hobbies, for my personality. It was monochromatic, with a checkerboard floor - of course -. A large double bed with soft gray blankets, black walls, LED lights on the edge of them. The only touch of color was due to the very bright light blue curtains and decorations. Hanging there were various posters: some of myself, some of my favorite films, such as The Godfather, Taxi Driver and, undoubtedly, Carlito's Way. In addition to those, there were even photos of me as a baby, in my mother's arms. Part of me... was happy to finally be away from her. And yet... I couldn't deny how much I wanted her to appear and let me return to my home. My real home.There was also a large wardrobe, with changes of clothes inside, all the same as the outfit I was wearing, like in the cartoons, and a bookcase. The shelves contained books of all kinds, comics, and even CDs and vinyl records. A record player and a record player were placed on the ebony desk, near a white lamp. I even had an internal bathroom.
If it hadn't been for the terrifying situation... I would have even gladly been in there.
Everything was perfectly tidy, nothing was out of place... but knowing me, that wouldn't last long. I've always been a messy guy, chaos hovered in my mind every day, and certainly a stupid killing game wouldn't have changed things.
The only really disturbing thing about that room was the monitor hanging on the wall and the camera watching me.I was tired, really tired. I lay on the bed, arms and legs spread, staring at the ceiling. I felt like I was sinking into the sheets, that mattress was so comfortable. I took deep breaths, closing my eyes.
Too many thoughts were coming to me, bad thoughts.
I didn't know how long I would be able to endure that situation... locked in an unknown place, with a group of weirdos... with the constant fear of being killed.
Kill or be killed. It was this reality that that damned stuffed animal had put before us.
I... would I be able to live with the knowledge that I had killed someone?I clenched my fists and bit my lower lip, almost shaking with frustration.
I wanted to punch that damn bear... that damn robot... or whoever was in charge of it.
There was necessarily someone in charge. By force.
Of course, how had I not thought of it before?
He must have been hiding somewhere in this school... or maybe he was one of us.
A mastermind. A madman who had organized this sick game.
But for what purpose? Why would anyone put on such a show?"Dammit...!"I punched the pillow several times, then threw it across the room. I hated not having an answer, and an infinite number of questions. Doubts that attacked my brain like bullets, leaving me no respite.
Why me? Why in a place like this, why in a killing game?I really needed a break.
I got out of bed, walking over to my large bookcase. I picked up a volume at random, it had to be a science fiction story... after which, I threw myself back on the mattress and started reading.I didn't know how much time passed. I had been immersed in reading for who knows how many hours, reading about time travel and experiments gone wrong, the fruit of some writer's imagination... when the doorbell rang.
It took me a few seconds to realize, I was back in the real world in that abrupt way, like this morning.
Who could it possibly be?
More bored than tired, I walked slowly to the door, yawning. After that, I opened it.
It was Rei, who greeted me by placing her hand on her forehead."Good evening Masao! I'm here to tell you that we're all gathered in the dining room for dinner. Only you were missing, so I came to check what you were doing. We were getting worried!""Dinner?" I looked at the clock in my room: it was ten past eight p.m.."Were you... worried about me?" I added, looking back at my guest.I was taken aback by that response. Why on earth would he care? They had only known me for a few hours, I was nobody to them."Of course! We didn't want you to get killed, you know?"She crossed her arms over her chest, smiling.
"Not after I promised to stop the killing game, anyway!"It was much more enjoyable to talk to her when she was alone, I noticed. She was definitely less pedantic, as well as calmer. His know-it-all boss tone was practically non-existent."Thank you, um... it wasn't necessary, really. I was alone in my room, I was reading. I needed to concentrate on something else... the situation was almost too absurd."The blonde nodded. "I can only agree with you. I started monitoring our companions, I wouldn't want them to get into trouble..."She let out a sigh, putting her hands on her hips."I think it's the most stressful situation I've ever faced. Not even at the station things are this bad...!""At the station?"
Ah, right. She was a cop, after all.She nodded, giving me a proud smile.
"Yes! My family has been in the police force for generations, and I couldn't help but follow the same path. I earned the title of Ultimate Policewoman after catching a diamond thief that the police had been looking for for months! I am very proud of my work!"While we were talking, we started walking towards the canteen of that strange school."Wow. That must have been cool.""Absolutely! I felt like I could conquer the world. I received this medal like this... and then I was already familiar with the environment of the power plant, since my parents always took me there when I was a child and they had to work, but without being able to leave me alone at home.""I understand.""And you, Masao? How did you start playing chess?" She looked at me with her lively blue eyes.I ran a hand over the back of my neck."Ah, my father taught me that. I was eight years old.""Uh! Is he a famous chess player too?"I shook my head, then looked at the floor. The topic of "my father" was always very sensitive.
"No, no... not at all. He's practically a tramp. He plays the saxophone in the street.""Huh?? Really??" Rei looked surprised."Yeah. My mother kicked him out of the house a few years ago, after they divorced. I haven't seen him for a long time now."Hearing my distressed tone, Masayoshi seemed to feel sorry for me.
"Oh... forgive me, Masao! I didn't think I'd ask you such a painful question!"
She immediately bowed, as a sign of respect."I humbly ask for forgiveness!""Hey- stop, there's no need to apologize- you couldn't have known, it really doesn't matter." I stopped her."I was rude and careless!" She put a hand to her chest, staring straight into my eyes.
"Discipline is key for someone like me! No more inappropriate questions.""But it wasn't- oh, never mind."Talking about my parents... had always been a decidedly painful topic, given how much I had suffered from it as a child. However... I now knew that I certainly couldn't change the past. And yet, the idea of having to talk about it again...
What saved me from that situation was our arrival at the canteen.***Dining Room, Daytime - 08:30 p.m.They were all waiting for us. Asteria and Setsuko had also come - albeit reluctantly -. The large white table in the center of the room, at which all my companions were sitting, was well set, with a large bowl in the middle, which contained rice.
Kikuchi must have already served himself, since he was eating."How rude of you, Yoshino, you could have at least waited for everyone..." Kota commented with a sigh, sitting next to him."Come on, don't bother me! And it's good! I didn't think that someone who spends all her time on history books could cook so well!"So it must have been Himari who cooked. Indeed, the girl with the big round glasses was smiling sheepishly."Thank you, but mine is just a hobby... there are things I'm undoubtedly better at."Rei cleared her throat, trying to get their attention.
"Er-er... anyway, now that we're all here, we can get started! Come on, the assembly meets!""Any news for the moment?" Takefumi asked, crossing his legs.Reiji crossed his arms over his chest and began to speak, while the others had started eating the rice prepared by Kojima. I took a seat too, sitting between Daiki and Miwa, who greeted me with a smile."I searched the gym and the two classrooms some more, but I found absolutely nothing useful. Just a lot of dust and debris. This place is falling apart.""It's strange though..." Tatsuo murmured thoughtfully. "The interiors of our rooms are quite well placed. My room is a little gem... there are all the films I have shot, including posters! There were even my three Oscar awards for best director!""It almost seems like everything was renovated in a hurry. As if it were an incomplete job... I don't know if I've made myself clear." Miwa mused, placing a hand on her chin.
"Or maybe it's just me. But honestly, this very dining room makes me think of that...""I was in my lab the whole time instead. There are a lot of fabrics from all over the world, it's really crazy! I can make a lot of clothes like that!" Shimizu seemed particularly excited."Mh... and you were all alone in there, you say? With the record player on, among other things?" I asked her."Yes! I'm no longer afraid, now that I know that Rei will be there to protect us!"
The little girl with long pink hair smiled at her, and the policewoman turned purple with embarrassment."W-Well, of course! You have nothing to fear, Haruka! Spend all the time you want sewing, I'm here for you!"Masayoshi put one hand on her chest, still with red cheeks, and the other chuckled."I really want to see how you're going to protect her, since you spent the whole afternoon stalking me, the loser midget and the lifeless half-nerd." Asteria commented acidly, while sipping a cup of tea."Would I be the half-nerd without a life...?" Kota muttered, huffing at the nickname the redhead gave him."Heeey, I'm not that short! Quentin Tarantino's poor version is worse off than me!" Yoshino replied, still stuffing herself with food.
I tried to hide my laughter, that nickname for Honshiro had made me chuckle."Poor version?! How dare you?! Do you know how much money I have? Not to mention my fame!" His already usually angry expression only frowned even more."Indeed...your films are nothing short of impressive." Daiki commented.
"I was pleasantly impressed every time I left the theater."Tatsuo gave a satisfied smile."Did you have to pay for the ticket? What a shame... if I had known that a famous astrophysicist like you was interested in my films, then I would have invited you to the premiere.""Oh, I didn't think you knew who I was.""Of course! I always follow the Nobel Prize awards! If I'm not mistaken, you won one last year..."Himari almost gobbled up the rice.
"Did you say a Nobel Prize?! At fifteen?!"Oomori nodded, hinting at an embarrassed smile.
"Exactly. I have discovered important relationships between nebulae and a possible new planet after careful research. But I doubt I can explain everything to you in detail... this is high-level physics. I believe you would find my treatise highly boring. ""It seems crazy... and to say that I'm already a lot if I can do an equation..." Takefumi muttered, filling a glass of water."Well, it's not something everyone can do, after all! There are those who can and those who can't! And I can, while you... can't! Poor loser!" Yoshino giggled, shoving some more food into his mouth."Of course, why are you so brilliant that you can have that kind of prize?" The breakdancer replied with a huff."Of course! I actually received it!""And you expect me to believe you?"Daiki interjected.
"He doesn't actually tell lies. He was at the awards ceremony with me. I won for physics, he for chemistry.""WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! Did that guy win an award like that?!" Minoru exclaimed, in shock.Kikuchi sneered, resting his elbows on the table.
"Oh yeah! Not everyone has a talent like mine, by the way! I may have shitty luck with girls, but I'm a phenomenon at combining elements!""For me you remain a loser virgin." Meisei commented, crossing her legs and looking at her nails."Hey! Stop hurting my feelings, blue chick!" The chemist muttered in response."You have a strange tendency to always insult everyone, Akame..." Haruka muttered, putting a finger to her chin, tapping it ever so slightly. "You know, that's really rude.""Usually, bullies are the ones who hide the biggest insecurities, you know? I've had several kids in the studio with this problem." Miwa commented."Tch. I'm not a bully, come on! Mine are just innocent comments." Meisei retorted, rolling her eyes."Actually you-""Emiko, don't you dare comment."The dancer remained silent, and soon after Setsuko spoke."H-Hey... uhm... to go back to the initial discussion... what other clues do we have now?""Not much... unfortunately, I didn't find anything. I explored the outside. Besides the sea and a magnificent beach, there is absolutely nothing." Sugiyama sighed, resting her cheeks on her palms. Honshiro also added something."I looked better at the laboratories... I was hoping to find a secret room or something, but here too, there wasn't much. I tried to look at the various computers, but in addition to some programs for editing videos, audios or more simply for taking notes, there wasn't much in the AV Room either. The only thing worth noting is that in each room there is a camera turned on and a monitor.""So no clues at the moment..." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I see... and I imagine the stairs to the upstairs are blocked too."Reiji nodded.
"Correct. I tried to break them with brute force, but... nothing to do. And Monokuma confirmed to me that there is no way to damage them with bare hands... and believe me, if I haven't succeeded, I doubt you will succeed."His size was decidedly large, he was the tallest man I had ever seen, it was almost unthinkable that we were the same age. How can you blame him..."If I had my chemistry lab at my disposal I would have made them melt! Fuck!" Complained Yoshino, who had started fiddling with her chopsticks."What a shame, isn't it? Looks like we're really going to be here forever..." Asteria replied with an amused smile. "How ironic... I think we'll all go crazy within the next month.""I don't think it's worth bringing up the topic again for now... it's been a pretty tough day as it is, you know?" I replied, annoyed by the situation.
"We will find a solution. It's just a matter of time.""Maybe... I don't want to get my hopes up too much. Don't think that the prospect of spending the rest of my life rotting with you fifteen and three sadistic robot bears excites me." The redhead stood up, crossing her arms."Who knows, maybe some love stories will arise, hehe... ladies, be careful not to get pregnant, I doubt there are diapers and delivery rooms here, you know!" Kikuchi sneered."Please. Do all of humanity a favor and shut up." Akame commented, and the raven-haired boy fell silent with disappointment."It seems unlikely that anyone is looking for us, in fact..." Daiki mused.
"It makes so much confusion when just one person disappears, let alone sixteen and all with extraordinary talents...""We can't rule out the possibility that something serious happened before we got here... am I wrong or none of us remember what happened?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
"You know, it's kind of suspicious.""Damn man you're right! What if they had erased our memories?" Minoru exclaimed."Or perhaps we simply remained in a coma for some time..." Himari proposed.Kota hummed thoughtfully.
"Mhhh... well, I'd say we have to leave somewhere. What is the last memory you have of before arriving here?"Sugiyama began to tell her version.
"I only remember that I went to bed at night, like all the other times... the next day was supposed to be my first at Hope's Peak Academy, for high school... and instead when I woke up I was in that classroom."Takefumi slammed both hands on the table.
"Yes, I experienced exactly the same thing!""Me too..." Akamatsu added shyly."Then we already have a starting point: Hope's Peak Academy." Reiji brought his hands to his collar, straightening that sort of frilly tie he was wearing.
"Could that school be behind all this?""Now that I think about it, it was already closed once." Himari closed her eyes. "During The Biggest, Most Awful, Most Tragic Event in Human History."Emiko nodded.
"Yeah, you're right. But all this was more than ten years ago...""Hey, uhm... sorry... is it me or do I remember absolutely nothing of what happened during that time?" Tatsuo asked, scratching his head."Hey- now that you mention it, I'm in the same situation...!" Rei exclaimed in amazement. "Unheard of...! And to think... I have the feeling that it was something far too important!""I don't remember either..." Miwa sighed.Nothing. The mind completely and unmistakably empty. I also had no idea what had happened.
