Chapter 1: 1.0 - prologue
Chapter Text
The massive high school towers over all the other buildings in the bustling suburban area. It’s like the school stands in the centre of the entire world…
Akademi of Hope: it brings in students from every field imaginable. A government-funded school of privilege, of which it is said that, if you come here and manage to graduate, you are practically set for life. It was built to raise hope in the nation’s future—so its name is very fitting.
Akademi isn’t like any other schools—they seek you out themselves if you are the best in your field. In other words, you can’t apply yourself. Which I suppose should bring me to my introduction.
My name is Riku Somai. Akademi has given me the title of the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. To others, it’s a very imposing and intimidating title. Whenever they hear of it, they… tend to run away. I intend to not bring up my Ultimate unless absolutely necessary. After all, I want to make a good first impression on my classmates, and the last thing I want them to think is that I am bragging about my social status.
To be totally honest, I can’t believe I am standing here, in front of my dream school. It feels unreal. Yes, they scouted me out, but… still. How can I be so lucky?
Last night, I did some final research on my fellow classmates, which only gave me more anxiety. There are so many good titles here…
The Ultimate Essayist is a boy who was clubless at his previous school. Due to not fitting in anywhere, he began to journal as a hobby to take out his frustrations about his unclearness regarding the future. Slowly, he began to write with more and more passion, until finally he decided to write poems and essays. He was the best in his field in no time.
The Ultimate Fashionista is allegedly the most beautiful girl in Japan. You know, the walking cliché of ‘every boy wants her, every girl wants to be her’ you see in movies from the early 2000s? She’s been on every fashion magazine cover for a few years now. I suppose she’s pretty popular.
The Ultimate Scientist and the Ultimate Chemist were apparently in the same club at their previous school, with the former leading it, and the latter always setting up explosions. The two are rumoured to be a chaotic duo who could have only been kept in a check by a member of the student council…
The Ultimate Professional Athlete is talked of with more fear than the Ultimate Delinquent Gang Leader herself! Both of them are intimidating, and I would think the latter would be much worse, but apparently, the first one lets nobody gets close to him, and is as tough and fierce-looking as they come. I’m less excited about the delinquent, though… How could I get along with somebody like that?
Most peculiar to me is the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator. It’s definitely a long title, about as long as mine, so, for short, people merely call him the Ultimate Occultist. I’m intrigued to get to know him.
More than that, there’s the Ultimate Trend-Setter, the Ultimate Abstract Artist, the Ultimate Painter (yes, somehow, those are two different things), the Ultimate Culinary Expert, the Ultimate Martial Artist… you get the gist of it. There will be so many people here! I wonder how I can fit in with people as talented as that, when all I am distinguished by is money…
Well, no matter! I’m sure I can make the most of my school life, just like everybody else here!
Standing in front of the gate with my acceptance letter in hand, I looked it over one last time. There was a meeting for all the incoming students scheduled for 8 AM. Reading that again filled me with more determination.
“Okay…” I let out a small breath. “Let’s do this!”
With new-found hope, I walked inside of the school. I got to the main hall in no time, but there was nobody there. It seemed as though I was the first to arrive. I checked my watch—a whole fifty minutes left to wait.
“Hm…”
Perhaps I should take a walk around the school—that would help to clear my mind and get to know my surroundings better.
“Yeah… Yeah, let’s do that.”
But, as soon as I took the first step…
“H-huh?”
…a strange dizziness suddenly took over me.
“Wh-what?”
I couldn’t move. My vision started to swirl and blur at the same time.
“Wh-what is happening?…”
Suddenly, everything went black…
…and that’s how it all began.
My journey at Akademi of Hope ended my life as I knew it…
The reason I had been brought to Akademi wasn’t because I was excellent in my field.
It was to experience ultimate despair.
Chapter 2: 1.1 - meeting the ultimates
Summary:
Thrown into a most peculiar situation, Riku must get to know his nineteen classmates if he wants to cooperate to find out what is happening.
Notes:
one of my favorite chapters, probably just because of its simplicity, in which i introduce nineteen of my favorite characters (most of them are seriously underrated) ! <3
you may notice i changed their names! i wanted to give them some better names and, with the help of my good friend kotohime (peachiime on here and youtube), i renamed pretty much everyone to have actual japanese names! don't worry, most of them are still called whatever they are in-game, as i come with an excuse for most, and those that aren't are only off by a letter or two. you'll get the hang of it!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Hmmm… most peculiar. It seems as though you and I are in the same predicament.”
…
…?
…Huh?
Who…just spoke?
Where even am I…?
…Wait.
Am I being…poked?
“Are you awake now?”
I wake up with my head resting on a hard wooden desk. When I look up, I spot a girl standing over me. I have to stop myself from exclaiming in shock in the last second.
I thought the panic in my expression was clear, yet she hasn’t even moved a muscle. She’s simply…staring at me. I can only describe the look in her red eyes as…pure boredom.
“Don’t yell out, that would be a cliché,” she sighs. “And, God, I hate clichés.”
“E-eh?”
I rub my eyes and look up at her… And now, I finally realize something…
Something isn’t right.
Where am I? What am I even doing here? And, most importantly, who is this mysterious, careless person?
Despite the frantic look on my face, she continued to give me a simple, bored glance.
“Where am I?” I ask, getting out of the wooden desk seat.
“I haven’t got the slightest idea,” she replies, playing with the suspenders of her simple grey skirt, “but I woke up in this exact classroom just a minute or so ago. I tapped you on the shoulder when I finally fully came to. I presume that’s when you woke up.”
I groan. My head hurts like hell…!
I press my hand against it with a whimper, and she nods immediately at that.
“Your head is hurting too, then?”
“If yours is, why aren’t you reacting?”
She shrugs. “I don’t care.”
Kumiko Demizu – Ultimate Librarian
I’ve seen this girl before, on the Hope’s Peak Academy official blog. Her real name is Kumiko Demizu. Due to her stoic nature, she has been nicknamed Kuu Dere. Rumours are she doesn’t show any bit of emotion except perhaps hatred, no matter how hard someone may try to get a reaction out of her. It is also said that she was supposed to have the title of the Ultimate Writer, but with someone already being the Ultimate Essayist and with repetition being fairly annoying and beside the point of Hope’s Peak completely, the school decided to name her the Ultimate Librarian instead. I wonder what she makes of that.
“Should we…um…get out of here? How did we…get here?”
“Did you carry me?” she raises an eyebrow.
“What? No, of course not. I didn’t even see anybody when I got here.”
“Hm, hm… Most peculiar,” she murmurs, rubbing her own chin. She claps her hands together, then points at me. “Alright, then. It’s not like I want to associate myself with someone as snobby as you, Riku Somai, but, for the time being, we have no other choice. You shall be my assistant for until we find out what has happened to us.”
“How do you…know my name?” I ask, slightly worried.
“I’ve done research on all of you,” she states simply. “The school is quite popular, so there are numerous blogs dedicated just to talking about its students. My name is Kumiko Demizu, by the way. You may call me Kumi. And you,” she points at me, “are Riku Somai, Ultimate Affluent Progeny. You come from a big British-Japanese family of extreme wealth, generations and generations of highly looked-upon people, all treated like royalty. At your old school, you used to have a girlfri—”
“How much do you know about me?” I ask nervously, rubbing the back of my own neck as I walk further away from her. “And anyways, you’re wrong. Kokona wasn’t my girlfriend. We were never together. She rejected me when I confessed to her, and that was the end of it. I got over her in a few weeks.”
Jeez, why did she have to bring this up anyways…? Am I really that known for being rejected by my best friend? It’s not like my wealth is a good thing to be known for either, but if I had to choose between the two, rejection is definitely way too embarrassing to choose.
Kumi stares at me. “Fascinating. My research was flawed… Nothing like this has ever happened before. That’s most exciting,” she says, a completely blank expression on her face. “Thank you, Riku. My school life hasn’t even begun yet and I’m already filled with joy.”
She…definitely looks like it…?
“Anyways, I’ve already found this note.” She suddenly produces a piece of paper and shows it to me. I reluctantly take it from her and begin to read it out loud.
“Hey there, new kid…” I frown as I go over it. “The first semester is about to start. The school shall be your entire world, starting today.”
Kumi hums. “Peculiar. Very peculiar indeed.”
“This must be someone’s idea of a bad joke…”
“What a twisted sense of humour… This is already becoming more fascinating by the minute,” she says, with the same straight, unfazed face. She then points somewhere towards the wall and adds, “Also, the windows are boarded up.”
She’d said it as if it wasn’t a big deal, but…when I looked over at the windows, I couldn’t help but let out a small shout. They’re all covered with solid, thick metal plates! How isn’t she worried about this?
“Could it be that we’re…trapped here?” I worriedly ask.
Kumi shrugs. “I doubt it that, but to be able to draw a proper conclusion, we must explore the building. If we don’t do that, then we would be panicking over nothing.” She clicks her tongue. “Well, you would be. I don’t care.”
With an eyeroll, I look up at a clock and frown. It is already past 8 AM… There goes my first impression as well. At this rate, I might just drop out on the first day rather than be embarrassed like this.
“We’re going to be late.”
“I don’t care.”
I look at her, narrowing my eyes. “Do you ever care about anything?”
For the first time since she’d woken me up, Kumi smiles. “Not usually.”
With a sigh, I begin to leave the classroom. Kumi wordlessly follows me.
The hallway we enter is long and dimly lit. We peeked inside a few rooms, but they were all empty…
Finally, we found the main hall. Kumi pushed open the door to the entrance, and…
“Woaaah! Two new kids! That’s much more than just one!” A girl with long, green hair is bouncing up and down happily. She energetically waves at us when she realizes we’re looking at her. “Hi hi hi! My name is Midori!”
…we found ourselves before at least fifteen other students, all staring at us curiously except for the girl who had just introduced herself.
“Are all of you students here?” Kumi immediately gets straight to the point, arranging her red-framed glasses as she speaks. I wave back at Midori, who gives me an impossibly big smile at the gesture.
“Yes, we’re all new here,” a short, yet muscular boy says as he ties a white bandana around his own head. He is dressed formally, with a white button-up shirt and simple, black jeans. It is clear by his outfit that he wanted to leave a good impression. I can’t deny the fact that it’s working. “Today is supposed to be our first day.”
“Counting them, that makes eighteen of us,” a tall boy with reddish-pink hair says, a soft smile on his face as he looked at us. Watching his fingers move, I could see red polish on his nails. “That’s a good number, but there might just be more of us…”
“H-how many more…must we welcome? Th-this is already…so many people…” A person with longer, pink hair is looking at the floor, and it takes me a few seconds to realize he was the one that spoke just now. He is fidgeting with his beige vest and avoiding everyone’s glances, and, although there are two other boys next to him, including the one that spoke before him, it looks as if he’s trying to close himself off to us.
“I apologize for being late,” I decide to speak up. “It was not my intention at all. As soon as I got to the main hall, a strange dizziness took over me, and I was asleep before I knew it.” I point at Kumi, seeking her confirmation. “Kumi here can confirm, she went through the same—”
“OH OH OH!” Midori grins as she jumps up and down. “Me too! Me too! I also fell asleep!”
“Things just keep getting curiouser and curiouser…” a boy with white, messy hair and a lanky figure, as well as a white lab coat on, hums, seemingly lost deep in impossible thought.
“Curiouser? Is that even a word?” a shorter boy with similar hair, but red eyes, looks up at him.
“I can assure you it is, my fine test subject.”
“…I’m sorry, what did you just call me?”
“Nineteen, twenty!” The boy that had been counting earlier has spoken again. He is looking at the door, and surely enough, when I turn there as well, I can see two others enter. “I think that’s all of us!”
“Ah, hello, everyone!” a boy with brown hair and a colourful kerchief on his head apologetically smiles. “Excuse my brother and I for being late. We had no idea where to go, and we’re pretty sure we were knocked out when we got here…”
The boy standing next to him, the one whom he has described as his brother, nods to confirm his statement. Other than that, he keeps silent, and even seems to ignore our glances. It looks like there are lots of introverts among us…
“The hell? Did everyone get knocked clean out? What kind of stupid video game plot is this?” a short-tempered boy with scruffy dark blue hair scoffs. “Next there’s gonna be some big twist to all of this and the audience is gonna totally call it from a mile away.”
“Erm, Gema…” The boy with the white bandana laughs nervously. “This isn’t exactly a video game…”
The other boy, whose name is apparently Gema, sighs and taps his temple. “Not yet, my dude. Not yet.”
“Ahem,” a girl with long, purple hair and yellow-coloured eyes speaks, “why don’t we all go around and introduce ourselves, then?”
“The hell? Now’s not the time for friggin’ introductions!” a scarred, blonde girl says angrily, putting on the black, ripped jacket that has, until now, been resting on her back. “We still have no idea what is happening!”
“Maybe,” the one with purple hair nods, “but it would be easier for us to cooperate and interact if we know each other’s names, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Th-that’s a good point…” the boy with pink hair nods, eyes tied to the floor.
“Okay, fine, whatever,” an imposing, muscular young man—I’m not sure I could even call him a boy, as he looks way too old to be a high schooler, with his messy orange hair, goatee and rough, deep voice—huffs. “Let’s get introductions out of the way, then move onto whatever else. Sound good? Speak now and get bashed in the face or forever hold your peace.”
“That’s…kind of extreme, darling…” a boy with purple hair styled in drills and adorned in roses chuckles nervously. “But I do agree. Let us all get to know each other, my little starlets!”
“Then, we’ll move onto the bigger problem,” the boy with the white bandana nods. Before I know it, the decision has been made, and people have already begun dispersing to talk to each other.
Although I’m totally lost, I know they made a point. I should focus on getting to know each other, then on finding out whatever is happening. This is as good of a chance as I am going to get. Even though I searched up pretty much everyone on the official page of Akademi of Hope, just as Kumi had for me, I don’t actually know them as people. It’s time to find out.
I should approach the first few students. I already talked with Kumi, and she’s already off to introduce herself to someone – although she doesn’t look particularly happy about introductions – so I ought to focus on the other eighteen of my new classmates.
“Hi there! I’m Riku Somai.” I bow to the first one. “What is your name?”
“My, my, my, aren’t you a fine specimen?” The boy I approached grins widely—and wildly—at me. “You would have made a very nice test subje—I MEAN, eheh, club member, back at my old school.” Now smiling sweetly, he gives out his gloved hand to me. His tone is loud and imposing as he announces, “My name is Kagayaki Konishi! Remember my name, Somai, for it will one day rule the world!”
Kagayaki Konishi – Ultimate Scientist
Kagayaki Konishi… I read about him on the school page. For short, people call him Kaga Kusha, but he disapproves of that name, being ‘too childish’ for his likes. He was a child prodigy—he was speaking and writing by ages two and four, and by the age of six, he already knew multiple languages. By eight, he had a genius–level IQ. He passed multiple college–level proficiency tests by age ten. In short, Kagayaki is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, a genius. He quickly received many prizes for his additions to the world of science, earning him the title of the Ultimate Scientist. Despite his genius, most of his previous classmates disliked him for his anormal behaviour… I wonder if I’ll be able to get along with him.
“You are allowed to call me Kaga for short, so don’t waste your chance, mortal!” he grandly announces. “Not everyone gets it, eheheheh…”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Kaga,” I tell him, and he seems happy with that.
“Well, obviously it is! I am Kagayaki Konishi! I would be surprised if you weren’t pleased to meet me, as the future ruler of the planet! Hu, hu…perhaps I’ll spare you when I decide to conquer the world. We’ll see, we’ll see…”
Next up is the boy who called us starlets. As I approach him, he smiles at me, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
“Why, aren’t you a precious little thing? I do recognize you, darling, so you mustn’t introduce yourself.”
“Oh? You do?”
“Why, of course, from the school website. Who wouldn’t recognize the glamorous Riku Somai? I’ll tell you one thing, darling,” he says as he touches a rose from his hair, “it is a real pity we aren’t back at my old school! You would have been a perfect fit for the Drama Club.”
Tsuruzo Yamazaki – Ultimate Actor
The Drama Club… So, this person must be Tsuruzo Yamazaki, the Ultimate Actor. He’s been the lead actor in a lot of Japanese projects in the last few years, and leads the Drama Club of his school. The vice-president of it used to be called the Ultimate Actress herself, until he surpassed her popularity on social media and among enjoyers of movies and musicals. The official blog of Akademi had stated that the two of them had had a nasty rivalry, but I wasn’t sure how much I could trust the internet to tell me that… Besides, I don’t think Tsuruzo looks like a bad guy, even though most comments said he ‘enjoys gossip more than kissing men’ and ‘tends to talk behind everyone’s back’.
“I can see a sparkle in your eye, my little starlet,” Tsuruzo smiles widely at me. “The sparkle of a dreamer… I have a feeling the two of us will get along quite nicely. Oh, but I mustn’t forget. My name is Tsuruzo Yamazaki, and I am the Ultimate Actor!” With that, he takes a small bow. “I hope I’ll see you around.”
I smile and wave at him before moving onto the next person: the guy with the orange hair and goatee. He looks at me condescendingly. I have a feeling I recognize his glare from the school website…
“Hello,” I politely greet him. “I’m Riku Somai. What is your—”
“Zametora Samejima. Ultimate Professional Athlete.”
Huh? That’s a pretty…weird first name, isn’t it?
Wait, there might be a reason to it… I think he…
“Did you just…give me two last names?” I ask, puzzled.
“Listen here, wise guy,” he says, suddenly growing angry, “I have a first name, alright, but I’m not going to give it to you as long as I’m alive. If you know what’s good for you, you’re going to call me Zametora or Samejima. Got it?”
‘Zametora’ Samejima – Ultimate Professional Athlete
Ah, that’s right… I’ve read about the Ultimate Professional Athlete on the Akademi blog. Apparently, nobody knows his first name. Rumours say even his parents call him…well, either of the two. Nobody is sure which is made up and which isn’t. Supposedly, nobody actually knows his first name except for his little sister and two cousins, but only one of them actually uses it, and it’s not like anybody knows who that is. Some say his name might suddenly trigger some traumatic reaction of his, others think it could just be the world’s stupidest name and that’s why he doesn’t want to divulge it. Either way…if he wants to hide it, I won’t force him to say it. Whatever his reason is, it must be good.
It’s not like I want to provoke him either… Standing before him, I understood why everyone was more intimidated by him than by the Ultimate Delinquent Gang Leader…and why he had the title he did. His build proves he’s been exercising regularly for years, and he’s adorned in scars and marks that make me wonder about his past. I don’t have a good feeling about him, and, judging by the look on his face, he thinks the same of me.
“…Alright. I’ll see you later, Zametora.”
“Hmph.”
I leave his side and go to the next two people: the ones who’d entered late. The first boy is the one who talked first, with the brown hair and kerchief. He’s dressed simple, a green cardigan patterned with frogs and strawberries over a white shirt and large, blue jeans. The other one, whom he had introduced as his brother, has red hair and jeans with suspenders of the same colour, a white button-up shirt underneath it. He also has a black beret. Both of them have green eyes and freckles. They look almost like twins, or maybe that’s what they are? I should ask them right away.
“Hi!” the one with brown hair greets me warmly. “I’m Shoku Tsuburaya, the Ultimate Culinary Expert, or Ultimate Chef, if it’s easier. You must be Riku Somai! I’ve heard a lot about you!”
Shoku Tsuburaya – Ultimate Culinary Expert
Shoku is a well-liked figure in Japan. He ran the cooking club at his old school, and he regularly volunteers at homeless shelters and orphanages to make the best food their inhabitants could ever eat. He’s been cooking ever since he was a child, and volunteering just as much. The school was torn between giving him the name of the Ultimate Culinary Expert or the Ultimate Caregiver, until finally settling on the former. Shoku’s family is pretty wealthy, but despite that, he has never once in his life flaunted his money. He is admirable; I’m definitely looking forward to getting to know him.
“You have?” I ask him. “I was hoping not a lot of people would know me,” I embarrassedly admit with a chuckle.
“It’s hard not to know the Ultimate Affluent Progeny,” Shoku gives me a sweet smile. “I’m sure we’ll get along, Riku.”
“I am, too.”
Shoku pats the back of the person next to him and smiles widely.
“This is my brother, Geiru!”
“Hello.” Geiru nods at me.
“We’re twins!” Shoku announces, proving my suspicions.
Geiru ‘Geiju’ Tsuburaya – Ultimate Painter
Geiru is also exceptional. He’s been nicknamed ‘Geiju Tsuka’ because of his talent. Similarly to Shoku, he’s been painting since his youth. His opinion is valued by every Japanese artist that knows what’s good for them. Any painter would die to meet him, and the fanbase he’s gathered loves him for his ‘mysterious’ persona. His works are displayed in most Japanese museums. The title of the Ultimate Painter doesn’t come from nowhere.
“He’s a man of few words, but I fill in for him!” Shoku grins, to which Geiru smiles softly and nods again.
“Nice title,” I tell Geiru. “I’m looking forward to being your classmate.”
“Same goes for you!” Shoku waves enthusiastically.
I move on to the next six people. The first one is the boy with the white bandana, the one whom was called Budo at one point by somebody else.
“Hey!” he waves at me happily. “The name’s Budou Masuyama! What’s up?”
Budou Masuyama – Ultimate Martial Artist
So, this is the famous Budo Masuyama… The one who defeated the previous Ultimate Martial Artist, Raibaru Fumetsu, in a fight, ruining her perfect streak of flawless wins, and who took the title from her. He’s earned the nickname of Budo Masuta for that. There are rumours that he defamed her in order to win; some even say he seriously injured her, making her end up in the hospital. But looking at him, I wonder how someone so kind and inviting could cause any serious harm. The thread I had accessed on the Akademi blog about him had one particularly interesting comment in it: “To anyone going to Akademi with him, let me give you a piece of advice: if you treasure your life, avoid this guy at all costs.” I wonder how much slander he’s had to face… I hope he doesn’t know too much about it. He seems like a lovely person, and, if anything, he makes me even more relaxed than before.
“I’m Riku Somai,” I tell him.
“Ah, I know! The Ultimate Affluent Progeny! Word really flies about you around town, you know?” Budo bumps my shoulder with a grin. “I’m sure you’re a great person, Riku! I can’t wait to be your classmate.” He then frowns and says, “If we figure out what’s happening first, that is…”
“Don’t worry about it,” I reassure him with a pat on the back. “I’m certain this is merely a misunderstanding.”
I turn to the next person, the boy who’d spoken to Budo earlier. Budo had called him Gema, which is certainly a fitting name given the fact that he’s clutching a gaming device in his hands and playing on it like he’ll never get the chance to ever again. I wonder if it’s just a nickname or his actual name…?
“Um, hello. My name is—”
“Give me a second, I’m just finishing up,” he says, not even sparing me a glance and continuing to press buttons on his device.
I raise an eyebrow. “O…kay…”
I wait for a few more seconds—maybe even a few more minutes—before he finally looks up at me.
“Name’s Genma Masuyama, but you can leave out the ‘n’ if you want. Just brings me closer to my talent,” he grins and holds his hand out to me. “How can I be of service, Your Majesty?”
Genma ‘Gema’ Masuyama – Ultimate Gamer
I shake the hand of the Ultimate Gamer. He has been given the nicknames ‘Gema Masuta’ and ‘Gema Taku’ for his talent. The one who’s won thousands of gaming tournaments while barely batting an eye… He’s said to be abrasive and antisocial, and he apparently doesn’t have many friends. Commenters on the Akademi blog described him as ‘annoying’, ‘stupid’ and ‘secretly very needy for approval’. The most-used adjective for him was ‘loser’. While his fashion sense is questionable – his messy hair tied in a small ponytail that is resting on his shoulder, a red bandana wrapped around his head, stubble on his face, his eyes hidden behind glasses with massive frames – I doubt he really is as bad as people make him out to be. To be honest, I had expected this backlash in the first place because of the stigma surrounding gaming. People weren’t happy someone who just plays games all day was introduced as the foundation for a hopeful future…
Judging by the tone of Gema’s voice, he already knows my talent. I smile awkwardly and shake my head.
“I’m not…well, I mean, it’s not like that… I’m not actually royalty, I just—”
“Jesus, I know,” Gema snorts as he takes his hand back. “I may not look it, but I have a few braincells up here.” He taps his right temple as if to demonstrate.
Thinking over his introduction, I frown. “Hey, is Budo—?”
“He’s my half-brother,” Gema says with a slight groan. Any bit of a good mood he had suddenly dissipates. “God, all of you have asked that… I ought to introduce myself as Genma Takumo at this point…” With a sigh, he meets my eye again. “Listen, I’m just as talented as him. So, don’t go redirecting all your attention, affection, admiration, whatever a-word towards him, okay?”
Although I’m confused, I nod. “Okay… sure.”
After Gema is the turn of the girl who presented herself as Midori. She’s bouncing up and down excitedly, and shouts in my face when I approach her.
“HI HI HI!!!” She continues to bounce as she shakes my hand. “I’m Midori, Midori Gushima! Call me Midori—or even Dori, heck, spice it up if you want!”
Midori Gushima – Ultimate Enigma
This girl has earned herself the title of the Ultimate Enigma. Nobody really knows if it’s because she is a great puzzle solver or a puzzle herself…or maybe both. She always talks about being entrapped in a video game and being the only character who can see behind the fourth-wall. Most people avoid her, but I know that her and Gema were in the same club back at their old school, so it’s good to know she has at least one friend. Both her and Gema are gossiped about on the official blog. “This duo is so annoying, I wonder how they can stand each other,” someone had made a post at one point. Another person had replied, “Are they together? That would be so fitting for those losers!”, but the original poster had said, “Nah, Gema’s too busy being turned on by 2D girls to look at the 3D ones next to him LMAO”.
“You must be Riku Somai, the Ultimate Protagonist! Erm, I mean, Ultimate Affluent Progeny!” she corrects herself with an innocent grin. “I hope you’ll save us from this cruel, despair-inducing story, Riku! I’m putting my trust in you!”
“Erm… thanks?” I chuckle nervously. “It’s…nice to meet you, Midori.”
“Same to you!”
The next person is nowhere near as excited as her. His eyes and empty look remind me of Kumi, but I doubt they’re related. He pushes some of his white hair out of his eyes as if swatting at a fly, and, when he sees me approach, he nods in my direction.
“Iruma Dojima, Ultimate Swimming Pro. Pleased to meet you.”
Iruma Dojima – Ultimate Swimming Pro
Iruma is talked of very highly. He has been swimming for as long as he’s been able to do anything, really, and for that, he’s earned the nickname Iruka Dorufino, which really just means ‘dolphin dolphin’, or ‘double dolphin’, as others have said it. He’s also an Olympic and a really talented individual when it comes to his sport, so I suppose he lives up to the name of the Ultimate Swimming Pro. We really have an athletic bunch here, huh?
“Riku Somai,” I tell him as I shake his hand. “I’m the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.”
His eyes grow darker and he takes his hand back. “Hm…so, you’re Somai. I do hope you aren’t the type to look down upon people poorer than you.” As if suddenly insecure, he looks over my clothes—my best purple suit-vest and white button-up, as well as white pants and clean, black boots—and his simple, red trackpants, a white t-shirt and a red hoodie.
