Authors Note: Kudos to everyone who caught on the V3 reference that the motive is. Sorry this chapter didn't come out sooner, didn't have much time to actually write it thanks to work, and it is a bit longer than the chapters usually are. As usual, I hope you enjoy.
Also, alternate title for this chapter: Reference City
Shio waited a few minutes, and a few minutes turned into several before eventually an entire hour passed since the revelation of the motive and since the group had dispersed through the campus.
She had spent that time just sitting with and chatting with Daichi. There wasn't much they could talk about in terms of their past, at least for Daichi when his memory was still as skewered as it was, but he did have one story he remembered with clarity where he and his childhood friend snuck into some private property to go bug hunting and ended with the two being chased by the angry owner.
The sun was still up and the clocks on the wall of the dorms read that it was a little past four-thirty in the afternoon when they finished talking. Though, Shio wasn't sure just how much she could trust the clocks to be accurate, but at the same time it wasn't like they could be off too far. Maybe an hour or two off if anything. The sun was still shining when the clocks said it was day and the stars were out when the clocks said it was night, and her stomach growled when it said it was mealtime.
"Ready to check on the others?" she asked as she stood up and raised her arms above her head to stretch. "Hopefully they've all had enough time to calm down, and if not we can reassure them when we see them."
Daichi smiled softly, not looking her in the eyes as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm sure that if it's you talking to them, they'll calm down if they're still upset or anxious over what Monokuma said," he said. "I mean, it's hard to be upset when you're around."
"You're a flatterer, Akemi-kun," Shio laughed as she gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go."
She started marching forward with a smile on her face and Daichi following at her side. She already had an idea of where some of the others would be lurking, so it would be quickest to check those spots out first. Of course they could be in their own dorm rooms, but Shio hadn't seen anyone go by her as she and Daichi hung out outside of the rooms.
The first spot she chose was actually right behind the dorms. Over the past six days she'd seen Hikaru hanging around at the back more than a few times, so she figured it was safe to say that was her usual hangout spot. Usually she had Kasumi with her, so Shio wouldn't put it past them to both be behind the dorms today.
And, as she slipped out the dorms doors and walked around the building to the back, she was greeted with the familiar sight of a teenager wearing a dark blue track suit and another in a simple white long sleeve button up and a beige sweater vest over it and a skirt. The two girls were talking avidly as they leaned against the wall of the dorm.
They didn't seem to notice Shio or Daichi coming into view and approaching them, too engrossed in their conversation with each other.
"This sucks, I swear I'm gonna die in here!" Hikaru groaned as she slouched, propped up by the wall and running her hands through her red hair. "Kasumi, you gotta appease my spirit after I die, okay? Salt my grave so I don't come back a wretched ghost."
"Hikaru… you're not going to die," Kasumi mumbled.
Shio tilted her head as she reached them, "Why do you think you're going to die?" she asked. Did Hikaru think someone was going to kill her? No, the way she was saying it, it didn't sound like she was scared she was going to get murdered, but, whenever someone brought up dying, especially in this prison of theirs, Shio couldn't help but get a little nervous.
But the racer raised her head to look at the two who had arrived, "Huh? Oh, hey Uehara-san, Akemi-san," she greeted and scratched the back of her head. "it's just, it's so cramped in here, don't you think so? We're walled off, caged up, and I can't even get a good rush when in here. I'm going to die from adrenaline withdrawal!"
Oh, was Hikaru an adrenaline junkie? Well, Shio figured it did make some sense, she was a racer, and an Ultimate one at that. It wouldn't be strange if she loved the adrenaline rush that came along with her talent.
"Well, can't you just run along the wall? Wouldn't that give you a rush?" Daichi asked her.
But to his question, Hikaru looked at him and shook her head, "that wouldn't work at all. If I'm just running on my own then it'd be boring, and there isn't really anyone here who can keep up with me in a full blown race, on foot or otherwise," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I suggested asking Takahiko-kun or Tsubasa-chan, they are athletes after all," Kasumi offered, "But they both declined when we asked."
Oh, well that sucked. Those two would have been the best choices to have a run with Hikaru out of everyone here.
Shio could kind of understand where Hikaru was coming from. She was a racer after all, not having any sort of race going on must have been like a slow torture for her. Shio could relate, her fingers itched and twitched from not being able to hold, let alone play a violin in a week.
"I guess you really like racing against others, huh?"
"Of course," Hikaru said, nodding her head furiously, "I don't even care about if I win or lose, the fun is in giving your all, the rush of trying your hardest against another person. That's what's fun about it."
