Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a humming around her. Buzzing through the air and through her mind. She was sore. She was tired. She…….she was just stabbed! She had been screaming and bleeding and was shuddering.

She wasn't supposed to wake up.

She did anyway. Sitting up with rapid breaths clutching her stomach in a desperate attempt to keep herself together. She braced forward coughing and gaging at the phantom feeling of her guts slipping out.

She allowed herself a moment.

There were shouts and barks around her from a variety of people but she let herself stay silent. For the first time in her life she allowed herself to be scared. Information could wait. She had to process this. She blocked out everything else.

She let everything in the room become static behind her. She gently pulled at the edge of her white shirt. The same one she had been wearing both at the start of the game and the day she died. It was stainless. Neat. whole. She ran a finger along the seam of it seeing if the texture was real. It was real. It was all real.

She gives a cautious glance up at the rest of the room.

Colorful moving bodies were moving and shouting around her, behind them were washing machines. And on top of the one closest to the door sat an unmoving black rabbit, with red eyes peering into her soul.

They were back here? After all she did she was back here! She was going to have to deal with all that pressure again? All that fighting and leading and expectations and she was getting thrown back on to the stage. She couldn't handle that. she ……she wanted to make thing right. Of course she did. She regretted killing Isono before she even finished killing her. But she had a breaking point. Everyone did!!!

But a restart? If she's restarting? That breaking point is only going to come again sooner.

She catches only a glimpse of orange in the furthest corner and swiftly looks away.

No. She won't. She won't break this time. She didn't want to hurt someone again. She was smart. She could plan better now. Get things organized early. She could prepare. If she knew her limits…..she would not know to let herself take breaks before she reached them. She wouldn't wander at night- she. She will not let it happen again.

“Sasaki!” someone shouted at her with a waving hand, pulling her from her panic. “Jesus Christ! Are you with us?! Have you been listening to literally anything?!” of course Hiroaki would be the first person to greet her. Because of course he would.

He had….said her name? If she hasn't spoken yet- and she doesn't think the rabbit has spoken yet either. He had to have remembered it.

Did they all get reset?

“What's going on?” she asked firmly, falling into her more usual headspace. Personal problems can be dealt with alone later. She had 15 other students here. 15 students she knows are hopeless without her.

“Were back at the fucking start is what's going on! Uhgggggggg! This is so not fair! In fact this is incredibly fucked up. The most fucked up thing this stupid game has done yet! I got out. We got out. It was over. It was supposed to have been over. Why the hell are we back here!” he screamed at everyone around him but pointed fingers at the rabbit. Which. Actually. It was black with red eyes? It was supposed to be white wasn’t it?

“I will explain once everyone is properly oriented.”

“Dude I don't know if I'm ever going to be ‘properly oriented’ to handle the information you give. Just spit it out already. I need to get out of this room. Right now.” Kamimura spoke up frantically and with a twinge of desperation. He didn't look at the rabbit as he spoke. He kept his arms wrapped tightly around himself and buried his stare into the ground.

“I see. Alright then. I encourage you to listen with as much attention as possible.” the rabbit paused waiting to see if anyone would question it. No one did. Even Hayashi stayed still and stern.

“You were the first group to ever participate in this game. You are known as group Pink. or group A.-”

“Pink?! Why- pink?? Of all colors? That doesn't even make sense!?” Hiroaki of course didn't have enough of an attention span to get past 3 sentences into the rabbits monologue.

“I did not chose the group names. “ Monomoko answered. “ You have already participated in the killing game. 5 of you even got to escape. Congratulations.“

Sasaki did a quick look around the room. Only 5 of them got out? And one of them had been Hiroaki?! Who else? Everyone had either a face of shock or guilt…..Wada in particular looked the most defeated at the statement. Tamba looked the most angry.

“Don't ‘congratulations’! Us! We don't get to celebrate if you dragged us all back here!” she shouted.

5 people got out. And one of them had been Tamba?! Sasaki had a lot she would need to be filled in on.

“It is an achievement worth celebrating. However. That was only round one of these games. You will be playing the same game. However this time. There will be more rules. More games and more people.”

More people? She met multiple people’s eyes as she searched around the room. There was still only 16 of them.

“You will meet your other new students in the gym in a moment. As of right now there are no new rules in effect that you are unfamiliar with. If you would like to exit, you must kill somebody and make it through the trial after. Does anyone else want any further explanation?”

“Yes.” Watari spoke up. “How were you able to take us back? Shouldn’t that be like…..impossible?”

“I am capable of many things.”

“It made my fingers disappear once. I don't know what it cant do.” Hayashi huffed crossing her arms. Watari in response got flustered and began pressing the other woman with questions about what had happened.

“Are there any other questions?” the rabbit interrupted Watari’s panic.

“Uh……your a different color than i remember? Is that……normal?”

Sasaki flinched a bit at the sound of Isono's voice. She had been wondering the same thing. She thinks she remembers it gaining a small black spot at some point but she had assumed that it had just always been there and she didn't notice it.

“It gains a dark spot every time someone dies. Hasegawa answered, mumbling, beating whatever response Monomoko had.

For some reason, the second he opened his mouth half the room turned to him with rage in their faces. “You can go ahead and shut up! The last thing we need right now is answers from you! God i hope your the first fucking victim this time.” Hiroaki launched forward at the brunette. Who did nothing against the threats.

“What the fuck! Get off him!” Kamimura stood up instead.

“Don't defend him! He's a murderer!” Tamba shouted back.

“Are there any more questions?” the rabbits' voices boomed. Somehow, despite being completely monotone, it sounded fed up with them already. “I have another group of students waiting for instruction. So I would like to finish this fast.”

“I think…..we're ok. We can help answer things amongst ourselves from here.” Ojima answered, finally giving the rabbit some grace.

“Alright. The door will still be locked until I am done with the Blue group’s orientation. At which point both doors will unlock and you may go meet your peers. Please discuss things amongst yourselves.” and with that the rabbit disappeared.

But the tension remained. It seemed like everyone was already close to either snapping or crying. Several eyes were still fixed on Hasegawa's shrinking figure. Hiroaki and Tamba still had steam coming out of their ears, looking like they were about to pounce on him again.

“Wait!” Sasaki shouted before they could devour the shaking boy. “I want all of us to be on the same page. Someone, one of the winners. Give the full room a recap of what happened or at least just the orders of deaths. Who do we need to be weary of.”

“Oh! Easy! Funny you should ask but, like Ok so, you whack Isono to death with a frying pan. Harada’s tiger gets high and kills Chiba but Harada covers it up so he dies. Okazaki’s fucking crazy and tortures Kamimura and Tsuno. Watari commits suicide but in a way that pins Hama down as the killer he dies. And then Hasegawa fucks around with the rest of us for a week before killing Hayashi and then nearly getting all of us killed. There? That work?" Hiroaki filled in.

“That was…..fast but….sure.” Sasaki responded while filing away the information for a later date.

“You set that door trap?!” Tsuno turned on her heels to face Okazaki who just laughed.

“I have to admit. This was not a twist I anticipated. “ they mutter slyly, with some sort of crazy fascination.

“Ok! no! you can also shut the fuck up! You killed two people. You don't get to talk at all anymore.”

“But I gave myself away during the trial, didn't I? I helped you? I just wanted a little chaos. Not for everyone to perish. That's not something I expected from you Hasegawa." they teased, the boy tensed.

“I'm nothing like you.” he sneered, voice cold.

“When we get out of here I'm assigning Hayashi to lock you both up. We're not dealing with either of your bullshit again.”

“What! That's not fair!” Kamimura shouted.

“You’d rather have Okazaki walking around free?”

“I- no. but Ken doesn’t-”

“They both killed people. They're both getting locked up. end of story.” Hayashi chimed in.

Sasaki kept silent. Shouldn't she be included in that group? But-.....she didn't want to spend her time around two murderers. Even if she was one too.

“What about the other….killers though?” Isono asked regardless of whether or not Sasaki wanted to consider herself guilty or not. In the eyes of the internet idol. She’ll always be a murderer.

The entire room focused on her.

“Both Harada and Hama. were complete accidents. I don't think they're a threat. But you….." Hiroaki looked her up and down.

She opened her mouth to…..defend herself? Admit guilt? The words became lost on her instantly.

“Well keep an eye on you. If you start acting up we’ll send you to the slammer. But right now you're on like. House arrest. You're going to have to prove you're not going to hurt anyone again. You're not allowed to be alone.”

“That's……fine.” she muttered. Not something she was excited about but it was fair and logical. It's what she deserved.

“Alright! Does anyone want to volunteer to be on guard duty? Hayashi is the only one I trust to watch those two but she might need help and breaks occasionally. And we need to assign someone Sasaki duty.”

“I can help Hayashi. Maybe my demon arm can help me find out what evil forces drove them to their actions." Hama volunteered.

“You're stupid. But it works…….i guess I can handle Sasaki.” Hiroaki shrugs after no one else volunteers.

“Great.” she rolls her eyes. This was only going to lead to bigger breakdowns if she had to deal with his uncooperative ass constantly…….but she had to give him some credit. He’s taken charge of the room so far and was doing a pretty good job at getting information across and problems solved. Maybe he grew up a little. He got out of the game after all.

“What do we do about the other students?” she asked before he had the chance to realize she was praising him in any capacity.

“We’ll figure that out when we get there. Hopefully. They’re chill. At the very least we should try to prepare their expectations as best as possible if they ask questions. Answer honestly with everything. They deserve to have all the information we do. Whoever they are, they didn't choose to be stuck in this shit hole. And we will not be taking advantage of them in any capacity.”

“Boo. you're not very fun.” Okazaki grumbled.

“If I had things my way you'd be-” he was quickly cut off.

“The new students.” Hasegawa shot up with lights in his eyes. “I- i know them. I read a few of their records. Ouno Nanae, Ninomiya Youhei, Kumada Erina-”

“That's what you were reciting!? You knew we’d be getting sent back here?!” Tamba shouted.

“No! I just knew there were plans for another group….”

“Do you know anything besides their names?” Sasaki prompted.

“No! We aren’t talking to him. We will literally meet them in like less than an hour. We can figure it out without his help.” Hiroaki shut down the conversation.

“I feel like whether or not he's immoral shouldn't play a factor if he has important information.” She fought against Hiroaki's order.

“I think i remember a few of their talents, ultimate contortionist-”

“No. You. Have lost. Helping privileges. We don't want your input.” Instead of Hiroaki this time it was Yanagi that shut him up.

Actually doing the math…..Hiroaki, Ojima, Yanagi, Tamba and……Wada. Would have had to been the 5 survivors. Hiroaki, Tamba and Yanagi seem pretty pissed. Ojima was…..well…..he's never been big in conversing with these larger conversation. But Wada had been completely silent this entire time. He didn't seem too bothered by Hasegawa, but he also seemed incredibly distant. Like he was barely bothered by anything.

The rest of the room devolved into shouting about how to deal with Hasegawa, Sasaki made her way over to the supposed 5th winner hoping to get a clearer run down on what was going on from someone who wasn’t as clearly was still freshly wounded by the whole thing.

__________
“...this can’t be real...”

His eyes scan the familiar laundry room, the white walls keeping them all boxed in. A harsh light shines down on him from above, the fluorescent bulbs buzzing over his head. His vision is blurry, yet he can still make out the faces of the other teens. Their voices echo through the cramped room- voices of people he’d grown to love, people he’d been made to hate. People he thought were long gone. A set of lilac eyes meets his timid scarlet ones as the student council president makes her way toward him.

No…this can’t be happening, this isn’t real, this-

His fingers find the edge of his sleeve. He’s dressed in his old crimson hoodie and black jacket, the garments worn and faded from years of overuse. His hair reaches down to his shoulders, unkempt as it had been before…

…no…

Pain twists inside his stomach as he fights the urge to vomit. He doubles over with a faint cry, clutching at his midsection in an attempt to stop the ache. Tears prick at the corners of his eyes as he lets himself sink to the cold tile floor. He shouldn’t be here. He should be in his apartment, in the darkness, in his room lying in a pool of tears and cold sweat-

He was dying. He should have been dead.

“Wada.” Sasaki’s steady voice calls out to him as she lowers herself to the floor. She seems just as lost as he is, her gaze uncertain as she attempts to pry for answers. Yet Wada can’t bring himself to answer. His eyes are fixed on the girl’s stomach, the area where she’d been impaled in brutal fashion. He’d seen it happen with his own eyes. It was her punishment for murdering his first friend.

His eyes catch a glimpse of her familiar orange pigtails. His breath catches in his chest as he presses himself against the wall, the tears he’d been holding back threatening to spill over. Sasaki places her hands firmly against his shoulders, trying to bring him back to reality.

“Wada, listen to me,” she insists. “I need you to tell me everything you can remember from the previous game. You were the last survivor, right? The rabbit said that there were five of you total.”

He can’t even bear to look her in the eyes. His small frame trembles as he shifts his gaze to the floor, away from the faces surrounding him.

He can’t unsee any of it. They should be dead right now. All of them. Everyone except…them. Those four.

So why…

Why the hell was he still alive…?

“I-I shouldn’t be here.” The words tumble from his mouth before he can stop them. “I…I shouldn’t be here, I should be dead, I should be dead…”

“We all should,” Sasaki laments. “None of us should be here. That’s why I’m asking you for information. If we have your testimony, we can piece together a clearer picture of what happened. That way, we can all be on the same page.”

His face grows pale in response to her request. That’s…a big ask. A shudder runs down his spine at the thought of being forced to recount it all in detail. Then again…he’s being forced to start fresh anyway. Every mistake, every friend he lost…he’ll be forced to confront it all. His heart pounds against his chest as the events of that hell come flooding back to him. He remembers it all in bits and pieces, like a horrible slideshow in his mind. The motives, the trials, the executions, how each victim met their-

Her.

It only takes a brief glance at her porcelain mask for the trauma to come rushing back. His breathing quickens, tears streaming down his face as he shrinks into the safety of his jacket. He can’t go through that again. He can’t be in the same room as her. With shaking steps, he pulls himself away from his classmate’s arm, making a desperate beeline for the laundry room door.

He’s too weak to get there.

Without warning, his legs give way from under him, causing him to collapse. A set of slender yet strong arms catches him before he hits the floor. Before he can protest, he’s pulled into an embrace, his head resting against a familiar figure’s shoulder. He doesn’t need to look to know who it is. He closes his eyes and buries his face into her shirt, letting the tears stream down his pale face.

“Manami…”

“Shh. I’ve got you. I’ve got you, okay?” Tsuno runs her fingers gently through his hair, her caring voice helping to soothe some of his panic. Isono stands beside her with her hands folded in front of her, her expression one of care and concern. Wada can’t help but notice how the idol tenses as Sasaki rejoins them beside the door.

“She won’t hurt you again, Masa,” Tsuno reassures him. “I won’t let her. I promise.”

His fingers grip onto her sleeves as he slumps heavily against her, his body too weak to support him. As he depends on her for support, he can’t help but feel pathetic. How is she so much stronger than him even after…?

“Hiroaki gave me a brief rundown already, but I’d like to hear from the others as well.” The ever-focused Sasaki steers the conversation back on track, her words forcing him back to reality. Held in her hands are a black ink pen and a small purple notebook. “Yanagi and Tamba don’t exactly seem…approachable at the moment,” she continues. “I doubt Ojima is present enough to tell us anything of note.” Her tone is assertive and composed, yet he can sense the uncertainty in her expression. Despite her outward confidence, she’s just as scared as the rest of them.

“I-I…” The words die on his tongue before he can manage to utter them. He tries to force them out, but they remain stuck in his throat. Goddammit, why now? He forces himself to loosen his grip on Tsuno’s shirt, still dependent on her for support. The pain and exhaustion is becoming too great to ignore. He wants to share everything, yet he can’t bring himself to vocalize it.

“He can’t talk right now. Not when he gets like this.”

The sound of a masculine voice catches him off guard as Hiroaki leans against the wall beside them. The designer who’d been so helpful to him sometimes, yet so horrible at others. He stands over Sasaki’s shoulder like a prison guard, arms crossed and an irritated scowl on his face. The light reflects off his sunglasses, projecting a red glint onto the brick across from them. Wada supposed he wasn’t willing to let her out of his sights, even with himself and Tsuno there. Though he can tell by the slump in Sasaki’s shoulders that she isn’t thrilled about it. Her expression seems less like one of anger and more of reluctant acceptance.

“Maybe we should go somewhere quieter,” Tsuno suggests. Hiroaki is quick to shut down the idea. “The rabbit said it wouldn’t open the door until it was done with the new students, whoever the hell they are,” he reiterates.

Wada can’t help but cringe slightly at the reminder. He would’ve appreciated a chance to get away from the greater group. He can practically feel Okazaki breathing down his neck, even with the distance between them. He just hoped the second group didn’t contain any more people as…unique as them.

“Let’s just sit over here then.” Isono motions to a corner on the other side of the room, away from the crowd of arguing teens. Wada supposed it’d have to do for now. It was better than dealing with the fallout of their past actions.

“Fine by me,” Hiroaki agrees. “I’d rather not be forced to look at those two for any longer than I have to.” He gestures disgustedly toward Okazaki and Hasegawa, who had practically been backed into a corner by the other students. The two had undoubtedly made themselves public enemy number one. Hasegawa in particular seemed to be loathing every second of the negative attention. His expression is one of defeat, his eyes as hollow as they had been in the moments before his death. His last words echo in Wada’s head, sending a shudder down the impersonator’s spine. Following Isono’s lead, he pulls himself to his feet and makes his way over to-

“...d-dammit…”

He’s reliant on Tsuno to keep himself from collapsing again. The superhero wraps her arm carefully around him, her expression one of worry as she sits cross-legged on the floor. Her anxiety gives way to a look of dismay as the reality of the situation seems to dawn on her. Isono and Sasaki exchange confused glances as they each take their spots on either side of Tsuno. Even the seemingly arrogant Hiroaki breaks from his usual facade, a hint of concern creeping into his expression.

“...you haven’t been eating.”

His heart shatters as he hears the sadness in Tsuno’s words. Shame and guilt creep into his soul as he points his gaze toward the floor, unable to look her in the eyes. A part of him had been hoping that somehow she wouldn’t notice. He takes a deep breath, letting his weary frame sink against her. He has a lot to explain to Isono and Sasaki. More than what he initially planned. But the thought of delving into it all is daunting. Too much to wrap his head around on top of everything else. Instead, he lets his head fall against Tsuno’s shoulder, letting her words reassure him.

“...we’ll get through this, then you and I can go get food. Okay?” she promises him. “We’ll make it as quick as we can. As soon as the rabbit lets us go, I’ll make you something to eat.”

He nods weakly, feeling guilty for putting her into this stressful situation. He knows that the coming months will only make that stress even worse.

“What all do you need him to tell you?” Tsuno turns her attention to Sasaki, who in turn provides her notebook and pen for the impersonator to take notes with. He accepts the items with shaking hands, holding them in his lap. Isono sits by his side, her focus on him rather than the black-haired girl seated across from her. She seems understandably set on keeping her distance for now.

“I want you to go over the deaths and motives from the previous game,” Sasaki explains.

Hiroaki’s brows furrow at her words. “Do you really think they’re just going to reuse the same motives as last time?” he scoffs.

“I doubt it,” Sasaki replies. “But at the very least, we can have a better idea of what to expect this time around.” The girl raises a valid point. Now that they’ve endured the game once, they have a better idea of what to expect.

Isono turns to Wada, giving his shoulder a well-meaning pat. “You ready?”

With a slow, shaky breath, he nods. Using Sasaki’s journal and pen, he’s able to put together a rough timeline of what happened. His breath trembles slightly as he’s forced to read it all over. Even in writing, it still doesn’t bear thinking about. He hands the notebook back to Sasaki, who takes it with a nod of acknowledgement. He’s relieved that he isn’t the one being forced to read it out loud. Hiroaki observes from over Sasaki’s shoulder; the impersonator can catch a glimpse of his emerald eyes from behind his red lenses.

“Sasaki killed Isono in the first week. We all know that,” Hiroaki states.

He makes no attempt to sugarcoat the truth. Sasaki’s face pales slightly at the mention of her past crime, though she does her best to keep her composure. Wada can’t help but notice the way Isono’s shoulders tense at the subject. He offers her his hand, the gesture a feeble attempt to reassure her. She hesitantly accepts, intertwining her fingers with his.

“Right,” Sasaki hesitates before reading from Wada’s notes. “The second motive was adrenaline. A lot of people struggled with this one. Kamimura kept collapsing, Yanagi attacked Hiroaki…”

“You were seriously pissed about that,” Tsuno recalls.

“Are we seriously bringing that up again?!” Hiroaki growls in response. “He broke my fucking face. I had every right to be pissed!”

“It’s not important right now. I’ll keep reading.” Sasaki flips to the next page of the book, trying to keep the five of them on task. “The effects of the adrenaline gas caused Harada’s tiger to attack Chiba in the vent. Since she was supposed to be under Harada’s care, Harada was pinned as the culprit and executed.”

“That doesn’t sound fair at all,” Isono protests with a scowl.

“I-it wasn’t, really.” Wada finally manages to find his voice again, his thumb rubbing the back of Isono’s hand. “A lot of people were upset by the verdict.” He shudders as he recalls the sound of Harada’s desperate cries, of Hama’s pleas for his friend to be spared.

“We’ve already determined he isn’t a danger to anyone,” Sasaki clarifies. “Unlike Okazaki.”

At the mention of her name, his blood runs cold once again. Tsuno pulls him in closer, her fingers gripping the edge of his jacket. Wada can tell that the gesture is meant to comfort herself just as much as him.

“Okazaki killed Kamimura and Tsuno,” Sasaki recites. “During that week, the temperature dropped for each day without a murder, though Okazaki wasn’t particularly affected by it. She saw Tsuno as her nemesis and set a trap for her. Kamimura just sort of ended up as collateral.”

Anger fills Tsuno’s eyes at the reasoning behind her prior fate. “Nemesis?! I didn’t even know her!”

“They’re a complete lunatic,” Hiroaki hisses with hatred. “They treated the whole thing like a game. We need someone keeping an eye on them at all times.”

“Hayashi and Hama said they’d handle it,” Sasaki assures them before continuing. “For the fourth week, all lights in the building were turned off. Watari was devastated by what happened with Okazaki. She committed suicide by setting a trap which Hama activated, causing him to be pinned as the culprit.”

Isono’s eyes widen in shock. “She…walked him into killing her? Why would she do that?”

“Because she wanted him to win and escape.” Hiroaki’s voice is laced with emotion, though Wada can’t tell if it’s sadness or anger. “She wanted him to win the trial so that he’d live and all of us would die. But instead all it did was get him killed.”

The idol simply blinks at him, tilting her head in confusion. “That’s the rule?” she asks. “If the killer gets away with it, everyone else dies?”

It’s then that Wada realizes that she’s never actually experienced a class trial. But they don’t have time to address her concerns right now. Sasaki turns to the final page of his account, a look of horror creeping into her eyes at the words on the paper. Wada braces himself to hear it all again, his grip on Isono’s hand bordering on painful.

“...during the final week, power to the medbay was cut off. The games returned, only they were even worse than before. Hasegawa manipulated everyone before setting a trap to kill Hayashi. During the trial, he named several of the new students and expressed his desire to watch everyone die. He would have won the trial had Monomoko not interfered.”

Her words linger painfully as the rest of the group falls silent. Wada’s slight frame shakes against the fabric of his jacket as he recalls the pure hatred in Hasegawa’s voice. He’d meant every word he’d said to them that day. They were supposed to be dead.

Tsuno is the first member of the group to speak up. “I…I can’t believe Hasegawa would do something like that,” she stammers.

“Yeah, well he did.” Hiroaki stands from his spot on the floor, his harsh words as toxic as venom. “He nearly killed us all. He can’t be trusted. That’s why we’re locking him up with Okazaki as soon as we get out of here.” The designer’s head snaps back over to where the greater group is standing. Wada can’t see his eyes, yet he can still see him glaring daggers at the two.

“As for the rabbit, I have no idea why the hell it helped us. It does that sometimes. It acts all friendly with us like it isn’t trying to get us to kill each other.”

“Maybe that’s why it brought us back. To help us. To give us a second chance.”

His eyes meet Isono’s orange ones with a look of shock. To…help them? Is that what she’d suggested? He considers the possibility for a moment, thinking back to its behavior across the game. To the dying lily it had helped him save. To it’s actions during the trial which had undoubtedly saved their lives. To give them a second chance at life…was that what it wanted?

No…what was he thinking?

He forces the thought out of his mind before he can consider it further. They weren’t there for a second chance. They were there to suffer. To die at each other’s hands like they had in the past.

“That’s stupid.” Hiroaki says the words before Wada can say them himself. “If it really wanted to help us, it wouldn’t have put us here in the first place.”

He folds his arms across his chest, turning away from the group and heading toward the front of the room. Wada remains glued to Tsuno’s side, watching the designer as he stands impatiently beside the locked door. As he stares at it in silence, he can’t help but wonder if the other teens are faring any better.

__________
His limbs felt heavy. His thoughts just swirled around in his mind like glitter in water. Completely intangible.

He supposed all thoughts were like that.

But these ones felt hard to hold. Like everything he knows he should logically be feeling or thinking just…..slips through his fingertips. Leaving a dumb level of confusion.

He shifts slightly. There's a wall? Or floor? Against his back that's particularly cold. Whatever he was wearing didn't do much to stop it.

The more he tried to perceive his environment the more solid his thoughts became. To continue the poor analogy, it was like the waters were freezing over. Solidifying. Into tiny sparks of comprehension.

Where was he?

Was the first question to take form.

What was the last thing he remembered?

Was the only one he could really answer.

He had been walking home. That's all he had been doing. He had a pretty good day. Finished one of his projects. Got coffee with a friend. Bought a new hair clip that he found on sale. And was just heading back to his apartment.

He doesn't remember getting inside. But he can't remember getting taken either. He's usually pretty observant. Having weak vision means he had to make up for it in other categories. He's always extra aware of his surroundings. Some of his friends even claimed it was unnerving.

But he hadn’t heard anything weird. He knew it was dangerous to walk home at night, especially in the outfit he had chosen that day. But that's why he carried stuff in case of an emergency. An emergency that there hadn’t been.

So maybe he was home? On the floor? With a body next to him?

A body….next to him?

Multiple actually. He could hear their breaths and soft confused muttering from…. Just about everywhere.

Definitely not home.

He pushes himself into a seated position hoping to get a good look at the room. See if it explains anything.

It doesn't give him much. It's dark. Very dark. He thinks it's big? Like? Big enough that he can't quite make out where the walls are. He's not up against a wall but on a floor like he suspected. It has a slight glossy texture to it. Not tile or carpet, or wood, but like…….a sports court? Or a ball room?

The more concerning thing is that he can indeed make out bodies. The two on either side of him are easiest but he thinks he heard some type of movement across from him too.

Does he try to wake them up? While that might be the nice thing to do there's no telling who these people are. They could be the people that put him here.

Even if that would be….a little odd to put yourself in the same situation as your captor. He doesn't want to take any risks until he has a better grasp on the situation. He needs to let someone start. Take the fall. See what happens and go from there.

So he curls up and brings his knees to his chest as he waits in the dark for more people around him to rise.

He's wearing one of his nicer skirts. The fluffy kind that fall just above his knee. But did nothing functionally wise to keep him warm. He supposed he could have been left with worse.

“What the fuck” someone on the further side across from him actually spoke. Although it was clear from their tone of voice that it was likely not a very…..conscious decision. Said person mumbled something else to themselves, containing a few more curses.

“Hey!” they shouted, voice cracking, they were loud and assertive but didn't seem angry. Definitely scared though. So likely another captive. “Hello!? What the hell is this! Who- who are you people?”

There's definitely more shifting around he can both hear it and see the ever so slight blur of movement as this person starts to try to stand up. Only in the process seems to have found the bodies surrounding them.

“Shut up.”

Yaitabashi was startled by the sudden growling of the person next to him. There were other similar complaints from around the room although most were just noises of fear or unease.

He figured it was pretty safe to assume they wouldn't jump him for being awake.

“How many people are there.” he asks calmly trying to shake out the wavy nervousness, or desperation that may slip into his tone.

“How would i fucking know. It's way too dark to see anything!” the now only standing person responded.

“Well you're the one standing up right? Go find a light switch. Here I'll help.” Yaitabashi got to his feet in a simple manner and took a few cautious steps forward.

“I said! Shut up!” the girl to his left shouted again, this time throwing a fist to the ground. But not really a fist? There was a mechanical whirr and the sound of steel hitting the floor not flesh.

“It might be best to get up actually. We can get more answers with everyone active and thinking.” he nudges her slightly with his foot.

Unexpectedly, she wraps around his ankle with prosthetic hands and another growl.

“I’ll show you active and thinking!” she shouts.

“I- that doesnt even make sense?- ow! Could you let go?...please?”

“Where the hell even are we!”

“That's what im saying like…..”

“We’d have a better chance of figuring that out if you stopped clinging to my ankle so we can find a light switch.”

“A light switch?” she mumbles, finally letting go of him.

“Yeah.”

“No need. My leg glows.” she states like she's telling him what she just made for breakfast.

‘I- what?”

Sure enough he blinks and there's a purple light beside him. Its not big but it lets him get a better sense of who's around them.

The standing dude comes closer at the sign of the light. He has a lot of colors going on. he cant exactly tell why or how but it stood out greatly against the rest of the bodies around them. The girl with the glowing leg, was easier to see as she was on the floor beside him, she has wild purple hair and an athletic shirt with a black jacket.

On the other side of her is someone. They have a long white coat. and were……completely face down on the floor with long black hair falling across them and spilling onto the floor.

“Who….are you guys?” rainbows asked hesitantly.

“Maekawa Azusa, what about you dweeb?” she tilts her head towards him.

“Dweeb?...you’ve only known me for like 3 minutes” he was a little startled by the casual phrasing and lack of fear in her voice.

“Yeah well you talk like a fucking nerd. If you don't give me a name now you're just going to be dweeb for the rest of your life.”

“Yaitabashi Sou” he answers with a sigh.

“Meh, dweeb’s better.”

“Ninomiya Youhei,” the final member of their little trio answered.

At this point the stirring had really begun to grow in volume. There were a lot of panicked shouts and confused cries. Everyone began shifting and chattering. Around them.

The girl to Yaitabashi’s right finally spoke up, rubbing her eyes….”Hello?”

“Hey. get up. What do you remember?” he asks.

“Geez no need to overwhelm everyone dude. Try to chill a bit” Ninomiya suggested.

“No, I want to know what's going on.”

“Then maybe wait for everyone to get up first then ask?”

“Alright, fine. Lets make sure everyone's awake then. Count how many of us there are.”

“Yo! Labcoats." Maekawa immediately turned and started nudging the person beside her upon instruction.

“What's going on? The last thing i remember was just……going home.” the scared girl to his right finally answered.

“We don't have any idea what's happening. Just wake up the person next to you. Keep it going, we're in a circle. Make sure everyone is awake.”

“I…ok! Yeah! I can do that!” She takes on a positive tone and shakes the body to her right. He's got to admit the full on shake instead of poke or nudge is….a level of commitment.

On Maekawa's side, ‘labcoats’ was finally beginning to sit up grumbling frustratedly. Maekawa has not stopped nudging or nagging him.

“We all got a part to play so get your ass moving and tell us what you know Mr. im too cool and professional to help the group nobody here gives a shit you little lazy-”

“Who even are you?” The voice is exhausted and monotone.

“The person who's going to beat your ass if your not standing and smiling like a Disney fucking princess in the next 10 seconds.”

“Maekawa-” Yaitabashi tried to intervene. But whoever the person beside ‘labcoats’ beat him to it.

“AH! HA! You vile silhouettes shall not keep me in silence for any longer! I have broken through your spells! I'm ready to fight for the cause! Everyone! AAAAAAAARRRRRRRIIIIISSSSSEEEEEEEEEEE”

Well. That should. Certainly get the rest of the group up.

“Ow! Shut up!?” Maekawa shouted at the newly awakened magical girl. Actually several people shouted at her.

Actually several people were just shouting. In general. At nothing.

“There's 16….i think…..its still hard to tell.” Ninomiya admitted after having been quiet for a while.

“There are indeed 16 students.”

The room went silent.

A rabbit. A like….bunny rabbit. Like the animal. Sat in front of Maekawa's glowing leg. It was black with red eyes that didn't quite glow but were bright and pierced against the shadowy room.

“Apologies. I was supposed to arrive here sooner to help answer questions and ease your transition. But I was preoccupied. “

“Alright so this is just one giant nightmare and I'm going back to bed. “ a guy who he hadn’t given much attention to yet, because he was too far away to see, spoke up as he…sat back down.

“Im afraid that this is very real. You are not dreaming.”

“Im like. Pretty sure I am though.”

“You are not dreaming. This is a real room with real students.”

“Not buying it. I'm laying back down till I wake back up.”

“That's not even how dreaming works?” muttered a girl from next to him.

“There is no use in arguing with you further. Do as you please. But please listen for this short time being. I need your full attention. If you would like to know what's going on, I can explain your situation. But only if you are quiet.”

“How does the rabbit talk? I don't think animals are supposed to talk?” a high pitched breathy voice somewhere near sleeping guy asked.

“I am not an ordinary rabbit.”

“That much could be figured out.” scoffed ‘labcoats’

“I need you all to pay attention if you want to learn the limits of your environment. “

Everyone did thankfully go silent that time.

“You have each been selected to partake in this game due to your unique stories and talents. It is really quite an honor. 16 other students have played this game before you. But I have come back to play it again. You will join and meet them later. The rules of this game are rather simple. You will stay here on school grounds. There is plenty of space, food, water and other necessities. Including personalized dorm rooms. However, If you would like to leave. You must kill another student and win the following trial.”

“Hey! That actually sounds like it could be pretty fun!” an accented voice speaks up with an excited infliction.

“I didn't agree to play in any type of game like this.” ‘labcoat’ muttered.

“None of you did. You were selected. You will soon find this game is not commonly described as fun. “

“How do you ‘kill’ other students? If they're out of the game do they get to go home?” a more quiet voice he hadn't heard yet asked.

“No. they will be dead. “

“Yeah so if they’re dead they get to go home.”

“No. it will be the students jobs to clean up the body.”

The room went silent.

“......wait……you mean like……actually kill. Like stabby stab. Guns. horror villain type shit go off and actually for real kill people type game?” Ninomiya asked in a rather animated way.

“Yes. i am referring to actual murder. If you would like to leave you must take the life of a fellow student.”

“Then how are those other kids playing twice? Are we just playing against the survivors?” Yaitabashi asked not having the pieces added up.

“Several of them have died. And several of them have killed. But they are all here now to play again."

“How???”

“I'm afraid I can not share that information with you at this time.”

“That's BULLSHIT!” a very loud and angry voice spoke up and marched towards the rabbit. “LET US OUT OF HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT. I DONT HAVE TIME FOR THIS NONSENSE GAME YOU FUCKING BUNNY.” Her silhouette had pigtails and a jacket. As she stepped closer to the faint glow of Meakawa's leg he noticed her multi-colored punk outfit.

“Are there any further questions?”

“LET US OUT!”

“I will be able to be summoned upon command if you come up with any other questions. For now I will give you 20 minutes to introduce yourselves, or get acquainted however you please. Then the gym doors will unlock and you will be free to explore the school and meet your other players.”

“Wait!” the kind girl to his right called out but the rabbit disappeared.

Not left. Or ran off. Disappeared. Just stopped being in that spot.

There was complete chaos around him. Shouting and squealing and….someone was crying? And he was in a dark room with 15 random people, potentially in a building with 31 random other people. And the only way out was to kill someone.

What the fuck was his life.

He sighed, hardly able to stand the commotion around him. They had 20 minutes to make a plan, if they kept using their time to freak out and fight like this it might as well be worthless.

“Everyone! Shut up!’ he shouted. Projecting as far and loud as he could.

“We have 20 minutes. To decide what we're doing here. And arguing about it amongst ourselves isn't going to get us anywhere. Ninomiya, Maekawa, you're the only two names I know. Both of you go and find a light switch. I need to see who I'm working with. The rest of you let's start sharing names. We're in a circle, I'll start and we’ll go right. Once that's over one at a time lets start discussing ideas on how to handle the other students and come up with groups to explore with.”

“Hey! Who the hell put you in charge!? Why the hell should I trust you!?” pigtails shifted her anger from the disappearing rabbit onto him.

“Becuase im a guy who likes to be prepared. Ok? I'm scared just like the rest of you. But we need some sort of plan because if we go out there mindlessly with no idea of what we're doing. People might be uninformed. And if people are uninformed people get hurt. And I'd prefer to get us all out of here alive with minimal injury. So shut up and lets build a basic sense of communication for starters. Its going to get really complicated if we start trying to share information but don't know any names of faces.”

Pigtails scoffed but shut up.

“Im Yaitabashi Sou, you?”

“Yokoi Ruka,”

….

 

__________
Matthias watches from his spot on the floor as the boy in the green and white skirt tries to organize the chaos in the room. He still can’t wrap his head around the situation or the rabbit’s words. Kill each other? Other students? His stomach turns at the thought, his eyes scanning the room to watch the other students’ reactions. Some of them still seem on edge, while others simply seem angry. A girl with blonde hair and kind blue eyes cries beside him, her knees pulled to her chest. He makes a mental note to try and comfort her once he gets his bearings.

He doesn’t even remember how he got here. Last he remembered, he’d been lying in bed. He has no memory of ever leaving. He isn’t allowed to leave the building often. Whenever he does, it’s only to where they send him.

But now? He doesn’t recognize this place at all. The room suddenly lights up as one of the other students manages to find a light switch. He winces and covers his face with his arm, the sudden harsh light stinging his eyes. With the added light, he can better make out his surroundings and the faces of the other students. To his left was the crying girl, who still seems shaken up by their situation. To his right stands a much shorter girl with an eyepatch and neatly styled multicolored hair. Her hair is styled into two neatly tied buns, one at each side of her head.

He turns his attention to the outfit he’s wearing, a cozy sweater with a cream sweater vest and black jacket layered over it. He…wasn’t wearing this before? Did his kidnappers really go through the effort of bringing him new clothes?? What was the point? He forces himself to move on from it and focus on the matter at hand. The other students are gathered into a circle around him, sharing their names as if it were their first day of school. His body shudders against his will at the thought of hurting any of them. Yaitabashi stands at the front with a stoic expression, his confidence helping to lessen the remaining tension in the room.

He tells himself that maybe it’ll all be okay. They already have a leader taking charge. Maybe they could all just agree to work together and no one would get hurt.

“You there. What’s your name?”

The white-haired boy’s voice is steady, snapping him back into the present. He’s caught off guard for a moment as the group’s attention is suddenly focused on him.

“Ah- it’s Tsukigata!” he announces. “Tsukigata Hideyuki.”