I felt strange, I had the feeling that I had forgotten something really important, but I couldn't quite figure out what. And it was frustrating, downright frustrating."At this point I think it's something everyone has in common..." Kota muttered. "You too, Himari?"The historian nodded, obviously displeased, if not downright uncomfortable.
"I-I'm sorry, but... I don't remember anything either... it's so embarrassing...! This is supposed to be my talent...!"At that sentence I turned up my nose a little.
"What do you mean? I mean... okay, you're The Ultimate Historian, but... everyone doesn't remember everything."But she shook her head.
"Not me... I... I remember all the history I studied. Every single detail... I have always had an extraordinary memory. This is why I don't understand how I could have forgotten something so important...!""Wow- are you like some kind of human database? HOW COOL!" Yoshino exclaimed. It was crazy how his emerald green eyes shone whenever he got emotional... even though they were always accompanied by a light blush, and were often shiny. Maybe he suffered from conjunctivitis... or...
I didn't want to make too many assumptions about that story."Yes, but... I'm not at all useful to you right now..." Kojima murmured dejectedly."Try to remember, right? Well, it doesn't seem that impossible to me. Brainstorm a little, right?" Meisei commented."I'll try...""You don't have to stress, you know. Maybe it will come to everyone's mind later!" Haruka smiled at her.Daiki regained control of the situation.
"Yeah. Rather, to look for other clues... have you noticed, I don't know... changes in yourselves? To see if we can have an idea of how much time has passed since we were kidnapped.""I don't think so...? I mean... I'm the same as before, actually." Murakami replied. "I'm still the classic cool guy I was before!""And I haven't gotten up yet... and I'm formless..." Shimizu puffed out her cheeks. In fact I had mistaken her for a child before, it must have been frustrating for her. I felt a little guilty."You're absolutely cute just the way you are! You don't have to be discouraged!" Masayoshi smiled at her, taking her hands.
"Word of honor!"The pink haired girl's cheeks turned red, and she looked away.
"Thanks, you are kind...""I am always available to support my classmates!" The blonde exclaimed, placing a hand on her chest."I promised you, after all. We'll get out of here, and then we'll live a great life."In the meantime, Asteria had remained leaning against the wall the whole time, watching us talk. However, she expressed her opinion only at that moment, walking towards the exit."Good, very good... I see you're convinced we'll all leave in one piece. Okay, I guess. If there's nothing else to say, I'm leaving. But first... get one thing straight in your head."She looked at us one by one, her expression a mixture of disgust and amusement. She must have found it funny to see how each of us tried to fight internally against ourselves and not give in to despair."You can also continue to lie to yourself, because the truth is uncomfortable... very soon you will forget that it even exists. But remember, sooner or later you have to deal with reality. Lies and illusions will not take you from Nowhere."She looked at the historian, who almost jumped when she found the gaze of the redhead smiling at her.
"Thank you for dinner, Himari. We'll see you again here tomorrow morning for breakfast, like tonight. I'd say that's the wisest thing to do. Goodnight."With that, she turned her back on us and walked away."But I also prepared a dessert..." The historian muttered, playing with the bottom part of her kimono."A DESSERT?! WOOH! YOU'RE THE BEST, FOUR-EY!" Kikuchi exclaimed."I'll break the diet for once..." Akame grinned with satisfaction."I'll go get it, then!"The atmosphere had died down again... but we all still had doubts.
On the other hand, the whole situation was a giant question mark. What was real, what was fake... no one could answer that question at the time.
Asteria's words continued to ring in my head..."You may as well continue to lie to yourself, because the truth is inconvenient... you will soon forget that it even exists."I...had I ever lied to myself...? Maybe more times than I thought.
And maybe... one day I would pay the consequences.The evening continued peacefully. We talked about this and that... after which, little by little, the canteen emptied. We decided to follow Asteria's advice (or rather, decision...) and we would meet there again for breakfast.***Dining Room, Daytime - 09:30 p.m.I decided I wanted to get some air. So, once I said goodbye to the rest of my companions, I reached the beach outside the building where we were stuck.
It was sandy, peaceful, and the sea stretched into an endless horizon.
Immaculate, if it weren't for a damned camera - which was there like in all the other places on that sort of island - and a monitor that was hanging from some sort of light pole.
I sat down on the ground. The stars shone high in the sky, and the moon reflected vainly on the crystalline body of water that was that ocean.
It was wonderful. Again, I felt that sense of nostalgic calm. That was the end, or so I almost hoped it would be..."Oh, you here too?"I turned myself. It was Daiki who spoke.
"Ah... yes, I wanted to stay on my own for a while... you didn't come here to kill me, hm?"The blond laughed, sitting down next to me.
"No, no... I could never... don't be so suspicious, come on.""In a situation like that, how could I not be?""I can't blame you, actually. What did you do this afternoon? I don't think I've seen you around.""Well, that's because I haven't really come out of my room. I've been locked in there reading the whole time.""Not a very social guy, huh?"I gave a disconsolate smile.
"Not at all... but I think the most logical thing to do is to try to interact a little with others. I don't know how much being alone can help me in this situation...""Yes you are right..."We remained silent, staring at the sky. The saltiness of the sea filled my nostrils, and the sound of the waves filled my ears. Above me, I saw birds flying, to reach who knows what destination, but it would certainly be far from where I was. I envied them with all my heart. I would have liked to have a pair of wings too, to be high in the sky, leaving that prison.
Oomori had a lost, empty look. He seemed to be thinking, just like me."The stars are beautiful from here, don't they?" He told me, after a few moments."Yeah...""...if only I had my telescope... I would have already been here to observe them closely..."He raised an arm, pointing to a point in the sky."Do you see that dot brighter than the others? Well... that's Mars there.""Huh? Is that a planet? I thought it was a star..." I muttered in surprise."Oh, no no. It may seem like it to the naked eye, but I assure you that it is a planet. The most beautiful to see is Saturn... I assure you that seeing its rings is breathtaking.""Can you see well...?""If there is a favorable sky yes, but unfortunately this is not always the case.""And today?""Mhhh... ah, yes! There it is."He pointed to yet another point, looking at the sky with a concentrated expression."I could show you through the telescope someday.""If we can get out of here alive..."Daiki sighed, looking up again."...I say we have to try to believe it."I crossed my legs, tilting my head slightly.
"Try to believe it...? It seems a little illusory... don't-""Are you always this stiff, by any chance?" He interrupted me abruptly.
"Not even a day has passed and you already take it for granted that there is nothing that can be done. I understand that you don't want to delude yourself... but I am sure that by collaborating we will find a solution. With or without external help. You are a a little too pessimistic for my tastes..."I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed.
"I'm not pessimistic, it's just... it's just..."...was that Asteria's words were continuing to torment my mind.
Truth. Lies. Truth. Lies. Truth. Lies.
Sooner or later, you have to pay your debts to reality."...does it really make sense to have hope in cases like these?"Hope... no matter how rationally speaking I tried to convince myself that it would only deceive me... my heart couldn't stop burning with that alone. I couldn't, I didn't want to give up. But it was difficult for me to accept such a thing."We are completely alone and abandoned in an unknown place... moreover in a killing game. I... I don't feel safe. Yet... I don't understand why... as much as I rationally know I have to resign myself. .. I can't stop hoping that something will happen to stop this nightmare. Even though I don't want to lie to myself."Oomori looked at me for a few moments, not saying any words.
He took yet another deep sigh... then went back to looking at the stars.
"This is how human beings are made. It is in their nature to feel it. The deepest desire of each of us is to be happy, after all... and hope is the perfect fuel for joy. Know that when you fall into the trap of despair... you're already dead."He smiled slightly, always with those eyes so lost, but full of life.
"My best friend... thinks that he has a big dream of going into space as soon as possible... and I promised him I could give him a hand. I have direct contact with NASA, on the other hand... it's absurd as a wish, since he isn't exactly up to standard to be able to leave... but the way he believes in it... in the end he carried it forward."He lay down on the grass facing the sand, resting his back on a boulder behind him. After that, he put his hands behind his head.
"I was the first to be skeptical... an then, he won. Don't take anything for granted, you know? Otherwise you give the impression of always knowing everything, and that's rather arrogant, don't you think?"Arrogant. How many times had they called me that...
He has always been stronger than me... if someone reasoned illogically, or in a way that I considered stupid... I always went against him.
This was my biggest problem.
On the things I knew I was good at... I was the best. Number one.
The rest is nothing."...maybe you're not entirely wrong..." I muttered, defeated. I hated to agree with others, but... he wasn't talking nonsense."You're one of those who thinks super logically, right?" I wonder.I gave a sarcastic smile.
"I'm a chess player... I can't help but think super logically, Daiki. He's stronger than me...""A super nerd, huh? Well... for me you should try to trust your heart more and... let yourself go. You're way too rigid."I giggled a little, looking back at my feet.
"Sometimes I let myself get too carried away with my feelings... and I end up getting too angry at my stubbornness or because I pretend to be right. I hate it when I don't know things. I always need answers... if I don't get them , sometimes I risk having panic attacks too. I've had them as long as I can remember..."I didn't even know why I confided in him. Maybe... it simply gave me positive feelings. Trusting is good, not trusting is better... but..."And then, I often don't understand others very much. Almost all our companions seem to me... a bit of a bunch of idiots."Daiki burst out laughing, making me smile back.
"I confess that I thought the exact same thing... but I want to give them faith. I believe that having hope is necessary to survive, I already told you.""I should try too... but I think it will be more difficult than expected." I muttered, scratching my head."Oh, come on. Isn't there anyone tolerable here? Not even one person? You seemed to get along pretty well with that girl, Miwa, this morning."I blushed slightly when Oomori mentioned her.
"Yes, well... she knows how to make people feel at ease. And she's definitely more extroverted than me... then well, Reiji and Himari aren't bad either. Rei is calmer when she's alone... well , otherwise I won't deny that I'm always rather irritated by his behavior... Yoshino and Akame on the other hand, I really can't stand them. Every time they open their fucking mouth I feel like I have to concentrate on something else or I risk getting pissed off."The blond smiled again.
"Not a fan of overly energetic people, huh? Yet they are the ones who draw the masses.""This is because people can't think for themselves and are fooled.""Or more simply you agree with an idea. It depends on the situation and the individual.""Something tells me you're into philosophy..." I commented with an arrogant smirk.Daiki raised his hands.
"Gotcha! You're right. Not only do I love physics, but I also always get very lost reading philosophical treatises and things like that.""I like people who think. If you want, we can have a chat at other times too. Not that I have many others with whom I would like to talk...""With great pleasure, Masao."I liked talking to him. He seemed to understand me, it was new to me.
Suddenly, something interrupted us.
There was a sound from the monitor, like a school bell... and Monokuma appeared on the screen, sitting on some kind of throne. and was holding a drink, probably alcohol, with his paw. The background looked like an elegant room, with several light screens on the wall."Mm, ahem, this is an official announcement from the principal of Despair Reformatory Academy. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall and to the gymnasium will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...!"***Beach, Nighttime - 10:00 p.m.Oomori stood up, straightening his clothes.
"I think it's time to go to sleep now. Tomorrow we have a day full of explorations ahead of us. Would you like to join me? I want to see if I can find a way to be useful. I need to start doing something..."I nodded, stretching.
"Okay, okay. I suppose I can't spend another day locked in my room and just reading. I'd get bored, actually. And then... I'd risk being seen as an easy victim."Daiki put his hands in his pockets, looking at me with disappointment."And do you really believe that the killing game will start?""...I wouldn't want it to be like this... but I can't rule out the possibility a priori. If it were to happen... I don't know how I would deal with it.""Me neither... but for now, let's try to focus on the present. Let's keep our feet on the ground."I nodded, starting to walk.
"I'll try, although I usually tend to think about the future.""I knew it, Masao."We both giggled, walking under that starry sky. We didn't say anything else along that short journey, and soon after we reached the dormitories. We said goodbye and said goodnight... then I went into my room. And here I was alone again, accompanied only by my thoughts.
I immediately lay down on the bed... it had been a really hard day... I fell asleep immediately. I was sleepy, so sleepy...***Shirokuma & Kurokuma show!"Good evening all students! Or should I say goodnight? I don't know how many of you are actually watching this ad...""I told you this was a terrible idea, Shirokuma. Dad should blow you up!""Hey, we already talked about it! Violence is a big, an enormous, a huge NO!""Wait until I show you the vastness of the dick I don't care...""HEY! You're so scurrilous! You're so rude!""And you're a failure!""Huh?? Why should I be a failure? Meanwhile, girls think I'm cute!""What's this supposed to mean now? You're always talking bullshit...""That you will never have a partner!""I don't remember asking for one, I don't need to base my happiness on just any pussy, you know?""You'll be alone forever then!""Naaaah, I'm going to have fun with these sixteen assholes here! I really want to see when they start fighting, becoming friends, or even fucking...""Huh? You say they'll start?""Of course, right? They're teenagers in heat, you fucking asshole, of course they will!""Wow, live porn!""I knew you were a fucking pervert, I FRAMED YOU!""HUH? Look who's talking! Kurokuma, you're the last one who can say anything about this!""I talk as much as I want! I talk all the time in fact. I only kept quiet today because I wanted to see how the bastards would react, but I can't wait to interact with them more. It's going to be awful fun! Teenagers are kind They're curious. They make a lot of dirty jokes, they're on high hormones and they're dumb ass. BUT THEN, the great thing is that they're extremely arrogant and-""AAAH, STOP PLEASE! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!""Of course you really don't know how to have fun...""Okay, luckily we're out of time. Bye bye bastards! Use your protection!""Yeah, or else there will be more accidents, like Shirokuma.""HEY-!"***Dormitory, Daytime - 8:00 a.m.A tall building, surrounded by the greenery of its own park.
