The Mansion Of Mutual Killing

by Sunny Dahlia

Mai Okamura, The Ultimate Actress, and fifteen other Ultimates have been trapped inside the Mansion of Mutual Killing and must find the true identity of the Mysterious Mastermind and escape with as many living bodies as they can!

A petite girl woke up in a warm bed with a familiar aroma that brought up feelings of homely comfort and safety. Her head ached and she was unable to remember anything at all, her body was numb and she was unable to move even a little. She kept struggling mentally to recall anything at all and was finally able to recall a few small facts.

Her name was Mai Okamura, she was brought to Hope Peak's High School due to her amazing talents as an actress. A group known as the steering committee contacted her house and informed her that she was The Ultimate Actress. She remembered that she wasn't always a talented actress and that something was keeping her down, she remembered that something had assisted her but Mai was unable to remember any other details about her life.

Mai began trying to wiggle her toes and after a moment of stiff twitches, she was finally able to wiggle them about. She moved the wiggle up her legs and to her buttocks and up to her torso. Slowly gaining control back of her body, one bit at a time. After finally being able to move her neck about she sat up.

From her new vantage, she was able to get a better idea of what the room she was in was like. It looked like a ritzy hotel room and it had the same aura of one too, it felt accommodating to the general needs of everyone without pandering to anyone in specific. The decorations of the room were limited to one abstract painting hung where a TV would usually be in a hotel. The floor was carpeted with an equally abstract design that appeared to be almost floral. There was an electronic chandelier hung from the ceiling in the middle of the room that brought about a warm glow that helped her body feel at ease despite not knowing where she was or why she was there.

The bed itself was pressed against the middle of the wall across from the abstract painting. To the left of the bed was a dresser with a few open drawers and one drawer with a shirt sleeve sticking out. One the same side of the room as the dresser was a door, Mai assumed that it was the way out. To the right of the bed was another door that was slightly ajar, inside appeared to be a bathroom, one that Mai felt the desperate need to use as her bladder felt strangely full to an outright painful extent.

Mai threw the blankets off of her body and stood up, her legs wobbled and shook underneath her. After a few steps she collapsed right in front of the mirror, she quickly realized and was shocked by the fact that she was completely and totally naked. She calmed herself and used the opportunity to try and remember how her body looked. Her body was small but fully developed, she had no natural curves and instead was squarish in shape. Her hair was short and dark brown to the point of appearing black outside of direct light. Her hair was also extremely messy and had a huge cowlick due to her deep slumber, it also appeared to be jagged at the bottoms as if it were poorly cut to be short. Mai's eyes were a bright green, she wanted to describe them as emerald green but thought that it would be too cliche of a description. Her shoulder span was very minimum and the rest of her body fit that same tininess. She was slightly plump, not enough to really be noticeable with clothes on but enough to be pointed out while nude.

She finally regained her strength and balance enough to get up and rush into the restroom, Mai plopped down on the toilet and jumped slightly at how cold the seat was before finally relieving herself. She let out a pleased sigh and flushed before finishing up and leaving the bathroom.

Mai walked over to the dresser and investigated it. Every drawer in it was packed with clothes, each drawer had a different type of attire. She grabbed a bra and checked it out, it was a padded 36aa bra, when she put it on she found that it fit perfectly as if it were made just for her. She picked up a pair of panties and slid them on, it made her realize that her hips were thin and that her buttocks was actually larger than her chest. Her panties were very modest and lacking design but they were comfortable on her body. Mai sifted through the shirts with curiosity to find that they were all loose-fitting design tees with the logos and artwork of various pieces of media that she enjoyed. She slid on a Twilight Syndrome t-shirt and some loose fitting grey sweatpants.

Mai, having recovered some memories as well as the ability to move freely, relieved herself and gotten dressed, felt ready to open the other door and finally venture out to find out more about the mysterious building she was in.

She put her hand on the cold doorknob and took a deep breath, once her nerves were calm enough she pressed down and opened the door.

A rush of freezing cold air engulfed her, she almost immediately began shivering. She wrapped herself up in a hug and looked around the hallway she was in. The hallway had a total of nine doors, four on each wall opposing each other and one at the very end which she assumed to be an exit. The room she woke up in was all the way in the back and on the left. A nail was hammered into the door and hung onto it by a frayed rope was a wooden sign with two words barbarically carved into it: MAI OKAMURA.

All of the other doors had similar signs with different names on them, the doors down the left said read: MAI OKAMURA, KAITOU HIBIKI, TOYOHIKO KAGAWA, and KUSUMOSU TSUTSUJI. On the right side of the room, the doors read: KIMO YAMAUBA, ZETSUMEI SHINOHARA, MATAGI MURATA, and TAKUHIRO MATSUMURA.

Mai was curious why so many other people were in the same building as her but decided to just focus on moving forward and figuring out the layout of the building she was in.

She opened the door at the end of the hallway, the only door without a sign attached, and saw what appeared to be a huge foyer with a large group of colorful people standing in the center of it and talking.

The conversation died almost instantly as soon as they noticed her. Mai was shocked in her place as she wasn't prepared for so many people to stare at her. She softly raised her hand.

"H-...Hey!" she forced a cheerful tone.

A tall woman with an oppressive aura looked away from Mai and instead looked at a small, meek boy with shaggy hair and said.

"Go fill her in on what we know" a few members of the huddle gave her confused and even agitated looks which she responded to with an "It'd be for the best that we don't all bombard her at once, she just woke up like us. She just needs her curiosity sated and then we can get to know her proper."

The small boy quickly rushed over to Mai and stook his hand out, he had an awkward but pure smile "Hi! I'm Kimo Yamauba!" his voice was small like his stature. He was dressed in thick black clothing and had various pieces of colorful jewelry, all with various symbols on them such as a beaded bracelet with characters from different languages that meant luck or his pentagram necklace. He had his ears pierced a total of six times, three on each ear and he had a stud in each piercing, all with different colored gems in them.

Mai reluctantly took the boys hand and shook it, it was cold and clammy but undeniably soft. His hair oily black and was o his mid-back and curvy, it was obviously well cared for as it looked healthier than the rest of the boy. He had dark bags under his reddened, purple sleep-deprived eyes.

"Mai Okamura...I'm uh, The Ultimate Actress" Kimo looked shocked "THE Mai Okamura!?" he had a gleeful expression plastered onto his face. Mai chuckled nervously "Yeah, THE Mai Okamura."

"S-sorry! I didn't mean to come off as weird, I've just seen a huge number of your flicks and I think they've been great! I would've recognized you right away if my head wasn't so scrambled right now" he chuckled "Or maybe I wouldn't have, to be fair you're known for how immersed in the characters you get!"

Mai's head started to hurt as if she just heard something that she wasn't allowed to remember, she held her head and keeled over. Kimo kneeled down and put his hands on her shoulders "Are you okay?" Mai nodded and slowly stood back up, still holding her head "Y-yeah...my head's just fried." Kimo started talking again but she was accidentally tuning him out and instead focusing on someone behind Kimo who wasn't focused on the group like the rest of the others and was instead focusing on her. Once their eyes met for too long her pulled his attention back over to the main group and began chatting.

"Mai? Mai?"

"Y-y-yeah! I'm here! Sorry!" She rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment "I was just tuned out haha"

"It's okay! Sorry for talking your ear off!" Kimo's expression of pure joy never left his face "Oh and by the by...I'm The Ultimate Occultist!"

His appearance immediately started to make sense to Mai "So that's why you have all that on" she chuckled and Kimo started to look defensive so she quickly attempted to recover "N-not that I think it's wrong or weird!...or a-anything!"

Kimo smiled "Sorry, I'm just a little sensitive when it comes to this stuff." Mai smiled back and nodded "I get it. My Ultimate Talent doesn't really get judged but if it did, I'd be defensive too"

Kimo began digging in his pockets, sticking his tongue out a little bit while doing so, until eventually pulling out an envelope sealed with a pentacle stamped into the wax. He held it between his middle and index fingers, he pointed the envelope to Mai. "Here, I want you to have this" Mai cautiously grabbed it and got ready to open it when Kimo shouted out "NO!" Mai nearly jumped into the ceiling in shock before Kimo calmly took a breath and explained: "It loses it's effectiveness when it gets opened, so don't".

"Wh-what exactly is this?" Kimo smiled innocently "It's a good luck charm, inside is a bunch of blessed knick knacks" Mai set it in her pants pocket "Thank you, Kimo. I'll keep it close" Mai thought it weird that he'd refer to something that's part of the occult as a knick-knack but shrugged it off.

Kimo blushed "N-no problem!"

The tall woman from before walked over and away from her group. Mai instantly noticed how slender yet toned her body was, muscles big enough to show strength but not enough to change the shape of her body. The tall woman's hair was spikey with large jagged chunks sticking out in every direction, her hair was down to her buttocks and kept completely behind her body, not a strand anywhere near her eyesight.

The tall woman was wearing basic male formal wear, a clean white undershirt with an opened brown-ish grey overshirt on top of it. Tight pants matching colors with her overshirt and shiny black shoes that were obviously being taken well care of. Two black leather gloves which also gave off a sheen.

When the tall woman made it to them she stuck her hand out curtly "Katsura." Mai nervously took her hand and shook it "Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress" Only after hearing Katsura's name did Mai realize that there were more than eight people in the foyer, it became obvious to her that there were people outside of her hallway.

Katsura nodded "Ultimate Bartender", her voice was stern and cold. Her eyes gave off a similar feeling despite being a bright red.

"I'm assuming Kimo filled you in on everything?" Kimo blushed and scratched her neck, Mai went ahead and replied: "Filled me in on what?" Katsura sighed in disappointment and glared at Kimo.

"We're trapped here, there's no exits that are known to us. We have, however, found a couple locked doors that may lead somewhere. But for now, there IS a kitchen with enough food to last us..." she rubbed her chin and contemplated a number "three years"

Mai was stunned silent, she began trembling as aching despair began to give rise in her stomach "D-d-...do they plan to keep us here that l-long!?" deep-seated claustrophobia began to awaken inside her.

Katsura shrugged calmly "I don't know but maybe since we're all awake now they oughta tell us something new"

Mai tried her best to calm down, Kimo set his hand on her shoulder "We'll figure this out and besides, we've both got luck on our side right?" he smiled sympathetically. Mai nodded "Y-you're right...Thank you, Kimo" Kimo blushed and hid his face behind his hand.

Mai directed her eyes towards Katsura "How many of us are there?"

Katsura glanced back at the group "Sixteen."

Mai was shocked, she hadn't expected that many but it started to make sense, there'd be eight people on each side of the building. "How?"

"How what?"

"H-how did they get us all?"

"We don't know that..." Katsura sounded somewhat upset to admit that.

Kimo butted in "But! We're all safe and we have food, water, and a few luxuries that some of us have never had. If anything this can be considered an upgrade of living situation for some of us" Kimo smiled brightly.

Mai smiled back, not really by what he said but more by the fact he was trying to make the best of things. "You're right, Kimo. We shouldn't make the worst of things until things make the worst of themselves." Kimo raised his hand for a high-five "Exactly!" Mai didn't leave him hanging and in fact, went full force at his hand.