He feels guilty for lying, but he can’t afford to tell them the truth. Not when the truth could get him in so much trouble.

Then again…it’s not really a lie, is it? It’s who he is now. Even if he doesn’t want to be.

At his introduction, the short girl to his right scoffs. “Such a name is unbefitting of someone as delicate and radiant as yourself,” she asserts confidently. “I am the great Ogura Noriko, at your service.”

The students to his far right each introduce themselves, closing out the circle. Until a short boy with messy red hair and shifty purplish-gray eyes disrupts their momentum.

“Why the hell should I tell you my name?” The boy gives a halfhearted scowl, his arms folded behind his head. He leans against the back wall and closes his eyes, seeming almost casual about the whole situation. Like he hadn’t just been kidnapped? He wears a red button up shirt, white dress pants and dark suspenders, clothes which looked fairly new. He has a small white patch at the front of his scarlet hair, which Matthias can’t help but notice.

“Because if we want any chance of getting out of here, we should at least know who we’re working with,” Yaitabashi insists.

The redhead rolls his eyes in annoyance, but reluctantly gives in. “It’s Ikeda,” he says dismissively. “Ikeda Daiki.”

Ikeda? Where had he heard that name before? He swore he recognized it, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Maybe he should ask-

Ikeda.

Oh. That Ikeda. He turns his gaze away from the redhead, hoping his reaction didn’t give anything away. He…probably shouldn’t bring that up right now. Especially since this guy didn’t seem the most approachable. Instead, he hones in on the others’ conversation, needing a distraction from his racing thoughts. Now that they knew each other’s names, Yaitabashi had steered the conversation to attempting to make an escape plan.

“Okay. We have about 15 minutes left before that door opens. I’m assuming that that’s when this ‘game’ thing will start. We need to have a game plan. What’s our course of action?”

“I think we should start by doing a thorough search of the building,” Yokoi chimes in. Her voice is energetic, like a coach attempting to motivate her team. “We might find something useful. Who knows? If we’re lucky, we might even find a way out!”

“That seems incredibly unlikely,” Hirose comments.

“W-we have to try though-!” Denden, the crying girl, finally meets the group’s eyes, her pale face stained with tears. “I-I don’t want to kill anyone-!!” Her body trembles with sobs as she hugs her knees closer to her chest, hiding her face in her arms once again.

Matthias frowns, concern filling his gaze as she watches her curl into a crying ball. The short, punk girl with pigtails across from them seems uncaring, glaring at the girl with a look of disgust. “Quit whining,” she orders. But as the scared blonde presses herself against the wall, Matthias goes and kneels beside her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Surprised, the girl looks up at him with wide eyes, to which he responds with a soft smile.

“It’ll be alright, Miss Denden. Nobody’s going to kill anyone!” He forces himself to sound reassuring, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. “There has to be a way out somewhere, right? We just have to find it! If we work together, I’m sure we can do it!”

He isn’t sure he believes in those words, but he can’t stand to see her upset. He knows that panicking about their situation isn’t going to solve anything. The taller girl sniffles, her sobs seeming to die down a bit. Ninomiya shoots the two a look from across the room, letting out a small scoff.

“That’s…optimistic, but sure. Go off I guess.”

“No. He’s right!” Yokoi pounds her fist against her open palm, her words full of determination. “I know we’re all scared right now, but if we want to get through this, we need to work as a team. That means we need to be on the same page. The other students have been here before, right? Maybe they can help us out? They probably know this place a lot better than we do.”

“Do you really think you should be putting your trust in them?”

“Hm-?”

Surprised, the brunette turns to see Ikeda standing by her side, his bored expression replaced with a smug grin. His eyes lock with Matthias’ for a brief moment, sending a chill down the horseback rider’s spine.

“Did you seriously not hear a word the rabbit said? They died. And if the point of this game is to kill each other, then we can assume they got murdered.” He twirls a strand of hair around his finger, as if what he was saying weren’t completely insane. Like he wasn’t talking about people’s lives. “I dunno about you, but I’d rather not put my faith in a bunch of killers. They might see you and think you’re next on the chopping block.”

“They’re not all killers, though. We can still gather information from them.” Tei’s voice pipes up from the other side of the room. His fists are clenched at his sides, as if it were taking all of his willpower not to start panicking. Matthias didn’t blame him one bit. “We’re going to need that info if we want to have any idea what’s going on.”

Ikeda doesn’t back down. “Even if they aren’t, the fact that most of them died here means that they were too stupid to find an escape themselves,” he mocks.

“How the hell are they even back anyway?” Nishiguchi frowns. “That’s like. Not possible. At all.”

“We’re getting sidetracked.” Yaitabashi’s brows furrow in frustration, his voice carrying above the others. “Yokoi’s right. The only way for us to get out of here is by cooperating. How are we going to go about investigating?”

“There’s an even number of us,” Hirose replies. “We can each break off into pairs. That way, we can cover as much ground as possible without sending people off alone.”

“G-great idea!” Denden cheers.

“Yeah, great idea. At least then when someone dies it’ll be easy to figure out who did it.” Ikeda mocks the blonde with a toothy grin, wiping the shaky smile clean from her face. Matthias blinks at him, while the other students glare at him with varying degrees of annoyance. Why did he seem so against the idea of helping them? A part of him wants to approach the shorter boy, to talk to him and see if he’s really as unkind as he seems. Yet his feet remain glued to the floor.

“Can you shut up?” Kumada barks. “The hell’s your problem?”

“Yokoi. You’re coming with me.” Yaitabashi ignores the other teens’ bickering, shifting the conversation back toward exploring. Matthias can’t help but admire his confidence in the face of danger. He speaks so clearly, making it easy to understand his words. “Ninomiya, you take Maekawa,” he continues.

“Seriously? You’re sticking me with Rainbow Dash over there?”

“Jeez,” the boy scoffs sarcastically in response. “Pleasure to meet you too.”

“Tsukigata,” Yaitabashi addresses him, pointing to the petite girl beside him. “You’re with Ogura. Hirose, you take Denden. Ikeda-”

“Who said I was helping? I’m not going with any of you guys.” Ikeda’s smirk grows wider as he watches Yaitabashi’s green eyes narrow with anger. “I don’t plan on playing nice with you all,” he explains. “What’s the point if we’re all gonna die anyway? I’m gonna go wherever I want.”

“No. No. We’re not letting anyone wander off alone. It’s dangerous. Kumada, you take Ikeda.”

“WH-?!” The blonde snaps her head over to Ikeda, her eyes filling with pure rage- which only seems to amuse the boy more. Her fists clench at her sides, and for a moment Matthias is afraid she might actually attack him. She opens her mouth to argue, but Yaitabashi pays her no attention.

“Akiba, you go with Tei. Isoda can take Ouno, which leaves Shishikura and Nishiguchi,” he finishes.

He then makes his way to the front of the room, waiting quietly for their rabbit host to release them. As the other teens fall into their assigned pairings and discuss how they’re going to divide the building among them, Matthias turns his attention to the locked door. He can’t help but wonder who the other group is and what they’re like. Hopefully as a team, they could find a way to leave this hell with everyone alive.

He hopes that maybe they can help him escape his own hell too.

“You there.”

His thoughts are interrupted by a high-pitched female voice behind him. Surprised, he turns to see Ogura hovering over him, a lively twinkle in her eye.

“Your efforts to console Miss Denden were honorable,” she says to him. “I commend you for supporting a fellow young lady in need.”

“Ah- thank you!” he replies. “I just didn’t want her to be scared. I don’t like seeing people upset.”

The petite girl seems pleased by his response. “Your kindness and optimism are admirable,” she declares. “Perhaps you’ll make for a suitable pupil.”

After what feels like an eternity, the door finally swings open. Matthias’ eyes widen as he catches a glimpse of the rest of the school. It’s…huge. A lot bigger than he expected. It’s honestly a pretty nice building! Yet there’s no sign of the other students. He wonders if they’ve already started looking around. He and Ogura should get a move on too! They had a lot of ground to cover. He turns to Yaitabashi for a signal, watching as the shorter boy gestures toward the now open door.

“Okay, we have a plan. Everyone, meet back up here once you’re done searching. That way, we can-”

“Nnnnnnope. Bye.”

“Ikeda-”

Despite the others’ protests, the mischievous redhead takes his leave. Hirose lets out a long sigh, rubbing his forehead in frustration. “What the hell is his problem…?”

“Screw him,” Kumada scoffs. “If he wants to fuck around on his own, just leave him.”

“Nobody’s going alone.” Yaitabashi insists. “Kumada, just- just join Nishiguchi and Shishikura. The three of you be on the lookout for Ikeda. Everyone else, just stick to what we decided on. Once we’re done exploring, we’ll meet back here and discuss what we found.”

“Let’s roll, team!”

With Yokoi’s declaration, the fifteen of them split into their assigned groups. Matthias watches as Kumada trails behind the others, muttering curses and insults under her breath. He wonders how long they’ll be able to work together without people like her and Ikeda tearing them apart. With the rest of the group gone, his gaze shifts to Ogura, who hasn’t moved from her spot near the back of the room. As his eyes meet with hers, an eager grin spreads across her face. Without warning, she grabs hold of his arm, dragging him through the door and into the building proper.

“Come now, my pupil! Let us go forth and CONQUERRRR!!!!!”

He stumbles behind her, wincing slightly at the pain in his arm. He…admires her enthusiasm! It’s honestly sort of contagious. With frantic steps, he does his best to match the smaller girl’s energy. “Where should we look first?” he asks as he follows her down the narrow hallway.

Ogura takes a moment to think before motioning to a door to their right. “I’d like to see what this room has in store for us. The others seem to have already been delegated.”

She pushes the door open, revealing a storage room with neatly organized shelves, stocked with canned food and other random goods. Matthias follows her inside, his eyes scanning the room for anything of note. There doesn’t seem to be anything in the cabinets, aside from extra blankets and pajamas. At least they had something to make their stay a bit more comfortable.

As Ogura searches the shelves, she turns to him, a look of curiosity in her expression.

“Your accent intrigues me. As a great seeker of knowledge, I must ask. Are you originally from Japan?”

“Ah- no. I’m from Belgium. This is my first time visiting Japan, actually!” He says it so easily, like a script he’s been rehearsing. If he were in her position, he could almost believe it. “I’m here for a competition. I’m a dressage rider!”

The young woman stops in her tracks, dropping the bottle of pills she was observing. “That’s…horseback riding???”

For a moment, he’s worried he did something wrong. But before he can ask, the girl throws her hands onto his shoulders, shaking them with immense excitement. He lets out a yelp, nearly stumbling from the force of her grasp.

“Such a graceful and elegant art! You continue to impress me, pupil! You truly are worthy of my highest blessing.” She then pauses, letting out a soft hum as she seems to think about something. “You need a name,” she declares.

“Eh? I…already have one though? I-”

“NONSENSE!!!” Her voice comes out as a shrill yell, catching the horseback rider off guard. “As part of my sacred ritual, I must give you a name more suited to your new form. Something soft and gentle such as yourself.”

Sacred…ritual? He tilts his head at her in curiosity. “Ritual-?” he asks. “Are you a god or something? You have superpowers?”

“INDEEEEED!!! YOUR EYES DO NOT DECEIVE YOU!! You’re staring at the noble protector of the second dimension’s most beautiful demoiselles!!!!” The girl moves her arms into a dramatic pose as she speaks, as if demonstrating her power to him.

Powers…? Does she really have magical abilities?? He isn’t sure what to think of her claim at first. Then again, if people could suddenly come back from the dead…he supposes anything is possible.

Besides, he wants to have faith in her. He wants to believe that there’s still hope for him. For all of them.

“Now, as for your new moniker…hmm.” The goddess scratches her head, pondering for a while before giving a look of realization. “From this point onward, you shall be known as…Hidemi.”

Hidemi…he actually likes it? More than Hideyuki, at least. For some reason it feels…better. Maybe because it was given to him by a friend.

“It’s perfect,” he smiles. “You’re amazing, Miss Ogura!”

“Brilliant,” Ogura grins. “Come now, Hidemi. The secrets hidden within this school await us! Let us continue searching with the utmost precision!”

“Yes ma’am, Miss Ogura! Lead the way.”

Chapter Text

Tsuno kept a hand on Wada's shoulder.

Sasaki kept flipping through the note book trying to commit as much as she could to memory. It was more than obvious she still had questions but she has taken to writing them down in the margins instead of asking them out loud. Tsuno was thankful for that.

There was a lot she wanted to question too! The whole Okazaki thing made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up in the worst possible way. And she was going to get to the bottom of that.

Just after everyone has had some recovery time.

There was no use starting anything right now, especially when tensions had just calmed down.

Hama, Harada and Chiba were catching up in one corner, with Hayashi glaring down Hasegawa and Okazaki across from them. Yanagi and Tamba were attempting to converse with Kamimura but it all seemed to go right through him.

It's weird to think they both got to the same stretch of the game. She'll try harder to make sure he gets further this time. Everyone will.

She looks at Isono on the other side of Wada.

She'll make sure they all make it out this time.

And then there was Hiroaki staring at the door like a kicked puppy, with Ojima leaned up on the wall behind him staring into nothing.

It had gotten pretty quiet. Everyone has gotten filled in the basics and were just waiting for a better time to do much else.

Luckily they didn't have to wait much longer.

"You are now free to roam and explore as you please. Remember to give The blue students a warm welcome. " The bunny appeared in the same spot it had before. Then disappeared again. Because why would it ever stick around.

"They're going to need a warm welcome after whatever icy speech you've given them," Isono muttered. Tsuno looked at her with a smile.

It was nice to hear her voice again. Making jokes and jabs.

Hiroaki of course rushed to the door swinging it open and dragging Ojima behind him by the wrist.

"Alright! Lunch time!" Tsuno smiled and put her hands on her hips confidently. Trying to spark some hope within Isono and Wada's dull eyes.

"Are we actually sure it is lunch time? .... It could be breakfast.... Or dinner?" Wada spoke very timidly. It was the most he's said in a while. Tsuno was proud of him

"Depends on what you're hungry for! It can be any time you want" she exclaimed. He didn't meet her eyes.

"I mean I'm down for breakfast. Waffles sound really good right now." Isono commented as they approached the door.

"Do waffles sound ok to you Wada?"

The boy just gave an uneasy smile.

" I'll take that as a yes! "

The three of them finally entered the hallway and just let muscle memory lead them to the kitchen. Isono and Tsuno chatted aimlessly as they walked with Wada chiming in every now and then.

They heard a lot of voices behind them. Hiroaki and Chiba's familiar squeals and other various shouts. Those must be because of the new students.

Tsuno paused her footing for a second, to turn and face the crowd that had gathered. “....should….we?”

“Ehhh. they're probably overwhelmed enough as is right? Might be best to let the others handle it for now! I'm sure we’ll meet them later!”

“Right! Food first! Then new faces…oh! What if we made like- sandwiches for everybody! As like a welcome gift!” Tsuno tilted on the edges of her toes and she came up with the idea.

“That could be fun!” Isono agreed.

“We can cut them up into like little shapes and stuff and hand them out. It will be so cute! And unexpected. Everyone's gonna be scared and stuff right? So we need to help them so that we aren't going to hurt anyone!....anymore- were. We're going to make it out this time. All of us!”

“Hopefully.” Isono mutters looking back at the ground. Tsuno tensed. Had she said something wrong? She was just trying to stay positive.

The hallway between the laundry room and dining room wasn't very long; they were making their way towards the kitchen with steady haste!

Only faltering once they actually got there. Tsuno was very familiar with the room and instantly knew where to go to grab what. She resumed her positions and jobs as if she had just been in her yesterday. From her perspective she had been.

It was a really weird feeling. Like nothing had changed. Like that entire woodshop door conversation had just been a bad dream. She had just made food that morning. And it felt like no time had past since. Even if for others it might have been weeks or months.

Or…..less…..

Isono stood in front of the kitchen door. Her face twisted into something that made it clear she was uncomfortable. Her hand clutched the edge of her skirt and her knees shook slightly.

Was she cold? Tsuno could offer her-

“I…..think i'm going to stay out here…..if that's alright?”

Oh.

“Yeah! Of course that's fine!” Wada rushed back over to comfort.

“I'm sorry i didn't even think about-” Tsuno wanted to slap herself mentally. Ahg! Of course! Why the hell would she invite ISONO!? To come help make food in the kitchen! Gosh! what a horrible move!

“Really! Don't worry about it! I'll be fine! Just. i think i might need a while before i uh…..yeah…” she still shook slightly as she stepped away from the room.

“Of course! Take your time! You two can both sit down if you’d like! Chef Tsuno will whip something right up!” she gives them her brightest smile and darts off.

She opened the pantry, fridge, cabinets to find everything fully stocked and fresh! So she took a few different things and got to work.

She didn't know what all the new kids' preferences were so she decided to make 3 kinds of sandwiches, ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly and salami and lettuce. She didn't actually know how many new students they were getting? She was thinking around 16? So 32 total sandwiches? That was gonna be a lot of work, but its work she loves!

She finishes a few of the pb and j ones along with a singular ham and cheese, before deciding to take a break to bring them out to Isono and Wada to have while she finishes the rest.

“Awww those are really cute!” Isono complimented the sandwiches. Tsuno had put extra care into cutting off the crusts and cutting them into hearts.

“If you were planning to serve these to the others, you could add like, little toothpicks in the middle? I think we have some in the storage room if you want me to go grab them?” Wada offered getting up.

“Sure! But. after you're done eating.”

He did not look pleased to hear this.

“Please Masanari?”

He sat back down with a defeated sigh and began poking at the bread. Isono was at least enjoying her sandwich.

Tsuno still had a whole lot more to make! So she turned to head back to her cooking duties, but the dining room door swung open behind her.

There were two people she didn't recognize.

“I still don't see why this was so important that you had to-”

“Shut up scarf boy.” a girl with yellowish blonde hair had stood defensively in front of the door scanning the room with narrowed eyes. Behind her was indeed a boy wearing a red scarf.

“Hello!” Tsuno smiled and waved.

“The fuck is going on in here?” the blonde asked faltering at the sight of heart sandwiches and smiles, and one of these girls had some sort of halo? And the other a cape?

Yeah….probably not the sight one would expect to see after just being told they were in a death game.

“Im Tsuno! I'm from the old game. Uh….these are my friends! We were hungry after waiting in the laundry room so I was making everyone sandwiches.”

“Oh? Really? Can I have one?” scarf….boy? Asked looking at the food with wide eyes.

“Hell no! They could be tampered or something.” the girl steps in front of him with a scowl. “I'm not trusting shit from the old players.” she crosses her arms and glares Tsuno down.

“I guess…..that's reasonable. But uh…..i promise they are not tampered with. I literally just made them in like 5 minutes. Didn't have time or need to do anything.”

“Yeah sure. You're probably a murderer or something and just trying to lie to us.” Blondie continues to scowl, her stare doesn't move.

“Hey! Don't go around accusing people of things you don't know! None of the 3 of us are murderers. The only 3 that were, are under watch right now. …..we just…wanted to have lunch.” Wada spoke out.

“Alright. Fine. make me trust you. Show me the kitchen. Let me see what you used.”

“I- that seems easy enough! Sure! I was going to make sandwiches for everyone. These ones are peanut butter and jelly though!”

“Oh! Phew! Ha ha! Well now I'm glad I didn't take one. I'm allergic.” scarf boy laughs. “Oh hey! I bet Kumada would like to-.......where's Kumada?”

“I thought she was right behind you?!”

“No- she she didn't come with us into the dining room.”

“Ah! Fuck! Well- uh- screw her anyway. Here i’ll stay here and scope things out. Keep an eye on these three and the kitchens. You go find the rascals.”

“What! Why do I have to?”

“Didn’t you just say you had allergies? Why would you want to be in here?! Now go! Keep an eye out for Ikeda too!”

“Whos….Kumada?” Isono asked with a slow blink.

“A bitch.” she huffs. “We were given one instruction! And that was stick together and she ran off.”

“Didn't you to send that other guy off though?” Wada raises an eye.

“To go look for her! God!”

“Alright! Well uh….who are you? We haven’t gotten a chance to meet any of the new students yet, I'm Tsuno Manami!”

“Nishiguchi Mutsuko.” she extends a hand while keeping her serious expression.

Tsuno takes it excitedly and shakes it around a ton with a proud grin. This deeply unsettles Nishiguchi.

“Fucks sake were in a death game not a kindergarten playground.” She pulled away muttering to herself but Tsuno's positivity didn't falter.

“Im Isono Miki” the internet idol waved politely.

“....Just…call me Wada.” the other occupant of the table announced with much less enthusiasm.

“Right. Got it. The guy who was with me a second ago is Shishikura. Now let me see this kitchen situation. If you're making sandwiches for everyone then you're going to want another set of eyes to confirm that you weren't doing anything weird with them.”

“Ok! Sure! Follow me!” Tsuno led the new girl into the kitchen.

“You just…..left everything out on the counter like that?”

“I was just going to drop Isono and Wada's plate off and come back. I wasn't planning to get wrapped up in conversation.”

“Uh-huh.” the blonde poked around the cabinets and pantry and fridge, mumbling to herself. Taking inventory.

Seeing her walk around and not burn holes through Tsuno with her laser eye stare, the superhero was able to take in a better look at the new friend. Her hair was quite long, and was tied back into a little ponytail at the top while the rest hung around her waist. She wore a green dress with sewn in designs and embroidery with a white flowy undershirt and tall hazel boots. Her olive green eyes darted around the room with calculated fascination. Tsuno could be wrong but she swears the lining of her skirt looks like a pizza.

Overall, Tsuno didn't pay her much mind. It seemed like she was on some sort of mission. So she just went back to making her sandwiches.

“Do you know if that uh….ah shoot. I've forgotten his name already. The red scarf guy? Do you know if he has any other allergies?”

“Shishikura? No. I've known him for a grand total of like 80 seconds before he bailed on me.”

“You. sent him out?”

“Expected him to put up more of a fight about it. Pushover.”

“He-....alright.”

Nishiguchi didn't seem….mean. Just. she held herself with a lot of authority.

“Do you cook often?” Tsuno was pleasantly surprised that the girl asked her a question in return.

“Often? More like occasionally. I used to volunteer at places. But in the game I was kinda delegated to kitchen duties. I don't mind! In all honesty, I found it fun! It helped take my mind off things.”

She remembers the first time stepping foot back in here was when Kamimura said it was good. And Isono was….gone. She had half expected to never be able to work in here again with visions of her friend coming to haunt her. Or the stench lingering and overpowering anything they ever tried to make.

She swore to herself that she'd never cook in there again.

But then she saw Wada. And…..she knew what Isono would have wanted. Instead she twisted any thoughts of the body they had stumbled across into imagining her reaction to the food or her advice. Like a mini cooking ghost. Although she doubts Isono knew too much other than basic microwave meals.

Cooking. Even in the same kitchen her friend might have died in?....It brought relief. For the chunk of the game she was still alive for.

“You’re taking forever.” Nishi huffed. “Like seriously have you never learned how to dice lettuce, or spread sauce correctly”

“No, not really.” she laughs nervously. Pulling a hair behind her ear as the blonde crept over her shoulder.

“Here move. You line things up, I'll chop and serve.”

“Huh?”

“Give me the knife! Unless you want to be here for hours, that is.”

“Uh-sure!” Tsuno hands over the jelly knife and Nishiguchi eagerly takes it. Swiftly getting to work. Tsuno is easily impressed by her skill as she spreads it perfectly evenly across the bread in a single precise motion.

“Woah! That's pretty neat! Do you cook often?” she repeated the question back with a slight tease.

“I work,” she sneers. “Now go line up more bread- and clean this off- did you not grab any towels? Come on! We have 32 sandwiches to make preferably before somebody burns the school down.”

Tsuno can't help but chuckle slightly at how serious the girl was taking the whole thing. She followed the commands with a salute and nod.
__________

Meanwhile, Hayashi tightens the zip ties around Okazaki’s wrists with a scowl. She knows that if anyone in this building is qualified to watch after these two lunatics, it’s her. That doesn’t make her any more excited about the prospect, though. The masked teen watches her from the floor as she secures them by the ankle to the foot of her bed. She can’t see their expression, yet she can tell they’re likely grinning at her from behind the porcelain. They’re a complete weirdo like that.

Behind her, Hama stands beside Hasegawa, his hand clenched tight around the shorter boy’s arm to keep him from moving. The quiz show champion makes no attempt to struggle against him, his gaze focused on the floor rather than the other teens. Despite everything, he doesn’t seem particularly angry about his current situation. Instead, he just looks sort of…defeated. Empty.

Hayashi doesn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for him.

She turns her focus away from Okazaki and onto restraining him. How could she feel sorry for him? He fucking killed her last time! More than that, he’d manipulated and tortured everyone. All while lying and pretending he was still on their side. She binds his wrists together with the thick plastic strips while Hama pins him to the floor with his arm. A bit excessive maybe, considering he wasn’t fighting back. But she doesn’t care. If they’re being forced to play again, she’s going to make sure there aren’t any repeats.

She won’t let it happen again. To any of them. Even if she has to die again in the process.

“This tight enough for you?” Hama kneels across from her with a handful of ties, motioning to the knot he’d just made around Hasegawa’s ankles. Hayashi tests it out by giving it a quick tug, checking to see if the shorter boy could potentially break through it.

“Yeah, I think that’s good. Thanks for giving me a hand with these two.”

“No problem,” the demonologist replies stoically. It brings her a strange sense of comfort to see him standing alive in front of her again. Just the memory of his prior trial and execution is enough to make her hands shake. She quickly shoves them into her pockets, not wanting the others to notice. She can’t afford to show weakness right now. Not when somebody here knew exactly how to best exploit those flaws.

A quiet sigh passes her lips as she rests her back tiredly against the bed frame. Deep down, she’s absolutely terrified. Memories of her past fate come and go through her head, no matter how many times she’d tried to fight them off. The sudden fall. The phantom ache of a sharpened blade stabbing through her stomach. The events leading up to her death- how quickly they’d all unraveled. It all still felt fresh. Like a nightmare she’d just woken up from. Hama seems to notice the gears turning in her head, turning to her with a raised eyebrow.

“You look like you’re thinking.”

She slumps further against the side of the bed, letting her head rest against the mattress. She hates how easily he was able to see through her. “It’s…nothing,” she replies. “Just have some stuff on my mind.”

“You wanna take a minute?” Hama suggests. “I don’t mind watching them by myself for a sec.”

Hayashi considers the offer for a second. She feels guilty about leaving so abruptly, especially when she’d been the one to volunteer. But her thoughts are racing too quickly for her to catch them. She thinks back to the bonds she’d built with her fellow victims, how distraught they’d undoubtedly been by her untimely death. Yanagi and Tamba in particular were two people she desperately wanted to clarify some things with.

“You’re sure?” she asks Hama as she forces herself to her feet.

The dark-haired boy nods. “Yeah. Trust me. I’ve got it under control.” Hayashi looks between their two prisoners, gauging their reactions to see if she felt they’d give him any trouble. Okazaki seemed to be off in their own world at the moment, while Hasegawa appeared to be silently judging them.

“...alright, well, if you’ve got things covered here, I’m gonna go look for Tamba and Shigeki.”

She heads to the front of the room, making it halfway through the door before Hama’s voice stops her in her tracks. “Weren’t they together when we left the laundry room?” he asks.

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen either of them since then. I wanna make sure they’re alright and not killing each other or something.” She doubts it would come to that, but after everything they’d suffered through last time, she isn’t sure she feels comfortable leaving them out of her sight. Not with how paranoid and volatile Tamba was when they’d last left off. The conversation she’d had with Yanagi the last time he’d seen her alive.

“...you’re really worried about them, aren’t you?”

She forces herself to bite her lip and stop the storm of emotions from spilling out. Worried didn’t even begin to describe how she felt.

“She…she was depending on me, Hama. Both of them were. I made them both a promise.”

The taller boy places a firm hand on her shoulder as she stands motionless in the doorway. “Go talk to them,” he encourages her. “I’ll be right here.”

The red-haired girl manages a small smile at his reassurance. As blunt and…unique? Hama could be at times, she was grateful for his presence. At the very least, with someone as strong as him there, they could more easily keep their two at-risk killers restrained.

“Right. I’ll try to be quick. If either of them tries to get out, then like…I dunno. Punch em with your…demon arm shit or…whatever.”

“That doesn’t sound very ethical,” Okazaki pipes up in a way that Hayashi can’t tell is joking or not.

“Yeah, well neither are you. Shut up.”

She slams the door behind her, scanning the hall for any sign of either of the two blondes. Yet all she sees are the faces of people who’d died before her, as well as who she can only assume are the other students. It seemed like they were investigating, though Hayashi doubted they’d find anything of note. She wonders how well this second group of victims will fare compared to the first. Maybe now that she was back, she could warn them. Protect them through the hell they were undoubtedly about to face.

Her mind keeps backtracking to that final day she was alive. To what Shigeki had told her in the student cafe. He…loved her? He wanted to start a new life with her. She’d never gotten the chance to properly respond to his confession. How the hell was she even supposed to?

Anxiety churns in the pit of her stomach as she glances toward the door to his room. She…isn’t sure if she’s ready for that. Not right now, at least. Yet at the same time she-

“Gh- HEY!! Watch where you’re going, asshole!”

Startled, Hayashi lets out a yelp of surprise as another body suddenly collides with hers. A mass of flowing purple hair flies into her face as the person in front of her falls harshly to the floor. A tall, fit girl with a glowing prosthetic leg glares angrily up at her, while a second person stands at her side. This guy was much shorter and thinner, with bright multicolored hair and heavy makeup around his eyes.

“Oh- shit, sorry- you alright?” Hayashi offers the girl a hand, only for her to smack it away. The other teen seems amused by the whole situation, letting out a small chuckle.

“Pfft- dude, don’t apologize,” he says. “Do it again. That was funny as shit.”

At this, the purple-haired girl leaps up, clenching her metal fist in annoyance. Hayashi can’t help but wonder what led to her losing three out of four limbs.

“Say that again and I’ll break your fuckin nose, Goth Kid!” she yells.

“That- …yeahh, no. Not even close.”

Hayashi simply blinks at the two strangers in front of her. This…was going to be a long game. Were they all like this? She decides to pry them for information, wondering if they’d managed to find anything her group may have missed the first time.

“You two are part of the new group, right?”

“Yep. Unfortunately.” The guy with rainbow hair extends his hand to her, giving a small nod hello. “Name’s Ninomiya. The purple-haired chick is Maekawa. You?”

“Hayashi Mai,” she introduces herself, shaking his hand. “You have any luck investigating?”

“Nnnnnope.” Ninomiya gives an annoyed eye roll, pulling his hand back and tucking it into his pocket. “So far it’s been nothing but a buncha boring school shit. Right now we’re looking for the kitchen. I gotta grab some food real quick.”

“And I’m stuck going with him, cuz Flowerboy said we haaaave to stick together,” Maekawa finishes, throwing an annoyed glare the boy’s way.

“Flower- …who?”

“One of the other dweebs from our group,” Maekawa scoffs. “Get used to hearing him yap a lot.”

At that comment, Hayashi can’t help but laugh. “God, I feel that,” she remarks. “Just wait till you see our half. Watch out for a guy in a red jacket and red sunglasses. He’s annoying as shit.”

Ninomiya chuckles in response, while Maekawa raises a judgmental eyebrow. Hayashi can’t help but wonder how they’ll get along with the more…vocal members of the Pink side. She hopes for their sake that they hadn’t run into them already.

“You want me to show you where the kitchen is?” she offers. “I think a couple of the others are down there making sandwiches for everyone right now.”

Ninomiya gives a nod of agreement, pointing finger guns at her. “Coolio,” he replies.

“I mean, if you want something else, I could probably whip something up for you real fast.” Hayashi recalls how she’d always spend time in that familiar kitchen, how prepping food for the others was one of the only aspects of the game that brought her joy.

“Nah,” Ninomiya responds. “I need something quick. I’ll just eat whatever they’ve got.”

“Cool. I’ll walk you down. Don’t expect me to stay long, though. I’m looking for someone.”

She leads the two swiftly into the kitchen, hoping to catch Yanagi or Tamba on their way inside. Yet there’s still no sign of them anywhere. The scent of peanut butter lingers in the air as Hayashi enters with her new companions. Ninomiya grabs a sandwich from the tray Tsuno and Nishiguchi had prepared, taking a large bite as he sits beside the door. Maekawa remains on her feet, keeping a fair bit of distance between herself and the bounty hunter. The purple-haired girl almost seems to be studying her.

“So like, are you a murderer or…?”

“Wh- no.” Hayashi’s expression hardens as she folds her arms, pressing her back against the wall. The shorter girl doesn’t back down though, her eyes narrowing as her violet eyes meet Hayashi’s red ones.

“Hmmm, I dunno. You kinda look like you’d murder someone,” she comments.

“Pfft, what, just cuz she’s a fuckin giant?” Ninomiya remarks. “You realize you’re like six feet tall, right?”

“I didn’t kill anyone. I got murdered.”

Her words send a shockwave through the now silent kitchen. Hayashi claims a seat across from Ninomiya, unable to look either of them in the eyes. It feels incredibly strange to just…say it like that. Her shoulders tense a little as the flashbacks from last game threaten to take her over. Maekawa’s expression seems to soften slightly, though she remains suspicious for now. Ninomiya gives her a look of slight concern, his eyebrow raised in confusion.

“...I was the last person killed in our game,” the bounty hunter continues. “There were eleven deaths total. Six victims, five killers.”

Ninomiya’s brows furrow as he processes this new information. “Wait, so someone got greedy and killed two?? Is there like, a limit on that? How many people die before the game ends?”

“It ended after five trials for us. Five trials, or until only one person was left. There’s way more of us now though, so that number’s probably gonna go up. It means we’ll be stuck in this hellhole for even longer than I thought we would.”

“The hell’s with these trials?” Maekawa finally decides to take a seat, appearing fatigued from all the standing and walking. “The rabbit thing said that earlier. That we have to ‘win a trial’ if we wanna leave. Could you tell us how the fuck that works?”

The red-haired girl pauses for a moment, her gaze shifting to the open kitchen door. To the friends she swore she’d track down. To the guy down the hall who she’d left to deal with their two biggest enemies. She doesn’t want to stick around any longer than she has to…yet she knows without information, the group is going to fall. Just like they did before.

She’ll stay there just a while longer. She’ll tell them everything they want to know. Then after that, it’s back to unfinished business.
__________

Yokoi had no idea why Yaitabashi had selected her to accompany him. But she definitely wasn’t complaining. He was super sweet and really level headed. She admired how he took charge so fast.

“Ok the very first thing were going to do is talk to the other group of students. The others can do the exploring. But I want answers on how this place works. What they've tried, what they haven't, what the deal is. You know? If we can talk to as many of them as we can. Get as much information as we can. Then we can start coming up with ideas for escape a lot faster.”

“Agreed!” she says with an energetic nod. Man. This guy was like soooo much more prepared than she was. She had also wanted to talk to the other group but less for strategy and more because she was curious. A whole group of kids that got out of a killing game and were sent back? That's got to be a crazy story.

“At the very least i want everyone's names, and what ever their roles from the last session were. I’d prefer not to just trust them all blindly and find out in a week that someone who I’ve been eating dinner with was a mass murder.”

“Yikes….yeah….yeesh….that would not a great feeling.” her skin crawls just thinking about it. A happy face someone supper sweet that she could see herself becoming friends with. Only to learn they killed somebody? Yeah she’ll pass on the heartbreak.

“Id honestly prefer not to ‘eat dinner’ with any murders if we can help it. Maybe we can convince them to set up some kind of safety thing……i think Im mostly just unsure if this 2 groups thing is going to be used against us or if we're supposed to blend together into one.- that is if we don't find an exit of course. I'm hoping we will but it doesn't sound like who ever played before did. But maybe they just weren't looking hard enough- or their all psychos waiting to kill us at the first chance like rabid dogs-”

He kept….muttering to himself growing increasingly tense. His voice picked up in both speed and pitch and she realized maybe he wasn’t all as put together and level headed as she thought….

“Uh- hey?” she asked gently, trying to pull him from his paranoid theorizing.

“Huh?”

“Just- lets stick with the getting to know the other players first ok? We can worry about escaping and long term strategizing later.”

“Your ... .right. Sorry. I guess we all have our own ways of coping.” his flower crown fell forward slightly as he took a deep breath. Bothered by it he flicked it back up to rest better atop his white hair.

“Your outfits cute.”

“Thanks……i try. Just….wasn’t very practical for this particular situation.”

“Well you couldn't have predicted that, for what it's worth the flower crown is really adorable. I’ve always wanted to learn to make flower crowns but I never got the chance.” she continues to complement ending with a dramatic sigh.

“Heh. Maybe when we get out of here I can teach you.”

“Sounds like a plan!” she swung her arm across her chest in an animated motion.

Yaitabashi had opened his mouth to say something else, but the doors next to them un locked and swung open.

“Guess its game time then.” he shot up and wiped the dust off his skirt and socks. Yokoi followed his movements and stood beside him. The boy then turned his back to the open door to face the crowd behind them.

“Okay, we have a plan. Everyone, meet back up here once you’re done searching. That way, we can-” he was cut of by a blur of red slipping past with a cocky smile.

“Nnnnnnope. Bye.” Ikeda hummed and ignored all other 15 students to go do….who even knows?! What was there to do beside follow the plan!?

“Ikeda-” Yaitabashi hissed fingers curling in as he let the other just wander off.

“Screw him,” Kumada scoffs from somewhere nearby, her hair bounces with her annoyed head tilt.. “If he wants to fuck around on his own, just leave him.”

“Nobody’s going alone.” Yaitabashi insists. His eyes darting around trying to form some sort of solution. They did that a lot actually. They never seemed able to focus on one particular thing. Like he was always trying to take in everything he could. Running a million calculations in his mind. “Kumada, just- just join Nishiguchi and Shishikura. The three of you be on the lookout for Ikeda. Everyone else, just stick to what we decided on. Once we’re done exploring, we’ll meet back here and discuss what we found.”

There were few cautious mumbles and chuffs. Especially from a now pissed Kumada buttttttttt she and Yaita had a goal in mind! She's positive the others can figure out themselves too.

“Let’s roll, team!” She waved her hand and faced the doors bravely, her new friend trailing behind her. Unexpectedly given she's been following his lead this whole time, but he seemed pretty set in approaching this from behind Yokoi's more…..friendly demeanor? If she had to guess. He did come off as a little brash sometimes, so maybe he just wanted to analyze and let her do the talking?

She doesn't know. She's probably reading into things wayyyyy too much. He's just walking behind her! That's all.

There were a few rooms around them, and cream hallways that definitely gave the vibes of a school. The others behind them disappeared into various rooms or took off in different directions. Most actually staying in groups thank the lord.

She and Yaitabashi didn't move much in the chaos, just taking small steps forward to keep eyes and ears peeled for any new faces.

Unfortunately for them, the new faces found them first.