Shio smiled and placed a hand on Daichi's back, "In that case," she gave a shove and Daichi stumbled forward towards Hikaru. "Why not have a race with Akemi-kun? He may not look it, but he's actually pretty quick when he wants to be."
The racer looked him up and down with an arched brow, "You're not pulling my leg? You really are a good runner?"
Straightening himself out, Daichi let out an awkward cough, "Well, I guess? I don't know if I'm as fast as you, but, I think I was on a track team in middle school and high school."
Hikaru didn't comment on the 'I think' part of his statement, she smiled and slapped him on the back. "Good enough for me. Come on, we'll race around the campus wall," she grabbed him by the wrist and started walking, though it was something more between a walk and a jog, "follow me!"
"Hey, wait, I never said I was going to race you!" Daichi argued, but it was futile as he was dragged off.
Shio watched with a smile and from beside her Kasumi hid a small giggle behind her hand.
"Hopefully he can hold his own against her," Shio commented as she leaned against the wall. "I kind of threw Akemi-kun under the bus there, but I figured it'd help Yoshii-chan to get some of this out of her system."
Kasumi smiled up at her and it was almost like the sun was staring at Shio, "Don't worry," she assured her and looked back forward, watching as Hikaru finally got Daichi, who had given up on struggling, to the wall and looked to be getting into a starting position for the run. "She'll probably go easy on him if he's not fast enough."
"But wouldn't that go against the whole 'giving it her all' thing?" Shio asked as the two took off.
"It does, but I think Hikaru wouldn't mind so long as they both have fun."
Shio gave a hum and then turned to look back at Kasumi, "So… do you think you could tell me a little about yourself?" she asked and then gave a sheepish laugh, "I realized that I never really got to learn too much about you when we did our introductions on day one. I know you're a dancer and probably super elegant, too. But I don't know too much about you."
"Elegant? I don't know if I'd go that far…" Kasumi blushed a little and looked away, pushing some brown locks behind her ear. "There's not really a whole lot I can say. I'm probably a little bland in comparison to the others."
"Nonsense!" Shio shook her head. "You're super interesting already, whatever you have to say won't change that," she said and smiled, "So, how about this, what are some things you like? Outside of ballroom dance, of course."
"What kind of things I like…?" Kasumi answered and tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Well… it's kind of embarrassing, but I like MMORPG games," she didn't look up at Shio as she said that, her ears turning pink. "I know it's silly."
"Silly? No way!" Shio leaned forward, "I never would have thought you'd be into those games, but that's super cool! Do you only play one specifically? Or do you have a whole bunch of different ones you play?"
Honestly, Shio had never played too many of those games. The only one she'd ever played had been an old one that had been fun for a little while but got tedious and stressful after a bit. The chat was always moving too fast for her to make sense of what was going on, most of the good gear or quests required her to pay to gain access. The game always lagged like crazy when she was in the cities and it ended up becoming boring.
Not to mention most of her time had already been devoted to the violin, which she had so much more enjoyment in than the game. But, she also understood that different people had different interests. She wasn't about to shame Kasumi for liking something she never could really get into. Besides, it was nice to learn something new like this about the dancer.
Kasumi offered an embarrassed smile, "Well, I'd usually only really play one at a time. Dancing took up much of my time so I'd only get an hour or two in a day unless I had a contest coming up, then I'd have no time at all to play," she explained. "But this one I'd been really into recently was called Ysmir."
"Ysmir?" Shio repeated with a tilt of her head. She couldn't really say the name sounded familiar. "What's the game like?"
But the dancer looked away, "I'll probably make it sound boring if I explain it," she said, "I've been told I tend to ramble when I start talking, I don't want to annoy you or anything."
"Come on, there's no way you can annoy me," Shio assured her with a smile and pat on the shoulder, "Besides, if it's a game you play, then of course I'd like to know more about it. It's bound to be loads of fun, after all. It's impossible for you to make it sound boring."
Kasumi didn't look entirely convinced but she nodded and swallowed a little before finally answering. "Well, it's a game that takes place in four different kingdoms. Though technically only one was an actual kingdom. What you choose for your character, such as race and class in the beginning of the game decides what land you start on," she began, and at least she gave Shio a heads up about the rambling part.