Katsura sighed "Either way it'd be best for you to get to know all of us here and vice versa. Afterwards, one of us will give you a walkthrough of the building so you can find your way around." Mai nodded patiently "Gotcha!" she was excited to get to know everyone but she was even more excited to find out more about where she was being kept.

Katsura walked away and motioned for Kimo to follow, Kimo glanced at Mai and back at Katsura before waving bye to Mai and walking away "See ya!" "You too, Kimo!"

Mai got a better look of her surroundings and the group itself. She was in a large Foyer with four doors in it, one where she came from and one in the opposite direction, presumably where the other eight sleep, this door was to the east. The third door was where an exit would usually be but the doors were wide open and it obviously led to another room, this door was to the west. The fourth door was to the opposite direction of the third door and had a big, cartoony lock on it. Mai assumed that it was one of the doors that they said were locked, this door was to the south.

The Ultimate Actress looked at the group of sixteen and saw a couple things that stood out: a tall, burly man wearing a stereotypical detective's getup. A sleepy man staying out of the crowd and instead of sitting in one of the corners and dozing. Someone talking through a puppet and the guy from before, still staring at her.

She walked into the crowd and towards the guy who kept staring at her. Mai tapped his shoulder. "Mai." she was curt and stiff with him, her tone being a stark contrast to her usual attitude due to her suspicion of him.

"Shibo" He was a short, slender man. He was very stiff and kept his back straight and his shoulders squared. Shibo had greasy black hair and ocean blue eyes, he had sickly pale skin and gave off an aura that would make anyone near him just as sickened as he looked.

"Why were you staring at me?" Shibo smiled with a malicious look in his eyes as if he was enjoying her discomfort "I thought I recognized you."

Mai had absolutely no memory of him and felt that she would if she had ever met him "I don't recognize you." Shibo shrugged "Course' you don't"

A cold chill ran up Mai's spine "What? Did you st-stalk me or something?" Shibo laughed "No, no...It's just obvious that something's gone on with our memories, right? This mornin' I barely even remembered who I was! I've heard similar from others too..."

Mai sighed, she realized that she sounded as if she was just berating him for no real reason just because he looked creepy. Mai knew that if someone like Kimo had stared at her that she wouldn't have been so freaked out. "Sorry, I'm just on edge..." Shibo swiped his hand through the air as if he were wiping away the issue "We all are, plus, you just woke up too...so y'kno, it's cool"

Mai smiled innocently and held her hand out which he quickly took and shook. "Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress" Shibo chuckled and released her hand "Shibo Yominokumi, Ultimate Brain Surgeon... Don't force yourself to remember Yominokumi, I'll always go with Shibo anyways"

"I actually feel like that name rings a bell...hmmm" Mai put her hand to her chin inquisitively "Well, our family gets into..." his smile faded "discourse" he sighed. Mai subconsciously tilted her head like a dog "What kind of discourse?" Shibo looked at the ground "I-i...i'd rather not say"

Mai smiled sympathetically "Well it doesn't seem like you're like them Shibo, I'll remember Shibo much better than Yominokumi anyways." Shibo had a genuine smile that didn't come off nearly as appaling as his previous ones but also a somewhat saddened look on his face "Thank you...Mai" He shook his head and his face contorted back into his usual scary expression "Anyways! You should get to meeting everyone else" Shibo patted Mai's back and walked away. "See you, Shibo!"

Mai walked towards a red-haired man wearing an oversized red jacket of the same color. He was tall and had poor stature as he was very hunched at all times. His teeth were yellowed and jagged. Mai thought he looked sort of like a rat which was insinuated even further once she made direct eye contact with him as his eyes were small and beady. The Red Haired Man saluted her and stuck his hands in his pockets upon making eye contact.

"Uh...I'm Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress." Mai stuck her hand out "Cool" his voice was low and smooth but also cold and uncaring. He looked at her hand and then in her eyes but declined to shake it. "Wh-...What's your name and your...y'kno...ultimate?" He made a confused face "Why?" she scratched the back of her neck "Y-...I-..." Mai cleared her throat "Because I told you mine..."

The red-haired man nodded "Ohhh...well I took a shit this morning" Mai finally let her confusion be open as she furrowed her brow at him "Wha- okay?" he shrugged "Now, you, when's the last time you took a shit?" "Why?" "Cuz' I told you when I did" he chuckled.

Mai sighed "I don't remember...but I did...uhm...pee this morning" she tried to hide it and seem comfortable with saying private things like that but she couldn't help but blush a little. The red-haired man began laughing uproariously and his demeanor completely changed, as his expression became almost manic. His laughter stopped quicker than Mai could even comment "My name is Kaitou Hibiki and I'm the Ultimate Thief" his voice became higher pitched and louder.

Mai was startled "Ultimate Thief!?" he nodded "Don't be too shocked, now. There's weirder ultimates here with us and you're gonna wanna save your shoccckkkkk fooorrrr theeeeemmmm~!" he took an envelope from his pocket and Mai gasped "Hey! Give that back!" Mai swiped for it and Kaitou merely lifted it above her head. The tall, burly man that Mai spotted from before grabbed the envelope from Kaitou and gave it back to Mai. "You shouldn't pick on people of such short stature all because you can...It's pathetic."

"Th-thank you..." Kaitou huffed "You're such a buzzkill Big Guy" he walked off pouting.

"You're very welcome, don't worry about being indebted" The Big Man used his middle and index fingers to push his glasses up.

The big man was nearly seven foot tall but was dressed like a standard detective, even wearing a deerstalker cap. It made Mai feel odd to see someone so big but dressed in such a lighthearted way. He had no visible hair but his face held a serious yet calm expression, his eyes were an earthy green.

He held out one of his gargantuan hands to Mai "Greetings, my name is Soji Shimada. You've likely heard of me as I am the world-renowned Super Special Mega Ultimate Pet Detective!" his voice was calm and sure. Soji made it sound as if everything he was saying was a matter of fact.

"U-uhm...I'm Mai Okamura, I like to think that I have a decent following...But I'm just a Regular Ultimate Actress" she chuckled awkwardly. "I requested to be called a Super Special Mega Ultimate but they said that I'd have to be a measly Ultimate like everyone else, tch. But you can call me Super Special Mega Ultimate anyways" he took a business card out of his coat and handed it to Mai. She grabbed it nervously and read it, it said

Soji Shimada, Super Special Mega Ultimate Pet Detective!

Have a pet-oriented mystery that needs to be solved? Soji's your man! Whether it's a runaway, missing toy, or even a pet murder Soji can do it all!

Call _ or email SojiShim3795

Mai forced a smile and pocketed it along with her Lucky Envelope. "I'll call you if I ever get a pet and then...y'kno...lose it" Soji bowed "Thank you for your future service" Soji began walking off but quickly turned around and pulled a short metal rod with what appeared to be a small microphone attached the end, out of his coat pocket "I almost forgot" he clicked a button on the side of it and a recording of Mai saying "I'll call you if I ever get a pet and then...y'kno...lose it" played. Mai tilted her head out of habit "Huh?" "It's essentially a verbal contract. It's complex stuff so mostly leave it to me but essentially you've just essentially signed a verbal contract that essentially just puts your trustworthiness at stake if you ever get a pet then lose it and don't call me" Mai smiled nervously "...essentially" Soji bluntly responded "Essentially" without even understanding what Mai was getting at. With that Soji simply walked away.

A rotund girl with a shirt that failed to cover her stomach walked towards Mai "Hey! Nice ta meetcha!" she had curly hair that was kept in a small afro-like hairstyle. She stretched one of her fatty hands at Mai "I'm Shidoyushi Abura! Ultimate Foodie!" Mai smiled and grabbed Shidoyushi's hand and shook it, which in turn shook most of her body.

"Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress! It's nice to meet you too!" Shido's eyes were a dark brown, same as her hair. Her jeans were ridiculously tight on her body, like her shirt but at least her pants fit her properly. Her cheeks were beyond chubby and her neck had multiple fat rolls as well as her stomach.

"Guess that's that! Bye-a!" Mai was shocked at how abruptly Shido left but accepted it as she had multiple people to talk to. Mai watched as Shidoyushi went into the southernmost, opened, door. Mai still wondered what was through there but decided to finish up meeting everyone first.

Mai went to the corner of the room to talk to the loner that she saw earlier only to find that it was two people instead of the original one. Mai raised her hand up "Hey, I'm uh, Mai Okamura...Ultimate Actress, what about you two?"

One of the people in the corner was a male with medium length, messy hair that was a deep dark blue and baggy clothes with holes and stains all over. The male was playing on a handheld device instead of paying attention to Mai.

The other person was a female who was wearing an oversized sweater and comfortable jeans. She had held her oily, black hair back with a clip. The sweater went into the palms of her hands and to the middle of her thighs. The male was slightly chubby but to an unnoticeable level and the female was so thin that she looked sickly. Her hands looking like bones and her cheeks being gaunt.

The female, however, smiled brightly and raised her hand back. She had thick, dark bags under her eyes and a pale-ish green color to her skin. Her eyes were a magnificent blue.

"My name is Zetsumei Shinohara and I'm the" she began coughing up a storm into the corner of her arm, her voice sounded nasally as her nose was stuffed and she kept sniffling "Ultimate Mortician, I uh, Don't" she coughed some more, her voice becoming raspier with each coughing fit "Don't know who or what this guy is, he's super absorbed in his game but I think we're both here because we don't like crowds...or p-" more coughing "or people in general"

Mai had a face of motherly concern "Are you not feeling well?" Zetsumei blushed "H-huh? N-n-no! I'm just like this" Mai looked confused "All the time?" Zetsumei covered her face with her sleeve "Y-yep...I have a...a weird super cold type thing" she chuckled nasally, accidentally snorting. It would bug Mai that she was perpetually mouth breathing and also struggling to breath when speaking if it weren't for Mai's motherly instincts making her want to take care of Zetsumei "Oh my...Do you need medication for it?" Zetsumei shook her head "Medication can only help the symptoms but like," more coughing "never the illness itself" she began sneezing multiple times in a row.

Mai waited for her to stop before saying "B-bless you...and I'm so sorry to hear that." Zetsumei shook her head and blushed even deeper "I-i-it's totally okay! I've l-learned how to deal with it nicely, I barely even" coughing "notice!"

"Well if you ever need anything then I will be here to help!" Mai smiled innocently but by that point, Zetsumei's entire face was a dark red "Th-thank you!"

Mai knelt down and nudged the guy on his handheld device. He glanced at her and back at the game and continued ignoring her. The Ultimate Actress snatched his game out of his hands "No more! Nope! Nuh-uh" she was trying to sound like an authority figure but sounded more like a child herself. "Hey! Hey! No!" The guy stood up and began grabbing for it but Mai would always quickly move it away from his grasp everytime his hand got close. "I'll give it to you if you introduce yourself to me" Zetsumei covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle some giggles. "Uh, Uh! I'm Haato Miyamoto! Ultimate NEET" Mai was taken aback by his ultimate "Ultimate NEET? How did you attend Hope's Peak then?" he shook his head "I didn't! Besides, if I did then I'd lose my ultimate status!" "wh-what about the mid-term test? what about classes?" He kept frantically grasping at his game "That test is all about showing off your ultimate so, me not going was passing the test! a-and ultimates don't have to go to class so I didn't!"