“HEY! YOU!” Yokoi's attention was immediately grabbed by a boy sliding out of a door down the hall and pointing at their group.

Yokoi was startled to say the least. She raised a nervous hand to wave at him but he rushed over, sprinting before she could so much as spread her fingers. He was decked out in a snazzy red jacket with combed hair and vibrant sunglasses. Weren't….they indoors? Why the need for sunglasses?

She wasn't sure. She just gave the intimidating figure a tense smile and tiny wave of her hand as he stood over the two of them. “Who? the hell are you.” he basically growled.

“Im-”

“We could be asking you the same question. Only we’d do it more civilly. Maybe say please next time and you’ll get an answer” Yaitabashi cut her off, matching the energy the new boy was throwing at them.

“Oh so that's how you're gonna play huh?” he looks their closest thing to a leader up and down before turning a nose at him. “Why that shade of green? That's way too bright next to the white. You're going to burn my eyes out. Also, double bows really? What are you, 7?”

“I-....how does how I dress have anything to do with what's going on right now? I mean- I appreciate that is…..not the feedback i usually get. but still.”

“Heh, I think we just got off on the wrong foot. I'm Yokoi Ruka, what's your name?” she does her best to diffuse the growing tension.

“Hiroaki Nakamigawa. And you’d be better off not making friends.”

“And how would you know? You kill yours or something?" Yaitabashi snaps at him.

“No. for the record I actually made it out. I haven't been here in almost a year now and I'm kinda pissed to be back stuck in this stupid building. And not even with the same assholes from before! I've got double the people to keep track of?! I’d rather be the first victim than stick around further than that.”

“Im…….sure…..that can be arranged.” Yaitabashi sighed through gritted teeth.

“Was that a threat!? Did you just threaten me?!” Hiroaki flinches back shocked, his head twisting around to look for support. When his eyes fall on another boy slowly stepping up behind him, he grabs the taller blue teen by the shoulder, “They just threatened me!”

“You. ran up to them screaming. Have you learned…..nothing? Like genuinely have you ever had a thought happen in your brain that led you to thinking ‘huh. Maybe you shouldn't do that anymore’ “

“Hey! I thought you loved me!”

“I do. But I'm not going to defend you when you scare people and then get upset when they try to scare you back.”

“You hate me”

“I don't Hiroaki.” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Before extending a hand. “Sorry…..about him……he's just restless."

“I'm right here! You don't need to talk about me like I'm some sort of rabid dog!”

“Well maybe I wouldn't if you stopped acting like one-! I- I'm Ojima Takeshi.”

“You see! People who love each other don't call their partners rabid dogs.”

“You called yourself that.”

“Yaitabashi sou. You guys got out? how?” her partner finally introduced himself.

“We won. Lasted 5 trials. Got sent out.”

“We only have to survive 5? That….cant be too bad.” she mumbled doing the math. That would only be 5? Deaths?

Hiroaki laughed at her, “yeah no. 11 people fucking died and…..one of us didn't make it the full year after either.”

“Oh. i didn't check in with- i- i need to go-” Ojima’s eyes went wide at the sudden reminder.

“Wada's fine. I talked to him. We can go have a deeper conversation later. God knows we should both apologize or some shit. just...not right now.” Hiroaki grabbed the other's wrist instinctively.

“How’d you lose 11 people if their were 5 trials” Yaitabashi stayed persistently on topic.

“The killer, once found, is executed in a rather ... .dramatic public display. And one of the past killers decided to take out two people. For…..unknown reasons. …….you’re doing a pretty awful job at this whole ‘Sasaki duty’ thing if you just run off like that by the way. I could have just gone anywhere. You're lucky I'm trying to get my reputation restored. ” A new voice joined in appearing behind Hiroaki. She had glasses and straight hair. With a white shirt and dark skirt, she carried a note book that she was scribbling in furiously.

“Shut up! I trust you. I'm just giving you a buffer cause the others don't. And Unknown reasons? You cant be serious. The reason is that Okazaki is a fucking lunatic.” Hiroaki confessed.

“I'm sure there had to be some other motive it still just doesn't make sense that someone would cause all that suffering just for the…fun of it!”

“There. Wasn't another motive. Trust us. The motive from the game was that the building was freezing. Have you seen the layers Okazaki wears? They weren't affected by shit! Literally only killed Kamimura to mess with Hasegawa during the investigation. They admitted to that! To his face! and then still spiked trapped Tsuno for some- stupid- theatrical- superhero shit i still cant wrap my head around with out feeling sick.”

“Woah woah heyyyyy. This is some great info and all but could maybe go a little slower? Who did all that? And uh….where are they?” Yokoi asked heart , starting to race at the actions they were describing.

“Yeah that's kind of a lot to throw on the newbies at once, maybe tone it down a bit?” Ojima muttered.

“No. Don't tone anything down. Just give us the facts. Where is this person? Should we be scared of them?”

“Okazaki Hanano. They're currently being locked up in Hayashi Mai’s bed room. She's a hunter of sorts? Apparently she has supplies to keep them tied down.”

“Hasegawa Ken is in there too. He’s the other one that's dangerous. Nearly got us all killed at the very last trial. Was just. Fine with everybody dying. He's smart as all hell though. We nearly would have followed his plan if it weren't for the rabbit jumping in last second.”

“But there were 5 trials. That's only 2 killers who were the others. Why are they not locked up.”

“The others were accidents ... .ish.” he turns to the girl beside him with a sour expression.

“I was really hoping not. To introduce myself like this.”

“It's better they know early Sasaki.” Ojima winced a little.

“I'm not- uh…..my name is Sasaki Hitomi. For the week…..i was around…….we weren't allowed to sleep. It drove me to make some……unfavorable decisions that resulted in another student's death. But! I regret them! And I wont let it happen again! I'm supposed to hang around Hiroaki so he doesn't let me take any chances. You shouldn't have to worry about me this time.”

“But you did kill someone.” Yaitabashi looked though all the emotional language

“I-....yes.”

“If you so much as a make a slight threat. If I see a knife in your hands or ever catch you alone. I want you locked up too.”

Yokoi…..didn't feel the same. The amount of regret and ache in her eyes really felt genuine. She really seemed like she hadn't wanted to. In fact she seemed kinda cool with her note taking and studious look. It was hard to envision such a simple girl doing something so awful.

“How'd you kill them?” Yaitabashi asks, still cold.

“I- I don't see how that's relevant.”

“Isono Miki. She walked in on Sasaki cooking in the kitchen and then she hit her with the frying pan until she died.”

“Hiroaki!” she seethed.

“They deserve the truth. If they have questions. And we know the answers. They deserve to be on the same footing. No matter what the question is.”

“That's…..awfully mature coming from you.” she mumbled but didn't put up any further argument.

“Wait seriously? You’ll help us? Answer our questions and everything!?” This was great news! Gosh Yaitabashi had been scared they were going to be faced with a bunch of evil monsters! These guys were nice!

“Considering I'm one of the 5 that got out of here. Yeah. I'd rather not have to wait around and wait for people to catch up. The less I have to explain over and over again the better. Especially because I know the others aren't exactly capable.”

“Ouch. I'm right….here.” Ojima muttered looking away.

“You know I'm right.”

“Well…..Yanagi might be close.”

“Sure. But who wants to listen to Yanagi of all people?! His retelling would be like 40 minutes just to get through the first trial because he’ll keep pausing to apologize to the girls.”

“He still does that?”

“Oh yeah. Its annoying as fuckkkkkkkk”

“Lets start there. I want to meet everyone in your group. How many of you are there? I want to meet everyone. Put names to faces and identities and get the full timeline on what happened, with who, and why. Then to spare you the trouble I can relay the information back to my group.”

“So what, you're their leader or something? Got to say the whole splitting everyone up into pairs and making them search things is kinda unoriginal. We beat you to it, like ages ago. Such a dead trend.”

“Did….you hear anything i just asked?”

“What he's trying to say is, it's nice to see someone taking charge. And that your plan is reasonable and we should get started.” Sasaki translated.

“Awesome!” Yokoi clapped her hands together. “If we keep up the team work we’ll be out of here in no time I'm sure!”

“I….wouldn't get your hopes up.” Ojima muttered again, she figured he wasn't a very loud talker. He spoke like he forgot the words he was saying could actually be heard.

And so Yokoi ignored him and kept her positive attitude regardless! Which reminds her- she saw Sasaki's note book and was wondering something…..

She had a bag around her torso. Carefully she un-latched the thing. Unfortunately there wasn't a cell phone or…..any of her usual belongings. But there were a few pens and a notepad. Which she pulled out gleefully.

“I- what? You had those on you the whole time?!”

“I didn't realize until I saw hers! I didn't think to check sorry.”

“What else is in there?”

“Just more pens. Nothing good.” She frowned and the sudden disappointment she managed to cause. “Buttttt now! We can like interview people. All professionally and stuff.”

“That's not a bad idea. If we go around and get a tab on everyone. From both groups.” Sasaki hummed, flipping a page in her notebook.

“It's gonna take forever. Plus there are people that I don't want to talk to.” Hiroaki huffed.

“That’s what Ojima’s here for then. So you don't get bored. Now. I'm invested in this. Let's get started.” Sasaki turned to the direction with the loudest noise leaving a flustered duo scrambling behind her.

Yokoi laughed at their equal expressions of panic and followed along, excited to be involved in such a big mystery.

It was easier to think about it that way. This was just a game. All she had to do was solve it. Starting with some simple interviews.. What could go wrong?
__________

Tei’s thoughts were racing a mile a minute as he attempted to navigate this labyrinth of a school. The hallways seemed never ending, like the building’s layout was somehow changing before him. To say today had been difficult so far would be an understatement. He was already stressed enough from work and dealing with shitty customers all day. Now he’s being told he’s trapped in a murder school, where he has to kill someone in order to leave? That there were sixteen others who had done this before him and were brought back to life to do it again??

He seriously couldn’t catch a break.

His legs ache from the effort of walking full speed down the narrow hallway. He was still dressed in his cafe’s standard uniform of a white button up, black overalls and pink accessories; he hadn’t gotten time to go home and change before whoever was keeping them trapped here had supposedly abducted him. That was another thing. Who had even brought them all here? The talking rabbit that apparently exists?! He had no memory of ever arriving. All he remembered was clocking out, beginning his walk home and then…nothing. It was all a blur from there.

He rubs his temples in frustration at the whole situation. It seemed they still had a lot to figure out.

“Jeez dude, can you slow down a little? You’re seriously freaking out.” A low-pitched masculine voice calls out from behind him as the tall, muscular blonde he’d been exploring with jogs to catch up with him. “You’re gonna miss something if you keep blitzing through everything like that.”

Tei gives a tired huff in response. “I’d rather not slow down, thanks. I’d rather us find a way out of here as soon as possible.”

He knows he’s freaking out right now, but how could anyone blame him? What they were going through was something straight out of a horror movie. It absolutely shouldn’t be their reality. There was a part of him that wondered if he was simply going insane, if it was all a hallucination or some elaborate simulation. But the cold brass doorknob certainly feels real as he turns it and enters the door to his right. The gust of air that runs through his hair feels real as he pulls the door closed behind him. He and Akiba were standing at the end of a hall with 32 doors, 16 at either side. He assumed that this was where they’d be staying for the duration of this hellish game.

“I seriously can’t believe any of this is happening,” he mutters.

“Honestly,” Akiba huffs in response. “I’m still convinced that this is some kinda nightmare or drug trip or something. Like at any second I’ll wake up and it’ll all be gone.”

“You’re still going with that, huh?” Tei asks, almost amused. As dense as Akiba seemed, he had to admit that he did find him sort of funny. “Wouldn’t you be able to tell if you were dreaming by now?”

“I dunno, man. I’m just super fucking confused right now. Let’s just check out the rooms and head back.”

The part timer nods in response. He could manage that, at the very least. The room they’re in currently is a small, tidy bedroom, furnished with a bed, dresser and a well-organized desk pushed against the back wall. The surface of the desk is piled high with various cleaning supplies- bleach, towels and bottles of strange chemicals that Tei couldn’t pronounce the names of. To his left is a second door, which leads out of the main room and into a small connected bathroom. The bathroom has a toilet, sink and shower, with a few toiletries already laid out on the counter.

“I wonder who stays here,” Tei thinks out loud to himself.

At that moment, a familiar black and red blur materializes at his feet, causing him to let out a panicked yelp.

“Hello.”

He stumbles backwards into the half-opened door, nearly falling through the doorway as it swings open under his weight. Could this thing quit just appearing out of nowhere-?! It had done the same thing in the auditorium and scared the shit out of him. It was going to give him a heart attack at this rate! He takes a moment to catch his breath, grabbing onto the door frame for support. The rabbit seems unbothered by his current state, continuing to speak in its monotone voice.

“As you may have gathered already, these are your dormitory rooms. Each has been equipped with a personalized workstation that suits your Ultimate Talents.”

His brows furrow in confusion at the creature’s words. Ultimate…Talent? What did it mean by that? He manages to pull himself together somewhat, closing the door behind him and resting his tired frame against it. Were these ‘Talents’ the reason they had been chosen for the death game? If that was the case, he didn’t understand why he was there. He couldn’t think of any grand talents or special hobbies he had. It wasn’t like he had the time or energy for those kind of pastimes anyway. Akiba throws himself against the bed with a tired grunt, seeming just as confused by the prospect as he was.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He motions toward the desk full of cleaning supplies, raising a puzzled eyebrow. “So what, is this guy like, a fucking janitor or something?”

The rabbit ignores his question, continuing on with its explanation. “The school has been expanded to better accommodate a larger group of students,” it states. “Prior to your arrival, there were only 16 dorm rooms total. As you are likely aware, the 32 of you have been split into two groups, Group A and Group B. The students in each group have been assigned numbers from 1 to 16. Adjacent dorm rooms are connected in sets of two by a joined bathroom. Each student shares their bathroom with the student who shares their number.”

Adjoined rooms…great. His shoulders slump at the news that he’d be sharing a bathroom with a complete stranger. Did that mean they could just come onto his side whenever they wanted? Surely that wouldn’t be used against them in the event of a murder!

He lets out a breath he hadn’t realize he’d been holding in. At the very least, he hoped it was someone bearable. Someone he could manage living next to for however long they’d be trapped here. His blonde companion doesn’t seem nearly as bothered by the idea as he is, his expression one of curiosity rather than fear.

“Oh shit, we’ve got roommates?” Akiba asks. “Who’s my room connected to?” The shorter boy facepalms and shakes his head. He makes the whole thing sound so much more innocent than it truly is. Tei can’t help but wonder if he’s even grasping the reality of the situation at all.

“Your room is connected to Student 16A, Yanagi Shigeki.” the rabbit informs him.

“Yanagi…cool. Who’s that again?”

“I don’t think we’ve met him yet,” Tei clarifies. In all honesty, he hadn’t spoken to any of the other students yet. He’d handle that part once he was in a clearer headspace. He’d rather not risk coming off as aggressive so early. “Who am I sharing a bathroom with?” he questions the rabbit.

“Your room is connected to Student 14A, Hasegawa Ken.”

“Oooh. Fancy.” Akiba gives a casual smirk, a hint of lighthearted sarcasm in his voice. Tei couldn’t help but envy how calm the taller boy seemed, a stark contrast to his rising panic. He just prayed that Hasegawa wasn’t one of the last game’s killers.

“C’mon, let’s haul ass.” Akiba pulls himself up from his spot on the mattress, motioning for Tei to head through the door. “I don’t think there’s anything here except a bunch of cleaning shit. Let’s go poke around and see what the others have.”

“Is that…really appropriate?” Tei asks. “It kinda feels like an invasion of privacy.”

“C’mon, dude! It’s fine,” Akiba insists. “We wanna make sure we search this whole place, right? Maybe somebody’s got something good. Like a crowbar or something we can use to bust outta here with.”

When he worded it like that…Tei supposed he made a pretty valid point. He’d search every nook and cranny in the building if it meant finding an escape faster. He follows Akiba into the room across from them, which had the same layout and basic furniture. The only difference was the custom workstation, just as their rabbit host had said.

“So like…what is that thing?”

“Hm-?”

Akiba’s voice catches him off guard as he begins examining the desk and dresser drawers. “What, you mean the rabbit?” Tei verifies.

“Yeah. That thing. Cuz like, it’s obviously not a rabbit, right? Rabbits don’t talk and teleport and shit. So like…what is it? Is it an alien or something?”

“Aliens aren’t even real,” the pink-haired boy sighs. His partner did raise a good question, though. What was their captor supposed to be? Every theory he could come up with just posed more questions than it answered. He sits down at the edge of the dorm room mattress, allowing his body a chance to rest and his mind a moment to think. There were a million doubts in his mind, each feeling more daunting than the last. It was all to much for him to handle.

“I…I don’t really know,” he finally manages to stammer. “Maybe it’s a hologram or…a robot or something?”

Panic surges through him once again as those familiar red eyes appear out of nowhere.

“I am not- a-ah-!”

His arm moves faster than his brain does, snatching the thing up with a death grip and pinning it against the back wall. His hand trembles violently as his fingers coil tighter around the creature’s short, thick neck. He was done. He was done with having it creep up on him like that, with it keeping him boxed in like a prisoner, with it making him question everything he knows to be real-

“Woah- dude.” Akiba takes a step away from the two, his gray eyes widening as they meet Tei’s lavender ones. “Relax. You seriously look like you’re about to lose it.”

“No! I’m NOT going to relax! Not until you talk!” Tei’s gaze is laser focused on the rabbit, his hold on it unwavering as it struggles to free itself from his grasp. He brings his other hand up to squeeze its throat, determined to make sure that it couldn’t escape. “What are you, and why the HELL did you bring us here?!” he demands. “I’m not letting go until you give me an answer!”

“Mr. Tei.” Its delivery is cold and measured, yet he can hear the rising frustration in its voice. “Release me this instant, or I’m afraid I’ll have to punish you.”

“I said. Talk.” His voice wavers for a moment, letting through a hint of his panic and inner desperation. But his grip remains firm.

“Mr. Tei. I do not wish to harm you, but I will if I must. This is your last warning. Let go.”

He doesn’t obey. “Answer me,” he demands. “Now.”

“Very well.”

It all goes to red.

A guttural scream rips itself from his lungs as pain surges through his eyes, causing him to drop the rabbit in fear. He crumples to the floor, his knees hitting the wood first as he covers his face with his hands. Akiba lets out a startled yell, backing away from him and into the nearby wall. But Tei can’t see him at all. He can only see red. Red static covers the entire room, the sound echoing in his ears and causing his head to throb.

“Wh- what the fuck did it do to you???”

He jerks his arm back instinctively at the touch from a person he can’t see. It’s only when he hears the voice that he allows himself to be helped to his feet.

“I DON’T KNOW!!” he screams. “God- god, it burns…!” His hand finds the sleeve of Akiba’s jacket, gripping it in an attempt to orient himself through the glitching scarlet.

“I’d recommend taking a seat until the pain subsides,” the rabbit calmly instructs him. As calmly as if it hadn’t just fucking blinded him out of nowhere. He reaches up to rub his eyes, only for the pain to spread drastically once he does so.

“I feel I should inform you that attempting violence against me is a violation of the school rules,” its voice echoes. “I am choosing to be lenient with you, since this is your first day in the building. But be warned that any future attempts to harm me will result in severe punishment. I’d highly suggest that from now on, you choose your actions wisely.”

Then, without another word, it disappears. Its words repeat in Tei’s mind as he frantically tries to get his bearings. As the creature vanishes, the static in his vision finally starts to clear up. He can see Akiba standing beside him as he stumbles his way to the mattress, his eyes still burning like a fire had been lit inside them.

“Are…are you good-? What even happened-?”

His heart pounds against his chest as he struggles to form a coherent response. As the blonde attempts to check in on him, all he can do is shake his head. He isn’t fine. What the hell just happened?! The corners of his vision are still warped as he attempts to slow his panicked breathing. His trembling fingers grip onto the bedsheets, a feeble attempt to ground himself as the pain refuses to let up.

“,,,g-go…go get someone…” he finally manages to stammer.

“That’s…y-yeah, no. I’m not leaving you here alone. Not when you’re like this.”

“What are you- gah-?!”

Before he can protest, he feels himself being lifted up abruptly, much to his initial distress. He lets out a frightened yell, his stomach turning as he’s unwillingly flipped upside down over the blonde’s broad shoulder. Without any warning, he’s dragged helplessly out of the room and into the hall, his eyes slamming closed as the added light agitates them further.

As he lets himself be carried over the other boy’s shoulder, he can only lie there and hope that the pain subsides soon.

Chapter Text

Silence was never Okazaki's thing. Sneaking around, soft whispers, hidden smirks and covered laughter? That's more their style.

But tense. Guilty. Silence?

It felt like they were suffocating.

Again.

Hama seemed bored. He wasn't much fun to toy with anyway, too dense for their mind games. He just stretched his arms, occasionally popping his fingers and shoulders and he stood facing them back against the door.

Hasegawa however…..

Now there was a mind they would like to pick. The timid show boy really did something so truly despicable it got everyone to look at him with such intense hate! Not like the fear Okazaki had carefully built up and constructed, but a rage, they looked at him with betrayal and brokenness, and passion.

What could such a nobody have done to deserve such a fate? Stealing all the spotlight they had earned!

At least they got a reaction out of Tsuno, even if it was only a little line. To see that recognition in her eyes? That sudden burst of undoubted unjust undefined raw emotion. Oh yes. Okazaki would never be forgiven for what they had done.

And now they were given a chance to do it again!

To prove that they are worth something. Clearly if they were brought back that means they didn't do a good enough job the first time. And really they should be grateful that this is their chance to correct that instead of being punished in some other capacity……although the execution hadn’t been as fun as plotting the murder or diverting the trial. It was what had to be done. They….they were in an interesting position is all.

A position. That Hasegawa apparently knew about, if their understanding on what they gathered from listening to Yanagi's and Tamba's rather loud outbursts have told them anything. Well them and……

'Ninomiya Youhei'

Maybe that. Was the reason they had picked up such a sudden interest in the boy tied to the post across from them. How could he have gotten that name? It would have had to been from their files. Which means he knows a lot more about them than they were particularly keen on having been known.

Especially when they could recall so little about the guy himself. Too be fair….look at him. Never thought someone with that posture would amount to anything, let alone something interesting.

He’d never once crossed their mind as an opponent. But now.

Well now he's put himself. In their playground. He's the one compromising their brand here, come on, they don't have a choice. They have an image to uphold and they’ll be damned if they let it get tarnished by this…….edgy twink.

“So, Hasegawa?” they try to politely start a conversation, sounding his name out in a playful tune.

“Don't.” was all he responded with. Not even bothering to give them the gift of eye contact. Or moving at all! His feet stay firmly planted and he doesn't make any effort to tear his gaze from the floor.

“Yeah it's probably for the best if you keep your mouth shut. Nobody likes you.” Hama mentioned. Ruining! The moment they were trying to have.

They just gave him a hum in response.

Then the room went back to quiet.

They lean further into the bed post behind them. They really don't know what they could have deserved this cruel treatment from their current prison mate. All of their attacks had been Tsuno! All they ever did to Hasegawa was….oh well they supposed they did do one thing.

Ha! He and Kamimura must have been closer than they thought if he's still hung up about it! They mean really? Didn't he only know him for what? A month?? And he's going to despise Okazaki for it?

Maybe the death was a little cruel. But that's show business for you! Especially when it sounds like what ever he did to Hiroaki, Ojima, and the rest of the lot of those so called survivors was targeted too.

Okazaki’s starting to believe the others might have just been lying about the whole thing, the boy next to him did not look the part of a mathematical, mastermind, murder. He looked defeated and hollow.

Nothing like the bubbling energy Okazaki was struggling to keep tame. Holding themselves still despite the rushing feeling of new life running through their veins.

God if only Hama wasn't in the way! Okazaki could only wait for the chance to really get under Hasegawa's skin. See what made him tick. Find those shreds of insanity with in him and pull them out and twist them oh wouldn't that be fun?

“You deserve a break at some point too don't you?" They mentioned to the demonologist. Looking up at his wall like form.

The other didn't respond.

Fine then, even if they didn't take much joy in playing with him, that doesn't mean he didn't have strings.

“I'm sure Chiba and Harada feel great about you abandoning them. Out there, with all the new students too? I'm positive they are super safe. And not in need of your strengths at all. “

Hama shuffled in his feet clearly trying to think of a response but shockingly! Hasegawa beat him to it!

“Does the only joy in your life come from the suffering of others? Is that the only thing in this world that gives you any sort of interest? Manipulation and pain?" He finally looks at them, about time. He looks at them with shaking hands and shrunken pupils. He looks at them like he's searching for something. Anything.

Unlucky for him the mask makes his searches futile.

To be honest, Okazaki has no idea how to respond. It's very very rare someone takes such a descriptive personal jab at them.

A beat passes. They can't let him get the upper hand this quickly! Not when they just started this little spout.

When in doubt, confuse your opponent. Give him nothing, give him something unexpected.

“I also like painting!" They give him a cheerful hum and put their backs to him as a physical way to show they've won. Trick him into thinking he didn't hit them at all.

Hasegawa tenses and they can still feel his glare on their back. His breath coming and going in an off beat pattern. It's so obvious when he's thinking. Like he's having to whisper the thoughts out loud to himself.

So now he wants to talk?

Hm.

Maybe silence wasn't too bad after all. If it was a silence of victory.

Yes this room may not be ideal.

But they've been left with one of the most interesting people in the building less than a kick away. A person whose mind was already crumbling.

Yes this wasn't ideal. But Okazaki could make it work. They could make this fun.
__________
Tamba lies on her back on the thin sheets of her bed, counting the clustered bumps on the popcorn ceiling above her. It was the only thing she could think of to keep herself occupied. She’d spent a lot of her time outside of the game doing that, back when her injury was still painful and fresh. Lying in bed alone and letting her mind race with regrets. Ignoring the sounds of her phone ringing in the background and questioning if it had all been worth it. She had a lot more time to kill now that she wasn’t doing gymnastics anymore.

Her gaze shifts to her outstretched leg. She shifts it slightly, wincing as the memories of that god forsaken staircase come back to haunt her. She couldn’t believe she was back where she started after all she’d done to escape! The idea of doing it all again was a nightmare. One she wasn’t sure she’d be able to survive this time.

A sigh passes her lips as she forces herself into a sitting position. She tests her injured leg, lowering it carefully to the floor before gradually shifting her full weight onto it. The others had spent all day investigating and getting to know the other students, filling them in on what to expect from the game. Yet Tamba couldn’t bring herself to join them.

She’d tried talking to Kamimura earlier, but to no avail. After their failed conversation, she couldn’t bring herself to seek out anyone else. If even Yanagi had looked at her swift exit with pleading and hurt eyes. Tamba can’t help but think back to the frantic calls she’d received from him in the months following the game. How he’d led the others’ effort to track her down. She’d ignored him then too. She can’t help but wonder whether or not it was the right decision.

She knows that Mai is probably looking for her too. Yet here she was, hiding from the one person who’d had her back through every second of it all.

She can’t look them in the eyes after what she did.

Not after she was a terrible friend to Mai. Not after the girl had driven herself insane just to keep her safe.

Not after what she’d said and done to Hiroaki. Not after she’d shoved him down the stairs and told him to kill himself.

Not after she’d trampled everyone around her in order to win.

Then again…it wasn’t really her fault, was it? This game had pushed her to her absolute breaking point. Anyone in her situation would’ve done the same exact thing! Right?! She’d done what she had to in order to survive! It didn’t make her a bad person. She forces herself to repeat those words as she heads toward the bathroom door. She isn’t sure what time it is, but she wants to take a quick shower before the water shuts off for the night. The small room becomes flooded with light as she flips the switch and closes the door behind her.

To her surprise, there’s already someone standing in the mirror- a short teen with messy red hair and multicolored eyes.

“Wh- huh?????”

It takes a few seconds of confusion before she remembers that she shares her bathroom with someone else. That ‘someone else’ was staring up at her with a blank expression, as if they were staring right through her.

“Oh- sorry. Were you about to do something in here?” they ask.

“Uhh…yeah. I was,” she replies with a raised eyebrow. She isn’t sure what to make of this person, other than the fact that they have weird hair and a weirder fashion sense. They were wearing a baggy sweater, ripped jeans and a layered…skirt? Thing?? What was that supposed to be??? Then again, she supposes she can’t talk when she’s wearing a basic gymnastics leotard. One that didn’t even serve any purpose to her anymore.

“Oh. Well, lemme get out of your way then.” The red-haired teen stops what they were doing and takes their leave, heading back toward their side of the dorm rooms.

“H-hang on-!” Tamba shouts after them. “Who are you?”

“Oh, right. I never introduced myself, did I? Isoda Mion.” The other teen gives a small nod and offers their hand, but Tamba doesn’t take it right away. Instead, she keeps her hands to herself, tucked into the pockets of her dark pink sweatpants. Isoda Mion…had she heard that name before? Tamba thought she may have seen it online somewhere once or twice. She can’t help but find it ridiculous how these people kept managing to capture such well-known figures without getting caught.

“You’re Tamba, right?” the shorter teenager asks.

At this, Tamba raises an eyebrow and instinctively reaches for the doorknob. She…hadn’t introduced herself yet? Were they listening in on her from behind the door?? She coils her fingers around the brass, preparing to sprint out of the room if the need be. “How- how do you know that already-?” she blurts out at them.

“The rabbit told me when I asked about our bathroom,” Isoda coolly explains. “Guess we’re roommates now.”

Oh. She…guessed that made sense. She lets her hand fall into her side as Isoda retreats to their side of their shared space. “Anyway, lemme get out of your hair,” they remark. “Just let me know when you’re finished up in here. I’ll be in my room.”

Tamba watches as the door slams shut, leaving her alone in the small pristine room. That was…certainly an interaction that happened! She wants to slap herself mentally for getting so worked up over nothing. She seriously needs to stop being so paranoid.

No. She needs to stay on her toes. She let herself get tricked way too easily last time! What was she going to do in the event that someone tried sneaking up on her? It wasn’t like she had anyone to hide behind this time around. Not even Mai was immune to the horrors of this game. She’d learned that the hard way the last time.

Yanagi? He was…different. She could tell just by looking at him that morning that he had changed for the worse. Kamimura? She thought she’d fixed her relationship with him, but after their awkward exchange, it seemed like he wanted nothing to do with her. She was on her own. She felt directionless, both in the game and her own life.

She needs to get out of her room.

She lets her hair down and steps into the shower, letting the warm water wash away her negative thoughts. Once she finishes, she bangs on the bathroom door, letting the teen on the other side know they were free to use the space. She dries her damp hair and styles it back into her usual ponytail, before leaving the small dorm room and slamming the door behind her. She needs to stop thinking so much. Thinking through every step wasn’t really her style. What she needs is a way to pass time and keep herself out of her own head until nightfall.

She…she’d go around patrolling! An eager smirk finds its way to her face as she makes her way down to the dining room hall. She thinks back to those final days of the previous round, how she’d called herself a detective and conducted her own investigation. As long as she was up and doing something, she wouldn’t be a sitting duck. She hums to herself as she paces restlessly across the first floor, being cautious not to put too much stress on her weaker leg.

It’s then that she bumps into Monomoko, who stands motionless at the end of the hall.

She lets out a startled wail, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. Her knee buckles under her weight as she grabs onto the nearest wall, taking a moment to catch her breath.

“What are you doing here?!” she yells in a panic. “Quit creeping up on people like that!! Didn’t Ojima tell you to warn us or something?!!”

The rabbit just blinks at her, its red eyes unfeeling as it meets her gaze from below. “Please do not make any attempt to harm me,” she warns the blonde. “I was already attacked earlier by one of the other students. I’d rather not be forced to punish anyone else.”

A glimpse of Mai’s crucified, beaten body invades her mind at the mention of the rabbit’s “punishment.” She forces the image out of her head, focusing her attention on the creature in front of her. “What do you even want from me?!” she demands. “I’m kinda busy with my patrol. You’re getting in my way.”

“I was simply coming to inform you that your first new motive will be introduced tomorrow,” Monomoko answers calmly.

Her blood runs cold as she allows the bunny’s words to sink in fully. She immediately drops all attempts to seem confident, her face draining of color. First…motive? Already?? Today was their first day! They’d just started figuring everything out, and now they had to deal with a motive? How was that fair to them?! Panic and anger seeps into her words as her pale pink eyes stare deeply into its soulless ones.

“You can’t give us a motive already-! That’s not how the game works!!” she protests.

“What exactly gave you that impression?”

“In the first game, you gave us three days before each new motive. Now you’re just throwing one at us without warning?!” Her words tumble out clumsily before she can stop them. There was no thought behind her words- it was only her instincts driving them. “You just brought everyone back from the dead! How do you expect us to deal with a motive? We don’t have any time to prepare!”

“I did not bring you all back from the dead,” the rabbit points out, motioning to her as an example. Tamba lets out an offended scoff in response. It was as if the thing was mocking her. “Besides, I just warned you now, did I not?”

“That’s not fair though!!” Tamba shouts.

“As I stated before, you’ll find that fairness is not a priority for me. I think you’ll find that this session’s game will be a very different game than what you’re accustomed to, Ms. Tamba. While the basic rules may be the same, you can expect the outcomes to be vastly different.” Despite its small size when compared to her, the gymnast couldn’t help but feel small under the rabbit’s gaze. Like it was an obstacle too big for her to overcome.

“Why would you even bring us back in the first place? We already played. I escaped. Why are you making us start all over again?!”

“I’m afraid I cannot share that information with you at this time.” The blonde opens her mouth to protest again, but before she can, the strange rabbit takes its leave. “Goodbye, Tamba Ruiko.”

“Wait-!” the blonde stammers.

Yet despite her cries, she’s left to wander the halls on her own again, alone to deal with the stress of her racing thoughts and the upcoming motive. A low sigh escapes her as she trudges her way back to the end of the hall. She just hoped that this one wasn’t as unbearable at the last.
_________
Ninomiya felt…..sick to say the least.

The information wrapped around his thoughts but he refused to let them settle.

He's spent a good 10 minutes learning as much info as they could about the mechanics of the game from Hayashi. How body discoveries work, trial tips, how there can be accidental killers- blackens? Is the word she used.

It all kinda felt too unreal.

Like this stuff doesn't happen in real life. People don't just. Do stuff like this. Twisted games? Those we meant for horror movie villains. Not……..teenagers in an underground high school.

He doesn't know how much more he can handle hearing. He starts to tune the buff girls out. Seriously what was with the kids in this place, everyone here looked like some crazy anime protagonist.

Ok yeah maybe that's big talk coming from someone with like 10 piercings and a sick ass hair dye job.

But that only goes to prove how crazy the people here are! That he! Is one of the more boring faces in the room.

Maekawa and Hayashi are far behind his thoughts now, people watching is way more interesting than more specifics on what counts as a murder.

He looks past Maekawa’s purple extravaganza of a hair do, to the table behind them.

A guy with white hair and a girl with orange pig tails. Sit chatting calmly. Both of them must be from the first session considering he hadn't seen them around in the auditorium earlier.

The only person here beside Maekawa that was from his group was the blonde pizza girl in the kitchen. Who was without her group? For some reason. But he thinks she got stuck with pigtails (negative) not to be confused with pigtails (neutral) across the room. But the loud shaky one that seemed to hate everyone for no reason.

So yeah he doesn't blame….er….Nishiguchi? He thinks was her name. Doesn't matter, not like she could hear his thoughts to correct him.

She cooked…..is making sandwiches cooking still? Or is that just making food. Was there a difference? Either way she had a partner from the first group. A colorful one at that. She walked around with pink and blue streaks in her hair and a hot pink cape that trailed behind her. That has to be unsanitary. Who let her cook?

Well….

He took another bite of the sandwich and declared that even if there was hair and dust in it that he'd still eat like 5 more if given the chance.

Yaitabashi had said for everyone to meet back up later but he didn't give them a time.

He hoped the others were actually finding escape plans and not strategy ones.

Bored again, he tuned back into what ever Maekawa and Hayashi were still going on about, although really just seeing if they were distracted enough to allow him to swipe one of their sandwiches.

“Yeah that's actually what i was doing before this. Locking those bastards up.”

“Good. saves us the trouble. And hey? If you ever need help, I'm more than happy to keep them under check. You’d be shocked at how intimidating and effective robo-limbs can be.” she curled a fist up and placed an elbow on the table in an act of dramatic flare. He was surrounded by fucking theater kids. Great.

“Heh. I’ve got Hama but ill keep it in mind.”

“Who are the lunatics again? Can we get visual descriptions so we know who to look out for?”

“Uh, sure. Doubt you’ll see them much considering i just said they're both currently tied to my bed but like I guess I see where you're coming from. Hasegawa Ken was the one that killed me. Apparently. He did a bunch of other stuff too? He might have been the one writing all the notes that drove me off the edge. I need to find Yanagi for clarification on all that. I think he went crazy after Kamimura died. He's pretty plain. Tall and thin, wears a basic dull suit with like….. I don't know. His hair and eyes are brown.”

“Good to know. Good to know.” Ninomiya leaned back still not like fully invested. Sounded like just a regular ass guy.

“The other is Okazaki Hanano their a bit difficult to-”

“What.” now that. Caught his attention.

“You asked for their names and appearances?”

“Y-yeah….. But like. Sorry. Keep going.” what are the chances its the same person. They’ve been missing for like a year now anyway, there's no way it could be them.

“Well….i was going to say their appearance is hard to describe since they where a mask 24/7-”

“Your kidding!” Ninomiya interrupted again. Clutching the table. His shock was loud. Gaining the attention of the other table.

He should be embarrassed by his outburst. But his heart was pounding way to fast to have any sense of rational thought.

Fuck- all he had been told was their name and he's already a mess.

“Woah. What's up? You've been quiet this whole time and now you're scared? You didn't seem bothered by any of the dead body descriptions but a guy in a mask gets you?”

“No its- fuck. Their here? Like in this building?!”

“Tied up but….yeah?”

“Fuck- do they know I'm here? Like at all? I-”

“Calm down. hey. I doubt it. How do you know them?”

“I-.....just…we…” How does he describe what they were? They lived together. And they did a lot of things together during that time. Some of them are awful. Most of them were forced. But- not all?

Okazaki had been the most interesting person he had ever met. For a while, it felt like they were the only person who understood him. They both had that desperate need for approval, even when everyone around them had told them they didn't deserve it, that they were to far from society's norms to even be considered anything other than a freak. But the difference between them, is that Okazaki understood everything. Built up stories and scars just to taunt Ninomiya's insecurities. While he understood nothing. On how they worked.

He didn’t even realize it until the entire thing was over but he didn’t know anything about their parents? Their family? Fuck he only hada vauge idea of where they went to school, he never saw the building, he had 0 idea of who he had been living with for all those months. Of who he let ruin him.

He was never able to tell if he was grateful or furious at the fact. The person who haunted him barely existed.