"There's Aykor, which is where human warriors and mages spawn, it's a small kingdom where players can create mage guilds, join the Templar order or become a Kings knight. It's an Old-English styled layout. Then there's the Northern Barrens, super cold and unless your character has the right gear equipped or a Frost Resistant perk, they'll be getting damaged just by being outside. Snow elves and a race of humans known as the northern children spawn there, they are immune to cold and have powerful ice magic. They also worship the Great Frost, which is actually a dragon and characters from that land can summon the Will of the Frost to fight with them if they're a high enough level, which summons an ice version of the dragon,"Kasumi said, her hands were moving in gestures that Shio couldn't really understand, but she was smiling so much wider than the violinist thought she'd ever seen the woman smile before.
"There's also this southern land called the Seven Cities which is where people who choose orcs, barbarians or rogues spawn," Kasumi continued, "It's a desert like land with a few grassy lands where cities tend to be built at, the cities are full of thieves and crime and a lot of illegal guilds you can join. Also there's a land called the Tir Na Nog, the Fairy Kingdom where fairies, elves and dwarves spawn, full of magic and beauty. It's lustrous forests and magical creatures everywhere, and you can't enter unless you're one of their native characters, are in a party with one, or has gained the favor of Titania or Oberon. There's a whole lot of quests you can do, different type of gear, you can even marry other players and share an inventory."
She spoke so fast. It felt like Shio had just listened to the audio version of a small wall of text. Most of this stuff was going over her head, as much as she didn't want to admit it, and it just sounded confusing. Too much to take in at once.
But Kasumi was certainly passionate as she talked about it, smiling wide and her cheeks were even a slight flushed color. Just listening to how excited and happy Kasumi was about talking about this Ysmir game actually made Shio a bit more interested in this game of hers than she would have otherwise. It was certainly worth checking out, that was for sure.
"So, then what kind of character did you have?" she asked, when the girl had finished, hoping she could retain enough of the info dump to make sense of however Kasumi answered.
She smiled happily, "I played a fairy, so I had a flight perk and magic," was Kasumi's answer. "I joined a guild on Aykor with a few other players, we weren't anything special and were kind of small, but we had fun together."
"It sounds like it," Shio responded, "With how much you're hyping it up, I might have to try it when we get out of here."
She practically had stars in her eyes when Shio said that and nodded her head, "Yes, please, do! You'll love it," Kasumi said, "I'm trying to get Hikaru to agree to play it when we get out, it'll be fun if you do too. I can even show you the ropes when you start out and help you out!"
"Well, I can't say it won't be nice having someone show me how things are done," she agreed with a grin, "You'll have to give me your contact info so we can stay in touch after this, I can't imagine we're all from the same city after all." And it'd be nice to keep contact with everyone once they got out of here.
Kasumi giggled a little, hiding it behind her hand.
Honestly, Kasumi was such a bright and happy girl, Shio was quite glad to have a ray of sunshine like her in this dreary place. She may be a bit shy and quiet at times, but Kasumi had a special charm about her that made it hard not to smile when talking to her. And, when she started getting passionate about that game, it really was impossible not to want to join in.
"So… Shio-chan, can I ask you something?" Kasumi asked and her smile was gone. She was looking down, playing with her fingers, like she couldn't meet Shio's eyes or something.
But Shio kept smiling, if for nothing more than to offer her friend some comfort. "Sure, go ahead."
Kasumi swallowed and her shoulders shook a little. "It's… it's about the motive," she admitted and even though Shio knew that they were going to talk about it—it was a murder motive and their lives being threatened after all—she couldn't help but feel a bit of unease at the mention of it. But she kept smiling for Kasumi. "Do you… please be honest with me Shio-chan, do you really think that it's a bluff? Or are we really all going to die if we don't kill a person?"
At her question, Shio took in a deep breath and tilted her head to look up at the sky as she collected her thoughts. It was still as blue as ever, clouds drifting aimlessly by, birds flying above, unaware or uncaring of their current plight. She closed her eyes and after a moment, opened them again.
"Of course it is," she answered, her voice steady and eyes holding certainty. "I don't believe that Monokuma would try to kill us all off like that. But, if it helps you at all, I do have a plan being executed in case I'm wrong."
"You do?" Kasumi asked, looking at her with wonder.
Shio smiled and patted her friend on the shoulder, "I do, I can't tell you anything right now, but it'll probably come up when the group meets up for dinner," she explained. She didn't want to tell her about Izumi looking for bombs, not right now. Shio wanted to wait until she met up with the thief later to see how progress went before explaining everything to the others. "But, I can tell you that you don't have to worry your pretty little head none. I promise that I'll keep you and the others safe, okay?"