Fifteen faces around me, all darkened. They were familiar.
Smiles, sneers, they were damn contemptuous.
Were they laughing at me... or with me?
"What time is it, mom? I had a terrible nightmare..."An all too familiar ringing of a bell brought me back to reality, the cruelest reality.
That nightmare wasn't a lie. I was still there, in that damn room.
Monokuma appeared on the monitor hanging on my wall, just like the night before."Good morning, everyone! It is now 8 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"I sighed, running a hand over my face.
"...is this really the reality, then..."I stared at the ceiling for several minutes. Only after having digested where I was and that what had happened the day before was really what had happened, I decided that perhaps the time had come to start the day.
I rubbed my eyes, slowly getting up from the bed. I went into the bathroom and rinsed my face. I had slept more than usual... I wasn't particularly used to it, I was usually a light sleeper.
I must have been really exhausted..."Maybe it's time to join the others..." I commented to myself, remembering Daiki's proposal.I walked towards the dining room with a slow pace and a groggy look. I was quite dazed, it almost felt like I hadn't slept at all...On the street I passed Kikuchi, he seemed quite calm too... which was absurd considering how energetic he was the day before.
He was the one who greeted me."Good morning Rambo..." He yawned. This stupid nickname again?
"Fuck, this day is really shitty...""Good morning Yoshino. Haven't you slept?""No, not even a little... my head hurts, I think I overdid it last night..."I tilted my head, perplexed.
"Overdone what...?"A grin appeared on his lips, despite his obvious tiredness he seemed arrogant as always."Do you really want to know?"I shook my head, irritated. I already had in mind what kind of answer might be.
"No.""Then why did you ask?""I was just trying to make conversation.""You're really terrible at this!"I was getting seriously nervous. It was incredible how much this guy was able to irritate me so simply..."Thank you.""You're welcome! The important thing is to believe it!"Don't give him any rest, it was better to avoid losing your temper with an idiot like him. I started walking again, instead."Mhhh... I think you have a very bad attitude towards me..." He then commented, following me down the corridor. Oh, and come on..."Not that you've done much to make me likeable." I replied sarcastically."HEY! Why do you all always want to hurt my feelings here?"
I couldn't tell if he was genuinely upset or if he was just joking, since I didn't even look at his face."You're annoying, to be honest. You talk too much.""What have I done wrong- tch, you're all cruel pieces of shit! I hope lightning strikes you! Or you all strike and die!""This certainly doesn't help change things..."Luckily for me, we had arrived at the canteen, so the raven-haired boy was distracted with the other companions who had already arrived.***Dining Room, Daytime - 8:30 a.m.The table was already set. Steamed rice, grilled fish, miso soup... it was all perfectly set for the sixteen of us. Evidently they had all waited for us before eating..."Heyoo!! Good morning!!" Kikuchi exclaimed energetically."Good morning." I murmured, running a hand over the back of my neck.Rei jumped up, pointing her finger at both of us."You two are really rude, you know! It's not nice to be half an hour late for an appointment! Himari worked so hard to prepare all this food, and you make us wait! It must have all gotten cold!"Kojima sighed, then smiled dejectedly.
"It's not that serious, in fact, now the food is just warmer...""Ooooh~? Was it a date? Look Rambo, we hooked up! I didn't think a cute girl like you would be interested in someone like me, hehe..." The chemist sneered.The blonde looked at him disapprovingly, her expression almost disgusted."Come on, I certainly would never date a dirty criminal like you! I've seen too many men like you, and they were nothing but miseries! So stay away from me!""Uh... all these prejudices just because I deal a little...""Shut up, you pathetic creep! If we weren't stuck here, I would have arrested you already!""Yes, I know... you've already said this. You're getting repetitive..." The raven-haired man finally snorted."Don't you two ever stop arguing? Or if it's not you, Akame will take care of it..." Takefumi sighed dejectedly.Meisei clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Hey! Don't bring me up, you understand?""Anyway. We're all here now, aren't we? I'd say the day can begin." Asteria interrupted them, arms folded."What exactly should we do today...?" Setsuko asked, playing with her long wavy hair."We haven't really thought of a plan, to tell the truth..." Emiko replied thoughtfully, crossing her legs.Reiji adjusted his chair and made himself comfortable.
"I suppose the most useful thing to do is to continue exploring a little... we'll take stock of the situation as always at dinner.""And what about lunch instead?" Kota asked, tasting some miso soup.Tatsuo shrugged.
"I wouldn't impose any particular obligations. I would propose that we all get together only for breakfast and dinner. Then for the rest, if someone wants to get together for lunch instead of eating on their own, I don't think it's a big problem.""Yes I agree." The lawyer replied. He acted a bit like a kind of father figure towards us... he must have wanted to be a point of reference for us. It was definitely admirable."For the rest... let's continue to investigate this place a bit. I'm sure we could find some more information. I intend to ask Shirokuma and Kurokuma for a couple of explanations... I have some doubts that I ask an answer.""What kind of doubts?" Miwa asked, resting a cheek on her hand.Rei looked at Miyamoto, and the latter nodded.
"Kota and I talked about it just yesterday... we cannot exclude the possibility that a mastermind is hiding here with us."I wasn't particularly surprised to hear that word. I had gotten there too, after all. There was no plausible possibility to rule out... and that was certainly no different. On the contrary, my companions all looked shocked."A... what?" Akamatsu blinked, confused."What the fuck is a mestirman?" Minoru asked confused, scratching his temple.Takefumi snorted almost amused at the rapper's response.
"Bro, it's mastermind, not mestir-what or whatever you said!""Okay, same thing! So? What is this bullshit?"Kota cleared his throat.
"Allow me to explain... as a video game developer, I believe I am the most knowledgeable on the subject..."He looked at us seriously, drumming his fingers on the table.
"In this type of games, there is always a superior mind that thinks about them, studies them, organizes them. They are not little games in which we are left to our own devices. There is always someone who monitors that the situation proceeds according to plan , without everything falling apart. Well, that someone is the mastermind. Someone who is controlling all this. Someone who is desperately hoping that the game will start.""And that someone... controls Monokuma." I added, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Simply put, if we figure out who the mastermind is or where he is hiding... then we can stop this pathetic nightmare.""Masao made the point." Miyamoto said, his gray eyes seeming to be reflecting his concern."But how are we supposed to find him?! He could be hiding anywhere!" Emiko exclaimed disconsolately."That's why it's important to continue exploring this place." The lawyer pointed out, adjusting his glasses."We certainly can't ignore this possibility... maybe if we found him he could give us some more answers, I'm here." Akame mused, blowing bubbles with her ever-present chewing gum.Yoshino sat down on the table suddenly, drawing attention to himself."You know, I think the rest of you are ruling out the worst case scenario...""Ah, of course, I understand what you're talking about." Asteria joined him, arms folded. What were they referring to?"That is... that the mastermind...""... he might be hiding...""...even between us."We all looked at each other, perplexed. In the air you could feel a sense of mistrust that was growing within each of us."Come on, let's not talk nonsense...! How could he hide among us?" Murakami muttered, with a hysterical laugh.The director shook his head.
"Actually, it makes perfect sense. If that were the case, he could camouflage himself perfectly, so that he could control and manipulate us to his complete will.""So you say this is the truth...?" Setsuko murmured, looking at everyone with a worried and distrustful look."We can't be sure, sweetie! But it sure is!" Yoshino exclaimed with a smirk."What the fuck is so funny, let's hear it? Are you enjoying this so much?! As far as I'm concerned you could very well be the mastermind, given how confident you seem!" Akame exclaimed as she jumped up, pointing a finger at the raven-haired man."Hey woooh, chill buddy! Just trying to dampen the mood, huh!" Kikuchi replied, taken aback by his response."Fucking good way! You've confirmed yourself as yet another failed asshole this time too, congratulations!""And why couldn't you be the mastermind instead, huh? You spend your time insulting everyone, what do we know, maybe it's your way of making us even more frustrated and pushing us to kill!""Don't you dare, you ugly-!""THAT'S ENOUGH!"A voice boomed in the room, making us all jump. It was Reiji who spoke, slamming both hands on the table."Don't you understand that by doing so you are only following the mastermind's goal? He wants to pit us against each other. He does exactly the same thing as Monokuma, after all he controls it."I sighed, shaking my head.
"If we start like this, we certainly won't be able to get along as well as you said last night. I... I'm not the best at sociability, I understand that coming from me it might not seem almost credible... but we need to try to put our minds together and look for a solution."To be honest... I didn't even believe in my own words. They were full of hypocrisy. I wouldn't have wanted to deal with almost any of them, if only I could."Thank you, Masao. It brings me comfort to know that there is someone who still has a head on their shoulders in this situation." The lawyer looked at me with a sarcastic smile."Sorry, um..." Setsuko tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, looking at us a little embarrassed.
"So... this mastermind... might be trying to do something to start the killing game, so...?""The hypothesis cannot be discarded, evidently..."
Daiki placed a hand on his forehead, massaging it.
"What could we do...?""I told you. For now, let's keep exploring. We don't have many other options, you know." Reiji proposed again with a sigh.Kikuchi stretched with a yawn, closing his eyelids.
"To tell the truth, we have two other alternatives! Or pretend that everything is fine..."Here the raven-haired one suddenly reopened his emerald eyes.
"...or kill someone.""Hey, you're not going to plan a murder!" Rei exclaimed, standing up suddenly.Yoshino smirked a little. How did he always take everything so lightly...?
"Of course not...! You would immediately suspect me, I understood it, you know? You can see, you all always look at me badly...""I think this is more due to your... extravagant attitude." Miwa commented sarcastically."Meh. I honestly don't give a shit." The chemist finally shrugged, getting down from the table.Hearing him talk always left me with a strange feeling... it was like hearing a child say swear words. Desolation, shame and embarrassment.
No one before Yoshino had even brought up the possibility that any of us could commit murder. Yet, as much as I hated him... how could I blame him? I couldn't trust my new companions in misadventures so easily.
I couldn't know what was going through their minds. Who knows... maybe they were so crazy that they were secretly planning the assassination of one of us, maybe even my assassination..."How refined..." Himari murmured disapprovingly, trying as best she could to fix her swollen greenish hair. Her ringing voice brought me back to reality, as often happened I was lost in my thoughts again. Yoshino seemed to ignore her comment."Let's ignore him. He's self-isolating of his own free will, as far as I'm concerned. If any of us kick the bucket, we know who the prime suspect will be." Minoru growled in annoyance, rolling his eyes. Kikuchi didn't replied."Good, then it's settled, again. Let's keep exploring until we find a solution-""Woooooow, of course you are very ambitious! Just worthy of Ultimates like you!"I almost had a heart attack.
A few centimeters from me, none other than Shirokuma had appeared."AH! What the fuck is wrong with you little shit bears?! Why do you all have to appear so suddenly?!" I exclaimed annoyed, putting a hand on my chest. And then, here is another unexpected voice."Come on, I understand that Shirokuma is ugly, but taking it out on him like this seems exaggerated! What, did your balls fall off coming here?"This time it was Setsuko who got scared and let out a cry of terror. Kurokuma and his ever-present cigar had appeared behind her."I didn't drop them- oh, never mind. It's not worth it." I replied, shaking my head."All we were missing were these two idiots..." Akame blurted out, snorting in annoyance."Always very kind, polite, refined..." The white robot began."Go fuck yourself.""Such a beautiful girl and such language-""Choke yourself on a sandpaper cock.""HEY! Why do you all have to be so vulgar- wait-"
Shirokuma turned to his brother.
"Kurokuma, I'm not ugly! You are!""Huh? What's wrong with you, do you have delayed reflexes? Oh well, I don't give a shit. We just wanted to see how you are doing, you bastards! After all, yesterday was a tough day for you...""You should have seen how cute you looked tonight! So calm and adorable! Especially the girls!" The snow-white bear smiled a little.Sugiyama looked at them both with a rather disgusted expression.
"Did you watch us while we slept...? What kind of psychopaths...""We just wanted to make sure none of you had sleep problems..." Shirokuma replied dejectedly."Speaking of which, no, you were all fucking fine. But honestly...some of you really need to do something about the sleep talking. And the sleepwalking. Like that one."The all-black robot pointed at Emiko, who looked at him uncomfortably.
"What do you want from me...? I don't have my pills here, okay...?!"Meisei put a hand to his forehead.
"Oh, fuck no! I forgot about your sleepwalking! Don't tell me you're going to start doing it every night again like when we slept at Aunt Yuka's house!""Aunt Yuka...?" Takefumi raised an eyebrow."My mother..." The dancer muttered embarrassed.
"Often, whenever Akame came to sleep at my place, I ended up going to her bed without realizing it...""And screaming every time you woke up! Holy shit Emiko, how many times do I have to tell you that sleeping together was never the problem, but your fucking screaming?""I'm sorry, I... I didn't do it on purpose..."The blue haired girl sighed.
"Yes, I know... it's okay. Maybe we'll find a solution.""There are no particular solutions to be found, actually. Your rooms are all absolutely soundproof!" The little white bear smiled.
"No screaming will disturb you! And then your rooms can be locked, so if you don't want to let her in just-""Yes, yes. There's no need to say anything else." The influencer cut short, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.
"And then these are our personal matters. There's no need for everyone to know them.""Mh... if I may ask, how long has this sleepwalking thing been going on?" Miwa asked kindly, giving the dancer a smile.
"You know, maybe I can lend a hand if needed."Meisei got in the way again.
"My cousin doesn't need a shrink to help her with this bullshit.""She was just trying to help out." I pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't understand why you answer her so badly.""Forget it, it's a losing battle..." Kota told me, putting a hand on my shoulder.Sugiyama chuckled composedly, she hadn't lost her temper one bit.