Mai was stunned enough to let him get his console "O-oh"

He plopped back down in the corner and continued playing "Shit! I have to restart now..." he sounded agitated.

Zetsumei giggled childishly "See you, Mai!" Mai smiled and waved "See you, Mei!" a comment that made Zetsumei begin blushing again. Mai walked off to meet the others.

Mai talked to a man in thick, white, cotton robes. He had his head shaved completely but he did have a lot of stubble on his face. He was short and thin. His ears were gauged with huge circles in the center of their lobes. The man smelled of sage or something sage-like. "Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress, nice to meet you!" Mai held her hand out, the bald man cupped her hands in both of his "It is an absolute wonder to meet you, Mai Okamura, I am known as Toyohiko Kagawa"

Mai forced a smile "Th...anks..." she wiggled her hands out of his permanently smiling grasp. "Oh myyyy~! I forgot to mention that I'm the ultimate pacifist!" He wiggled his body and spoke as if he were moaning. Mai backed up and Toyohiko stepped forward to match the distance "W-well...I'm gonna go meet the others" Toyohiko put his hand on her shoulder "Good luuuckk~~" Mai rushed away.

Mai walked around looking for someone else interesting to talk to but bumped into someone before even having to decide. It was a tall, curvy woman with long flowing hair that went down to her ankles. Her eyes were without light and greyed out. She held one arm up and on it was a dummy. The dummy spoke without the woman moving even the slightest muscle.

"Hey! Watch were yer' goin'!" it spoke in a goofy and child-like voice.

"S-sorry...I, uhm, who...are you?" The dummy threw it's arms up "You don't know me!? I'm Manuke! The Ultimate Dummy!" Mai scratched the back of her neck "But, uhm, what's your name name? Like...not the dummy's" Manuke looked back at the woman controlling him "Huh? This broad? Oh she's Fudo Takahashi, the Ultimate Tits or something"

Mai looked down at her feet and took a breath before looking back up and making eye contact with Manuke "It's nice to meet you, Manuke and Fudo...but, uhm, are you sure her ultimate isn't Pupetteer or something?" Manuke scratched his scalp "Ohhhh yeeeaaahhhh! I remember this broad sayin' somethin' like that! I can't keep it all together tho', she yammers all the time!" he began cackling and nudged Fudo "Say somethin' to this nice gal, Fuds! Yer' bein' impolite!" Fudo nodded and spoke in a meek and shy voice "H-hi...I'm Fudo Takahashi...The Ultimate Ti- I mean Ultimate Ventriloquist. It's a pleasure to m-make your acquaintance"

Manuke nodded "Good girl, now hush up again." Mai nearly defended her but didn't know if she wanted to get wrapped up in an argument that'd be as complicated as that one. Mai opened her mouth to say her goodbye's but Manuke cut her off "Now walk off, girl! I've gotten enough eyeful of your fugly mug and flat chest, walk off so I can examine that behind!" Mai didn't know how offended she should let herself be over the smuggish ways of a ventriloquist dummy and simply walked away instead.

Mai needed a change in pace from the rudeness of Manuke and the general complications of Manuke and Fudo's situation and decided to talk to a sunny looking girl who was cheerfully chatting with someone else. She had bright yellow hair and yellow-ish orange colored eyes that reminded Mai of a setting sun. Her hair was well put together and lengthy, going down to her mid-back. Her bangs were long and hung right above her eyes. She also had freckles on her cheeks and across her nose. The Sunny Girl wore a sundress with sunflowers pictured at the bottom of it. Mai thought she was cute and wanted to get to know her.

The guy she was talking to looked kind as well if a little messy. He had small bags under his eyes and dimples in his cheeks as well as messy, greasy hair that clumped together in strands. His eyes were dark brown and his hair was a shiny black. He was tallish and had a bit of a potbelly. He was wearing a hoodie and kept his hands hooked into the front pockets of it. He had some light facial hair coming in on his chin and neck.

Mai walked over to them and waved "Hey! How are you two?" they both looked over at Mai and smiled brightly before waving back, the Messy Guy looked at his feet with an obviously shy expression and the Sunny Girl spoke up "We're good! How are you? I know it's rough waking up after...well, whatever happened" she giggled and Mai couldn't help but imagine the Sunny Girl waking up naked and wiggling around in bed before going to the bathroom. The impulsive thoughts caused Mai to blush awkwardly "Yeah!" Mai breathily chuckled "It was rough but I'm feeling a lot better now!... Oh! and before I forget!" Mai reached her hand out "Mai Okamura! The Ultimate Actress"

The Sunny Girl giggled and took her hand "How formal! My name is Kusumosu Tsutsuji, Ultimate Gardener! But you can call me Sagiso!" Her hand was soft and dainty, making Mai blush even harder "Why Sagiso?"

Kusumosu blushed "Well...it's something I picked out for myself a while back but it's something sort of...silly" she chuckled in embarrassment "I used to call myself Dansu* despite not even having that character in my name...so y'kno...I won't judge" Mai chuckled in equal embarrassment.

AN: *Mai can be spelled 舞 which can be translated to dance (Mai's name has the characters 真 (Ma) which can mean genuine or real and 愛 (Ai) which can mean Love or Affection meaning that her name is spelled with the characters for Genuine Love, 真愛)

Kusumosu began twiddling with her fingers "In Hanakotoba, the language of flowers, a sagisa flower means 'My thoughts will follow you into your dreams'" Kusumosu's face was completely red at that point "That's sort of cool honestly!...but, uhm, what exactly is a sagisa flower?" Sagisa's face looked dumbfounded "You don't know what a sagisa is? It's an orchid that's otherwise known as a white egret or pecteilis radiata, if you wanna sound smart" she giggled and continued "it's one of my favorite flowers and it can be found in most Asian countries...plus Russia, which I guess is also a little Asian"

Mai smiled brightly "Wow! You're so knowledgable when it comes to flowers! It's honestly super impressive!"

Kusumosu blushed and covered her face with her arm "Thank you!" she broke eye contact and giggled slightly before nudging the Messy Guy "T-taka! You should i-introduce yourself to Mai!"

Taka blushed and turned to her, he kept his eyes on his shoes "H-hi..." his voice was small and weak "M-my name is Takahiro Matsumura and I'm the Ultimate...well...i-it's unimportant" Mai scratched the back of her neck "It's not unimportant! There's nothing to even be embarrassed about! I met the Ultimate Ventriloquist and Ultimate Thief, nothing's gonna surprise me!" Mai smiled innocently

He sighed "I-i'm...the Ultimate..." his voice kept creeping lower and lower until he basically had to whisper his words "ultimate...fanboy" Taka's face had become blood red.

"Ultimate Fanboy? I, er...It's not that bad! What are you a fan of, Taka?" Takahiro began fiddling with his fingers nervously "I-i...A-...Popstars and idols and such"

Mai smiled comfortingly "I'm sort of into idols myself" she chuckled "though to a presumably lesser level, you being an ultimate and all, but still...I'm not judging" by that point The Ultimate Fanboy had begun smiling with genuine appreciation "Th-thank you!"

"No prob!" Mai waved "See you, Taka!" she turned towards Kusumosu "and you too, Sagisa!" sagisa smiled and waved "Talk to you later, Dansu!" Mai's face reddened before she walked off.

A dopey looking man in a beanie with a sweatshirt and sweatpants on walked up to her and spoke in a slow, low voice "Hey...I'm bad at...talking...so let's get this out of the way" Mai thought it was a little rude of him but let it slide "Uh...okay, Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress!" He nodded "Jun Saito, Ultimate Custodian"

Mai smiled sympathetically and walked away, leaving the doe-eyed man alone.

Mai was getting tired of all these introductions so she was happy when she realized that there were only two more to go. The Ultimate Actress walked towards a beautiful woman whose body had firm muscles while still staying slender, she had her long, brown, flowing hair in a ponytail and hotpants with a white training bra.

"Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress. Nice to meet you!" Mai was getting tired of those words and was excited to have introductions be over. The woman bowed cordially "My name is Ai Torakichi, Ultimate Acrobat. It's a pleasure to meet you " Mai smiled "You don't have to be so formal".

Ai smiled "Thank you Maichin" Mai blushed "Maichin!?" she took a breath and calmed down "No problem...Aichin"

Ai blushed deeply "I hope we can talk more in the future" Mai nodded "Me too"

Mai walked away and towards the last person, she had to meet.

The Ultimate Actress tapped the shoulder of a bulky guy with broad shoulders and extra-short, black hair. He was dressed in all camouflage clothes and had innumerable pockets. "Eh? do ya' wan' somethin'?" he had a thick country accent. "Uhm...I'm Mai Okamura, Ultimate Actress..."

He sighed "If you must know...I'm Matagi Murata, Ultimate Hunter" Mai forced a smile "Nice to meet you, Matagi" Murata nodded "Uh-huh" before walking off. Mai was stunned in her place and muttered under her breath "What an asshole..."

Mai eventually decided to talk to Katsura about getting a better look at the building they were in. "So you've made yourself acquainted with the others?" Mai nodded "Yes ma'am" Katsura shook her head "Don't call me ma'am, I prefer Katsura" her tone was sharp and it made Mai felt as if she made a terrible mistake by saying 'ma'am'. Mai looked down "S-sorry"

"Tch, hold your head up. You aren't a child, correct?" Mai blushed with embarrassment "Y-yes!" she remade eye contact with Katsura "Sorry! I'll keep my head up, ma- Katsura!"

"Atta girl" Katsura patted Mai's back, making Mai blush.

Katsura began walking and motioned for Mai to follow along, which she promptly did. Mai walked towards the northernmost door, the locked one. Katsura pointed at the novelty-sized lock on it "This door is as you've guessed...locked" Mai nodded and Katsura continued "We have no clue what's behind this door but it may be vital to things"

Katsura walked to the east door, the one opposing the door that Mai came from.

"Down here is the Secondary Rest Hall, this is where half of us sleep." Katsura motioned towards the opposite door "You came from there so you probably already have a good idea what's back there" Mai nodded "Yep"

Finally, Katsura walked towards the opened door to the southernmost side of the room that Fudoyoshi walked into. It led into a small room with four doors on each side "We've taken to calling this room The Crossway" Mai nodded along, listening patiently "To the left is The Storage Room, you'll mostly find useless knick-knacks here but some of the things in there are pretty good..." she motioned to the opposite door "this room is The Pantry, as you can imagine this is where all the food is...in the back of The Pantry is another locked door, unfortunately" Katsura sighed sadly and walked through the door in front of them.

"This room is The Kitchen!" Mai followed along and was amazed to see that The Kitchen was one of the biggest rooms that she had seen, it was full of cooking utensils, silverware, and plates etc. It was huge and it obviously had the potential for any sort of huge meal or feast to be cooked up in it. The floors were tiled and a little dirty and there was a huge counter surrounding the walls of the room that had plenty of sinks built in. There were cabinets above the counter clung to the ceiling which had all the utensils and such. In the center of the room was an even bigger counter with heating pads and ovens. Mai was amazed.