“We were roommates.” was all he admits.

“Yikes. Like….for how long, that can not have ended well." Hayashi's eyes went wide.

“Yeah. I'm good. I've heard enough today im- no. I'm not talking about this.” he declares. Standing up from his chair mind is still racing. They were in the building. They have been in this building for the past year. They had killed somebody! Two people even!

That shouldn't shock him given what he knows- but it still…..its not a good feeling. He can remember them in the kitchen laughing sweetly, making jokes. They teased each other until the coffee became cold. and then teasing turned to insults and insults into arguments and arguments to-

Yeah. They killed two people.

It still sickened him.

He needed air.

He pushed though the dining room door, ignoring the concerned shouts behind him.

On the other side of the door was a bit of a crowd, he recognized Yaitabashi and the girl who had been next to him but he really really didn't feel like talking. He ran straight past them. There were confused murmurs and he could feel Yaita’s disappointed stare as his sneakers thudded down the hallway.

They could wait. He needed an out right now. He can't be in the same building as them. Not again. They’d find him. He can't let them know he's here.

He just keeps finding walls and doors but no exits. No windows. Nothing. He was suffocating.

He threw open random doors for the sake of it. All he found was more people. He couldn't handle people right now. He’d shut it and leave.

There wasn't an out.

The second he accepted the thought his legs felt weak. And he leans on the nearest wall for support, blood rushed to his ears and all he could feel was the pounding in his chest.

With shaky vision he threw himself at the nearest door and slammed it shut. Sliding down the back of it until he was sitting on the floor.

It didn't help as much as he thought it would.

Fuck. There wasn't an exit! He was stuck here. And he was stuck here with them. In a murder game- this wasn't supposed to be real!?

This had to be a nightmare of sorts. There's nothing he could have ever done to deserve something like this. He's not a saint but this is fucking psychological torture!

Okazaki was tied up but for how long? They can un do nots or break them and hunt him down it wouldn’t even be that hard! He’d dyed his hair super crazy to stop them from finding him and now its probably an easy target. Fuck.

He didn't cry. He wasn't the type of person that cried easily. But it was hard to breathe and he was shaking and he guessed that made enough noise to get someone’s attention.

“....Hello?”

He tried be quieter, if he was silent maybe they would just think they mis-heard something and go away.

“I….saw you running around the halls. I was worried. Your one of the new students right?” the sound of heels on tile got closer to the door.

“I'm….not really open for talking right now.” he hated the amount of fear that snuck into his voice.

“That's ok! I can do the talking then!” she said with a little more cheerfulness than he would have liked. “My name is Watari. I was super bored anyway. I really did not want to be brought back to life but you know. Here i am! So. id rather help somebody else with their problems than face any of my own.”

He cant argue with that logic he supposed. But she had died? Fuck what if she was one of the two Okazaki killed?! What if she ends up hating him for having used to have been close with them?!

“Ok. so you really don't like talking then? That's fine. This place is kinda scary at first. But then later you kinda realize its stupid. Like a school? Really? Come on, that's not scary! Even in the dark when it looks scary? You realize everything is just classrooms. Nothing dangerous about class rooms. They really should have picked like……a hospital. Or an amusement park or something. Actually an amusement park would be to fun. We’d all be to busy riding rollercoasters to kill each other. So like…..a circus. I would have enjoyed a circus much more than a school. They would have had a big stage! And I would have been able to show off so many more of my tricks! But no. we get. White boards. And libraries instead of lions and hoops. “

“That…would have been a lot more fun.” he admits with a small chuckle.

“Yeah! Harada could take care of all the animals! And Kamimura could clean the place. Yanagi could have a dance routine and Tamba can do all the cool gymnastics stuff she does. I wonder if she can tightrope? I could definitely see her doing that. And oh! Hayashi would have to be our strong man! Wearing an outfit that shows of all her muscles as she chucks big barbells around like nothing! And i of course would be the ring master. Hiroaki would fight me for it, but, he’d lose cause he's annoying. And instead he'd have to design me a really flashy suit with a ton of red sequins…..what about you? What would you do?”

He recognized Hayashi and that was it. But she painted a vivid picture in his mind nonetheless.

“I…i don't know i'm not that cool…..i…i play violin?” he scoffed. It was a fact he was usually more proud of. But it was hard to feel confident right now.

“Ah ha! Perfect! A musician! Exactly what we were missing! Maybe you and Isono would get along? I think she makes music? I don't remember but that sounds like something she would do. Everyone else can work the ticket stands and food trucks. Tsuno would enjoy that, and Wada would too because Tsuno enjoys it. Everyone else can do it as punishment for being boring. “

“You seem to know you group pretty well”

“I like being friendly. I was the headmaster of this school before. I wanted to make sure i knew my students well.”

“You were….headmaster?”

“Well nobody else was going to take the position? Were in a school, I thought there had to be staff and the rabbit said it technically wasn't in charge. So I became the headmaster. I had an appointed hall….crew and everything.”

He takes note of the way her voice dips but doesn't press on it.

“You thinking about running for office again?”

“Nah…it all kind of blew up in my face. I’ve severed my time. I'd rather play the game more quietly this time I think.”

“Sounds like a good plan. Keeping track of 32 people instead of 16 would be hard”

“Gosh yeah. No way. Wayyyy too much work.” she sighs.

Ninomiya takes a deep breath. Something he hadn’t realized he had needed.

His hands were still shaking slightly but he could see where he was now……a locker room? He doesn't know exactly how he ended up here but its whatever. At least there was no one inside.

He takes another breath and stands up slowly twisting the handle, wanting to see the person on the other side.

When he does he's met with a lot of visual warmth. She wears a deep red school uniform with white lining and a coat that acts more like a cape. She has bright orange eyes and a smirk on her face.

“Sorry about that-.....im not having a great day” he admits kinda awkwardly. Trying to make it seem like he wasn't having a panic attack like a few minutes ago.

“So I’ve heard.” she hummed. “Want to go like…..chill in my room for a bit? We can avoid our problems together!”

“I'm not….avoiding anything. Really.” he mutters.

Less avoiding? More hiding. His problem was one that could find him. One that would. But….not right now. Right now they were locked up and he was fine.

“Maybe we could check out your room then? Have you seen it yet? I wonder what's inside. Ohhhhhh and I can tell you who you share a bathroom with, give you all the gossip!”

“That sounds like a plan.” He couldn't help but laugh at her excited hand motions.
__________

Denden tilted her head curiously towards the med-bay as she heard giggling.

Currently Hirose had been chatting with Ouno, Isoda who weren't really sure where to check.

“Hey!” Denden chimed in, tapping on Hirose's shoulder. Hesitantly. She's still a little shaken up about this whole thing.

“Yeah?” the tall boy in the labcoat turns to her with curious eyes.

“Are you like……a doctor?”

“...i yeah…..im a surgeon actually.”

“Wait really?” Isoda gave him a pleasantly shocked expression.

“Yeah. its…..complicated. But why do ask?”

“Well if your a doctor….should you check out the medical bay?”

“I’d love to actually. But it think there's people in their right now already searching and we should cover everything.”

‘Well……it doesn't…..seem like there's very much to cover.” Ouno frowned looking between the few hall ways in sight. There was a ton of people running around and chatter from various places. But no exit to be seen down any of them.

“We should still try to-” Hirose started but the doors to the medbay were swung open by a confident Ogura dragging a still giggling Tsukigata behind her. They took off down the hall running and laughing.

“Seems like its empty now.” Isoda shrugged.

“Right then. I want to know what I'm working with, are you both coming?”

“uhm-....we should probably explore something else….like you said” Ouno looked uncomfortable at the idea of the medical room.

“Yeah im kinda just planning to find those dorm rooms the rabbit talked about and staying out of trouble. I need somewhere to decompress for a bit this is overwhelming enough already.” isoda muttered.

“That's alright. Just report back if you find anything like Yaitabashi said.”

“You got it Doc’” Isoda gave him a smirk at the nickname causing him to blink all flustered a few times.

“Right.” he tried to gather himself again. “Come on Denden lets make sure those two didn’t start messing with anything. I'm hoping they just left because they were bored and not because they broke something.” he finally turned towards the med bay. She nodded and followed behind him with the other pair peeling off to go looking for the dormitories.

Now, Denden sits beside the Medbay door with a cautious smile, watching from a hospital bed.

Hirose carefully reorganizes the shelves and their contents. He's been at it for a solid few minutes now. She didn't want to get in his way when he seemed supper focused. His footsteps and the occasional shaking of pills inside a container, echo through the small room, his lips pursed as if he were deep in thought. She enjoyed watching him work. Being in the medbay with him felt like watching a mad scientist in his lab. Denden hopes the two of them can be friends after this is all over.

But in order to be friends you had to have conversation. Her eyes were finally starting to dry. And her nerves slowly drifted away. She could just forget about the whole kidnaping thing for a minute and try to be nice. She was good at making friends.

“So how did you become a surgeon at 17?” she asks curiously trying to push through the shaking in her voice with some uplifting tone.. “Usually it takes a preeeeetty long time to get through medical school, right? How’d you do it so young? You must be really smart!”

The doctor stops pacing around the room for a moment, setting down the medicine bottle he was holding. Denden tilts her head in confusion, watching as he turns his head to the side awkwardly.

“You…are 17, right? You’re not secretly an old man or something?” she jokes.

“...hm? Sorry, I was lost in thought. Did you say something?”

Denden’s smile falters for a moment, though she quickly forces it to return. “O-oh…never mind!” she replies. “It wasn’t anything important anyway.”

The doctor doesn’t seem fully convinced, but nods, returning to examining the cabinets and shelves. Denden scratches her head as she watches him go back to the task at hand. That was…weird. Had he really not heard her? The two of them had just been talking a few moments ago. He seemed to hear her perfectly fine then.

She decides not to pay it much attention. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it? She’d hate to make him uncomfortable. They were already uncomfortable enough without her prying into his private life. Her whole body shudders as she thinks about what the bunny had told them earlier.

Was someone really going to commit a murder? Nobody here would do anything that cruel…right? They were all good people!

Then again…the last kids had…

No. No! She was not going to think like that anymore! It was just like the rose-haired boy had told her earlier that day. As long as they worked together, nobody would end up getting hurt. She wonders if any of the others had found anything more useful. Her own investigation with Hirose hadn’t turned up anything of note. But that was okay! They still had everyone else to rely on.

The best thing she can do in this moment is keep a positive attitude. Face the world with a smile even in the hardest times, just like she had before.

“Denden, can you pass me that clipboard?” Hirose’s nasally voice catches her attention as he points to something beside her. “I want to keep track of everything we’ve got in here. If someone sneaks in here and grabs something, we need to know what it is. A lot of the medications here could be potentially fatal in high doses.”

Her face pales slightly at that last statement. She…didn’t like the sound of that. But she had to admit that he was smart for planning ahead. Even if no one was planning to kill anyone, it’s still wise to be prepared just in case. She skips over to him with the clipboard in hand, handing it to him with a friendly smile.

It’s then that something else catches her attention. Behind Hirose was a curtain which seemed to be blocking off part of the room.

“What do you think’s behind there?” She gestures curiously to the mysterious curtain. Hirose follows her gaze, raising an eyebrow as he lays eyes on it himself. The area felt significantly colder than the rest of the rest of the already chilly room, though Denden wasn’t bothered by it- her gloves and cozy blue and white coat were doing enough to keep her warm. Hirose was also dressed in layers, his sweater, vest and lab coat acting as a shield from the frosty air.

“It might just be more beds,” the taller teen suggests. “But if we want to make sure every inch of this place is covered, then…it’s probably worth checking out.”

“Right!” She grabs the edge of the curtain with a firm grip, pulling it back to reveal…she couldn’t really tell. To her, they looked like lockers- though not the kind you’d expect to find in your typical school. There were 32 metal boxes pressed against the back wall, arranged neatly into eight rows of four. Each had a small paper tag on the outside, covered in writing that was too small and jumbled for Denden to read from her current position.

As she goes and examines the metal boxes closer, she isn’t sure what to make of them. Why were there lockers in the medical bay of all places? And why was it so cold? Maybe they were meant for storing some sort of medical equipment. She turns to Hirose for his opinion, wondering if he’d have a better idea of what they were looking at.

But as she returns to his side, she can’t help but notice the look of horror on his expression. His hands tremble at his sides as he shoves them into the pockets of his lab coat. His face is ghastly pale, as if he’d just seen a ghost.

“Doctor…?” She places a gentle hand on his shoulder, her eyes meeting his with a look of concern. Her smile gives way to a worried frown as she feels how severely his shoulders are shaking. “What’s the matter?” she asks quietly.

“T-these…these are cold lockers,” he responds in a low mumble.

Denden’s brows furrow. “Cold…lockers? What are those?”

The doctor sucks in a deep breath, forcing himself to regain his composure. “They’re…used to store dead bodies,” he explains. “Like what you’d find in a morgue. Why the hell are these here?”

The terror in his tone causes her blood to run cold. Goosebumps run down her arms, though it isn’t from the chilled air of the lockers. Despite Hirose’s words, the look in his eyes tells her that he knows exactly why they’d been put there. They both knew.

“We…we won’t need them, right?” Denden finally manages to stammer. “B-because nobody is going to die.” She tries to sound reassuring, but her efforts to appear confident are in vain.

“I sure hope you’re right,” Hirose sighs. “Close the curtain. I’d rather not be reminded that these are just a step away.”

Denden nods and does as told, sealing the lockers behind the curtain just as they had been before. As long as the curtain was closed, she wouldn’t have to think about their existence. They could carry on like nothing had happened.

“Hey, Doc? You in here?”

The Medbay door swings open, startling the two as Denden throws back on her usual cheerful grin. Hirose clears his throat and adjusts his glasses, forcing his earlier fear to the back of his mind. They were both trying to act as if they hadn’t just witnessed horror.

Standing at the door was a tall, muscular blonde with a shorter boy…over his shoulder? He was being held practically upside down, his flowing pink hair hanging down over his face. Denden recognized them as Akiba and Tei from their group. She can’t help but chuckle softly at how uncomfortable their current position seemed…uncomfortable for Tei, at the very least. Akiba seemed to be doing just fine.

“Akiba! Tei! Hi!” Denden greets them. “What brings you guys here?”

Akiba sets the other teen down, much to Tei’s seeming relief. “He like. I dunno. He fucked up his eyes.” He gestures to a disoriented Tei, who still appears to be gathering himself.

Hirose simply blinks at the two, looking at them with confusion. “How…exactly did that happen?”

“He…attacked the rabbit and his eyes went all weird?”

“We were exploring the dorm hall together,” Tei explains with a sigh. “I attacked the rabbit, and after I did that, it did…something to my eyes. They started hurting really bad and my vision went red. I’m fine now, but uh…we figured it might still be a good idea to have you look at them. If that’s something you can do, of course.”

“Right, right.” The dark-haired boy quickly flips straight back into professional mode, picking up the clipboard he’d discarded. “I’ll see what I can do for you. Sit down on one of the beds, I’ll be over there in a second.” He then turns to Denden, motioning to the now open door. “Denden, can you go and tell the others that we might be a second? I’d like to take a look at whatever’s happening with Tei.”

“Yes Doctor!” Denden replies with an enthusiastic nod, giving the doctor an exaggerated salute. Hirose chuckles faintly at the gesture, smiling gratefully as he approaches the tired looking Tei.

“Thanks for the help, you guys,” he says with a tired smile.

“No problem, man,” Akiba replies. He then takes his leave, with Denden heading out after him to go and search for the others.

She hums to herself as she makes her way down the hall, back to the auditorium where they’d all started off. That was where Yaitabashi had told them to gather, right? She figures there are probably a few people already there. The first floor wasn’t particularly big, after all. Most of the other pairs were likely done with their investigations by now.

As Denden makes her way to the auditorium though, she notices two silhouettes from the corner of her eye. One person is remarkably short and slender, with blonde pigtails and large, kind blue eyes. She wears a black blazer, a pink and blue striped skirt and a matching striped tie. Denden’s eyes widen in surprise as she catches a glimpse of her. She almost looks like a little kid…? But if she’s imprisoned there with the rest of them, she must be around their age.

Walking away from her was a taller girl dressed in red with a cape jacket swishing behind her as she followed someone else's shadow.

“Watari!” the shorter one whined curling her fist.

“No- i haven't seen him i thought he was with you. If hes not with you than i dont know! Im trying to help someone else right now. You know him best Airi, im sure you’ll find him.” ‘Watari’ spoke softly like she was trying to whisper but not trying really hard.

“Hm!” ‘Airi’ huffed and crossed her arms and faces away from the other session 1 student.

The ice sculptor decides to talk to her. She hadn’t seen this girl in the room with them earlier, which must make her part of the original group. With a friendly smile, she approaches the small girl, who appears to be searching for something.

“Hey there!” she introduces herself. “Are you looking for something?”

The girl jumps, startled, before turning to her with a slightly sad expression. “Oh, yeah,” she replies. “I’m looking for my friends. Their names are Keizou and Ran. Have you seen them anywhere? Ran said he was going to be busy with a bit because hes helping Hayashi. But Keizou just ran off!! And i really really need to talk to him!”

“Hm? No, but…I’m sure they’re somewhere around here, right? This floor isn’t super huge. I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for them!”

In truth, she hadn’t talked to any of the prior students yet, aside from the girl she was speaking with now. While she wants to have faith that there won’t be any repeats, she still can’t help but feel nervous about being around them. Even if the game had forced them to, they had still…done the unthinkable. Her entire body shudders just thinking about it. She has an easier time trusting that the others in her group won’t turn to the dark side. They were all in the same situation, after all. It was the original group that left a tiny spark of doubt in her mind, no matter how much she tries to ignore it.

Then again…everyone deserves second chances, right? Who’s to say that last game’s killers hadn’t changed for the better since then? She didn’t feel it was right to judge them based on their past actions. Besides, this girl seemed to be a pretty kind person. Denden can only hope that the rest of them are just as friendly.

“Could you tell me what they look like?” Denden requests. “I don’t know your group super well. It’d probably help if I had an idea of who exactly I was looking for.”

“Well…” the short blonde begins. “Keizou’s the guy with the cool hat and the huge backpack. Ran is suuuuuper tall with a leather jacket and a bunch of cool tattoos.”

“Oh, jeez…he sounds kinda scary looking, huh?” Denden says it lightheartedly, trying to throw a bit of humor into their exchange. The other girl chuckles softly, shaking her head in response. “He’s really nice though!” she insists. “He was a great friend to me and Keizou during the first game. He’s only mean to demons.”

“Oh! Well, that’s a relief. You know what! I'm looking for someone too! Yaitabashi, he wears a pretty dress and has flowers in his hair. Maybe, we can look for out friends together? If we team up we have to find at least one of them! I can help you out!” The kind stranger seems to cheer up at her words, a huge grin spreading across her face.

“You will? Thank you!”

The shorter teen abruptly snatches her into a hug, much to the sculptor’s surprise. The embrace isn’t unwelcome, though. She quickly hugs back, practically lifting the other blonde into the air due to their difference in stature.

“You’re really nice,” the stranger giggles. “And your outfit is cute. I like the little white thingies on your head.”

“Oh! Thanks!” Denden chuckles softly, her cheeks flushing slightly at the unexpected compliment. She holds her hand out to the smaller girl, who shakes it with an eager grin. “My name’s Denden Misao,” she introduces herself. “What’s your name?”

“Chiba Airi!” the other girl exclaims. “It’s really, really good to meet you!”

Denden’s jaw drops in surprise as she’s finally able to put a name to the face. “Hang on- Chiba Airi? You’re that little girl from the sitcom, aren’t you?” A wave of excitement runs through her as she realizes who she’s been talking to. Her fists shake up and down with enthusiasm as her words tumble out before she can stop them. “You’re that little girl from the sitcom, right?” she continues. “Ooh, I love that show! Your performance is the highlight for sure. You’re such a great actor!!”

“Aww, thank you!” Chiba chuckles in response. As Denden looks at her though, she can’t help but wonder…had she really died here without a trace? Surely someone that famous would have people across Japan searching for her…right?

Maybe there were people looking for her. In that case, once she was found, they’d all be rescued. Maybe their ticket to freedom was just a few days away. Maybe they just had to stay strong and united until then. They could manage that…right?

“If you don’t mind me asking, Chiba…how exactly did you…?”

The actress’ face pales in response to that question. Denden bites down on her lip, mentally kicking herself for asking something so invasive. “Or- s-sorry, you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to. I know you probably don’t, it was rude of me to ask without-”

“No, no…it’s okay,” Chiba mumbles. “I-I got killed by a tiger.”

“A tiger-?!” Denden wails, panicked. Chiba quickly tries to reassure her, concern filling her bright blue eyes.

“S-she’s not here right now though-! You don’t have to worry. I…” Her gaze shifts to the floor, guilt creeping into her expression. “...s-she’s gone for now. She was just a baby. She was Keizou’s, and I…when she attacked me, I…I shot her. I didn’t want to, but…” Her lip quivers slightly, as if she were about to cry. Denden tilts her head in concern, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. She tries to comfort the girl, giving her shoulder a light squeeze.

“Y-you shouldn’t be scared though,” Chiba finally manages to say. “Keizou’s isn’t a bad guy. He’s really sweet. And he isn’t dangerous. What happened to me wasn’t his fault. He didn’t even do it! That's why I really need to find him!” A hint of desperation flickers through her gaze as her grip around Denden’s hand tightens.

“...I need to tell him I forgive him. Just like I forgive Ran. I don’t know what he did, but…everyone said it wasn’t his fault. So I believe in him.”

The ice sculptor pulls her hand back, shoving it deep into her coat pocket. That…seemed incredibly harsh. Should they really be punished for killing someone by accident? It didn’t seem fair to her at all. A shudder runs down her spine, though she does her best to hide it from Chiba. The actress’ shoulders slump as she continues staring at the floor, speaking in a low voice.

“...I just hope that they both forgive me.”

“Well……you seem really sweet! I don't know what you did, but they sound like they both care about you a lot. They’d be really mean not forgive you!”

“I hope so.” she tries to get her smile from before back on but it falters easily.

“Come on! We aren't going to fix this by standing around! Let's go searching!!! It like hide and seek right? Well lucky for you, you have the best searcher on your team! I used to always win hide n seek against my brother! This should be no different!” She grabs Chiba's hand with the brightest smile she can manage and gestures to her forward.

“Yeah!” a tiny spark is ignited as she focuses her mind on searching rather than the conversation after.

Together they took off in a thorough search for their friends!
—------------------

Chapter Text

“Let me see him,” Kamimura seethed. Looking past Yanagi as Hama led Hasegawa out of the room.

“Later.” Yanagi didn't back down from the blue haired boy's intensity.

“You can't just isolate him!”

“We have to. We're not letting murderers walk around. We're trying to make a good impression here.”

“Fuck good impressions! I don't give a shit about the new kids. I'm talking about the fact that this stupid game is bad enough as is. We don't need in fighting!”

“It’s not infighting! We're protecting ourselves!”

“From what!”

Yanagi shut his eyes and grit his teeth. It was so hard to keep his composure. If he hadn't had years of practice it would be extremely easy to use this as an opportunity to become aggressive. Or worse……violent.

He takes a breath.

Forgive him would you, he's currently trying to explain to someone he's believed to be dead for a full year now that the person he trauma bonded with committed attrcocites…..in his honor? No. None of what Hasegawa did was for honor.

But wasn't it for Kamimura?

It's unclear.

The duo's relationship was messy as is. But no one else had the patience to deal with Kamimura's electrical socket of a personality. Always sparking and seething. But not out of malice.

He was always a pitiful sight.

Yanagi pinched the bridge of his nose silently cursing Tamba for abandoning him, she’d be better at dealing with this. But again she had been closer to him, she….was probably struggling with seeing everyone alive again.

“Answer me!” the crime scene cleaner hissed. “Give me a good reason to be scared of him other than ‘he killed somebody’ cause i don't see anyone complaining about Sasaki talking to people.”

“Sasaki was under pressure. It was circumstantial.”

“And he wasn't?! You really think if we all got out right now he’d just start stabbing people in the middle of the street!? This entire thing is fucking circumstantial.”

“ He planned it! For weeks! He had a plan in mind before Watari even died- he poisoned me and Hiroaki. He weaponized Ojima's and Wada's insecurities! He manipulated Tamba into a state of extreme paranoia, He killed Mai! And he was fine! With all of us dying. He would have been ok with being the only one to walk out alive!”

“I don't believe you.” Kamimura turned away with an eye roll.

This is the 4th time they’ve had this argument. They just keep lapping in circles. He wanted to just prove to the boy that his faith was being misused. That the person who he trusted hurt people. He wanted him to know Hasegawa's crimes were real and they were personal.

Maybe it was still some bitter resentment for the murder. That Yanagi didn't want Kamimura to forgive him. Or didn't want to give Hasegawa the satisfaction of having any knowledge of the fact.

But the less emotional part of his brain argued that it was probably for the best to let everyone cool down (including himself) before approaching either occupant of Hayashi's room. Give everyone some time before jumping to trying too do anything else.

Plus they had 16 other people to account for. Who knows how’d they react to knowing they were locked in here with killers.

“Are you seriously still going to stand here and watch me? I always knew you were a creep.” Kamimura huffed.

In all honesty?

Yanagi had no idea what else to do.

He had been doing…..his best for the time he was out of the game. But…..best was…..hardly good. He felt lost and empty and was too full of pain and guilt to do anything.

He still is in a way.

He wasn’t in a clear enough headspace to introduce himself to the new students yet. First impressions were important to him. He didn't want to wreck his reputation because he's still pent up over things that happened a year ago.

He wanted to talk to Hayashi. Apologize. Beg for any kind of forgiveness or answer. His heart sized at the mere thought of her being out of his sight, with Hasegawa of all people.

But he remained professional. That too could be dealt with in time. Soon preferably. But she's likely……freshly revived. And now having to be on guard duty? He…..he knows when things are too much. He’ll give her space.

Tamba left him to do who knows what. Hiroaki and Ojima had left on some sort of mission. Wada had been taken by Tsuno and Isono. Probably for the best.

And everybody else? Had just been….hard to see.

Maybe he could find conversation with Watari? He thinks she went off alone. Sasaki would be nice to catch up with but he's worried with her being observed by Hiroaki conflict might arise. There was nothing that really peaked his interest. So he just…..made sure Kamimura didn't do anything stupid. Seemed easy enough.

“I'm simply making sure potential conflicts are prevented.”

“Cause you're so great at that.”

“I'm trying my best.” he straightened his jacket. He was keeping himself here to prevent conflict as well.

“I would have really expected you to be more excited to meet new people, who knows, maybe one of them might actually stand your whole princely thing”

“I'm not in the right mindset to be interacting with others at this moment. Im hoping to wait out the storm and make appearance when I'm in more acceptable shape.”

“Of course you are.” Kamimura rolled his eyes again. “But then why cant i leave?”

“You….can.” he mutters.

“Really? Cause you looming over me is giving me a different impression here.”

“Im just not sure if its the best idea.”

“Oh my fucking god! I'm fine! Back off! I can make my own choices. Do I really have to re-establish all of this all over again!? I died! Whatever! Didn’t even stick we can forget about i'm not about to be like- l'm not going to walk out the door and have some looney toons style trap occur! I'll be fine, let me leave!”

“And where would you go?”

“To…talk to Hasegawa."

“That's what I'm scared of.”

“Can we go 5 minutes without having this argument! I'm not giving you any grace until I hear things from his perspective too. You didn't even give him the chance to talk!”

“Did he look like he had anything to defend?! He could have spoken against it if he wanted to, but he had nothing to say!”

“Its Hasegawa! He's not going to speak up for himself if his life depends on it.”

“Woah. Whose divorce did I just stumble into?”

A new voice neither of them recognized appeared in the door way. In that moment both of them became keenly aware that they were alone in the room….and awfully close to one another.

Yanagi, extremely flustered at whatever image this new person must have conjured in their mind, stepped back and away from Kamimura. Who just seemed unbothered by the accusation.

“I- we were just- its a long story but-” Yanagi tried to think of any type of reasoning that made sense

“Who the fuck are you?” Kamimura raised an eye and crossed his arms at the silhouette.

The figure stepped forward into the light, shutting the door behind him.

“Ikeda Daiki at your service” he extended a hand to them as the door clicked behind him. His purple eyes narrowing under red bangs with white streaks.

“He's coming for your brand Yanagi.” Kamimura shuffled and nudged the taller to accept the handshake.

Yanagi cleared his throat before taking the hand with a short, rehearsed, polite, bow, “Yanagi Shigeki, pleasure to make your acquaintance.“

Ikeda pulled back with a chuckle, “damn. Ok then freak.”

“I- what?” Yanagi was lost- was it not him that started the introduction? Yanagi was just accepting the invitation.

“Yeah sorry about him. He's just…..like that.” Kamimura gave him a side glance before looking back at Ikeda and introducing himself, “Kamimura Kazutoshi. But I probably won’t be around long. So, Don't need to worry about it.”

“Kamimura!” Yanagi shot. “You cant say things like that. Nobody is dying this time.”

“ And what are you going to do about that? You really think zip ties are going to hold Okazaki for long? You really trust that 16 new variables aren't going to snap?”

“I'm kinda with him on this one. Seems kind of silly to claim nobody is going to die when you let me walk in here with a weapon and lock the door with little complaint.”

“WHAT!” Yanagi jumped back and crossed his arms in front of himself defensively.

“These doors don't lock.” Kamimura admits with a sigh. “You came from the auditorium right? That's where the noise was coming from. How the hell would you have a weapon on you? But oh? If you do? Make it fast.”

“Caught me.” Ikeda smiles and waves his hands around in a show of innocence. “You're smart.”

“Cautious.”

“Caution is a weird trait for someone who seems eager to die.”

“Well I can't just erase years of habit now can I? It would make dying a lot easier though.”

“Kamimura! You're not going to die.” Yanagi huffs again.

“Who knows, maybe I will? Maybe it will be Hasegawa this time. Since you claim he’s fucking lost it.”

“Is that who you were fighting about earlier? Care to fill me in?”

“Its….kind of complicated. I'm sure there are better people to ask for a summary.”

“Awww. but I wanted to hear it from you! Its clear there's history here. I'd rather have a show than a summary.”

“Here's a better fucking question, what's your problem? Just burst in here and start trying to pry info out of us? What's your deal? Why’d you close the door?”

“Well it sounded like you two were having a very personal disagreement and I did you a favor and stopped anyone else from wandering in on it didn't I? You should thank me”

“Hell no. What do you want.”

“I wanted a chance to meet the old contestants, see what the big deal was. Gian some footing. But all I'm learning is that you guys are weird and mean.”

“You haven’t even met the worst of us yet.” Kamimura scoffed. Yanagi twitched.

“Oh really? Who might they be?”

“Go find out for yourself were in the middle of something here.”

“Nah. im good with staying right here.”

“Why?” Kamimura bristled.

“Proving a point.”

“To who?”

“None of your business.”

“You're getting in our business because of it, so I feel like we have a right to know.”

“I disagree,” the redhead smiled as Kamimura tensed.

“Fine then! Lets…..but our argument aside for now. I’d rather not attract any more attention anyways. If we answer your questions then will you leave?” He offers a compromise.

“Hmmmmm maybe. Sure.”

“Fine.” Kamimura huffs. “Make them fast.”

“How’d you die the first time?”

Kamimura went silent.

“That's- you can't just ask that out the gate?!” Yanagi stammered, stepping in front of the other as his eyes went wide and he clutched the edges of his hoodie.

“Oh so there's rules now? That's not fair, you can't just make rules and not tell me”

“You just- you don't ask someone how they died!?”

“Forgive me, I've never met anyone that died before! Didn't know it was sensitive, jeez.”

“I'm not answering.” was all that Kamimura could bring himself to say in response.

“It was bad wasn't it? bet it was gorey and awful” Ikeda leaned forward teasing.

“What is your problem!” Yanagi fully stood in between the two of them, ready to shove this newbie if he spits out one more targeted line.

“You seem more talkative, what about you? Did you die?”

“I….i did not.” Yanagi admitted through gritted teeth.

“Huh. never heard someone be angry about that before, what, did you kill to escape?”

“Huh? No! I'd never!”

“Boo. Boring then.” Ikeda turned away, no longer holding that glint of playfulness in his eyes.

“If all of the new group are like you I'm breaking in Watari's room and burning the place down myself.” Kamimura threatened.

“I wouldn't say they're like me, but they sure are bossy. Expected me to listen to orders from someone who I've only known for 20 minutes? Pass. flower boy can suck it I've got better things to do.”

“Like what.”

“Mess with you mainly.”

“Great so you're just an asshole. That's your entire personality.”

“Cant believe it took you that long to figure it out. But no. I just like stating the truth.”

“You haven’t ‘stated’ anything. Just asked a bunch of awful questions”

“I asked like. One awful question. And you still haven't answered me.”

“I'm not going to.”

Yanagi was getting a headache. Listening to these two go back and forth like this.

“Both of you are provoking each other knock it off.” He's had enough petty arguments for a lifetime having to deal with Hiroaki and Tamba. He didn't need another pair of squabalers to put up with.

“He started it!” Kamimura shouted with a hand raised. “How else did you want me to respond?!”

“Technically. I started it. I'd rather you get mad at me and end this stupid conversation than continue to listen to either of you.”

“Does that like ever actually work for you, the whole get mad at me so the conversation stops, is that like an actual strategy you use to diffuse situations? That's so fucking stupid.”

“I don't use any type of ‘strategy’ , it's just conversation. Not warfare.” he responds, pulling at his sleeve cuff.

“Hm.” Ikeda took a step back like he was assessing something.

He didn't get to assess for very long as the door was pulled open, casting a harsh light on all of them once more.

“Er- hello? Have any of you seen- Oh! Ikeda! Hey!”

Kamimura smirks as Ikeda's face falls at the sight of someone from his own group.

“I'm glad I found you!” the new person laughs nervously. “ Yaitabashi might be upset if we all split up. Kumada also ran off, and I'm supposed to be with Nishiguchi but she told me to find you both, so, hey that's one down! Now we just need to see where Kumada went!”

It was a complete tone shift from Ikeda's cunning threats, he spoke with a wide smile and a bright infliction.

“If it brings you any assistance, Ikeda is the only of your class that we’ve ran into so far, but i can help you search for the others if you’d like?” Yanagi offers, kind of hoping the boy would be kind enough to refuse it. But also it might be a better distraction than hassling Kamimura again.

“Oh! That’d be great actually! Thank you!”

“Of course, this first floor is pretty small, I'm sure whoever you're searching for couldn't have gone far.” he steps forward and away from the current problem creators.

“Really going to abandon me like that huh? Without you, who's going to stop me from going and joining Hasegawa’s murder rampage?”

The room went silent. Likely due to half its occupants not knowing what they were talking about.

“At this point Kamimura, I've given you all the warning I can. If you want to go break your own heart, be my guest. I’ll leave the choice to you. But don't come to me seeking comfort when you finally recognize how vile that man is.”

He takes a step closer to the door. Only giving Kamimura a glance over his shoulder as he spits out a final warning.

There was another moment of tense silence.

“Uh….Ikeda are you joining us? Kumada is supposed to be your partner after all.”

“Do you think I'm going to join you? Where in any of my actions today led you to the conclusion that i would be any where interested in following the instructions of someone I don't know.”

“...please?” he asked again, clearly desperate to keep whatever shreds of their group were together.

“Nah. I'll stay righhhhhhttttt here. I still have a lot i want to know about this pair of first players.” he looks between both the pink class students with a growing smile.

“There's nothing else left for you to know. I'm going to my room. I'm done with this shit.” Kamimura huffed and was clearly intimidated by what ever Ikeda's plans were, he stomped up to the door way and gave Yanagi an icy glare before slipping past them and trailing out into the hall.

“Dammit.” Ikeda curses. Upset he played the wrong cards.

“Well hey! Now you have no choice but to join us right! So you can get your answers out of…..this…..guy.” the blue student awkwardly gestures. He has long white hair and braces, along with an attire suited for a colder climate than….wherever they were. The school tends to run pretty warm. He almost feels bad for the student.

“Yanagi Shigeki.” he nods, filling in the gap.

“Shishikura Osamu!” he squeezes his eyes shut and extends a hand. Yanagi takes it and does a simple bow.

“Pleasure to meet you.” he silently hopes this time the words are true.

“Right back at ’ya! Ikeda are you coming?”

“You're looking for Kumada?” he asked, calculating.

“Yep!”

“She's the bitchy one with pigtails and obnoxiously edgy clothing right?”

“Indeed! Although ... .less…mean preferably.”

“Fine, I'll tag along. For now. I have some questions for her too.” he joins the other 2 in the doorway.

“Great! We know she went in this direction so let's start there!” Shishikura points.

Yanagi can't shake the feeling that letting Kamimura wander off on his own was a mistake.

It doesn't settle well against his already paranoid thoughts about Hayashi and Tamba and just about every other person he cared about that was out of sight right now.

But he could manage.

He takes a deep breath and straightens his coat once more. He just has to help them find this girl, then he can sort out his personal duties.

Who was he to deny a quest to locate a damsel in distress? This should be quick. Then straight to finding Hayashi in return.
—---------------------------------------

 

Ojima blinked, rattled as a blur of rainbow hair and the thud of sneakers and chains, drag his attention forward.

Down the hall a person he didn't recognize was running rather frantically.

“Who…?

“Not important.” Nakamigawa shrugged and entered the dinning room.

“Ninomiyia?!” one of the new students called out down the hall, stomping down one of his simple black doll-like shoes against the floor.

Ninomiya did not turn around or respond to the shout.

“Great that two people now unaccounted for.” Yaitabashi? Ojima wasn't 100% sure on all the names yet but he was determined to figure them out fast because he knew Hiroaki sure wasn’t going to.

Either way the boy in the flower crown seemed pretty peeved.

“I'm sure he had a good reason. He looked pretty frazzled.” Yokoi. He knew that one! Yokoi put a hand on his shoulder and directed him to the dining room.

Now that? Seemed to agitate him. He stepped forward and pushed off the touch, confidently stepping into the dining room.

Ojima’s only a little curious about all that. But it's really not his place. Instead he makes eye contact with Sasaki, who was probably reading a lot more into the interaction than he was. She gave him a nod in response to his raised eyes.

He had no idea what that was supposed to mean.

He just followed everyone into the dining hall.

It was weird……..seeing this room again.

Wada and Isono sat at a table. Tsuno in the kitchen. Hayashi was nearby, watching over looking concerned.

There's no way this was real.

He………he hasn't seen these people in a year. And the last he saw. 2 of them were rotting decaying corpses. One had been bleeding out in a pool. And Wada……

He meets the boy's eyes and the shorter swiftly looks away putting his sandwich down.

God. Ojima needs to say something.

He took a step towards Masanari, with an outstretched hand.

But Hiroaki grabbed his arm. And pulled him closer to Hayashi's table.