She kept staring at Shio for a long time before she nodded, her smile returning and her hand reaching out to grasp Shio's own. "Thank you for doing this, Shio-chan," Kasumi murmured, her voice quiet and weak. "For taking charge like this. I don't… I don't know if we'd have been able to last as a group this long if you hadn't been here."
Now it was time for Shio to go red as she looked away, scratching at the back of her head with her free hand and giving an awkward laugh. "Well, I don't think that's entirely true, you guys would have been fine without me. There are lots of other competent people in the group who could have taken this role, after all."
Kasumi smiled and let go of Shio's hand. "I'll have to disagree with that, but I won't push it," she said and looked away, "I think I see Hikaru and Daichi-kun coming back. If it's okay with you, we can pick up our conversation another time."
Sure enough, Shio could see the two making their return in the distance. Hikaru seemed to be running a bit slower to match the pace with Daichi who, by the looks of it, was completely worn out. Shio almost laughed at the sight of it.
"I'll come visit you again, I'd love to hear more about that game of yours," she said as she went to meet up with the racers.
After checking on Daichi to make sure he was going to live, and giving him a few minutes to catch his breath and to step into his room to change into clothes that weren't drenched in sweat, the two went off to try and find some of the other students to see how they were doing.
She expected to see Tsubasa or Eisuke in the gym, but neither were there, much to her surprise. They did pass Goro as they walked down the hall connecting the gym to the rest of the university center. But he didn't really want to stick around and chat, claiming he just wanted to get on to the library down the stairs, so Shio didn't press her luck and make him stay and talk.
The others were probably hanging out in the library or in one of the few rooms on this floor or downstairs. She'd spent quite a bit of time chatting with Kasumi, too, and Daichi had burned himself out during the run with Hikaru that they agreed to go to the dining room next.
"What did you two talk about, anyway?" Daichi asked as they walked, trying to hide the slight limp that came with his sore legs. "I mean, I didn't get to talk much with Yoshii-san while we were racing, but I figure you were chatting with Sasaki-san while we were out there."
Shio smiled as she brought her arms to rest behind her head, "What were we talking about? Hmm… well, mostly about games, actually," she admitted. "Sasaki-chan was telling me about this fun online game she plays, gave me something to look forward to trying once we got out of here."
"Sasaki-san is into gaming?" Daichi raised a brow and shook his head as they maneuvered around a chair that hadn't been pushed back in from one of the tables in the hall. "I really wouldn't have thought of that."
But Shio gave a small laugh, "We girls are full of surprises, Akemi-kun," she added a wink in his direction and giggled again as her friend went red and looked away.
They pushed the doors to the dining area open and saw a small group had already situated itself in there. At one table was Takahiko, Yuu and Ren. Aito was sitting alone at a table near them, close to the group but separate from them as always.
And as usual, he gave barely more than a grunt and nod in Shio's direction when she said hello as she walked by him, too preoccupied with the butter knife he was playing with. She made a mental note to try and get some one-on-one time with him, just to make sure he was okay, that there was nothing wrong.
But taking a seat next to Ren at the other table, Shio smiled at the group.
"Hey guys, what are you talking about?" she asked innocently as the three quieted down and offered a few hellos in her and Daichi's direction
Ren yawned as Daichi slipped in next to Shio. "We're just chatting about movies and stuff. Did you ever get to see Battle Royale?" he asked them. Both Shio and Daichi shook their heads. "2000's movie. We thought that the situation we're in kind of reminded us of the plot of the movie. Bunch of high schoolers isolated from the rest of the world by a group and forced to kill each other."
"I don't think there were class trials and talking robotic bears like Monokuma in the movie, though," Takahiko pointed out in that low rumble of a voice of his. "But, the similarity is unsettling. I probably won't be watching that movie again any time soon after we get out of here."
Yuu shuddered, "To be fair, that movie was never one I was really into, and now I'm into it even less," she muttered and slumped against the table. "But, it might not be too terrible of an idea to use this as an idea for a script. After some therapy of course. But I could make a TV show out of this."
"Well, if you need an actor to play the devilishly charming red haired protagonist," Ren began as he flicked a few strands of hair out of his face, "You know where to find me."
At his suggestion, Shio made a face of disgust and Ren's cool façade broke as he slapped his hands against the table. "Hey! What's that face supposed to mean? It's only fair that if you make this into a movie or show that I get to play me!"