There was one big metal door to the side of the room that piqued her interest, Katsura noticed her looking "That's The Freezer, there isn't anything in there right now except for a note apologizing for the lack of stuff" Katsura forced a jovial chuckle in a failed attempt to lighten the tension caused by the Ma'am Incident.

"Be wary though, you see that big sliding lock?" Mai had only just then noticed it but it was a huge, metal, sliding lock built into the wall that went into a metal loop connected to the door itself, it had a small handle pointing outwards for an easy grip on the lock itself. "Y-yeah..." Katsura sighed "Well it'd be easy to get locked in there if someone wanted to lock you in." Mai got a cold chill "Wh-why would anyone do that?" Katsura shrugged "Not everyone here with us is the nicest, some would probably get a kick out of locking a small girl such as yourself in there...besides we have no clue why we're here, for all you know The Freezer will be used as our storage..."

Mai's face went pale "O-our storage?" Katsura shrugged "It's unlikely but it's possible that whoever put us here wants to kill us, it's something worth being wary of." Katsura walked off but stopped right at the doorway "that's everything! Make yourself at home" she walked away.

Mai nervously walked into the freezer and began shivering, most of the building was cold but The Freezer was much much much colder. Though it didn't surprise Mai, for obvious reasons. She saw the note on the ground and in messy handwriting it said...

Sorry to inform you that we have yet to have gotten access to frozen foods! But we promise to have this overflowing with yummy tasty meats (that's what she said) and microwaved meals in a couple weeks max!

See ya! -O

Mai set down the note and left The Freezer to warm up and regain her composure. She sighed deeply and left The Kitchen entirely. She was greeted by Kimo, the occultist boy from before.

He waved meekly "Hey, Mai. I just wanted to tell you that if Katsura said any creepy stuff about dying or getting killed, that you should ignore it" he giggled and smiled jovially. Mai smiled back, enjoying the joyful change of pace that Kimo brought. "Besides, if things got to that point, I'd be safe because I have a lucky charm!" Mai patted her pocket and Kimo blushed "Y-yeah! I'm glad that you actually appreciate that!" he chuckled "Anyways, I just thought'd be best if we could buddy up y'kno! Things have been stressful already and it's..." his tone got uncharacteristically somber "Obvious we're going to be here for a while, but stress and fear is a lot more manageable with a friend" his smile returned.

Mai nodded, a slight redness forming on her cheeks "Yeah! Though I think we were already friends before this conversation" Mai giggled "But it sounds like a deal!" Kimo blushed darkly and his smile grew bigger. Mai and Kimo kept talking for hours without realizing, just pacing around the building and chatting about this and that...

Kaitou yelled out loudly "GOODNIGHT BITCHES!" before calmly strolling towards his room, in extreme contrast to his voice and previous disposition. Zetsumei yawned and agreed "Yeah, it's time for me to go to bed too, sleep tight everyone" she slowly shambled towards the bed. One by one over the course of another hour or so everyone began going to sleep, the last ones remaining were Haato, the Ultimate NEET, Fudo, the Ultimate Ventriloquist, Shibo, the Ultimate Brain Surgeon, Takahiro, The Ultimate Fanboy and Katsura, the Ultimate Bartender. As well as Mai and Kimo. Kimo's yawns started coming at quicker and quicker intervals before he finally found a good place to head to bed "Goodnight, Mai...I'll talk to you tomorrow" he yawned and headed to his room "Sleep tight, Kimo, talk to you tomorrow!".

And then there were six.

Haato, Takahiro and Katsura were all just sitting down in various parts of the room doing whatever they felt like by themselves. Shibo and Fudo, or Manuke, were chatting. Mai was too far away to hear exactly what they were talking about.

Mai sat there for a while, trying to process everything that had happened before eventually just heading to bed.

As soon as Mai made it into her room she just collapsed on the bed, all of the energy being gone from her body...and with that, Mai had finished her first of many days stuck at the Mysterious Building.

-Day 1 End-

After a deep sleep and an odd dream about Shibo that she would struggle to remember, Mai woke up. There was something new in her room, though.

On her dresser laid a large touch screened pad and a small key. She got up and stretched before walking tiredly over to her dresser and picking up the pad. She clicked a button on the side and a startup screen popped up and it played a tiny jingle.

The startup screen displayed the words: MortemPad!

She didn't know Latin but it didn't take an expert to know what that meant, a cold chill ran up her spine. The way the word was displayed reminded Mai of a kid discussing a serious issue with a joking tone. There were multiple apps on the home screen including: Map, Participants, Alerts, Settings and a greyed out option labeled Mortem File.

The last one scared Mai more than she would have liked to admit. But she ignored it and decided to click Map instead. It displayed a small layout of the mansion*, it was digitally drawn out but poorly done so. Every locked door had a poorly written LKD next to it and behind them would be three question marks. One thing bothered her though, The Crossway was labeled as The Crossway even though Katsura claimed that it was a nickname that the rest of the group came up with. Mai clicked out of the Map Screen and selected Participants.

AN: *Map Of The Mansion

A list of all sixteen of them popped up, it listed our names and pictures and upon selecting her own name it brought up a full picture of her as well as private information that no one else should have been able to know.

Mai Okamura - Actress

Gender: F

Height: 5'4

Weight: 122 ibs

Chest: 26"

Likes: Spiders

Dislikes: Excessively Sweet Sweets

Mai got began shaking, she clicked out and selected Kimo instead.

Kimo Yamauba - Occultist

Gender: M

Height: ?

Weight: ?

Chest: ?

Likes: Luck Charms

Dislikes: Spicey Foods

The only information listed was information that he had told her last night. She nervously clicked out and selected someone else.

Shibo Yominokumi - Brain Surgeon

Gender: M

Height: ?

Weight: ?

Chest: ?

Likes: ?

Dislikes: His Family

Again, it was only what she had been told. She assumed that the information must automatically update as she gains info but it was still beyond nerve-wracking.

Mai took a deep breath and clicked out of Participants and clicked Alerts. A screen popped up saying to check back in two hours. She clicked out of Alerts with a strong curiosity before clicking Settings. In it was color options and text sizes, nothing useful nor important to her.

She clicked out and clicked Mortem File which made a bone-chilling pop up appear...

NO VICTIMS AVAILABLE TO GIVE MORTEM FILE

"V-victims!?..." her breath had been stolen from her lungs and she rushed out of her room and into the Foyer. Everyone was standing around chatting loudly. Kimo ran up to Mai "Good, you're up! Did you grab your pad?" Mai couldn't speak but nodded "I-it's going to be okay, I-i'm panicking too but we both have our charms and each other, right?" Mai took a deep breath and regained enough of her composure to reply "You're right...I j-just...don't know what to think...you did click Mortem File, right?" A frightened and despairing look came over Kimo's face "Y-yeah...but I really wished I didn't..."

Mai silently agreed and put her hand on his shoulder, making her realize that he was shaking. She quickly wrapped him in her arms. Both of their faces became blood red but her motherly instinct made her feel a terribly strong urge to comfort Kimo, he slowly put his arms up and held her back. Mai enjoyed the smell and warmth of Kimo's embrace. The feeling of his heart beating next to hers and the caring grip of his arms around her body.

Eventually, Shibo came up and interrupted them "Hey, got any clue about this BS?" They both broke apart quickly and nervously. Mai shook her head, her face still beet red "N-n-no!" Shibo waved his hand through the air "I don't really care that you two hugged, don't be embarrassed" this only made to make them both blush further.

Kimo, after regaining his composure finally said "I don't know much of anything...b-but, I do know that this all feels weirdly close to the Deploro Ritus" Shibos scratched his scalp "Ohhh, I have no clue what the fuck that means, Kimo" Kimo smiled awkwardly "It's an occult ritual I read about that takes fifteen or more people and puts them in a small enclosed space together, the people are then driven to kill each other through bribes or general cabin fever. The negative energy caused by the horrendous crimes of the desperate innocent to the desperate innocent is said to generate enough energy for even the most advanced summonings!" Kimo hadn't realized how excited he was getting and before long began speaking about a vicious murder ceremony with as much joy as he talked about the Luck Charms.

"Jesus, Kimo. Cool your jets, that's awful" Kimo's smiling face died "Oh...yeah" Mai quickly interjected "Kimo wasn't excited because of the murder aspect nor the gruesomeness, he's just interested in the Occult. Even the negative side. Isn't that right, Kimo?" Kimo smiled brightly, enjoying the feeling of being defended "Y-yeah, I really didn't mean to sound like I enjoyed the thought of some sort of Murder Ritual"

Shibo sighed "Yeah...I know, it's just...it struck too true for our situation, gave me the heeby-jeebies, ya' kno'?" Mai nodded "Yeah...But we have to stay brave and calm to avoid any worst-case scenarios or anything" Shibo nodded "You have a surprisingly good head on your shoulders, most actors I know tend to be shit-heads"

Mai forced a smile "Y-yeah...I try to not be a shit-head" she chuckled awkwardly. Shibo waved "See ya' 'round, try to be that calming to everyone" he smiled as he walked off.

Kimo chuckled awkwardly "He's a surprisingly good guy, huh?" Mai laughed "I'm not really sure, myself"

Mai remembered someone she felt would be scared "H-hey, Kimo. There's someone I want to talk to, do you want to come with?" Kimo shook his head "Sorry, but I'm not s-super good with people" Mai nodded and walked off.

Mai waded through the small crowd formed and found Zetsumei balled up in her usual corner, Mai sat down next to her.

She quickly realized that Zetsumei was sobbing into her knees, taking breaks for coughing though. "Zetsumei, It's me, Mai" Zetsumei didn't stop crying, nor did she look up from her fetal position but she replied nonetheless "P-p-please go"

"Why, Mei, we're friends. I won't do anything!" Mai tried to talk in the most comforting voice she could muster "I-it's not that, please go"

Mai sighed "I-...I'm sorry, but I can't leave you like this" "No Pl-" fueled by her instincts Mai leaned over and wrapped Zetsumei in the tightest embrace she could. Their bodies pressed together tightly enough that Mai could actually feel warm for once outside of her room.

Zetsumei's crying stopped but so did her breathing, she was completely quiet until Mai got off of her. "Mei?" Zetsumei began breathing again and wiped her face, getting out of the fetal position, her eyes were bloodshot and there was some dried snot under her nose. Her hair was all over the place and some strands were stuck to her forehead.

"Th-thank you, Mai" Mai smiled "No problem, we've got this! We can do this and we're gonna be fine! I promise you" Zetsumei smiled back "I don't think I've ever gotten to meet someone as k-k" she began coughing, it looked particularly painful this time "Are you okay?" Mai asked with panic. Zetsumei nodded and finished up coughing "Crying or overexerting myself makes the c-" more coughing, lighter this time though "coughs worse" she smiled awkwardly. "Do cough drops help?" Zetsumei shrugged "A-a little, they just make the throat pains a bit easier to t-take" she began hacking again "There's a storage room, I'll go check it for cough drops right away, stay right here" Zetsumei smiled brightly, enough to make her look almost non-sickly "Y-you don't gotta do th-that!" she began coughing "really, It's fine!"