“What? No, not at all!” I shake my head. “I promise you, that is not me. I…don’t even really want this role, it’s as annoying for me as it is for you, so…” I trail off, but Iruma smiles softly.
“Well, that’s reassuring. If you want me to believe you so badly that you’d shout that out… Okay. I trust you. Oh, by the way…” He raises a finger. “Some people have asked me this already, so let me tell you in advance. You are free to call me Iruka or Iruma. The choice is up to you.”
I nod at him before I move onto the next person. Her hair is long, a greenish-blue, tied in a low bun. She has an eye of the same colour, and one of the colour pink. Her face is adorned in colourful band-aids, and so are her hands.
“Hi! Maka’s name is Maka Tanahashi! Maka’s happy to meet you!” She extends her hand towards me with a large, warm smile.
Maka Tanahashi – Ultimate Abstract Artist
Maka is talked of just as lowly as Midori and Gema, but she seems just as lovely as them. I wonder what’s up with that. I remember a particular mean comment that someone who allegedly knew her had left, saying “She would be better off as the Ultimate Freak, just as Gushima should’ve been the Ultimate Nuisance!”. Despite that, I’ve formed a good impression of Maka through her online profiles: her artwork is impressive, dare I say even better than Geiju’s—and obviously bizarre, making her true to her title of the Ultimate Abstract Artist—and she always replies with love and enthusiasm to her commenters. She regularly organizes contests and giveaways, and although her fanbase is smaller than Geiju’s, I’ve found that she offers them twice the love.
“I’m Riku Somai,” I smile as I shake her hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Maka. I’ve viewed your art online plenty of times! You’re very talented!”
“Ah! Maka is so happy you think so!” She immediately giggles, clearly happy with my comment. “Maka has never had someone say something so nice to her on their first meet! You just made Maka very happy!” She smiles widely. “Maka hopes you and her can get along.”
“I hope so, too.”
The next boy is combing through his long, orange hair with a small, white comb as he looks in a pocket mirror. Out of nowhere, he produces mascara and applies some. It takes a few moments for him to notice me, but when he does, he is finished putting on his make-up. He puts his pocket mirror back and smiles widely at me…his teeth are perfectly white. Does he have any flaws in his appearance at all…? He’s making me incredibly self-conscious…
“Ah, hello there! My name is Enjiro Bandoh, though you might know me as Enpitsu Byoga, the Ultimate Pop Sensation.” He smiles, a perfect smile that make his perfect teeth and perfect face glow. “Charmed, I’m sure.”
Enjiro Bandoh – Ultimate Pop Sensation
Oh, that’s right. This guy is the lead singer and keytarist of the most popular J–pop boy–band in Japan, Cherry Blossom Rain. His on-stage alias is Enpitsu Byoga. Because of the quick popularity his band has gotten in the past few years, he has been titled the Ultimate Pop Sensation. A lot of things have been said about him on the official blog of Akademi, and he has one of the largest fanbase of all attending students here. He’s said to be petty and obsessed with his own appearance, but despite that, I don’t think he’s a bad guy. He looks pretty charming, anyways.
“I’m Riku Somai.” I nod at him.
“Ah, I’ve heard about you!” He suddenly lights up. “I do hope we can be friends, Riku! People like us can get along so well, if given the chance!”
I wonder what he means by that… If he’s just looking for a rich friend, then I’m not willing to befriend him for merely my wealth… That’s just not me at all.
There are only a few people left. I quickly count them, getting to seven. Jesus Christ, how many people do these classrooms hold…?
I take a deep breath and nod with determination before approaching the first of them: specifically, a boy with a head-mounted device and slicked back, grey and green hair. He smiles at me, and his visor displays happy eyes. Seeing my surprise, he points at it.
“I can’t always show my emotions properly, so my friend Kaga made this device for me to do it instead! Isn’t it amazing?” Still smiling, he bows slightly. “Yakumo Shiraishi, at your service.”
Yakumo Shiraishi – Ultimate Chemist
Yakumo Shiraishi, or Yaku Zaishi for short, is perhaps one of the most exceptional people enrolled in the same class as I am at Akademi. Although he has the title of the Ultimate Chemist, he is also exceptional at programming, and some even call him the Ultimate Programmer instead of his actual title. Regardless, he is very achieved and popular within the science community. He and Kaga attended the same science club at their old school, led by the latter, and Yaku was the vice-president of it. More than that, they are close friends, and Kaga made that device for him.
“Anyways, you can call me Yaku. All my friends do!”
“I will, then,” I nod, then look at his hair. “I’m sorry if it’s a bad question to ask, but how come both you and Kaga’s hair is white? Is it natural?”
“Ah!” Yaku laughs, “No, it’s not a bad question, it’s... quite a funny story, actually. See, my hair was green, but…” He giggles, his head visor displaying an amused face. “Kaga set off a chemical explosion one time in the clubroom that led to everyone’s hair turning white and grey. I still have some green strands, and the whole colour is coming back in, but… it will take a while.” He runs a hand through his hair and chuckles. “Kaga and his crazy experiments…”
“I think it looks cool,” I assure him, patting his shoulder.
“Really? Me too!” Yaku grins. “You and I are going to get along great, Riku, I’m sure of it!”
The next person avoids my gaze as they nervously play with their long, pink hair. Their face is full of bandaids, similar to Maka, but they also have bandages on their arms and legs. How clumsy is this person?
They refuse to look at me, their pink eyes fixed on the floor. They fiddle with their hands as they speak.
“U-um…sorry, I don’t like m-meeting new people… It always feels like they’re j-j-judging me…”
“It’s okay, I’m not judging you,” I reassure them. “Take your time.”
They take a deep breath, but continue to look down.
“Would you like me to introduce myself first?”
Without looking at me, they nod.
“My name is Riku Somai. I am the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.” I smile at them, even though they aren’t looking at me. “Now you.”
With another deep breath, they finally meet my eye. “O-okay, well… My name is Otohiko M-Meguro. I am the Ultimate Nurse.”
Otohiko Meguro – Ultimate Nurse
Seeing him before me, I immediately remember what people have said about him on the school blog: “He’s so shy, but so cute!”, “I wish I could go to Akademi just to meet him! He’s adorable!” and many such other comments. Despite what people have boiled him down to—a soft, cute boy that can never talk to someone directly by himself—Otohiko is incredibly talented. He’s younger than most of us, and got into Akademi because he found a cure to a strange disease from another country and managed to stop it from spreading before it was too late. With that, he got the title of the Ultimate Nurse. He is definitely an admirable person.
“U-um, anyways, I hope we can be good friends,” Otohiko says.
“Me too,” I nod, smiling. “I’ve read about your work, and you’re incredibly impressive. You seem great.”
He blushes slightly at that and looks at me again, now smiling too. “I’m really glad you th-think so, Riku. Not a lot of people h-have said that to me… M-most people think I’m annoying…” I can tell by his tone that he’s bitter now. “They just s-see I-I’m more introverted t-than most, a-and suddenly that’s my whole personality… Well,” his tone softens, “except f-f-for Kyuji and Toga, of course…”
Kyuji and Toga, huh? He’s probably talking about the other Ultimates in our class. Maybe they’re friends…
“Don’t listen to other people, Otohiko.” I pat his shoulder, which seems to give him more courage as he smiles wider. “They’re idiots. You have an admirable title. You should be proud of yourself for that.”
“Th-thank you,” he chuckles. “Really, I don’t know what to say…”
“Let’s talk later, yeah?”
“Y-yes, okay! Bye!”
The next boy is the one who had been counting us. I can’t exactly tell what kind of person he is… He seemed to want to be in charge when he announced us each by number, but now, he’s laughing and joking with another guy, this one dark-haired and about the same height as him. I clear my throat, and he turns to me.
“Ah, hey! Sorry, didn’t see you there.” He shakes my hand. “I’m the Ultimate Trend-Setter, Kyuji Konaka!”
Kyuji Konaka – Ultimate Trend-Setter
Akademi’s official blog had hundreds of posts about Kyuji Konaka in particular. At his old school, he was the Vice-President of the Student Council, a classic ‘all girls want him, all boys want to be him’ type of guy, similar to the Ultimate Fashionista and Enjiro. In fact, him and the Ultimate Fashionista allegedly attended the same school before coming to Akademi, and they were good friends. He was always in the centre of attention and modelled for a lot of companies, and he has a huge following on the internet. His word online is law; the Ultimate Trend-Setter is a perfect name for him.
“Riku Somai.” I shake his hand back, smiling. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Kyuji.”
“Same goes for you! Just don’t be an asshole about being all rich and we’re good!” Kyuji laughs while patting my back.
“I-I’d never do that!” I nervously says. “I promise, I—”
“Ahaha, relax, man, I’m joking! You’re totally chill, don’t worry!” Kyuji grins at me. “Go introduce yourselves to the others, yeah? See you!”
I leave Kyuji to approach someone else; the girl who suggested we introduce ourselves to each other in the first place. She elegantly tosses her hair over her shoulder and smiles sweetly at me.
“You’re Riku Somai, then. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She bows before me.
“E-eh? You have?” I ask, confused. I was not expecting this reaction…
She giggles as she stands back up. “Why, of course I have. You are very talked of on the official Akademi page, after all.”
“Ah… I am?”
“Don’t be silly! You’re one of the most exceptional of all of us!” Smiling sweetly, she touches her own chest. “My name is Saeko Baisho. I am the Ultimate Fashionista.”
Saeko Baisho – Ultimate Fashionista
So, this is the good friend of Kyuji Konaka. Saeko Baisho, alias Sakyu Basu, Ultimate Fashionista. Same as him, she’s modelled for an endless number of companies. Along with Kyuji, she’s been setting trends ever since elementary school, and the two have come to know each other thanks to their immense wealth and popularity. Many people suspected they were dating each other for years on end, until Saeko finally decided to take matters into her own hands and publicly state that she’s “not into him, and never will be in a million lifetimes”. The media was on fire for months, until finally the event flew over and everybody quickly forgot about her and her potential relationship with Kyuji.
“Charmed.” I bow slightly before her, and she giggles.
“My, you are a gentleman, Riku. I do hope we can get along!”
“I hope so, too.”
“Oh, and just a request.” She smiles at me. “For publicity’s sake, I’ve taken the name Sakyu—it rolls off the tongue easier, you know? I’ll let you in on a little secret, though…” She gets closer to me and whispers in my ear, almost playfully. “I don’t like that name.” She chuckles. “Please, call me Saeko. I cannot stand that fake internet alias being brought into reality…”
“Will do.” I nod shortly, and her smile grows.
Just a few people left now… I approach the boy Kyuji had been talking to earlier, seeing how he’s not busy. He softens slightly, but doesn’t smile.
“Ah, Riku Somai. Hello.”
“You must know me too, then…” I chuckle.
“Indeed I do.” He nods at me. “I am the Ultimate Essayist, Togo Tabata. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
Togo Tabata – Ultimate Essayist
The clubless boy who couldn’t find a certain interest until he finally decided to voice his worries for the future through writing… As soon as he picked up a pen, he started making history and got the title of the Ultimate Essayist. People from all over the world call him a genius, but he always insists he is merely ‘hard-working’. On the official blog of Akademi, people have commented on him being ‘weird’ and ‘not as pleasant in real life as others have said he is’. He looks pretty average, but I know he is incredibly intelligent to achieve such a title. Not only that, but I must admit I am a fan of him myself, and have followed him since before I was scouted by Akademi on social media! On top of everything, he is the best friend and closest confidant of Kyuji, alongside Saeko.
“I…have a book of your first essays and poems,” I confess without thinking. “I really admire your work.” Then I frown. “I thought your name was Toga Tabara?”
At that, he chuckles. “A writer who respects themselves must have a catchy alias. Feel free to call me Toga if it’s easier for you. And…” he smiles. “Thank you, Riku. I really appreciate you telling me that. I never thought any of you might have heard of me, especially not somebody like you.”
“Eh? Why not?” I cock my head to the side curiously.
“I’m nowhere near as talented as most of you,” he shyly smiles. “See, there are artists, nurses and scientists here, and all I have for me are words, which I had turned to because of…well, really, having nothing else left to do,” he chuckles. “I appreciate your words, nevertheless.”
Toga leaves before I can tell him anything else. I only have two people left, a girl and a boy, and I approach the former first. Her skin is full of scars, and her arms are bandaged… Something tells me it isn’t because of clumsiness, like Maka and Otohiko, and that feeling sends a small shiver down my spine. I think I already know who this is before she introduces herself…
“Name’s Oboro Shinkawa,” she says as soon as I come before her, crossing her arms, almost as a warning sign. “Nice to fuckin’ meetcha.”
Oboro Shinkawa – Ultimate Delinquent Gang Leader
Because of how intimidating she is, Oboro is generally referred to as Osoro Shidesu, and her talent here at Akademi is the Ultimate Delinquent Gang Leader. Very little is known about her past, motives or goals, but one thing people know about her for sure is that she is terrifying. There are rumours that she’s beaten tens of boys her age bare-handed, which makes me unsure why she isn’t as, if not even more feared than Zametora. She led a gang of delinquents at her previous school and has left a boy named Umeji Kizuguchi in her place as leader while she’s at Akademi; I only know that because the two are rumoured to date, despite the completely opposite rumour of Oboro being aroace also being incredibly popular.
“Um… I-I’m Riku Somai. It’s good to meet you too, Oboro.”
“Hell yeah, it is!” She nods, and then suddenly, she grins. “Hey, listen, you seem like a chill guy. You can just call me Osoro, ‘kay? Just don’t talk shit about me or my friends and I won’t break your neck.”
“Okay. I mean, I wasn’t planning on anything like that, anyways…” I say, laughing nervously. Forget Zametora, Osoro scares me more…!
There’s only one person left: a boy with dark hair and yellow eyes, although the right one is covered by the opaque lens of his glasses. I wonder if that’s intentional or not. He looks up at me and frowns.
“Riku?”
“That’s my name.” I nod, smiling softly. “Riku Somai, Ultimate—”
“Ultimate Affluent Progeny,” he completes my sentence for me. “Wait, aren’t you… I mean…don’t I know you?”
Huh? Do I…know him? I try to remember if I’ve ever seen him before…
…
…!!
Oh my God!
He’s right! I do know him! He’s—
“We were classmates in middle school!” I exclaim, and a smile spreads across his face, so dark and empty just a few moments ago.
“I would remember you anywhere…” he says, soft and genuine.
Daiki Atsuda – Ultimate Paranormal Investigator
So, this is my last classmate…? The Ultimate Paranormal Investigator is my former middle school deskmate, Daiki Atsuda?
“I almost didn’t recognize you…” I say, ashamed. “I didn’t even know you were coming here.”
“I don’t blame you,” he shrugs, suddenly not as tense. “We lost contact after middle school. It’s life.”
“Still…we were such good friends. My, you look so…” I smile. “Different.”
“Ah, I know. My hair was so much shorter back then, wasn’t it?” He chuckles. “I’ve let it longer now. It’s definitely an improvement.”
“You look beautiful.”
I take in the sight of him: he is beautiful. And he’s much more different than I remembered him. His glasses no longer cover half of his face, and they’re now round with white brims. His hair is longer now—it’s tied up in a bun, but I bet that, if he let it down, it would touch his shoulders. His face has more freckles than when we were younger, and the scar from around his right eye has faded more. His fingernails are no longer bitten, instead coloured in black nail polish. He’s dressed humbly, a grey button-up under a black sweater and black pants. It reminds me of how he used to dress when he was younger… It’s comforting to know not a lot has changed.
He blushes slightly at my compliment as he crosses his arms and looks away. “God, you always have such a way with words, don’t you? You never changed… Riku Somai,” he hums. I love the way he says my name. “I should’ve known you would be coming here when I saw your name on the website, but my brain didn’t make the connection…”
“Mine neither. Is Daku Atsu a nickname?”
“Yes,” Daku giggles. “It’s a play on ‘the dark arts’. People have been calling me that ever since I was named the Ultimate Paranormal Investigator.”
“I guess that’s fitting,” I laugh, my heart feeling lighter.
God, there’s so much I want to tell him. So many things have changed, and I’ve missed him so much… For a second, I completely forget about our current situation, about how intimidating most of my classmates are, how I pale in comparison to them, how I feel helpless in such a new situation. For a second, it feels like it’s just Daku and I.
“Hey, I’m sure your reunion is just fuckin’ heart-warming,” Zametora snaps his fingers to get our attention, “but if you’re done, we still need to figure out the important matters at hand.”
“How rude…” Daku whispers, but he still turns his attention towards him.
“Samejima is right,” Kumi nods. “We have a bigger problem.”
“Oh, correct. Budo did mention that…” I frown. “What were you referring to?” I turn to look at him.
“Well, you see… You said you and Kumiko walked inside the school, passed out and woke up somewhere inside, right?” Budo asks.
“Yes, that’s what happened.”
“Well, that’s what happened to all of us,” Gema crosses his arms. “We each got to the main hall and, BOOM!” He claps his hands together, mimicking an explosion by clicking his tongue. “Our consciousness just…fucked right off!”
“What? But…that’s impossible!” I shout without even realizing. “For all of us to go through the same thing…just like that…?”
“That’s why we’re freaking out, man!” Osoro huffs, crossing her arms and shaking her head. “That simply can’t be!”
“However, that is not the only thing that concerns me.” Toga raises a hand. “All the windows in the classrooms and hallways are covered with metal plates. What’s up with that?”
“More than that,” Maka speaks up, “all of Maka’s things are missing! Including Maka’s phone!”
“Huh, mine too…” Kyuji says as he searches his pockets.
We all do the same as him, only to find nothing. We exchange worried glances… Gema is the only one who chuckles.
“The bastards took my phone and not my tablet! Dunno ‘bout you guys, but I really appreciate their kindness.”
“Well, no offense, darling, but we can’t exactly reach the outside world with a tablet…” Tsuruzo shakes his head in disappointment. His eyes glint with hope for a second. “Hm, unless this place has Wi-Fi?”
Gema disappointedly clicks his tongue. “Tried everything to get onto the Internet already. I’m afraid no can do, my man.”
“Damn it…” Tsuruzo sighs.
“And this is the main hall.” Zametora puts his hands on his hips, analyzing our surroundings. “The exit is covered by this huge metal hatch. What the hell’s up with it? It sure as hell wasn’t here when I first came in…”
“Y-yeah, I-I didn’t see it e-either,” Otohiko murmurs.
“Oh, God…” Saeko clutches her own chest, her eyes widening in fear. “Did we get caught up in a crime or something?”
“What, like a kidnapping?” Kyuji raises an eyebrow. “Somebody grabbed us and hauled us off somewhere that’s not actually our school?”
“Or maybe this is part of the school’s procedure?” Iruma suggests.
Kaga rubs his own chin. “Well, whatever this is, I don’t want to believe we’re in danger. It is strange, but I don’t think anybody from the school board would be smart enough to pull something as big as a kidnapping…”
“Right, because you’re the smartest in the room,” Zametora sarcastically remarks, rolling his eyes.
Kaga grins. “Glad to see we’re on the same page, Zametora!”
With another eyeroll, Zametora crosses his arms and looks away. Gema stretches with various groans.
“Well, if this is just for the entrance ceremony, then I could use a nap until anything happens. I was up way too late last night…”
Osoro hums, unconvinced. “If this ain’t a fuckin’ joke, then I don’t know what it could be… I don’t want the benefit of the doubt. Shouldn’t we try looking around for clues or something?”
Toga nods. “I think it would be beneficial to us if we did.”
Just as more people began to agree, the tension slightly lifting—
—it began.
* Ding dong, bing bong *
A voice on the intercom made its way to all of us over a few speakers.
“Ahem, ahem! Testing, testing! Microphone check, one, two, one, two! This is a test of the school broadcast system! Am I on? Can everybody hear me? Aaalrighty then!”
The voice seemed totally out of place… So playful, so completely unconcerned…
It was as if someone was laughing during a funeral.
It sent a chill down my spine, and by the looks on a few other faces, I wasn’t the only one who thought something was wrong.
“Ahh, to all the incoming students! I would like to begin the entrance ceremony at…erm, right now, haha! Please make your way over to the gymnasium; it’s in the centre of the school, you can’t miss it! I’ll be waiting!”
As soon as the broadcast was over, we all exchanged nervous glances.
“What. The. Hell was that just now?” Enpitsu is the first to speak.
“Alright then, if you’ll excuse me…” Kumi says, and she simply walks away, leaving us in stunned silence.
“What? You’re just gonna take off like that?” Osoro loudly asks after the initial shock of her sudden departure wore off. “The hell is wrong with you?!”
Kaga hums curiously. “So, this was just to get us excited for the entrance ceremony? That is rather hard to believe…” He turns to Tsuruzo. “You. Tsuruzo Yamazaki, Ultimate Actor, correct?”
“Indeed.” Tsuruzo takes a small bow, earning an eyeroll from Zametora.
“Great! You’re my partner now. If we stick together, nothing bad can happen,” Kaga grins. “Follow me, Yamazaki.”
“So direct!” Tsuruzo exclaims. His tone inexplicably changes to a rather flirty one as he smiles. “I like you already.”
“God, you two disgust me…” Zametora groans, looking away.
“Join us, Samejima.” Kaga holds out his hand towards him. “Having you by our side will increase our chances of staying safe.”
Zametora scoffs. “You’re really scared of some entrance ceremony? I thought you were the Ultimate Smartass. Surely, you aren’t pissing your pants because someone cheerfully invited us to the gym…”
A shadow grows over Kaga’s eyes. “Our current situation is indeed strange, wouldn’t you agree? It would be stupid to not feel even just a slight sense of dread. Follow us.”
With an eyeroll, Zametora complies, walking outside of the main hall alongside Tsuruzo and Kaga. Without another word, Gema and Budo leave together, and so do Geiju and Shoku.
“H-hey!” Otohiko calls out. “W-wait! How do we even know w-where to go?”
“The announcer said the centre of the school, yes?” Toga recalls. “Come on, then. I’m sure we’ll find our way.” He gestures towards Kyuji and Otohiko, and, with that, although the latter is reluctant, they all leave.
One by one, more and more people leave…
…but I can’t join them.
I can’t get the uneasy feeling I had before out of my mind…
…and it looks like I’m the only one.
“Strange,” Yaku tuts. “That announcement was totally weird…”
Iruma hums. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Midori nods. “Not good, not good at all…”
“Maka doesn’t like this,” Maka mumbles. “Something is wrong…”
Daku takes initiative, clearing his throat. “Something may indeed be wrong, but staying here won’t help us find out what it is. We should follow the others. As long as we stay together, I’m sure we will not be harmed.”
The urge to lead the group immediately surprises me. Back in middle school, Daku was always one to avoid leadership, no matter the situation at hand. In group projects, he would always allow himself to be led. Yet now, seeing the terrified glances of our new classmates, it’s as if he wants to instil hope in them. It makes me both surprised and proud how much he’s changed.
“Come on, Riku.” Daku touches my shoulder, wanting to reassure me. “We should get going.”
I nod slightly and follow him and the rest of my new classmates…
I wonder…
…what is awaiting us in the gym?
Notes:
hmmm i sure wonder what is awaiting them definitely not a weird animatronic-looking plushie (place your bets, is it monokuma or someone else? hmmmmmm the suspense is killing me, too bad you'll have to wait another few days *evil laugh*)
Chapter 3: 1.2 - welcome to despair
Summary:
The twenty students must live a communal life solely within the confines of Hope’s Peak Academy. At least for a little while, says the fox Info-Chan, until one of them decides to disrupt the harmony by killing someone.
Chapter Text
“I had no idea Hope’s Peak Academy was gonna be such a pain in my ass…”
The vulgar words of Osoro welcomed the few of us who had remained behind as we walked inside the hallway leading to the gym. Gathered by her side are Saeko, Enpitsu, Budo and Gema. The rest are absent from the group, so they must have already entered.
“Shit, I should’ve listened to Umeji…” she sighs as she shakes her head in sorrow. “The guy was right that I shouldn’t come here, after all…”
“I do wonder,” Saeko says, “why wasn’t there anybody else in the hallway? As I was making my way here, I didn’t see anybody.”
“That’s strange.” On Yaku’s visor, the eyebrows are raised. “Us, neither.”
“Maybe they’re just trying to scare us or something…” Budo thinks out loud, but I can tell by his tone that he’s just trying to be hopeful. “I’m sure they’ll take down those metal plates later…right?”
“All we can do now is hope for the best and prepare for the worst,” Daku muses with a hum. “We must cooperate if we want to learn what’s happening here.”
“Well shit, I’m not scared of anything!” Osoro determinedly says. “Let’s do this!”
She turns to the door leading to the gymnasium and angrily shouts, “HEY! Who the fuck called us out here?!” As she finishes her sentence, she runs towards the door and pulls it open.
“Hey, Osoro, wait!” Saeko shouts and hurries after her.
“We should go, too,” Budo turns to Gema, who nods and follows him inside.
“W-wait! Don’t leave me here!” Enpitsu orders, running to get at Gema’s side.
“Hmmm…” Daku rubs his own chin.
It’s just me, him, Yaku, Maka, Midori and Iruma now. We all exchange curious glances, some more afraid than other. Yaku’s visor keeps going from a confused to a scared expression. Midori whispers something to Iruma, whose eyes widen slightly, while Daku is lost deep in thought… I sense that it’s up to me to make the situation even just slightly better, so, trying to summon as much courage and determination as I can, I speak up.
“We should get going. Whatever is happening, we must face it head-on. We can’t let our fears get the best of us.”
Daku perks up and smiles at me.
“You’re right, Riku,” he says, making my heart swell with happiness and hope. “Come on, everybody. I don’t think anything bad will happen as long as we stay with each other.”
Daku opens the door to the gym, and we finally see the inside of it. Before the grand stage are multiple chairs…which is curious, because there are just enough of them for our class. But why wouldn’t there be more of them? Surely, there have to be more students here?
Daku seems to share my confusion, because he hums again, now furrowing his eyebrows. Yaku’s visor is settled on dread, and Midori is clinging onto Iruma’s arm, keeping her eyes shut as she trembles. She almost looks like a retro video game character moving from one side to another in fear… If our situation was different, I would allow myself to laugh.
“Well…” Maka frowns. “Maka guesses this does look a bit like an entrance ceremony, doesn’t it?”
As we approach the rest, Kaga hears her words and frowns. “So, all of this was to prepare us for a completely normal entrance ceremony…? That’s rather peculiar. I’ve never heard of such strange procedures.”
Tsuruzo nods in agreement. “Is this all there is to our…warm welcome?”
“The fuck do you want more?” Zametora sneers, his arms crossed as if to defend himself from potential danger. Although he’s trying not to show it, I can tell he’s just as uneasy as the rest of us. “You want a kiss on the cheek or something?”
“Why, do you wish to provide that for me, darling?” Tsuruzo raises an eyebrow, smirking. To my surprise, Zametora is instantly shut up at that, turning his head to the side with a scoff and a few whispered swears. He even looks like he’s blushing… Tsuruzo seems to immediately catch onto this, and opens his mouth to tease him, but—
The same voice that had called us here makes its way over to us once again, making him stop dead in his tracks, and all of us turn to see where it came from.