"It's okay guys. I'm certainly not the one who loses out.""I'm sorry..." Emiko murmured, she just couldn't assert herself. Part of me felt sorry for her, but on the other hand... I found her pathetic."I don't want to change the subject, but the fact that you came to me only makes all my plans easier." Masayoshi interrupted us, taking a step towards the two bears.
"I guess you heard what we were talking about earlier.""Huh? What do you mean?" Shirokuma asked."Don't play dumb with me. The mastermind thing. I want to know if it's really possible there is one."Kurokuma took a long drag on his own cigar.
"And even if that were the case? You can't do anything about it. The only way to stop the game would be to stop this hypothetical mastermind... therefore kill him. Too bad you don't intend to murder anyone..."Rei clenched her fists.
"A policewoman could never commit such a deplorable crime...!""Don't fall into his trap. Come on, it's yet another attempt to turn us against each other, right?" Daiki shook his head.
"You want us to believe that there is someone among us who put us in this situation... but we all know that what you really want is just to get us to kill each other.""Fuck, got you right!" Kurokuma exclaimed with a scornful laugh.Shirokuma looked at the other bear with an almost desperate look.
"Eeeeh?? What are you saying? Of course there's a mastermi- OPS!""I knew it." Masayoshi slammed his fist on the table. "It couldn't have all been a coincidence...!"The little black bear put a paw on his face.
"You idiot, you see that you always speak out of turn! You're always there telling me that I say too many things, but I see that you're not that different, on the contrary! You really are the image of hypocrisy, what a failure you are! If daddy makes you explode, I swear by how truly ugly you are that I will enjoy more than a little girl after her first orgasm-""AAAAH, PLEASE SHUT UP! How much does this one talk?!" Takefumi's eyes almost crossed, when that damned black bear spoke it was as if they had put us in a centrifuge."But why does everyone always have to interrupt me..." Kurokuma complained.Asteria took matters into her own hands. It was curious to see her interested in something.
"Anyway. This mastermind is there, obviously. And is he hiding among us?""Come on, if we told you everything we'd ruin the fun, wouldn't we?" The robot with the cigar sneered."Oh no you bastards, don't fool me this time too! I won't add anything else!" Shirokuma said, annoyed by the situation.
"I've already told you enough!""He said what we needed to know I would say." Tatsuo mused.
"We can't expect too much, after all."The little white bear suddenly returned with a smile.
"Very well! Our job here's done!""But you didn't do anything..."
Haruka murmured, but as soon as she uttered that sentence, the two little bears vanished into thin air."Why. What a bunch of incompetent idiots." Minoru commented.The director put a hand on his chin.
"Maybe, but they unintentionally gave us some really important clues. First of all... there is a way to stop this madness. Kill this damned mastermind, but... do we really want to end up killing someone?""That seems like a terrible idea to me. I'd say capturing him could be an equally good alternative." Daiki observed."Right! If we have him, he certainly won't be able to do anything else other than tell us how things really are." Kota exclaimed."...and if we couldn't find him... the other alternative would be to try to escape from here..."Setsuko interrupted the director with a trembling voice, her heart beating wildly.
"B-But... we've already established that there's no way to get out of here!""That's not true. We've only been exploring this place for a scant day. We can't say for sure yet. And here we are back to where we started."Reiji adjusted his rectangular-shaped glasses, while his long purple braid lay on one of his powerful shoulders.
He was serious, too serious.
"We all have to get involved and find a solution. I'm sure someone will think of something."The astrophysicist raised a hand, looking at us all.
"I have a proposal... but before I say anything, I need to make sure it's feasible. Give me a little more time, please.""Huh? Do you have an idea to get us out of here, Mister Skepticism?" Asteria asked with a curious look.Haruka's eyes sparkled.
"How nice! So there really is a solution!"The blond sighed.
"Maybe, but... please don't let it go to your head. I need to understand if this is something that can really be done.""It's okay, Daiki. We trust you."
Rei gave him a thumbs up, waving her hand in his direction.
"For the rest, let's continue our searches. There are three possibilities... either we find an escape route, or we find the mastermind, or we will be left empty-handed. In the last case, all we have to keep doing is trying again search again.""What do we do, split up into pairs again?"
The video game developer asked."Or in small groups, maybe three or four. I would say to avoid being alone as much as possible in these situations."
The director reflected.
"We could each assign one of us to do a better look at a portion of this place this morning.""I'm in. Does anyone have any objections?"
Masayoshi asked, looking at all of us.Nobody protested, after all there weren't many other options."Very good. Let's split up, then! So... Emiko, Akame and Takefumi, you will explore the beach and the external parts of the school better. Miwa, Daiki and Masao will look at the laboratories instead. Then... Minoru, Yoshino and Kota could look at the gym and the classrooms, oh, and also the rooms that don't open... Reiji, Himari, Asteria and Setsuko will look at the dormitories, while Haruka, Tatsuo and I could take a more in-depth look at the A/V Room and outside the secondary building. Tomorrow morning we will tell each other any details, if there are any... I would say that we could take the afternoon as a break." The policewoman concluded."Why tomorrow and not tonight like we've done so far?" Haruka asked perplexed."I want to investigate something, but I'm afraid I'll also need the night. I'll explain everything to you tomorrow." Rei gave her a toothy smile.
"You can trust me?"The seamstress nodded in relief.
"Of course! But now we should really go...""Right. See you later, then! Keep your eyes open!"Slowly, everyone left the canteen with the groups to which each had been assigned.
Sugiyama came towards me, she seemed happy to have ended up with me."Masao! So we ended up together! What a relief, I didn't feel like being with someone strange..."I smiled back at her, I had been lucky for once. I turned my gaze to Daiki, who was looking at us with his arms folded."Very good. So we should take care of the labs, right...?"I nodded, placing my hands on my hips.
"Exactly. There are only three at the moment, so I don't think it will take us long. I think we'll have a chance to relax later afterwards.""Um...so the places to explore are the Ultimate Sewist Lab, the Ultimate Influencer Lab, and the Ultimate Director Lab, am I right?" The pinkish blonde haired girl asked."Right. I don't know about you, but now that I think about it, I haven't had much of a chance to look closely at these three rooms." The astrophysicist mused.I shook my head, starting to walk away.
"Not even me or Miwa, maybe just Akame's... we've seen very little of the others, to be honest.""Well, it means we'll make up for it, then."Having said that, within a few minutes we reached the place we needed to explore.***Ultimate Labs, Daytime - 10:00 a.m.The building was exactly as I remembered it.
It was very tall, it must have been about five floors, the plan was irregular, the walls were full of windows, and they were in ruins.
Here too, you could feel the contrast between the perfectly maintained rooms and the completely ruined exterior."This place is definitely mysterious, don't you two think? I'm intrigued, honestly!" Miwa exclaimed, snooping around the hallway that led to the rest of the rooms."We came to explore, after all. I'm confident we'll find something." Oomori looked relaxed."Rather, which lab should we start with?" You asked, leaning your back against the wall."I would like to see Tatsuo's better! Last time he barely let us in..."The blond smiled. "Ah, he didn't just do it with me, then. Excellent, I'd say let's start from there."I nodded once again, and with a heavy step I went to the director's laboratory, followed by the other two.The room was quite large, it must have been a real set.
On one wall there was a large bright green sheet, could this be the famous green screen? In front of this sheet, attached to the ceiling, there was an unlit projector.
It was all extremely colourful, the cause must have been the various stage costumes lying on a table at the sides of the room. There was a professional camera (in addition to the one present in all the rooms), spotlights, microphones, a series of lights... and there were also various props. The set must have been specific to a pirate movie scene, judging by the wooden planks, fake cutlasses and skull flags. In the center of the room there were several chairs, one of which was a director's, while on one of the walls hung several posters, all of films directed by Tatsuo. It couldn't be said that he wasn't a skilled director, on the contrary. On a shelf were even displayed his three Oscar Awards won over the years, in particular for one film, Echoes of the Sea."Wow, that's cool, I've never been on a real set! And to think that when I was little I wanted to be an actress..." Miwa giggled, looking around."This equipment is worth a fortune...! Whoever set up this place must have a lot of money..." Daiki muttered, checking the camera more closely."Monokuma said that when we got here, if I'm not mistaken." I muttered, looking at the various props.
"And that green screen on the wall, though? Does that projector work?""The remote control is there on Tatsuo's chair, try turning it on." Daiki told me, while still controlling that camera.
"Uh... I see, so what is recorded can be directly sent to a nearby computer... too bad there aren't any in this room...""You're right, there isn't one." I commented, turning on the projector. It seemed to work, since the wall with that green cloth suddenly lit up, showing the landscape of an expanse of sea. I turned it off immediately afterwards, we had the confirmation we needed."Don't you find it strange?" Miwa asked, while she was browsing through the various stage costumes."Well, yes, it is certainly unusual." The astrophysicist replied, yawning.I decided to look more deeply at what that room was hiding. On the wall where the posters were displayed, there was a secondary door, hidden by a series of sets and costumes. There were even fake swords and axes, but I didn't dare touch the blades... you can never be too careful. I started moving them, trying to access them without damaging anything, or Honshiro certainly wouldn't have liked it."Wooooah, I've seen all these films! I can't believe it, before we leave here I absolutely have to get an autograph from Tatsuo... even if I imagined him a little taller, to tell you the truth...""Maybe it's time not to point this out to him, Miwa.""You're right, Daiki... keep it between us then, I guess it's not nice to make him burden you with this detail.""Um, guys..." I interrupted them, as I slowly opened that strange extra door I had found."Ah, of course. There's a secondary entrance here.""A back entrance, you said?"
The astrophysicist reached me immediately.
"And where does it lead?""Could this be some kind of secret passage?" The psychologist asked, coming up from behind the blond."Not that secret, to be honest. This door was covered in a couple of props, but it was perfectly accessible. Besides, there's no need to get excited. It just leads to the A/V Room." I replied, opening it wide. It creaked, the noise was annoying. From there you could glimpse all the various computers that were in the adjoining room."I'd say that this door isn't anything that strange. To be honest, if you need to edit videos or anything like that you need to have computers on hand. And since there aren't any laptops or devices like this in the lab kind..." The astrophysicist mused aloud. "Well, now the mystery is solved.""Ah, I understand. It makes sense. Too bad, I was hoping it could be something that would lead us to this hypothetical mastermind or whatever..." The girl sighed in disappointment."All three of us hoped so, I'm afraid..." I muttered, closing the door behind me."Hey... are you saying we can really trust those things? Are you saying there really is a mastermind?"Oomori nodded confidently at Sugiyama's question."There's no doubt about it. You heard what Kota told us, these games don't organize themselves. Surely there's someone behind them trying to manipulate us.""I would really like to know the reason for this staging...! It seems ridiculous to me, as well as absurd." I growled, clenching my fists and biting my bottom lip."We'd all like to know, Masao. But we certainly can't give up and let it get us down, right?" Miwa smiled at me, taking my wrist. I blushed slightly at that contact."No no... never that, no.""Then let's get a move on, come on. Let's get busy and find a solution." Daiki told us, walking in the direction of the props."About that..."The girl tilted her head to the side a little, looking at the blond curiously."What's this idea you mentioned to us and everyone else just now? You know, I've been wondering about it for several minutes.""Hey, you're right. I almost forgot..." I joined Oomori, hands on hips.
"So you have a possible solution in mind to this whole mess?"He sighed, looking back through the various equipment.
"I don't feel like revealing it to you yet. The last thing I want to do is create false hopes, you understand. But... I promise you that in time I will reveal everything to you."Miwa and I looked at each other, a little disappointed by that answer, but we didn't blame him. On the other hand, we just wanted to have good news... but it wasn't a given that we could receive it at that moment."Okay, okay. We won't insist, darling! I promise! Aren't we, Masao?"The girl winked at me, as a sign of understanding. I nodded in turn, trying not to notice Sugiyama's umpteenth attempt to tease me.
"Of course. I don't want to delude myself with false hopes either, so it's better to start out safe."Daiki stood up, putting his hands in his pockets:
"Anyway... I'd say there's nothing else to do here, to be honest. I'd say we can move on to the next labs.""Shall we go with the Ultimate Sewist Lab?" Miwa offered, approaching the door.Oomori and I nodded, and soon left the room to reach the new place to explore.There was nothing new in that room, except that there was absolute silence. Haruka's record player was off, plus she wasn't there. It was strange not to hear classical music coming from that laboratory."Well, I guess we can continue where we left off."Daiki began to look among the various clothes and fabrics of the dresses commissioned by Shimizu, while the psychologist began to browse among the mannequins on the opposite wall. I focused on the sewing machine and the enormous collection of needles that the girl with cotton candy pink hair kept safe in that room. There were all kinds of them, small, medium, long... there was even that pair that Miwa had noticed the day before during our exploration, the ones that were used for knitting."Wow... of course Haruka is really good. I've never seen such well-groomed clothes. And to think that it's all handmade..." Oomori murmured, trying not to ruin any of the clothes and fabrics she was investigating."In fact, they cost a fortune... just think, the aunt of a friend of mine had her wedding dress commissioned by her, I'll just tell you that it cost her double what a normal wedding dress should cost... and Those are already very expensive..." Miwa told us, putting back a sewing tape measure that she had accidentally dropped. However, when he raised his head, he exclaimed something unusual.
"Huh? I can't believe it! Even here?!""What? What's going on? Did you find anything strange?" I asked, reaching for her immediately.The girl nodded, rising to her feet.
"Look here, there's an extra door here too!""Ah, if I'm not mistaken, it should connect this room to Akame's laboratory. Just take a look here, look."Daiki pulled his monopad out of his trouser pockets, showing us what he meant.
In fact, everything was marked on the map of the building, even the two doors we had found. It was nothing new, then."There. It was actually strange that there was only one external entrance to his laboratory, judging by the way the map is made.""So in the end we didn't make any progress..." Miwa sighed in disappointment.