“Dude. Later. That one wasn't a part of the game. It's not important. That one its up to him what he wants to share. And I don't think he wants her knowing.” Nakamigawa whispered, somehow making more sense than he usually did.

Ojima just nods and tries to figure out what the conversation was about right now, Yaitabashi and Yokoi stood on either side of a girl with purple hair who was across from Hayashi.

“So you just let him run off!”

“Don’t get pissy with me, go ask pizza in the kitchen what happened to BOTH her team mates. I don't think I've seen any of the original pairing still together. People have their own motivations to get over it.”

“.....fine….i ... .should have expected this. Don't know why I thought 15 teenagers would be capable of following the buddy system for longer than 20 minutes. “ Yaita sighed and pulled a chair forward to join the purple girl.

“Well hey! We still found something good here! There are plenty of session one students here to interview!" Yokoi chimed in, clicking her pen and flipping to a new page.

“...interview?” Hayashi raised an eye.

“Yes we want to get a basic list of things about both groups. To keep track of people and stay organized." Sasaki stood behind her with a colder expression but the same notebook and pen.

“Yeah! I was wondering if you would be the first for me! And Maekawa you can be the first for Sasaki!”

“An interview? Fine. butttttttt you have to make it showy. Make me feel like I'm on TV” she flipped her purple hair and spun to face the class council president. This gave everyone a better look at her limbs.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR ARMS?!” Nakamigawa shrieked.

“Wow. dude. That's kind of-” she looked in between offended and on the verge of laughing at his panicked expression.

He cant believe that was his reaction.

Ojima takes a deep sigh.

“He's- just ignore him. Hiroaki you know better than this-”

“No I'm serious! What happened?! You don't lose that many limbs with some sort of sick story, come on!”

“Hell no! I don't owe you shit! You aren't the one interviewing me.”

“Sasaki give me the notebook.” Hiroaki demanded.

“No! Your handwriting's awful.”

“How do you even know what my handwriting looks like!?”

“I don't have to see it to know.” Sasaki stood her ground.

“I feel like you ABSOLUTELY have to see someone's handwriting to know if its good or bad.”

“Well I've seen your hand writing and can confirm its kind of awful.” Ojima teased, gaining an offended gasp and a swat from his boyfriend.

“Traitor!” he put a hand on his chest and huffed.

“Lets get started with those interviews please, at the very least we can get everyone at this table before meeting back up in the auditorium.” Yaitabashi offered.

“Good idea. Let's stay on track!” Yokoi nodded and ripped out a page of her notebook she had been writing in and handed it to Yaitabashi, “Here, can you read these while I write?”

“Yeah. Of course……” he took the paper and squinted at the lettering. The table was silent waiting for his first question. “I-.....you write really tiny.”

“Oh sorry! I….didn't realize. Uhm…do you want be to re-write it?”

“Can i just ask my own questions?” he looked up from the paper with pleading eyes.

“Uhmmm……sure!” Yokoi decided, shaking any hesitance from her mind.

“Alright can we have your full name and age? This goes for everyone from group one. It might be easier to just get as many as possible than hunt people down for one on one.”

“Agreed, Sasaki Hitomi, 17.”

“18.” Hiroaki chimed in.

“I don't…..think so.”

“Well. I'm 18. Me and Takeshi both. Its been a full year since we were put here. We. i mean like- Tamba’s leg was still fucked right? So we haven't reset or been aged down. So it has been a year. So everyone would be 18.”

“But i was revived! So-......i mean……i don't like the idea of having wasted an entire year of my life being dead. I'm going to stick with 17. I don't think I've actually aged.”

“You know what? We will just…..scratch that part. Just names. To write.”

“Sasaki Hitomi, Ojima Takeshi, Hiroaki Nakamigawa, and Hayashi Mai.” Sasaki responded with perfect rythm.

“Thank you!” Yokoi jotted them down.

“Not even allowed to say my own name. Damn. stop trying to steal my spotlight.” Hiroaki complained, naturally.

“Am i…..actually a part of this?” Hayashi questioned kind of lost.

“You are now.” Yaitabashi answered. “Alright what was everyone's fate regarding the game. No need to go into detail, just, did you die yes or no. did you kill someone yes or no. and if applicable who did you kill or who killed you.”

“Both me and Takeshi made it out. Were survivors.” Hiroaki bragged.

“I was murdered by Hasegawa.” Hayashi stated, staring down Sasaki, interested in how she would respond.

Ojima cautiously gave a glance to Wada and Isono no doubt in ear shot. And even further back was the kitchen.

This felt……mean.

But Sasaki stayed composed. “I killed Isono and was executed. I would like to request it to be noted that i was purely out of madness and instinct and that i vow not to allow myself into that situation again" she keeps her eyes set on Yaitabashi and her voice low.

Ojima looks back to Isono, who’s still happily chatting. But Wada’s hands are shaking and he keeps glancing back over.

Could have gone worse. He takes a deep breath.

“Request granted!” Yokoi smiled and transcribed.

After a beat, she lifted her pen and nodded to Yaitabashi.

“Who is the person you consider yourself closest too and the person you consider yourself furthest from? Again just need names, though details are appreciated, stay with what your comfortable. If you want to skip you can i just think it might be worth while to have a very basic grasp on relationships and dynamic so no one oversteps or getting involved in anything. “

“Not sure how……important that one is but. I guess I can see where you're coming from, if there was a group ‘before’ me. Uh…..closest?.....maybe Ojima? Or Yanagi? But that one's complicated. I need to talk to him. Furthest probably …uhhh.” this time she does look up at the internet idol. “...Isono.” she mutters and looks back down.

“You have to go with Yanagi, because I'm actually the closest with Takeshi I've claimed him for this. You have to pick someone else.”

‘What? You cant- claim me?” he spoke out slightly amused at how quickly Nakamigawa said his name.

“We're literally dating, I think I can.”

The table went quiet.

“That……..feels…..like it should have been obvious.” Yokoi mutters before scribbling it down.

“Since when?” Hayashi smirked leaning back

“Moved in with him after the game. Just……i dunno…..it was the only thing stopping us from going insane.” Ojima admitted voice laced with as much affection as he could manage.

A hum of an approval was all Sasaki could provide on the subject.

“As for the furthest, I have a list. I fucking hate Hasegawa, he poisoned me and nearly tried to kill everyone. Okazaki killed two people so fuck them. Tamba and Yanagi are both annoying as fuck-

“You still invite Yanagi over twice a month and try to call Ruiko like once a week”

“Yeah and its annoying that she doesn't pick up and he doesn't just move down here! I also think Kamimura is a bitch. Didn't deserve to die but like. I'm not looking forward to have to deal with his old edgy shtick during the games again. Also not looking forward to any of Hama's little trio thing. It not that i hate them but i don't trust them.”

“That's like…..half the group.” Ojima sighed.

“You aren't even giving names anymore-”

“Surprised i wasn't higher up. You really hate Harada more than me?” Sasaki teased.

“Oh I wasn't done! Don't even get me started on you Hitomi-”

“I think we're good. On understanding your dynamic with the others. Ojima you go next.” Yaitabashi cut him off.

“oh-....uh………i like Nakamigawa. I was also pretty close with Sasaki before she died. I don't really mind many of the others.”

“He doesn't have a spine. Forgives people wayyyyyyy too easily." Hiroaki put his hands on his hips.

“What no! I don't forgive Okazaki” he uttered out in defense.

“What about Hasegawa?”

“i-..........no. i don't…..forgive him. Necessarily. But I just. I don't know. Putting him on the same tier as Okazaki doesn't feel right.”

“He forced you into getting intoxicated!!! How can you not hate him!”

“No, I'm kinda with him here.” Hayashi hummed tilting her head towards Ojima

“HE KILLED YOU!?” Maekawa shouted confused.,

“Yeah. but like. Its fucking Hasegawa man. I don't forgive him, but its completely different than Okazaki. Both are bad. Trust me. But. its……complicated. I'm not the best at explaining these sort of things. I don't trust him. I don't like him. I don't forgive him. But i feel like he was more so forced into that position whereas Okazaki was just always like this.”

“ Both are murderers. they both are irredeemable." Hiroaki huffed.

“Wow. great thing to say to two other ‘killers’ at the table” Hayashi crossed her arms and gave the fashion designer an eye roll, before looking at Sasaki with a slight ounce of pity.

“Exactly. Killers not murderers. Difference."

“2?” Yaitabashi questioned.

“Before game shit. Not getting into it.” Hayashi brushed the white haired boy off. “ Closest I'm going to go no body i kinda blew over all my relationships at the last minute. And furthest I'm going to go with Ken, cause he killed me and all. Can we be done now?”

“I guess. Unless anyone else has anything they want to share? Like……advice or tips or important info about themselves.”

“Can we share info about others?” Sasaki questioned.

“Depends.” Yokoi answered nervously.

“Ok- forgive me. And more importantly correct me if im wrong But- i feel like this should be taken note of. Uhm. I'm allergic to soy. Ok Ojima has some type of dissociative disorder, somewhere in the ptsd realm. He spaces out a lot. He cant help it. Hiroaki has insomnia and hemophobia And- your allergic to something right?”

“Woah! You cant just say all of that! What are you doing!”

“Making sure things aren't accidentally assumed. I don't need people accusing you of things because when they can easily be disproved by stuff we already know. Plus allergies and health conditions makes it easier to help people. “

“Yes! This is important info.” Yokoi declares.

“Pass. im not giving you info on how to kill me. Not after Hasegawa literally used those allergies against me already.”

“Almond and soy right?” Hayashi spoke up.

“What the fuck Mai!”

“You're more likely to get accidentally poisoned by hiding it than purposely poisoned plus people are going to find out somehow. Easier.”

“Yeah! But I didn't want that shared!” he was getting like actually riled up.

“Thank you. Both of you. Sasaki, would you like to do the same to us?”

“I don't really have much to ask outside of names, hobbies and health conditions."

“Oh! Well that's easy, here I'll start, I'm Yokoi Ruka, i play dnd, i like studying and group leadership project- Oh! And i compete in spelling bees internationally!-”

Ojima took note of that. Internationally? That's a big deal. That's properly her ‘ultimate’ then……did the blue kids even have ultimate's though?

“- and I'm slightly allergic to dairy and sesame. Shouldn't kill me unless someone tries really really hard though. Anything else?”

“No that works, thank you-” Sasaki started

“What's your student number?” Hiroaki asked with a squint.

“Huh? What?" Yokoi didn't understand what he was asking.

“Student number. Do you know it yet? It helps in the mornings and to find things. When things are specific to you they never use your name, you have a number.”

“I don't…..think i was told any number?”

“I don't remember any numbers assigned either." Yaitabashi chimed in.

“My apologizes-”

SHIT!

Ojima flinched back as Monomoko appeared on the table. Maekawa screeched and nearly kicked her chair over. Yokoi yelped. Everyone else stayed fairly calm though.

“Man- you- I thought you were getting better at that! “ Ojima slams his hands against his pants and looks at the rabbit in disappointment.

“Hence, why I started with the apology.”

“What do you want!” Hiroaki whined.

“I overheard you discussing student numbers. I agree it is important for the blue students to be aware of their numbers. I want to give you the full list of all of the names of the blue students in correspondence to their numbers, and trust you to rely on the information when necessary.”

“Oh really? Please. Do. go ahead” Sasaki seemed caught off guard by the rabbit's willingness to help.

“Ouno Nanae is student 1B. Ninomyia Yohei is student 2B. Kumada Erina is Student 3B-”

" So Hasegawa really was right.” Ojima's eyes went wide at the words

“Yes. He was correct about the names of the first few members of the blue students. Now may I continue?”

“Please.” Sasaki looked up from her book with frantic eyes.

“Ikeda Diaki is student 4B. Denden Misao is student 5B. Taksukigata Hideyuki is student 6B. Yokoi Ruka is student 7B”

Sasaki paused her scribbling to look at Yokoi.

“Huh.” Hiroaki smirked. “That tracks pretty well.”

“What?” Yokoi narrowed her eyes.

“We share a number.” Sasaki stated before going back to writing

“OH! That's fun! Maybe that's why we both have notebooks!”

“Maybe there's…..something in common between everyone that shares numbers?” Yaitabashi theorized.

“I can not provide any input towards that statement. May I please continue?

“Yeah!” Yokoi nodded.

“Yaitabashi Sou is student 8B-”

“Oh…….” he made eye contact with the boy. Who took a second to find his stare from across the table.

“Who's the other 8?”

“Uh…me.”

“Oh. nice.” He shrugged.

Ojima continued to try and find any type of similarity between the two of them. Yaitabashi seemed so grounded. So secure in himself and his goals.

Ojima just kinda…….followed along with whatever.

“May I please continue. Without any further interruptions?” Monomoko asked yet again.

“Yes. sorry.” Ojima quickly moved his gaze to the floor in guilt

“Maekawa Azusa is student 9B-”

“Ooooohhhhh who's my buddy? Are they even half as cool or awesome as me?”

All of the pink students made instant eye contact. What do they tell her? No? Do they tell her why? Is it better for her to learn later instead of freaking out now????

……if there's a reason behind the numbers…..what does that mean about her?

“....so…..you know that double murder. The one whose name made Ninomiya run off?” Hayashi took a deep wince before starting.

“OH you've got to be kidding me!! What the fuck! That's not fair!! Hell no! Change my number. I don't want to be anywhere near whoever that freak is!”

“I'm afraid I can not change the assigned students numbers, nor was i the one who assigned them to begin with. I'm afraid if your number makes you uncomfortable there is nothing I am able to do to provide comfort.”

 

“Like hell! Just like- flip me and geek over here. I'm sure she can take ‘em stop their evil doing with the power of friendship or some shit”

“There is nothing I can do about the student numbers. However, I can continue through my list. If you’ll allow me.

“Yes keep going”

“......do you promise to be quiet this time?”

“Yes. yes. Sorry” Ojima apologized on the group's behalf.

“Are you undoubtedly sure?” Monomoko seemed to shift slightly to face Hiroaki.

“What!?” he shouted at the sudden crowd staring at him. “I haven't even said anything thus far. I'm busy!” He was fussing over a loose seam in his jacket and not really paying attention, even going as far as rolling his eyes and grabbing a chair to sit down and get a better angle at the pest. Quietly muttering curses to himself.

“Hirose Shingo is student 10B. Ogura Noriko is student 11B. Shishikura Osamu is student 12B. Isoda Mion is student 13B. Tei Atsushi is student 14B. Nishiguchi Mutsuko is student 15B. And Akiba Taku is student 16B.”

A few moments of silence passed as both student 7’s tried to write as much info as they could.

“That is all.” Monomoko announced.

“Yyyyyyyep! Ok! Got ‘em!” Yokoi announced with pride.

“Finished here.” Sasaki nods.

“Thank you. Now if you excuse me I have an announcement to go make.”

“An announcement?......right now???? About what?!” Hayashi sat up the word.

“It is time for bed. It is actually past nighttime hours. I have been instructed to send you warnings about sleep.”

‘Wait- we will be able to sleep right- you- you gave us 3 days before the motive last time. We- we aren't starting with not being allowed to sleep are we???” Sasaki panicked.

“I can not answer that question at this time. Please excuse me as i go to make the announcement.”

She disappeared.

“So like. What's up with the bunny, what is it?” Maekawa asked.

“We still have no idea,” Hiroaki chimed in.

A second after the speakers flared,

“Attention students” the speakers boomed to life. “It is 45 minutes until night time. For convenience of first night arrangements. All doors in the building will lock in 45 minutes. It is recommended that you are inside your intended dorm at this time. As after the motive introduction tomorrow, you might not be sleeping in your dorm. So it is recommended you use it while available. This announcement will play again at the 30. 15. And 5 minute marks respectively. Have a good night's rest.”

 

“It's…….never said that before?” Ojima blinked, staring at the ceiling confused by the sudden change in nature.

“It's…..rather inconvenient" Yaitabashi frowned.

Shouting could be heard from the kitchen. As whoever the two that had been preparing food struggled to decide what to do with what they had created.

“Did it say we're getting a motive…..tomorrow?” Hayashi furrowed her eyes. And yeah. That was odd. They were always given breaks before motives.

“Whatever. Lets just listen to the rabbit and try not to die. We can meet up here and keep information swapping tomorrow. I'm getting exhausted of seeing you guys already. Takeshi, come on. Let's head out.”

“Fine by me.” He was still curious. About a lot of this stuff. But- Nakamigawa made a good point. A break sounded really nice. He could only handle shaking his eyes away from Hayashi and Sasaki's, lack of holes in their torsos before he starts to gaslight himself back into believing this isn't real.

“See you all in the morning?” he gave a hesitant wave to the 3 blue students he had met.

“Sounds like a plan.” Yaitabashi nodded.

“Sasaki you're coming too!” Hiroaki yelled in the doorway.

“Really took you that long to remember?” she mumbled, closing her book and pen.

Together the 3 of them started heading back to the dorms.
—----------------------

“Denden, can you go and tell the others that we might be a second? I’d like to take a look at whatever’s happening with Tei.”

A rabbit. That could talk was already unsettling enough. But injuring human people? Injuring their eyes?

Yeah he does not believe that. He's certain there's something else that occurred and they must have blamed it on the rabbit out of shock. If he’s lucky he’ll figure it out fast and can actually help people calm down.

Hirose wouldn’t even be surprised if the entire story was just some kind of hallucination of sorts caused by the shock of being kidnapped. People's minds do crazy things when scared.

Hence why he's…..not letting himself respond to everything at the moment. Helping people is familiar. Medical rooms are familiar. If he stays here and does this he can stay calm until things are more cleared up and he has alone time to process.

“Yes Doctor!” Denden replies with an enthusiastic nod, giving him an exaggerated salute.

He has no idea where she picked up the nickname. He certainly didn't have an actual degree. He supposed he dressed the part. And probably acted like it to..

But he was more concerned with how…..positive she beamed. She had been crying no less than 15 minutes ago, shaking on the floor. He had talked to her a bit. Tested some grounding techniques. But she bounced up way faster than anyone he's ever seen.

For now though, he chuckles faintly at the gesture. he certainly didn't deserve it, but was Grateful to see her on her feet, and doing her part to keep spirits high for everyone.

He makes he way over to his current patient while scanning the room for any other clip boards. He spots a cup of pens, but no other paper. He’ll have to memorize this until later then when he can do some more searching. Maybe there are notebooks somewhere? This is supposed to based of a school right? He didn't have access to medical records or history so he's going to have to make notes himself. Wouldn't be the first time, but its inconvenient that he cant write anything down, the clip board they did have had hall pass forms. Not useful. He considered using the back of them, but that might be too much work for something he's already certain is just hysteria.

“Thanks for the help, you guys,” Tei says smiling but not meeting anyone's eyes. He starts playing with a strand of his hair just running his fingers through it. Nervous.

“No problem, man,” Akiba replies. The blond does a quick shuffle around the room before likely deciding, he had more interesting things to partake in and turns to leave without another word. Denden follows behind him with a skip in her step.

Good. its always better when patients are alone. More likely to answer things honestly.

“So. lets start with easy questions. Are you still experiencing any pain?” he asks pretending to sort through bottles on the shelf beside him. Doing his best to make the environment feel more natural.

“I….no i don't think so.”

“No pain?.....anything else then?”

“I mean. There's still like this….vague…..i don't know how to describe it….buzzing? Pulsing?....throbbing maybe. That sound like the most…medically correct. Not itchy or burning like they were before but like a…i don't know where I'm going with this. Maybe this was a bad idea. I mean i didn't even want to it was Akiba's-” the pink haired boy’s hands flew wildly as his anxiety, and verbal speed picked up.

“Hey.” he turned sharply. “Its ok. If you are concerned. Than i am too. I don’t trust anything in here. So even if you think it might not be an issue. Its still information. And information is the most valuable thing in the world right now. You don't have to be specific. This isn’t a test. Its an observation. Just tell me what you know.”

“Right….right….yeah- i can do that.” his hands went back to fidgeting in a confined space in his lap.

“You mentioned a before, correct? What was that like?”

“Well- that was uh. That was painful.” his eyes dart to the floor as he continues to recount. “One second i had the rabbit in my hands and the next, for a second, it was like all of my senses had been snapped. Like- i don't know. Reality just broke. For- just- a second. When it came back i could feel the floor beneath me and my own body and breath again. But that was it. I could feel myself shake and twitch and i knew i was somewhere. But it didn't feel…….real? It looked like i was standing in a red void. Nothing but this bright blinding red- and this- this static? Loud not quite describable thing? It wasn’t a noise so much as a sensation but it made my ears ring and the world seem fuzzier. My eyes were burning though. That's something i can say with confidence. It was a burning. Like how i would imagine pepper spray feels……but like if pepper spray was in like a cleaning spray bottle and shot directly to the center of your eye In a steady stream. “

Hirose blinked.

“That is……highly descriptive.”

“You told me to tell you things! I did my best i-.....i wanted it to be as accurate as possible. Your a…….doctor-ishhhhhhhhh guy? I mean your a teenager like the rest of obviously and you know this is our first conversation and all that so maybe im wrong but i didn't think you'd be easily….unsettled by this kinda stuff.”

“ ‘this kinda stuff’ sure. descriptions of pain and blood, have you not. But reality breaking? Voids and static? That's far far out of my reach. I do…..surgery. Not physiological stuff. Although i try to have a basic understanding of most fields, it's not my main profession so forgive me. I'm….trying my best for being put on the spot here. Your descriptions do help though. You're right in the fact that accuracy should be a key factor here. My issue is that the level of accuracy you're providing disproves one of my theories.”

“You had theories?”

“I was going to easily assume this whole incident was some sort of panic induced hallucination but you re-call it with a little too much precision for me to be totally comfortable in that assumption. I……can’t think of anything else that would explain it logically. But…….im beginning to doubt this is a matter of logic at all.”

 

“You…..you thought i was just crazy?! That I was making it up?!”

“What was i supposed to think after being told ‘someone's eyes got burned by a rabbit’”

“Well its obviously not a rabbit! It talks and teleports!”

“We might have technology that exists to explain that.” he states more so trying to convince himself than the boy in front of him.

“Its not a robot.” Tei huffs.

“Are you certain?”

“It told me. Right before i…..lost it. We had been having this same conversation. Me and Akiba. And it showed up to say it wasn't a robot.”

“Can we trust it?”

“It fucked up my eyes! Its not about trusting it or- what it is! Its about what it can do!? Who knows what that thing is capable of! Machine or not its……powerful.”

“I will agree with you there. It seems like-” before Hirose can finish the door swings open and one of the other students from their group, the one with exaggerated colored hair swings open the door with rapid breath and shaky eyes.

“Are you alright?” Hirose pauses for a moment to see if maybe a similar incident had occurred.

Ninomiya? He believes. Looks around the room for another beat before tensing up further.

“ ‘m fine.” He huffs and walks back out. Letting the door shut behind him.

Hirose looks back to Tei for some kind of exclamation, he was out there interacting with people, Hirose hadn’t left the Medbay since he had entered.

Unfortunately Tei had a similar expression of confusion.

Should Hirose go…..check on that? He was kinda busy with someone else at the moment, but couldn't stand the thought of staying here if that level of panic resulted in something bad happening.

He opens his mouth to confess this dilemma to Tei when the door opens again, this time not a full body but a single arm with a thumbs up popped in, "I've got it covered. Don't worry! Been following him. I’ll make sure he's alright! I’ve tooooooootaly got this”

Then the hand pulled away and the doors shut again. He didn't recognize the voice but he hadn’t heard many people talk.

Well then. Problem solved.

“This place is way too small.” Tei picked up his fidgeting again. Fingers digging through his own hair.

“We’ll manage. Now I have a few more questions for you. If you uh……would like to get back on topic that is?”

“Yes uh…….were supposed to find Yaitabashi soon right? So we should finish this quickly.

“Agreed. Ok. So. you’ve discuss how you were feeling with the initial reaction. And now. But what about in between? How long did it last?”

“About……15 seconds if i had to guess? Longer than ten. Less than thirty. Maybe 20? I wasn’t exactly counting…….my vision stayed distorted for longer than any of the other effects. At some point the static faded and i could hear Akiba yelling pretty clearly. I could hear the rabbit too. Even clearer. Its voice seemed to cut right through the effects like a bullet to my brain. As if to make sure I heard it right.”

“What did it say?”

“That i broke the rules and not to harm it again or the punishment next time would be worse.”

“Hm.” hirose really wished he had some form of writing device right now. He trusted his memory but he felt the need to be recording all of this for reference. Maybe start a whole file on that rabbit thing a record of as much info as possible. Maybe then they’d be able to find weakness? Maybe even a motive for this whole set up.

“A-after that. My vision did start to clear. Even as the burning dulled out though the room was completely red. It took a…..while for other colors to creep back in. I could sense shadow and light but things were blurry and off. Its not until like we got in here that my vision really seemed. To. correct itself. But there's……i don't know. Something still feels really off.”

“I can run some simple vision exercises if you’d like to calm you down?” He didn't actually know very many. Again. Surgeon, not an optometrist.

“As much as I'd appreciate it…….i think in….this instance. It might just be my own paranoia creeping in. I can't imagine anything else occurring. The ‘punishment’ happened is over now. I just need rest or something. I think I was mostly just freaking out in the moment about the whole thing and Akiba……probably didn't want to deal with it.”

“I would still like to be on immediate stand by if anything else occurs. If something does start acting up for whatever reason, i have pain killers in here. And hopefully this room will end up being a more quiet space. If you ever need dim lights or rest.”

“That…..sounds like a plan.” Tei stood up swallowing. “Thank you Hirose.”

“Of course.” he put his back to Tei again. He……was not very good at accepting compliments.

“Soooooo glad we have a doctor in here. Genuinely. I have 0 clue what's coming but it makes me feel a lot better that someone can help…..even if your also a kidnapped teenager. Its a kidnapped teenager that seems to know what Hes doing so. Better than none.”

“Uh…..sure….yeah.” Hirose was not great at regular conversation.

“We should probably find Yaitabashi then?......well…..we should. But. something tells me he-”

“Attention students” the speakers boomed to life. “It is 45 minutes until night time. For convenience of first night arrangements. All doors in the building will lock in 45 minutes. It is recommended that you are inside your intended dorm at this time. As after the motive introduction tomorrow, you might not be sleeping in your dorm. So it is recommended you use it while available. This announcement will play again at the 30. 15. And 5 minute marks respectively. Have a good nights rest.”

“Well then……there goes that plan. Guess we’ll have to meet in the morning then.” Tei faced him with a nervous smile after looking down from the ceiling.

“We’ve only been awake for what…….an hour? Maybe two? How does it already want us to go back to bed.” Hirose huffed.

“Don't know. This place is weird.”

“That's an understatement. I…..i don't even know where the dorms are.” he mutters, more so intending to keep the thought to himself but letting it slip out verbally in a brief moment of confusion.

“Well…..i do. I can show you. The doors are all labeled I think should be easy.”

“Id appreciate it.” he admits with gritted teeth. God. he did not enjoy relying on others. Especially for something as mundane as finding a room. But he couldn’t just deny the offer, that would be rude.

“Great. Consider it like…..payback or something, i guess?

“...Sure” Hirose caved and gave a light smile. For someone who was seemingly so great with words and descriptions earlier Tei seemed to be always hesitant with his word choice about everything. It was slightly amusing to watch him dance around his own tongue.

He's honestly mostly thankful for the fact he can go into what ever trials this place throws at him with a handful of allies. Or dare he even say friends?

—----------------------------------------------------

Like hell, Kumada was going to play nice.

‘Investigate’ they said. ‘Stick together’ they pleaded.

Bullshit.

This entire place was bullshit.

There's not going to be an easy exit and there's not going to be buddy buddy systems. People don't set up literal death traps with the intent to have people work together. Plus, there's no logical reason, that if faced in such a hostile environment, anyone could be trusted.

She certainly isn't going to give any of those prior students anything.

She watched them all spill out like a hive of ants from a room down the hall. Shouting and splitting off and swarming the place. She kept her fists tight and stance secure in case one of them tried to pull something funny. None of them seemed to be violent though. So. there's that.

Shishkura and Nishiguchi kept walking. For some stupid reason Nishiguchi was dead set on finding one area and sticking to it. She just wanted to be behind doors and not in the open.

Doors weren’t gonna fucking save her.

Shishikura was practically already dead, he had offered her his hand and she swore she heard it snap as she slapped it away. Dudes made of straw. Wayyyyy too nice. Easy target.

So yeah she kept her feet planted and observed. She was going to need to talk to one of those Pink students at some point. They know what's going on. If she could get an in depth explanation of the rules she could protect herself.

But she doesn't trust anything given willingly or freely. They would have no reason, not to lie or manipulate them. Trick them into falling into shit and making mistakes. Teaming together and gatekeeping any important information. After all, they all seem like friends. If only a few people need to die why not pick off the brand new oblivious strangers and save your clique.

They have no reason to be truthful.

However,

Intimidation is a powerful tool used on the right people.

She just needs someone she can take. Which won't be a problem. Most of these fuckers look starved or already have injuries. A lot of them are scared. And she's picked enough battles where her height wont be an issue. If things get dire she can handle herself. But she needs a target and fast.

There.

A brunet boy, shaking, visibly scared. He had a large backpack and wide hat. And. he was walking off alone.

He had been standing next to the really buff guy with tattoos, who seemed to be caring for some fox mask person? And a little girl next to him????? God these people are super weird.

Anyway, backpacks. Who was talking to some allies. Slowly let them continue their conversation as he stepped away. And started heading to the room beside what seemed to be a medical lab? Office? Sure there's plenty of stuff in there that people are totally going to only use to help! And heal! And protect people with.

Blehg.

She guesses 5 days of this shit before someone starts shoving syringes in peoples eyes during a bloody free for all where no one even acts human anymore.

Yeah she needs to get her bearings now.

She slips into the pool room behind backpack. Because that's apparently what this room is. Cause. Of course. The need to throw pool parties and learn to swim. She predicts at least 2 people are going to die in here. All it takes is someone to over power you and drown you and your out.

But……she’ll spare him for now

She doesn't want to kill anyone. For the record. She's not seeing herself as a victim or killer in any of these predictions hell no. She just is getting her expectations prepared. So all the gore doesn't leave her brian broken by the time she's out.

The door shuts behind her and backpack jumps. Finally turning to face her, “Oh!"

He jumps in surprise, stuttering a bit. Looking between Kumada and the door with a nervous smile.

“Can i…help y-”she doesn't let him finish. She controls the conversation here.

“Whatcha doing in here?” She puts a fist on her hip and a step forward. Closing the distance between them. Making herself appear more put together.

“I- uh…..was going to….er-...... I'm not sure? I mean I- had this sort of idea but I don't know if I want to go through with it and so I was just like going to- I don't really know.” He kept almost telling her what that idea was but something seemed to be stopping him.

" Oh yeah? What big fuckin idea? Trying to drown some in here?”

" I!... I….n-no." he didn't make eye contact……he was lying.

WAS THIS GUY SERIOUSLY PLOTTING A MURDER THIS EARLY?! GODAMN.

See! Shit like this is EXACTLY why she has her guard up and tight. She entered ONE room and already found someone threatening.

“Yeah right! You were definitely plotting something weren't you, probably banking on the fact that the new group doesn't even know there is a pool yet so you could trick us into blindly getting brutally drowned, well too bad! I have common fucking sense and I'm not letting you pull shit.” She growls at him. Stepping even closer until he started stepping back.

“What?! No- I don't want to hurt anybody! I came here to stop myself from hurting anybody!"

A……suicide?

She blanked at the idea. Was the game last time really that bad???? Did he really think just like. Throwing himself in the water was going to be enough to kill him????

" Bullshit. “ she rolled her eyes. No. The way he was talking with the others earlier was too nice. He's not sad enough for that.

" I-.......I would really. Appreciate being left alone right now….if that's alright? I just- need to take care of something? “

" I'm not going to fucking leave you alone- look I don't care. What you were planning to do, I don't think you have enough brawn to even do damage to someone like me. But you have other things that might be useful and I'm not leaving until you spit ‘em out”

Ok so she was lying just a little. The guy had scars and was rather decently built. Not necessarily a threat upon first glance but given the state of some others she saw, he had more power than some of these punks. Definitely looks like he's gotten into a fair share of fights at least.

"Spit what out?!”

" Who the fuck are you?! And why!? Are we here!!!”

" I'm……well- I mean- I didn't make the game? We don't know why any of us are here! We just ….. are. My name's Harada Keizou though….uhm…..I work with animals?” He raises an eye at the end to see if that was a decent answer to the question.

Great news for her, that's definitely where the scars are from. Claw and bite marks. Means he doesn't actually know how to fight just high pain tolerance. She can work with that.

"What did you do in the last game? I want to know everything.”

She slammed him back and into the wall. He spoke a lot when nervous. The more scared the more information.

Pathetic really. didn't put up any type of fight just fell back with wide eyes and rushed to talking.

" Be careful!” He shouted. She almost considered slamming him again but quickly he dropped his back pack as he began to actually answer her question, “I died. If that's what you were wondering. It was-....not great. My best friend died too. It was an accident! I promise it was an accident! I didn't want to kill her! I didn't mean to it just happened! And- that's why I'm in here to stop it from happening again!”

" How do you plan on doing that huh?” She sneered.

" I-....” He looked down at his backpack on the floor.

Kumada’s heart dropped in her chest as the bag began to move.

There was something in the bag.

Something ALIVE in that bag.

What animals did he work with!? What the fuck! What if it was a snake! Or bear! Or a rabid dog! Fuck SHIT- what if he had like a crocodile or big bird in there HELL NO!

she jumped back with a scream at the shuffling bag.

Only in her ‘jump back’ she had fallen too far back and her boot met the edge of the pool itself

She had just barely caught herself, only for the beast to finally jump out,

A FUCKING TIGER?!

She screamed as she fell back into the pool with a big splash, water soaked around her clothes and she was terrified.

When she resurfaced, paddling furiously, water dripping down her face and smearing her make up she was still screaming.

“IM SORRY!" Harada yelled, concerned.

Fuck!

This is the part where he throws like some sparking electrical appliance and kills her damn it! Why the hell did she think trying to threaten someone in a pool!!! Would go any type of well!!!

In her defense. She would like to believe the jumping back in fear in RESPONSE TO A FUCKING TIGER. Was a very justified and proper reaction so she can't be blamed if this is how she goes out.

Harada continued to shout claims of apologies as he wrestled with his bag. Kumada bee-lined for the nearest ladder. She kept reaching for the ledge despite the echoing tiger growls. The pool was cold and she didn't even know if they had other sets of clothes here!

Thank fuck over half of what she's wearing is leather so it couldn't be too soaked. But the other half, and her hair is going to be a huge pain in the ass to dry!

She gets a grip on the ladder and heaves herself over with a fiery determination, glaring and panting at the animal boy as water drips from her bangs.

He's abandoned the bag and is just carrying the tiger in his arms which is fucking weird, case its a tiger, and this is a death game, all he has to do it drop it to the floor and let it eat her face or something.

Instead. Neither party moves. She lays on the dry ground awaiting doom, and he just pets his fucking beast like a house cat and whispers soft reassurances to her.

“You gonna kill me or what?” she barks with an eye roll finally sitting up. She grabs one of her pigtails and tries to squeeze as much water out as possible, hoping the chlorine didn't take out too much of her hair dye.

“I-.....im not going to kill you?” he admits with a slow blink.

“You pushed me into the fucking pool! Why would you do that and then not like! Actually hurt me after! That's dumb! We're supposed to fight! Or fucking- i don't know! Not just sit here awkwardly! Let the tiger do it if you're such a goddamn pussy.” she reckons on second glance, she could probably take the tiger. It was like. Ankle sized. A single kick to the side could send it flying into the pool to……..drown. Huh.

This dudes a fucking dumbass if he came in here to try and kill like the only source of protection he has. Guilt or not, that thing probably saved his life in some abstract way. Why would he waste a tool like that? Especially when it's clear he's emotionally attached. God. she’d bet a 20 that his pathetic ass wouldn't have even gone through with it had she not interfered. The way he's running his fingers through its fur is practiced and comforting. He holds it close to himself with no trace of fear. Shes fucking purring for fucks sake.

“NO! Sawa cant- its-........i-......look i don't even know you? And I definitely don't want to kill you. Even if you are a little uh….er…..”

“A little what?!”

“Just- never mind. I don't like hurting people. And after last time. I don't particularly feel like being responsible for any killings. I-....i know what happens- I'd……I'd rather be the one murdered. There's no point.” Harada actually takes a step forward. Does he want fucking sympathy?! He just admitted he was responsible for murder!? Didn't he say it was an accident earlier?! Make up your fucking mind.

“Oh. I'm sureeeeeee.” Kumada rolls her eyes and huffs in the most abrasive way she can manage, and moves to getting the water out of the other end of her frankly kinda super fucking annoying to do deal with right now hair. “Go choke on your guilt or whatever, I'm sure the others love a soft boy pity party act but i don't buy it for shit. We’ll see how long the ‘I'd rather be the sacrifice cause i didn’t like everybody hating me last time’ card lasts. I'm sure you had motivations. And I'm double sure that those motivations will come into play again and again and again, until you, like every other reject stuck in this freakshow, starts to think about murder.”

“I-.....really doubt that's going to happen honestly. Like- i seriously. Don't want to be ……executed again.” he turns away from her and looks into the water all sad. “And uh- for the record? I didn't push you. I thought about it though!” he chuckles. “But I didn't. Because I realized you weren't actually going to hurt me. You fell in. on your own accord.”

The fuck does he mean by execution?!- she- she would ask but the rest of his statement took more of her attention.

“You threw a fucking tiger at me! What the hell was I supposed to do!”

“I told you I worked with animals! And i- i didn't expect Sawa to climb out of the bag. So. I'm sorry you fell but don't go telling people I shoved you. I think Yanagi might kill me, not that he's in much place to talk but……you know…..I've got a little bit of a reputation to earn back.”

“I’ll tell people whatever I goddamn please.”

“Alright. Then I guess if we’re starting rumors I won't forget to leave out the part about you trying to strangle me, after all the only reason I would have to shove someone is self defense. Plus. more people would likely believe me anyway. Being from the first group and all.”

“When in the hell did you get like- smart what the fuck! 5 minutes ago I had you pinned against the wall begging!? Who the fuck are you!?” she leans back in surprise.

“Eh…i….I've just had a past with people like you. Been there. I can tell what you're thinking. You weren't going to hurt me because you hit the wall. You also kept looking at my scars. You weren't sure if I was above your league or not, right? Just- next time you want information. Just ask. I promise. It's honestly a lot easier than being scary.”

“FUCK YOU!”

“Yeah yeah. Don't believe me. That's fine. Just….looking out for you. I'm hoping maybe we can all get out this time……and maybe you're a lot less scary when you’re hissing at me while looking like a soaked cat.”