“Hey there! Howdy, hello! Is everyone here? Good! Then let’s get this started!”
We all turn around to search for the source of the sound, but, before we can find it, it reveals itself to us. From behind a podium on the stage appears the last thing I would have ever expected…
A fox.
A tiny fox, at that.
Its colours are split half-half, one part silver with an ominous red eye, barely hidden behind the lenses of its red-brim glasses. A fox with glasses was quite a comical sight, but nobody was laughing. Its other half is a regular orange-red, a simple black eye blinking at us excitedly.
“H-huh?” Otohiko is the first person to speak up. “Is that a…f-fox p-plushie?”
“I am not a plushie!” the fox reprimands him. “I…am…INFO-CHAN!!”
This…is the strangest thing I have ever seen. Right before my eyes, it’s… I mean, what I’m seeing is…
This is completely and utterly incomprehensible…!
“Heyyy! Nice to meet you all!” Info-Chan says lightly, a giggle in her voice as she waggles her tail. She seems genuinely excited… But such a bright voice and carefree attitude is completely out of place. All the anxiety I have been carrying with me until now transforms into pure fear at the sight and sound of this…creature.
“AAAAAH! THE FOX CAN TALK!” Kyuji yells out, stumbling on his feet. He would have fallen if it wasn’t for Toga catching him in the last moment.
“C-calm down!” Budo says, with a tone that is anything but calm. “I’m sure there’s just a speaker inside it!”
“What the fuck kinda technology is this?!” Gema yells, going directly against the orders of his brother. “Hey! Who’s doing this? Who’s controlling you, you shithead?!” He accusingly points at Info-Chan.
“It’s not very nice to talk like that to your headmaster, Genma Masuyama…” Info-Chan grits her teeth, her happy attitude dissipating. It makes me even more scared of her to know she can get angry so easily, and…
…
…Wait.
Did she just say…?
“Headmaster?” Kaga folds his arms, an unimpressed eyebrow raised.
“Yep yep yep!” Info-Chan brightly smiles. “A brilliant observation from none other than Kagayaki Konishi!”
“AAAAAH! IT’S STILL MOVING!” Kyuji yells from Toga’s arms.
“Shut up already, dumbass!” Osoro hisses. “It’s just a shitty remote-control toy or something…”
“How dare you compare me to a child’s plaything!” Info-Chan lets out a dramatic gasp. “You’ve cut me deep, Oboro Shinkawa, deeper than the pits of Hell!” She regains her composure and offers us a grin that shows off all her teeth. “My remote-control system is so complex, even the folks at NASA can’t recreate it! Ah, but I don’t wanna ruin their dreams, so don’t make me say stuff like that… After all, those guys are always looking out for humanity’s future, right? Looking forward to inhabiting other planets? They’re always thinking outside the fox, and I highly encourage that!”
“Outside the…fox?” Kumi sighs in pure disappointment. “You’re quite unfortunate.”
“Now then, let’s forget about that, shall we?” Info-Chan absently waves a paw. “We must hurry up, get back on track, start this up!”
“Giving up already?” Zametora sarcastically asks. “No more dumb fox puns?”
“Hmm, fur the time being, I’m done,” Info-Chan assures.
“Oh my fucking God, you’re helpless…”
“Quiet down, quiet down! Ah, okay, so…”
“Seems like she’s abandoned the gag,” Tsuruzo announces. “She couldn’t fake it un-tail she made it.”
Zametora snorts, but at an eyebrow raise from Tsuruzo, he deadpans, “That was lame and I fucking hate you.”
“Everybody!!” Info-Chan shouts. “Stand up and bow! And…goooood morning!”
“Good morning!” The only person that says it back is Shoku, hesitantly, but respectfully, for which he immediately receives a glare from Osoro.
“You don’t have to say it back, man…” she sighs with a shake of her head.
“Now then, let us commence with a most noteworthy and memorable entrance ceremony!” Info-Chan gets on her hind legs as she waves her paws around enthusiastically. “First, let’s talk a bit about what your school life here will be like. Now, please make no mistake. You few students—so full of potential and innocence—represent the hope of the world. So, to protect that lovely-wovely hope within each and every one of you… You will all live a communal life solely within the confines of this school! Everyone will adhere to the regulations of the school as to live in peace and harmony. Sounds just lovely, right? Oh, and as for the time limit, well…”
She pauses, as if for special dramatic effect. I find myself holding my breath, and Daku and I share worried glances.
“…there isn’t one! Ya-yayyy!”
Toga pales. “Wait, what?”
“Huh-huh-huh?” Maka cocks her head to the side.
“What the fuck does that mean?” Zametora’s eyes shoot wide open. “You don’t mean—we—”
“In other words,” Info-Chan giggles sweetly, “you’ll all live here until the day you die!” Jumping up and down, as if to mock Midori, she starts to cheer. “Who’s happy?! I know I am! Woohoo! Fun, fun, fun!”
“D-did she just say u-until the day we d-die?” Otohiko covers his mouth with his hands. “She doesn’t m-mean that, d-does she…?”
“Ah, don’t worry, my sweet Otohiko Meguro, you can be the first to go, if you’d like!” Info-Chan smiles at him. “After all, a person like you is an easy target, given your special condition, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Wh-wh-what?!”
“What the hell do you mean, target?” Toga steps before Otohiko. Kyuji, with his arms now crossed, stands next to him. It almost looks as if they’re…protecting him. But what from? It’s not like Info-Chan would harm him…right?
An alarm is sound off in the back of my mind, and my blood runs cold. Why would she say ‘target’? What would he be targeted for? And what did she mean by ‘a person like him’? What special condition does Otohiko have? Or is she just trying to confuse us more? The questions make a bubble of anxiety grow in my chest, and it’s suddenly harder to breathe. I try to meet Daku’s gaze, but he’s staring straight ahead, glaring at our supposed headmaster as she spins around the stage.
“Sh-she’s just screwing with us!” Gema shouts, broads of sweat trickling down his forehead. “Th-this isn’t real! She just wants to scare us!”
“This is 100% real, you idiot nerd!” Info-Chan’s shows her claws as she yells at him in anger. “God, it’s no wonder nobody likes you! All you do is doubt people! Not cool, dudes, not cool…”
“Hey, you take that back!” Budo immediately points at her, the simple gesture accentuating his intimidating muscles. I know he could rip the plush out of her with ease if he just tried to… But something is telling me he would be in serious trouble if he did.
Info-Chan ignores him. “I’ll have you know I am not a liar! Oh, and just for your information, you’re completely cut off from the outside world,” she adds, suddenly back to her cheery self, giving us a big smile, all her sharp teeth on display. “So, you don’t have to worry about that stupid, dirty world ever again! Hooray again! Aren’t I just so great?”
“Then why do I have my tablet, dumbass?” Gema deadpans.
“Consider it a gift!” Info-Chan grins. “I’m hoping you and I will get along nicely!”
Gema groans. “And I’m hoping you abandon this dumbass gag, so it looks like neither of us is getting what they want.”
“So, those metal plates are there to keep us out of the school?” Kaga raises an eyebrow, ignoring Gema and changing the subject to what he wants to know.
Info-Chan laughs loudly, absolutely amused, and then nods. “Yeah, sure, whatever! That’s what they’re there for!” She wipes a tear from her black eye with her paw. “Pfft, you lot are really stupid, you know that?”
“Die,” Geiju growls. Shoku raises his eyebrows in surprise, but Info-Chan simply laughs again.
“You always were the feisty one if provoked…” She giggles.
“Why the fuck are you talking as if you know us?!” Osoro confronts her. “You really oughta start talking if you don’t want me bashing your skull in, you—!”
“Well, of course I know you, silly!” Info-Chan innocently smiles. “I am your headmaster, aren’t I?”
“You’re lying!” Yaku points at her, his visor displaying question marks. “I-I know you are! You must be!”
“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Midori jumps up and down, one hand outstretched towards Info-Chan. “He’s right! You’re lying! Lying, lying, lying!!”
“Lying?” Info-Chan whines. “Lying, lying, lying?” She growls. “Lying, lying, lying, lying, LYING?! I am NOT lying!” she bellows, and I swear the ground below me is shaking at her outburst. “You really have to start believing me more, you bunch of sceptics! Hmph, but I guess you can’t help it, huh? You all grew up in an age where you’re taught to doubt your neighbour… Well, no matter! You’ll have plenty of time to learn whether I’m lying or not!”
“Having to live here forever…” Enpitsu’s eyes are wide open, his chest rising and falling chaotically. “Th-that would be quite the problem… I-I mean, the band…my friends… I can’t just leave them behind!”
“Th-that’s true for me, too…” Osoro murmurs. “Umeji, he… He can be the leader for a while, but without me there to take care of them, I don’t know what trouble they’ll be getting into…” She grits her teeth. “And if you really know me so well, you would know that—”
“You’re going to miss two of their birthdays?” Info-Chan laughs. “Who cares?! Now’s the time to make new friends!”
“I don’t want new friends! I don’t want to abandon my actual friends!” Osoro yells at her. “Fuck you! I can’t live in this shithole!”
“Come on, what’s the matter with you guys?” Info-Chan cocks her head to the side. “I’ll give you nice, warm beds, comfortable clothes, good food! And there’s no adults! No annoying teachers, no needy parents! Eh, not like some of you would know what it’s like having parents, anyways,” she shrugs with a grin, eyeing Zametora up and down, “but still!”
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?” Zametora scoffs.
“You can swim, paint, write, sing, hell, even have some hot sex if you want, I don’t know what you teenagers are into these days!” Info-Chan shrugs again. “Seriously, you’re gonna have the time of your lives within these walls! Sure, you’ll never be able to open a window for some fresh air, but there’s downsides to everything, aren’t there?”
“Come on, cut the…the…” Maka searches for the right word.
“Cut the fucking horseshit!” Osoro provides.
“Um…that!” Maka nods. “Cut that! We want to go back!”
“Go back? What’s wrong with you?” Info-Chan growls. She turns to us. “What’s wrong with all of you? Look at Enjiro over there almost having a panic attack, thinking of his stupid band! At Saeko and Kyuji, thinking of their precious fans! Otohiko, thinking of his human and animal patients, Budou and Genma, of their clubs… And all your friends and lovers waiting for you back home…” She groans. “You lot are pathetic. Didn’t you all decide to attend Hope’s Peak Academy on your own accord? Sure, the school chose you, but they didn’t drag you in here after threatening to kill your family!” She grins. “Again, not like some of you would know what it’s like having a family.”
“I’m gonna seriously—!” Zametora put his fists up. I wasn’t sure before if she was talking about him, but judging by his reaction, she might as well have been…
“Leave her alone, Zametora.” Kaga touches his hands to lower them, glaring at Info-Chan. “She’s just trying to get to you.”
“Ahhh, I hate you guys!” Info-Chan suddenly sobs. “You’re ruining my mood! All of you are being jerks! Especially you, Samejima! You don’t have to make your domestic problems my problems, you know!”
“You say one more thing to me—”
“Seriously, leave him alone—!” Tsuruzo scoffs, equally as angry as Kaga now, stepping before the latter and Zametora protectively.
“Okay, fine, fine!” Info-Chan gives a defeated sigh. “Since all of you want to ruin the party already, I will admit that there is one way to leave the school!”
“R-really…?” Otohiko perks up, hope shining in his eyes.
“Yep, yep!” Info-Chan basically glows in her happiness. “As your amazing headmaster, I have created a special clause for those of you that want to leave! I call it…the Graduation Clause!”
The Graduation Clause…?
Why does that sound sort of…ominous…?
“So, let me tell you about this fun little rule!” Info-Chan is back on her hind legs now as she smiles. “As I mentioned, in order to maintain a peaceful environment of harmony here, we rely on a communal lifestyle. And, if somebody here was to disrupt this harmony, they and they alone would be allowed to leave the school.” With a proud smile, she concludes, “That, my dear students, is the Graduation Clause!”
“What exactly does ‘disrupt the harmony’ mean?” Iruma asks.
“Not something good, I’ll tell you that much…” Yaku murmurs, sad eyes on his visor.
“Oh, well, you know,” Info-Chan innocently giggles, “if a person here were to… murder another.”
…And then, time stops.
My breath hitches, my chest tightens, and my eyes shoot wide open.
That…!
That can’t be real, can it?!
That simply cannot be real!
I—
I refuse to believe she’s telling the truth!
“M-murder?!” I yell out without realizing. “What do you mean, murder?!”
“Aw, come on, haven’t you lot played those violent video games?” Info-Chan disappointedly shakes her head. “There are tons of ways to murder someone! Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, drowning, igniting on fire, poisoning… Hell, if we had a hippo, you could feed them to it! Oh, oh, or, like, take a really nice necklace and pretend to put it on them, only to strangle them with it! Electrocute them while they’re taking a shower! Throw them off the roof! Blow them up! Drive them to suicide! Match-make them, make their crush reject them, make them drop out of—hm, no, those are actually for the peaceful route…” She giggles. “But I promise you, there are tons of methods for murder!”
Frozen in fear, all we can do is simply look at her.
“No…you’re joking… You must be joking…!” Enpitsu whimpers.
“It’s as simple as this, really: you must kill someone if you want to leave!” Info-Chan announces lightly. “And, seriously, the rest is up to you! Give it your all to achieve the best outcome in the worst way possible! Teehee!”
There’s no way she’s serious… She just can’t be…!
That just…can’t be real…
It can’t…!
“Puhuhu, I bet that got your brain juices flowing!” Info-Chan grins. “Beats the heck out of making a bear tear off its own tail, huh? See, like I said, you guys are the hope of the world… But taking that hope of yours and turning it into despair is so, so…” She laughs wholeheartedly. “My God, it’s just all so EXCITING! It fills me with such a delicious feeling!”
“What in the—no, you must be joking!” Toga hisses. “Killing each other… That’s not right, that’s…!”
“That’s bullshit!” Gema declares. “Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! I don’t believe you for a second, you—!”
“To kill each other is to kill each other, not ‘bullshit’,” Info-Chan confusedly cocks her head to the side. “I’m sure there’s a dictionary here if you need it, Genma. And it does seem like it…”
“That’s not the thing!” Kyuji exclaims. “We know what it means, it’s just—why do we have to kill each other?!”
“Y-yeah! A-and w-we would n-never—!!” Otohiko shouts out.
“You guys just don’t get it, do you?” Info-Chan defeatedly shakes her head. “Listen, from this point on, the school is your home, okay? You can do whateeever you want. So, go ahead! Go and kill as much as you want, go on a kill-kill-killing spree!”
“Out of my goddamn way—”
Shoving Kaga and Tsuruzo aside, as he had been standing behind them up until then, Zametora stepped up to the stage, his voice rumbling like thunder.
“Listen here, you fucking asshole! This shit’s gone way too far!” He points at her accusingly. “What the hell kind of joke is this? How can you call yourself an esteemed academy if you pull shit like this?”
“Joke?” Info-Chan cocks her head to the side. “What, you mean, like your goatee? Or do you mean your hair? I mean, seriously, what are you trying to do, Samejima?”
“YOU—!”
“I really don’t think you should—” Iruma raises a finger, trying to speak up.
“FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU—!!!!”
But it’s too late.
Zametora roars out, shaking the gymnasium as a whole, and as I look through the crowd, I see an intense expression of fear on Kaga’s face—the most emotion he has shown since we’ve gotten here.
“Zametora, stop! This is what she wants you to—!”
But, before he can say anything else, Zametora launches himself in the air with a BOOM! creaking from the floorboards. Before our eyes, he flies towards Info-Chan, fast and straight as a bullet. He locks onto his target, and…
“WAAAAH!”
…he grabs Info-Chan by her neck, lifting her into the air.
“Gotcha, you little piece of shit!”
“WAAAAAAAAAH!” Info-Chan continues to cry.
“Listen, you prick, I don’t know what the hell you are, a toy or an actual animal or whatever the fuck,” he bellows, the room shaking with his screams, “but I’m gonna rip you to fucking shreds!”
“Violence against Headmaster Info-Chan is against school regulatioooons!” Info-Chan cries. “Leave me alooooone!”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” The single roar is enough to make another trickle of sweat appear on Kaga’s face. Is he trying to make a plan right now? I can’t tell what he’s thinking at all…
Zametora doesn’t back down and continues, “Let me out of here, or I swear to Christ you won’t live to see another day! You—!”
* Beep *
“Wh-what…?” Otohiko’s eyes widen.
* Beep *
“What… is that sound?” Gema frowns, taking a step back.
* Beep, beep… *
“What, no smartass comeback this time?” Zametora grins wildly, still holding Info-Chan into the air by her neck.
* Beep, beep… *
He frowns, now annoyed. “Stop that goddamn beeping and say something!”
* Beep, beep, beep… *
“Zametora, get rid of it.” Kaga finally speaks up, softer than I would have expected him to, as if he’s trying to search his own brain for more to say.
“Wha—?” Zametora turns to look at him, and the beeping gets faster.
* Beep, beep, beep, beep… *
And after a deep breath, Kaga opens his mouth, and…
“GET RID OF IT, GODDAMN IT! DO YOU SERIOUSLY WANT TO DIE?!”
“What?! I don’t—”
* Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep…! *
“THEN DO AS I SAY AND THROW IT AWAY!”
I don’t know if the unlikeliness of Kagayaki Konishi—one of the most stable people of all of us—screaming at him stunned Zametora into silence or if he simply had no argument against him, but he does as he is told. He throws Info-Chan into the air, and as soon as he does…
* BOOM! *
…she explodes before our very own eyes.
“AAAAH! THE FOX EXPLODED!” Yaku covers his ears and shuts his eyes in terror.
“The hell?!” Zametora pales, and he stumbles off the stage, falling on his butt. “That sure as hell wasn’t a joke, she just… Sh-she just tried to kill me!”
Kaga curses under his breath. He regains his composure, clearing his throat and brushing his hair back with his fingers.
His soft eyes meet Zametora’s. “Next time, do what I tell you faster, Zametora. That was too much of a close call…”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t think she’d explode…!” Zametora tries to sound snappy, but it’s not as aggressive as he probably wanted to make it sound.
As Kaga helps him up, his figure softens. “Shit, man, thanks… I-I could’ve…” He sighs. “Fuck’s sake, I just got here and you already saved my ass.”
My ears are ringing, and I can barely catch what the two are saying, but they sure are staring each other down as if they’ve been friends for years now. The gymnasium now smells of gunpowder. I’ve never seen an explosion in real life before… It’s not unusual in movies, books or video games, but when it’s right before your eyes…
“Are you okay, Riku?”
As usual, Daku has sensed my feelings before I even had the time to properly process them. I take a deep breath and nod.
“Yeah, yeah. I-I’m fine.”
He smiles encouragingly at me. “That was unexpected, wasn’t it? I didn’t think she would actually try to harm us…”
Toga crosses his arms, looking at the remains of Info-Chan. “I just have one question. Does this mean that she’s gone?”
“Who’s gone?” Info-Chan pops up from behind him.
“Well, Info-Chan, of—oh.” Toga gives a long sigh. “You’re back.”
“WAAAAAH! There’s another one!” Midori shouts, clinging onto Iruma.
“You son of a bitch! You seriously tried to kill me just now!” Zametora accuses, pointing a finger at her.
“Well, no, duh!” Info-Chan scoffs, as if he should have expected her to explode before his eyes. “I was serious about killing you! You did violate one of the school regulations, after all. It would have been funny for one of the strongest of you to die first, wouldn’t it?” she giggled. “That would’ve filled you all with such delicious despair… Alas,” she sighs in disappointment, “I’ll leave you off with a warning. But any naughty boy, girl or anything in between who violates my rules from now on shall face my fully-unleashed wrath!”
“If there’s one more of you…” Saeko crouches to meet her level, cocking her head to the side. “Does this mean there are even more?”
“Mhm! Info-Chans have been placed all over the school,” our headmaster nods. “Plus, don’t forget there’s surveillance cameras everywhere! So, if you’re caught breaking rules, then…well, you all saw what just happened, ehehe! I won’t be as forgiving with my punishment next time, so don’t be naughty, or else Santa ought to put you on his kill list!”
“That’s not even a punishment…” The eyes on Yaku’s visor were spinning in circles of confusion and fear. “Th-that’s just wrong!”
“Now then, lastly…” Info-Chan continues speaking, ignoring Yaku. “In order to commemorate your joyous entry into our school, I have a little something for you!”
Out of nowhere, she pulls out exactly twenty tablets and hands them out to us. As we each take our own, she begins to talk.
“These are your official student handbooks! Pretty cool, right? They’re completely digitalized, so I guess we can call them…your e-Handbooks!”
Gema puts his gaming tablet in his pocket—how deep are his pockets, anyways…?—and swipes on his e-Handbook. All of us take ours curiously.
“These Handbooks are vital to your school life, so don’t lose them, ‘cause I don’t have any spares! When you start it up, it should have your name on it. Make sure you never have the wrong one! Oh, and do not get me wrong, my dear students. This is not your ordinary notebook!” She shakes her head. “No, no, no, it has so many more uses than that! You’ll figure it out, I’m sure. You’re smart little fellas, aren’t you?”
“You can use the singular, I’m sure they won’t mind…” I can hear Kumi mutter, almost as if for herself, but the passive-aggressiveness in her voice lets me know she wants people to hear her.
“Also, it’s completely waterproof!” Info-Chan continues to explain. “Splash it, wash it, drown it, take a shower with it while lovingly holding it in your arms—it won’t care! It’ll just keep on ticking! And thanks to its space-age design, it can withstand an impact force of up to ten ton. Very resistant, mhm! It contains all your school regulations, so make sure you read them carefully! Wouldn’t want me exploding on you again…or worse, puhuhu!”
Zametora clutches his e-Handbook tighter at that. Up until the explosion, I hadn’t thought he’d be one to get easily affected by simple words of others… But I guess I misjudged him. Compared to just a few minutes ago, he now looks scared, even terrified, of Info-Chan… I can’t exactly blame him.
“You’ll hear me say this a lot, so bear with me,” Info-Chan says, “but I will not tolerate any violation of any school rule. Rules restrict, yes, but they also protect. Society, for example, would be mere, utter chaos without any laws. The same thing applies here, of course, so it’s crucial to have strict punishments for violators!”
We all exchange worried glances at that.
“Hmmm… Okay!” Info-Chan jumps on her hind legs. “That brings our entrance ceremony to a close! Please enjoy your abundantly dreary school life, and… See ya around, my lovely students!”
And just like that, she’s gone. Leaving us in a complete state of shock, Info-Chan disappears as though nothing has happened.
“So…”
The voice of the first to speak belongs to Kyuji, but that’s all he can say before he stares at the floor, his eyes empty, his whole body trembling. Seeing this, Kaga takes initiative by clearing his throat.
“So, how would you describe what we’ve just heard?”
“How would I describe this whole thing?” Zametora scoffs. “How would you describe almost dying on your first day of school?”
His stone-cold eyes search the room, and he meets Tsuruzo’s glance. Tsuruzo takes this as an opportunity to speak.
“I don’t understand anything… We must stay here…forever…?”
“Or…k-kill…” Otohiko murmurs, his eyes wide open. He has wrapped his arms around himself as if to hug himself, trying to not be as fearful. “Th-this…this can’t be, i-it can’t be, it just…i-it just c-c-can’t…”
“Maka…” Maka whimpers. “Maka still wants to believe it is all just one big joke, but… Maka supposes that would be wishful thinking.”
“I really, really don’t like that fox, either,” Enpitsu scoffs. “Her attitude is completely out of place.”
“If she would have been gloomier,” Toga sighs, “I think this would have been easier for us to accept, but… Her happiness just has no place here, for what she has announced to us.”
“Let’s summarise what we’ve just heard.” Daku puts up his hands, attempting to calm our classmates down. “Based on what Info-Chan has told us, we have two options: either live a communal life strictly within the school, or…”
He hesitates. Everyone looks at him intensely. He takes a deep breath…
“…or kill someone.”
“But killing someone, it’s…i-it’s just wrong! I don’t like that at all!” Midori whines.
“I…don’t, either…” Iruma turns his gaze to her as she clings to him.
“We were abducted, brought to a place meant to look like a school, and now we must—no, no, no, this can’t… What…what is this?!” Saeko cries out. “This can’t be happening to me! It can’t!”
“A lie!” Tsuruzo declares, his hands on his hips. “Everything we’ve just heard must be a lie! It must be fake!”
“Right now, it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not,” Kaga says, and his tone is dark and uneven, as if he’s just caught his breath. “What matters is…”
He looks up. He gives everyone a quick glance, and ends up making eye contact with…me.
“…Is there anybody here who is seriously considering all of this?”
To that…
…nobody has a response.
Keeping quiet myself, I look around at the others. I stand right in the middle of the gym, and everybody is grouped around me…
Just a few feet away from me are Zametora, Kaga and Tsuruzo, all three standing close to each other. Near them is Yaku, his visor going wild, eyes changing from question marks to teary ones and many more other expressions of terror. Midori still clings onto Iruma, keeping her eyes shut in fear. Close to them stands Maka, her hands clutched her chest. Kyuji and Toga are still near Otohiko from before, the latter placed between them, as if he is afraid something could happen to him if he isn’t near someone. Osoro stands alone on the side, while Saeko, just a few feet away from her. Budo and Gema exchange glances, keeping their distance from the rest of us; Geiju and Shoku do the same. Kumi, the lone wolf unaffected by all of this, refuses to meet any of our glances, close to the centre, yet somehow away from all of us at the same time.
And then, there’s Daku, who stands next to me in silence. As we both stare at our new classmates, he takes my hand in his and squeezes it. I don’t know what he truly wants to tell me through this squeeze, but I interpret it the way of what I want to say to him instead.
“We are both alone, and we can only trust each other. We cannot truly know what intentions the others have; the only ones we can rely on are ourselves.”
I can almost taste the hostility as everybody stares at one another. It is as if time has stopped completely, all people eyeing each other up and down in terror.
And that’s when it hit me… I realized what Info-Chan had truly wanted to do with the rules she had laid out…
“You must kill someone if you want to leave.”
Those words planted vicious thoughts in each and every one of us. Each of us immediately became suspicious of everyone else. We were forced to wonder, “Is somebody going to betray us?”.
And that’s how my school life at Hope’s Peak Academy began…
This school, which had come out of nowhere to raise my hopes so high… To make me believe I could be something, that I could do something valuable in the world… That I could be someone…
It was a trap. It always had been.
It was never meant to be a school of hope…
It was meant to be…
…a school of despair.
Notes:
i'm very excited about sharing this so i will edit the next chapters right away and post them! if you are impatient to see what happens next, i have already published more chapters up until the investigation on wattpad, so please feel free to check it out! however, the version that will be posted on AO3 will be much more accurate, so you should come back here to read anyways :>
thank you for reading so far! <3
Chapter 4: 1.3 - to explore
Summary:
Determined to get out of the killing game before it even starts, the twenty students of Hope’s Peak Academy group and try to find a way to escape the school. Riku and Daku bond more, Kumi is incredibly horrid, and all sorts of relationships begin to blossom.