"I was hoping for something more...""Come on, the last word hasn't been said yet. We still have a whole room to explore." The blond reassured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.The psychologist gave him a small, sad smile.
"Let's try and see..."We also entered the last room left to explore, but...
There was absolutely nothing out of place.
The walls of the lab were beige, and one wall was hidden by a huge array of shelves, displaying every possible make-up material or designer shoe.
I leaned towards an object that had captured my intention, it seemed to be a drone... but it didn't turn on, it probably had empty batteries.
In the front part, a soft and white sofa was placed against one of the sides of the room, between two mirrored wardrobes that reached up to the ceiling. Miwa went to open them, and almost didn't scream."Oh, my... I've never seen so many designer clothes at once...! I guess Akame has a lot of money...""Let it stay between us, but..." I began, crossing my arms over my chest.
"I don't think she needs them that much, considering how much exposed skin she has."I couldn't deny that Meisei's outfit had, well... distracted me too, if only for a few moments, in a way. That so-so-short denim miniskirt, the maroon top that left most of her belly exposed... I immediately thought, she was a really beautiful girl. Although as soon as she opened her mouth, all my possible positive thoughts had completely disappeared...Daiki tried to stifle a laugh, but Sugiyama looked at me sternly."Come on, there's no point in judging a person for the way they dress, you know? And then, I would also like to have the body to be able to wear certain things...""Don't be so discouraged. You're a very nice girl, I don't think there's any point in feeling bad about such nonsense." I tried to console her, while the astrophysicist began fiddling with the computer, sitting at Akame's desk.At my compliment, the psychologist giggled, her cheeks tinged a light shade of pink.
"Hehe... thank you, Masao!"I blushed too, scratching the back of my neck."What a drag..." Oomori interrupted us, shaking her head.
"There's just no way to access the internet from here.""Ah, yeah... Kota also mentioned it to us. We had already tried." I reported to the blond, thinking back to the situation."Obviously. It would have all been too simple..."The psychologist sat on the sofa, crossing her legs."...and I doubt that this mastermind doesn't intend to mess up our lives. How annoying."Miwa was usually nice and cheerful, but... at that moment she seemed rather nervous."Let me guess, we haven't discovered anything, have we?"Neither I nor Daiki dared to answer.
Not because we were afraid of her, we just... didn't want to admit it.
We didn't want to face reality. And that reality was telling us that we hadn't made any progress.The psychologist clenched her fists, looking at the ground."I knew it...""Hey, hey... this is what we discovered. You'll see, maybe it won't be the same for the others." I told her, sitting down next to her. It wasn't my habit to be so optimistic, in fact... I was usually a terrible pessimist. The truth was, I was telling her something she wanted to hear.
It was all fake.The blonde gave us a small smile.
"And it's not true that we haven't discovered anything. I've had a chance to get a better look at what this place has to offer and... well, maybe there's a little hope.""Huh, really?"I looked at Daiki puzzled. He wasn't talking about bullshit, right...?"Absolutely. Like I told you... I just need a little more time." He told us, closing his eyes with a thoughtful expression."Then... I can't help but trust." I replied confidently. I had few really normal people around me... at least I could - no - I had to trust them.
Or I would have lived in anguish, in panic... in despair."If Masao trusts you, then I will trust you too. I'm sure we can find a way to get out of here." Sugiyama smiled, seeming to have regained her good humor a little."Thank you." Oomori seemed relieved by our reaction.
"Well guys... I don't think there's anything else left to do. Let's just make sure we haven't done any damage... you'll see that everything will be fine."It hadn't been a particularly deep chat, and yet... even if just a little, it had put my heart at rest. It was nice to see that among that group of incompetents there was someone you could count on.
As if there was, even if just a modicum, hope.Once I finished checking the last things with Daiki and Miwa, I went back to my room.***Dormitory, Daytime - 4:00 p.m.Since I had spent the rest of the day exploring and maybe we were getting closer to a solution to escape from there... I had all the time in the world."Mh... I'm done exploring for today... I guess I could spend the rest of the time doing something else until tonight..." I muttered to myself.So... what could I have done at that moment?
My "free time" had begun.I decided that it was completely useless to sit there with my hands folded... since I had the morning free, I could do whatever I wanted. I would have done well to use that time to get to know my teammates better.
I left my room and put my hands in my pockets, but as they touched the fabric of my trousers, they felt the contact with something cold. Oh, of course.
They were the three tokens I had found the day before in the gym, the ones with Monokuma's face engraved on them.
I remembered the little bear's words... maybe it was time to try that Slot Machine. What did I have to lose?
I walked towards the small room full of strange gadgets which was located between the two bathrooms, in the corridor on that floor.
I opened with some caution, finding myself face to face with that contraption.
Could I really trust...?
What could possibly go wrong, anyway?"Let's give it a try..." I muttered to myself, inserting the first chip into the Slot Machine.
A sound of plastic balls hitting each other spread throughout the room, and then one appeared a few seconds later.
He opened it and found inside... a metronome.What was I supposed to do with that... thing?I sighed disapprovingly, but decided to try again a couple of times, using both of my remaining coins.
In the end, what I had gotten was some kind of set of commemorative medals and... well, a slice of pistachio cake?"Rubbish..." I commented, but was there really anyone among my companions who would have appreciated that kind of object?
With more doubts than answers in my head, I returned to the dormitory area.I was quite curious about some of my classmates, to tell the truth. Some I just couldn't stand, but... who knows, maybe giving them a second chance wasn't such a bad idea after all. But for the moment, I preferred to play it safe.
Miwa certainly wouldn't have been bad company.
So, once I reached the door of her room, I rang the bell.It didn't take long before she appeared in front of me, with a dazzling smile.
"Hey, hi! What brings you here? Want to do something fun?""Um... well, I wanted to spend some time with you, if it doesn't bother you.""Oh, of course dear, no trouble!" Sugiyama chuckled, placing his hands on his hips.I stayed with her to chat about this and that, her company was pleasant, we had bonded a little more.
Suddenly I remembered those three gadgets I had gotten from the Monomono Machine. Who knows, maybe she would have liked one of those three things...
I spent a few moments thinking about what the best choice could be, and finally I opted for the slice of pistachio cake."Hey, Miwa... look at this."I handed her my gift, trying to smile convincingly. Her amber eyes sparkled as they saw what I was giving her."Oh my... are you seriously giving this to me? You shouldn't have darling, I appreciate it so much! Eheh, we've only known each other for so little and you're already trying to woo me?"She blushed, she must have really enjoyed teasing me..."Don't... oh, never mind."The girl giggled, then took a step towards me, standing on tiptoe, to try to reach my height."Woah- Miwa, what...?""What am I doing? I'm watching you, of course, right?"Why the heck was she so close? Our faces were so close... almost too close. The tips of our noses were touching, and her large yellowish eyes were staring at me with a certain intensity. I swallowed, taking a step back in an attempt to distance myself from that exaggeratedly close contact."E-Ehm- U-Uhm... forgive me Miwa, h-I need my living space...""Oh sorry!" The psychologist giggled, moving away from me a little. The situation was already better than before...
"I usually tend to observe all the details of the people around me... especially my patients.""Patients...? But... do you already have your own practice?"She nodded, winking at me.
"Of course! A lot of people come to me often, I always have a very full agenda! I'm super organised! And I also have very strict schedules. I want to try to dedicate the same amount of time to each person who comes to me for help."I smiled at her.
"You must really like your job.""Absolutely! Even though I told you, I still have a lot to learn..."Miwa tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"But... I can't deny that I am one of the best psychologists around. Just think, many even older colleagues come to me to verify diagnoses...""Huh? Even that?" I exclaimed, surprised. It really wasn't that surprising, if I were to be honest. I was surrounded by phenomena... in the true sense of the word. I myself was one of them."Yeah, yeah! Then you know... they call me the Ultimate Psychologist, but I don't deal exclusively with psychology. I also have various skills in psychiatry, pedagogy, sociology... oh, even criminology! Not to brag, but they have me asked to hypothesize diagnoses even for prisoners or defendants suspected of some serious crime for a psychiatric evaluation..."All of this... was impressive. It almost scared me..."Wow... I... I don't know what to say, you look amazing..."Miwa tucked a strand behind her ear, giggling.
"I just do what I love to do. I don't think it's all that special, to be honest. I'm just... good at understanding how people work.""Does it seem small to you? I think it's great. Then, well, you're talking to a guy who's really bad at socializing, you know... I think I'm a complete disaster, in several ways..." I muttered ironically, scratching the back of my neck.Sugiyama grabbed my wrists, looking at my face again. She was too close again..."Hey, don't say that! I find you super interesting, you know that?""Huh? A-Are you serious?" I stammered, completely red in the face.She nodded very vigorously, probably without any intention of wanting to break away from me."Of course! You know... when I say I want to get to know you better... I mean I'd like to psychoanalyze you. Your mind seems full of mystery...!""EH? What? Uh-uh, no way." I shook my head, why on earth would I tell her my business? It's okay that I found her nice, but we had known each other for so little...!Here her gaze became more severe, and Sugiyama crossed her arms."Oh yeah? I didn't think you were such a coward.""What do you have- I'm not a coward, don't say that shit!" I replied, slightly annoyed.A grin appeared on her face, and she finally took a step back."Oh, really? And how come you're afraid to tell me what's on your mind?""Wha- I'm not scared! We've just known each other for too short a time, don't you think...?" I muttered, looking away.She sighed, her expression seeming to have softened."I certainly don't want to force you, Masao. You just... you seem so... melancholy.""Huh?"I rolled my eyes, what did he mean by that?"Forgive me, I think I didn't understand."Miwa looked away, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry... maybe it's just an impression, but... I have the feeling that inside you you're hiding a pain that maybe not even you can see. It seems to me that behind all this gruffness and few words of yours , in reality there is much more."I remained silent for a few moments. Melancholy, huh...? Maybe... maybe she wasn't entirely wrong. Her voice was so... melodious, it was nice to hear her speak. Even though her words... left me with a strange feeling, deep in my heart."And what makes you think that?" I asked, without any kind of rancor.She put two fingers to her chin, thinking for a few moments."Mhh... well, first of all, you seem a little... too withdrawn. You don't seem like the type of person who opens up easily to others, perhaps only in exceptional cases or if the situation is favourable... and then your panic attacks are a little suspicious, you know? Not to mention the way you look at everyone... you know, sometimes you act a bit arrogant."I looked at her rather perplexed, as well as a little... strange."...it's...not very comforting, you know? Putting it that way, I really seem hopeless...!""Huh? Of course not! That's not what I meant..."
Miwa sighed dejectedly, crossing her arms over her chest. Of course she was a particular girl... one moment she liked to tease me, the next moment she was embarrassed and much less daring.
Oh, women, how confusing..."Well, you said I'm a coward, gruff, melancholic, arrogant... I don't know, something else?"
I replied, with a fake offended tone. She certainly wasn't the only one who could afford to tease me a little, right? I wasn't going to let her win. I also liked winning these types of challenges, after all.
In response, the girl rolled her eyes, while her cheeks were tinged a light red."Oh, come on, you know I didn't mean that!""You seem rather arrogant to me, to be honest... making these kinds of assumptions about me even though you barely know me!" I sneered.
Okay, I was definitely having fun."You're really... good at flipping the omelette however you like, huh?" She muttered, looking away. His face was still red as a pepper..."I was joking, come on. I didn't really mind." I replied to her, this time it was me who smiled cheekily at her.
"But try not to psychoanalyze me without my permission, okay?"She snorted again.
"I'll try, even if he's stronger than me...""Who knows, maybe one day I'll tell you more about my life. But... not today." I giggled.
"Why don't you tell me something about yourself instead?""About me, you say?"She looked at me for a few moments... then, another grin appeared on her face.
"Maybe one day I'll tell you more... but not today.""...Bastard."We both giggled, despite our notable differences... we seemed to get along well.
We spent some more time together, after which I went back to my room.***Dormitory, Nighttime - 10:00 p.m."Mm, ahem, this is an official announcement from the principal of Despair Reformatory Academy. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall and to the gymnasium will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...!"The announcement echoed in my room exactly as it had the day before.
I yawned.
I had no particular plans for that evening... I was just very sleepy.
So, just like the night before, as I lay down on the bed, I fell into a deep sleep.***Shirokuma & Kurokuma show!"Good evening you bastards! Well, at least, those of you who are still awake.""Imagine if they're not awake, come on! Shirokuma, you know they're ignoring us right?""EEH? But why would they?""Well... you have such a boring face that even I get bored looking at you.""W-What's wrong with my face?!""She's incredibly stupid and ordinary, just like you!""W-What do I do, start wearing makeup?!""Nah, it's no use.""Ah here...""You would need a facial.""KUROKUMA. You really are...!""A piece of shit? An asshole? An emeritus idiot? Or maybe you meant a fucking idiot? Better than being a malformed scribbler like you!""HEY. I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING- don't put words in my mouth...!!""But you thought so, didn't you? Come on, come on, admit it! You thought so! I'm sure of it, when you look at me that way it's because you're actually insulting me-""Please, shut up...!!""Always interrupting... never mind. I'm tired. Today's episode ends here.""E-Eh?! And since when do you decide?!""Why should you decide?""Hey, I'm the one asking questions here!""I don't give a damn who asks the questions.""How vulgar you are...""I don't care. Well, bye bye you bastards!"***Dormitory, Daytime - 8:00 a.m.Waking up the next day was... different than usual."Good morning everyone, students! It's 8 a.m., Nighttime is over! Erm... well, listen here. I'm starting to get bored... try and find everyone in the gym, hm? I have an announcement to do. If you don't come I'll kick your ass!"I stared at the monitor with a confused expression, tilting my head slightly. What did that evil bear have in mind? I had a very bad feeling.
I got out of bed and stretched. I had no other choice apparently...