Mai shook her head "It'll be easy, plus, that's what friends are for" without checking her reaction Mai left out towards The Crossway.

Once there Mai opened the door to her right, it was a small room, barely large enough to close the door with a person in it, with poor lighting, A single light was on the ceiling with a pull string activation. Three large metal shelves were on each side of the room except for the side with the door. On each shelf were multiple boxes full of various bits and bobs as well as a few loose things, including some piping, wrenches, and mallets. One box was labeled medicine so Mai began digging through it to find multiple syringes and syringe vials as well as multitudes of herbal mixtures and pills. Towards the bottom of the box was some less serious stuff, such as medicinal syrups, vitamin gummies and finally, cough drops. After grabbing them out of the box, Mai headed back to Mei.

Mei was still smiling brightly, despite coughing up a storm when Mai got there. Her face was reddened by both her previous crying and from Mai's kind actions.

Mai handed her the gummies without sitting back down. "Th-thank you so much! It means so so" she began coughing again "much to me!"

Mai blushed and scratched the back of her neck again "It was no problem, really" Zetsumei nodded "Either way, It still just g-goes to show how sweet you a-are" Mei popped two drops in her mouth as Mai blushed "Thank you Zetsumei, you're sweet too...I'll talk to you later" they both shared a smiling glance at each other before Mai walked away.

Mai walked back to Kimo and they began having surprisingly light-hearted conversation considering the situation, until...

A loud ringtone sounding jingle came from each and every single one of them, it was coming from their MortemPads. In unison they all opened them up and turned them on to instantly start a video, it seemed to be playing live to their MortemPads as those who opened a little late missed out on the first few seconds.

A shadowy figure sat in a chair with their backs turned to the camera, they were pointed towards a magnificently large window with a bright red glow coming from it. The Figure spoke in a low and distorted voice.

"I am the one who has brought you here. You may call me Odium but my real name is unimportant. I will be explaining the rules of The Game as well as explaining where you are being held in just a moment, first, I'd like to say...

Hi, Welcome to my Game!

Now that, that's over...

You are being held within my personal Mansion, I have changed some of the layouts to meet the needs of The Game but for the most part, this was just my previous living situation. There is no Dining Room because I've taken it out, I thought that it would inspire too much...Unity among you since eating together and forming a ritual like that with each other would be quite the bonding experience.

As for The Game itself... it is a Killing Game-"

Majority of the room gasped, Kimo began trembling, tears welling in his eyes but Mai was simply shocked into complete stillness.

A small group of mutters began going across the room but a large portion of The Participants wanted to stay as quiet as possible to hear what Odium had to say.

"Not just any Killing Game either, I've decided to call this game The Mansion of Mutual Killing!" Odium said that with something resembling a sickening pride towards his disgusting game, Mai felt her stomach begin to churn.

"To escape this Mansion you must first kill someone...and get away with it...

Accompanying each murder will be a Group Trial in which you must vote for The Blackened, or the culprit, if The Blackened is voted for by the majority then they will be promptly executed but if A Spotless, or someone who isn't the culprit, is selected by the majority then you will all be executed excluding The Blackened..."

It happened again, shock washed over everyone in the Foyer. A mutual gasp was shared among everyone. Mai could feel herself beginning to gag, her stomach burning and attempt to reject the Despair growing inside her.

"Alternatively...You could all just live together here peacefully for the rest of your days...No sunshine, no moonlight. Just light bulbs and candles and the eternal fear of being brutally killed...

That being said if you wish to be an active member of this Killing Game and attempt to survive or try to kill than it will be positively vital that you keep up with your MortemPad, they will alert you if I need to talk or plan to anytime soon as well as update constantly new information about the other Participants or The Mansion Itself and as of now an update is taking place to add a Rules App that will also be updated as I think of necessary rules...

The MortemPad is virtually indestructible and I'm not aware of a way to break it but should any of you rascals find a way to break it or break someone else's than I will not hesitate to execute you, but should you somehow accidentally break it then you'll merely be out of the loop for a couple weeks until I can get you a spare, what can I say? I'm a sweetie like that!

You've probably also noticed the Mortem File App too, huh? Well, that is used whenever an Investigation has started. All information that I can give that doesn't give away The Blackened or ruin the fun will be put there! Admittedly, it will aid the Investigators no matter what though but I enjoy a fair gaaammmeee~

Hmmm, let's see...Ah, Yes! Your rooms are soundproof and they can't be broken into nor unlocked but you all have a key that corresponds to your own room, they're small and look identical so be careful! If you lose it then you can simply expect another one to be dropped off in roughly a couple weeks, but that will mean that you'll be without the safety of your own room for quite some time!" he giggled like a broken child

"And as for the rules...

Rule Number 1. You are free to explore The Mansion of Mutual Killings with no limits!

Rule Number 2. Anyone who kills a fellow Participant gets to Escape the Mansion unless they are caught and persecuted at a Group Trial

Rule Number 3. No breaking of any MortemPads whether it be yours or another Participant's, the only exception being if done on accident

Rule Number 4. If A Spotless is persecuted during a Group Trial than everyone excluding the Blackened gets executed

Rule Number 5. Once three or more people find a body then a Body Discovery Announcement will be sent to everyone's MortemPads excluding those who found the body

Rule Number 6. Right after the Body Discovery Announcement a short period of Investigation Time will begin which will be Followed by a Group Trial Announcement, participation to Group Trials is mandatory

Rule Number 7. You may attempt to break into someone else's room but success will lead to execution

Rule Number 8. A Blackened may only kill two Participants

Rule Number 9. If there is an existing Blackened than killing from anyone except for the Blackened is prohibited, the only exception is if the murder is done before the first Blackened's victim is discovered

Rule Number 10. Additional rules and updates to the MortemPad will be done at various times but will always have an alert sent first.

And...I guess that covers it! Have fun, don't be careful, and go wild!"

The message ended abruptly, Mai ran back to her room with her hand covering her mouth, Kimo chased after her, not aware that she needed to puke.

She rushed into the bathroom with Kimo hot on her tail and began vomiting up pure stomach acid. As soon as he realized what she was doing he knelt down beside her with a weakened smile and muttered "It's going to be okay, Mai...We have our lucky charms and eachother...we just need to stay brave and calm and not let Chaos break our Unity..." He softly held her hair back.

Zetsumei was still in the Foyer, she felt a strong urge to cry but didn't. She thought back to Mai and how brave and kind she was back when they first began realizing that they were trapped in a Killing Game. Zetsumei tried her best to channel that inner bravery and keep her composure. She looked to her side and saw the Ultimate NEET just blankly staring at his handheld device, too scared to actually play it but needing to calm down bad enough to try.

She forced herself to speak "Ha-haato...We're going to be alright, a-alright?" his blank eyes rolled over to her and he just shook his head before muttering "No...we're...not..." his breathing started to hitch and get heavier before he clasped his chest, dropping his console and screaming. A despair caused by fear and desperation at the souls of the Participants who wanted nothing more than mere survival.

Zetsumei quickly pressed his head to her chest and held him tight, she might have just been imitating Mai's bravery but it was strong enough to quell the chaos raging in Haato's soul. He calmed down and began to softly cry into her chest.

Katsura rushed to Shibo "What should we do?" Shibo shrugged "Is there anything we can do?" Katsura clucked her tongue in anguish "We have to try before things get too hectic and fall apart! We need to keep things as orderly as possible" Shibo nodded "And what's your plan?"

Katsura held her chin inquisitively "He said it himself..."

Toyohiko was simply strolling about the panicked room with absolute peace in his mind. He kept calmly uttering words of ease to the others

"Make Union in your heart"

"It will all be okay"

"What will happen will happen, whether you're happy or sad"

Eventually, he ran into Fudo and offered her a simple

"Praise be to those who breath soft in the face of chaos"

Manuke, The Ultimate Dummy, put his hand over his face and shook his head

"Tsk tsk tsk, I can't believe you believe that bullshit! Toots, try to wrap your bald, empty, head around things. We're gonna die! Or at least some of us are, and being a pacifist you're gonna be the first target! You won't fight back!"

The aura around Toyohiko changed into a dangerous one as Toyohiko's face contorted into one of pure concentration

"I have trained my entire life in self-defense so that I may stay alive and survive any attack without having to harm others or at least...keeping their harm to a minimal"

For once in his 'life' Manuke was silent.

Eventually, Mai and Kimo came back out to the Foyer, Kimo with his arm around her to keep her steady and calm. She had been silent the entire time but finally spoke, her voice wavering and weak

"Thank you...Kimo"

After a while of being missing, Katsura and Shibo emerged from the kitchen and Katsura yelled at the top of her lungs

"FOODS READY! COME AND GET IT WHILE IT'S HOT!"

Shidoyushi's, The Ultimate Foodie's, stomach growled loudly and she charged into the kitchen.

The room wasn't completely silent but it was a lot quieter, no one had eaten since they woke up in the Mansion (except for Shidoyushi who raided the pantry) and they were all hungry plus it always quiets a loud situation when someone with good news yells louder.

Shibo was the next to yell, albeit a good bit quieter but still much louder than his usual voice "COME AND GET A PLATE THEN SIT DOWN IN THE FOYER!"

Before they anyone realized they had made an orderly yet hungry line to the Kitchen were a delicious aroma was coming from. Mai smiled brightly and looked at Kimo who looked back at her with a similar smile "Let's get some food, Kimo" Kimo nodded "That sounds good to me"

They both walked together into the back of the line and waited patiently until they made it into The Kitchen and filled their plates.

Everyone had sat down in random spots of the Foyer but a surprising amount of people had formed a circle in the center of the Foyer.

Zetsumei, Haato, Takahiro and Ai were all sitting outside of the circle while the rest were sitting within it. Shibo and Katsura would have been sitting outside of it if they didn't find it necessary and Kimo would have been too if it weren't for Mai.

Eventually, Zetsumei noticed Mai and nudged Haato "H-hey! Do you wanna go sit with them?" Haato nodded softly "S-sure...I don't know much about K-Kimo though" Zetsumei smiled "If he's friends with Mai then he's definitely a good person like her, so don't w-worry" Zetsumei stood up and covered her mouth with her arm to cough before holding her hand out to Haato. Haato almost grabbed her hand but realized how brittle it looked so he instead just got up on his own. They walked towards the circle and sat beside Kimo and Mai, on Mai's side.

Everyone was calmly, yet nervously, chatting with each other. They were all trying to move on past their despair and keep going.

Mai smiled as brightly as she could "Hey guys!" Kimo clammed up, not being too good with people but not wanting to leave Mai's side. Haato weakly waved and Zetsumei waved enthusiastically "Hey Mai!" she coughed, Mai noticed that her cough was a little softer than usual.

Zetsumei smiled "I was pretty scared...b-but...I remembered your bravery and I...I couldn't help but" she coughed a little "but be inspired"

Mai blushed and chuckled, her previous enthusiasm returning. Mai was happy that Zetsumei wasn't there to see her puke out of fear.