Notes:
some of you might know that, at the time of which i am publishing this, yandere dev has been (finally and publicly) exposed as a groomer. i could not be less shocked. i have always known he was a bad person, and this is not the first time he has been accused of grooming a kid. i believed the victim the first time and disassociated all of my yansim content from him. this exposure will not make me abandon my projects. i will continue writing for THHYSAU and my other alternate universe, EQGYSAU, which is on wattpad. my time and love is not dedicated to yandere dev, who is a selfish, disgusting and nasty pedophile, but to me, and to these characters which i have built because he was incapable of doing it.
THHYSAU will continue. i don't care. if you think that makes me a bad person, redirect that anger towards the VAs, who have done nothing but suck him off for years up until now, and are only now stepping off the project; or the other fans, the fans that are actually commenting shit like 'we're with you, alex' on his blog post. i am not the problem, and i refuse to be part of the problem. but i will continue to write and draw for yandere simulator, or at least what i have made of it, and i have no remorse in that - i don't find it wrong.
anyways, getting into the notes for this chapter...
this is a bit of a filler chapter, i admit, but don't worry, we'll be getting into the real things soon! :) for now, have some bonding - and some assholery provided by your favorite kumiko. gotta love kumiko
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“You must kill someone if you want to leave.”
My mind froze, my breath catching in my throat at the mere thought of accepting that sentence as real…
Murder…
If I wanted to escape, I would have to murder someone…
That just…can’t be real. There’s…no way it…can be real…!
But still…
Even if everything is a hoax…
Kaga’s words hold so much meaning and fear.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter whether it’s real or not. What matters is… Is there anybody here who is seriously considering all of this?”
I realized then and there that we had no idea if anybody did consider doing what Info-Chan told them to. If anybody had started to think of a plan to murder one of us right then and there.
I was paralyzed in fear. Standing there, the only thing I could feel was Daku’s hand in mine—the only thing that told me I was still alive, that this was actually happening and that it wasn’t a twisted dream.
“So?”
Daku’s voice pierced through the quiet of the gymnasium. All heads turned to him, and he fixed his glasses with his free hand.
“Is this what we’re going to do? Just stand around and glare at each other? How far will this get us?”
“We have no idea what anyone’s true intentions are,” Zametora growls, but his voice breaks slightly, and I can tell he’s lost his cool as well. “What the fuck do you want us to do? Pat each other on the back? Group hug?”
“Maybe that’d help a bit…” Shoku murmurs, but everyone ignores him except for Geiju, who gives him a small pat on the back.
“Yamazaki and Konishi are as capable of betraying you as anybody else here.” Kumi smiles. “If you really don’t think you can know ‘anyone’s true intentions’, then I suggest backing away from them as well.”
There’s both panic and anger in Tsuruzo’s eyes as he speaks. “You—! You have no idea what you’re talking about! I would never murder anyone!”
Kaga says nothing. His cold gaze is fixed on the floor. I wonder what he’s thinking, what he’s feeling… If he really does care for Zametora, and if that’s why he helped him and told him to toss Info-Chan away, or if he’s simply planning his murder…
And I’m terrified to realize that Kumi is right; we really have no idea what his, or anyone else’s, true intentions are.
“You say that, but…” Kumi approaches Tsuruzo, forcing me out of my thoughts. “You don’t know your own person, Yamazaki. You don’t know what a human being is truly capable of. What you’re clinging onto is hope.” She smiles, a cruel, twisted smile, as if she’s enjoying this. “And pardon me for saying this, but I really do not think we can rely on hope anymore.”
“What the fuck are you, some kinda mole of hers?” Osoro grunts, pushing Kumi slightly. “You wanna make us despair or something, you son of a bitch? That what you’re tryna do? I’m gonna teach you a lesson, you—”
“How original,” Kumi raises an unimpressed eyebrow. “This is all delinquents like you and Zametora can do, isn’t it? You always use your fists before you can even process their emotions.”
“Say that again.” Osoro’s eyes shine with pure, unfiltered anger. “I dare you to say that again.”
“With pleasure.” Kumi smiles. “This is all delinquents like—”
“Stop.”
Gema is holding his e-Handbook, swiping on it. Although he’s not looking at us, I know he was the one who spoke. When he looks up to meet our gazes, it becomes even more clear the voice belonged to him.
“Stop arguing like little kids. This is exactly what she wants us to do.” Budo nods as Gema speaks. “All we have to do is find a way out, and all of this can be left behind. Stop acting like dumbasses and pull yourselves together.”
With that, he glares at Kumi. Although she doesn’t look even slightly ashamed, she does avert her gaze—in my heart, Gema gets a point at that.
Osoro sighs. “Shit…”
But that’s all she says. I don’t think she knows what more to add, and I can’t blame her. I’m still in a state of shock.
“Gema is right,” Toga agrees. “Fighting amongst ourselves will solve nothing. By standing divided, Info-Chan will get to us much sooner and much easier.” He takes a deep breath, then decides, “We have to look for a way out. It’s our only shot.”
“Indeed.” Geiju nods.
“But first,” Kyuji speaks up, “I think we should check our Handbooks.” He gestures towards Gema, who nods.
“Yeah, best to look over the rules before doing anything else. You don’t want another incident like…that.” Gema taps his Handbook, but looks at Zametora as he speaks.
Without another word, everyone takes their Handbook. Daku finally lets go of my hand to take his own. I take my own as well, and when I turn it on, the first thing that pops up is my name. So, Info-Chan was right; the owner’s name appears front and centre upon turning the Handbook on.
From the Main Menu that appears, I click on the ‘School Regulations’ icon. An itemized list appears on the screen.
- Students may reside only within the school. Leaving campus is an unacceptable use of time.
- ‘Nighttime’ is from 10 PM to 7 AM. Some areas are off-limits at night, so please exercise caution.
- Sleeping anywhere other than the dormitory will be seen as sleeping in class and will be punished accordingly.
- With minimal restrictions, you are free to explore Hope’s Peak Academy at your discretion.
- Violence against Headmaster Info-Chan, as well as destruction of surveillance cameras, is strictly prohibited.
- Anyone who kills a fellow student and becomes ‘blackened’ will graduate, unless they are discovered.
- Additional school regulations may be added as necessary.
Feeling slightly dizzy, I looked up from my Handbook. The same stormy expression resided on everybody else’s faces, with a few exceptions.
“What the hell kind of rules are these?!” Osoro breaks the silence. “This is bullshit! I’m not gonna let them control me!”
“Then why don’t you wander around school without a care in the world and see what happens?” Kumi smiles. “Personally, I would love to see what punishment Info-Chan could come up with, shall anyone break the rules again.”
“Don’t encourage her…” Shoku whimpers.
“That’s so cruel, I don’t even feel like making a video-game reference…” Gema is on his side as he shakes his head in disapproval.
Osoro clutches the Handbook in her hands. “They’re waiting for me. I can’t be stuck in here…with them out there…”
“With who?” Toga frowns in confusion.
“That’s none of your fuckin’ business,” Osoro growls. “All you should know is that I cannot afford to die in here!”
“So, you’re saying you will follow school regulations?” Kumi raises an eyebrow.
“Huh? Well—well, I…guess… Whatever, yeah. Sure.”
“My question is,” Daku hums as he taps the Handbook, “what does the second half of the sixth regulation mean?” He looks up to meet my eye. “‘Unless they are discovered.’ Does that mean that, if you want to graduate, then…”
But he goes silent. He can’t finish his sentence. He simply looks down at the floor, because he already knows its ending.
“Then you must kill someone without anybody finding out it was you,” Kaga completes it for him. “You must do it in secret. Then…you’re out of the game. You can go home.”
“Fascinating,” Kumi states, but that’s all she says.
“We still don’t know many things about this place,” Kyuji says, “so I think we should get to exploring.”
Enpitsu nods. “It’s important to find out about food, supplies, anything like that. Any little bit helps.”
“Damn straight!” Gema nods. “We still gotta answer a lot of questions, so let’s all get to looking around!”
“I’ll be going alone,” Kumi pushes her glasses up her nose.
“What?” Maka frowns. “Maka thinks that’s a pretty bad idea. You could—”
“Kumi doesn’t care what Maka thinks,” Kumi retorts, and Maka looks away sadly.
“You’re a real piece of work,” Yaku’s visor goes angry, although his voice doesn’t betray the emotion. “She’s just trying to look out for you, you know.”
“Well, she doesn’t have to,” Kumi scoffs. “I shall manage on my own. Besides, someone here might have already started thinking about murdering one of us.”
“H-hold on,” Midori shakes her head, “that would never—!”
“Don’t bother saying it can’t happen,” Kumi deadpans. “It is a possibility, and it will be for as long as we reside in here. That’s why you all seized up with fear when the graduation rule was made clear to you. We’re not sure who could betray us.”
Her cold eyes meet mine. Her glance alone is enough to make me feel like I’m losing control of the situation…like I’m in danger.
“Am I wrong?”
“B-but…” Midori whimpers.
She doesn’t say anything more. Iruma rubs her arm to encourage her, but she can’t look at him. Enpitsu scoffs and crosses his arms, looking away. As he does, he meets Gema’s glance, who is equally as annoyed as him, and they share a disapproving head shake.
“I’m simply acting in accordance with what I think is best for me.”
“Hold on!” Osoro comes before her, cracking her knuckles. “Like hell I’m gonna let you run off and do whatever you want!”
“Out of my way, delinquent,” Kumi snarls.
“What did you just say?” Osoro growls. “I’m gonna kick your sorry ass into outer space, you—!”
“S-stop!” I finally find my voice to interfere. “We shouldn’t fight!”
“What? You some kinda goody two-shoes or something?” Osoro hisses. “Who do you think you are, talking like that to me? My fuckin’ school counsellor?”
“No, I wasn’t…”
“That’s enough.”
Daku stands between me and Osoro, his hands slightly spread out as if to protect me. I can’t see the look on his face, but his body is not shaking anymore, and he seems more determined.
“I understand your emotions, Osoro—”
“You don’t know shit about—”
“But we can’t afford to fight like this.” His arms fall at his sides. “Leave him alone. He did nothing wrong.”
Osoro takes a deep breath before sighing and turning away. She doesn’t meet the glance of anyone, and, without another word, she leaves the gymnasium.
“Pathetic,” Kumi shakes her head.
Saeko looks at her, her yellow eyes glowing with fury.
“I hope you’re the first one to go down.”
And with that simple, yet powerful and fear-inducing statement, she follows Osoro out, shouting her name.
Kumi simply smiles as she shakes her head. “What a peculiar individual… Such small intellect, yet so much anger… I almost wish to study her brain.”
I’m…really not sure what she means by that and if she’s referring to Saeko or Osoro, but, after saying that under her breath, Kumi leaves the gymnasium as well.
“Jesus…” Kyuji sighs.
I hadn’t thought Saeko would be capable of such a statement, but…it looks like I was wrong. I share a glance with Daku, who is now back to his usual calm self.
“Well then, let’s split up,” he proposes, trying to keep his tone light. “We should go in small groups for our safety. There are seventeen of us here. I propose going in three groups of four, and one of five. That way, we have a guarantee that nobody will kill each other, if you’re worried about that, and we can also get to know each other better while looking for an escape.”
“Sounds like a plan!” Shoku nods.
“Maka likes that! It makes Maka feel safer!” Maka declares with a smile.
Daku taps his temple. “Does anybody have any preferences for groups?”
“I-I would like t-to go with K-Kyuji and Toga, i-if possible,” Otohiko says.
“Yes, that would be good for us three,” Toga nods.
“Geiju and I should probably stay together, too,” Shoku says.
“Then, the group of five can be Kyuji, Togo, Otohiko, Shoku and Geiru,” Daku proposes. “Is that good?”
“Sounds good to me!” Kyuji grins.
“Maka is fine with anyone going with her!” Maka shrugs. “As long as she feels safe, Maka will go with anyone.”
“You can come with us, if you’d like, darling!” Tsuruzo extends his arm towards her. “I have to admit, I am a big fan of your work, so being grouped with you would be quite an honour.”
While Maka’s mouth drops in amazement and surprise, Daku chuckles and says, “Okay, then Kaga, Zametora, Tsuruzo and Maka shall be another group.”
“Whatever…” Zametora rolls his eyes. I can’t tell if he’s pleased or not about being grouped with Kaga and Tsuruzo, or if he even cares about Maka joining them, but he doesn’t object, so that’s good enough.
“I’m assuming you two would like to stay together as well?” Daku turns to Budo and Gema.
Budo confirms this with a nod. “Yeah, I think Gema and I should stick together. Better be safe than sorry, and I don’t wanna lose him from my sight…”
“Jeez, you’re so corny,” Gema scoffs, but I can tell he doesn’t mean it. There’s a hint of fondness to it, as he is probably happy to be going with his brother. He turns to Midori. “Yo, Dori, you wanna join us?”
Midori vehemently nods. “Yep, yep, yep! Of course!” Her eyes light up as she asks, “Oh, and can Iruma come with?”
Iruma chuckles softly. “It’s fine. I don’t want to get in the way of you and your friend—”
“That’s silly, you’re my friend too now, you know!” Midori happily laces her arm around his. “So you can definitely come!” She turns to Gema, completely oblivious to Iruma’s blushing face. “Right, Gema?”
“I don’t mind.” Gema shrugs. “Ultimate Emo chooses the groups, not me.”
Daku chuckles at Gema’s comment. “So, Gema, Budo, Midori and Iruma…” He then turns to me and smiles. “That means the last group shall be Riku, Enpitsu, Yaku and myself. Is that alright with everyone?”
Everyone nods, then Daku does, too.
“Then it is settled. Let’s get to looking around. It is in our best interest that we finish research as soon as possible.”
“Where w-will we meet o-once we’re d-done exploring?” Otohiko asks.
“The dining hall should be good enough,” Kaga proposes.
“Meet in the dining hall in…” Iruma frowns. “What time is it?”
Toga rolls up his sleeve, revealing a watch. “We were out for a lot of time… It’s already 11 AM.”
“Exploring should take at least a few hours if it is done thoroughly,” Yaku says. “What time should we meet?”
“6 PM, no later than that,” Zametora crosses his arms. “We can search the whole place in every single corner until then.”
Several people nod. Zametora seems pleased with the others agreeing, displaying a subtle smile. Daku claps his hands together.
“Well then, let’s proceed. Be back in the dining hall by 6 PM. Don’t forget your groups, everyone.”
The groups disperse, all getting to chatting amongst themselves. Enpitsu and Yaku join Daku and I, and we all leave the dining hall together.
“So, what are we trying to find exactly?” Yaku speaks up, his visor displaying his eyes as question marks.
“Some clues as to who exactly has imprisoned us here,” Daku says, “as well as how we can escape. The windows are all boarded up, but I don’t doubt one of them wasn’t as attended to as the others.”
It is very optimistic to think like that… Yet, I can’t help but have a feeling that Daku is horribly wrong. The whole situation is incredibly strange, but it’s also very well thought out. If whoever put us in here has crafted such an elaborate plan to make us kill each other, then no doubt would they not overlook important details such as locking us in.
I can’t tell him that, though. I only met him again about half an hour ago, and I don’t want to ruin everything because of a few pessimistic thoughts. Perhaps he is right, after all. Maybe our kidnappers actually overlooked something, a physical or metaphorical window waiting for us to find it and jump out of it on our way to freedom.
Yaku and Enpitsu are talking while I think to myself. When I hear Otohiko’s name be mentioned, I find myself perking up.
“I just wonder,” Enpitsu says, tapping his chin as he speaks, “what could Info-Chan mean by saying Otohiko has a ‘special condition’? I wonder if she meant to throw us off, or…”
Daku turns slightly to him. “Since this is a killing game, there is no doubt that she will try to tell us everyone’s weak points to make us turn against one another easier. That’s what she intended to do by announcing that something is ‘wrong’ with Otohiko.”
“I wonder what it could be.” Yaku rubs his chin. “I hope it’s nothing serious…”
“My bet is on asthma or something similar,” Enpitsu announces. “By the way his chest was rising and falling when he was scared, and the fact that Kyuji and Toga immediately jumped to his defence… Not only must they know his condition, but they must also want to cover it up.”
“Why would they do that?” I frown.
“To keep him safe, probably,” Enpitsu shrugs. “If anybody knew what it was, they would jump at the opportunity to take advantage of it if they wanted to ki—”
But he doesn’t finish his sentence. Realizing the weight of his words, he stops midway and trails off.
“…Sorry. I don’t want to entertain this idea, but… It is quite hard to bear.”
“Tell me about it,” Yaku sighs, rubbing the back of his neck. “And Kumiko… She’s quite scary, isn’t she? I don’t trust her. I think she’s…dangerous.” He shudders. “Like, maybe she’s already considering all of this!”
“Or Oboro,” Enpitsu shudders. “Have you seen her glare?”
Yaku shakes his head. “Oboro… I’m gonna stay away from her as much as possible. But I’m not too fond of many of the others, either. Geiru only speaks when he must, and even then, he barely does… Shoku is overly friendly, Genma is overly unfriendly…”
Enpitsu’s eyes darken at the mention of Gema, but he doesn’t say anything.
“I don’t believe Kumi is capable of murder.” Daku fixes his glasses as he speaks, interrupting Yaku’s talking. “She’s trying to act tough, yes, but she’s just as, if not more scared than us. As for the others… It is not our place to judge them.” He shakes his head. “As long as we hurry up and find a way out, we will not have time to find out whether or not any of us can kill.”
And he continued to lead us around the school with those impactful words.
As everybody followed him, I walked next to him, and I couldn’t help but be amazed at his ability to lead so easily. It was like he was born to be a leader…
…and it wasn’t how I remembered him at all.
He used to be so shy and soft-spoken… I was the only classmate he felt comfortable ever talking to. Everybody else bullied him or ignored him, and he was scared to interact with any strangers at all. To see him like this, I couldn’t help but feel proud of him.
I don’t know what he’s done to become so confident, but I’m happy to see the change in his behaviour. He’s come far in the time I haven’t seen him…
“I was wondering,” I find myself asking, “how come you’re so…”
I pause, trying to find the right word. Daku turns to look at me, and makes it even harder for me to think by staring at me like this.
“I mean, you look and sound so…”
“Different?” he proposes, and I nod. “I can only give most of the kudos to puberty,” he jokes, “but I also cut off some toxic people in my life and… I mean, I guess I’m doing a lot better than before.” He brushes a strand of hair aside and looks up at me. “You’re different, too. But only by appearance.” He puts his hand over my head with a playful grin. “I mean, you’re much taller now! Do you remember I—”
“You used to be taller than me,” I chuckle, and he does the same. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You always had to grab things for me from the top shelf in Art class.”
Daku giggles at that. “You remember that?”
“Of course I do! We always partnered up in every class, but I basically relied on you in Art.”
“In other words, we’re only friends because you were too short and you needed a tall person by your side.”
“You could say.”
“That’s a good origin story to tell the kids.”
We both laugh, and I put my arm on his shoulder. “Personality-wise, you haven’t changed one bit.”
“You need at least a little bit of familiarity,” Daku smiles at me.
The simple gesture makes me feel as though it will truly be okay. That we can actually escape this place without being hurt.
Something swells inside my chest. The feeling is familiar… It brings me back to middle school. His smile… His beautiful, earnest smile…fills me…
…with hope.
Notes:
i hope you enjoyed this! the storm is yet to come! :)
Chapter 5: 1.4 - together
Summary:
In which, following a smug speech given by Kumi, Info-Chan provides motive.
Notes:
we are BACK, people!! holy shit i am so sorry for not updating this in so long, i've been busy with school but i will try to update slightly more <3
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“It’s been several days now. How have you fools not found anything?”
Kumi walks inside the dining hall, calm and collected, but her words cutting and her voice full of hate. She walks inside like she owns the place, like she has every right to belittle us, when she’s done much less than any of us. Her sarcasm fills me with rage that I wisely keep hidden.
It’s been five days. I’ve counted them. Most of the others didn’t – it’s hard to keep track of the days when they all look the same, metal plates covering the windows and blocking off the sun. I miss its warm, comforting light, and I can already feel this place changing my way of thought, but I refuse to give into Info-Chan’s despair and move forward.
We’ve set up a nice routine. Info-Chan gets us up at 7 AM every day without fail with a booming announcement, and we all meet up in the dining hall—all except for Kumi, who goes there earlier, because she refuses to spend time with us—to discuss what we found in the previous day. The groups haven’t remained the same as Daku’s arranged them, mostly everyone going off in pairs or groups of three, but we’ve managed so far.
The most disappointing thing of all is that we haven’t found anything that could let us out of here, at least, not to any of our knowledge. Kumi hasn’t revealed anything to us, and as she trots inside the room, I wonder if she’s hiding something. The only reason I am able to stop myself from making a cutting remark is because I know her reason for behaving like this is that she is just as scared as the rest of us.
“We’ve been trying.” Budo taps his fingers on the table we’re sitting at.
Next to him, Gema rolls her eyes at her. “You could join us as well, you know. Two extra pairs of eyes could do us well.”
Kumi raises an eyebrow and taps the frame of her glasses. “I have been searching. I just refuse to do it alongside you.”
“Well, you’re an asshole.” Kyuji crosses his arms. “We all wanna get outta here, right? You could at least try to help us!”
“I do not wish to help those who could murder me.”
Her words sting, and I hate to admit it, but she is right to an extent. She’s been telling us this nonstop ever since Info-Chan laid out the rules for us: that she will not join us, because we are all capable of murder.
In a way…in her own, twisted way…
She’s the most reasonable of all of us.
“That won’t happen as long as we stick together,” Toga assures.
“And as long as I can keep my eye on you so you don’t run off…” Osoro huffs.
“Don’t worry. I’m not dreaming of it.” Kumi sarcastically rolls her eyes, then reluctantly sits down at one of the ends of the table. “I couldn’t escape you if I tried… You all are everywhere, and it’s getting really irritating.”
At least she won’t be running off…
“So, has anyone found anything interesting today?” Budo tries to open the conversation.
“Warehouse’s empty,” Geiju announces. “Nothing valuable.”
“Geiju, Shoku, Saeko, Iruma, Yaku and I found the warehouse today,” Zametora begins to explain. “I haven’t seen anything of interest in there.”
Kaga raises an eyebrow. “So, that’s where you went off today… I was wondering why I couldn’t find you.”
“Yeah, he was!” Midori confirms, completely unasked. “He kept mumbling angrily about how you ‘ran off’ and he had ‘no idea what to do now that you weren’t around’. Maka and I heard him all morning while we were drinking our tea!”
Kaga looks away with a nervous laugh. “Shut up, Gushima…”
Cheerfully, Midori nods. “Okay!”
“Anything else?” Budo asks.
“Yamazaki’s been talking and singing my ears off for the last few days,” Zametora raises a hand, earning a chuckle from Kaga and an embarrassed giggle from Tsuruzo.
“And that helps how?” Kumi raises an eyebrow. “I am already aware he has perfect pitch, and perfect hearing at that.”
“How so?” Tsuruzo frowns.
Kumi rolls her eyes. “I’ve heard you tell Enpitsu in what pitch he screamed upon seeing a spider.”
Yaku snorts, and Enpitsu looks away. A few others laugh as well, but Kumi remains still and emotionless, looking at her watch and tapping her finger on her wrist. Her boredom infuriates me. She infuriates me.
“Ah, you haven’t gotten over your phobia?” Saeko smiles. “And here I thought it was a thing of the past…”
“I-it is!” Enpitsu scoffs. “She’s lying.”
“Believe what you want,” Tsuruzo says with a mysterious smile.
“Anything interesting about our prison that anyone else wants to share?” Gema asks, slightly louder to make himself heard over the laughing and chatting.
“Nothing,” Otohiko sighs. “I’m starting to feel claustrophobic…”
“I get that.” Kyuji stretches in his chair. “I wish we at least had someplace to work out in.”
“You?” Osoro scoffs. “Please. You’re limp as a shrimp.”
“Hey, that rhymes!” Midori notes with enthusiasm I envy.
“That is exactly why I’ve taken it upon myself to work out,” Kyuji smiles, calm and cheerful. I wish I could be as collected as him or Kumi – the only difference between them is that one is actually pleasant, while the other is praying for our downfalls. “If something like that is revealed to us, then maybe we could work out together so you can see that I’m serious about it.”
Osoro rolls her eyes. “Sorry, not interested. I’m not into you, dude.”
Kyuji laughs. “No hard feelings. I could never be into you, either.”
Something flashes across the faces of Saeko, Toga and Otohiko, but the expressions are gone as quickly as they had appeared. With a sigh, Kumi takes it upon herself to change the subject.
“Such chitchat is absolutely irritating given our situation. You’re acting like nothing is happening. Have you all forgotten what we’re doing?”
“We’re trying to escape, thank you very much,” Enpitsu hisses.
“And acting as if you’re talking about the weather over Sunday brunch will get you nowhere. You’re not grandmas meeting for tea, you are allies trying to form a plan.” Her words don’t sting, but her voice does. She cares so little for us, it makes me sick. “So, form it.”
“Chitchat is necessary to form trust!” Maka provides with a smile. “Maka has already gotten warmed up to a lot of the others because of chitchat!”
“Yeah! Loosen up, Kumi!” Budo smiles. Despite this expression and his words, I can feel that he himself isn’t loose. A small broad of sweat trickles down his forehead, despite the coldness of the room—he must be nervous. I can’t blame him. This is Kumi we’re talking about. She makes everyone nervous.
“Yes, yes, you’re getting along quite amicably,” Kumi says, “but you mustn’t forget there are traitors hiding among us, waiting to strike. I see the murder in your eyes. You cannot deceive me. Soon, Info-Chan will realize her mistake, and one of you will lunge forward at the opportunity to kill.”
“Mistake?” Geiju raises an eyebrow.
“Why, of course. She’s made a mistake.” Kumi grins. “She must be a beginner, a mere fool, to not have thought of that mistake.”
“I-I’m terrified to ask what she forgot…” Shoku murmurs, fidgeting with his hands in his lap.
“Why, motive, of course.”
Her booming voice silences every other noise in the dining hall.
I find myself holding my breath.
Motive…?
“Why would we start killing each other? We—you—have been getting along for five days now. That will soon turn into a week, which will turn into a month, then a year, then…” She shakes her head. “The point is, you have yet a reason to kill each other. She ought to realize that soon. And when she does…it won’t be pretty.”
“It could be if it was you that died.”
Gema’s cold remark makes Kumi’s eyes shoot wide open. She freezes, as do all of us, and, surprisingly, she starts to splutter. It’s the first honest reaction I’ve seen from her.
“You fool. How could you say something like that? People like me never die first.”
The fear in her voice was crystal clear, despite her trying to sound tough.
And then she spits back.
“If anything, you would make a good target.”
Her eyes linger on Gema, Kyuji, Maka, Midori and Otohiko.
“You and…many others,” she adds.
Most of us follow her gaze and understand what she wants to say: that Kyuji, Maka and Midori are ‘stupid’ enough to die first. That Gema is inferior to her. That Otohiko has that condition that Info-Chan has refused to fully reveal.
It makes me sick. She makes me sick, that she’s playing Info-Chan’s game and trying to get us to despair.
Without meaning to, I find myself wondering, even if for just a second…
How much better would our situation be if Kumi was the first to go?
I’m shaken out of that purely evil thought by Daku, who sighs in disappointment at Kumi as she leaves.