What on earth could it be...?***Gym, Daytime - 8:15 a.m.I was the last to arrive, as was my wont. It's not that I didn't have respect for others, it's just that I've never been exactly... punctual."Late as always, Masao!" Kikuchi sneered, making me roll my eyes. God, that was annoying."There's absolutely nothing to laugh about here!" Rei blurted out, crossing her arms over her chest and pointing a finger straight at my collarbone, almost making me step back from being too close."I've already told you! It takes discipline-""I know.""If you know, then why don't you just do it-""I just know that. And besides, Monokuma hasn't arrived yet, right? I don't see the point in making all this fuss..."Finally the policewoman gave up, sighing in disapproval."Indeed, I'm starving! Why the hell did my boot bear make us come here before breakfast?!" Akame huffed in annoyance, tapping her foot on the floor, hands on her hips."You're not entirely wrong, my stomach is rumbling..." Kota complained, placing his hands on his stomach.Himari put a hand on her arm, looking at the floor.
"Excuse me, I wanted to bring you something from the canteen, but I was prevented...""Prevented? And by whom?" Haruka asked looking confused.It didn't take long before the answer came by itself.
Shirokuma and Kurokuma suddenly revealed themselves before our eyes."Good morning you bastards! I hope you slept well! I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit before eating, daddy has an important announcement..." The first one exclaimed with a smirk."You again? We'll never get rid of this torture..." Daiki muttered annoyed.Takefumi shook his head.
"Apparently not..."The black robot rolled his eyes.
"Of course you fucking teenagers only ever think about complaining! You're insatiable...""Well said big brother! You always have something to say...""You don't always have to repeat what I say, you know?""Oh, shut up, I didn't repeat anything!""NO! Please don't start arguing, for heaven's sake!" Minoru interrupted them."Too bad... Shirokuma is fun to take the piss out of!" The other bear sneered."Come on-!""Come on, come on, the rapper is right! There's no point wasting time with this nonsense..."That voice again... that's when all the trouble started again.
From the gym stage, just like the first time we met him... Monokuma had appeared."Pupuhpuhpuhpuh! Did you miss me, dear students?""No. But like - not at all." Mika replied with a dull look, looking at him."I agree..." Setsuko muttered softly.The two-colored bear lowered his head with a dejected look.
"The usual funny guys, huh...""Come on dad, smile and shine! You said this moment would be wonderfully fun!" Shirokuma tried to console him."Right! Ah, you are proving to be two sons with potential!"Of course it didn't take much to change his mood..."Let's get straight to the point, please..." Reiji sighed, crossing his strong arms over his chest.
"What do you want this time?"Monokuma clapped his paws twice, a grin on his face."I'll explain it to you straight away! So then... you know, I was really starting to get bored, I mean, it's already been two days and still no murder... I'm really getting old! I'm getting more and more impatient..."I looked him straight in the eyes, my gaze filled with pure hatred and disgust.
"We told you. We would never, ever participate in a killing game."The little bear laughed.
"Of course, it was obvious! You young people and your obsession with friendship, company, fraternity... but I think it was more of a mistake on my part. Besides... I haven't yet given you a motive. Without that, there's no way you can kill each other!""EEH? A motive, you said?" The breakdancer repeated confusedly."Yes, what are you, deaf? That's what I said!"Asteria took a step forward, looking intently at Monokuma.
"And what would this motive consist of?"The two-colored robot seemed to be having more and more fun.
"Oh, well... it's very simple..."His square scarlet eye lit up, and his arrogant grin became even more disturbing."The greatest wish of anyone who kills one of you will be fulfilled, no matter how challenging it is. Whatever you want... you will have it."We looked at each other bewildered. Our... greatest wish?
I didn't even know what it was. At that moment, to be honest, what I wanted most was to get out of there. But I would never kill anyone, no matter how bizarre some of my companions were... no way in the world would I do it."It seems like a huge bullshit to me." Akame commented, rolling her eyes."Oh, you think dear? No no no. I'm absolutely serious. Do you want a dream house? Ten billion yen? The woman or man of your dreams? You'll get it. You just have to kill someone... and not get yourself find out, obviously." Monokuma had started pacing back and forth on the stage.
"But since you'll never believe me out of hand... I've decided to give you a little incentive."The two-colored bear looked at Shirokuma and Kurokuma... and then the two started handing us some folded pieces of paper.
The black one between the two handed me mine... not much was written on the rough surface.Masao Nozomu's greatest wish!I opened it skeptically, but... when I saw the contents, I gasped.Masao Nozomu's greatest wish... is for his parents to get back together.It was not possible. Under this sentence... there was a photo, the photo of my father, my mother... and me. All three, happy and smiling. My parents both had wedding rings on their fingers, and we were all hugging each other.
Under that photograph... there was one last sentence, written in large black letters.Do you want it to become reality? Graduate and all this will come true!I put a hand to my mouth instinctively. No, it had to be a lie. It could never have happened. My parents hadn't even spoken to each other in years.
That dream was simply unattainable."What the fuck does this mean?!" I thundered, looking straight at Monokuma. My eyes were burning, I couldn't let myself cry.
Not there, in front of everyone."What does that mean? Why, I thought I was clear enough! That's the wish that will come true once you graduate, leaving here! But as you well know by now, there's only one way to graduate..." Monokuma replied."K-Killing... one of our comrades..." Akamatsu trembled with the crumpled paper in his hand. "No... no, no...! I... I could never...""There is no way that for a desire of this caliber we would ever go so far as to kill one of us! Never, ever!" Takefumi exclaimed decisively."Well... this may be true for you, but it doesn't mean it's the same for your classmates, ginger." Kurokuma pointed out defiantly."Some might actually make someone fall into temptation!" added his brother.Rei shook her head, crumpling her piece of paper.
"L-Let's not talk nonsense! There's no way you could ever make a wish like this come true!""How do you know our innermost desires, among other things?" The director growled unnerved.The defense attorney adjusted his glasses on his nose.
"Exactly as they know our tastes and the details of our lives. The mastermind knows everything about us.""Mastermind...? Still with this story...?" Emiko murmured, folding her piece of paper with shaking hands."The beast is right, Odette! We have already established without a shadow of a doubt that there is someone behind this whole story!" Yoshino giggled. Despite the situation, he still seemed revved up. How the heck did he take such a thing as easy as that...?"What a pathetic scene... it takes more than that to corrupt me." Asteria commented, shaking her head.The two-colored bear covered his mouth with his paws.
"Puhpupuh! We'll just see!"Then finally... something happened.
Daiki took a step forward, staring intently at Monokuma."These pathetic tricks of yours don't work on me. Nobody will commit murder. And do you know why? Because we'll leave first. We'll all be out of here.""Huuuh? And how do you plan to do it?" The little bear looked at him curiously."Very simple. We'll get out of this place. Since there's no point in keeping it from you since you're going to find out anyway... I'm going to build a boat myself."The astrophysicist looked decidedly confident."What? A boat? But can you really do that?" Haruka asked in surprise."Of course, yes. Just use some of the props from Tatsuo's workshop, but it might take me some time. Don't expect the thing to be ready in a couple of days."Monokuma seemed to be amused by that news. He wasn't worried one bit... it didn't take me long to realize that he definitely had some other tricks up his sleeve."Puhpuhpuhpuh! A boat! Things are getting really interesting now! I really want to see what you can do...""Was this the thing you had in mind, then..." Miwa murmured hopefully.Oomori nodded confidently.
"Absolutely. Of course, I doubt I'll be able to do anything with a motor... but I can still try to do something with a sail. Fortunately, on Tatsuo's set there are objects mainly related to pirate films...""That's because I started making one about pirates, but..." The director sighed nervously. "I think I'll have to think about something else for this period...""If no one found anything else during yesterday's explorations... this seems like the best lead to follow." Reiji reflected... no one objected. We hadn't made any progress, so..."Excuse me for a moment. But... even if we had a boat, we have no idea which direction we would have to take to get home! We don't even know where we are!" Rei exclaimed, underlining a doubt that we all had from the first moment."Actually, we can't rely just on the sea..." Kota added.Daiki crossed his arms over his chest and his lips curved into a small smirk.
"Have you forgotten what my talent is? I am the Ultimate Astrophysicist. I know the sky like the back of my hand... and I assure you that I know how to orient myself based on the stars. I can say with almost absolute certainty that we are not too far from Japan, indeed. We are definitely still there.""Oh! So we can rely on the North Star! Just like they did in ancient times, before the invention of the compass!" Himari exclaimed excitedly."If this is the truth, then I will gladly lend you a hand!" Kota said with a smile, placing a hand on Daiki's shoulder.Yoshino giggled and joined them too.
"As the other scientist in this group of weirdos, I'd say you can count on me too!"The atmosphere had definitely brightened. So... there was a possibility. We could have left. We could have really left."...H-However..."It was Setsuko who spoke, continuing to stare at her piece of paper with trembling hands."I-I don't feel safe. Now... now we have... motives! W-Who tells me this isn't just a way to make us lower our guard and you're actually planning to kill someone among us. ..?"She was terrified, pointing her finger at Daiki, who reacted immediately."What?! Are you kidding? Come on, no one would kill for something like that...!""...well... my... my wish is... is..." Emiko looked back at her paper, swallowing.
"...I can't deny it's tempting...""How?! But you would never go so far as to kill for this, right?!" Takefumi replied quickly.
"Mine is too, but I swear-""No no! I couldn't... I could never...""Mh... who knows, I might even do it, you know?"We all turned to Asteria, who was staring at her paper with a small grin."I would say it would definitely be worth it.""I-I hope you're joking...!" Setsuko exclaimed, even more anxious than before."Oh, no. I'm absolutely serious." The redhead looked at all of us, she seemed definitely amused."Come on, did I leave you so surprised? I'm just showing you the reality. Someone would do it, even if they're not admitting it out loud. If it's convenient for someone, that someone will do it. I could, for example... but not I intend to."She stretched, then her teal eyes fell on Monokuma.
"I want to see what else you have in mind for us first."The little bear started laughing heartily again.
"So then... I see that my little incentive has paid off in a big way...! Hope and despair... are already spreading among you, I can feel it. This is all simply wonderful...!"Daiki clenched his fists, walking towards Asteria and grabbing her by the shoulders."How can you think of saying something like that?! No one will. We will get out of here. Period...!""You're just naive." The redhead yanked him away, fixing him with a look full of contempt.
"And soon you will realize it."With that, she left the room without another word."Well, I guess my work here is done! I can't wait to see how this thing develops, puhpuhpuhpuh! And good luck with your little boat!"Moonokuma waved at us, after which Shirokuma and Kurokuma also followed."Bye, you bastards!""Bye-bye you pieces of shit!"It was as if time had stopped for a few moments. We all looked at each other, in silence. Being speechless in those situations was now a habit.
I started staring at my paper again.
My heart started beating wildly again... having my family back together... that bastard Monokuma had really given me a low blow.I had suffered a lot because of my parents' divorce about six years earlier. Since then I lived alone with my mother.
My whole life after that day I had tried to ignore how I felt... it was a terrible feeling... and now the mastermind was pressing me right on my weakest point.I had no doubt. Whoever it was, it had to be someone who knew me well.
But what did this mean...? Did I really have someone in my life who knew so well what I was like to put their finger on that matter...?"So... are you going to leave or not?!"Masayoshi's ringing voice woke me from my trance."Leave...?" Minoru muttered with dull eyes."Yes, get away! Get away from this place! Go home! Guys, let's wake up! Daiki showed us that we have a chance! A hope!"A... hope...?"True. Rei is right. We can't stay here dwelling on a stupid wish that will never come true...! We have to build our future ourselves. And the best way is to roll up our sleeves and start getting busy. Not we can certainly wait for them to come and save us... also because I fear that no one is on our trail now." Reiji commented, taking a deep sigh.
"Or maybe they never even were.""B-But why?! People as famous and important as me... ignored by the world! I find it absurd!" Akame retorted disapprovingly."Maybe... but I'm afraid that's how things are.""Anyway. I'm going to put this boat on. So... Kota, Yoshino, you said you want to help me, right?"The astrophysicist looked in the direction of the two boys, who both nodded with a smile."Very good. Is there anyone else, by any chance?""I'm afraid I'm extremely clumsy with machines and stuff... I can barely turn on a computer..." Murakami sighed dejectedly.
"Sorry, I won't be much help.""It's the same for me..." Haruka added a little downcast."I would really like to help you... but this isn't really my area." Rei also joined in, with a disappointed expression."Hey, there's no need to get sad. On the contrary! If you can't help... at least try to enjoy the last few days we'll spend here a little."The astrophysicist gave us a radiant smile."Go ahead with some projects you had in mind or just have fun. You'll see that everything will be fine once we leave here."His words... I questioned them, honestly. He was so optimistic, as well as having an apparent calm and great availability... I envied him, I who was unable to be anything other than immensely and almost cynically logical."Having fun, you say...?" Himari murmured."Oh, I love this idea, man! I'm going to spend the whole day at the beach dancing and chilling!" Takefumi laughed, then reached out to Minoru and put a hand on his shoulder.
"What do you say bro, come with me? Let's dance to reggaeton, my favorite!""You know, it doesn't seem like a bad idea! After all, the beach is truly breathtaking... what do you say ladies, do you want to join us?"The two giggled as they looked at the girls. Meisei responded immediately, winking at them."Of course! I will come without a shadow of a doubt! Emiko will come too, won't she?"The dancer blushed and nodded confidently."Y-Yes...! It's okay...!""I'll pass, thanks..." Miwa smiled, a little uncomfortable. In fact, he hadn't had the best of experiences with Minoru..."Yeah, me too. I prefer to spend my time cooking a little for you and possibly for the trip we're going on by sea. Better be ready! after all I have to make food for sixteen people..." Hinami added, adjusting her glasses .
"But I might join you later, who knows!""You know... but I think I intend to start shooting a film that I had in mind..." Tatsuo mused aloud.