"I'm happy I could help! But, don't credit me, credit yourself! You were brave, Mei, not because of me but because you're strong!" Zetsumei covered her face to hide her blush.

Katsura noticed that Fudoyushi had finished her plate so she informed her that "You can go get seconds if you want!" it was a complete 180 of the personality that Katsura was displaying before but she had to maintain this unity for her own survival and if that meant changing her attitude and faking a kind personality then she had no qualms with it.

Manuke looked over to Toyohiko and exclaimed loudly "Hey man! Why didn't you get yourself a plate!?" Toyohiko calmly replied "I believe in unity yet the unity is not stemming from the food but rather from our bonding, so I didn't find it necessary to compromise my fast for this" Toyohiko guffawed "Besides why is a puppet getting on me about eatinnnggggg~ hohohoho!"

"Tch, I hate religious schmucks like you. Always so creepy! What? Ya gonna brainwash me?"

Toyohiko shook his head "If a God exists then he may smite me for saying this but I do not believe in a God nor do I care if one exists. I believe in my own existence and that is all I neeeeedddd~!"

Jun, The Ultimate Custodian, looked up from his plate for a split second only to look down and find it all gone. He stood up and exclaimed melodramatically "WHERE'S THE GOOD-GOOD!" His doe eyes changing to mourning ones in shock.

Unbeknownst to him, Kaitou, the Ultimate Thief, was eating extra that day because of Jun.

Before they knew it a small jingle was being emitted from their MortemPads, Mai opened her's to see that she was getting a nighttime alert as well as a message claiming that the update had finished. Giving her a clock feature as well as a Rules App. The clock displayed a crescent moon among stars and said that it was 9:59 PM.

Mai stood up and yawned "I'm going to head to bed, goodnight Zetsumei, Haato, Kimo" Haato waved meekly and Zetsumei loudly exclaimed, "Sleep tight, Mai!"

Mai walked a few steps before looking back at Kimo "Oh! Are you heading to bed too, Kimo?" Kimo had a questioning look on his face "Y-yeah?... Yeah!" he stood up and stretched before following Mai back to the Hallway, both of them with huge smiles plastered on their faces.

-Day 2 End-

Mai and Kimo woke up to the sound of a small jingle being emitted from their MortemPads on Mai's dresser. Mai rubbed her eyes and smiled, a weird amount of joy had been produced in her heart despite being trapped in this Mansion of Mutual Killing. She sat up slowly, feeling reminiscent of the first time she woke up in this bed, in this room, in this Mansion.

Mai stood up and turned on her MortemPad and Kimo rolled over sleepily, after yawning he asked "What's the Pad saying? Is it just a morning announcement?" it was obvious that he was avoiding saying 'Mortem'

Mai checked the Alerts App and it said that she had three new alerts, one was a morning announcement, the other saying that her Bio had been updated as well as the Rules App.

"It's a morning announcement but evidently our bio's been updated...or at least mine has" she grabbed Kimo's and handed his to him before sitting back on the bed with him. He turned his on and checked the alerts "Yeah...mine is too"

Mai clicked out of the Alerts App and clicked Participants and proceeded to click her own name.

Mai Okamura - Actress

Gender: F

Height: 5'4

Weight: 122 lbs

Chest: 26"

Likes: Spiders

Dislikes: Excessively Sweet Sweets

Target: Shibo Yominokumi

Mai's stomach sunk "T-target!?" Mai looked over towards Kimo who had an equally shocked expression "Y-yeah...who'd you get?" Mai took a deep breath "Shibo"

Kimo nodded "And I got you" Mai's eyes widened "Wh-what!?"

The Ultimate Occultist put his hand on Mai's shoulder "It's okay, let's check out this new rule"

Mai fearfully agreed and they both clicked off of the Participants App and clicked on the Rules App.

Rule 10. If a blackened kills their randomly assigned target then they may select one person to Escape with them

Rule 11. Additional rules and updates to the MortemPad will be done at various times but will always have an alert sent first.

Kimo sighed with relief "I-i thought he was going to force us to kill our target...this still isn't any good but this is better" Mai nodded "It seems that he's throwing a motive into the mix to get this game started...likely punishing us for our Unity yesterday"

Kimo bitterly nodded "And the only way he could've undone the Unity of yesterday is with this purely chaotic rule"

He held back from panicking, as did Mai as neither of them wanted to panic the other.

They stayed silent for a moment but it was inevitably broken by Mai "We should go out into The Foyer and check on things" Kimo agreed and they both headed out.

The Foyer wasn't in Chaos but it wasn't nearly as organized, everyone was all over the place and a few were shouting at others. Kimo clammed up "S-sorry but is it okay if I go back to my room?" Mai furrowed her brow "Why? Don't we have to check things out?" Kimo looked down "I-I...I don't like shouting...it's scary" Mai smiled sympathetically, her maternal instincts once again kicking in "Go ahead Kimo...but..." she didn't want to worry him but she had to say it, it hurt her dearly to force the words out but she did anyways "but...please lock your door"

Kimo had a solemn look on his face before nodding "I understand" he walked back into the hallway.

Mai looked for Zetsumei when she spotted her Mai honed in towards her.

Zetsumei was in her corner with Haato, they were both calmly talking. "Hey Zetsumei, Haato. How exactly are things going?" Zetsumei shook her head and let out a raspy sigh "Not great but b-better than I expected when I" coughing "saw th-that rule"

Mai sighed "That's good enough for now, Katsura really nailed things yesterday, we just gotta keep that up again today. Hopefully, we can keep up a sense of Unity until we stop being surprised by this stuff" Zetsumei tilted her head, not unlike a dog "Wait...A-are you intending to stay in this Mansion?"

Mai shook her head "That's the worst case scenario that I'll let happen but I'm thinking we oughta be able to find some way out eventually, until then we just have to try to get used to things" Zetsumei looked guilty "S-sorry, I didn't mean to sound l-like I was acc-" she began coughing again "accusing you"

Mai smiled "Don't worry, I knew" Zetsumei smiled back.

"I'm going to talk to Katsura and Shibo and see if they have any ideas cooked up that I can help with, see you, Mei!" Mei smiled "See you, Mai!"

Mai walked over to Katsura and Shibo who were sticking to themselves and talking and observing "Hey! I was curious if there was anything I could help with?" Katsura's face and general expression was back to its normal coldness "Such as?" as well as her attitude.

"Well, you guys figured out that dinner together would fix things yesterday, any plans like that today?" Katsura shrugged "Don't know what you're talking about" Shibo sighed "Sorry, Kats. No, we don't. We're trying to come up with something, if you get a good idea then tell us" Katsura looked at him as if he had just spat upon her entire ancestry.

Mai nodded diligently "Gotcha" before walking off, she decided to go where things were the most chaotic and try to resolve them.

Kaitou and Fudo were both in a bit of a yelling contest which seemed out of place for Fudo until Mai realized that Kaitou had stolen Manuke from her and was making him do...lewd things to himself, Mai decided to leave that one alone.

Soji, the Ultimate Pet Detective, was arguing with Ai. Two people that big were sure to make utter chaos if they began fighting. Soji threw his coat off, revealing a simple black and white plaid shirt and Ai assumed a fighting pose. Mai ran between them "Hey! Hey! Hey! What's going on?" Soji pointed at Ai "She's the mastermind behind all of this!" Ai quickly rebutted "No! I'm! Not!" it was odd seeing Ai lose her cool, it made Mai a little uneasy "Why do you believe that she's the Mastermind?" Soji assumed a fighting pose that was almost completely identical to hers "She has me, Soji Shimada, The Super Mega Ultimate Pet Detective! I knew immediately when I saw the Target system that anyone who had me, Soji Shimada, The Super Mega Ultimate Pet Detective, was the Mastermind because they'd obviously want me dead!" Mai shook her head and furrowed her brow "Huh? Why?" Soji yelled out before replying "BECAUSE I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO COULD TAKE THEM DOWN!" Mai sighed.

"Wh-why would the mastermind want to have to kill you? They want us dead so the benefit of the Target Motive is undone, they don't want to get caught and die or else the game would end and they don't want to kill us and Escape because the game would end. They're not going to participate in the Killing Game nor would they set their Target to someone they want dead. The Mastermind would probably set someone big and strong to Target you and then let this, this exact conflict, breakout and cause chaos and take you both out!" Mai took a deep breath, having lost her cool a bit.

Soji put his hand on his chin and dropped the fighting pose, Ai did as well soon after. "Hmm, I suppose you're right. I guess even I, The Super Mega Ultimate Pet Detective can be incorrect! Thank you, Madame Mai!" He guffawed at ear-shattering volumes before simply picking up his coat and walking away as if he never did anything even slightly wrong.

Mai sighed and walked over to Ai "Are you okay?" Ai simply nodded "Thanks to you Maichin, the truth is...I'm no good at fighting, I'm purely an acrobat." Ai sighed with shame and Mai chuckled "Well you did a good job of faking it, I really thought you were gonna beat him up" Ai gave a small smile and bowed her head "Do you need any assistance in breaking up the other fights" Mai looked around, it seemed that things were mostly just panicked chatter at this point. "No, Aichin, I think it'll be fine on its own now. But if things get bad I'll totally come to you" Ai smiled and waved her bye, Mai waved back before walking off.

Mai went back into the Western Hallway to find Kimo and tell him that things have calmed down. She knocked on his door, it took a moment but Kimo eventually opened the door, he looked more cleaned up than usual. His hair was damp and his eyes had a more-alert-than-usual look. He smiled and caught Mai off guard. "Sorry that it took me a sec to get to the door, I was just finishing up showering" Mai smiled and chuckled "It's fine, things are mostly calm down in The Foyer...well, a lot of commotion and general unease but there's no more actual conflict" Kimo smiled brightly with appreciation which slowly turned into a solemn one once he thought about the circumstance of his appreciation.

"Thank you, Mai"

They both headed back down to The Foyer.

After a while of just sitting and waiting amongst the others who were doing the exact opposite, Katsura walked up to the two of them.

"Kimo, can I talk to Mai alone?" Kimo glanced over to Mai who met his eyes and nodded. It wasn't that Kimo believed he was strong enough to defend her from anyone who wished her harm but he definitely thought it safer to stick together, but he also had a genuine belief in Mai's judgement and in Katsura's leadership. Kimo got up and walked off.

Mai stood up to meet Katsura's eyes properly "So..." Katsura sighed at Mai "We have a plan, it might make things worse though and if that happens me and Shibo think you'd do the best job at breaking things up and calming people down." Mai nodded "O-okay...What is the plan?"

Katsura glanced at everyone "Complete honesty. Let's all reveal our Targets..." Mai was stunned, she didn't see how that would help. Katsura continued "I can see that you don't follow and that's not surprising. It will be a bonding event, we'll turn this request for Chaos into a trust exercise. Once we all know then we might trust each other more and become closer...or...this will cause a panic and everyone will be wary of those who Target them to a ridiculous and dangerous extent..." Katsura looked somewhat worried "Worst case scenario is that we all begin attacking each other in a blind rampage type situation..." Mai let her shock become completely obvious "H-huh? None of us would do that!" Katsura looked down "Despair and desperation take away all reason, ever notice how dogs have more personality than wolves? If one lives with their only intent being survival than they become barely sentient monsters but if they live a cozy life then they can make friends and be happy...develop a personality. The difference between dogs and wolves apply equally to the difference of someone in desperation and someone in comfort. Don't expect the best of anyone unless you both have the comfort necessary to assume they aren't a wolf yet." Mai didn't know how to respond, it was odd hearing Katsura talk so much but it was also odd because even though it wasn't outright obvious...Mai could sense some sort of somber, hurting feeling in her words.