“She’s peculiar, isn’t she?” he says, not expecting a response and heavily pronouncing the adjective to better express his disdain for her. “I wonder…”
He doesn’t finish his sentence. Still, he doesn’t need to. I think all of us know what he wanted to say.
I wonder if she’s related to her somewhat – if she’s working for her, or if this is just funny and entertaining to her.
But such a thought reeks of despair, and none of us want to speak it into existence.
Tsuruzo smiles cheerfully, as if he’d already forgotten about our encounter with our classmate. “Well, then. Shall I make some tea? I think we have enough for all of us.”
“Of course we have enough.” Zametora is picking at his nails as he speaks. “The fox said all of the food gets restocked every day. She does it herself, her and her other selves.”
“How do you know that?” Toga immediately frowns, an expression of distrust on his face.
Zametora rolls his eyes. “Calm down. She told me.”
Geiju raises an eyebrow. “Told you?”
“Yeah. She popped up when I was checking out the kitchen the other day.” Now it’s his turn to raise an eyebrow. “It’s weird that you don’t know that, since Shoku was there, and the guy tells you everything.”
“I was in the doorframe.” Shoku blinks, confused. “I didn’t see her.”
“You didn’t even hear her?”
“Maka and Shoku were having a conversation about cupcakes!” Maka recalls with a big smile on her face.
Midori, as well as Otohiko, nod. It seems as though some of the groups Daku made have stuck, even though most have not. In these five days, people have been getting along better than I could have hoped for… All except for Kumi, but that was fine. We all managed without one another.
“Mm.” That’s all Zametora says before fishing his Handbook out of his pocket and swiping on it. “She hasn’t added any new rules.”
“Do you think she might?” An eyebrow is raised on Yaku’s visor.
“I think we’re pissing her off, being all friendly like this. I hate to agree with that…person,” Zametora refers to Kumi with nothing but hatred in his voice, “but something ought to happen by now…”
Shoku and Geiju exchange glances, and so do Daku and I. Could it be true? Could Info-Chan be planning her next move…
Right in this very second…?
I get my answer as Tsuruzo prepares to sit up to make the tea he had promised.
Before us appears Info-Chan, almost as if summoned by Zametora’s words.
And judging by the fire in her red eye…
She’s absolutely furious.
“Come on!” she yells, irritated. “Come on, come on, COME ON, PEOPLE!!”
“What? Are you mad your methods aren’t working?” Zametora smugly raises an eyebrow. “Are you gonna cry, Foxy?”
“Why aren’t you in despair?!” Info-Chan groans. “Why aren’t you killing? Why aren’t you dying? I gave you so many ideas! So many methods! So many possibilities! Don’t you recall?!”
“There are tons of ways to murder someone! Stabbing, strangling, bludgeoning, drowning, igniting on fire, poisoning… Hell, if we had a hippo, you could feed them to it! Oh, oh, or, like, take a really nice necklace and pretend to put it on them, only to strangle them with it! Electrocute them while they’re taking a shower! Throw them off the roof! Blow them up! Drive them to suicide! I promise you, there are tons of methods for murder!”
Budo crosses his arms. “So what?”
Gema does the same. “Yeah, so what? We’ll be outta here before you know it, so why bother?”
Info-Chan’s fury allegedly dissipates, and she smiles instead, too sweet to be true.
“Puhuhu… Gather in the gym. I have some news for you. See you there in five minutes!”
None of us have time to ask her why she wants to see us so soon—she disappears as soon as she appeared, leaving us to exchange confused glances and ponder what she wants.
“Um… That can’t be good, can it?” Yaku asks, his visor providing worry and a drop of sweat for him as he gets up.
“Hm.” All Kaga does is hum. “Hm…”
“I swear, I’m gonna…” Osoro cracks her knuckles, but doesn’t finish her sentence as she steals a look in Zametora’s direction. He almost died on the day we arrived here just because he wanted to teach Info-Chan a lesson – she can’t allow those same words to leave her mouth. With a defeated sigh, she drops her hands.
“We’ll be fine,” Saeko nods. “Trust me, I know we will. She doesn’t have the motivation to intimidate us this early. It would be stupid.”
Toga, however, shakes his head. “On the contrary, Saeko. Intimidating us as of right now is her best—and only—choice.” He sighs. “I hate to think of what can happen, but…” He raises his head to look at each one of us. “We should expect the worst.”
The worst…
Daku and I share a look. The worst? What is ‘the worst’?
The words death, execution and despair bounce around in my head, echoing and crying out to me. I try not to let them get to me, but with every unsure glance of my classmates’ comes back something Info-Chan has said.
The worst…?
“Well, let’s go then,” Kyuji breaks the silence by standing up.
We all look at him in confusion. He clears his throat.
“I mean, since we’re gonna have to face this anyways…let’s just go now and…you know, deal with it.”
Midori whimpers; I see her go for Iruma’s hand, who takes hers in his without a bit of hesitation. Tsuruzo, Zametora and Kaga, who are sitting together, as always, exchange glances. Otohiko looks between Kyuji and Toga.
The next words are Geiju’s.
“I agree.”
He nods at Kyuji, and the slightest bit of pride makes its way on the latter’s face.
“We’ll be okay.”
Kyuji nods back.
“We just have to stick together!” Kyuji says, and at that, Geiju smiles.
Soon, smiles—some fainter or more nervous than others, but still smiles—paint each and every one of our faces. I feel hope swelling up in my chest.
Yeah…
Whatever ‘the worst’ is…
We must face it together…
As classmates…
As friends…!
Daku stands up with a low hum.
“Then, come on.”
Info-Chan said she’d expect us in the gym…
When we all arrive there, we can see Kumi has beaten us to it. She looks at us, then quickly averts her gaze. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she was intimidated or even scared by seeing us in such large numbers. Geiju and Shoku take the lead and stand by her – Budo and Gema talk between themselves, as do most of the small groups our classmates have inserted themselves into.
Daku looks at me. “Are you nervous, Riku?”
There is no point in lying, so I simply nod. “Horribly.” I look towards the stage. “I just…don’t want anybody to be hurt.”
Daku smiles softly, but I can tell he’s not truly optimistic. He’s trying to make me feel better with this gesture, but he is just as frightened as me. He, too, knows that there is no stopping whatever Info-Chan wants us to do.
“If only she’d get it over with sooner…” I can hear Osoro murmur, her arms crossed and expression dark as she looks down.
“What do you think she’ll do?” Otohiko asks softly, his voice so low I’m surprised I could hear him from this distance.
“Scare us.” Toga’s expression is determined and prepared. “She just wants to scare us. Nothing will happen. You’ll see.”
Kyuji smiles at him. “You’re damn right! As long as we—”
“As long as we stick together, she’ll have an easier time with us,” Kumi cruelly cuts him off and finishes his sentence. Her eyes shine with hatred and an emotion before unseen on her face – fear – as she looks at him. “I suggest you watch your backs.”
“She won’t do jack shit,” Zametora growls. “I dare her to try.”
Geiju looks at him. “What if she will?”
“Yeah, right. I’ll show her—”
“You won’t.” Geiju’s eyes pierce his, almost as if he’s warning him. “Don’t be hasty. You could die.”
Zametora seems to settle down with that, and I don’t know if it’s because of the gravity of Geiju’s words or the fact that he said as many words as he did.
I want to say more – to reassure my classmates and friends, to tell them to stay united despite Kumi’s words, to propose new plans – but I hear laughter coming from the stage and, before I can process what’s happening, Info-Chan appears on the podium.
“Diiiiid ya miss me?” she grins widely at us, showing us all her sharp teeth that could slice us in half if we crossed her. “Cause I sure missed you! And you know what else I missed?” And, in a split second, her grin goes away and her pupils dilate and her tail shoots up in fury as she bellows, “FUCKING DESPAIR, PEOPLE! YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN DESPAIR!!!”
Gema raises an eyebrow. “Okay, and foxes aren’t supposed to talk, so I guess we’re all in a weird situation.”
Info-Chan looks at us and sighs. “Can you do me a favour and kill that one first? Seriously, he’s getting on my nerves. Or, like,” she hums, “who else do I want gone?” She thinks before coming to the conclusion of, “That’s right, ALL OF YOU! AND YOU WON’T DIE!” Suddenly, she grins sweetly again. “Sooooo, I have decided to solve this little issue of mine!”
“Have you, now?” Kumi crosses her arms.
“And I suppose we won’t be happy with her idea…” Enpitsu murmurs.
“Yes, I have, and no, you won’t! Ahem, ahem, ahem, listen up, listen up!”
We don’t have any other choice but to listen up.
Daku holds his breath. Next to us, Kaga, Zametora and Tsuruzo exchange glances. I can see Midori and Iruma look at each other, and Geiju and Shoku intently eye Info-Chan. Kumi, Osoro, Yaku and Enpitsu keep their distance – Gema and Budo whisper between themselves, Toga and Kyuji reach for each other’s hands, Otohiko anxiously bites his nails. Saeko puts her head in her hands. Maka eyes the floor in fear.
But we’re all together. And whatever is coming—
“If someone doesn’t die in the next 48 hours, I will kill every last one of you, and rest assure that it will be slow and painful and you will wish you were never born and this is a promise. Puhuhuhu~!”
—we…
…
…We…
…
…are going to die in here, aren’t we…?
Notes:
they're in danger. :D
Chapter 6: 1.5 - and then...
Summary:
Daku forms a plan to keep everyone safe following Info-Chan’s predicament, Kyuji makes an insane proposition, and Riku finds himself learning about and bonding with the one he expected least.
Notes:
hey guys isn’t it so cool how i’m so consistent and posted this months ago when i was supposed to that’s awesome that’s awesome that’s awesome
anyways don’t expect much from this fic. i have a few chapters already written and i wanna get them out but it will definitely get cut short eventually. but REJOICE i’m coming with chapter two of TD:TBBG this friday and a rewrite of my biggest yandere simulator retell/crossover, EQGYSAU, will also soon come to this page! yay!!! :3
anyways enjoy! this one’s a doozy and made me and my friend cry!! :D
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“If someone doesn’t die in the next 48 hours, I will kill every last one of you, and rest assure that it will be slow and painful and you will wish you were never born and this is a promise. Puhuhuhu~!”
Info-Chan’s words ring throughout the room, echoing back at us with no mercy, no care, making our hearts pound faster and our thoughts race more and more.
We must kill someone.
She’s told us before, but this time, we really don’t have a choice.
If one of us doesn’t kill someone…
…we’re all going to die in here.
And these words just make more despair sink into our hearts.
Enpitsu’s breathing becomes ragged, and Gema worriedly looks at him, but makes no move to approach him. On Yaku’s visor, the eyes are welling up with tears. Otohiko looks like he might actually faint.
“Oh, and, no, by the way, suicide doesn’t count!” Info-Chan announces with a tone that is way too happy for the news she’d just given us. “I know some of you would love to be heroes, but you gotta get your hands dirty for this one! Sucks to suck!”
“That’s fucking twisted!” Zametora yells angrily. “You can’t just do that!”
“I agree,” Kaga takes a step forward, his hands twisting into fists. “To ask us to kill each other just for the rest to live, that’s—that’s not fair.”
“Fair?” Info-Chan barks out a laugh. “Who the FUCK cares about being fair?! Actually, here’s a little poem I just whipped up on the spot: I don’t care for being fair, all I want is your despair!” She maniacally laughs before adding, “HOW ABOUT THAT, KONISHI?! YOU THINK THAT’S FAIR NOW???”
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Osoro growls.
“Noooo, you have to kill a classmate, not me!” Info-Chan shakes her head, almost as if disappointed. “I’m not participating in your little game! Jesus, get with the program, Oboro…”
“Lay off her, Shinkawa,” Kumi speaks, so softly I can’t believe it’s really her that’s talking. “This is merely another trap. If you get riled up, she could punish you severely, perhaps even by death.”
“Death doesn’t scare me,” Geiju murmurs under his breath, taking a few steps towards Info-Chan as if to hurt her—
But Shoku jerks his arm back, widening his eyes at him, telling him to stop with a mere glance. Geiju regains his composure and steps back.
“Don’t,” Shoku softly says, and Geiju nods.
“Sorry.”
Shoku sighs shakily, and Info-Chan chuckles.
“Well, I’ll leave you be, then! Digest this information, and get to killing, killing, killing! Love you all!” She reconsiders and smirks. “Nevermind, actually, I don’t! Bye-bye, then! See you soon! Ooh, I can’t WAIT to discover the first body… Or maybe bodies? Oh, gods, let it be bodies! Teehee!!”
Info-Chan then disappears, as quickly as she always appears, leaving us in complete silence.
We exchange glances. Some people are unsure. Some feel rather threatened, and because of a good reason. All of us share a common emotion: fear.
“So…” Otohiko whimpers. “Wh-what will we do now?”
“Kill,” Osoro bitterly says, crossing her arms. “Isn’t that what the stupid fucking fox said? If one of us doesn’t kill, then…”
“It’s game over,” Gema muses, quietly, maybe even shakily, but the soft tone of his voice makes it impossible for me to realize if his voice really did waver or I’m just imagining things.
“In other words…” Iruma taps his own cheek. “It’s one for all.”
“And all for none…” Budo shakes his head.
“Well, it’s not like any magic of friendship or true love can save us in these conditions.” Zametora rolls his eyes as he crosses his arms. “I really hope you don’t believe in shit like that…”
“Maka wonders if it would hurt to try,” Maka sighs.
“I’ll do it.”
Someone steps forward.
“I’ll kill someone.”
All eyes turn to Kyuji Konaka.
“Okay? If I have, like—a volunteer or something,” he goes on, despite our confused and concerned looks, “then, you could all just… know it’s me, and be done with it. You’d continue your lives, and… and…” He takes a deep breath and faces us. “I can do it.”
“No, Kyuji, that’s insane,” Toga says, voice breaking slightly. “Y-you can’t just—we don’t know what she’d do to you.”
“I’d graduate,” Kyuji says simply. “That’s that. Hasn’t Info-Chan said I can leave this place if I do?”
“She has – but you wouldn’t be graduating.”
Gema is looking at the Tablet Info-Chan gave him as all heads turn to him.
“It says,” Gema steps up to him, “that you can only graduate if you aren’t discovered.”
“That’s true.” It’s Kumi’s first time agreeing with someone, and the unlikelihood of it being Gema of all people rightfully makes his mouth hang open. Geiju’s eyes are on Gema’s tablet as Kumi talks. “Rule Six, Konaka. We don’t know what would happen to you.”
She doesn’t smile as she makes the next cruel remark.
“The killer must be a surprise.”
The room turns silent again. Multiple people exchange glances, trying to think of how to get out of this situation. Most of them rightfully look terrified – Daku hums by my side, thinking.
“Then there is no other choice,” he says, so softly I wonder if I truly heard him.
Kumi, however, perks up. “And what’s the only one?”
Daku looks up at her.
“To defy Info-Chan.”
Immediately, Saeko gasps. “But—but she said she’d kill us!”
Iruma looks away. “That’s… that’s preposterous.”
Osoro puts up her fists. “You want us all to die, emo?!”
Tsuruzo raises a hand, trying to calm them down. “M-maybe he has an idea, Oboro. It would be worth to hear him out.”
“Fuck that!” Osoro growls. “He’s plotting our demise! You can see it on his face – he reeks of evil! His whole thing is being evil anyways, what with the occult and all!” She’s yelling now, her words bouncing off the walls and ringing in all of ears. “He’s a fucking murdering freak that’s just waiting for the opportunity to—"
“Shut up! You don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Almost like something possessed me, I glare at her, my hands twisting into fists. Osoro scoffs, confused and surprised to have been defied. Daku looks at me.
“Just because you’re scared, Osoro,” I say, my words more cutting than in any argument I’ve taken part in ever before, “it doesn’t mean you can scare us, too. And certainly not by picking on the only one who actually seems to have a good idea!”
Osoro rolls her eyes. “God, I hate this fucking place, and I hate all of you stupid dumbasses.” She then approaches me and jabs a finger at me. “Consider me Shinkawa from now on.” She shakes her head as she walks away. “Fuckin’ stupid lily-livered little rich boy…”
“Fighting amongst ourselves will solve nothing,” Daku says, not to anyone in particular, his glance stuck to the floor. He looks up to add, “I am not willing to die in here. This might be selfish of me, but I won’t allow anyone to kill me, and I will not touch any of you for as long as we’re here.”
“And then, there were nineteen suspects,” Zametora sarcastically says. “Seriously, man, you expect anyone to believe you? We’re all suspicious for as long as we’re alive.”
“Are you trying to tell on yourself, Zametora?” Kumi’s eyes glint, and I realize her tone is joking – this is all still just a joke to her. The real Kumi is back, and I’m sick I let my guard down even so slightly around her.
“He’s right,” Tsuruzo crosses his arms. “We can all say we wouldn’t kill as much as we want, but it’s not like anyone will believe us. With some exceptions, none of us know each other.”
“Which is why I think we should ignore Info-Chan’s warning,” Daku says. “Most of us are strangers. Why would we kill a stranger? That’s cruel, immoral, unjust. We’re better off waiting.”
“Waiting for our demise?” Zametora raises an unimpressed eyebrow.
“Waiting for her next warning,” Daku frowns.
“What does that mean?” Midori cocks her head to the side, but I think I’ve already realized what Daku is getting at. Seeing the realization on my face, he nods towards me to speak.
“What Daku means is that these ‘warnings’ Info-Chan is giving us are nothing more than motive. If she finds that the motive isn’t working, then she’ll just move onto another, more convincing.”
“So, you really want to use the magic of friendship and those hearts-and-flowers things for this,” Enpitsu quietly muses. “That’s so stupid, it might actually work.”
“But I suppose it does make sense.” To my surprise, Kaga is agreeing as well. “If her motive is flawed, then she’ll just get us another.”
“And we continue doing this until what? We get bored? She kills us all?” Kumi scoffs. “That won’t work.”
“If you’re so eager, why don’t you kill someone?” Gema rolls his eyes at her.
Kumi smiles, as if having just heard a very good joke. “I am many things, Masuyama, but in no way am I a murderer.”
“Bullshit,” I can hear Saeko mumble.
“Besides,” Kumi crosses her arms, continuing to speak – I don’t know if she just didn’t hear Saeko or if she’s choosing to ignore her – “I am too valuable to die, whether that would be by getting murdered or targeted by Info-Chan. Why would I waste my time killing one of you fools when most of you will die anyways?”
Shoku uncomfortably looks at her. “That sounds like something a murderer would say.” Geiju, and a few other people, nod at that. “You’re better off just shutting up if you don’t want people suspecting you.”
Kumi, however, just snorts. “Anyone who suspects me proves themselves a complete and utter idiot.”
Kaga raises an eyebrow. “I am actually considered a genius nation-wide.”
Kumi shrugs. “Not by me.”
Zametora looks like he wants to say something to Kumi, but Daku interjects before she’s scarred for life. “Well, it seems like nobody wants to get their hands messy, right? It’s already been a few minutes since Info-Chan’s announcement, so if we just continue being peaceful until the day after tomorrow, she will have no choice but to move onto the next motive.”
Midori cocks her head to the side. “But… what if it doesn’t work?”
All heads turn to Daku, including mine, albeit somewhat involuntary. Although put on the spot, Daku doesn’t seem to mind. He simply fixes his glasses and responds, “It will. Info-Chan’s whole motive for doing this whole ‘game’ in the first place is unknown, but it is quite obvious she is entertained by it.” A few glares are shot in Kumi’s direction, but she doesn’t pay them attention. Daku continues. “If she kills us, her source of entertainment would be gone, and she would have to find some other people to torment, which I doubt is easy to do. So, all we have to do is survive for 48 hours. Isn’t that simple?”
“But…”
Without wanting to, I find myself opening my mouth, a doubt threatening to escape. Daku quizzically looks in my direction. His gaze is soft, curious. He doesn’t threaten to burst in anger – he looks like he’s ready to respond to whatever questions I have.
So, I ask, “But what if somebody wants to kill?”
Daku hums. He thinks for a while, everyone’s eyes following him as he paces around the room. Minutes pass in silence, until he finally figures something out. “We should group together for the first 46 hours.”
“What?” Kumi sighs.
“If we group, then we have more chances of surviving. We just have to be grouped with people we trust.”
“What about the other two hours?” Saeko frowns. “Why exactly only the first 46?”
“Why not 47?” Gema raises an eyebrow, his tone indicative, as if referencing something.
“Because we shall all gather together in the last two hours.” Daku points at the floor of the gymnasium. “Right here. We will stay together for two hours, until the deadline, and then face whatever we have to face together.”
Silence falls. People exchange glances, some unsure, others visibly considering Daku’s proposal. Kumi is obviously unhappy with him taking the lead and getting all the attention, rolling her eyes with a sigh while crossing her arms.
I nod. “Sounds good.”
More people hum in agreement or nod.
“It’s stupid, but it might work.”
“Y’know what? It sounds smart enough to work.”
“It’s actually a pretty solid idea.”
Finally, all eyes go on Kumi, who is the last one to need to agree. With a deep, prolonged sigh, she turns to Daku.
“Fine. Let’s use your idea.”
Daku smiles softly.
“Thank you.”
“Whatever. I don’t care.”
Zametora claps his hands. Daku turns to him.
“So, what are the groups, then?”
Once the groups are established, so are the rules. Nobody is allowed to go anywhere without their group following them, except for their own dormitory, which can be carefully locked at any time. They even have to wait outside the bathroom while the person that goes does their thing. They may talk to other groups, or even individually with just one or two members, as long as their groups are close enough to them.
The groups don’t exactly please everyone. My own – Daku, Iruma, Midori and I – gets along just fine. Although it is a bit exhausting with Midori always talking our ears off, she’s a kind girl and it’s obvious she has nothing but good intentions, so the time spent with her is bearable. However, the others aren’t quite as understanding with each other…
For one, the groups that include Kyuji and Kumi are full of tension. I can sense this when passing by them. Kumi is grouped with Osoro, Saeko and Maka, and they all seem tense around her because of her sour attitude. Whenever we pass by each other, I hear Saeko mumble about how somebody should shut Kumi up, and Osoro agree with a nod. Meanwhile, Kyuji is grouped with Otohiko, Toga and Yaku; Yaku’s nervousness around him is clear by his device constantly whirring and buzzing with fear.
The risky proposal Kyuji made – him offering to kill someone – is still hanging in the air, and not just with his group. It’s not just Yaku that’s afraid… And Kumi is not quite helping either.
There is one point in which her and I cross paths while our groups eat in the cafeteria…
“We shouldn’t trust Kyuji anymore,” she says while sipping her tea. She’s hanging out with me near a countertop, while the rest of both of our groups hang out at a kitchen table near us. They’re far enough as to not hear us, but close enough to act if one of us decides to get violent.
I raise an eyebrow. “Why not?”
She scoffs incredulously. “You’re not seriously asking me that, are you?” She lowers her tone, as if afraid someone will hear our conversation. “He said he would kill someone. I can’t believe how relaxed his group is around him when his words still…” She doesn’t finish her sentence. I hate to say it, but I understand what she’s getting at. Still, I shake my head.
“As long as Kyuji is being constantly supervised by Toga and Otohiko, he won’t do anything.”
“And why do you say that as if you know him?”
“Because he knows them.” I sip my tea, pausing to think for another moment. “With Daku’s groupings, I really think—”
Kumi laughs, short and mocking. “I know you admire Daiki, Riku, but he can make bad decisions as well…”
I frown. “What is that supposed to mean?”
But Kumi doesn’t say anything more, because Maka comes up to us to tell her how badly she needs to go to the bathroom, and the conversation is over.
The other two groups seem to get along fine. They’re made of the pairs of brothers – Gema, Budo, Geiju and Shoku – and the unmistakable trio and a fourth wheel – Kaga, Zametora, Tsuruzo and Enpitsu. They seem to have found common ground, so I can’t say I’m worrying about them… Gema and Budo talk amongst themselves, Geiju and Shoku do, too, while Tsuruzo and Enpitsu, the artists, converse about their respective forms of art. I hear them going on and on whenever we cross paths.
Kumi’s words linger in my head, and I wonder if she’s told anyone else what she’s thinking, too. Saeko has been intently eyeing Kyuji as of lately; Zametora averts his gaze whenever he sees him; Iruma quickly continues talking with Midori if Kyuji heads in his direction; and Geiju simply ignores him, not saying a word back to him.
Behind his back, I can hear them talking.
“I don’t know if we can still trust him,” Saeko once whispers to Osoro.
“Is it wise to put him in a group with two of his closest friends?” Zametora asks Kaga. “What if he decides to kill Shiraishi? They’ll just cover for him.”
“I think we should stop mentioning him,” Iruma tells Midori when she asks about him.
“Untrustworthy,” Geiju simply shakes his head and carries on with the conversation.
Their paranoia gets to the rest of their groups as well. When the brothers cross paths with Enpitsu and the trio, Enpitsu whispers something to Gema that makes the latter’s eyes widen. Maka talks with Iruma and Midori without Daku and I hearing, and the two always come back shaken, especially wary around Kyuji again. Shoku shakes his head when passing by Kyuji, a look of distrust on his face that Geiju shares. Even Budo, a person I thought for sure would see past the rumours so unceremoniously shared by everyone else, quickly ends his conversation with him.
Only a few people stop to talk to him. Kumi is among them, and I can tell without hearing her and just looking at her from a distance that her words are cutting and sharp – I cannot understand, then, for the life of me, why she has these conversations in the first place. Osoro stops for a bit, too, but no more than five minutes, as does Midori, while Iruma intently listens. Zametora seems to threaten him, because Tsuruzo has to reassuringly pat his shoulder and have Kaga help him distract him. The longest conversations he’s held have been with Geiju, Saeko, Kumi and his own group, but none of them seem truly meaningful. It’s not like I can tell just from looking at them or overhearing about it, but…
…I feel like nobody truly understands Kyuji in these times.
It is near dinner time when my group and Kyuji’s cross paths in the dining hall, and Kyuji and I both go grab a snack from the refrigerator. The refrigerator is in a smaller room inside the dining hall, but still hidden behind an extra door. In other words, it’s just me and Kyuji for at least a couple of minutes.
“O-oh, sorry, after you,” Kyuji bows slightly after our hands nearly touch trying to open the refrigerator door.
I smile softly. “Thank you.”
I quickly take a can of soda I’d been eyeing since that morning, then leave the door open for him to take whatever he needs. Kyuji takes a small container of macarons and closes the refrigerator door.
Silence falls on us as he quietly eats his macarons. I drink my soda without looking at him. Without realizing it, I feel like the rumours have affected me too, for I feel more nervous around him.
Kyuji no doubt senses this, because his next words come out firmly, but softly.
“Riku, I swear to God, I’m not going to harm anyone, especially not you of all people. You don’t have to be so scared around me.”
I look at him and put my soda on the countertop as he averts my gaze, clearly flustered with his own words.
“I-I’m not—” But I can’t exactly disagree with what he said. I sigh, trying to gather my thoughts. “I mean… Yes, I am nervous around you, but…” I think of an excuse to make, but as the seconds pass by, Kyuji realizes I have nothing else to add and sighs softly.
“I mean, I brought this on myself, didn’t I?” He chuckles sadly, crossing his arms as if hugging himself to give himself courage. “I told everyone I’d kill to save them, and now, they all hate me.”