"For anyone who wants to, I thought you could help me make it happen. You know, costumes, actors, set design...""OH! ME, ME, ME! I always wanted to be an actress!" Rei exclaimed enthusiastically, her blue eyes shining with emotion.
"But... are you really okay with it? Taking your companions and not professional actors?"A grin appeared on the director's face.
"I'm the greatest director of all time! I know how to give you the right tips. Also, having Ultimates appear in the film will only increase sales. I already have the script aside, the story would be about a spy who has betrayed her homeland, and now her ex-colleague, as well as ex-lover, is hunting her. If you like, you could be the protagonist..."The policewoman's eyes were shining, she seemed really happy.
"I like it, I like it! Now that's a great idea!""You know... I think I want to participate too. I would really like to." Reiji gave them a small smile."Give me the part you prefer, even an extra. That would be more than fine.""Let's see... I could read the script and see who would fit your character the most. Anyone else?"Haruka clapped her hands excitedly.
"I could think of the stage costumes! I would be incredibly honored!""Oh, that's a great idea!" Honshiro looked more and more satisfied.
"Of course, the film will never be finished here, but we could start recording just a few small scenes, or at least rehearse them. You have to get used to being in front of the camera.""For me there is no problem." Yahari nodded."Yeah, not even for me!" Masayoshi added."If I can, I'd almost like to play a part too." Miwa offered, giving them a smile.The director chuckled.
"But of course, beautiful girls are always welcome. Would anyone else be there? I could also use some help with the camera.""Hey, Masao, why don't you come? I think it would be nice of you!"
The psychologist took a step towards me, grabbing my wrists.I blushed completely, but why did she always have to touch me?"E-Eh? but why me? I don't know how to use professional cameras... and then, I don't want to take responsibility in case they break...""Don't worry, let's go! You'll see that everything will be fine! Tatsuo is a great director, you know? I'm sure you'll do great!" Sugiyama's smile was always so warm..."...and that's fine... but only because I don't have much better to do. If I knew how to build a boat I could even think of giving Daiki and the others a hand, but I'm afraid I'm not capable..."
I finally gave up."Oh, there's no need to worry. You'll see, I'm sure the result won't be too bad." Tatsuo seemed very confident. With that, he turned in Akamatsu's direction.
"And you, Setsuko? Will you come with us? Or are you planning on doing something else?"The brunette jumped when called upon, and looked at us with her big purple eyes. She swallowed, shaking her head."There's no way... there's no way I'd let my guard down in a situation like that...! I-I'll stay in my room... and I won't come out of there again until the boat is ready! I- I... I have no intention of getting killed...!"She was looking at all of us with terrified eyes. She was really scared, her body was shaking. The paper in her hand was crumpled, her sweaty hands must have ruined it."...Don't... don't come looking for me, please...!"Having said that, the violinist ran away from the gym."...am I the only one who finds this incredibly suspicious?" Yoshino commented, with a strange grin on her face.The psychologist sighed, shaking her head.
"I don't know. She seemed honest to me, she was just... scared to death. I can't blame her at all...""Honestly, it's not our problem. By now she and Asteria have decided what to do, I certainly won't be the one to chase them. Just... pay attention to the redhead. I don't trust that one, not after what she said. .." The director crossed his arms over his chest."She said she could commit a murder... she won't necessarily do one. And then it would be stupid...! Soon we'd all be out of here...!" Shimizu was trying to find the bright side, but... I certainly couldn't help but be tormented by the thought that that girl could ruin that feeling of newborn hope that had just appeared in all of us."...it depends. We don't know what his greatest desire is. And it wouldn't even make sense to share them between us, since they are something extremely subjective. Something that could be a great temptation for me, maybe it isn't for you..."I sighed. That situation, as much as things had improved, was still very stressful."...the only thing we can do is watch our backs. Furthermore... Asteria isn't necessarily the only one capable of carrying out a murder.""Do you mean you don't trust us, dude?"
Akame glared at me, clicking her tongue on the roof of her mouth.I took a deep breath. Her voice was extremely unnerving..."No, okay? I don't trust you. I don't trust you at all. I've known you for two days, and we've only managed to argue and insult each other. It makes sense to me that I don't trust you. We're not friends or anything. We're just peers who ended up in an absurd and inexplicable situation, designed to pit us against each other. I'm not saying that I don't even want to try to believe in you, but... I can't trust, no. You're asking too much of me."Everyone else remained silent. I had probably told a truth that everyone had been afraid to admit. So this was what Asteria meant, knowing how to accept reality..."...Masao...it's natural for you to feel this way." Miwa smiled sweetly at me.
"We just have to be patient, and this whole terrible nightmare will end. I'm sure of it..."She was so optimistic too... was I the only one who was so skeptical? And yet... I was sure I wasn't wrong."Okay, okay. I'll try, but... just know that it's only because I want to go home too... more than anything.""Great, then enough of this complaining. Let's get to work!"
Oomori cracked her knuckles determinedly.
"Whoever wants to help me stay here in the gym, we'll work here. The others can go about their business."The director nodded.
"Perfect. This morning I will help Daiki bring the materials he needs from my laboratory to here, if anyone wants to help it is more than welcome. For those who will act, come to my laboratory this afternoon, okay? We will start to look at the script and the various mechanics of using a camera.""Great! See you later then!" Rei smiled decisively.
And so in a short time, with the exception of those who had started working, we all left the gym.***Dormitory, Daytime - 12:00 p.m.So... maybe everything was about to change. We had a chance, maybe we could get out of there soon. Finally being able to return to our previous lives. Being able to escape permanently.
I couldn't remember the last time I felt so light. Of course, I was more skeptical than anyone, but... maybe it was really time to believe in my companions. Maybe I didn't trust them, but... I couldn't exclude the possibility that everything would have turned out for the best instead. Something had finally happened inside me... that wonderful feeling had a name, and that name was hope.
Since I had the morning free... I decided to make the most of that free time I had, perhaps spending time with some of my classmates to get to know them better.I left my room, and suddenly I passed Setsuko's room... who knows how she was. She had been locked in there for several minutes... maybe it was time to check if everything was okay.I put my hand close to the doorbell, and heard a sound coming from inside her room.
A few seconds later, the door opened."M-Masao...? W-What do you want...? You... you didn't come here to kill me, y-did you...?"I sighed, trying to smile a little. I had to make a good impression, right...?"No, no... I came here to chat for a bit, that's all. I didn't feel like leaving you completely alone.""G-Go away, I don't want to see anyone...!""Okay. I won't insist then." I replied nervously. I turned, about to leave, when Akamatsu put a hand on my shoulder. She must have changed her mind."...do you really just want to chat?"I turned and nodded.
"Certain.""...then... come in... I guess it's no g-big deal if you come in..."I nodded and I entered her room.
It was exactly the same size as mine, but the walls were dusty pink. The floor was dark brown parquet, and the wallpaper was patterned with a pentagram and notes drawn on it. Hanging on the wall above the bed were several photos of concerts, sheet music and Setsuko. In one in particular, larger than the others, she was hugging another girl. They looked very much alike, except that the other had straight, blond hair.
On the other side of the wall, however, on white shelves, a series of prizes and bouquets of fake flowers were displayed.We chatted for several minutes, after which I decided to give her a gift. I still had that metronome I won thanks to the Monomono Machine, so I decided to give it to him."Here you go, I thought you might like it."The brunette looked at my gift and blushed, taking it from my hands."Oh... I thank you from the bottom of my heart...! I didn't think you knew my tastes so well..."I didn't know them, actually... but since she played an instrument, it was logical to give her something of that kind, right? I smiled at her, and then started talking about something completely different."Look here, Setsuko... how many years have you been playing the violin?"The girl thought about it for a few moments.
"Um... it must have been since I was about four years old. My family is a musician, so when my parents saw that my sister and I were interested in the violin and she in the piano, they immediately made us learn.""Your sister, you said...? Oh, yeah... Miwa mentioned it when we met, I remember."Akamatsu nodded, cracking a smile.
"Exactly... my twin sister, Kaede. I'm really very fond of her, but... unfortunately it's as if we grew up separated. I mean, I played the violin all day, she played the piano... except that my parents parents couldn't afford to give intensive lessons to both of us... and so they decided to focus on me. For goodness sake, she's very good, she often came on tour with me more than once, but... she always lived a little in my shadow."I saw her a little dejected when she mentioned that situation. It must have been a sore point for her."On tour, huh?""Well, I wouldn't really call it a tour, but... let's say that I went around the world very often to play in front of important people, or even just to do concerts. I went to Paris, London, New York, Rome , Berlin, Madrid, Beijing, Moscow..." The brunette seemed to be thinking again.
"I mean, I've really visited a lot of places!""Wow. I'd say that's... impressive to say the least. I hear you, I've been to a lot of places too because of my talent, though not that many... it was mostly for the various chess tournaments." I replied with a half-sneer."Your talent is also extraordinary, Masao..." The girl blushed and shyly smiled back at me."Can I ask you a question? How do you manage to perform in front of such a large audience, despite being so shy?" I asked her, trying not to be too abrupt or intrusive.
"You can not answer if you like.""Oh... it's because... my sister is always by my side! She accompanied me to all my concerts. Kaede is always so... skeptical about the world, but by my side she becomes a cheerful and positive person... my complete opposite..." Setsuko smiled sadly.
"But she always manages to give me the right energy to give my all in a performance. Just think, once we performed together in front of a king, from a small European kingdom called Novoselic... we played Paganini's La Campanella, and it was It was amazing... that piece will always be my favorite. It brings back so many great memories...""I guess. It must be nice to have brothers." I commented, moving my head slightly."You don't have any, Masao?" She asked me curiously.I shook my head with a sigh.
"No, I'm an only child. Even though I would have liked it a lot... you seem very close to her.""I am! I really miss her... just think, we even opened a video channel together where we could upload our songs! We have a really big community... it was a bit like a second family for us. It's just that... "The brunette looked at the floor, feeling down.
"Even then, I was still the one in the spotlight. It's not fair... I think she deserves it as much as I do... if you knew what pieces she'd learned...""The title of Ultimate certainly wasn't given to you by chance, you know. I'm sure there's more than one reason why they gave it to you." I pointed out, crossing my arms over my chest."I know, I know... but I can't help but feel at fault. I constantly wonder what would have happened if my parents had chosen to follow her more than me..."Akamatsu sighed dejectedly, holding her arm with her hand."In my opinion, there's no point in getting down like that. You can't change the past, right? Things are like this now, you should accept it. And then, she loves you anyway, right?"Setsuko blinked a few times, surprised by my words. After a few moments of silence, she finally answered me.
"You're right... I think she wouldn't like to see me so dejected...""See? Even you are convinced of it..."She seemed happy after our brief chat."You're absolutely right, yes, yes...! Thanks, you've lifted my spirits a bit...""Of course, you're welcome...""Oh, I had an idea!" His purple eyes shone.
"Masao, next time I could teach you some chords on the violin, what do you think?""Huh? The violin...? Me?"I scratched the back of my neck, rather embarrassed.
"I don't know if I can, hm... I know how to read scores because I know how to play the guitar, but I don't know if I'll be able to do anything with the violin...""Oh, then you're already at an advantage...! It'll be fun, you'll see... I promise!"We both smiled at each other, it was nice to see her in a good mood.We talked a little more about this and that, after which I went back to my room.
I spent several more minutes in there, then it was time to go see Tatsuo and the others for the movie.
Hoping it was a good idea...***Ultimate Labs, Daytime - 5:00 p.m.When I reached the Ultimate Director Lab, Miwa, Tatsuo, Reiji, and Rei were already there. Luckily we hadn't set a time, so no one objected when I was the last to arrive... but maybe it was because they were too busy rehearsing one of the scenes.
The moment Honshiro noticed my presence, he immediately smiled at me and waved at me."Ah, Masao, there you are! Perfect timing. Here you go, follow me. Now I'll show you how to record with the camera.""Ah- so- right away-?""I don't have time to waste, forgive me. I hate wasting time."I certainly couldn't blame him... although I would have been curious to see the other three act. I'd have the chance later, I figured..."But Haruka isn't missing, by any chance?""Don't worry, she's already inside the laboratory. She's working on the stage costumes. It takes her about a week to make one, since she already has several materials and just needs to complete assembling the clothes. Better not to disturb her, she's waiting for them much work."We both reached for the camera, and I was bending down to his height to try to make sense of it."So, listen to me carefully. Usually there are more than one cameramen, and they shoot from multiple angles. In this case you are alone, so we will have to try to shoot the scene several times from multiple angles.""Okay, so...?""You'll have to move the camera. It's pretty heavy, but I trust you'll manage. Come on, you may be skinny but you don't look like skin and bones, do you?"I shook my head, in short, I certainly had muscles, even if they were moderate..."Of course yes...""Okay, now I'll show you how to frame more closely or how to start the various videos. It's nothing too complicated. Try this..."I watched him while, standing on a chair, he was fiddling with that infernal contraption.
Not that I wanted to make fun of him for his height, but it was really funny to see him like that..."So, come on, you just have to press this button and point the camera at the actors for now. Try to figure out how to focus and stuff like that. You just turn that little wheel to do it, nothing complicated.""I see... what about editing the videos?""Ah, maybe we'll see that another time. For now, focus on filming the scene."I tried to work on that machine for some time, after which we finally started shooting something.
It was a beautiful scene to see, and I tried to immortalize it as best I could.
Rei played the protagonist, while Reiji was her enemy who was on her trail. Miwa, on the other hand, had the part of the agent's shoulder that supported the character of the lawyer."Come on, Miss Suzuki! It's over now, we've got you!"
Sugiyama pointed the fake gun at Rei."Don't try to escape anymore, please...!"Yahari took a step closer to her, then read the line on the script and tried to read it."Uh... how should I say this?""Try to sound desperate! I remind you that she is your beloved in the story!" Tatsuo shouted at him from the director's chair.