“HEY- I- WHAT THE FUCK YOU CANT JUST SAY THAT SHIT ABOUT ME!” she lunges forward with a fist ready to strike, HOW DARE HE. INSULT HER.

But he doesn't even flinch or stumble. No, this asshole, laughs. He pulls his tiger closer to himself and bends down a little laughing at her display.

“You- you really are just a feral wet cat.” he howls.

And she has……no idea…..how to respond.

He wasn't taking her seriously in the slightest- and that should mean she should start throwing hands and establish herself as an actual threat again but…..

She just didn't have the energy. This guy was stupid enough that she thinks she might be able to pull a tooth out and he’ll still find a way to spin the situation into something tame with rational and friendship bullshit. Not worth the effort.

Before she has time to fully commit to the idea that she's done provoking him, he does the unthinkable.

“Do you want like a towel or something? I'm pretty sure I can go grab you some from the storage room? I think they keep pajamas in there too……if you’d rather have those than walk around in all that. Or I mean….if you're really feeling up to it, they keep other outfits in our dorm rooms. If you give me your name I can find your door, grab you something to change into and your key so you don’t have to worry about anyone else getting in. “

“Like hell! How can I trust that you won't start snooping around and destroying all my shit the second you're inside!?”

“Because i…..genuinely don't have a reason too? I'm trying to help. If you’d rather the pajamas I can do that. But I figured you might want someone to lock your door. At this point you can either trust me, not to touch anything or trust that no one else is going to go through your stuff until you get there yourself.”

What a bitch.

“Fucking fine. Go ahead- just be fast. And don't bring the tiger with you- lock it up somewhere. It's freaking me out.”

“R….right. I’ll put her in my dorm. I promise I'll be quick. In the meantime if anybody comes in. Don't tell them we were in here. It's…..kindaaaaa supposed to be off limits i think? And I'm sure neither of us want to be lectured after the day we’ve had.”

“Sure……..My name's Kumada Erina” she scoffed and sat against the wall out of eye sight from the doors still twisting the ends of her hair.

“Great! I’ll be right back!” he gently places….Sawa? That's what he kept calling it so- he places the fucking tiger back in the bag. Whatever.

She waits for the sound of the door shutting on his exit.

GOD. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!!

Stupid… stupid fucking people.

She has nothing else to do but sit and wait for Harada’s return and the nighttime announcement alongside it.

Kumada is thoroughly convinced that this is going to be the last and only form of genuine kindness that will occur in these walls. This was a game of death. She won't forget that. No matter how people laugh or offer helping hands or apologize. None of that was going to stop bloodshed.

She can’t let her guard fall.

Chapter Text

For, @[REDACTED]

Here is the transcription, and notes you requested Darling. Do with them as you will. Im happy to help but you know i need to do more than sit at a desk all day forever. When your done with this come find me near the copy machines. I’d rather hear about whatever projects your helping whip up, over the subjects? Students? Headache inducing mumble jumbles that you keep insisting I transcribe……

But as stated. here. Starting with morning notes,

After the announcement played, everyone followed instruction. Not with enthusiasm but they followed it nonetheless.

The blue students settled in nicely, a little hesitant but the majority of them managed to go down easy. The pink students, however, had a much harder time settling down for the night. Several of them pacing in anticipation and preparation for tomorrow's motive.

They were convinced it was going to be the same motive as their first game. Which seems slightly counter productive. If they expected it to be the no sleep motive. Then why would they stay awake?

No matter. The students all got comfortable eventually. Not everyone slept well, some had brief scares or fits but nothing to major aside from, Most notably, 4B managed to stay awake through the full night with little complications. At some point 16A had a pretty bad nightmare and elected not to sleep for the remainder of the night. 12A predictably struggled to stay down and kept going in and out in little bursts before deciding to just stay up.

Then there was the arrangement in 5A’s room. 5A, 14A, and 9A all stayed in the same dorm. It was unclear whether or not 9A slept as they did not remove their mask but, the other two although it seemed a bit uncomfortable managed too.

It's actually a pretty interesting development. How the pink students respond to seeing 14A and 9A as threats.

Hours passed and ‘night’ was over. The morning announcement played and they were told they had an hour before they had to meet in the cafeteria. Everyone responded a little bit differently.

Most of the students spent the time getting ready showering and dressing and what not. A group of 4, 2B, 15B, 11A and 16B all went to the kitchens together. Nothing too notable, this behavior was anticipated from 11A. And predicted by 2B. But the growing dynamic between 11A and 15B is a fun sight. They seem to be getting along really well, this being now their second time cooking together.

Other interesting things to note, 6A refused to get up or answer his door. Saying that if this was indeed the sleep motive he would be staying in bed until 10 minutes before call time. Smart move. If that were to be what would happen. The others respected his decision though.

A lot of students began to greet and get to know their dorm partners. Many pink students lamenting the new lack of space and forced proximity. They don't seem to mind the blue students individually. But they are relatively bothered by the idea of sharing.

2A and 3A had a very confusing scuffle regarding 2A’s animal companion. Their relationship is very clearly strained since the last game but neither party seems to fully acknowledge it. I also find 2A’s concern for 3B to be amusing. Definitely not a pair i had been anticipating but now that they have interacted im curious as to what that interactions effects will be.

About ten minutes till they were supposed to be in the auditorium, (Student 1A and 1B did go and fetch 6A much to his dismay) there were some particularly interesting choices made by 7A.

Student 7A is a very very fun student to observe this session. But i will save my preferences as to why for an actual student specific observation. The basic motives behind her current actions as far as im aware were,

She had been fully, thoroughly convinced that the upcoming motive was going to be the same sleep deprivation one that had led her to take the regrettable paths she did in the first session. With fear, she blocked the auditorium door in an effort to warn people of what was to come. In doing so she did not check in with 12A beforehand, when 8B found her, alone, in front of the doors a rather large argument occurred,12A also showed up and seemed pretty agitated as well.

The social dynamics are already getting tense. They have no idea what's to come.

The hour, at the end of the day, is only 60 minutes. There's not much to observe in such a short time frame. So let's get to the heart of the matter.

The motive introduction.

The doors opened and everyone was rather shocked to find a large table with neatly placed handcuffs.

With 32 students to observe this is going to be a pain. So i’ve been asked to transcribe the whole event to the best of my ability because the footage was too chaotic. To save my own sanity i’ll be doing my best to record the reactions to the motive. That's what we're focussing on. There might have been side chatter of sorts but I doubt any of it would have been important to what we were looking for here.

From this point onward i will be using the transcript format taught for session 2 footage for the recorded time between, 7:00am-7:45am.

*footage start*

 

Yaitabashi (8B): this……..those are handcuffs. What the hell does this have to do with sleep deprivation?

Sasaki (7A): i- i dont….know.

Kamimura (4A): yeah wait. What the fuck is this?! Hello?! Not even desks, just tables.

Hiroaki (12A): clearly their budget dropped.

Yokoi (7B): So you guys…..don’t know what this is?

Hiroaki (12A): Nope! Not a clue.

Sasaki (7A): Maybe…this is just- we're not getting the full picture. Is everyone even here?

Monomoko: No. not yet. The announcement will continue to play until everyone arrives.

Tei (14B): i mean that's not shocking there's only like…..7 of us

Kamimura (4A): Wait hey, what's the deal with Hayashi and the two lunatics? What's the plan for Hasegawa and…..Okaza-

Hiroaki (12A): Handled. I have full faith in Hayashi not to be an idiot. She's reckless. But only when it's herself at risk.

Yaitabashi (8B) : i am really starting to think you should have locked Sasaki up too.

Sasaki (7A):I- I haven't done anything yet i-

Hiroaki (12A): No. and No. we can talk about it after the game.

Tamba (13A): Motive.

Hiroaki (12A): Huh?!

Tamba (13A): It's a motive not a game! And thank fuck for that! I'm not looking forward to having to play those stupid games with 32 people!!! It's going to take forever!!!

Denden (5B): oh games??? What kind of games? Why cant we play, it will be one big group exercise! So we can all get to know each other

Kamimura (4A): Ha! I can not wait to see the look on your face when someone has to take their first slash or have their entire life put on display for strangers. I want to watch you strangle on those words.

Tamba (13A): Kamimura stop it! Don't be mean!

Kamimura (4A): I'm just providing a warning!

Isoda (13B): a warning about what?

Kumada (3B): Yeah! What fucking warning!

Kamimura (4A): That this is about to fucking suck.

Ninomiya (2B) : Welp. Yeah. gathered that much dude- woah- are those handcuffs? Ha ha ayyyyyy. This might get kind of fun.

Tsuno (11A): Sorry we were late!!! We have Wada!!!

Sasaki (7A): Somethings never change huh. Don't worry you guys aren't even close to the last ones here. How many are we still missing?

Yaitabashi (8B): We have 14 out of 32.

Yokoi (7B): Not even half way there.

Ninomiya (2B) : Are Nishiguchi and Akiba still in the-

Nishiguchi (15B): Nope. Here.

Yaitabashi (8B): 16.

Hiroaki (12A): Where the hell is everyone else?! This morning's announcement is going to rot out all of my thoughts here in a minute. Then everyone would die because you’d have no one of actual capability around.

Yaitabashi (8B): Im plenty capable! Were- we are plenty capable. I don't see you keeping count.

Hiroaki (12A): Don't need to. I already knew someone was on it. I'm just that in tune with leadership.

Maekawa (9B): EVERYBODY MOVE! THATS RIGHT YOU HEARD ME. MOVE IT MOVE IT MOVE IT.

Wada (6A): What?... why? We-

Hayashi (5A): Get them to the desks-.....there are no desks. Huh. would you look at that.

Hama (10A) : fine just. Leave them against the wall they can't run with this many eyes and their hands are still bound.

Okazaki (9A): you know. It's rather impolite to treat a person like an object.

Hayashi (5A): its impolite to kill two people so i don't particularly care.

Okazaki (9A): Haven’t you also killed before though? You aren't exactly innocent yourself Mai.

Hayashi (5A): Accidentally killing the person who kidnaped you and made your life fucking horrible for an entire year. Vrs. plotting the brutal murder of two innocent teenagers for the sake of silly roleplay are two very different things. Now keep your mouth shut.

Okazaki (9A): I make no promises especially when. Oh! Good morning Youhei! Wow nearly didn't recognize you for a second. Finally picked up on some of my lessons on disguise huh?

Ninomiya (2B): i- fuck you no. I'm not doing this right now. I'm leaving.

Sasaki (7A): What?! You can't just leave, we need everyone here!

Ninomiya (2B): No. I'm leaving.

Monomoko: all student body presence is mandatory.

Ninomiya (2B): pass.

Monomoko: failure to agree with the rules of the game will result in severe punishment.

Kamimura (4A): ooooo im a good fucking translator for the rabbit thing now. Yeah buddy don't test your luck. You either suck it up like the rest of us or die. Although I wouldn't blame you for taking the second. It's a tempting offer.

Hasegawa (14A): Kamimura are you-

Hayashi (5A): not a word from you either.

Kamimura (4A):........im…..fine dont worry about it. We- lets find a way to talk after ok?

Hasegawa (14): ….ok.

Hama (10A): Well now you two have just made things sad and awkward. I don't know if their allowed to have visitors. feels kind of dangerous.

Hiroaki (12A): I highly doubt Hasegawa's going to kill Kamimura. We'll figure something out. So you both can stop having to take up everyone's attention any time you enter a room. Like Jesus Christ we get it.

Kamimura (4A): Hiroaki any warnings i ever had from before are still in place, my patience, was not reset say another syllable about him and i’ll-

Hirose (10B): hey hey hey! No need for fighting. Settle down im not looking to fix anything this early in the mor…..Nakamigawa?

Hiroaki (12A):.......Shingo? Huh. How the hell did i not recognize you around.

Hirose (10B): i was uh…..in the med bay…..didn't meet many of the…..’older players’

Isono (1A): so multiple people here can know each other? Like uh…….nino…nino-uh?

Ninomiya (2B): Ninomiya. And. fuck do i even know you?! Do I want to?! After all the shit you did?!

Okazaki (9A): I don't know. I thought you seemed to enjoy it?

Ninomiya (2B): i mean….its- uhg! no. fuck no. dont- dont talk to me.

Hayashi (5A): taller Chiba give me one of your hair ribbons.

Kumada (3B):....eh- who?! Me?! Fuck no!!

Hayashi (5A): they're like perfect size for a gag come on be a team player

Kumada (3B): hell no! I'm not teaming with any of you freaks. Not until i figure out what the fuck is going on! I'm not giving you shit!!

Chiba (3A): did…..someone say my name? Did I walk in on something bad?

Hayashi (5A): ah perfect. Problem solved. Chiba. Hair tie. We're gaging Okazaki.

Chiba (3A): huh?....why?

Hayashi (5A): because they-......because their being really really mean today. Just? Please?

Chiba (3B): I guess. Sure. here!

Denden (5B): I have hair ties too if you need them!!! But they're kind of thin though….

Hayashi (5A): yeah i needed the cloth ones.

Hama (10A): hey what took you guys so long anyway.

Harada (2A): Uh well…….we all got revived. Sawa is……apparently not taking that very well. i had to calm her down.

Yaitabasi (8B): who's Sawa? Why isn't she here?

Hiroaki (12A): HA- oh Ha-

Harada (2A): oh! Uh…shes- uh….she's my tiger.

Yokoi (7B): There's a tiger!?

Maittias (6B): Tiger?!

Akiba (16B): this is clearly a joke guys. There's no way they let someone in here with a tiger.

Ojima (8A): nope. The tigers real.

Harada (2A): yeah……but she's staying in my room now. For good. I'm not bringing her out anywhere anymore.

Ojima (8A): ….good idea….

Yaitabashi (8B): were at 26. Who are we still missing?

Sasaki (7A): From our group I think it's just…..Watari and….Yanagi.

Isono (1A): Me and Ouno were together earlier. I don't know where she went.

Yaitabashi (8B): Has anyone seen Ikeda? He's the one I trust the least around here. I don't like that hes missing.

Ogura (11B): NEVER FEAR!!!!! GOOOOOOOOD MORNING FELLOW KINDAPEE’S WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!

Watari (15A): i really like your spunk kid

Ogura (11B): On this brilliant whimsical morning I am completely filled with nothing but overfilling PASSION! To save us all! Using my mystical powers, I predict I should be able to find a way to get us all out of her before even the first hour of dusk approaches.

Akiba (16B): thats a uh…thats a pretty big promise

Ogura (11B): It's nothing! My abilities know no bounds!!

Mattias (6B): Wow! Miss ogura! You’ll really help us escape

Ogura (11B): of course!

Ikeda (4B): i can not believe you guys left me to deal with those two freaks all morning,

Kamimura (4A): you deserve it.

Ikeda (4B): Nobody deserves anime magical girl battle roleplay to wake you up in the morning. My ears are never recovering.

Kamimura (4A): good.

Ikeda (4B): jeez. What's your problem with me huh? Still all worked up over yesterday?

Kamimura (4A): still worked up? Yeah no shit?! Do you even know what you-

Yanagi (16A): Kamimura. Its not worth it. Don't entertain him.

Hiroaki (12A): gross

Yanagi (16A): you’ve finally run out of ways to be creative with your insults huh. Never thought I'd see the day. Anyway, I haven’t the time for you at the moment.

Hiroaki (12A): really? cause you seem to always find the time to throw in-

Yanagi (16A): I apologize for my tardiness. I decided to stick around out there to help guide any stragglers. I found these two. Is there anyone else were missing?

Monomoko: No. All student body is accounted for. I will now discuss the motive for this. I'd like to have your full attention. Please stay silent as I speak.

Kumada (3B): FUCK NO! Im not shutting up for no one especially not for a fucking rabbit, and especially, especially, not after you just left us yesterday! Im not listening to you until we get some answers!

Monomoko: I am afraid I can not answer questions at this time. I would highly suggest you participate. Otherwise, refusal to cooperate will result in punishment.

Harada (2A): It's…..really for the best if we just…..listen.

Kumada (3B): Im not just going to-

Hayashi (5A): Chiba, do you have a second hair tie. If i have to wait here for another extra 30 minutes because these guys wont shut up! I will not hesitate to make you.

Kumada (3B): ohhhhh you think you're so big and scary. Muscles don't equate to actual harm. Your spikes are fucking tacky. How about you shut up!

Hayashi (5A): hair. tie.

Kumada (3B): i- fucking fine. Just- get it out fast Bunny. And I'm still hunting you down after.

Monomoko: very well. I appreciate your cooperation………this will be your first motive. It is being given a little earlier than anticipated, my apologies, but I was told to introduce it to as soon as possible as it actually helps ease transition. Your Motive is forced proximity. You may have noticed the table of handcuffs in front of you. I will call up 2 randomized students at a time they will then be paired together and asked to link up through the cuffs. Each day you will be allowed a 3 hour break. Beyond that You will be bound together for the rest of the day. Failure to cooperate or connect in time with result in immediate punishments for both parties. Are you ready to begin?

Sasaki (7A): were just……its just hand cuffs? What's the other catch?

Tamba (13A): Yeah! That's way too easy! We just have to spend time with people, that's fine? Like- were still allowed to sleep? And eat? And like the temperature and lights will stay the same????

Monomoko: yes. No other privileges are being revoked.

Isono (1A): actually this is really good! If everyone has a buddy. There's no way a murder can happen. You just have to hope you get a good partner!!!
Monomoko: Is everyone ready to begin?

Maekawa (9B): I mean I'm not…..happy about it. But the first group thinks it's chill and I trust them so. I think I'm ready at least.

Monomoko: thank you. Your participation is appreciated. I will now be randomly selecting the first two students………….Isono Miki please step forward.
Isono (1A): alright! Wow- i didn't really expect to go first if these were randomized.

Monomoko: Akiba Taku. Please step forward and join Ms. Isono.

Akiba (16B): huh? Alright i guess uh……you're a girl so im going to let you take first pick im good with whatever.

Isono (1A): ok! Uh….ill take the right one?

Akiba (16B): cool with me.

Monomoko: I will now call the next pair of students…… Yanagi Shigeki, please step forward.

Yanagi (16A): as you wish.

Monomoko: Ouno Nanae please step forward and join with Mr. Yanagi.

Ouno (1B): oh! That's not that bad. You seemed pretty nice this morning. I want the right one though.

Yanagi (16B): Of course. I don't mind. Please, take what you need.

Watari (15A): yanagi? Getting handcuffed to a girl??? Oooooo. I'm surprised you're keeping yourself together. Ha ha!

Yanagi (16A): shush- its. It's not like that.

Hiroaki (12A): Aren't you left handed? Why did you let her take that? Now you're just left with your bad hand you idiot.

Yanagi (16A): It's called being polite, Nakamigawa. You should try it sometime.

Hiroaki (12A): YOU-

Monomoko: i will now call the next pair of students………Harada Keizuo please step forward

Harada (2A): alright! I'm actually a little nervous. I'm not the best at making friends.

Monomoko: Nishiguchi Mutsko please step forward and join Mr. Harada.

Nishiguchi (15B): I'm taking the left one. Back off.

Harada (2A): yep- thats uh…fine……you arent allergic to cats right?

Nishiguchi (15B): I'm not. Thank god.

Hama (10A) : Hey. Be nice to him. He's a little bit of a nerd but give him a chance. Be mean to him and I'll kick your ass.

Nishiguchi (15B): I'd like to see you try. Genuinely. I think that fight would be a pretty fair challenge. Dont fucking underestimate me you- you uh…. Devil….worshiper?

Chiba (3A): Actually! Hama fights the demons!! He's a good guy!!!

Hama (10A): yeah! I'm a bad ass! Now be nice.

Nishiguchi (15B): Sure.

Monmoko: i will now call the next pair of students………..Watari Nishino please step forward

Watari (15A): this is gonna be so fun! Come onnnnnn give me some one fun. Pretty please please

Monomoko: Ninomiya Youhei. Please step forward and join Ms. Watari

Watari (15A): Yes!!!

Ninomiya (2B): you know what. Could have been a hell of a lot worse. I’ll take it!, do you…want to pick??

Watari (15A): nahhhh i’ll be fine, you can chose,

Ninomiya (2B): sick. You seem pretty chill.

Monomoko: I will now call the next pair of students……..chiba airi please step forward.

Chiba (3A): ok!

Monomoko: Tei astushi please step forward and join ms. Chiba.

Tei (14B): chiba….airi? Like……the actress?

Chiba (3A): yep! That would be me!

Tei (14B): im being handcuffed to a child actress?.....what the hell is my life right now

Ninomiya (2B): That's what I'm saying, there's actually a few famous people here.

Hiroaki (12A): I'm glad somebody finally recognized me!

Ninomiya (2B): not exactly who i was referring to but……sure?

Chiba (3A): it's not that….big of a deal. Plus! I'm more excited to get to know you!!!

Tei (14B): im not…..uh…all that interesting.

Monomoko: I will now call the next pair of students……..Hasegawa ken please step forward.

Watari (15A): talk about ‘not all that interesting’.......well…..aside from….the whole murder thing i guess. I keep forgetting about that.

Hasegawa (14A): can i-......get the zip ties off…..if im being handcuffed?

Sasaki (7A): we should leave it up to whomever you get stuck with.

Kamimura (4A): Can we….volunteer?......

Monomoko: no. all students were already preselected.

Yaitabsashi (8B): I thought you said they were randomized.

Monomoko: It seems I have mixed up my phrasing accidentally. I apologize for the confusion. There is indeed a pattern to the pairings.

Kamimura (4A): yeah there all one from the first and one from the second group right? So i don't even have a chance

Watari (15A): its cute that you want to be handcuffed to him though

Kamimura (4A): do not say it like that

Monomoko: No. The student selected to be the other half of this pairing is Kumada Erina.

Kumada (3B): WHAT THE FUCK! YOU WANT TO HANDCUFF ME TO A KILLER???? FUCK NO.

Isono (1A) : is Hasegawa realllllly that bad? I still think he's like…..i dont think he can….like…..i…i dont know.

Hayashi (5A): look. I'm the one he killed i get biggest say and he…..he wont do any damage while attached to someone. His whole shtick is traps and mind games. He's smart. Not……dangerous.

Kumada (3B): YOU'RE STILL HANDCUFFING ME. TO A MURDER.

Hayashi (5A): you’d rather refuse and die instead?

Kumada (3B: I……your keeping those fucking zipties on. I don't want to hear a word out of you.

Hasegawa (14B): if it makes you feel better you can have the first cuff?

Kumada (3B): Damn right I am. I'm taking right.

Hasegawa (14B) : Ow! You don't have to be so….aggressive about it- i- mmmmm. Not a fan of this.

Kumada (3B): I'll be as aggressive as I want. fucking criminal.

Monomoko: I will now call the next pair of students………Kamimura Kazutoshi please step forward.

Hiroaki (12A): Fitting. Right after another.

Kamimura (4A): Shut up. I can't explain how excited I am, to know I can't be paired with you.

Monomoko: Isoda Mion please step forward and join with Mr. Kamimura

Ninomiya (2B): I was right! Ha! I wasn't sure but-....it's cool. To uh. Be in room with you.

Isoda (13B): Thanks……. Uh. you have any preference?

Kamimura (4A): Do you?

Isoda (13B) : Not….really.

Kamimura (4A): Cool. I’ll take this side.

Isoda (13B): fine by me.

Monomoko: I will now call up the next pair of students……….Tamba Ruiko please step forward.

Tamba (13A): Here.

Monomoko: ikeda daiki please step forward and join Ms. Tamba.

Ikeda (4B): Gross. No.

Tamba (13A): Gross?! I- i'm not gross?! You're the one with super greasy hair! And a weird smile.

Kamimura (4A): Good luck Ruiko. Met that one for like 10 minutes yesterday. A bit of a handful.

Yaitabshi (8B): Did anyone ever even find him after he ran off?

Shishikura (12B): We did! Me and Yanagi and him spent our time looking for Kumada. But we never ended up running into her.

Ikeda (4B): Anyway, I'm taking this side.

Tamba (13A): what! Huh- you cant just-

Ikeda (4B): too late! Snatch! And now we're cuffed forever. No getting rid of me now

Tamba (13A): who even are you!?

Ikeda (4B): the rabbit literally just said my name? Do you lack an attention span or something??? Maybe it's my fault for having even a little faith in a blonde bitch to remember my name.

Tamba (13A): You're so rude!!!

Ikeda (4B): well maybe you shouldn't be dumb next time

Tamaba (13A) : i'm not-

Monomoko: I will now call up the next pair of students,.......Hayashi Mai please step forward.

Hayashi (5A): whoever you are. Sorry but I've got responsibilities. I'm not giving up. You're joining me on guard duty.

Monomoko: Shishikura Osamu please step forward and join Ms.Hayashi

Shishikura (12B) : oh….i can do that!! That doesn't sound too bad. You seem pretty nice.

Hayashi (5A): right back at you. You can pick the side.

Shishikura (12B): oh-....alright!

Monomoko: I will now call up the next pair of students……..Hiroaki Nakamigawa.

Hiroaki (12A): Let's see, who gets the pleasure! Of getting to hang out with me all day, I know people who’d pay loads just for a photo. So. congrats to whomever you are.

Ojima (8A): i ... .apologize for everything he says in advance. I- are we sure we cant volunteer i really don't know of anyone else can stand him

Hiroaki (12A): Takeshi!

Monomoko: Denden Misao please step forward and join with Mr. Hiroaki

Denden (5B): oh………does that mean I'm lucky?

Hiroaki (12A): yes!

Yanagi (16A): no.

Hiroaki (12A): I'm gonna go ahead and take this one.

Denden (5B): oh!...that's fine!

Monomoko: i will now call up the next pair of students…….Wada Massanari please step forward

Wada (6A): oh- …ok

Monomoko: Ogura Noriko please step forward and join Mr. Wada

Ogura (11B): MR?! UHG! FILITY. I. refuse

Watari (15A): you….cant refuse. Wada's nice! We promise!

Tsuno (11A): yeah! He's super nice!

Ogura (11B): he can't be nice. He's a man. I can see the rottenness dripping off him.

Wada (6A):.......what?

Maittias (6B) : OH! But miss Ogura! Does he have to stay a man?

Ogura (11B): Hidemi?...what could you possibly be suggesting?

Maittias (6B): i mean like…..his hair? Its kinda flowy? And the name is not to to to masculine…right?

Ogura (11B): hmmmmm. Hidemi. You have become my most trusted pupil. YOU ARE CORRECT. I am ashamed for not having noticed this before! You are clearly not! Wada Massanari

Wada (6A): I?.....what?!

Ogura (11B): No. with my magenta powers, I can sense a deep femininity from within you, you are actually! MEGUMI!!!!!!

Isono (1A): Oh! Ha ha thats sooooooo cute!!!

Tsuno (11A) : awwwwww.

Wada (6A): I….uh…do you want to link up now?

Ogura (11B): it would be my honor Ms. Megumi.

Monomoko: i will now call up the next pair of students……..Tsuno Manami please step forward

Tsuno (11A): you got it!

Monomoko: Tsukigata Hideyuki please step forward and join with Ms. Tsuno

Maittias (6B): Oh that's-....alright! Hey! You're friends with Wada, and I'm friends with Ogura. So maybe the 4 of us could all…..i don't know?...hang out with each other?

Tsuno (11A): That sounds like a great idea Tsukigata!

Ogura (11B): Hidemi, you continue to impress me! That is a FABULOUS vision you have shown us all

Maittias (6B): a vision?

Ogura (11B): indeed.

Monomoko: I will now call up the next pair of students……Sasaki Hitomi please step forward.

Sasaki (7A): Let's hurry this up. The dramatics are starting to drag us down. There's still a lot of work to be done.

Monomoko: Hirose Shingo please step forward and join with Ms. Sasaki

Hiroak (12A)i: yikes! Good luck Shingo!

Hirose (10B): what? What for?

Sasaki (7A): He just……seems to have a problem with me for whatever reason. Think of it this way Hiroaki, now, you don't have to worry about continuing to fail to watch me. I'm totally covered.

Yaitabashi (8B): That's a…….fair point. We……we can't really lock any one up if you all have innocent partners. We just have to trust that those partners still keep an eye on them during their breaks

Hirose (10B): why exactly would you need eyes on you? If you don't mind me asking of course.

Sasaki (7A):......can i explain once we're out of the room?

Hiroaki (12A): You can't run from it forever, Hitomi. They're all going to know eventually. Why not just get it out now!

Sasaki (7A): because we still have 6 more people to be paired! I'd rather not cause a scene while this is still going!

Monomoko: I would appreciate that.

Sasaki (7A): I'll explain after. I promise

Hirose (10B): alright.

Monomoko: i will now call up the next pair of students………Hama Ran please step forward

Hama (10A): who's even left?

Maekawa (9B): from our group just looks like me, rosebud, and mega nerd.

Yaitabashi (8B):....rosebud?

Maekawa (9B): I dunno. You have flowers in your hair and too many other people are using flowerboy i, like to be creative.

Monomoko: Yokoi Ruka please step forward and join Mr. Hama

Yokoi (7B): Okie dokie! Hello there sir!

Hama (10A): hey…..you wanna pick

Yokoi (7B): i’ll be fine! You can go ahead.

Hama (10A): i……think…..its best if you pick please.

Yokoi (7B): oh…ok! Alrighty then uhhhhh ill take this side!

Hama (10A): sweet. I just have to…..take the other one then?......yeah. Sorry.

Yokoi (7B): no worries!

Yaitabashi (8B): Down to me and Maekawa who's, left of the other group.

Ojima (8A): I don't have anyone yet? Who else though….?

Hayashi (5A): Okazaki.

Ojima (8A):......why are they gagged?

Hayashi (5A): Why do you think?

Meakwa (9B): Fuck NO. If I get stuck with fox face I'm just going to start tearing walls down. They're creepy as shit. Didn't they like kill two people?! Hell no!

Yaitabashi (8B): this is…….not ideal.

Monomoko: I will now call forward the next pair of students…….Ojima Takeshi please step forward.

Ojima (8A): ok…..uh….sorry to one of you i guess.

Monomoko: Maekawa Azusa please step forward and join with Mr. Ojima

Maekawa (9B): fuck! Phew! Disaster avoided. It doesn't matter what arm you want. Neither are real

Ojima (8A): huh?! O-oh. yeah! those are cool

Makewea (9B): thanks! Made ‘em myself

Ojima (8A): really? That's super neat.

Monomoko: I will now call up the next pair of students……..Okazaki hanano please step forward.

Yaitabashi (8B):........i’ll……manage. You're keeping those zip ties on for the time being. i-.....im not locking myself up in a room with you. I don't trust you. But I'm not going to let myself die! Because of you. So…….im taking the first pick.

Monomoko: Yaitabashi Sou, please step forward and join with Mx. Okazaki.

Yaitabashi (8B): two steps ahead of you.

Ninomiya (2B): Good luck with them. Genuinely. Don't let them get away with shit.

Yaitabashi (8B): I wont.

Monomoko: the motive has officially begun. You will have 3 hours a day to disconnect. Failure to connect during any other time will result in punishment. Tomorrow morning you are expected to meet in here once more at the same time to play a morning game.

Tamaba: Those are going to take all day with this many people! Uhg! Not looking forward to that.

Monomoko: Actually there will be two games everyday. In the morning the blue students will line up and play a game. And then, at 6pm, the pink students will play a game amongst themselves. However it is expected that while the games are taking place the other group stay and watch. There might be valuable information to gather. And while the handcuffs will be disconnected during game time. If they are not connected 3 minutes after the game finishes there will be punishment.

Hasegawea: those are interst-

Kumada: SHUT UP!

Kamimura: Jesus! Can you back off him for literally 2 seconds!?

Monomoko: Are there any further questions?..........very well then.

Miattias: how- how does it keep doing that! Just disappearing!

Denden: It's a bunny right? Bunnies are used in magic tricks! Maybe there's a magician around here controlling it?

Hiroaki: That's stupid.

Ojima: its……a fun line of logic

Hiraoki: dont do this to me right now-

Sasaki: Hey! Before everyone leaves! Can I get everyone's names, one more time? Just to write it down!?

Yokoi: oh! Samsies! We're trying to take notes!

Wada: Didn't we try that already? None of us have much in common.

Sasaki: Well, having an info bank on everyone at the ready might come in handy during the trials.

Yaitabashi: agreed. Just real quick than everyone can go. Promise.

*footage end*

Never make me do that again. It was so hard to get everything. But I think that's…..the information they wanted to see.

I’ll admit these pairings have a lot of potential for some entertaining shenanigans.

Only other note is…….this is the first time, at least that i’ve ever observed, that Monomoko seems to be keeping information from them.

The rabbit was told about the new changes to the rules of the over all game. That its no longer trial based. Of course the trials still occur and will still be held when there are inevitably discovered bodies. But you can no longer escape through them. It works now on a last man standing system. Whenever there are 12 left standing. Those 12 will be released.

But it hasn't seemed to inform the students of this yet? Its been given permission too. But…..its creating…..false hope? Or maybe it believes that upon hearing the information they will just start killing each other off in a blood bath.

Either way we have decided that for the sake of it being an interesting variable. We will allow Monomoko that sliver of power. I'm curious to see when it decides to reveal it.

But for now I'm exhausted. So we’ll just have to see how it all plays out.

- Your transcriber.

Chapter Text

They pile out of the gym slowly. Everyone is still getting used to the new weight around their wrists. They all listen to Sasaki and Yokoi as they ask around for information. Names, medical history, and other things.

Harada doesn't pay too much attention to many of the other captive’s answers. While, Nishiguchi seemed to be taking mental note of certain allergies? He thinks this is what she's keeping an eye out for.

He was more concerned with significantly less important matters.

Not having much input on the current situation his mind began to wonder. He wasn't going to be able to take his backpack off until they disconnected. He really should have set it down and then cuffed and just….held it for a little bit. Now if he needs something its going to be awkward.

Not that he thinks he's going to need much.

Sawa's being put on time out in his room.

God this morning had been a mess.

He had found Chiba yesterday after dropping off Kumada's things. (funny her companions were actually looking for the other blonde, but he didn't share her location). They had met up. But it was still rather out in the open and with Denden right there……the announcement played before they had the chance to actually……talk.

So the actress knocked on his door this morning. And for a brief moment he completely forgot about the entire prior timeline. And stupidly. He unlocked the door and told her to come in.

Not a great idea.

This freaked Sawa out. And that freaked Chiba out and Harada mentally kicked himself for not just…... .committing to the pool plan yesterday despite the stuff that happened he still could have……found a way.

Instead he scared Chiba. Again.

She screamed and shut his door and he had to calm both of them down.

He ended up locking Sawa in his bathroom (Ninomiya had already left to go grab food) so he could talk to Chiba in the doorway.

But it was early in the morning and she was already close to tears. Not that, that was a bad thing, just her way of responding to fear.

Still…..wasnt the right place to talk.

They walked down to the morning meetup together just trying to recover from the whole ordeal. Conversation was easier than he expected. He had missed her smart wordplay and dramatic flare in her speaking patterns.

Even now he finds himself standing at her side as the leaders do……whatever it is their doing.

Finally someone snaps, the annoying one with red hair next to Tamba who was only here, because he was attached to her, disconnects to walk out with a rather rude gesture.

What would even be the point? There's nothing to do on this floor. And surely is way too early for anyone to seriously be considering murder. The only reason he’d have is to piss people off. Which he succeeded at to give him credit. But from there everyone was dismissed. To do whatever.

He wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

He needed to warn Ninomiya about the tiger in the bathroom, preferably soon before he's accused of anything.

He had spoken with the alternatively dressed man a little bit last night. He had a lot of crazy stuff on his side of the counter. Harada prayed Sawa knew better than to jump up there and start messing with things. She knows she's supposed to stay on the floor- then again it was a brand new room to her and those were always a toss up- and after last time- ……everything's kind of a toss up now.

Vivid memories of two corpses falling before him. Still warm. Still bleeding. The bite marks- the screams from just a moment ago. They were dead. They were dead and it was his fault-

“Keizou?” Chiba pulled on his sleeve with a curious animated head tilt. She was moving and breathing and fine. “I don’t like the auditorium……can we leave.”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea.” he sighed affectionately. That would make sense as to why he's all….panicky right now.

Chiba's eyes kept flicking away from his face to the ceiling and-

And yeah. Getting out of here would be nice.

“I think the auditorium's fine. Not like we have anywhere else to be,” Nishiguchi mumbled with an eye roll.

He wasn’t sure what to make of her yet. She seemed……proud. But not quite in a bad way. Just a firm person. She definitely had a past with being in charge in some way. The way she held herself was confident and tall, and she spoke with the expectation people would listen to her.

She gave off the vibe of some type of bird. Loud and bright but uniquely stoic in her own little way.

He’s gonna need more info on her habits to really decide what kind of bird though.

“I'm fine with whatever…..i just don't want to disconnect early. I’d rather save the 3 hours till night….if that's….like….fine……i mean i think you have a much bigger say here.” tei mumbled on the other side of Chiba who just rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, that's fine. But don't start with the whole ‘bigger say here’ i'm not Hiroaki. I don't care about my life before here got it? I'm working on being ……….different.”

“Oh? You don't like your acting?” Nishiguchi raised an eye.

“It's a…..complicated situation.”

She was clearly getting uncomfortable. And the atmosphere certainly wasn't helping.

“Come on, let's go see if they have any new snacks in the storage room. Maybe they listened to our suggestions last time?” he offered a change in subject and her face lit up.

“Snacks aren’t going to replace breakfast though. We should find something to eat. Eat. too. There's still a fuck ton- a- a ton. Of sandwiches let over from yesterday. Can I curse around you?”

“I'm 17. Go for it, bitch.” Chiba throws back. And Harada has to hold back laughter at the memory of how she lost it at him and Hama last time. Bitch was a nicer word than half the stuff she’d called them.

Both Nishiguchi and Tei have slightly surprised faces as they handle hearing the sweet youngest girl from one of the most popular family sitcoms curse.

Yeah, today was going to be fun.

“I want to see if they have anything strawberry flavored.” she whined and grabbed his cuffed arm with her free one dragging the four of them out of the nasty memories that came with the gym.

On his way out, he does quickly make brief eye contact with the other blonde girl with pig tails. The one he had met yesterday.

He had been pleasantly surprised to find her dorm connected to Chiba's. It had been slightly inconvenient while he was grabbing things yesterday. But now that they aren’t hiding from the rest of the school he wonders if he can convince her to talk more. She seemed more scared than anything.

Maybe he’d leave it up to Chiba. She what she thought of Kumada and they could try roping her into things from there. Even if she was bound to Hasegawa…..who? They apparently aren't supposed to like?

He definitely found it weird how they chose to lock him and Okazaki up but……he and Sasaki were kinda let of the hook? She still had something with Hiroaki. But no one has talked to him at all. Wasn’t he a killer too? A part of him feels like he needs to be watched or something! He needs something that will stop him from making the same mistakes as last time.

He had tried yesterday but…..he just…..couldn't bring himself too.