“To save them?” I frown.
“I mean,” Kyuji looks at me, “you don’t think I said that just to tell on myself? I’m stupid, but I’m not that stupid.” He smiles sadly. “The truth is, I just… I…”
He sighs. Whatever he is about to say isn’t easy for him to admit, and the fact that he’s telling me makes me weirdly happy. I give him as much time as he needs to gather his thoughts.
“I want Toga, Otohiko and Saeko to make it out alive,” he finally says, looking up at me with newfound confidence in his stance. “To make it back to their families, other friends… You know, we’re not just a trio, the guys and I – we have another friend back home, but he never became an Ultimate.” He sighs. “The poor sod, Hazu… I miss him so, so much. He and the boys mean the world to me; especially Toga, who’s…”
He trails off, but I give him an understanding smile. He doesn’t finish the sentence after returning my smile, but I feel different as he continues talking, as if there’s a different meaning to our classmate relationship now.
“The point is… I don’t really care that much for myself.” He grins. “I know I’m, like, top of the media and stuff, along with Saeko and Enjiro, but I literally could not care less. It’s not even what I want to do, the whole trends thing? I mean, what even is it for?”
I frown, surprised at his confession. “You… don’t like your Ultimate?”
Kyuji laughs. “No! God, no, I despise it, actually. You know what I actually like to do?” He smiles, his eyes sparkling. “It’s silly, but I like to collect stuff. My Ultimate was almost based on that, did you know? The Ultimate Collector.”
“…Wow,” is all I am able to say.
How long has Kyuji been hiding this? And why is he finding the courage to tell me, of all people, right now, of all times?
He laughs seeing me so puzzled, and nods. “Yes, yes, I know. It’s surprising to hear. But… I was never really into the whole social media thing.” He shrugs. “My parents are big in the industry. My mom is a worldwide known singer that started from posting covers online, and my dad is an actor whose career started by posting skits.” He scoffs. “But that stuff, like…isn’t what I want to do at all. I like to collect my stupid figurines and rocks and plants and no more than that. Screw social media! What’s it good for anyways? All I ever get is death threats.”
He laughs, but this laugh is tired, bitter.
“If I don’t speak up, I’m ignorant, if I do, I don’t do enough. If I suck at something while just starting to do it, I’m an idiot, but if I’m good at it, then I’m a show-off.” He smiles, tired, so, so tired. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Only Toga knows how much I hate this stuff, and how much hate I actually get. People only see me as an account, you know? Never as a person. If they don’t like my video, they just start calling me slurs.”
He sighs.
“Spreading hate is easier from behind a computer screen.”
I know exactly how Kyuji feels. This is exactly how I’m treated, too, and how no doubt other Ultimates are treated as well. Because I’m from the second wealthiest family of Japan, everyone thinks I should die simply for being a millionaire, not caring to wonder if I really want this wealth, if I didn’t just rather be admitted into Hope’s Peak for an actual ability rather than what I was born into, what I didn’t get to choose.
A silent understanding passes between us. Although I’ve barely said a word, Kyuji can see just from a single glance that this is how I feel, too. This is how both of us feel, it’s something that we have in common. It puts me at ease, the fact that somebody except Daku finally seems to understand me, and it makes me wonder why I never had the patience or courage to sit down with Kyuji and ask him how he feels about this whole thing, what he thinks about everyone’s stance on him, both out there, and in here.
He smiles sadly, as if reading my mind. “Now, people are avoiding me because I offered to protect them. I became the thing I swore to destroy. It’s funny,” he chuckles, and I can tell it’s not funny to him at all. “You’re the only one who’s actually stopped to talk to me about this.” He frowns. “Well, except…”
I raise an eyebrow. “Except who?”
As if just having realized something, Kyuji shrugs, dismissing what he just said. “N-Nobody. I was gonna say Toga, but you already knew that.”
I nod, but a sliver of doubt still remains with me. Is that really what Kyuji wanted to say? He’d simply have said Toga if that was the case. Who would he have wanted to say? I’ve only seen him talk to so many people this day, and all of them went away after not even ten minutes of conversation.
“Anyways, we should return to our groups before someone thinks I killed you back here,” Kyuji says, his tone joking, but I sense panic in his voice despite this. I nod, not wanting to cause him any problems, especially now that he’s let me in on his deepest thoughts.
Right when he’s about to open the door that leads back into the dining hall, I grab his arm, and he quizzically turns towards me.
“Thank you for telling me about what’s been on your mind, Kyuji,” I tell him, trying to make my smile as genuine as possible, so he can tell how much this means to me.
He smiles back at me, soft and sweet. “Thank you for listening, Riku. Sorry for just… putting all that weight on you, but I really needed to get it off my chest.”
“Well, I’m glad you could trust me.”
Kyuji grins. “What can I say? You’re a trustworthy guy.”
All twenty of us eat dinner together at the end of the day. Most of us stay quiet, although others, like Midori and Maka, launch into conversation and talk our ears off. I can visibly sense Kumi’s discomfort, but with her constantly changing opinions and statements, I have no idea if I should be pleased about her negative emotions or feel bad for her.
Meanwhile, Daku is making sure everyone was okay with their groups and doesn’t want to change, but everybody keeps quiet, knowing tomorrow is the last day they will have to put up with this anyways.
“So,” Kumi speaks, after having finished her meal, a soup she had prepared herself. “We are less than 24 hours away from certain doom.”
It’s actually even less than that. With Info-Chan’s announcement having been made somewhere around noon, we probably don’t even have 20 hours left. However, nobody mentions this – wisely so, since Kumi doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.
“Daiki,” she speaks, eyeing Daku, “are you still confident in your plan?”
Involuntarily, my eyes turn to him. I can see everyone else has their gaze on him as well. But Daku doesn’t crumble under the pressure, replying with a nod, “Very much. I believe that we are set for success.”
Shoku sighs, leaning on his hand. “I hope so…”
Maka also worriedly nods. “Maka is scared, but…” She nods again, trying to determine her own self. “Maka knows Daiki has made a good plan!”
Gema nods, speaking mouthful. “We’re all puttin’ our trust in you, man.”
Budo shakes his head at his brother’s manners, but nods at his words. “We all trust you, Daku. We wouldn’t be here if otherwise.”
Otohiko nods. “Y-you are honorable, a-and we thank you for your guidance.”
Daku smiles softly, but doesn’t thank them. I can’t tell if it’s because he’s too shy or too modest to reply, but he simply resumes eating.
Kumi spares him another glare before sitting up. “I will be going to my room now. I’ll see you all tomorrow for the mandatory two hours we must spend together.”
“Don’t worry, Kumi,” Gema interjects. “You don’t have to announce that you’re leaving, since nobody will miss you anyway.”
Budo can’t help the snort that escapes him, making him spit out a bit of his food. Enpitsu amusedly grins at Gema.
Kumi smiles at Gema as well, but her own gesture is full of venom. “I’ll make sure to add that to your eulogy, shall we host a funeral for you once you die, Masuyama.”
Gema scoffs and rolls his eyes as Kumi leaves. “Prick…” I can hear him murmur.
“Pay her no mind,” Daku says. “She’s as scared as the rest of us.”
“Well, she’d be better off showing it instead of insulting all of us,” Osoro scoffs.
“I understand you,” Daku nods, “but Kumiko seems to have a more… unconventional way of expressing her emotions.”
“Death threats are definitely not a valid way of expressing emotions,” Saeko rolls her eyes. “Honestly, if one of us does decide to kill, Kumi should be the first option—”
“Such thoughts create nothing but havoc in our environment, Saeko,” Daku warns. His tone is calm, but I can sense the severity in it, almost like a stern teacher giving a talking to a student who had said a curse word. “You are allowed to dislike her, hate her, even, like most, if not all of you do, but don’t let such thoughts escape your lips – not only does it make you automatically suspicious, it just makes everyone more tense, too.” He looks at each of us. “If we want to survive our time here, we mustn’t let such venomous thoughts out of our head. Journal if you must, or talk to a very close one, if they are amongst us, but don’t poison our air with them.” Softly, he turns to her. “Understand?”
Saeko nods, and she almost looks ashamed. “Yeah. Yeah, I get it. Sorry. I just get ahead of myself…”
Kyuji understandingly smiles at her. “Don’t we all…”
“It’s very kind of you to want even a person as bad as Kumiko to be protected by insults, Daiki,” Shoku smiles kindly at him. “You are admirable.” Geiju nods at his words.
Daku shakes his head. “It’s not about Kumiko. It’s about us. We’re a team.”
Toga nods enthusiastically. “Damn right! And we’re gonna get out of here!” He happily grins at Kyuji and Otohiko, his dearest friends. “We’ll be unscathed by the end of Info-Chan’s stupid little game!”
Kyuji nods. “We’ll be just fine as long as we stick together.”
Although people visibly share Toga’s enthusiasm and hope, I can see them suddenly turn more wary when Kyuji speaks up. I almost instantly forget the only people in this room who know his struggles are Toga and I, because I almost stand up and yell at everyone, ready to defend him. Taking a deep breath, I try to remind myself this is not the time nor the place.
It’s a bit harder to remind myself of that when I overhear Osoro mutter, “Yeah, and as long as you’re sticking in the corner of the room to not gouge someone’s heart out.”
“Wh-what?”
Kyuji’s rightfully taken aback, but Osoro doesn’t miss a beat.
“You heard me. I may be the delinquent here, but you’re the guy confessing to your murderous urges.”
“What did I just say?” Daku gently asks.
“Screw your lessons of friendship, man!” Osoro spits out. “I’ve got enough friends to last me a lifetime, and they’re waiting for me out there, in the real fucking world – here? I’m just waiting to be killed by one of you! By Demizu, or Kyuji, or whomever the fuck!”
“Kyuji won’t kill anyone!” I jump in.
“And how do you know that?” Osoro barks. “You think you can read people’s minds, rich boy? You think you can read behind a façade, behind a warm, inviting smile? All you are and all you’ll ever be is a nepo baby who got lucky to be admitted into an academy of prestige – you don’t know shit about the real world, and you definitely don’t know shit about anyone living in it!”
At this point, I can’t control myself.
I can’t sit down.
I can’t keep my tone even.
I stand up, my nails digging into the table, and yell at Osoro.
I don’t exactly know what I yell. There’s something in there about how she should keep her mouth shut about people she doesn’t know. Something about how she’s not the only one with this problem, how Kumi and Zametora and Geiju and Saeko and literally everyone should just shut up if they only want to give into despair. Something about how if she keeps this up, she’ll be just as hated as Kyuji currently is, and as Kumi has been since the start.
I don’t tell them anything Kyuji told me. I don’t swear. I don’t blame Daku, or Toga, or Otohiko, or Kyuji, because they haven’t done anything but be helpful and kind.
But, by the end of my outburst, Osoro storms out of the room, quickly followed by Saeko. Saeko says something about how Osoro may be the Ultimate Delinquent Gang Leader, but I’m the one acting like a delinquent. Zametora doesn’t even spare me a glance as he leaves, Kaga insulting me in four different languages that I don’t even know, Tsuruzo dramatically flipping his hair. Geiju scoffs and says more words than I thought he could, all of them nasty and cutting, and Shoku does nothing to stop him.
One by one, every single person except for Daku, Kyuji, Toga and Otohiko leaves, saying how I’m the problem, how I’m the reason everything is so tense, how I should just let myself get killed by Kyuji if I’m going to keep being like this.
I understand now what Kyuji meant when he said he became the thing he swore to destroy, because, as I watch everyone leave, overcome by despair and hatred, when all I wanted was for people to feel hope and be friends, I can’t help but succumb to my darkest feelings.
I’m kneeling on the ground. I don’t know when that happened, but I feel Daku and Kyuji pulling me back up. Daku says something I can’t make out. Kyuji pats my back, but I barely feel it. Toga shakes his head – I can hear his tone is grateful, but I can’t hear his words. Otohiko nods at whatever he had just said.
“We should get some sleep.”
The first sentence I can hear is the one to end the conversation, and it’s said by Daku. I manage to look at him, and he smiles softly, but sadly. He doesn’t blame me for what happened, despite what he said to Osoro just seconds before I went off, and it hurts more than if he had.
When we walk together to our dorms, Kyuji and I are the last ones that enter ours. We sit next to each other, each at the door of their own room, seeing how we’re neighbours. He sighs, resting his back against the wall.
“Tomorrow’s the day.”
I nod.
“I still won’t kill anyone, by the way.”
I nod again.
“In fact, I’d rather be the one that dies, at this point.”
I frown. I finally look at him, finally properly registering the world around me.
“What?”
Kyuji just shrugs.
“If it’s to save Toga, Otohiko, Daku and you, then… So be it. What does my life matter in comparison with yours, anyways?” He smiles. “I’m just some stupid social media star. You have the power to change the world with your wealth, Toga with his words, Otohiko with his care and Daku with his guidance. Whereas I’m just—”
I put my hand on his shoulder, abruptly stopping his train of thought and making him trail off, forgetting such self-deprecating thoughts. He stares at me, curious and confused, as I try to think of something to say.
“Don’t say that.” My words are firm, but gentle. “You’re valuable. Your Ultimate doesn’t define you, especially not when you didn’t even want it.” I frown. “If you died… You wouldn’t have the power to change it after getting out of this place.”
Kyuji’s eyes suddenly light up. “Change…my Ultimate?”
“And your image!” I add, happy to see him even just slightly hopeful. “You’re a talented guy. You said you’d prefer to be known for your collections, so why not become known for that? When you get out of here, you can change your whole life around. You won’t have to be the Ultimate Trend-Setter anymore!”
Kyuji smiles, looking at me as if at an angel. “You’re…you’re right. I don’t have to be what the world wants me to be. I can…” He grins widely. “I can be whatever the hell I want!”
I smile. “Exactly! Screw the world – what you want is more important than whatever career they want you to have! Life is too short to live it for other people, you know.”
With newfound determination, Kyuji gets up on his feet. “Yeah… Yeah! You’re right! You’re totally right! I don’t want to do this, so why would I?”
Out of nowhere, he hugs me. Happily, I hug him back.
“Thank you, Riku. Thank you for…listening to me and for cheering me up.” He grins at me as he lets go. “It means a lot to me.”
I pat his shoulder. “I just want to see you happy.”
Kyuji smiles, and I swear I can see him tear up slightly. “You’re a great guy, Riku. I hope you realize that.”
I smile. “I hope you realize that about yourself, too.”
He hugs me again before we part ways, and this time I can feel him sob against my shoulder, relieved and happy to finally be understood by someone else.
The next day, Daku, Kyuji, Toga, Otohiko and I meet up in front of my dorm and walk together to the gymnasium, where we had all agreed to meet the previous day. Kumi was already there.
The first thing I notice is the addition of tables. To have tables in the gymnasium seems a poor living space choice, and I’m confused about their addition – it’s definitely a coded message from Info-Chan, but we’ll have time to ask her about it when she inevitably shows up.
The room starts to fill up a few minutes later. Shoku and Geiju come in first, talking about whatever. Geiju almost trips over an object, and picks it up, confused. When Budo and Gema enter the room, Gema is frantically searching his pockets for something. Geiju goes up to him and says a word or two, handing him the object he had picked up, which I realize, by the shape of it, is Gema’s personal tablet. With a thankful grin, Gema takes it.
Midori, Iruma and Maka arrive as a group despite having been in two different groups the other day. As they pass by my own little group, I hear them arguing over which chocolate – milk, dark, or white – is the best, each of them on a different side of the argument. Midori, unsurprisingly, likes milk chocolate, Maka, dark, and Iruma voted for white.
Yaku arrives alongside Enpitsu. His visor is oddly quiet, a relaxed expression on it that I hadn’t thought he’d be capable of in these times. Him and Enpitsu stay around the centre of the room. Kaga, Tsuruzo and Zametora come in, paying nobody else any attention as they talk about ways to escape and where they would go after doing so, and stand in a further away corner. Saeko and Osoro arrive last, keeping their distance from me and my newfound group. They’re both quiet as mice.
I don’t know if it’s because of me, Kyuji or both, but I can feel everyone’s hateful glares linger on us. As if to protect us, Toga, Otohiko and Daku surround Kyuji and I, trying to form a barricade around us, take us away from prying, hateful eyes. The tension is thick – people whisper and spread rumours as if their lives depend on it. In hindsight, they probably feel like their lives do depend on this.
Sensing my paranoia and self doubt, Daku slips his hand in mine. I look at him, and he offers me a soft smile.
“Ignore them. Just less than an hour and we’ll be safe and sound, and everyone will see neither you or Kyuji had it in yourselves to kill.”
I hadn’t even realized how time passed, with everyone staring at me so intensely…
I manage to smile at him. “Thank you.”
Toga interjects. “You know, they’re not all talking about you. I overheard some people, they’re all worried about Info-Chan just… dropping a bomb on us or something in the last second for defying her.”
Kyuji snorts. “Info-Chan is not as stupid as to kill all of us – she would lose the despair she so desperately wants.”
Daku chuckles. “Was that pun intended?”
I raise an eyebrow, slightly loosening up. “That wasn’t a pun. It was a repetition.”
Daku gives me a playful shove. “Hey, I’m the Occult genius, not the half-British English genius.”
I grin. “You think I’m a genius?”
Daku rolls his eyes at me. “I’m not going to answer that.”
Kyuji, Toga and Otohiko exchange meaningful glances, but Daku and I don’t pay them any attention. I realize then that most of the others had started to move towards the side of the room – curiously, near the tables, probably for the convenience of sitting down on them – and we decide to join them there as well. We move towards them as we talk.
“You’re still flattering me, years later,” I smile at Daku.
“And I’m already regretting it…”
“Regretting what?” Midori perks up in curiosity, already sitting on a table, swinging her legs, as per my suspicions.
“Ever adding onto Riku’s ego,” Daku provides.
I snort. “Excuse me, ego?”
“Hey, Riku has no ego!” Kyuji laughs at Daku, who smiles at him. “If he did, he wouldn’t have been so nice to me!”
“People can be deceitful…” Daku shakes his head, so gravely I know it’s a joke. “What they display on the outside isn’t always their true nature…”
Kumi looks between Daku and I, as well as between Kyuji, Toga and Otohiko. Her face is twisted into one of her usual glares at she intently eyes Daku – but, throughout the façade, I feel another feeling other than hatred emerge: fear.
“Daiki, I need to talk to you.”
Daku frowns at Kumi. “What? Now?”
Kumi nods. “Now.”
He looks from her to me, to her to me, to her to me again. I just shrug. Daku glances at the librarian.
“Is there a problem?”
Seeing her this tense is concerning. She nods, to my surprise, trembling slightly.
“There is.” Her voice is firm, but that’s not the fact that surprises me. The shakiness of it does. “Listen carefully, I saw—”
Her sentence finishes with a yelp, a yelp shared by most others. Some of them yell or shout or scream instead, but they all share Kumi’s sentiment, because the reason she yelped in the first place—
Was that the lights cut out.
In the few seconds that follow, I hear footsteps and worried voices, some of which I recognize and some of which I cannot for the life of me make out. Thuds roar through the gym; the sound of people tripping on the new furniture.
“Wh-who turned off the lights? M-Maka doesn’t like the dark!”
“I don’t either—Maka, follow my voice!”
“I-I’ll try—”
“Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit—Budo, where the fuck are you, Budo?!”
“I-I’m close, Gema! I-I think I am…?”
“G-Geiju—?”
“W-we’re going to die… We’re going to die… WE’RE GOING TO DIEEE!!!”
“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!”
“H-hey—!”
I try to call out as well. “D-Daku? Kyuji? Toga? Where are you?”
“I’m right here!” Daku calls out to me, the only voice I can properly recognize.
Someone else answers, possibly Toga. “Riku! Shit, can you follow my voice?”
I can’t hear Kyuji or Otohiko, and my heart pounds harder at this realization.
“This… can’t be the end…!”
But it is the end, because the lights come back on, and the footsteps and voices cease.
I look around me and almost instinctively do a body count. Daku is right next to me, as are Toga and Otohiko, and a few people just around me. I realize that, in horror, they are all looking at the ground. I turn there and—
A blood-curdling scream reaches my ears before I can even process the gruesome image in front of me.
“N-no…” The words escape my lips before I can think them through. “No, no, no, no, th-this can’t… N-no…!”
The person who had screamed – Toga – falls on the ground, tears already spilling down his cheeks as he wails like a wounded animal.
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”
Otohiko covers his mouth, then his whole face, as he begins shaking with horrified sobs, falling down next to Toga. Saeko looks away with a yelp, and Osoro immediately cradles her in her arms, helping her avert her gaze.
Before us is a corpse.
The corpse…
…of Kyuji Konaka.
* Ding dong, bing bong *
“…A body has been discovered!”
Some of us raise their heads to look above us, as if we could spot Info-Chan floating above us, but the majority can’t tear their eyes away from the gruesome scene before us.
“After a certain amount of time,” Info-Chan provides, “the class trial will begin!”
A body…
The class trial…
The information swims around in my head. My surroundings blur together. My head feels like it’s spinning.
Kyuji…
Kyuji…has died…
Despite everything…
Despite everything he wanted to do…
Despite everything he was yet to try…
Despite everything I’ve said to him…
Kyuji…
Kyuji is…
“YOU!!!”
I’m ripped out of my thoughts by Toga’s voice. I whip my head up to see him pinning Kumi to the wall. Her eyes widened, her face paler than ever, she looks like a deer caught in headlights, and not at all like…well, Kumi.
There’s another detail that sticks out about her now, that wasn’t there before the blackout: she is covered in blood.
“YOU DID THIS! I KNOW YOU DID! YOU FUCKING PSYCHOPATH, HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU KILL HIM?!?!”
“C-calm down! I swear I didn’t lay a hand on him—!” Kumi’s voice shakes, and I can basically smell the fear on her.
“YOU FUCKING LIAR! ALL YOU DO IS LIE AND HURT PEOPLE, THAT’S ALL YOU CAN DO—YOU KILLED HIM, SAY IT! SAY YOU KILLED HIM!”
I cover my face and ears, unable to process anything, unable to listen to Toga’s pained screams, unable to—
My face…
My face is wet.
I tear my hands away from it in shock.
My hands…
…they’re…!
“T-Toga…”
Otohiko whimpers through sobs, his eyes wide and red. Toga turns to him.
“What?!”
With shaky hands, Otohiko points at a few people. Toga’s gaze, as well as everyone else’s, mine included, follows his finger.
Iruma…
…Osoro…
…Saeko…
…Zametora…
…Geiju…
…Kumi…
…and then me…
…all share something in common.
As I look at my hands, at each of their stained outfits… I realize what that something is.
We are all covered in blood.
More than that, at Kyuji’s side…
…is a bloody baseball bat.
“N-no…” Toga whispers. “No, no, no, no, no…”
This murder is not just a simple case, with an obvious killer and an easy deduction…
We have seven suspects to deal with…
…myself included.
Otohiko faints.
“WELCOME TO DESPAIR”
PART 1.5 OF THHYSAU – END
SURVIVING STUDENTS: 19
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
that was awesome!! didn’t cry at all while making this!!!! why would i!!!!!!!!
hey guys isn’t it so cool how kyuji is a survivor and gets to go back to hazu alongside toga and otohiko and change his ultimate :3 woo :3
Chapter 7: 1.6 - the investigation
Summary:
Riku undergoes a lengthy investigation with the occasional hint from Daku or Kumi. Toga and Yaku pledge their loyalty to him, Tsuruzo tells him about everyone’s dialogue, Midori breaks the fourth wall, and a conversation between Saeko and Osoro may be the breakthrough Riku needs in the case.
Notes:
sorry for not updating this my interest in danganronpa died and then the friend that gave me literally every hc i’ve ever had about yansim turned out to have been faking their identity for 1.5 years and that made my interest in yansim die but how are YOU doing
i’ve also gotten back into other interests. and into new ones. (gestures at the six deadpool fics & the mini sanders sides/intrulogical series.) but another friend invited me to a chill ys rp server and that eventually reminded me that hey. i still had this chapter written.
and yea this is probably the last ever update for the fic. there’s also the trial (obviously) which i’ve barely written anything for. there’s maybe like a fifth or sixth of it ready but i doubt i’ll ever find the motivation, inspiration AND want to continue this. i have so many ideas for other projects, original and not, and this is at the veeeeeeery bottom of my list.
so yea. bid your farewell to akademi: hope & despair with this chapter! today!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“This… can’t be real…”
“I don’t…”
“Th-this is…!”
The numerous exclamations around me describe my feelings more than I can. Only fear controls me as I look at the body of someone who was my friend just minutes ago.
Kyuji Konaka…
…a kind and honest person, who wanted nothing more than to be seen for himself, and to keep us safe, despite nobody trusting him…
He was the kind of person that would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat for those he loved…
…why him…?
Why did it have to be him?
My whole body is rigid as I watch Toga sob by his corpse.
I can’t do anything.
I can’t move.
I can’t breathe.
I can’t…
“I thought…” Daku whispers next to me. “I thought I could…”
The disappointment and pain in his voice is like no other. Standing there, he looks completely and utterly helpless. I know what he’s feeling—this was Daku’s plan, after all. To stand here in our last two hours before the deadline, together, so nothing could happen. And something did happen.
Somebody killed Kyuji.
And that somebody…
…is either Iruma, Osoro, Saeko, Geiju, Zametora or Kumi, all six covered in blood, looking at the body in shock and horror.
But it’s not just them that are suspicious. Everybody looks at them, taking turns to examine them, eyeing them up and down, but…
…they’re looking at me, too.
Because I, just like them…quite literally have blood on my hands.
For a while, none of us can say a thing. Quietly, Toga wakes Otohiko up, which takes way less than I would have thought. The only sounds are Otohiko’s muffled sobs against Toga’s chest, Saeko’s soft sighs of sadness at her rumoured boyfriend, and the tapping of feet as Daku and Kumi try to regain their composure and think.
Without realizing, another sound appears: that of my own quiet sobs and hiccups. As I stare at Kyuji’s body, everything that we talked about the day before comes crashing down on me. His words swim around in my head. His determined smile is buried in my retinas. All the hope he had…
…only to be turned into despair…
…and eventually, death…
What cruel person could have done this…?
I want to blame Info-Chan, I really do…
…but…seeing everyone around me so uneasy, and six people splashed with blood…
I realize, Info-Chan only laid out the rules.
It was up to one of us to act.
And somebody…
…did.
“Well…”
Kumi is the one to speak. All eyes turn to her.
“What now?”
We all look at each other. Info-Chan had said something about a class trial, hadn’t she? Trying to figure out what that could mean for us, we stare each other down in confusion, each seeking answers from the person next to them—
“Investigate, you bozos!!”
In front of us emerges Info-Chan. She is standing a bit too close to the body, so she lets out an exclaim of disgust and steps to the side.
“We gotta do a class trial, don’t we?!”
“A class…trial…?” Otohiko murmurs.
“Wh-what is that supposed to mean?” Saeko’s eyes are wide open in fear.
Info-Chan rolls her eyes. “You teenagers are so superficial. Always asking ‘what’, ‘why’, ‘when’—” She dramatically groans. “Just let me finish the damn sentence before opening your mouth! Look, obviously, I can’t just look at you and say, ‘Congrats, you murdered someone and nobody saw, you get a pass!’, can I?”