"Cheer up, you're doing well!""All right..."Reiji cleared his throat and continued acting.
"You can't go on like this, continuing to run away from reality! Run away from me! Yuzuha, please! Do you really want to throw away everything we've done together?"Rei clenched her fists, I was impressed by her acting skills.
"No, Suguru, you don't understand...! The two of us... we could never, ever go back to being what we once were. Never. Too many things have happened... and I... I don't I feel it. I'm a criminal, Suguru. Let me go... please...""All these are pathetic excuses! Don't listen to her, Mr. Yamazaki! Let's bring her to justice!" Miwa pretended to load the gun.
"Don't take another step, Miss Suzuka- no- it was Suzuki- Damn! I ruined everything!""Ah, don't worry, come on! This is only the first attempt, it's normal to make mistakes!""But how am I going?""Splendidly, Rei. Come on, now let's start again!"We stayed around all evening, then retired to our rooms.***Dormitory, Nighttime - 10:00 p.m."Mm, ahem, this is an official announcement from the principal of Despair Reformatory Academy. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall and to the gymnasium will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite...!"It had been an intense day... but that night I went to sleep more peacefully than the previous evenings.
Maybe... maybe all was not lost.
Maybe there really was hope.
I really had to start believing more in what was next, but... was it really okay to let my guard down?***
Shirokuma & Kurokuma Show!"Another night, another show! Good evening to all spectators!""Hello losers, today Shirokuma and I wanted to tell you a story!""I'll start by saying that it was his idea, so if shit turns out it's all his fault.""He'll never suck as much as you, let's look on the bright side!""And now you're already starting to insult me...""Yes, I have fun with little, I know, hihi...""Anyway! This is the story of two girls, two girls who saved the world-""NO, CAN YOU SEE THAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND A SHIT?! WE SAID THAT NO!!""HEY! But I like this one!""Nobody gives a shit what you like!""...""Oh, you're finally quiet! I count this as a personal achievement.""...""So?""...""...Are you going to start telling or not?!""...""...okay.""...""OK, since Shirokuma has decided to be a pussy, no more fairytale. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Bye bye."***
Dormitory, Daytime - 8:00 p.m.As soon as the Daytime start announcement rang in my ears, I immediately got out of bed. I started getting ready, fixing - more or less - my hair and changing my clothes. However... I had the feeling that something was missing in my room.
Yet I just couldn't figure out what.
Shortly afterwards I left my room, headed towards the canteen, to have breakfast with everyone else. After that, I would go to Ultimate Labs to see how Tatsuo and the others were doing.However, as I walked through the corridors of the building... I came across a strange scene.
Asteria was sitting there, on the floor, reading some papers. Lots of papers. There must have been almost twenty of them..."Mh... so this is the truth? Of course they have really pathetic dreams."I turned pale. She wasn't doing what I thought she was doing, was she...?"...What are you reading...?"The redhead raised her head, looking at me with her bright aqua green eyes, and a mocking grin appeared on her lips."Oh, I was admiring all your different motives! How cute, I didn't think someone like you could care so much about family..."I seethed in anger, and immediately lunged at her."H-How the fuck did you get those?! You had no right to read anything...!""Oh, Monokuma gave them to me! All I had to do was ask him, you know? And don't judge me, I only did it to protect myself. I wanted to see if there was anyone who had a desire so strong that it could push them to kill...! And what my eyes saw! This is a real gold mine. I wonder... who knows how the Mastermind knows us all so well...""Stop talking like this. Give me my photo back immediately...!""My, you're so boring. I've seen your little photo now, you know? There's nothing you can do about it."She handed me the paper given to me by Monokuma earlier, and I snatched it from her hands."Damn bitch..." I commented, almost growling at her.She stared at me impassively, ignoring my insult."Don't you dare stick your nose in my private stuff again-""Look, you're a bit of a loser, I just do whatever the fuck I want, and certainly a failure like you won't be the one to stop me. Get one thing in your head... all this happy atmosphere is a lie. I'm sure that someone is already plotting something."Her eyes seemed to be peering into me... I shuddered, sure she was truly as beautiful as she was disturbing."And why are you saying these things to me?"The redhead shook her head with a sigh, placing her hands on her hips.
"Truth be told... it's because I have a feeling you're one of the few smart ones among this group of scoundrels. Keep your eyes open, okay? And above all... don't trust anyone."Why was this girl such an enigma?"Sorry, but what else do you know-?"Yet, just in time to recover from her words, she had already left.
I was quite disconcerted. So I was right.
We were by no means out of the woods. Someone was planning something... but who? And above all, why did Asteria know?Maybe it wasn't worth thinking about it too much.
I reached the Dining Hall and had breakfast with the others... after that, I joined Miwa and the others to continue filming.***Dormitory, Daytime - 3:00 p.m.I had finished my task for the day, we were done filming everything for the moment. I even stopped by for a moment to see what the others were doing... the boat was still under construction, the reggaeton dancing continued and Himari seemed to have been lost in the kitchen for hours.
I had the rest of the afternoon free. Tatsuo remained in his laboratory, while Rei, Miwa and Reiji each left on their own.
I still had the set of commemorative medals left to give as a gift... who knows, maybe the lawyer would have appreciated this gift.
I left my room and started looking for him.Luckily he wasn't very far from me, actually. He must have just come out of his room too, judging by his direction he must have been headed towards the beach."Reiji! I was looking for you."Yahari turned to me, blinking a couple of times."Oh? Me, you say? Ah, I'd definitely like to spend some time with you, Masao. You're definitely an interesting guy. Would you like to go for a walk?"I nodded, and we started walking around the school grounds.
I felt like we bonded more after that, even though we didn't particularly talk.
Once I reached the stretch of sand, I took out my gift."Hey... take this."The lawyer's eyes widened, then he gave me a calm smile."For me? An undoubtedly nice gesture, no doubt about it. I appreciate it very willingly, Masao."Once he put his gift aside, the man put his hands in his pockets."So... did you happen to have any questions for me?"I thought for a few moments. It wouldn't have been bad to ask him something, actually...
"Well, maybe just a couple. You seem like a good guy... I wouldn't mind getting to know you better at all.""I'm honored. Feel free to ask me anything you want.""First of all... hm... I hope you don't think this is an inappropriate question, but... exactly what kind of training do you do to be so strong? I've been going to the gym for a while, but I can be seen at I barely have any abdominals..."Yahari burst out laughing.
"Ah, I should have imagined it was something like that! My physique leaves many speechless, I can't blame you. However, I think it's mostly a genetic predisposition.""Genetics you say...?""Well, my father is very tall, and so were my grandfather and the rest of my ancestors. I come from a very ancient family... probably, a distant relative of mine was a samurai of the Shōgun. The best, I might add.""A-A samurai?!"Now I definitely understood a lot of things..."Precisely. Defending justice has always been a fundamental task for my entire lineage... even if we are no longer warriors, I feel their fighting spirit still burning within me. I don't fight with the blade, but with words. I am the shield of the weakest."He put a hand on his chest, and a satisfied smile appeared on his lips.
"This is what being a defense attorney means to me.""You seem like a truly virtue-filled person..." I murmured."Absolutely. Elegance, education, charisma and composure. These are the qualities that I increasingly tend to exalt in myself."He adjusted his glasses on his face, looking at me curiously."And you, Masao? What do you think your virtues are?""My virtues...?"I scratched my head a little confused.
"To be honest, I never thought about it..."He chuckled.
"But it's natural. Nobody pays attention to these things anymore. Not in a world where humanity is gradually losing all its values...""His values...? You mean there aren't any more? I don't think so.""Oh, not completely... but the world is falling apart now, Masao. I see it all the time, as a lawyer. People think only of themselves now. There are few altruists... if you will find someone like that , hold it tight.""I agree with this, but... what I mean is that slimy people have always been there and always will be. I don't think it's so much a question of the era..." I replied, crossing my arms.Reiji closed his eyes and, after a pause of several seconds, finally answered me.
"If you are referring to crimes... then of course. I have no doubt that there will always be, as there will always be selfish people. But there is no denying how much our historical period has an influence. We live in an era that promotes Self-centeredness, Masao. Have you ever seen how things work outside your home?"The lawyer sighed deeply.
"Nowadays the world pretends not to notice it... everyone does nothing but turn against each other... there is no longer a shred of empathy. No one puts themselves in other people's shoes anymore. Another reason why I do the lawyer, as well as for my virtues... is to have something to believe in.""Something to believe in...?""...I want to believe a little more in humanity. I'm hoping with all my heart to see a little good heart... even from those who are buried in rot. And I'm not just referring to criminals, several times I I defended one."I wrinkled my nose, a little perplexed.
"So what are you referring to...?"Reiji put his hands in his pockets and smiled at me.
"I think I'll tell you next time."He turned his back to me, walking back towards the main building.
"See you, Masao."I stayed on the beach a little longer thinking alone, pondering the enigmatic words Reiji had said to me... then, finally, I went back to my room.***Dormitory, Nighttime - 10:00 p.m.Another day had passed... everything seemed to be going well.
Daiki, Kota and Yoshino were working on the boat, Himari was preparing food for our escape... and everyone else was enjoying their last days of agony, including me.
Although... I couldn't be completely calm. Not at all.
I had a strange feeling... it was... it was like there was something slipping out from under my nose.
Something important, far too important.I thought back to my meeting with Asteria that morning.
Was he really up to something...? Or maybe... he wanted to warn me?
With a thousand questions running through my head... I finally managed to fall asleep.***Shirokuma & Kurokuma Show!"We decided that we won't tell any stories, because we always end up arguing about...""It actually all started with you, Shirokuma. You're a real imbecile.""Please, I can't stand you anymore.""Anyway... this night is weirder than usual.""Huh? You say...""I'm sure. Dad will be very happy!""Isn't this one of your wacky ideas...?""NO! This time I'm not getting anything right. And so are you! If you had put your stinky paws on something I would certainly have noticed...""My paws stink?! But have you smelled the stench yours give off?!""Mine smells like tobacco. Yours smell like shit, because you wipe your ass with them!""THIS IS NOT TRUE AND YOU KNOW IT.""I don't watch you wipe your ass, so I don't really know...""Enough, okay enough. I'm tired. Bye, see you tomorrow.""HEY, DON'T YOU DARE TURN OFF THE RECORD-"***Dormitory, Daytime - 8:00 a.m."Good morning, everyone! It is now 8 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"Another announcement, another morning. By now all this was starting to become a routine.
It was time to join the others, maybe I would get news on how the construction of the boat was going... then something happened.As I was walking towards the Dining Hall, however, I ran into Akame and Emiko. As usual, the influencer was yelling at her cousin."Come on, how come you forgot?!""Sorry, last night I was with Takefumi and-""I don't care about your pathetic excuses! You know how important my chewing gum is to me! And you forgot it in my lab!""I-I... I didn't mean to-"The blue-haired girl shook her head nervously... then she noticed my presence.
Damn me and my curiosity, I should have gone away ignoring them..."Masao! Good morning dear~ hehe, I really needed to meet a strong confident hunk~"I blushed slightly, not commenting on what Meisei had called me. I just sighed, crossing my arms over my chest."This idiot Emiko forgot my chewing gum in my laboratory last night... wouldn't you by any chance accompany us to get it?""Eh? Why on earth would I? You could easily go there alone.""I know, but..."The influencer placed both hands on my chest, looking me in the eyes and batting her eyelashes. Was she trying to seduce me too?
God, how embarrassing..."I don't feel comfortable walking around alone or with that incompetent cousin of mine when there might be some crazy person who could kill us... so... would you come with us, hm? Come on... I promise it will be quick!"I took a deep, unnerved sigh.
"...and that's fine. If I really have to..."Akame winked at me, finally moving away from me."Hehe... you're really kind~"She took my arm suddenly, without warning me in any way. That contact made me turn even redder."W-What are you-?!""Shush! Hush! Come on, come on! I want my chewing gum!"Emiko muttered an "I'm sorry" under her breath, then started following us.
So I had no choice, huh...?"Let's go..."***Ultimate Labs, Daytime - 8:15 a.m.For the rest of our walk, Akame hadn't left my arm in the slightest, and had continued to argue with Emiko. What I had no idea about... I was definitely too distracted to listen to them.
I couldn't wait for that embarrassing situation to end... but unfortunately that was just the beginning.
I hadn't seen anything yet.Suddenly... the dancer let out a scream, pointing further down the brick road we were walking."W-What is that stuff over there?""Huh? What are you talking about?"Meisei looked in the direction of her cousin's finger... and suddenly she turned pale."M-Masao...!"That's where I saw it too. A few meters from the entrance to the door of the Ultimate Influencer Lab... there was a trail of blood. It wasn't that long... but it had been hastily cleaned."...that... that's..."My heart skipped a beat. Those spots were heading right towards our destination."...I don't want to go in there...!" The dancer exclaimed, trembling.
"W-What if there was a dead body in there...?!""Don't talk nonsense...! It must surely be the blood of someone who got hurt, right...?" Akame answered her... but her voice trembled. She was terrified too."...let...let me check..."I had never felt such a sensation. My heart was pounding, something was wrong.
It was even worse than my usual panic attacks.I was sure something had happened... something very bad.I threw open the door to Akame's laboratory.
And suddenly...
It was as if darkness had returned.
My own eyes refused to witness what was before them.
It was not possible. It was not possible.
Hell, that wasn't possible.
And yet it was all true, right in front of me.
Lying on the sofa of the Ultimate Influencer's laboratory, in a pool of blood, was the corpse of a girl.It was once full of life, of hope.
Now, however, Rei Masayoshi, the Ultimate Policewoman, was nothing more than a lifeless body, with two obvious wounds, one in the neck and the other in the chest, both dripping with blood.
The killing game, that killing game that she herself had first tried to stop... had officially begun.