"Now let's go, you're going to want to be somewhere in the crowd when we make our announcement, just agree with us if people start disagreeing"

Katsura walked towards Shibo and Mai mixed in with the panicked crowd.

Katsura and Shibo stood together in the southern part of the Foyer and yelled out in unison.

"EVERYONE, QUIET DOWN! WE HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!" most of the chattering stopped and now it was just curious muttering, Katsura took the reigns "WE CAN MAKE UNITY OUT OF THE CALL FOR CHAOS! LET'S ALL REVEAL OUR TARGETS!"

The muttering became louder

"CALM DOWN, IT'S GOING TO BE OKAY!"

Mai looked around and spoke loud enough that the people around her would hear clearly "Yeah! Like a trust exercise, guys, I think she's right!"

It wouldn't have been convincing acting if the situation were less panicked but no one had the time nor the care to necessary judge her performance and instead, the people around her slowly began agreeing.

Shibo took the next yell "EVERYONE! FORM A CIRCLE LIKE DINNER YESTERDAY AND WE'LL GO AROUND AND SAY OUR TARGETS!"

Slowly a circle was formed but like last time, some people decided to not get in it.

Those people being Kaitou, Takahiro, and Jun.

Kimo sat back down next to Mai so did Zetsumei and Haato. Eventually, Soji asked, "What about those three?" Katsura sighed "We can't force anyone to do this, we'll just have to leave it be" after a moment of small chatter Katsura spoke up again "I'll go first, My Target is Shidoyushi Abura" a small gasp came from Shidoyushi which was subsequently followed by a nonchalant shrug.

Shibo went next "Ai Torakichi"

Next was Matagi "I got Kats"

Afterward, it was Kusumosu "Takahiro Matsumura"

Which was followed by Fudo who spoke through Manuke "The dumb broad got that doe-eyed bastard" Katsura quickly interrupted "Please just say the name on the Pad" Manuke sighed "Jun Saito"

And then Haato who nervously said "F-Fudo Takah-hashi"

Subsequently, Zetsumei was next "Kimo Yam-" she began coughing "Yamauba"

Then Kimo "Mai Okamura"

Then Mai "Shibo Yominokumi"

Next of which was Toyohiko "Kusumosu TsutsuuujjjjiiiiiI~!"

Shidoyushi followed up "Haato Miyamoto"

Penultimately Ai "Soji Shimada"

And lastly, Soji. Soji slowly stood up and with a triumphant look on his face he exclaimed "The Mastermind!" Katsura sighed "Please, Soji. The name on your Pad" Soji made fierce eye contact with Katsura "Oh, I know! That is what's listed on my MortemPad!" he turned his on and showed it to the circle.

Soji Shimada - Pet Detective

Gender: M

Height: 6"10

Weight: 347ibs

Chest: 57"

Likes: Long Haired Whippets

Dislikes: Animal Cruelty

Target: ^The Mastermind

^This may overlap with another Participant'sTarget

A collective gasp washed over everyone, including Mai and Kimo. They looked at each other and then back at his MortemPad, he turned it off and slid it back into his coat. Mai began speaking under her breath "Odium said that it was randomized but there's no way it was an accident that he gave such a Target to Soji"

It was obvious in Katsura's eyes that she knew that danger would come of his Target. Kaitou giggled like a kid before walking over to Katsura and sitting in between her and Soji and began whispering to her "See? The only thing that absolute honesty brings is...well, this" Katsura angrily whispered back "He would have had this as his Target no matter what, no me and Shibo know that he does and we can keep a lid on his stupidity, it's still a win Kaitou. Now get out of the circle or reveal your Target" Kaitou giggled again and stood up before taking a MortemPad out of his pocket.

He turned it on and clicked the screen for a second "Let's seeeee... My target is...Shidoyushi Abura?" Katsura bolted up and snatched at the MortemPad but he narrowly dodged "Ohhhh whoops! I seemed to have grabbed Kats', hmmm, what's this? The one preaching honesty seems to have a told a l-" before circle could realize what happened Kaitou had slammed head-first into the ground. It took a second for Katsura's movements to register in her mind but it had become obvious that Katsura just punched him in the cheek hard enough to twist his body and send him at the Foyer ground at a high speed.

Kaitou yelped loudly and dropped her MortemPad which she calmly knelt down and grabbed her MortemPad back. Blood dripped from his mouth and pooled around his head from his wound caused by contacting the ground at that speed.

He slowly got up, holding his head wound while hissing some empty threats at Katsura before running back to his room.

Katsura sat back into the circle and loudly sighed "Sorry, but that's all it takes to defend yourself. If you think someone is going to hurt you, if they have stolen something of yours or anything else like that then contact me or Shibo and we will get it. There won't be any fighting but if you begin to break our Unity with unruliness than we will put you back in your place. I think we should establish some rules of our own tomorrow."

The entire room was silent.

Katsura stood up and dusted herself off before slowly and nonchalantly walking back to her room.

Shibo stood up and announced "Enjoy the rest of your day, folks! I'm heading to my room for now too, feel free to come talk to me if something comes up though!"

He slowly walked to his room as well.

They all sat around awkwardly for a while and over time the circle fell apart, people were still shaken but no one was outright panicked anymore.

"It seems that we have some free time on our hands." Mai said with a smile "Have you eaten today, Kimo?" Kimo smiled back "No, You haven't either huh?" Mai shook her head and stood up, offering her hand to Kimo who happily accepted it and was pulled up.

They both walked into The Crossway, hand in hand. Mai opened the pantry to find a room that was a good bit bigger than the Storage room yet still quite small. There were two shelves on both the left and right side of the room as well as two shelves in the middle of the room, there was just enough room for an average sized person to shimmy between the shelves, albeit with great discomfort and the inability to turn the head and look around. Each shelf was full of herbs and spices as well as more legitimate cooking components and some that were foods on their own. Mai grabbed a sleeve of crackers and Kimo grabbed some potato chips. They both went into The Kitchen and closed the door behind them, causing a calming silence and making it so that they were alone. It was mostly silent between them excluding some minor banter, they were mostly enjoying the sound of silence and each other's company.

A knock on the door got their attention, Mai stood up and opened it. Behind it was a troubled Kusumosu, she looked on the verge of tears and she was avoiding eye contact.

"Sagisa, What's wrong?" Kusu shook her head and grabbed her own arm "I just need to talk to you about something, I don't know who else to go to about this" Mai nodded and looked back to Kimo "Sorry Kimo but I gotta go" Kimo waved "Okay, Mai, I'll see you later!" a small blush rose to his cheeks.

Sagisa grabbed Mai by her arm and drug her out of the Kitchen, they walked for a bit until Sagisa was satisfied with their distance from the others "Okay, This is a bit silly but...It bothered me that Taka didn't side with us during the whole reveal-your-Targets thing-y...so..." her lip started quivering "so I asked him about it and he got really mad and started yelling at me" she put a hand over her face to hide her pained expression. Mai put a hand on Kusumosu's shoulder "What was he saying?" Sagisa shook her head "Just nonsense about me siding against him and how now we're enemies and i-if-" she stopped talking as she began sobbing instead. Mai quickly hugged her, something she was growing used to doing. Both of their faces became a beet red.

Once Sagisa's cries slowed to a stop Mai released her from her motherly grasp.

"It's okay, do you want me to go talk to him?" Kusumosu actually pondered for a second before wiping her face and weakly saying "No" She took a few broken breaths before continuing on "I just wish I didn't show my Target" Mai smiled sympathetically "Sagisa...It was your choice and it was his, neither of you have any right to judge each other for your choices but, you both had the right to ask. I'm so sorry he did that but please, you're not in the wrong" Kusumosu began playing with her fingers nervously "I just don't want to lose him, we've been friends f-for so long" she put her head down. Mai felt that she could somehow empathize with that feeling despite not having any friends that she was ever that close with. "Was he ever like this before?" Kusumosu almost shook her head before reluctantly nodding "Y-yeah...he has anger problems...but! Never to this extent, I'm w-worried that th-this is the e-end...y'kno" Mai nodded "I understand, listen, this whole situation is stressful. I don't...I don't...you probably shouldn't be around him for a while b-but...I'm sure that...I'm sure that he'll forgive you eventually" Mai forced a smile, she was unsure if what she just said was okay for her to say or if she should have just been honest with Sagisa.

After their conversation, Mai went back to Kimo and they wondered and talked for a bit longer until an alert came through on all of their MortemPads...it was nighttime, Mai and Kimo were shocked, they hadn't realized that they had spent an entire day already. Both of them wondered to bed for the night.

Soji, stayed up all night trying to figure things out and find leads. After hours of fruitless investigation he punched with all of his might into the wall, he was frustrated that he couldn't do anything. With no leads and no animals involved, he struggled to try to make sense of any part of this case. A loud bang emitted from the contact but fortunately, everyone was in their soundproof rooms and unable to hear it...except for Kaitou who wandered out of the halls.

Kaitou patted Soji's back "Hey big guy, calm down" Soji took a deep breath "What do you want, mongrel?" Kaitou faked exasperation and cupped his mouth with his palm "Mongrel!?" after laughing off Soji's insult Kaitou continued "Nah man, I'm just out here for meds. My head's killin' me"

Soji didn't reply "Aight', Aight', silent treatment I get it" he smacked the air in Soji's direction as if rejecting his very being before walking into the Crossway.

-Day 3 End-

Mai sat up and sighed "I don't know how long I can do this, Kimo...I've been doing nothing for the past three days...I want out of here...I need out of here" Mai didn't want to admit it but she was starting to panic a bit, she was feeling claustrophobic.

Kimo sat up beside her "I wish I could be more comforting but...yeah, honestly...I need out too" he sighed as well "But we'll figure something out and until then we'll stay safe" he smiled tiredly and Mai nodded, a smile growing on her face as well "We've got our lucky charms and each other" she chuckled, feeling a bit better.

Things went the same way that the always did in The Mansion, wake up, get up, talk to someone and try to entertain yourself, go to sleep. On the fourth day, Mai didn't know who to talk to so she decided to chat to the only people who knew how to lead and encourage people, as she was in desperate need of leadership and encouragement.

Shibo and Katsura, The Ultimate Brain Surgeon and The Ultimate Bartender. Shibo waved casually "Hey, Mai, whaddya want?" his voice sounded rude but like before, he meant well. "I was just curious if you guys have cooked up anything for Escape, even just having a work in progress or a theory would help" Katsura furrowed her brow "Why is it that you're so curious?" Mai sighed "Honestly, I can't stand it in here, I'm starting to feel claustrophobic and it's setting me on edge. So if I could help you guys on any plans out...I'd be more than willing to" Shibo and Katsura looked at each other, they nodded and looked back at Mai "We don't have any but...we will tell you if we do come up with one...and of course, we'll be expecting you to do the same for us" Mai nodded "Yes, of course. Thanks!" Mai waved bye and Shibo waved back...