“Well, that’d defy the whole purpose of this being entertaining to you,” Zametora rolls his eyes.
“Exactly! See, you get it, suspect!” Info-Chan grins at him. “So, no, I’m not just gonna let the killer go!”
Iruma sighs. “Of course you aren’t.”
Osoro shakes her head. “You’re fucked, man, you’re fucked.”
“I think we already figured that one out,” Saeko murmurs.
“We are gonna have a CLASS TRIAL!! YIPPEEEEE!!”
Kumi raises an eyebrow. “Which would mean…?”
“Everyone will gather together, including the blackened, AKA the person who committed the murder!” Info-Chan grins happily. Her smile lets us know that this is all pleasing her, entertaining her to no end. “You will all engage in a big debate showdown! During the trial, you will have to present your arguments as to who you think the blackened is, and once the trial ends, the outcome will be decided by popular vote!”
“That…doesn’t sound so hard,” Budo voices a hopeful thought.
Info-Chan, however, grins at him. “Pfft! You think that’s all?”
Geiju raises an eyebrow. “It isn’t?”
“Puhuhu, no, it’s not! What, you think I’m running Total Drama Island here?” Info-Chan grins. “I’m no amateur! Listen up, children. If the answer you’ve arrived at is correct, only the blackened will be punished, and the rest will go on with their regular school life! However, if you choose poorly… Then the one who got away with murder will survive, and the rest of you…well, not so much! As far as class trial rules go, that’s pretty much it!”
“Um…” Yaku’s visor is going wild. “What exactly is this punishment you’re talking about?”
“Yeah, I-I’d like to know too!” Midori loudly demands.
Info-Chan shrugs nonchalantly. “Oh, nothing bad, just…execution.”
“EXECUTION?!” Gema yells, taking a step back in pure shock.
“E-execution?” Maka mutters. “Th-that…means…!”
“Execution means execution!” Info-Chan growls. “Ex-e-cu-tion! Maybe I’ll drown cut you up like fruit, cha-ching, cha-ching! Or give you the electric chair, bzzt bzzt, bzzt bzzt! Tear you in half like paper! Put hundreds of spears through you! Feed you to the alligators! EX-E-CU-TION!!!”
Execution…?
N-no… That can’t be right…!
My classmates fall quiet. Everyone around me, and especially those covered in blood, look around in horror. I try to see who is more scared than the other – if Saeko’s twitching more than Iruma, if Zametora or Geiju is flinching more – but I realize the same fear has overcome all of us, regardless of our innocence status, regardless of whether or not we’re covered in blood.
“Let me see if I got this right,” Toga frowns, voice wavering despite his intimidating facial expression. “If we get it right, then only the culprit is executed… But if we get it wrong…it’s all of our lives on the line?”
“Yeppity yeppers! Ain’t you a clever one?” Info-Chan grins. “Ooh, and the way you said it like that, implying it wasn’t you! That’s just the cherry on top.”
Toga takes a step back, bewildered and furious. “Wh-why the fuck would I want to kill my own boyfriend?!”
Info-Chan shrugs. “I dunno. Despair? That’s what this whole thing is about anyways. Maybe you thought that killing someone who already trusted you so much would just get you a faster ticket out of here.”
Toga growls. “Listen here—”
Otohiko puts his hand on Toga’s shoulder, snapping him out of his anger. His eyes widening, Toga looks back at Otohiko. He looks so tired, so done with this whole thing already. He barely makes eye contact with Otohiko before collapsing in his arms, and Otohiko hugs him tightly.
While Otohiko hugs him, I properly register Toga’s words. The people around me, all except for Otohiko and Saeko, look just as, if not even more confused than before.
Did Toga just say that…Kyuji was his boyfriend?
“Well,” Info-Chan coughs, “I’m gonna leave, then. Good luck with your investigation—!”
“Hold on just a second!” Daku demands.
Info-Chan stops dead in her tracks with a loud, dramatic groan, almost like a teenager sighing at being scolded by their parents. “Whaddya want now, emo?”
“How will you know who did it?”
In the panic and chaos that was created… I now realize this question was never answered. How on Earth does Info-Chan know who killed Kyuji if she wasn’t even here…?
Info-Chan scoffs. “I have cameras all over the place, bozo. Not to mention they can all work and capture video in the dark, too!”
“So you know who killed Kyuji?” Kumi raises an eyebrow.
“Of course I do!” Info-Chan rolls her eyes. “You didn’t think I’d just make something up?” She eyes the main suspects and I with a grin, then turns to the rest of us. “Just figure it out and we’ll meet at the trial. Oh, and by the way, I’ll give you a little gift to set off your investigation once you begin. Buh-byeee!”
She disappears as quickly as she appeared, leaving us in doubt once again.
I look at Kyuji’s corpse, and then at the six other people covered in blood. Each of them looks at the other suspects, sparing me a glance as well, and then at those they had gotten closer with.
Kumi nods. “Let’s get started, then.”
“N-now?” Otohiko murmurs.
“If not now, when?” Kumi raises an eyebrow. “Who knows how much time Info-Chan shall give us to investigate? We must get started right away.”
This…
Anger bubbles up inside me at Kumi’s words.
How…?
How can she not care that he’s dead?
“N-no.”
Kumi shoots her head up to look at me.
“No?” she scoffs.
No?
Why am I saying no?
Of course I want to bring Kyuji’s killer to justice! Of course I want my friend’s murderer to be punished!
So, why…?
…
…it’s because…
…I can’t even process this.
I just met Kyuji a week ago, befriended him yesterday, and now, all of a sudden, he’s dead, and I have to investigate his crime scene…? I barely even got to know him, but I have to look at his dead body and figure out who caused his death?
What kind of sick and twisted joke is this…?
But the others don’t understand my thought process. Daku is the only one who seems to throw me a soft glance, and Otohiko one that is not totally full of fear, but Kumi…
“Are you telling on yourself by not allowing us to search the crime scene? Is this how bad you are at committing a crime?”
“Wh-what?! No, that’s not—!”
Whatever shred of empathy Kumi had shown these past few days disappear with that simple regard. She doesn’t bother to analyze my fearful expression, the rise and fall of my chest, the pain in my voice. She just accuses me, distrustful as always. Desperately, I look to Toga, trying to get him to disagree with Kumi and jump to my defence, but…
…he simply crosses his arms and looks away.
“It’s selfish of you to not want to uncover the mystery behind your friend’s death, Riku.”
His words hit me harder than any slap or punch ever could have.
Does Toga really think that I don’t care…?
“Leave him alone, Toga.” Daku’s glare is piercing. “He’s trying to process this whole situation. Perhaps he needs a minute – have you thought about that?”
Despite Daku’s imposing tone, Toga shouts back. “I need a minute, Daiki! I do, okay?” He leaves his arms at his sides, clenching his fists. “None of you cared for him as much as I did! None of you are sad that he’s gone, you’re just shocked someone’s dead! Fuck, I’m willing to bet you’re happy it was him to go and not one of your friends!”
Enpitsu sighs, shaken. “Toga…”
But Toga doesn’t listen, his tone turning mocking as he starts to tear up. “Oh, thank God it was him and not someone who could tear me in half if I looked at them the wrong way, having Shinkawa and Zametora here is gonna be so much easier on me!” Osoro and Zametora bitterly look away, Saeko worriedly glancing at Osoro, while Kaga and Tsuruzo straighten and cross their arms on each side of Zametora. “Oh, so glad Kyuji is gone and not someone who would not be able to provide a single important detail during a trial!”
Geiju exchanges worried glances with Shoku. The former reaches to touch Toga, trying to reassure him, but Toga slaps him away. “Don’t you dare fucking touch me!” He points at Geiju, yelling as loud as he can. “You’re covered in his blood! Do you expect me to trust you?”
Saeko looks at him, an expression of sadness and pity on her face. “Toga… You’re not the only one who cared for Kyuji.”
He bares her teeth at her. “Fuck you. You don’t know shit about him. The media may think you two were dating, but if I were to ask you even the most basic of questions about him, you’d need a fucking hour to even get a single clue as to what the answer is.” He looks away. “I will investigate. I will do it for him. I will do it, despite not feeling able to, because he didn’t deserve to die, and whoever did kill him—”
He looks at the suspects. He looks at Iruma, at Zametora, at Osoro, at Kumi, at Geiju, at Saeko…and at me.
“Whoever did kill him does deserve to die.”
His words cut deep, and I can see people tense or gasp as he speaks. Kumi keeps her neutral glance as Toga takes a deep breath.
“If we don’t do this… Then, I swear to God, whatever Info-Chan wants to do to us if we don’t find the killer won’t be near as worse as what I will do to you.”
He straightens and turns towards me. But I no longer see Toga.
I see just another victim of Info-Chan’s despair.
“So? What will it be?”
But I realize now… Toga is just like me. He is unable to process and grieve Kyuji’s death… But, unlike me, he will not stop to wail and cry. He is about to turn to fury and violence.
I want to give him the time and space he needs. Most importantly, I want the same thing as he does: find Kyuji’s true killer, and make sure they get what they deserve. It wouldn’t be wise to argue with Toga, with whom I’d gotten along with relatively well until now. I need to cater to his needs during these trying times for him.
So, for Toga…
…for Kyuji…
…for myself…
…and for all of my friends…
…I find the courage to speak.
“Let’s do this.”
Daku nods, then turns to Zametora.
“Zametora, how good are you with investigations like these?”
Put on the spot, all Zametora can do is frown. “Um… I don’t know, I’ve never done this before. I’m good with, like, languages and stuff, but puzzles are beyond me.”
“Good. Then you’ll guard the crime scene. We don’t want the culprit making a mess of it and stealing evidence.”
“I’m sorry?” Gema scoffs. “He’s covered in blood.”
Kumi raises an eyebrow, a smirk spreading across her face. “Take Bandoh and Tanahashi and guard it together, then. You three are innocent as far as we’re concerned, correct?”
Gema, Enpitsu and Maka exchange glances, but none of them can argue with Kumi. As people begin dispersing, they stay put.
Right, then…
…I just need to do it.
And I…
…I can do it!!
I will do this no matter what!
INVESTIGATE!
There’s a beeping sound coming from each of our pockets. Every one of us reaches to check their e-Handbook. A new notification greets us after the pop-up of our name… “Info-Chan File #1”.
“Hm,” Kumi hums. “Peculiar. It seems that Info-Chan has left us clues.”
Next to me, Daku nods. “Clues about the murder… These will be useful.”
I read over the file.
I know you lot are not cops or detectives, so I decided to let you off easy on every trial from now on by giving you these files! These will give you some nice little details about the victim’s name, time of death, state of the body, etcetera! Now then…enjoy your investigation!
– The victim was Kyuji Konaka.
– The time of death was around 12 PM.
– He was killed in the gymnasium during a blackout.
– The cause of death is trauma to the head – specifically, the face – caused by a blunt weapon. There is also an injury to his ribs, indicating that he was probably hit there as well.
– The origin of this weapon is unknown.
Info-Chan File #1 has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
As we all close out of the file, I can see each and every single one of my classmates either confused or scared. Some of them are even…unhappy.
“Seriously?!” Kumi groans. “We already knew all of this!” She puts the tablet back in her pocket. “Useless…”
Daku, however, taps his temple. “No… I don’t think it is.”
Kaga frowns as he reads over the file. “There is one important detail that we didn’t know before, so I do agree with Daiki.”
“And what would that be?” Kumi raises an eyebrow.
Kaga points at the baseball bat.
“Where did that come from?”
We all stare in silence at the baseball bat. It must no doubt be the murder weapon, lying right beside Kyuji, covered in blood. Daku crouches next to it.
“The file says its origins are unknown… Because they are unknown to us.” He looks up. “Because nobody said anything about any potential weapons in any of the meetings we had!”
Zametora nods. “That’s true… None of us even opened that topic.”
Kumi raises an eyebrow at his remark, her eyes darting around for a second, but says nothing. Instead, she turns to Daku. “My question is, where was the baseball bat during the blackout?” As Daku frowns, she continues. “Obviously, it found its way to Kyuji’s head… But where was it stashed before?”
“So,” I speak out loud, making a mental note, “we must find where the baseball bat was stashed prior to the blackout… How the person found it… And where they kept it right before the blackout.”
Kumi nods. “Correct.”
Baseball Bat History has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
As Daku and Kumi continue analyzing Kyuji’s corpse, I focus on our surroundings. I’m unsure how a blackout could have been started in the first place, and I feel like that needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
I start walking around the room, analyzing my surroundings with attention and interest. There must have been something along the wall to cause a blackout… Something like a…
…!
My gaze stops on what I was searching for: a circuit breaker, small, put up on the wall.
I timidly approach it. But as I investigate it—
“Hm.”
I flinch back, surprised to hear a voice so close to my ear. I realize Kumi is standing right next to me, analyzing the breaker just as I am, only she appears much more intrigued by it than me.
“Can you try giving me a warning next time?”
Kumi ignores me and points at the breaker.
“That’s peculiar, isn’t it?”
I look at it, trying to spot whatever Kumi is trying to show me. There are a lot of switches there, and they’re all tidily pointing up in the same direction. I can’t say I find that ‘peculiar’…
I frown. “What is it?” I’m not exactly able to tell what she finds to interesting about a bunch of switches… What does she know that I don’t?
Kumi hums. “The fact that none of these are pulled down.”
She touches some switches, not pulling them down, simply caressing her fingers along them. As she does, I try to think about what she means.
It makes no sense to me what she’s trying to imply. The more I think about it, the less of a meaning I find. I mean, it’s obvious that they aren’t pressed down… After all, the power came back on after Kyuji died, didn’t it?
But it’s clear that isn’t what Kumi is thinking about. She turns to me. “Did you see anyone close to this side of the wall right before the power went out?”
I frown, trying to recall where everyone stood in the room moments before the blackout. I remember everyone moving closer to the wall at one point… But that doesn’t tell me much. Still, when I inform Kumi of that, she hums.
“And do we know who moved first?”
I shrug. “It could have been anyone. I, for one, haven’t got a clue. You should ask around. But…” I frown. “Why does it matter?”
She ignores me and asks another question, but this one sounds more like she’s monologuing rather than dialoguing with me. “And why were the lights back on exactly after Kyuji died…? Nobody did anything to turn them back on…”
“Oh my GODDD, you are SOOO annoying!”
Kumi and I both yelp as Info-Chan appears before us. By the look on her face, she is not pleased with the many questions Kumi is asking.
“I did, okay? I turned them back on. I knew you lot are blind as bats and I wanted to do you a favor.” She sighs. “Guess this is what I get for trying to be nice…only doubt and distrust…”
“You can’t expect us to not doubt and distrust you,” I murmur.
“But…” Kumi looks her up and down. “You’re so tiny. How did you get to it? It’s eye level for me, but for you, it would be a pain to reach.”
Info-Chan grins. “My body stretches! I’m like an awesome little worm fused with a fox! Wanna see, wanna see?!”
“Disgusting, absolutely not,” Kumi frowns.
“Yeah, just imagining it makes me feel ill…” I chuckle awkwardly. “B-but thank you for your input, Info-Chan. It’s good to know nobody turned it back on. Just to confirm, though… Was it one of us that turned it off?”
“Yep, yep, yep!” Info-Chan confirms with a big grin. “One of you guys flipped the switch to turn off the power, not me!”
“Could I ask you,” Kumi frowns, “if you flipped back the other switches as well?”
“What switches?” Info-Chan tilts her head. “Only one of ‘em was flipped by one of you, and I switched it back to give you light to stretch your days and bring you fun. You’re welcome!”
“Hm… Interesting.”
I frown and turn to her. “Why is that interesting?”
Kumi taps her cheek as she speaks. “I’m still trying to piece it all together… I’ll probably figure it out before the trial, though. I’ll tell you then.”
That doesn’t give me much comfort, but I nod regardless.
Kumi’s Questions have been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
“Alrighty, I’ll leave you guys alone now!” Info-Chan bows. “If you need anything, I won’t be here! Bye-bye!” And, with that, she disappears again.
I turn to leave, but Kumi speaks up. “Oh, by the way, Riku… I have something to add about the history of the baseball bat.”
I raise an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“There are tables here.”
I turn around to see the room. Next to the breaker is a table, yes, and another few in the far corner of the room. I frown and turn back to Kumi.
“That…doesn’t help. In fact, it’s oddly ominous. How much do you truly know, Kumi? Why are you trying to make this a mystery? We should be helping each other!”
She smiles, mysterious as ever. “Just add that to your mental notes.”
Baseball Bat History has been updated in the Truth Bullets Section.
I hum as Kumi leaves my side, going to talk to Daku. Almost everyone except for a few people is in here. Besides Gema, Enpitsu and Maka being near the body, Budo is talking with the Tsuburaya siblings. Nobody seems wary of Geiju, despite him being one of the people covered in blood. I guess because of his calm nature, nobody suspects him…
I turn around to see more. There’s another suspect as well, Zametora, hanging out with Tsuruzo and Kaga as per usual. Daku is meanwhile silently analyzing Kyuji’s body for every wound and detail. He raises his head to look at Kumi when she approaches. In a corner, Toga and Otohiko whisper between themselves, occasionally looking towards Daku and Kyuji’s corpse. There’s probably only five or so of us that aren’t in this room.
I think questioning some of the suspects and their close ones will give me more insight on what’s happened… With that in mind, I approach the iconic trio.
“…pushed you out of the way.” I don’t hear the rest of Zametora’s sentence, but it’s interesting even as it is.
“Oh, I get it,” Kaga hums. “I mean, I was particularly close to Kyuji’s body when the lights turned back on. I was quite surprised there hadn’t been any blood on me.”
Tsuruzo shakes his head. “This is…so hard to deal with. How are we supposed to investigate the murder of one of us?”
Realizing the most interesting part of their conversation is over, I clear my throat. The three look in my direction. Suddenly feeling awkward with all their gazes on me, I turn to the least hostile one, Tsuruzo, and ask the first thing that comes to mind.
“Do you know anything that could be useful for the trial?”
Tsuruzo nods. “Yes, in fact, that’s what we were talking about just now.”
I frown. “Were you?”
Kaga hums. “We were talking about who said what during the blackout.”
Upon hearing this, I try my best to be useful to them. “I spoke, as well. As did Daku and Toga.”
“Yes, we’re aware,” Tsuruzo says. “I already know what everyone said, and what they did.”
Isn’t that…highly suspicious?
“How?”
“Combine Kaga’s perfect memory with my perfect hearing – and the fact that I memorized all of your voices – and you have a recipe for success.” Tsuruzo smiles.
“Okay… Can you tell me who spoke?”
“Yes, of course! Let’s see…”
“First, it was Maka and Midori.”
“Wh-who turned off the lights? M-Maka doesn’t like the dark!”
“I don’t either—Maka, follow my voice!”
“I-I’ll try—”
“Then, Gema and Budo.”
“Oh shit… oh shit… oh shit—Budo, where the fuck are you, Budo?!”
“I-I’m close, Gema! I-I think I am…?”
“Otohiko and Saeko each respectively screamed about not wanting to die…”
“W-we’re going to die… We’re going to die… WE’RE GOING TO DIEEE!!!”
“I DON’T WANT TO DIE!!”
“Kaga grunted in surprise because he was pushed out of the way by Zametora…”
“H-hey—!”
“Then it was you, Daku and Toga speaking…”
“D-Daku? Kyuji? Toga? Where are you?”
“I’m right here!”
“R-Riku! Shit, can you follow my voice?”
“And, finally, Shoku said something about how ‘this can’t be the end’.”
“This… can’t be the end…!”
Tsuruzo ends his small speech with a hum.
“Although…there is something that bothers me.”
“Which is…?”
Tsuruzo crosses his arms. “Some voices are extremely similar. There was one instance between the Masuyama brothers’ dialogue and Otohiko and Saeko’s wails where I heard Geiju’s name being muttered, but I can’t tell if it was Shoku, Kyuji or Enpitsu saying that.” He frowns. “I’m tempted to rule out Shoku because he spoke a few seconds later – he had the ending line, if you will – but that’s illogical, since Maka spoke twice…” He shakes his head. “If only I could remember where everyone could have been heard from… That would make this whole ordeal much easier.”
“There’s another thing that bothers me, though,” Kaga taps his temple, making me turn towards him in confusion.
“Huh? What would that be?”
“How did whoever said his name see Geiju in the first place?”
Eh? Wait a second…
Now that I think about it…
…it was literally pitch black the whole time…! The windows have been covered since we got here, leaving us in total darkness, and everybody was stumbling around like chickens with their heads cut off…
So how…?
“If it was Shoku,” Kaga thinks out loud, “it would make more sense. Being so accustomed to someone makes you remember more details about them. Perhaps he simply felt Geiju bump into him, recognized his warmth or smell… But for someone such as Enpitsu or Kyuji, who barely know, or knew, him…” He shakes his head. “It makes no sense.”
A thought crosses my mind, and I voice it before I can properly process it. “But…what if they did know him?”
All three of them stare at me in bewilderment.
“The fuck?” Zametora frowns, determined to make me feel bad about my train of thought for the umpteenth time. “They obviously didn’t. I don’t even think they talked… Byoga was in a group with us yesterday, and with Tanahashi, Meguro and Shiraishi at the start. He didn’t exactly have time to get all buddy-buddy with any of the Tsuburayas.” He grins. “With that gamer guy, though… Now, that’s a different story. They’re definitely becoming friends, alright…”
“Not to mention Kyuji,” Kaga agrees with a nod, however ignoring the remark about Enpitsu’s budding relationship with Gema. “At first, he was grouped with Toga, Daku and you, Riku. The other day, he was still grouped with Toga, but with Otohiko and Yaku as well instead of you and your friend.” He shakes his head, full of confidence. “He couldn’t have managed to get closer to Geiju in that time!”
Tsuruzo sighs. “I do suppose Enpitsu and Kyuji could not have recognized Geiju during a blackout…” Something flashes across his face, a slight realization. “But what about Budo and Gema?”
“What’s up with that?” Zametora frowns.
“Ah…”
Tsuruzo pauses, then chuckles awkwardly. The look is gone.
“I…don’t know where I was going with that. It was something about the pairs of siblings, but…” He chuckles again. “Sorry. I don’t really know what my point was…”
Thinking over what Tsuruzo said, realization hits me. “Hey…why did you say Kaga grunted?”
“Oh, Zametora pushed me out of the way,” Kaga says.
Zametora looks at me, crossing his arms. “You got a problem with me defending my friends, Somai?”
“No, it’s not that… Why do you say ‘defend’? Did something happen?”
Zametora hesitates, then sighs. “I’m…not sure. The killer was really close to me, I think. Physically, not emotionally,” he adds. He gestures at his clothes, which are dripping with blood. “I’m one of the people with the most blood on me, and I can sure as hell say I didn’t kill anybody, so whoever did was very close to me. But Kaga and Tsuruzo also were. Don’t you wonder why they didn’t get blood on them?”
“Uhhh…”
I look between the three. Am I supposed to ask…?
“Why?”
“Because I pushed them out of the way.” There’s a grin on his face, as if he thinks he just said something incredibly intelligent. “I sensed the danger, I heard the baseball bat swing, and I pushed them back.”
Hm… So, Kaga and Tsuruzo were pushed out of the way by Zametora… And he was close to the killer when they struck Kyuji? This might prove useful.
The Trio’s Input has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
I thank the group for their input and move on. The siblings are now dispersed in groups: Geiju is curiously watching Gema as he frantically presses buttons on his tablet; Maka and Enpitsu throw him a few distrustful looks, no doubt because of the blood splashed on him. Shoku and Budo quietly talk in a corner. I don’t want to interrupt any of them just yet, and I think I should at least try to see what Toga and Otohiko are up to, so I head in their direction.
Toga looks at me as I approach, tearing his eyes away from Kyuji’s corpse. When he meets my eye, I analyze his face. He hasn’t bothered to wipe his tears away, and they still stain his cheeks. Otohiko doesn’t look much better – in fact, he almost looks sick – but Toga crying gives me more of an impression that he does, possibly because of the good mood he had been in all the way prior to Kyuji’s death.
Unsure of what to say, but reminded of what Toga had said just minutes earlier, I manage to mutter out, “I didn’t know you and Kyuji were dating.”
For the first time since the blackout, Toga smiles softly. “You have no spatial awareness, so I didn’t expect you to.”
Then he chuckles, just once, an almost guttural noise, but I smile back at him, knowing how hard this must be for him – to joke around, to pretend Kyuji’s death hasn’t cut him as hard as it did, and to have to investigate the cause of his death minutes after it happened. I ignore his earlier breakdown; determined to make him feel better, I decide not to talk about it, since it’s obvious he doesn’t want to.
“Not a lot of people did. Actually, besides Otohiko and Saeko, and obviously ourselves… Nobody knew. We hid it pretty well.”
“But…”
I frown. This makes no sense at all. Why would he have to hide his relationship with Kyuji?
Almost as if sensing my questions, Toga sighs. “It was Saeko’s publicity team. They insisted on the rumours of her and Kyuji dating stay relevant, because it made both her and Kyuji somehow more popular, fans of each of them starting to take interest in the other.” He smiles gently, as if recalling something. “When she told the whole internet loud and proud that there would never be anything between them, and never had been…she risked both of their careers. It was a horrible time for both of them, but none of them would’ve had it otherwise. They were sick of the rumours. Sick of having to hide.” He frowns. “I think Saeko meanwhile had found a girlfriend, and that’s what pushed her to do it in the end, but I wouldn’t know. Despite being my friend, she rarely tells me things…”
So, that’s why. Toga and Kyuji’s relationship had to be hidden…for publicity’s sake. I don’t know how Toga isn’t angry about it, because even by just telling me this, I feel absolutely furious for him. This is no doubt one of the things that made Kyuji hate his Ultimate – the price he had to pay, the real things about him that he had to hide. How much of the Ultimate Trend-Setter, this twisted image on the internet, was truly Kyuji Konaka?
“When we get out of here,” Toga says, “I’m gonna tell the whole world about us. I know it’s what he would have wanted. Actually, he told me himself just a few days before coming to Hope’s Peak. He said that—” He interrupts himself, suddenly feeling harder for him to speak. “He said that…maybe attending Hope’s Peak would…make him braver. More eager to share his real self with people. That maybe he could…find another calling. This morning, he was…”
He sighs shakily, and I put my hand on his shoulder, hoping to give him more strength to continue speaking. Toga smiles at me.
“He was telling me about you, and about your dialogue last night. I don’t know how much he showed it, but…he really, really appreciated you telling him that.” Tears start forming in his eyes. “Even if he never got to change his Ultimate…I think you were the last push he needed, and if he had gotten the time, then I—I think he…he would have…”
I smile at him. Toga, now starting to cry again, tries to excuse himself to go the bathroom and recollect himself – instead, I offer him a soft expression and extend my arms out towards him.
Wordlessly, he falls into my arms and sobs. I feel his chest rising and falling, his heart beating like a drum. He shakes into my embrace, burying his face deep into my clothes and letting out his pain. All this time, I hold him in my arms, hugging him gently with one hand and cradling his head with another.