“Hey, are you……ok?” Nishiguchi asks, drawing him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah! Sorry. Just……a lot on my mind.”

“Something happened in there last game didn't it?” she crossed her arms, and stood in front of him, not caring about the awkward angle his wrist was left at. Chiba and Tei walk on wards having their own conversation.

“.....yeah……a few things.” he doesn't look her in the eyes as he thinks back to even before……that day…... .but the stupid games, and motive announcements it all just-.....nothing good ever comes from the auditorium.

“Hm.” She looks between him and the gym, the doors behind her. Trying to decipher it. “.....you're just going to let the actress lead all the plans ‘round here?”

“Well…..she's my friend. And I kind of owe a lot to her right now. Why? Was there something you were hoping to do?”

“....not really i guess……..a part of me wants to know what kind of shit show you all have been through. But it's probably best not to worry about it to be honest. I feel like if I knew anymore than I did I would just be freaked out.”

“Well……if you ever do want to ask……i cant promise I’ll be the best source of info. I was out pretty early apparently. But I can do my best to share what I do know whenever you feel ready to handle it.”

“That works for me.” she sighs and lowers her arm.

 

“Cool, want to catch up with the others then?”

“Fine. Sure." she grumbled. He's not really sure what her problem is but maybe he can ask later when they're more secluded.
—------------------------------

They were the very first to reach the storage room after the motive introduction. Sasaki gave them the ok to bolt, after Ikeda’s stunt. He doesn't like the guy but he can at least appreciate that. He doesn't know if there's anyone except maybe Yanagi that could take the news that they were going to be handcuffed to Tamba of all people very well.

Well……there was worse. There was just also a lot better though.

Like Isoda.

Who might just be the single only tolerable bitch here.

He personally had wanted to stick around and talk to Ken now that they weren’t literally locking him up. Whoever he's paired with though is horrible and he might actually throw hands with her if she keeps dragging him around. He might throw hands with Hasegawa if he keeps letting her!

But Isoda had other plans.

They were dismissed and they turned to him for the first time since they put the cuffs on, “do you know where the storage room is?”

“...uh…yeah?”

“Let's raid it and crash in a dorm.”

“You don't want to like talk to people or…..explore or anything?”

“Nope. I just want something to eat and to get out of here.” they pleaded.

“I can work with that.” he shrugged pleasantly surprised.

They didn't talk too much as they slipped out and bee lined it for the storage room. Each grabbed a handful of snacks and items. Kamimura didn’t grab everything he wanted on account of being fast. Hopefully this time he won't need to worry about being kicked out of his dorm. And would be allowed to stock up slowly.

“We can chill in my room if you feel more comfortable there?” Isoda offers. He doesn’t quite trust just how open the offer was.

“I don't," he admits. “Were going to mine.” plus his was bound to be cleaner.

“....airtightly then.” They hum and don't put up much of an argument. They take a final bag of chips off the shelf, “i'm ready when you are?”

“Sweet. Lets go.” he kicks open the door and a crowd of both familiar faces and new ones greets him.

Chiba gives him a sly smile as she spots him. He ignores it and drags Isoda away from the group and towards the dorms. Ignoring anyone else around them.

They finally reach room 4A. And he locks the door.

Fuck yeah! Non-necessary social interaction avoided.

Isoda seems to have a similar face of relief.

“You cool with me sitting anywhere?”

“Go for it. But don't you dare make a fucking mess.” he narrows his eyes at the chips they grabbed if those leave crumbs and attract bugs he might kick them out on to the streets. Or….hallway? He's not sure. He’ll think of something

“Its….pretty tidy in here.” they note taking in the room.

After his conflict with Yanagi yesterday he had spent the rest of his time in here. Trying to fix anything they fucked up. Which was a lot. He basically had to start from scratch on making the room as germ free as possible.

They shift closer to the desk slightly and pick up a bottle, “you…..just have…..cleaning supplies in here?”

“Yeah dunno. We never got confirmations on everyone's talents. Apparently they didn't end up being that important if no ones filled me in on what they ended up being.”

“....talents?”

“Yeah. some bullshit about something that you do or are like good at, what's at your desk?”

“A microphone…..recording set up. I thought that's what everyone had,”

“I think Wada and Isono do, but not everyone, Isono was the ultimate virtual idol whatever the hell that means and our theories for Wada had something to do with his ability to copy voices, what about you? One of the other guys in there seemed to recognize you. Called you famous.”

“I'm a cover artist. I do a variety of musical shit…..i have a pretty big online following but…..i don't go out in public much. Crowds scare me”

“A musician that's scared of crowds. Hm. thank fuck for the internet i guess.”

“Thank fuck for the internet.” they snicker, “And you?....just clean things?”

“I guess……..if we wanted to get specific I cleaned crime scenes. Not something I enjoy as much as it's just something I do often that I'm not terrible at. Cause you know. I have to pay rent. But that's why I think the whole talent and ultimate thing is stupid. Hiroaki? Chiba? Make sense. Those are probably some of the biggest in their fields. Tsuno and Hasegawa are like……very very specifically talented in one area that sure. They can claim that title because there's not anyone else in the world who can. But like…..Me and Wada? We live in shitty apartments alone doing commission work, how the hell is that talent? Or…..ultimateness or whatever.” he rants on because why the hell not.

“Well……i've never met anyone that cleans crime scenes before so. I don't have a reference on whether or not you are the best at it.”

“How would you even measure that? Speed? Efficiency? The idea of holding a compilation to figure out who's the best crime cleaner is stupid. That feels disrespectful to the bodies.”

“Nah, I think the ghosts are like making bets and stuff. They're cheering you on. Just glad to be on featured tv”

“Were we televising this?!”

“Yeah, it's like an Olympic sport now.”

Kamimura chuckles, “I have to tell Tamba and Yanagi I'm coming for their medals. You guys may have fancy flips and kicks but can you get a corpse in a bag without damage in under 10 minutes. I doubt it”

“ That's the spirit." Isoda sits down beside him with an arm swing.

A few beats of silence pass as neither party is able to think of anything else to add to the bit.

“So what was up with you and that guy in the suit? The murderer, the one who you wanted to be handcuffed to…….. Sorry by the way that you got stuck with me.”

“Dude, I could have gotten stuck with Ikeda or Nakamigawa. Or some other asshole you're fine. Honestly I wouldn't have changed much about today so far. I lock myself in my room often anyway. People in here are weird. But you're only mildly weird.”

“Mildly weird?” they scoff with an amused smile.

“Don't know what your deal is yet. Have to wait for the games to start to learn all the awful shit about your past that will drag you back down to being a freak like the rest of us.”

“I don't think my past has……..anything like…... .too bad. Not stuff that should scare others. just….me.”

“Well we’ll just have to wait and see then. And don't bother trying to tell me shit now id rather not hear the sob story and you better not be expecting one out of me.”

“Im not……..but i do want to point out how you completely dodged the question about suit guy. You don't have to tell me much but you can't say that it's nothing.”

“Its…..none of your business.”

“Yeah ok that's fair. Only person i met yesterday from your group was Tamba we share a bathroom-”

“My deepest apologies.”

“Nooooo. She's cool….ish……mildly weird.” They smile.

“She's…..yeah…..she can be kinda weird.”

“Are we making a weird level tier list to sort people by now?”

“Only if we can put Okazaki on the highest one.”

“What for?”

“Have you met them?! Their a freak! They-......” he clutched his hoodie tight. Memories flashed through his mind in a blur of white, gold, and red. His breath hitches and he needs to calm the fuck down. He looks Isoda in the eyes trying to hide his rising panic at the current topic “ Never mind. Just- different subject.”

They raise an eye at his outburst and then a very sudden halt of said outburst. But don't ask any questions regarding the mask artisan or his paranoia surrounding them.

“Hmmmmmm who do you share a bathroom with?”

“Ikeda.” he rolls his eyes before staring at the door.

“Oh. I'm the sorry one.”

“It's…..better than you would think. Hasn't talked to me once. I don't even think he's opened his side of the door once so far.”

“So that's going in super weird.”

“Extra weird” he comments.

“Well I didn't know that was tier!” they argue.

“Is now.” he teases back. “Hold on, we should be writing these down.”

He shoots off the bed with a brilliant idea, pulling out a notebook from his desk drawer.

“Is that really ok? Won’t people be mad if they find out?”

“Well……..Sasaki was allowed to have her notes even if they weren’t particularly nice. And i mean me and ken wrote a few prediction lists on……you know…..who we thought would make it or not.” he trips over his words a bit as he thinks about how he's sat he before laughing in similar ways as they argued on who would win between everyone left in the building vrs Hayashi. Kamimura didn't believe anyone could take her.

Hasegawa argued that if they had worked together and used some kind of trap it would be possible.

It makes him sick to think about. That the other boy was thinking about those moments…..seriously that the time they had spent laughing over hypotheticals might have all been his way of planning and proposing actual ideas.

But….it couldn’t have been. No. There's no way someone with that soft of a smile, and gentle eyes would be capable of going through with any of that!

He really needed to find a way to talk to him. soon.

“Wow.” the singer blinked at his bluntness.

“You get bored easily.” he turned away from them, clicking the pen he had grabbed. “Now do you want in or not?”

“Hm…….fine. But you have to do all the writing. I'm not letting anyone trace it back to me.”

“It's in my room. I'm pretty sure they would know it's mine. And no one's going to kill over some stupid burn book shit, ok now what do we want the actual tiers to be?”

They lean in over his shoulder and start with some suggestions.

There were definitely worse people he could have been stuck with.
—---------------

Ikeda didn't really have much of a plan. He never did. Especially not here.

This place was super fucking weird.

Way too big. And way to many people

It was so……..different.

He didn't even know how he got here or why and he's still not sure whether this is all a good or bad thing. One hand, he has 0 idea what the hell is going on and dads not around to help with anything. But on the other hand, He can say literally anything he wants and no one has……stopped him. At all. This whole time.

That was really really weird.

The guy with the flower crown seemed to be frustrated with his refusal to listen but just. Crossed his arms and stomped around like a cartoon character. Didn't even reach out to grab him. The boy in the blue suit yesterday was the same. Just seemed pissy but never……physical.

So it was really really hard to tell what the rules were. But at the very least he could get away with free speech. To test the limits. So that was nice.

This whole hand cuff shtick wasn't though.

It weighed on his wrist. And it was cold. Didn't the rabbit say they could disconnect?

Yokoi and Sasaki were walking around writing away on their little note pads. They look like squirrels to him, frantically writing away and peeking up above the pages whenever they heard something interesting.

“And what about you two anything you’d like to note?” Sasaki pulled a stand of hair behind her ear and shot him and his cuff buddy a quick glance.

Tamba Ruiko.

What a bitch.

Her voice was all squeaky and whiney and she couldn't stop moving and pulling on the cuff chain her hands were constantly shaking and she kept trying to shift the weight on her feet and wincing and over all was just making too much noise and moving to much and existing far far too close to him.

He decides he hates her just for that but she also said all that stuff earlier was mean. So he has double the reason.

“Nakamigawa messed up my leg last time by throwing me down the stairs.. I'm able to stand and walk and stuff obviously. But it's still weak as hell. And probably not going to get better than this.”

“Hm. well that makes two of us.”

Leg was a weak point? He could work with that.

“And what about you?....Ikeda right?”

“I'm fine.” he rolled his eyes. He's not telling anyone shit. The last thing he needs right now is for anyone to question the bruises and realize that they're supposed to hurt him.

Sasaki gave him an unamused glare. “Could you just tell us one thing? Anything at all? Just so I have something to record?”

“Why the hell are you so nosey? What do you even get out of writing all this anyway? An entire list and arsenal of everyone's weak spots? Unlucky for you it's going to take a lot more than a kick to the leg or some peanuts to take me out.”

“Uh-huh.” She looks him up and down. “I'm just going to write malnourished and aggressive.”

“H- Hey what the hell!?” she can't just- say that about him! That's not fair! He didn't tell her she wasn't supposed to know! And….he wasn't…..malnourished? Was he? He didn't feel like it. “That's not even true!”

“I’ve been around you for all of 15 minutes and I can confirm you're pretty aggressive.” Tamba rolled her eyes.

“Well- yeah! Why the hell wouldn’t i be! That's not the part I was-....never mind.”

Somehow his complaining reached the ears of Hirose, who had just been letting himself get pulled around by Sasaki while doing his own mental archive of what he was learning about everyone. He's quiet. Ikeda doesn't trust him.

“Were you going to try and claim that you weren't malnourished?” the wannabe doctor raised an eye.

“Doesn't matter. Just shut up. Can we leave now?”

“Well I mean- I'd prefer not to misdiagnose anyone. If you have some other condition just let us know, or if you're just not sure, you can come by the med-bay and we can do some tests later.”

“I really don't care. Write whatever the hell you want. your just wasting your time anyway.”

“Well….i would really like to not have false information. So. if i’ve written something wrong. Please tell me.”

“If you write something wrong, that's not my problem.” he crosses his arms and leans forward causing Tamba to stumble.

“Watch it!” she screeches.

“Maybe watch where you're screaming! You're going to make my ears bleed if you keep squealing like that! How the hell do you even get that kind of pitch! Are you part instrument or something? Seriously you sound like a dying bird ”

 

It took very, very little effort to piss off Tamba. He could say anything he wanted in a slightly offensive tone and she’d pout and curl her fist before jumping into another squeaky fit.

“You- you-.....AHG!” she searched his face with her lavender eyes. They were actually a really nice color, somewhere right on the cusp between pink and purple with a specific softness to it that he’d usually only ever use on delicate things like flowers or silks. Seeing such a color in narrowed eye frames felt…..wrong. He couldn't care to take her seriously.

She tried to look through him and find some aspect to insult. Searching for something out of place to twist against him. Unlucky her, Ikeda's, just a perfect little angel.

He smiles at her futile efforts to think of a comeback and she just screams and turns away.

“Please try to play nice. Both of you.” Sasaki sighs.

“WHAT!? I didn't even do anything wrong! He's the one bothering me!” she huffed, but the notebook fanatic didn't spare her any mind. And begun to turn to the next group.

“I really. I really hate you.” Tamba growled under her breath picking at her side of the cuff.

“Why? I’ve barely even said anything. You're the one who's sensitive enough to get riled up so easily. I'm sure anyone else here would be able to handle at least a little humor.”

He’d rather people not like his presence. The more people that didn't reach out or question him the better. He needs strong walls if he wants to get out of her without these people being freaks towards him. Barbed walls. It wasn't going to be enough to convince them not to try. He needed to actively attack everything around him so there wasn't even a chance someone could consider looking at him any closer. Afterall, what other reason coil their even be to get close, if not to get close enough to cause harm.

“I'm not sensitive! You're just really mean! And rude! And awful! The only things you’ve said the entire time we've been stuck together are insults! I don't know what your problem is with me! It's not like I wanted to be stuck here either! I just don't want to die!”

“Again?” he asks. Curious. Tamba was annoying and fidgety and loud. There was no way she’d be this paranoid if she hadn’t died at some point in the last game.

“Again?! No! I made it out. I……I made it out. And it's not fair that I'm back here again. It's not fair at all! That I was finally getting better and getting over it and now I'm trapped with the world's most annoying, selfish, moronic boy! Attached to my arm. It's not fair!”

“I don't believe you.” he laughs.

“What?!”

“There's no way someone like you survived. You don't have to lie to me, you know. You're already one of the most pathetic people I've ever met. Admitting that you died last time can't really make you fall any lower.”

“Bu i- I didn't! I actually made it out! I swear I did! That's why my leg’s broken! Cause i wasn’t revived like everyone else! You can ask Shigeki or Nakamigawa! I- i didn't talk to them much after but- i- i was just trying to move on.”

“Yeah. sure. I’ll make sure to tell Sasaki to add delusional to her notes about you.”

“What do you even gain from this! You're just trying to make me upset!”

“I'm trying to make you more tolerable. I'm not sure how much more of your whining I can handle over here. You open your mouth again, I might just crumble to dust on the spot. Our is that going to be too traumatic for you to handle?”

“I hope you turn to dust so I can smear it around everywhere and ensure I never have to hear another petty immature line from you ever again!”

“Oh noooooo are you going to kill me? Maybe your lying about the whole making it out thing to cover up the fact that your a murderer!”

“What?! That's stupid! If I had killed someone they’d lock me up like Hasegawa and Okazaki. Although this certainly feels like a deserving punishment for murder. WHICH I DIDN'T DO! So its not fair!”

“Oh I have a fun fact for you actually! You might want to sit down for this one, hard pill to swallow for someone as privileged and pristine as you but , “ he takes a deep breath for some dramatic flare. “ Lifes not fucking fair! So get fucking over it!”

“I would if you stopped constantly nagging me!” she yanked her arm back pulling on the chain.

It pulled on his wrist.

Although small and rather insignificant. It was the first trace of pain he's received since coming here. Her stance was offensive and her hands were curled. She really, really seemed to not be handling this well.

He could keep prodding at her. See how much more she could take before exploding at losing it. Or he could make this everyone else's problem.

He keeps his calculating eyes centered on her floral ones. And smiles.

“Your cuffs have been disconnected! Your 3 hour timer starts now.”

Ikea doesn't even give her a goodbye before spinning on his heel pleased with himself, heading toward the doors.

They had racked up quite an audience during their little spat. He hadn’t realized how quiet the gym had been until there was an uproar at the first disconnect.

well everyone can thank him later for being the only one brave enough to try. He's far past done with these assholes.

He slips out letting the auditorium doors close and the rest of the shouts he was already blocking out, fade out behind the thick walls.

What to do now?

He spent a good chunk of time yesterday exploring around with Shishikura and Yanagi. Those two seemed to get along. He poked at them when he could but they didn't give him much to work with. Yanagi was more easily flustered than angered by his teasing.

He's never had just…….so much space like this.

It loomed over him. Hallways and rooms and lights and there were probably more tiles on the floors here than he could actually count! And he was really good at re-counting tiles.

He doesn't feel like exploring right now. He…..doesn't need this place feeling any bigger than it already did.

He had a room for himself though. The one he was told to go to last night. It was nice. There was a whole bed and a desk and a ton of painting supplies. Although….they weren't as nice as the kind dad usually got. But he hasn't tested them yet.

With nothing better to do he heads back to the dorm with the 4B on it. The rabbit told him yesterday that that one was his. And he learned through listening that he shared it with Kamimura. Who so far was the person he found the most interesting. He had taken the most effort to bother, but had the biggest reaction and still seemed to hold a grudge against him.

Ikeda would be more excited at the idea if it didn't mean the person he was currently on the worst terms with, was also the one with the ability to walk in and kill him at any time.

He had tried messing around with the doors a bit last night but locks were weird he didn't quite get them yet.

He approaches the bathroom door handle with the intent to fiddle around some more but was stopped by a voice.

“Why did you disconnect from Tamba Ruiko so early?”

FUCK!

He twisted around and but his back to the door and eyes on the creature on the floor. That stupid rabbit was in his room! Gross!

“The hell do you want?!”

“I am simply curious. It was not an action I had anticipated. Even from you.”

“Well- i- fuck off. I don't have to tell you anything.”

“It just seemed rather impulsive I suppose. You had disconnected with such confidence only to come back to your room? I thought maybe you were catching up on the sleep you missed last night but the more I observe the less that seems to be the case.”

“I- what?! You just watch me?! All the time?!”

“I try to stay aware of every student's locations and conditions.”

“That's creepy and weird.” his skin crawls slightly at the thought of someone watching him without knowing.

“I'm afraid it is part of my position here,”

“Ok- well……go back to watching me from afar or something I don't want you here.”

“Ah. my apologies then. I will go look for a conversation elsewhere.” it gives a little nod and leaves. Just. gone. Like that.

He really doesn't think rabbits are supposed to do that. He's never……seen a rabbit before. But he's super certain animals aren't supposed to disappear. Nothing is just supposed to disappear like that.

Whatever. Fuck that…what ever the hell its supposed to be.

He doesn't touch the door again. Just. sit down. He's good at that. He's used to that. He can sit down and be quiet until the cuff goes off or whatever. He's just had a loud enough morning as is.

His quiet unfortunately doesn't last long. Eventually Kamimura and his partner come into the room across from the door he's leaned up against. But he keeps silent. Their words are muffled but still able to be deciphered with enough focus.

He just listens.

Its actually a little bit comforting. He can close his eyes and pretend he's trying to listen in on a conversation upstairs. Although instead of subtle threats and inappropriate questions or money discussion, these guys were actually kind of funny.

He doesn't like when they talk about him but they don't seem to linger on that too long, and he doesn't provide any sort of reaction in fear of being found.

It's nice to just listen and not have to constantly be scanning for signs of aggression or forcing people into positions of fear.

He doesn't fall asleep obviously. That would be blasphemy.

But he gets more rest than he did looking at his new ceiling last night.

He just hopes they won’t be mad at him for that.

—-------------------------

Shishikura stood, rather shocked at the red haired boy's tantrum. He left, similarly to how he had escaped the auditorium yesterday when Yaitiabashi had finished picking pairs.

“I'm not in charge of that one.” Hayashi scoffed beside him. Watching the display with a similar interest. “But Tamba…..i do need to talk to…., so …..” she shook the cuff chain slightly to create a rattling noise that caught his attention.

She pulled forward towards the blonde girl who was left screaming curses upon deaf ears.

“Alright! Uh- before anymore arguments occur, everyone you are dismissed! Thank you for helping! And if you would like to stay to help, if we didn't get around to you please please do!” Yokoi announced pulling away from Sasaki as they passed by.

The room dwindled after that, people broke off and conversations got loud. Hayashi still kept her pace towards the screaming blonde and not the exit doors though.

“Tamba.” she called out. The other girl turned to them, pony tail swinging behind her. Hey! Both she and Hayashi had ponytails. Maybe that's why they were friends!

He knows he should probably find a way to put his own hair up at some point but for right now he likes it down. This place was nerve wracking and he needed all the little comforts he could get, one of those tiny comforts coming from both the weight of hair against his back and the ability to run his finger through it easily.

“Can you believe that kid! Didn't even ask j-just left!!! Where the hell did he even go!? I'd run after him if I didn't expect him to just shove me or something after! I can't believe I got stuck benign cuffed with him. I hate him!” the blonde was fuming, and exaggerating all her movements in a wild storm of anger.

“Tamba are you alright?” Yagani! Who he recognized from yesterday. Also came to comfort her. That makes sense. He mentioned having a few friends. He thinks Hayashi and Tamba might have come up in conversation? But at the time without faces to attach them to, most of the names he brought up just fell through Shishikura's mind.

As the pink players dealt with Tamba's, deserved , complaining, he found himself looking at Yanagi's partner from his group. Ouno? Was her name he believed. Yanagi had found both of them this morning. And ushered them to the auditorium for the announcement so they didn't really get to talk.

She seemed to be in a similar situation to him. Just…..hung around while their partners fret over Tamba.

She catches his stare with her heterochronic eyes and raises her hand with a subtle wave…….well her free hand. In her palm still cuffed to Yanagi, she carries a rather small weight. He can’t exactly make out what the weight of the weight actually is but its a little startling.

She looks between him and the weight that he supposes he was drawing a little attention to with his stare. Her fingers curl around the object before she meets his gaze again with a sheepish smile.

Before he can ask her any questions his arm is being pulled forward with such a strong force that he stumbles. Hayashi has both her hands on Tamba's shoulders.

“Hey. listen. You got out last time? You can do it again. I promised i’d get you both out and i fucking did. I have a good track record don't i? So. don't worry about it. I’ve got you covered.”

Shishikura bites his lower lip gently at the scene. It was clearly very very very emotional. Tamba had slight tear stains glimmering on her cheeks and Yanagi looked pretty red eyed too.

So he………..really shouldn't be getting involved. But like. He is just…….right here. Trying his best not to listen in too closely. Putting as much space as he could between the trio and himself.

He could just disconnect but…..that……was what caused this whole mess and he doesn't think Hayashi would appreciate it. Well- she’d appreciate the giving them space to sort through whatever this was part! But she wouldn't appreciate him running off.

Not that he even had anywhere to go. He was kinda busy chasing people yesterday. He got a good lay out of the building but didn't really remember what parts of that layout were important.

He finds Ouno’s eyes again. She doesn't seem to have stopped staring at him. She gives him another smile and lifts a stand of her hair excitedly.

That's…..odd? OH!

He smiled back at the comparison twirling a strand of his own matching white locks. He's already making friends! Finding things in common isn't that hard.

Before the announcement went off last night he and Yanagi had very briefly touched on their respective winter sports, he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little excited to learn more about ice skating. See what other things overlapped.

He wondered if Ouno had any fun hobbies. She definitely looked like she did something athletic, she was pretty strong and wore very movement minded clothing. Nothing like the piles and layers Shishikura was buried under. Not that he minded. But at least he was aware of it. He could offer her a jacket or two if she ever needed one and be fine.

In his defence when he had done all the layering it was because he had been expecting to spend the day in his usual freezing climates not……a school.

And he was a bit rushed this morning so he just threw on the same things he was wearing yesterday. To be honest he was really nervous to mess with the things around his dorm. He didn’t get the chance to actually look in his closet. Not with uh……well…….

He thinks maybe he and Hiroaki had gotten off on the wrong foot last night……..

He’ll try to talk to the proclaimed fashion icon later if he gets the chance. Walking into his room to find someone else? Going through his wardrobe? Was just…..odd……Yanagi talked to him about it though so maybe things would be fine??? He's really not sure.

This entire place was kind of crazy.

Hayashi finally pulled away and stepped back. Tamba seemed to be doing a little better, her breaths were still quick but she was wiping off tears with a smile.

Shishikura gave her a warm wave. She seemed nice. And like she needed the comfort. Yanagi was the one who actually noticed it though.

He quickly looked between Shishikura and Ouno with a slightly embarrassed expression. “Oh….eh- sorry it slipped my mind that we had guests. I- I appreciate your willingness to stick around.”

“It's fine! It certainly seemed like you guys needed the time.”

“Uhm…..yeah…..it's fine. Are you guys ok?” Ouno asked, looking between the 3.

“We're fine.” Hayashi shifted as she spoke.

“Who are you guys again?"

“Oh! Well, we met this morning but my name is Yanagi Shigeki, and these two extraordinary ladies are the lovely Princess Tamba and Miss Hayashi.”

“Stop.”

“Princess?” Ouno raised an eye.

“Its….its an old joke.” Tamba chuckled

“I'm Shishikura Osamu ... .me and Yanagi spoke a little yesterday and this morning but I didn't meet much of anyone else.”

“Probably for the best. People here are weird.” Hayashi rolled her eyes, yet there was a distinct affection in her voice.

“Weird. And annoying and mean and awful and you know what maybe Hasegawa was on to something.” the blonde ranted.

“Don't…..don’t….don’t say that Tamba.” Yanagi sighed.

“You're not the one handcuffed to that JERK! You lucked out actually both of your new guys seem nice! Why was I stuck with the terrible one!”

“Well….if it brings you any relief i don't think it’s personal? I think Ikeda…..is…just….like that. He didn't listen to Yaitabashi and left early yesterday too. Its a him thing. Not a you thing.” Shishikura comments.

“Yeah he followed us around looking for Kumada yesterday he’s just…... .difficult. And I'm deeply sorry you have to be the one to put up with him. If he does anything that upsets you further. Please feel free to grab either me or Ms. Hayashi. I'm sure we both have some choice words to share with him on the topic of his behavior.”

“Yeah yeah I know.”

“Well ok so that Ikeda guy sucks but have either of you met anyone else who hasn't completely sucked yet? I was like…..swarmed by them yesterday. A few of the new kids actually seem competent. Like Sasaki levels of organization.”

“Are we sure that's a good thing?” Tamba grimaced slightly.

“I noticed the girl who seemed to follow her around, the one with a notebook, i agree she seems put together. The only ones i've actually spoken to though are Shishikura, Ikeda, and Ouno this morning.”

“How the hell did you put up with Ikeda?” Tamba grumbled. “Wouldn't he like eat you alive or something.”

“I’ve spent the past year with Hiroaki Nakamigawa as the number one contact on my phone. I don't think petty insults from a random teenager mean much to me anymore. The way he was treating you bothered me far more than any of his comments from yesterday.”

“You should have just done what I did and blocked everyone. Why did you still hang out with Nakamigawa after everything?”

“I…..it just felt right. There wasn't many people to talk to about everything…..with…..you gone and Wada…….i-.........can we save this conversation for a later date? I would love to catch up with you Tamba truly its been on my mind as one of the thing i've needed to do since we woke up but- there are a lot of people who might prefer a….less heavy conversation topic.”

“Yeah sorry. Just. God. Like you and Ojima, sure fine i could deal with seeing again. You're not making me talk to Hiroaki.”

“I'm not sure if we’ll have much of a choice. He tends to make people talk to him.” Hayashi mumbled.

“Well there's like 30 other options now right? So fuck him. You two! Newbies! Tell me more about yourself. You don't make it through this hell without friends, so were friends now got it!? And friends know things about each other so like- what do you do?”

From there the conversation was light. The 5 of them just sat in the gym talking about their hobbies. Ouno and Tamba hit it off quite well in a similar fashion to him and Yanagi. He did actually get to pick up that conversation with the ice skater and they made fun of each other's respective warm up tricks.

Shishikura found himself laughing along easily. He ‘s never really hung around such a big group of people before. It was nice. Made him feel…..normal in an odd way.

But he sat there certain that if 2 of these people had made it out in the past then……surely everyone could this time right?

Chapter Text

Akiba for the 7th time today, attempts to put his hands behind his head as he leans back. And for the 7th time today remembers he's handcuffed to someone much shorter than him and quickly drops his hands.

Isono would laugh if it didn't mean her wrist was constantly being pulled around. She would find her partners constant gestures endearing if he just wasn't so strong. Really the amount he talks with his hands is impressive. She thinks he'd make a good streamer. Very captivating when he talks.

“So like. What's up with all the orange? That has to be your favorite color right? I don't think i've ever seen this much orange in one room in my life. Seriously. It feels like we're inside a pill bottle or something.”

And then he makes comments like that and she doesn't think he’d last a week before breaking twitch violations.

She still laughs though. Its not everyday she gets comments like that about her style.

“Its just my brand, you know? That's how branding works. You pick things that represent you and then push those things as hard as you can. So people associate you with those things. Just business really.” she sighed.

“So……it's not even your favorite color?” he sounds deeply concerned as he asks

“Heh! It is! I chose it. But. the reason its used so much was due to branding. Although I'm kinda starting to see your point. It is…..a lot…..of orange. “

“Does that branding stuff even work anyway? Like do people just watch your stuff then boom! See and orange wall and go oh my god this is just like the streamer i watch? And then watch more of your streams? Because of a color??”

“I mean- I don't know. We’ll have to ask Wada later.” she chuckles as she imagines the boy following the actions in the hypothetical scenario. It's not that she thinks he's like crazed and obsessed or anything but……he's definitely had similar reactions to certain references.

“Right. I’ll keep it in mind.” He hums and spins around a little in the chair at her desk. Not all the way but enough to get his feet moving. He was getting kind of restless. When they had chosen to come in here after the announcement he didn’t put up much fight because he was still super tired after everything. But he was a lot more talkative now. “All this talk of oranges is making me hungry. We did kinda skip breakfast.”

“I mean…..i guess. Did Tsuno make anything?”

“I have…..no idea who that is.”

“Uhm- she's the one with the cape and the dyed hair! She's really sweet. One of the nicest people in here. She makes food all the time. But usually if shes making something big she’ll send someone to knock on peoples doors to let us know. I was….kinda waiting for that.”

“Well. if she didn't we should still eat, right?”

“Yeah probably.”

“Right. To the kitchen it is!” he shoots up and out of the chair.

She stumbles after him…..silent.

She…..supposed……food did happen to be stored in the kitchen. And that was a reasonable place to want to go……

It would be fine. Just. grabbing food. Something quick. Just enough to get them through the day, or night or whatever time it was. She didn't know. She hadn’t known. She just struggled with cooking herself and latched on to those who tended to make extras. Sasaki hadn’t seemed to mind all the other nights. They met up multiple times. And it was fine. it had been fine. it has to be fine. There was no way just entering the kitchen would like…..kill her. Obviously. That's not how rooms worked. But the phantom pain was giving her a headache and her vision was swarming as she imagined falling- or was she just actually falling she- was-

“Jesus! Ok! Hi! Uh-.......you alright?” Akiba caught her hands and helped her back to her feet.

“I….y-yeah.” she didn't look him in the eyes. He was strong. She bets he could knock her out with a single swing if it came to it. Would that be better or worse than waiting for the final blow? Watching her own blood pool around her? The uncertainty if she’d make it out or not the feeling of breath leaving her body and reaching an end. Only to have it be ripped from in front of her and air slam back into her lungs and her head slam against that wall in the stupid laundry room and-

“You really don’t seem alright though. We can sit down for a minute more if you need.”

“I-......can food wait?”

“Uh- yeah?! If its going to make you all crazy then yeah. It can wait. Seriously, you look like you're going to be sick or something.”

“I might be.” she mumbled. As she was gently guided back down to the bed. Eyes still not able to focus properly and head throbbing.

“Do you want me to grab someone? There's a doctor here you know?......Why do i get stuck with all the weird ones. Had to drop off Tei yesterday due to some eye shit and now you're like……..i don't know.”

“It's fine. I'll be fine in a second. Just-...waiting for it to pass- if it passes. I mean the headache passes. Not me. I don't want to pass. I cant- i- i died last time.” she admits fingers digging into her skirt. She needed to hold something. She needed to feel something in her hands. Grounding? She thinks it's called. She needed to ground herself.

“That's……heavy.” Akiba struggled with his wording for once.

“I died in the….in…..in the kitchens.”

“Well…….that makes sense. And that means we're not going there.”

“But we need food.”

“And we can find someone else to get it. Or- if you need i can disconnect and get it. If you don't want to go into the room you died in? That's a pretty reasonable request and I'm not gonna like….make you?! That would be shitty. I mean you made it pretty clear earlier you aren't a big fan of leaving your room anyway. So why would you leave to go there? That's just- yeah. Have a breather.”

“T-thanks” her voice was shaky. Breather. That was a good idea. She should really do that.

That's what Tsuno would say too. She's seen her help Wada through things like this before. Was there some kind of pattern? She didn't know it but she knew breathing helped. So. she just took a lot of deep breaths. Praying the fresh air would clear out the visions in her mind.

It did help. Her chest no longer felt pounding and she could read the text on the screen across from her clearly. But her hands still shook and there was still a dull ache in her skull.

“Who are your friends again? If you don't want to see doctor guy we should at least talk to someone, right? I- doubt I'm doing any good at this. Plus then we can ask them to grab us snacks or something.”

“Wada and Tsuno are the ones i think i'm like closest too……... .There's snacks in the storage room? Maybe we can grab some from there instead?” she can actually stomach looking at him again.

“Now that! Sounds like a fantastic idea.” he smiles, pony tail sliding off his shoulder and falling behind his back. “Do you know where the storage room is?” he asks nervously, putting a hand on his neck.

“Yeah…..it’s probably best if we grab some things. There's snacks but there's other stuff too. Maybe we can find some cards to play with or something. “

“Ooooo, do you think they have work out stuff?”

“I'm pretty sure! Although that might more so be in the gym? I think Hayashi tried a few things…..before she was to tried."

“Sounds like a plan! You feeling ok enough to go? I mean if not I could carry you or something.”

“Heh. I'll pass.” the idea of being carried? Anywhere. Just felt….uncomfortable. She wasn't a huge fan of physical touch unless it was from people she was close with and Akiba really wasn't on that level yet. Plus that felt awkward and weird and everyone would just end up making fun of them. “Thank you, but i think I can walk fine now.”

She proves this by standing up and offering him a hand instead.

“Sick. lets roll.” he clicks his tongue and goes to open the door.

The hallway is surprisingly empty. It used to be the social hotspot for everyone. Easy access to things in the dorms and if things got out of hand there was always people around to hear.

There was a pretty large crowd in the med-bay that they could here. Isono remembers something about Sasaki and Hiroaki having a meeting in there with Ken and Okazaki.

Her stomach drops a little at the thought of the two. She could only remember nervous, yet genuine smiles, or a sly quip and soothing stare. She couldn't see either of the two of them as something violent. Then agian……..it was still hard to imagine someone as put together as Sasaki being violent either.

Well it wasn't hard to imagine-

It was hard to………accept? Maybe.

Hard emotionally. She could just as easily imagine crazed eyes behind askew glasses gripping a pan with white knuckles as she could a gentle hand on her shoulder and a voice of reason in a crowd of chaos. No one else seemed to put too much blame on to her. But- its not fair! Isono hadn’t gotten the same amount of sleep. Everyone had! And she never even once thought about killing someone for it. She’d sooner just pass out like Wada had. What ever that punishment really was surely hadn't been as bad as death right? Was….it really death?

It was difficult to think of the space between blanking out on the floor and sitting up in the laundry room. It feels like there should be something there right? Time definitely passed. You could see in the hunted look in kens eyes, and Tamba's intense posture or the way Ojima's hair was slightly longer. Time passed.

But not for her.

That was…..too much to think about right now. Instead she focused on another loud group gathering in the laundry room. She thinks she can pick out Chiba's high-pitched laugh but it's hard to tell in the mix of jovial uproar.

“What do you think is going on in there?” Akiba pauses squinting at the door.

“I have no idea……might be best to let them be though.” She considers knocking on the door. Seeing what was going on. But. she doesn't think she's heard anyone laugh since waking up yesterday. She’d feel bad if they had to stop whatever they were doing to address them. Whoever it was probably deserved a moment of peace.

“Fine by me” Akiba sighed and they continued to march forward.

The storage room door was already open when they finally reached it.

“I swear we had the spices last time! I remember them being right here.”
“I'm sure we’ll find them Ms. Tsuno, and if not! I'm confident whatever you make will be great to eat regardless!”
“Agreed! Even without those damned spices, the talent and care that comes with your very fingertips, combined with my magic blessing will be sure to add to the malevolent taste of our concoction.”
“Don't….say concoction…..its….just soup.”
“What is soup if not a delightful concoction of selected ingredients and prepared specimens. It is an elixir at its finest.”
“I thought your whole thing was being a…..goddess? Not witchcraft?”
“Things overlap.”
“Huh. I didn't think potions and elixirs would be one of them.”
“I mean both are magical right? So it makes sense!”
“Thank you Hidemi. Megumi, you could learn a lot from your sister in faith.”
“I-.....didn't sign up for this.”

Isono was happy to see Wada and Tsuno sorting through the shelves. The other two were a……surprise.

Not really….they were expected due to the whole motive thing but she just- hasn't adjusted to seeing all the new kids around yet.

Wada, after finishing his defeated sigh due to whatever teasing his cuff partner had started, turned to the door and met her eyes. “Oh! Ah! H- oh….hey…. Isono! uh-.....hi!”

Something hit the floor.