A few more hours had passed, Mai was upset that she was becoming more and more accustomed to her life in the Mansion but tried to remain calm.

She walked into The Crossway to grab some ingredients and prepare a mediocre meal, she grabbed the ingredients necessary and stepped into The Kitchen. She heard some muffled yelling and began looking around, not sure where it was coming from.

After just a couple moments Mai realized that it was coming from inside The Freezer, The Ultimate Actress rushed over and tried to open The Freezer door but realized it was locked, she quickly undid the lock on the door and rushed in.

Zetsumei was trapped in the freezer, crying and yelling her heart out. Mai swiftly picked her up and brought her out of The Freezer and into The Kitchen. "What happened!?" Zetsumei shook her head "K-kaitou! He sh-shoved me in there and then locked the door!" Zetsumei was sobbing in fear. Mai held her tight "Do you want to go into my room? It's warm in there, you could even spend the night with us" Zetsumei wiped her face and tried to calm down "U-us?" she began coughing.

Mai blushed "Y-yeah...me and Kimo have been sharing a r-room" Zetsumei grinned devilishly and hit Mai in the arm playfully "N-nice!" she was shivering but mostly calm, her small body and lack of bodyweight meant it was much easier to get cold. "B-but are you sure it won't b-" she began coughing "be too cramped?" Mai shook her head "If need be then it can just be the two of us, Kimo will understand and even with all three of us...we can make room!" Mai smiled infectiously enough to get the scared Zetsumei to smile back.

Mai was secretly hiding her anger at Kaitou for doing such a thing, she knew that he was trying to cause panic and disrupt any Unity they had.

Mai reached her hand out and Zetsumei wrapped her arms around Mai's arm like a child. Mai giggled which stirred a raspy giggle out of Mei, they walked back to Mai's room for the night.

All three of them bunked together, Kimo opting to take the floor while Zetsumei and Mai shared the bed, Kimo even brought the bedding from his room to make a makeshift bed on Mai's floor. They all talked late into the night and kept each other up, even Kimo started to open up and have fun.

-Day 4 End-

Mai woke up and looked around, she felt her stomach sink into a pit of drowningly dismal despair caused when she remembered that she was in a dire and desperate situation. She sighed and sat up, she looked to her side to see Zetsumei cocooned in her blankets and snoring loudly. She looked to the ground to find her Kimo but just saw empty bedding, immediately worry began to build in her and she quickly sat up and right as she did the door opened. A smiling Kimo holding a large bed tray full of breakfast foods walked in.

"I prepared everyone some breakfast" he chuckled "I expected you two would be up at some point during it but I decided to just bring you guys your food here so it wouldn't get cold" Mai smiled and softly tackled him with a loving hug, nearly making him drop the food. Kimo clammed up and began blushing "M-M-M-Mai!?" he cleared his throat "Is everything okay?" Mai nodded "I was just worried when I saw you weren't in here..." Kimo loosened up "Oh...I still have my lucky charms, Mai. I promise you that I'm fine" Mai backed up and sat on the bed "Also...uhm" she blushed heavily "thank you for breakfast" Kimo shrugged "I secretly like cooking and not to toot my own horn but I'm pretty good at it too" he handed her the tray. Two plates with assorted breakfast food and two glasses of orange juice was on it. "It looks good...wait...are you not eating?" Kimo smiled "I already ate, you don't have to worry so much" he softly put his hand to her cheek which was likely the most straightforward thing he had done.

After a while, and after Mai had finished her food, Zetsumei woke up she looked at the food with embarrassment "I-is this...for me!?" Kimo nodded "Yep! Eat up" Zetsumei looked guilty for a moment "I-i...I don't think I can eat all of this...s-s-sorry" Kimo furrowed his brow "It's not all that much?" Zetsumei broke eye contact "I-I just don't eat much..." Kimo smiled with fatherly care to his expression "Don't fret it, just eat as much as you want" Zetsumei blushed and began pecking at her food.

Eventually, they all made it to The Foyer who were all chatting happily with full stomachs. A lot of thankful glances were made towards Kimo who clammed up at each one. Once Zetsumei was separated from them Mai began talking about The Freezer situation.

Once Kimo was filled in Mai went on to elaborate "I intend to confront Kaitou about this, it was absolutely wrong of him. But I'm worried that confronting him will cause more Chaos then leaving it alone will...but what if he does it again?" Kimo looked genuinely frightened "I-I don't know if y-you should go targeting people like Kaitou..." Mai smiled "Don't worry about me Kimo, he's a coward. He won't lay a hand on me, okay? Remember what happened with Katsura?" Kimo nodded "He was knocked flat by someone with an obviously excessive amount of training in combat, not by a 5'4 altruist with no experience in fighting" Mai scratched her neck "That IS a good point but trust me, I'll be fine. It'll be an argument at most and that's what I'm worried about. Besides," she pulled out her envelope "I'm protected"

Kimo sighed "I know you won't be happy until you do this so...go ahead but please be careful and take m-" Mai shook her head "I honestly don't want you to come along on this one" Kimo looked shocked "Wh-why?" Mai put her head down "If things go bad then I don't want Kaitou to begin...picking on you" Kimo put his head down "Y-yeah...okay but then..." he pulled off his lucky bracelet "This is the luckiest charm I have, bring this with you" Mai shook her head "Kimo, I'm gonna be fine" Kimo shook his head "If I can't come with then I'll worry my head off...unless you take this with you. I know you don't believe in this stuff but it honestly means a lot to me, I need you to be as safe as possible"

Mai smiled with appreciation "Thank you, Kimo" She slid the bracelet on and waved bye, Kimo waved bye to her as well.

Mai walked over to Kaitou who was clipping his toenails onto the ground of The Foyer, he looked up at Mai and then huffed before looking back down at his toenails.

"We're going to have a talk now" Mai sat down in front of him.

"Am I grounded?" he said without looking up from his feet.

"You should be" Mai crossed her arms "Pulling a childish and crude prank like that! Zetsumei could've been hurt!"

Kaitou shrugged "Eh, lady. I have no fucking clue what you're talking about, I don't even remember who Zestumai is..." he rubbed his chin "That's the Ultimate Coroner, right?"

Mai leaped forward and grabbed his shirt collar, closing nearly all distance between them. Between being trapped in a Mansion, constantly fearing for her life and Kimo's, worrying about Zetsumei getting bullied again and Kaitou's teasing. Mai lost her cool

"Do you want to get embarrassed in front of everyone again!?" She hissed "I may not be as strong as Katsura but I will beat your fucking head in! Okay?"

Kaitou clammed up "O-okay..." she let go and backed up "I'll stop botherin' folks...yeesh the women here are crazy" he laid the toenail clippers on the ground and left the Foyer to go to his room with half clipped feet.

Mai took a deep breath and tried to calm down, but she struggled to.

She was walking around trying to find Kimo when Soji stopped her to ask her a question "Ma'am! Do you have any idea where my Super Mega Ultimate Recording Device is?" Mai shook her head, not only as a negative response to Soji's question but also in disbelief to his vast misunderstanding of what being an Ultimate was.

Soji huffed with all his might and walked off.

Eventually, Mai found Kimo and they chatted jovially for the rest of the night.

When the jingles played on their MortemPads they both decided to ignore it and keep talking, they kept chatting and chatting until everyone else had gone to bed and they were the only ones left.

They were both half-asleep and forcing themselves to stay awake and keep talking. Kimo checked his MortemPad to see the time and laughed hysterically "It's 4:30 AM!" Mai loudly exclaimed "No way!" she checked the time on her's and it said

4:27 AM

A vertically crescent sun was displayed above it to show that it was early morning. Mai began laughing loudly, all of her previous fear and despair fading away to the childlike enjoyment she was having with Kimo. "I feel like a little kid on a day off of school!" Kimo exclaimed "I haven't been this tired or up this early in years!" they both laughed for a while and things slowly began to tire out between them and before they knew it Mai was laying on her back on the floor of the Foyer with her arm outstretched and Kimo using her arm as a pillow. Their bodies were close together and warm because of it.

Their conversation had died off and all that was left was the soothing silence and presence of one another. Kimo whispered vulnerably "I...I'm so happy that I met you, Mai" Mai smiled sleepily "I'm so happy that I met you, Kimo"

Mai sat up and hovered over top of Kimo before planting a gentle kiss on his lips. Kimo clammed up before eventually loosening up and softly putting his arms around her. They held their lips together for some time before she slowly pulled away with a satisfied look on her face "Kimo...let's do that a lot, okay?"

Kimo was still in shock and his face was the darkest red that Mai had ever seen it "Y-y-y-" he coughed into his hand "Yeah...that sounds great!" the blood in his ears made it hard to hear how loud he was being.

"Do you want to go to bed, Kimo?" Kimo nodded "Y-yeah" Mai stood up and outstretched her hand to Kimo who took it and stood beside her.

"Go ahead and head to bed, I want to grab something real quick" Mai wanted to grab a snack for her and Kimo as she got a strong craving for a salty food due to staying up so late. Kimo nodded and walked into Mai's room.

Mai walked into the crossway and opened the Pantry door before walking inside the Pantry and shimmying between two shelves and heading into the back of the room, looking for chips. She finally found some and walked out of the Pantry and out of the Crosswalk and into the Foyer.

Mai was walking through the Foyer when suddenly a sharp pain resonated through the back of her skull and her vision blurred. Mai fell to the floor, slamming her nose against the Foyer ground. The last thing she saw before fading out was the blood from her broken nose pooling in front of her eyes before one more resounding thwap to the same wound took her out.

-Day 5 End-

Mai was freezing cold and shivering. She had a terrible headache and her entire body felt incredibly heavy. Her vision was still blurred which made her determine the room she was in. When she finally did her heart sank, she was trapped inside the Freezer. Something cold and hard was touching her hand, she looked down and saw that she was holding a bloody pipe. Her heart started racing and she quickly stood up and looked around and she saw something absolutely horrifying...

From the corner of the room, she woke up in to the opposite corner was a trail of drying blood leading to one huge pool of it. Propped up against the wall was the cold dead body of Kimo Yamauba, The Ultimate Occultist.

Mai cried out and fell to the ground, her legs giving way under her body. She crawled over to him, smearing his blood all across the front of her body. While desperately sobbing and begging for him to wake up she held him tightly, hoping that his heart would start beating and he'd tell her that they'd be okay becuase of their charms or becuase they had eachother, she wanted so desperately for him to do his melodic light hearted laughter and tell her that he was pulling an uncharacteristic prank on her. But he didn't do any of that and he never would again...

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AN: I'm still super new to writing so I apologize for any formatting or grammar issues or even just a general lack of quality. That being said I hope you still managed to enjoy the first part of the first part of my story! :)

Future chapters will likely be shorter as this chapter was mostly introductions which won't be necessary later on.