I’m not sure how long we stay like this, but eventually, the sobbing stops. Toga doesn’t immediately rise from my chest, but when he does, my clothes – my best white button up and purple suit vest – are ruined. The blood hadn’t gotten too much on them, but now, the combination of blood, tears and possibly snot makes me doubt they’ll ever be as clean as before. Still, I couldn’t care less. Looking at Toga now, I realize this must have meant a lot to him. When he looks at me…
…there is nothing but trust in his eyes.
“Thank you, Riku.”
He doesn’t specify what for, and I can’t say I’m too sure myself, but I nod with a smile. “I’m here for you, Toga.”
Toga nods back. “And me too, for you. If anybody at the trial wants to say you’re suspicious by bringing my name into the matter… I will stand up for you. I promise.”
Gaining Toga’s Trust has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
Toga excuses himself, saying he needs to face the truth and analyze Kyuji’s body himself. As he does, Otohiko turns to me.
“Do you need anything f-from me?”
I think about it, and I realize Otohiko’s account may come in useful.
“Yes, actually… I’ve seen Kyuji stop to talk to some people yesterday. Any idea who they might have been, what they talked about, how long they talked for, anything like that?”
Otohiko hums. “Let’s see… Obviously, he talked the most w-with us. Assuming you mean the other g-groups… The longest conversations he had were with Geiju.” He frowns. “Wh-which is weird, considering h-how little Geiju talks… Then, it was Saeko, and t-third most, Kumi. Both of the girls looked p-pretty shaken…” He meets my eye. “I’ll tell you o-one thing, though. None of them t-told me what they talked about. They immediately got very defensive. Kyuji just said i-it wasn’t important, and I doubt h-he lied… But I don’t know why the others took those conversations s-so seriously.”
I could think of a few reasons…
“Thank you, Otohiko.”
“Y-you’re welcome. If there’s anything I could do to help, I-I’ll be here.”
Otohiko’s Account has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
I bow slightly and then turn my attention to the other people left in the room. Before I leave, I would like to see what Gema and Geiju are up to. Gema is still annoyedly tapping on his tablet, with Geiju watching over his shoulder. Whatever is wrong with Gema’s tablet, and asking Geiju about what Otohiko said, might provide me with more clues.
“Stupid…piece of…shit!!” Gema groans as I approach. Despite his best efforts, it seems like it’s not turning on.
“Is it broken?” Geiju hums.
“What a fucking joke…” Gema murmurs. “Yeah, it’s broken. Ugh, I didn’t need this stupid shit anyways… I have my e-Handbook…”
Geiju sees me approaching and raises his head from over Gema’s shoulder to meet my eye. He nods. “Riku. What’s up?”
“I’m just going around questioning people.”
Gema is ignoring me, choosing to attempt to turn on his clearly broken tablet. From this angle, I can even see it has a few cracks. At this point, trying is useless, but Gema hilariously chooses this moment of all to not give up hope.
I meet Geiju’s gaze again while Enpitsu curiously glances towards Gema. “Can you tell me anything that might be of interest at the trial?”
Geiju hums, thinking. “Maybe Gema can.”
Gema groans, putting his tablet away. I’m prepared to repeat everything I had said, when he speaks up, surprising me with the fact that he’d been listening. “Yeah, well, I won’t be of much help either. I don’t know where a bat could’ve come from, why Konaka was the first to go, who did it, and, most importantly, how to repair this piece of junk.” He sighs, tapping his tablet impatiently. “I’d given up on searching for it yesterday, and now, all I got was false hope that it would work…”
I frown. “You lost it yesterday?”
“Oh, yeah. After dinner, some of us headed over here, trying to find some clues as to how to escape.” He glares. “And to get away from all that tension you created.” I don’t budge, and he continues. “I must’ve dropped it then… Geiju found it this morning, right when we came in, before… you know.” He ends the sentence awkwardly, but I’m not pleased with this response.
“Who is ‘us’?”
“Well, me, obviously. There was also Geiju.” Gema counts on his fingers. Geiju nods. “Then, there was Budo. Shoku wanted to head to sleep early, so he didn’t come. There was also that white-haired guy, the one who hangs out with Midori often?”
“Iruma,” Enpitsu provides.
“Right, cheers. Iruma was with us, then Midori herself, Saeko, and…”
“Me,” Enpitsu finishes.
Gema grins. “Yep! That’s about it.”
I hum. “Thank you, both of you.”
“Eh? This is helpful to you…? Whatever, you’ve got your methods.” Gema bows slightly, grinning widely. “Happy to be of service, man!”
Gema’s Account has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
Maka hums as she looks away from the body. She’s sweating. I can tell she doesn’t like the sight before her…not that I can blame her.
Somehow feeling me staring at her, she turns towards me and grins. “Does Riku have a question for Maka?”
“Eh…” I shrug. “Not really. Just…what were you doing during the blackout?”
Maka sighs. “Maka has a hard time in the dark… You see, ever since she was little, Maka has always been afraid of the dark. She’s never really cured this phobia of hers, no matter how much she’s tried… So, when the blackout occurred, Maka yelled out for anyone, anyone to help stop it!”
“Do you know who might have pressed a switch to turn the lights back on?”
Maka shakes her head. “Nope. All Maka knows is that she shouted, and Midori shouted back… Maka is sorry she cannot be of more help.”
“Ah, no worries. We’ll figure this out together, won’t we?”
Maka beams at me. “Maka is certain of it!”
I see Geiju reaching out to take Gema’s tablet, seemingly wanting to help him with it, but I clear my throat to let him know I’m not done questioning the group just yet, and his gaze falls upon me again.
“I wanted to ask you something, too.”
“Okay.”
“What did you talk to Kyuji about? You know, when passing by him in the dining hall and stuff these days?” I frown. “You’ve met, haven’t you?”
Geiju looks away. “Kyuji…and I? Meet?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
He shakes his head. “We barely did. Why talk? He was…untrustworthy.” He sighs, looking back at me, cracking his knuckles as he does. “I was scared. Didn’t risk.” He looks down, almost ashamed, rearranging his beret. “I’m sorry. We rarely talked.”
Eh? But…doesn’t that go directly against what Otohiko just told me? He said, out of Kumi, Saeko and Geiju, Geiju was the one to talk most with Kyuji, despite his untalkative nature. Otohiko wouldn’t lie about that, would he?
But then…why would Geiju say…?
“…Okay. Thank you, Geiju.”
Geiju just nods, and I can see him relax slightly.
Geiju’s Account has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
I decide to approach Daku…and Kyuji’s corpse. Surprisingly, Daku is still talking with Kumi, but he turns to me as I arrive.
“Ah, Riku. I was hoping you’d come over here.”
I can’t help the small, teasing smile that paints my lips. “Were you, now?”
Kumi rolls her eyes slightly. “I’ll leave you two alone, then.”
Daku wordlessly nods. I look after Kumi as she leaves, and address Daku. “What were you two talking about?”
“Kumi wanted to tell me something right before the lights went off.”
“Oh, yeah? What was that?”
“Somebody was by the circuit breaker.”
I frown, scrunching my nose in disappointment. “Did she tell you who, or was she vague?”
He sighs, clearly as annoyed as me. “She was vague.”
“Figures…”
“I don’t really think she knows either, though…” He frowns. “She says she barely got a look at them, but she’ll get back at us if she realizes it.”
“Yeah, right…” I shake my head. “If she doesn’t contribute at the trial…”
Daku shrugs. “She will. She’s just as scared as the rest of us. By the way… I analyzed Kyuji’s wounds more.”
Daku gently turns Kyuji’s head around so I can look at his face. His nose is completely broken, that much I can see, and his eyes are closed, starting to swell. His mouth is slightly agape and I see, to my horror, teeth threatening to fall. I almost avert my eyes, but I try to remain strong, not just for Daku to be impressed with me, but for Kyuji especially. I can’t allow my disgust and despair at seeing the body overcome my want to find his killer. So, I continue looking.
“They hit Kyuji from the front.”
I nod. “They hit him…hard.”
“Mhm. It was like they weren’t sure their swing would make an impact…” Daku hums. “Like they didn’t think they were strong enough to cause a serious injury. Look.” He trails his finger just inches above Kyuji’s face, showing me his forehead, all the way down to the chin. Down his forehead, blood trickles, and his chin looks bashed in. “He’s hurt both up and down his face. They must have gone in for at least two blows. As for the rest of his body…”
He gently taps on Kyuji’s right hip, and I can see his side is somewhat hurt.
“They must have hit him here once, maybe twice… Perhaps to make him double over, so they could hit him in the face.”
I frown, trying to understand the message. If the killer didn’t think they would be strong enough to cause a serious injury…
…doesn’t that rule out three suspects, whom are known for their strength?
Kyuji’s Body has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
“If you don’t want to see his corpse any longer,” Daku says, meeting my eye, “I can’t blame you. You were closer to him than I was, even if for a little time.” He looks back at the body. “You should continue your investigation elsewhere. Try finding the origin place of the baseball bat – that will help us a lot.”
I nod. I know this is the most important piece of information that we must collect so far. Looking around the room, I realize I only have Budo and Shoku left to talk to… But I don’t think either of their inputs would be of any great use. None of them are suspects, and, while one of them is related to one, I doubt he knows more than I do.
Having already questioned three suspects – Zametora, Kumi and Geiju – I decide to focus on finding the other three. I don’t know where Osoro and Saeko could have gone, but something tells me Midori isn’t too far, and wherever Midori goes, it’s basically guaranteed Iruma, the sixth suspect, goes.
I leave the gymnasium and go to the dining hall. In here are Midori, Iruma and Yaku. I take a look around the room, trying to think if anything in here might be connected to the murder, but I shake my head. There’s definitely nothing of interest in here except for the three in here. Yaku is sitting alone, thinking to himself – I can tell because of the puzzled look on his visor – while Midori and Iruma talk, sat at a table with cups of tea.
I approach the duo. “Not investigating, then?”
Midori looks up at me with a soft smile. “Side characters are never as good at investigating as the protagonist, deuteragonist, and tritagonist.” She chuckles. “And even those two aren’t at the protagonist’s level… I don’t think any of us will be of much help. I’m sorry, Riku.”
I couldn’t have less of a clue what she’s talking about, but I understand the message; she doesn’t think she would be of any help, and she probably just can’t think of a better way to tell me. What a peculiar individual she is…
I don’t want to pretend like Iruma isn’t here, but I think asking Midori this is important, so I shoot my shot. “You don’t think it’s Iruma, then?”
Midori’s smile gets wider. “I suppose you’re right to suspect him. The quiet ones always seem more suspicious…” Iruma scoffs at that, but I don’t think it’s an annoyed scoff, rather a fond one. “I don’t think it’s him because he didn’t know there was a circuit breaker in the gymnasium.”
Eh? So, she knows about it, too?
“Do you know anyone who might have?”
“Not a lot of people spent time in the gymnasium,” Iruma shrugs. “Honestly, I never saw anyone venture in there on their own accord.”
“Yep, that’s true!” Midori energetically agrees. “Nobody went in other than the times Info-Chan called on us!” She pauses and frowns. “Which is weird, because there’s tables there now.”
The tables… First Kumi, now Midori…? What do the tables have to do with this anyways? We should be investigating Kyuji’s death, not the placement of furniture…
Still, I find myself asking, “Why is that weird?”
“Because!” Midori sighs, puzzled and annoyed at the fact that she is. “Yesterday, there were no tables anywhere except for the dining hall, and this morning, we find, like, three tables in the gymnasium! Why would Info-Chan put tables in there? And does she even have the strength for it?”
“Well, she told Kumi and I she can stretch, so…”
“Hmph, of course,” Midori crosses her arms with a dissatisfied hum. “The plot just allows her to do whatever… Having all-powerful beings in a game of a story is so annoying…”
What is she still talking about…? I would expect Gema to talk about our situation like it’s a video game, but Midori never stops mentioning protagonists and tropes…
Well, whatever. I don’t think I learned much by talking with Iruma and Midori, but… Maybe the matter of tables is an important clue, with how interested both Kumi and Midori are in them.
Matter of Tables has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
I leave Midori and Iruma alone and go to see what Yaku is up to. His visor buzzes in interest when I approach, a look of both calm and happiness on it.
“Hi, Riku!”
Well, he definitely doesn’t think I did it. With how everyone treated me yesterday and this morning after my outburst, I’m glad…
“Hi. Do you have anything to say about Kyuji’s death? Something that might help us at the trial?”
Yaku’s visor turns sad, and possibly disappointed too. “No… I’m not good at investigating at all, so I left the room as fast as I could as to not stand in your way.” He chuckles sadly. “I…feel very bad now that Kyuji is dead. After all, I doubted him all throughout yesterday.”
Although I want to be sympathetic, Yaku’s guilt only angers me more. This must be how Toga feels seeing everyone suddenly so sad… Maybe my anger is smaller than his, but I feel it nonetheless, throbbing in my chest and threatening to spill through words of hatred.
No… I can’t allow myself to fall victim to Info-Chan’s despair… If I allow myself to be angry, I’ll only be more suspicious, and I will make a fool out of myself by allowing her to manipulate me! I can’t have that!
“I was thinking of going to the warehouse to check if we missed anything, though.”
Yaku’s words snap me out of my thoughts…and make me furrow my eyebrows. The warehouse seems of no importance in this scenario… Why would he want to waste his time with that?
“Would you like to come with?”
I don’t think he has anything valuable to say about what happened during the blackout… So, by going with him, I might find something more useful.
I nod. “Lead the way.”
Despite Zametora announcing the finding of the warehouse two days ago, I haven’t ventured there yet. I didn’t find it of any importance, so I avoided it, preferring to hang around in my room or the dining hall. As Yaku leads me to it, I can’t imagine we’ll find anything there, but I try to keep my hopes up. I may not understand what Midori is going on about me being a protagonist, or why Daku is so kind and understanding, or why Toga has put his full trust in me, but I do know that they’re all counting on me. I cannot let my friends down. One of them is already gone – I can’t have that happen to anyone else except the killer.
So, that’s why…despite not thinking we’ll get anywhere by investigating the warehouse…despite not being sure if I should trust who I trust…despite not feeling as much hope as I would want…
…I will not allow myself to be overcome by despair!
Yaku and I reach the warehouse, and we both wordlessly get to analyzing the shelves. It’s stocked with food and supplies, but nothing that’s really of interest. I don’t even know if anyone has gone in here these past two days…
Almost as if somehow reading my mind, Yaku turns to me. “I don’t think anybody really came in here. Shoku’s cooked for us, but he never said anything about going to the warehouse to get food.”
“Info-Chan must be the one who restocks all the ingredients and items in the kitchen,” I muse, “and she must take them from here. If Shoku doesn’t, then that only leaves her.”
Yaku and I walk along the shelves some more. I don’t find anything interesting in any corner of the room. I’m starting to think there aren’t any clues in here and that this was a waste of time, and I prepare to open my mouth to invite Yaku to leave, when—
“What the—? Riku, have you seen this?”
I instantly grow concerned at his tone. I immediately approach him. “See wh—?”
My gaze stops on—
…
…?
…Eh?
…What the hell?
Yaku and I share a look, his visor buzzing like crazy, a drop of sweat on it.
“I… I didn’t know these were here, Riku. You have to believe me. When we searched the warehouse, I never saw them.”
I frown at his words. “Who’s ‘we’?”
“Zametora, Iruma, Saeko and the Tsuburaya siblings, along with me,” Yaku explains. “We all found the warehouse two days ago, but none of us spotted this… At least, I didn’t.”
We both look at the box with baseball bats before us. Nobody ever said a word about them, they were never even brought up. In all of the conversations we had about weapons, nobody mentioned the bats in the warehouse.
And there’s more. When I look up, at the wall before which the box is placed, there’s a note. I frown and take it.
Warehouse storage items
“This is all the items stashed in the warehouse…!” Yaku exclaims, reading over my shoulder. “From A to Z, and they’re all numbered…”
I quickly get to B, where ‘Baseball bats’ is an entry. There’s supposed to be seven of them. I quickly count, but…
…I only see six.
“And one of them is missing… So, the baseball bat no doubt came from this box!” I announce.
“We have to tell the others!”
“We will bring this up at the trial. Will you vouch for me?”
Yaku vehemently nods. “Absolutely, Riku!”
Baseball Bat History has been updated in the Truth Bullets Section.
List of Stored Items has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
Yaku’s Account has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
I don’t know how much longer Info-Chan plans on letting us investigate… I don’t want to waste my time in here, so I say my goodbye to Yaku and go off, determined to question the last two suspects and review the gymnasium one last time. Hopefully, I will finish up in time before Info-Chan calls us in for the…
…Ugh, I don’t even want to think about something as cruel as that… Even just the expression of ‘class trial’ is brimming with despair…
I walk around the hallways of the school aimlessly, trying to find Osoro and Saeko. After opening a few doors and finding nothing, I decide I’m better off going back to the gymnasium to talk to Daku.
As I walk back, I pass by the school store. The door is open, but I don’t think much of it. Maybe somebody forgot to close it after they left.
At least, that’s what I thought before I heard a voice.
“…We just need to find a way to show the others.”
I hear voices. Shocked, and incredibly eager to hear the conversation of Osoro and Saeko, whom the voices no doubt belong to, I hide behind the wall so they can’t see me with the door open.
“Show them…how…? We have no proof…”
“We need to think, think, THINK! I can’t allow you to fucking die over this shit!”
Those swears…that must be Osoro’s voice. The softer voice is Saeko’s…
What are they talking about…?
“Kyuji…” Saeko sobs softly. It’s all she says, all she can manage to utter.
“I get that it was dark, but…” Osoro gives a long sigh. “How the hell can you miss a target with white hair? That shit basically glows in the dark!”
Miss a…target…with white hair…?
No…
They can’t be talking about…
…one of them…can they…?
“I-if they hadn’t gotten blood on our clothes…this would have been…so much easier…to prove…!”
Osoro groans as she paces around. I hear her footsteps thump, thump, thump against the cold, tiled floor. There’s a pause as Saeko sobs softly, however seeming to calm down slightly.
“I…don’t want to die, Osoro…I don’t want Toga or Otohiko or you to die…”
“I know.” Osoro’s tone is shockingly soft for her angry footsteps just now. “I promised you I’d take you back to her, didn’t I? Trust me, I always keep my promises. You won’t die, Saeko.”
Saeko sniffles. There’s a long pause before she speaks again.
“Okay.”
My legs tremble beneath me, and I realize then I’m holding in a breath. Suddenly overcome by fear of getting caught, I quickly sneak away. My heart is pounding in my ears, and I can’t even hear my own footsteps… I just hope they can’t, either.
“Saeko and Osoro…”
I don’t understand what they were talking about… Using words such as ‘target’…talking about someone with white hair…and using pronouns such as ‘them’ and ‘her’…
Could Saeko or Osoro…have killed Kyuji…?
Or could they…be working with the person that did…?
Saeko and Osoro’s Conversation has been added to the Truth Bullets Section.
No… I can’t let myself believe it was really one of them…
But…they’re both covered in blood, aren’t they…?
No… I can’t… Saeko would never…! And Osoro…well, she’s…she’s aggressive, but…she’s not a killer…is she…?
My thoughts pound in my head as I walk through the hallways, desperately wanting to get back to the gymnasium to share this information with somebody else. But who? Who in that room could I trust not to leak this information, not to act based on emotions, to think logically first before arriving to a conclusion?
…
…Daku…
…I need to tell Daku.
I find him searching underneath the tables with Kumi. As soon as Kumi sees me, she leaves without another word. I don’t know why and I couldn’t care less – all I do is tap Daku’s shoulder.
He turns towards me. “Riku? Are you finished with your investigation?”
I can’t say anything valuable other than, “Saeko and Osoro…”
He frowns, confused and scared both. “Did something happen to them?”
I shake my head, but the action makes me dizzy. I can’t think, and I can’t say anything. I just keep repeating their names like a maniac…
Daku is completely and utterly confused, but he holds me in his arms, trying to calm me down.
What am I going to do…?
Saeko and Osoro…
…someone as gentle, as elegant and understanding as Saeko…
…or someone as intense, as passionate and outspoken as Osoro…
…could they really be the type of people to plan a murder…?
My thoughts drown out every other thing around me. Daku’s touch becomes unfamiliar, his face is lost in the dark, his voice is like a song on a broken stereo…
I don’t know why I care so much, but maybe…
…there’s a part of me that still wanted to believe Info-Chan was at fault. That she was the one to take a baseball bat and kill Kyuji with it.
But…hearing Saeko and Osoro…
…I realized…
…one of us was the one to kill Kyuji.
It was one of us.
* Ding dong bing bong *
Both Daku and I snap our heads upwards, as if we can see the screens on which Info-Chan presents herself on the ceilings.
“Eh, so…”
Info-Chan’s voice can be heard booming from the intercom.
“I’m getting super-duper bored of watching you all walk around like this. I really want some action already, so… Shall we just get started?”
Daku frowns. “Already…?”
“It’s time for the long-awaited… Class trial!”
“It’s barely been twenty minutes.” Kumi speaks from behind us, which makes me realize all of a sudden she’s been there this whole time. She sighs and taps the frame of her glasses. “That was rather quick.”
“Now then, where you need to go is simple, so don’t go around complaining about me not telling you. On the first floor, there is a red door which you must go through. That’s where we’ll meet.” Info-Chan chuckles, that ominous chuckle of hers that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand. “Puhuhuhu… See you soon, my lovely students!”
The people around me all react differently – groans, sighs, head shakes – but all are driven by the same emotion: fear.
“I wonder…if we just didn’t go, what would happen to us?” Gema rubs his chin.
“That’s a terrible idea, Gema!” Shoku worriedly frowns. “Info-Chan is dangerous. She’s proven this already. Who knows what could happen to us if we defied her?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Gema rubs the back of his neck, sighing softly. “I don’t wanna get out of this anyways, at least not when my tablet’s being stupid. So…we just have to do this, don’t we?”
“Yes,” Budo nods. “We can do this!”
“We’ll find the killer no matter what,” Kaga determinedly says.
“And bring that asshole to justice,” Zametora continues.
“No matter what,” Tsuruzo emphasizes Kaga’s point.
“For Kyuji,” Toga murmurs softly.
“And for us,” Otohiko adds, clinging to him.
Yeah…
For Kyuji…
…but also, for us…
…we must do this.
We WILL do this!
Daku smiles at seeing all of their determined faces, each of them lighting up with newfound hope. He puts his arm around mine and looks up at me. None of the light in my friends’ eyes compares to the brightness of Daku’s gaze.
“Are you ready?”
I smile at him.
“I am.”
He squeezes my arm slightly, his gentle smile widening.
“Then let’s get going.”
When we get to the door, we enter a small room, good enough to fit all nineteen of us. Osoro and Saeko were already there, and Yaku, Iruma and Midori are the last ones to arrive, but, after everyone steps in…
…the room starts to move…
…down.
“Ah,” Kumi exclaims. “It’s an elevator.”
An elevator…
I wonder where it’s leading us. What does Info-Chan have prepared for us…?
“I wonder if this is how death row inmates feel when their time comes,” Zametora scoffs, crossing his arms.
Yaku shakes his head. “This is…scary…”
“Did you not expect it to be?” Kaga raises an eyebrow.
“We just need to focus on finding the killer,” Osoro says, as if oblivious to the blood on her. “Then our asses are free to go, and we can keep exploring the school for a way out.”
“For Kyuji…and for freedom.” Enpitsu nods. “That’s admirable reasoning.”
“We’ll get through this,” Daku says. His voice is calm and collected, but also firm and assertive, as to inspire us hope. “We’ll vote off the blackened and continue with our daily lives, find a way out, and leave Info-Chan’s tyranny behind. We will not give into despair.”
He turns towards us, facing each of us.
“I will not allow ourselves to give into despair.”
The doors open. Daku’s speech is cut short, but despite this, I see the hope on everyone’s faces. Not even Info-Chan’s booming laughter can make me scared…not when Daku is here. Not when I know I have him by my side.
“Nyohohoho! You’ve finally arrived!”
As we look around at the room we’re in, we all exchange confused glances. It looks almost like a courtroom…at least, one you would see in low-effort Hollywood movies.
“Whaddya think? Doesn’t this look just like a real courtroom?!” Info-Chan laughs.
“Not even close,” Zametora scoffs, crossing his arms. “It’s total shit.”
“Oh, hush! Just get to your assigned seats already, come on, come on! We don’t have all day, you know!”
We did as Info-Chan told us and found our seats… It seems like she hasn’t been paying attention to our relationships, or rather has paid a lot of attention and has decided to separate us. Geiju sits before her, with Zametora on his right. On Zametora’s right is…a picture of Kyuji, crossed over with an X. It’s a sick sight, but I suppose Info-Chan doesn’t want to waste his seat… The circle continues with Midori, Budo, Shoku, Otohiko, Osoro, Gema, Yaku, myself, Kumi, Iruma, Daku, Tsuruzo, Maka, Toga, Enpitsu, Kaga and, finally, on Shoku’s left, Saeko.
The seats were set up so that everyone could see everyone else, as if to transfer their own uneasiness and tension onto the others. Despite the encouraging words from just a few minutes earlier, I could feel everyone growing tense, the air becoming heavy. We were all unsure of what would happen next…if we could solve this mystery…
And so, the curtain on our first ever case opened…
A deadly judgement…
A deadly deception…
A deadly betrayal…
A deadly riddle…
A deadly defense…
A deadly faith…
A deadly…
…class trial…!
“WELCOME TO DESPAIR”
PART 1.6 OF THHYSAU – END
SURVIVING STUDENTS: 19
TO BE CONTINUED
Notes:
btw knowing me my real interest in ys and danganronpa will resurface in a year or two so maybe i’ll update this then but who knows
Sweet_Little_Dove on Chapter 2 Fri 01 Sep 2023 09:23PM UTC
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xiiistrings on Chapter 4 Fri 29 Sep 2023 06:37AM UTC
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canonically47 on Chapter 4 Fri 29 Sep 2023 07:08AM UTC
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Sweet_Little_Dove on Chapter 4 Sat 30 Sep 2023 04:03AM UTC
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Sweet_Little_Dove on Chapter 5 Mon 23 Oct 2023 02:49PM UTC
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canonically47 on Chapter 5 Mon 23 Oct 2023 03:02PM UTC
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i LOVE crazy bread! (Guest) on Chapter 5 Thu 14 Mar 2024 10:10PM UTC
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canonically47 on Chapter 5 Mon 03 Jun 2024 07:35PM UTC
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i LOVE crazy bread! (and canonically47 now) (Guest) on Chapter 5 Tue 04 Jun 2024 01:37AM UTC
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i LOVE crazy bread! (Guest) on Chapter 6 Tue 04 Jun 2024 01:49AM UTC
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Sweet_Little_Dove on Chapter 6 Wed 05 Jun 2024 03:59AM UTC
Last Edited Wed 05 Jun 2024 04:02AM UTC
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canonically47 on Chapter 6 Wed 05 Jun 2024 10:32AM UTC
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Drenchedinmoonlight on Chapter 6 Tue 17 Sep 2024 12:33PM UTC
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canonically47 on Chapter 6 Sat 28 Sep 2024 03:44PM UTC
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