He…….seemed scared. More than anything. His eyes flickered around her body in shock. She supposes she's not the only one adjusting to her being alive again.

“Hey.” she says gently not wanting to startle him further.

“Yo.” Akiba nods beside her, squinting through the shelves to find the 3rd pair in the room. Which happened to include a frozen in fear tsuno, struggling to recollect herself while whatever bottle she had been holding rolled around at her feet.

“Is that one…..Tsuno?” the blonde tilts his heads and points. “Cape and dyed streaks? But from your group. Not…..her.” he gestures between Tsuno and Wada's partner.

“Yeah- sorry. I didn't realize there was another person that fit that description.”

“I have a name too!” the blue group girl huffed.

“Isn't it like super long or something? Look i'm bad enough with names, i'm not remembering your full ass title.” Akiba discouraged.

“What? But Miss Ogura is Her most powerful Two-dimensional goddess of beauty and grace. I don't think its that hard to remember?” Tsuno’s partner with the strange accent and pretty hair spoke up.

“Yeah. no. i'm not doing all that. I’ll stick with Ogura.”

“D….do i have to remember all that to? What like….are the rules for the being a girl thing?” Wada turned to the center of discussion.

“ I would highly recommend following in my footsteps when ever possible, however, there are no real requirements to join my league. I am a goddess well renowned for patience and forgiveness. I do not condone consequence or punishment. So no. there are no set rules. But effort is appreciated.”

“I will keep that in mind. I guess……hey! Tsuno you find those spices yet?”

“Oh- i- ummmmm. Yeah just give me another second- sorry.” she finally snapped out of her haze and started to sort through the shelves once more.

“So what brings you both to the storage room Mr. Akiba and Ms……?”

“Isono.” she filled in with a polite smile.

“Its not fair that you remembered everyone's names so fast. I- i don't think i even talked to you like once. How did you remember my name?” Akiba grunts.

“Oh! Its ok! I just have a lot of practice keeping track of names. If you forgot, My name is Tsukigata.”

“Hidimi.” Ogura added.

“Taksugiata Hidimi!” He nodded and laughed.

“Alright………….” Akiba raised a confused eye but didn't actually ask any questions on the matter. “So. you guys grabbing spices to make soup?” he asks instead.

“Yep! And! There right here!” Tsuno grins proudly as she pulls out a few containers from under a rag. “I have no idea who hid them or why though. But hopefully they wont mind.”

“Well if your making soup would you mind dropping some off at our room later?” Akiba shrugs.

“Huh! You just want us to deliver it to you!? You want us ladies to do all of the hard work and effort just so men like you can lay around lazily?! NO! I demand that you shall get no soup at all for having such a disgusting mindset.”

“No- no no- its not like that.” Tsuno puts a hand on Ogura's shoulder. And looks up at Isono.

Isono looks away. She…..doesn't like asking for things directly. Out of everyone here there was no reason she deserved special treatment compared to anyone else.

“Is that what you would prefer Isono? Instead of….going in there?” Wada pins down the problem. She talked to him for a WHILE yesterday after all. She mentioned how uncomfortable the atmosphere in the dining room was but how she didn't want to leave without Tsuno. He probably remembered that.

“I….you don't have to? But it would be……preferred.” she answers, gripping the edge of her skirt again.

“Then of course! We will lay ways to your requests Ms. Isono. We shall make it our utmost priority to have it delivered with as much diligence and grace as possible!”

“What! She gets to request soup! But i cant!?”

“Of course. She's a lady.”

“I…..that's not…..fair.” he huffs and looks away.

“Oh Ms. Oguraaaaaa! I think i have another good idea!”

“Hidimi are you thinking what i'm thinking?”

“I believe so”

They both turn with devilish smiles to Akiba.

“Nope! Not happening. Not doing the girl shtick. I’ll pass. As long as I get food later I'm fine. I really don't need all the dramatics.” he starts slowly backing up.

“Not so fast Takako!” Ogura narrows her gaze and points at him. “Hidimi has suggested you join our ranks! And that is enough to persuade me! I cast my fuchsia forming blossom spell upon you! Feel your new found femininity in your veins and embrace it! Dear soft Takako!”

“Im-......really. REALLY. Not interested-”

“Takako is kinda fun though!” Isono does not aid her partner's despair and stays with her feet planted, giggling.

“I promise you. I'm fine.” He still insists on denying the name.

“Welcome to the club.” Wada sighed.

“Hey look on the bright side! We should all have a big sleep over later! I’d love to style your hair Akiba!” Tsuno invites.

“Ohhhh! Do you think we could color it?” Tsukigata tilts his head.

“Nope. not happening.” Akiba swears off.

“Come on, at least let them do your nails or something. Just to fend them off for a while. It's…….actually not that bad.” Wada jumps in on the idea.

“Traitor.” Akiba sneers, Wada giggles.

“Pleaseeeeeeeee Akiba! It will be fun! These are my two friends. And I promise I won't let them go too overboard.” Isono pleads, grabbing his wrist and smiling sweetly.

“I trust those two. But miss anime goddess or whatever i don't think can be stopped.” Ogura erupts into manic laughter. “Aren’t we like in a death game or some shit. Why are we planning sleep overs? And messing around.”

“Because we don't want to feel like we're in a death game. How else do you suggest we cope?” Tsuno shrugs.

“I….dunno…….uhg. Fine. if i'm still alive later or whatever, and Isono wants to. I’ll go.”

“May my blessing stick with you as we await for your moment of true color to be unraveled, my soft Takako” Ogura says with a menacing glint in her visible eye.

“Great. Sure. uh, good luck on the soup. Grab us when its done. Can we go now? Shes seriously freaking me out.”

“Heh. yeah sure.” Isono nods. “You two promise to swing by later ok?.....i….miss you.”

“We missed you to.” Wada’s eyes soften.

“We’ll be sure to stop by your room before we offer any to anyone else!” Tsuno nods. “And then maybe come by after lunch is over too.”

“Sounds great.” Isono smiled, and turned to leave.

Maybe things………really weren't going to be as bad as last time.

She had expected that the early motive introduction and new cast of students would drag everyone down. But…….a lot of people seemed to be having a really good time.

It filled her with something she hadn’t had in a really long time.

It filled her with hope.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chiba smiles at Harada across from her.

It was nice to see him again. Last time they talked she was too busy climbing to get a good look at his face. She was worried as she was dying that she wouldn't have been able to remember it right. So she takes the chance now to try her best to commit all his freckles and curls to memory.

He seems so guilty.

His shoulders sag and he doesn't smile as much anymore. All of the shining hope she had found in him last time had been dulled.

And it was her fault right?

That's what they had said yesterday. That he died. Even though he didn't kill her. It wasn't fair!!! And she had some choice words for that rabbit about it!! If that bunny ever crosses her path again she won't hold anything back.

She wished she knew a better way to cheer Keizou up. They grabbed snacks, found a quiet place to sit down. And…..were just kind of waiting it out. Making easy and polite conversation.

Tei was braiding and unbraiding his hair silently beside her. And Nishiguchi stared between the three of them with suspicion.

“We should play a game" Chiba whined and stretched, accidentally pulling Tei's hand and messing up his braid. Or maybe not accidentally. He’ll never know how amusing the pout on his face was.

But it would be better if it wasn't alwaaaaaays there.

“Like what?" Nishiguchi rolled her eyes.

“I mean I think….there's….cards and board games in the storage room? If we want to go back there?” Tei offered.

"I dunno. Games are……..well….they can be pretty scary." Harada looked away.

“Not those games!!! Why would I want to play a game like that!" Chiba threw a near by empty bag of chips at the brunette.

That got a soft laugh out of the Zoologist.

“Fine, what do you suggest we play?"

“Hmmmmmm……truth or dare!" That's a popular game right? Lots of kids play truth or dare at parties and sleepovers. Right?

“I'm not sure……I really don't want anyone getting hurt.” Harada readjusted his goggles.

" I- I second that.” Tei mutters.

" Ok……what about……the one with the lies and the truths?” She struggled to remember the name of the classic get to know you game.

“Two truths and a lie?" Nishiguchi scoffed.

“Yeah!" Chiba beamed.

“Doesn't that one always just turn into everyone trauma dumping in the end?” she rolled her eyes.

“Eh. More entertaining that silence and…..I kinda don't want to get up and lose our spot.”

" Thank you keizou.” she nods.

" I'm fine with a round or two. Then if it gets out of hand we can do something else.” Hm. Tei is very sensible, she thinks.

She's not really sure how she feels about the whole cuff thing. She wished she could have been handcuffed to Harada or Hama because those were her friends!! Or Denden from yesterday because she was really really nice!

Tei was just…..scared. sensible but scared.

“Fine. But I'm not starting." Nishiguchi finally agreed.

“Can I go first!?" She asks with wide excited eyes. She loves being first! It makes her feel important!

“Sure!" Harada nods.

“Ok- hmmmmmm. The most Famous movie I'm in is Floral Fiasco. I was nearly cast in, Sweet Bro and hella Jeff: Beeware, Beelieve and Beecome and my hair isn't actually blonde, it's dyed!"

" No way you were nearly in a SBAHJ Movie! What role would you even play??? That's the lie.” The blonde crossed her arms and sneered.

"Floral Fiasco was pretty big for a second but I swear I've seen you in bigger stuff.” Tei mumbled.

" both of you are wrong.” Harada grinned. " I know for a fact your hair is not dyed.”

" Keizou wins!” She giggled.

“Well that's not fair- he like knows you!”

“To bad! He wins so its his turn! Try to think of something i wont guess!” she teases.

“Alright i can try………uh…hm. Oh!” he pulls up his pant leg. “I got this scar from working with a bear cub.” he pulls up his shirt sleeve.” I got this one from working with an owl!” and then he twists out his left hand to show a scar across his thumb, “And this one from a tortoise.”

“How did a tortoise leave a scar? They don't have anything sharp.” Chiba tilts her head and blinks.

“You…..suck at working with animals if you have that many scars. Who keeps letting you take car of them?” Tei scanned over the plethora of cuts and bites.

“I'm actually really good with them now! These were all from years ago. Training programs. False warnings. Improper gear, the eagle talon one was because i was doing this show thing, but the gloves they gave me were super cheap knockoffs and Bullseye cut right through the glove.”

“Well i'm going to guess that the owl one if fake then since you just called it an eagle.” Nishiguchi sat up proudly.

“Oh- i…..whoops. Ha ha. Yeah we’ll your right. Guess I shot myself a bit there.”

“No but seriously how did you get to work with so many animals aren't you like…….17?!” Tei continues to be a bit panicked.

“I'm good with them! Its…..what i love doing. I have internships and scholarships and its just…..when you have the right training and connections its easy!”

“Huh. think you could hook me up when were out of here then? Working with birds and bears sounds a lot easier than the cafe 9am rush. “

Harada laughs, “Sure. I’ll keep it in mind.”

“Hey! Its my turn now right? So both of you shut it and listen. Alright. Ahem. 1. I made my own clothes. 2. I have 3 older brothers. And 3. I'm unemployed.”

“Oh. ok. That one might take a second to think about……….if the making your own clothes thing is true you should find Hiroaki after this, you might get along. But for now im going to go with you didn't make the suit.”

“Pfft. I think it's rather obvious. You have a job. You have calluses on your hands and take this shit way too seriously.” Tei sighed.

“You’d be right. Tei wins.”

“Where do you work?”

“Family business. Pizza place.”

“Cute.”

“No. Not. Cute. It's a family legacy. Anyway, Hurry up, it's your turn.”

“I….really don't have anything interesting going on.”

“I doubt it!” Chiba calls out. “We allllllll have something big in our lives. That's why we were all chosen. For being weird and stuff!”

“Yeah but seriously. I like…….i dunno. I have 5 jobs. I don't have time for any other fun activities or fun facts.”

“Ok then make us guess what those jobs are or something?! Come one you're ruining the game” Nishiguchi was weirdly getting into it. A tad competitive too.

“Uhg! Fine uhm…….I own a cat? I own a tv? And i own 4 different pairs of shoes.”

“That's……boring.”

“You told me to say something!”

“Do you really have a cat?! Like a real one!? What's her name!? Can i meet her when were out of here!”

“i-......no…..i …..i don't own a cat i just sat your overalls and got inspired.”

“Oh.” Chiba frowned.

She liked cats! Maybe not……tigers….anymore. But like! She's always wanted to own a cat. But she's never home long enough to take care of one and mom says their dirty and stuff. But! When she's done with acting she's gonna get an entire shelter worth of cats and go all crazy knitting sweaters for them and everything!

That thought cheers her up a bit.

Before she could start to think of her next set of facts there was a knock on the laundry room door.

“Keizou? Airi? Are you in there?”

She met eyes with the zoologist and they both smiled at the familiar voice.

“RAN!” she bounced up excited pulling Tei along with her as he stumbled up much less gracefully.

She swung open the door to find their dear friend and his blue student counter part waiting outside.

“Hey!”......y….yo…yokoi????? She wants to believe is the girls name. She's nice! She hangs around Sasaki a lot but….she seems really sweet!

“Hope you don't mind if we join you. Big meeting was being a bit too much.” Hama walked in and he and Yokoi sat down, completing their circle.

“Its no problem! Were happy to see you!” Harada smiled….but his eyes were still sad.

“Isn't the meeting thing kind of important though?” Tei asked looking more so at Yokoi. “Did…..anything productive happen?”

She made a displeased noise.

“.....well……it was…..we spent a lot of time arguing where to even have the meeting because a lot of people didn't like the gym. And we ended up going to the med bay. But Kumada kept trying to throw a fit about being there and kept threatening to disconnect from Hasegawa and that didn't go over well and then Hiroaki and Sasaki got into a pretty big fight and said a lot of mean things about each other and it got to a point where i suggested we all take a break but Hiroaki didn't seem to like that very much and there were more arguments before everyone except Haesegawa, Okazaki, and Sasaki were allowed to leave., Sasaki had to stay because of the not wanting the murderers to be on the loose. But i think both Hirose and Yaitabashi are still connected. Not sure about Kumada but………..we didn't need to be told twice to book it out.”

“It was a shit show.” Hama stated bluntly. “I don't know why we keep letting Hiroaki and Sasaki try to do things together. It……didn't work last time. We should try to prevent it. But they just keep circling each other. i think they might be cursed."

“Yeah i’ll take playing two truths and lie with these losers over……whatever the hell you both just went through.”

“Oh? Your playing two truths and a lie? Can i join in?” that seemed to perk Yokoi up a bit. She definitely looked like she needed the distraction.

“Yeah! It was about to be my turn but you can go instead if you want!”

“Oh?....like….right now?” the brunette blinked and looked around.

Chiba nodded with an exaggerated effort.

“Ok….uh…….i’ve flown to America over 25 times. I prefer salty over sweet snacks. And my favorite subject is English!”

“Ew. no one likes English.” Nishiguchi complains.

“I like English!” Chiba chimes in.

“How do you afford to fly to the states so often? I'm calling bluff on that.” Tei scoffs

“I mean…….it makes sense that her favorite subject is English if she travels a lot. I feel like that would come in handy. So im going to go with the second one.” Hama announced.

“Congratulations! Your correct!” Yokoi clapped her hands together and turned.

“Your turn Hama!”

“I'm pretty sure you both already know like. Everything about me though. It isn't fair to the new guys. You’ll probably figure it out super fast.”

“Hmmmmmm…….then……make it about…….something that happened……later?” Chiba offered a solution.

“What do you mean?”

“We’ll…..you were around for a long time when we…..weren’t. I want to guess what you did during that time! Did you go into our rooms at all? Did you still work out? Who else did you talk to? You know. Stuff like that.”

“Are you sure?”

“Its the best way to make it fair!”

“Alright then…….uh………..I started a book club. I once got into an argument about the ethicalness of raising a killer robot. And…... .during the cold motive i managed to get completely by with nothing but my badass jacket.”

The room was quiet for a second as they all questioned the statements.

“I……don't think that last one is possible. With how Hiroaki was describing the cold earlier. Like-.......you would have……not been able to manage that.” Yokoi squinted at him.

“But. I have demons. So I'm not like everybody else.”

“Were the demons really able to keep you that warm though?” Harada raised an eye.

“......No……Nakamigawa got me to wear a shirt eventually. But the demons helped.”

“Yeah. Wait, can we pause? I was actually really curious about that. What demons????” Nishiguchi sharply raised a hand.

“My demons. The ones I fight. Some of them are too powerful so I have to trap them in my tattoos till I'm stronger.”

Nishiguchi huffs in complete disbelief. Tei has an undoubtedly similar expression, although slightly more concerned.

“Who did you get in a fight about robots with? Why?” Chiba, ever bored, was now lying on her stomach with her legs behind her looking up and the demonologist with wide eyes.

“Watari? I think……it was a while ago. I don't remember only that it was stupid. And we shouldn't build any robots. They always end up going rogue.”

“I doubt evil robots are going to be on our list of concerns at the very least.” Tei sighed.

“Yeah, most Ai can't be trusted.” Yokoi nods.

“The hell would anyone bring any of that nonsense in here for?! That would be stupid.”

“Well…..there's tigers and bounty hunters and god rabbits. I really don't see what's off limits sometimes.” Harada admits.

“Maybe we’ll all get like magical powers from radiation surrounding this place or something. If anything's on the table." Chiba thinks back to some cartoons she watched.

“That would be fun but I doubt it.” he chuckled

“I mean……we got revived though right? So there's definitely magic involved.” She looks him in the eyes as she asks. It was a weird way of trying to get the information she wanted. But it was better to ask something like this subtly.

She had been wondering…….how Keizou died.

She knew it was after her. And she knew it was an execution like…..Sasakis. But…..she wanted to know more. She didn't know why but- she wanted to know what happened to both her friends. So she can stop it from happening again! And stop them from being scared!

Like how he locked Sawa away that morning. When she froze up and started screaming at the beast. Because it killed her.

She wants to know what hurt them. So she can hide it or lock it away or jump in front of it if need be.

Her friends are awful! About letting her help with stuff. So its not like she can just tell them that. They’d just tell her not to worry about it. But she wants to worry about it!

They both look so sad! She doesn't want them to look haunted forever.

So she does this slowly. Bring up magic, segway magic into revival. Try to keep the topic on that as long as possible until hopefully one of the newbies is brave enough to ask for her. Her bets on Nishiguchi.

“Yeah….its…..something weird.” he looks away with shaky eyes.

“I'm just not thinking about it. This place's evil energy is so powerful I can't even comprehend it. And at this far, I don't think I want to anymore.”

“Wait so…..all three of you died?” Tei was surprisingly the first to ask and get roped in. Chiba kept quiet to see how much the boys were comfortable saying first.

“Yep.” Ran nodded. And the room fell into awkward silence.

She really has to do everything around here.

“No at the same time though. It went me. Then Harada. Then Hama like a lot later.”

“So what were you all murdered?” Nishiguchi shrugged. “Somebody here killed two people right? Was it you two?”

“No.” Hama interjects. “The whole situation is kind of complicated. And I don't want to bring it up unless it's actually important. If you need to know. We’ll tell you. But right now. Let's talk about something else.”

“I-i- i second that.” Yokoi fixes her posture beside him with a stuttering nod.

“Fine. What did you want to do instead then?”

Drat. she should have forced the conversation further. But it's fine. She's sure she’ll have plenty of other chances to try. Because she's making sure they all stay safe this time. If she can't get everyone out via the vent. Then she can at least do her best to protect these two instead.

Maybe she’ll just ask them straightforwardly later. When they're alone. Maybe they’ll understand……and if they don't?....she wont stop trying anyway. Because these were her friends! And she's going to do what it takes to help them stay safe!

—------------------------

Isoda tugged another oversized sweater on and shook the last of the water out of their hair.

This is the part where they would usually sit down and doom scroll for a few hours in bed. Maybe fiddle around with their guitar if they're really bored or work on any assignments if they have anything Major due.

But now they didn't have any of that.

They had a recording set up connected to a laptop that was almost completely useless. And a more retro I- pod thing with some ear buds. That was probably the only thing of value in their room. Had a ton of music. New stuff too. That they actually listened to frequently before getting kidnapped.

They are hit with a strong pang of fear as they paused to consider how, whoever set this up knew about the specifics of their music taste.

Different topic.

They wondered what Kamimura was up to.

The two of them had gotten pretty bored easily so he left about…..40? Minutes ago if the timer on their cuff was to be trusted.

He left to go try and find the suit guy. He seemed to be the only person who liked him. Everyone else was scared of the ex-murderer. But Kamimura had a more nuanced opinion on the guy. Even if he wouldn't tell them what that opinion is.

They hope he's doing alright and getting that whole……thing…..gets sorted? Maybe then the crime scene cleaner would tell them after.

Hm. Maybe. Probably not.

He didn't seem like the type to share shit. And they weren't the type to pry.

With a sigh they select an album they haven't played yet and lay down. They did have much else they wanted to do on their 3 hour break. Just shower and maybe nap.

Maybe they should talk to other people or something but that's not really their style. Plus after basically getting a full rundown and tier list from Kamimura about how crazy everyone in his group was enough to keep any curiosity they had satisfied.

The wall paper around their room was a dark maroon. which clashed severely with their white ceiling. Most of the furniture was silver. They think that's the same for every room. Kamimura had the same desk and bed frame, and white ceiling.

But his walls had been a softer blue. And their chairs were different. Isoda had a black comfy streamer chair to match the recording set up but Kamimura had an almost lounge-like block chair with cushions.

Their wardrobe set up was pretty nice. If it wasn't so creepy. That so many of their clothes from home just ... .showed up here. Without them noticing……without…..anyone noticing.

Gosh. Maybe they shouldn't spend so much time in here. Everything seems to mock them somehow.

But? Where else would they go?

The answer to that question doesn't come easy. Not till a few more songs shuffle past and they manage to bust out the imaginary air guitar. Not until a loud thud breaks through their headphones and makes them sit up in such a rush of adrenaline the headphones fall off.

They pause looking around the empty room for the source of the noise.

It rang out again. Coming from the shared bathroom. Metal hitting……..something.

Isoda’s first thought is to double check their door is locked and stay silent. But then Tamba's voice comes crashing through and they think they might have a different type of problem.

The gymnast wasn't really making coherent sentences, just mumbles and grunts and whines.

Isoda, with a newfound flare of curiosity set in from their past hour or so of boredom, cautiously pokes the door open.

Tamba is sitting on their counter. In an odd position. Seemingly trying to push off the cuff on her wrist with her foot? And trying to slam it down on the counter top in the process?

She stops when she catches Isoda's glare.

“Sorry. I…..didn't think you were here.”

“Its chill.” they shrug. “Whatcha doing?”

“Seeing if theirs a way to get these stupid things off! I have to reconnect with Ikeda in 25 minutes but I really really don't want to. I told Hayashi i was going to fiddle around with it until I absolutely had to meet up with him and then see if i could drag him back to our little group in the gym. But I don't even know where he is! He could be anywhere on this whole floor and I have 25 minutes to find him!!! I hate having him as a partner! It's so stupid!”

“Wow….weren't you guys together for like……less than 10 minutes or something. Did you really decide to hate him that quickly?”

“Have you met Ikeda Diaki? Have you been able to handle him for more than 10 minutes?”

“I….can’t say i really have no…..uh……i know where his room is though if that helps? Can we start there?”

“Id rather just get the cuff off!”

“I don't know if that's even an opt-”

“I would not recommend tampering with the proximity cuffs Ms. Tamba.”

“Jesus fucking christ-” Isoda flinches back hard. Gripping onto the door frame behind them with white knuckles. “Where did- you? It-? The-....what?!”

The rabbit. The one who gave out the motive and spoke to them yesterday was just sitting in their sink. And Tamba just…..rolled her eyes?!

“Well maybe I wouldn't be tampering with them if you didn't stick them on us!”

“I did not force the cuffs on you. All students selected and attached cuffs themselves.”

“You know what i mean!”

“Why is it here?!” Isoda asks again, but does not get a response.

“What i would suggest instead Ms.Tamba is finding your proximity partner Ikeda Daiki as your timer seems to be getting fairly low.”

“I know! Ok! I know that! We're working on it! Can you give me a break for 5 minutes! I go a whole year without hearing your silly voice or weird ears and now I have to listen to you boss me around again. It's really not fair!”

“I didn't select the-”

“We know you didn't do shit! I know! But I'm still going to be pissed anyway because thinking about that- that- that rat! It just makes me pissed off!.”

“I see.”

“Sure you do. Now would you mind giving us some space, I think you're scaring Mion. who was nice enough to offer me help instead of just sitting there and taunting me. They were about to lead me to Ikeda's room. To follow your instructions.”

“Ikeda Daiki is student 4B. Meaning he shares area space with Kamimura Kazutoshi, student 4A.”

“That's……that's just not at all what i asked but- thank you i guess. Can you shoo now? Go bother Ojima or someone.”

“As you wish. I hope you reconnect your cuffs swiftly. Sorry for the intrusion Tamba Ruiko.”

“Where the fuck did it go?!” Isoda blinked at the now empty sink.

“It just does that.”

“H-how?”

“It's the rabbit. We don't……it's not worth questioning. It does as it pleases. Its pretty annoying if you ask me.”

“It can just…..pop in and out? Like out of nowhere??? Anywhere???”

“Yeah.”

“.......is it even like….an actual rabbit?”

“I don't know! I kind of have a bigger problem to deal with right now! Ikeda better be in his room or we might both die! And i did not make it this far to die on day 2! To some loser like him!” Tamba hopped off the counter gracefully, using a lot of arm strength to mount off in a fashion one wouldn't typically see. Only to wince loudly and she pressed weight into her left leg when standing again.

“It's ok…..take your time.”

“I don't have time! We need to find Kamimura's room! Now!”

“Its a little ways down the hall, but not that far, I was literally just in there.”

“Huh. you two are partners too right…….wonder if that means something.”

“I dunno. maybe?” They confess while hesitating in Tamba’s door way, the gymnast hustled through her room and seemingly expected Isoda to follow.

So they did. They'd certainly rather run out through Tamba’s room than let the blonde into theirs.

On their way out they do manage to sneak a quick glance at her work station. There were a few water bottles along with mats and…gloves?

Isoda didn't have a lot of time to really take it in but they suppose it makes sense for a gymnast if the desks correlate to their hobbies or talents? Like Kamimura was talking about.

They are suddenly very grateful that despite choosing to help Tamba, that they are not handcuffed to her. They don't think she's bad by any means just…..energetic. And loud. Isoda is struggling to keep up. And they're literally just walking across the hall.

“4b?” Tamba raises an eye for clarification.

“Sounds right” Isoda nodded as the blonde reached the door.

With no other warning the other student 13 began banging on the door.

“IKEDA!!! ARE YOU IN THERE??”

No noise.

Tamba began to pound rapidly. Knocking on the door thunderously, with a passionate rage in her eyes,

There was still no response.

“Is….Is he even inside?” Isoda doubted the gymnast.

“He- where else would he be!? He left the gym and then….like- if he went anywhere else people would have told me when i asked earlier!!!”

“Well it doesn't sound like he's in there. Shouldn’t he be looking for you too?”

“I don't know! It doesn't seem like he cares at all!”

If he doesn't care, and is willing to get them both punished…..what does that even lead too. What will happen to him and Tamba?

They wouldn't like……die right? That feels way to fucked up.

But just in case that's the punishment. They decide to act a little bit irrationally. While Tamba is still pounding on door 4B. Isoda slides over and swings over 4A. He left it unlocked for them just in case they needed to come in here later. With the expressed condition to, not tell anyone. And not let anyone inside.

But Kamimura can get mad at them later. This is an emergency.

“Over here!” they yell and gesture Tamba in. She pauses for a split second as she recalls who the room belongs to. But also seems to decide this is more important.

They run through his room and through the connected bathroom to find Ikeda's door unlocked.

Tamba stands in the center of the red heads room out of breath.

Ikeda sits unamused on his bed with his legs crossed.

“What's got you all worked up?” he teases.

“WHY DIDNT YOU ANSWER YOUR DOOR WE HAVE LESS THAN 10 MINUTES LEFT!”

“Why were you being so loud?! It was unlocked to begin with!”

“What?”

“You were pounding and wailing on the door, you didn't even try opening it!”

“You didn't tell me it was unlocked!”

“Why would it even be locked!?”

The two squabble and bicker and Isoda decides that yeah. This. isn't their problem anymore.

It shouldn’t have been their problem to begin with honestly.

They did their honorary part. Got Tamba to the room. And it's not their fault if these two get too busy screaming at each other they forget about the bombs around their wrists.

They back up quietly wishing with gritted teeth that they would have stayed out to begin with if it was going to end like this anyway.

As they make their subtle escape, they do thankfully hear the sound of their cuffs reconnecting.

That's definitely enough adventure for one day.

—------------------------

They were the very last pair to leave the gym. Tamba ran off to find Ikeda when her timer got to an hour left. They stayed with Hayashi and Shishikura for a bit before the apparent bounty hunter left to go sort out something that seemed to be going on down by the medbay.

She's thankful she ended up with someone who's a lot more of a pushover.

She doesn't plan to manipulate him or anything. That’d be crazy.

though……….it would be easier to use Yanagi to her advantage than it would be with someone like Hayashi.

But only if it really came down to it.

Which it wont! 32 people can find a way out. She's positive about that. All they need is someone to come up with a plan and boom. They're out and she can go home and everything will be fine. She can stay strong till then.

It was easier not to think about it now that Shishikura wasn't in the room…..he had just sweet eyes and long hair. It tugged slightly on her heart as she distantly compared the boy to her………sister. Is what she had said earlier. More acceptable that way. She didn't get questions. She could just focus on keeping her safe.

Focus. right.

With the trio gone in just left her and Yanagi to their devices. The gym felt too big for the two of them so they set out on a different path. They slipped right into the dorm hall.

“Would you rather take the time to reside in your room or mine?” Yanagi asks.

“I don't mind either!” she smiled at him. She needed to play easy going now. Let him make the easy stupid choices so that when she needs to make larger important ones, He's easier to guilt trip.

in case of emergency that is.

which there won't be.

Ouno turned to the actual hallway and away from the figure skater. Her room was probably closer but she wanted to double check.

she meet with the sight of Tamba and one of the red haired guys from her group darting Into a room.

“W-was that Ikeda? I……that was Kamimura's room. I don't know what they'd be doing in there”

" I dunno” she honestly couldn't tell you who either Kamimura or Ikeda was so she really didn't have any input to give on that particular matter. “my rooms right here though!”

she offered tilting her head towards the 1B door with a bright smile.

“ that settles it then i suppose. i do have to admit i'm curious about your work station Ms. Ouno. is it similar to Tamba's?”

“well…..i've never seen Tamba’s so i don't know! but if what we were talking about earlier is true, than, yeah, maybe?” She pulls him towards the door and placed her free hand on the handle.

The other one still holds the weight. She found it in her room as part of a set. It was the perfect size to carry around comfortably while still being able to do damage if it came down to it.

She uses hypotheticals a lot more than she thought she did. It's just really hard to trust anything here. And desperation does a lot to people.

She's not desperate yet though. She still has hope. It's pretty weak but. There's 32 of them. People will be looking. She was saved before she can be saved again.

She supposes then the problem was less about herself getting saved. More about if anyone out there would be saving…..

Focus!!! She has to focus.

Back to the door she was about to open.

Before she could fully enter her room. The door beside them flew open with two figures bumbling out.

“GOOOOODBYEEEEEE! TAKAKO!!" was screeched through the hall as the girl with space buns waved her hand up dramatically.

But. Stumbling out next to her was a shorter boy who curled in on himself as he laughed. His eyes were closed in bliss and he had one of the most innocent laughed she had ever heard as his white curls bounced along side him.

When he opened his eyes his stare locked with hers. And all she could she in that moment was how curious and sweet those round eyes were. All she could see in that moment was not the color residing inside, but the childish nature of their frame. All she could see in that moment? Was Maria.

She flattered. And blinking as time returned to its normal pace but she couldn't shake the comparison from her mind.

“Hi?" She offered. He hadn't looked away either although his expression was one more so off hesitant distrust than the eager curiosity she was brimming with.

“Uh….hi? Are you ok?”

"We're fine. We were just about to head to Ouno’s room, what were you both doing in Isonos?” Yanagi asks leaning forward.

" AH HA! We were completing a very ambitious quest tasked to us by Ms. Isono herself! She has requested we deliver her and Ms.Takako a serving of Ms.Tsuno and Ms.Hidimi's delicious meal!!! “ as Ogura???? She…..thinks????? As the girl spoke her hands flew every which direction as if she was the lead in a stage play.

“you really don't let go of those names do you? Neither Hidimi or Takako is in the room. do you ... .really just- stick with that???”

“Of course Megumi!!! it is my duty after all. to stay as loyal to my subjects as they are to me.”

“i really don't think Akiba is as loyal as you believe.” he sighs.

“I CAN ALSO STILL HEAR YO-” Ogura shut the door on the screaming man.

“Nonsense. Takako is just as fit for belonging as you and Hidemi.”

“Can i…….ask…..what this is?” Yanagi sounded slightly concerned and slightly curious as he twirled his finger between the duo in front of them.

“I am collecting a legion of followers that will accompany me on my many quests and adventures.”

“C-....collecting?” Yanagi was still very lost on the concept.

“Mmmm.. it seems you are to incompetent to understand. No matter it wont me worth some one like you’s time anyway!” she sneered and crossed her arms. “I’ve been observing you, Yanagi Shigeki-”

“Wh- Huh!? When?! I-”

“This morning i saw how you treated Ms. Ouno and that…Shishikura guy. Not to mention how your gaze is constantly traveling to the likes of Ms. Tamba and Ms. Hayashi. I know exactly what you are scum. My Magic thaumaturgic eye of truth sees right through your icy lies. You behavior does not deceive me! I know exactly what filth you harbor.” She spits out each line like Yanagi killed her family or something.

He pauses for a second, completely falling back into his head to analyze the girl. He opens his mouth to say something but all that comes out is a series of offended mumbles.

“Exactly. Stay speechless at my presence and weep. Now, come dear Megumi, we must not waste anymore time with this vermin.”

" W-wait hold on! Ogura I think you have the wrong picture. Yanagi is really nice! I promise! He helped me a lot last game! He's never hurt anyone!.....er-.....never like…..killed any one I guess."

“He hurt someone?" Ouno asked with rising suspicion towards the blonde. Taking quick steps back to avoid being in close contact with him.

“I- that was like once. And had more to do with the adrenaline gas than it did my actual self. Plus Nakamigawa already forgave me."

“Really?" Megumi? Asked with a dead pan. Megumi was a really cute name. It even started with the same letter.

"Well….as close to forgiveness as you can get from Nakamigawa. I promise you he does. He just also would sooner have his face beat again than say it out loud.”

“So you admit to causing destruction and chaos!” Ogura pressured him..

“I’ll admit I shouldn't have resorted to violence and that was highly unacceptable behavior on my end. But he had been……..i had a reason Ms. Ogura I assure you. He had stolen a dead woman's diary and read it leisurely. I couldn't stand to let him do that. Especially when she…did not think very highly of him.”

“So you………fought him? To get the book back and follow her wishes……even when she had passed?” she asked with a more serious tone.

“Indeed.” Yanagi nodded.

“Hm…….it seems i may have been mistaken about you Yanagi. You still don't have my favor. I think all of your respect has to be compensating for something. Men don't act like you do without nefarious reasons. But for now i will refrain from causing you any further trouble. My eye of truths will do the work for me. I will be watching your every move. Don't prove my suspicions correct, for your own good. If you do let that evil with in you escape, it will be my duty to correct it after all.”

“I will……keep that in mind Ms. Ogura. I will hope to not disappoint you.”

“You are a very wise Yanagi. But attempting to gain a goddess favor will take more than that! NOW! Megumi! We have yet to complete the final act of our quest, we must return to Tsuno and Hidimi and alert the others that there is lunch in the kitchens.”

“Can we stick with you guys?” Ouno asked quickly. They looked like they were about to head off, but she couldn't bare to see Megumi walk away like that.

“I wouldn't mind.” Megumi responded.

“WHA- Megumi! Were supposed to take a dramatic exit. I like- i ended the conversation with the Yanagi guy i don't want to talk to him anymore.”

“You truly are very…….tactful with your intentions.” The figure skater mumbled looking slightly offended.

“Well…..i do? I’ve been meaning to talk to him for a while. After all we were both…….survivors. I uh- wanted to catch up.” he looked up at the blonde with those same wide shaky eyes. Like his eyes alone were begging and desperate for connection and safety.

He had made it out to? But…..he was so frail? And scared! And defenseless. And yet he still made it out? No one killed him?

Maybe it's twisted by her. And maybe it's the wrong place to look. But……….that idea. That someone like Megumi could survive the killing game. Then maybe…..maybe Maria could survive out there? It was the only idea that brought her comfort. So she clings to it.

“Oh? Yes. we really do need to chat Masanari. I’ve been……I apologize for neglecting you like that. Here, would you like to disconnect to have our conversation privately?”

“Uh…..yeah that would be nice……if you're ok with that Ogura? This is kind of important.”

“I may not trust Yanagi. But you have my blessing to initiate the disconnect if you truly consider this important to you.”

“Ah! Ms. Ouno! Is it alright if I use our three hours for this? It is rather urgent.”

Ouno bit her lip. She didn't really like the idea of using the 3 hours so early. And she didn't like the idea of Megumi? Masanari? She’ll have to ask for sure later. But the thought of him running off alone made her heart squeeze lightly. But she didn't have a real reason to say no …..so

“Yeah that's fine! Make sure to stay safe. And don't do anything too shady I don't want to be blamed for letting you run off"

Yanagi smiled and pressed the button by his wrist, before moving his now free hand to her shoulder, “I promise you I won't cause any trouble. And if something does arise I will take full responsibility and accountability. I hope you will be safe to, Ms Ouno?"

“Mhm!" She gives him a hum and a nod.

The small white haired teen followed similarly. Breaking off of Ogura and following Yanagi. The self proclaimed anime goddess glared at the figure skater with disdain the entire time. Even when he was out of eye sight she kept keen eyes on his lean shadow.

“I do not envy you Ms. Ouno.” she hummed once they were for sure out of ear shot.

“You……made that pretty clear i think”

“If you ever need assistance. Whether about him, or any of the other creeps in here. I want you to know that you have my blessing. And that i will come to your side if needed.”

“Thank you but i can handle myself pretty well.” her fingers curl tiger around the weight.

“I see. Your are very resourceful. That's a good skill to have. With our combined abilities we’ll be sure to get out of here soon.”

“I hope so.” she sighed and faces back down the hall to where their cuff partners were bound to be having an interesting conversation. Every thought of Megumi caused resurface of memories of maria.

She doesn't pray anymore. Hasn't since she left. But…..right now she wishes she had something to give her strength and hope. Someone, out there to ask to look after her daughter.

Ogura nods at her and turns away. Likely to head to her own room.

Ouno does the same.

She’ll make it out. She has to.