Takahiko laughed a little at the exchange but didn't really make any comment as the two bickered. Shio was the one who broke the lighthearted argument with a curious question for them.
"That's right, movies and TV are basically your and Taikiyo-kuns thing, isn't it?" Shio asked, leaning against the table some to look at the two. Ren was an actor, she'd actually seen him on a few shows and movies before coming here, and Yuu wrote scripts for them. It wasn't any surprise the two of them would hang together or talk movies with each other.
Ren laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "I don't know if it's our 'thing', but… yeah. That's kind of the industry the two of us are in," he admitted. "Though I prefer stage plays than the big screen if I'm being honest."
Oh? So he preferred stuff like plays and musicals over TV shows and movies? That was pretty interesting, not what she would have expected from him.
"What would you guys say was your favorite project to work on?" Shio asked with a smile.
The two looked at each other and began thinking hard. From the corner of her eye she even saw Aito perk up and tilt his head over in their direction as though to listen for their answers. Boy, he could be a bit of a tsundere at times, but at least he seemed to want to be part of the group. Hopefully she could get him comfortable enough to join the fully integrate himself in the group one of these days.
"I'd have to say… there was this one TV series, a courtroom drama-comedy kind of thing called Attorney at Law," Ren began after tapping his chin a few times. "I don't know if you saw it before. It's about this one defense attorney who doubles as an investigator to prove his client innocent and bluffs most of the time through his cases and has a young spirit medium with no law experience other than being accused of murder at least once per season as his assistant."
"Yeah, I've heard of it, still going on strong after… what? Six seasons and a two-season spin-off focusing on his season one rival?" Daichi nodded his head. "Used to be one of my favorites. I kind of wanted to see his assistant and the season two prosecutor get together when I was still a big fan," he added with a laugh.
Ren grinned and nodded his head, "Oh, the ships people have for that show is amazing," he agreed. "But that was probably my favorite to be on. I played the role of one of the witnesses for one of the case arcs in season three. It was pretty fun meeting all the actors there for the few episodes I worked on."
"I think I helped write an episode for one of the season five cases," Yuu mused as she spoke up, "Or maybe it was season four? It was one of the seasons where they started bringing in all these new mechanics to the show."
"Yeah, I never really liked it after they added that stuff. I mean I could get behind the spirit medium thing. But listening to people's hearts?" Daichi made a face. "Don't get me wrong, I loved the character, she was awesome, but her whole ability just kind of felt like they were trying to push the envelope a bit too far."
Laughing, Ren shook his head, "Don't forget, this is a show that already lets the prosecutors whip, attack with hawks and God knows what else to the defense team and witnesses if they don't do what they want. Not to mention the judge makes the defense team uncover who the real killer is even after proving why their client couldn't have committed the murder."
"I don't think any of that would have worked in a real courtroom," Daichi laughed.
The table joined in his laughter for a little bit and when they calmed down, Shio, still a bit rosy cheeked, turned to Yuu. "What about you? What's the favorite thing you've worked on in the past?"
She looked up at Shio, picking at the sleeves of her oversized sweater. "Well, it's kind of embarrassing," she admitted. "But, my favorite show I've gotten to work on is Sugar Life. I was actually the head scriptwriter for the show and I loved every second I worked on it."
Ren cocked his head to the side, "Sugar Life? Is that some kind of sweet, romantic drama show?" He asked her. "I can totally see you writing scripts for those sappy romances. Like you'd be my pick to write the script for a live action version of So Lingers the Ocean."
"Sugar Life's a psychological thriller and drama filled to the brim with a lot of triggering and dark content," heads turned as Aito spoke, his body turned in his chair to face them as he stared at the group- no, he wasn't staring at them, his eyes were locked onto Yuu as he spoke.
"It's a show that slips seamlessly between dark and cute. It's a yandere type of story, except the relationship isn't founded by the character kidnapping and holding her lover hostage, but rather, she becomes a yandere as a result of external forces trying to tear apart this happy life she's developed with the one she fell in love with. So she murders anyone who tries to hurt her lover, blackmails and threatens anyone who poses a threat to this wonderful castle she's built. It was a pretty controversial show from a few years ago because of the content it showed."
Daichi let out a little cough, "I guess… you must be a big fan of that show?"
The response he got was a small shrug, "It's one of my favorites. I also find it ironic that the yandere character is one of the most mentally sane ones, with exception to her lover, of course. But I still think even she's a little messed up in the head herself to go along with this so eagerly and happily."
Yuu blushed and looked away, "I, thanks. I'm glad to know it's your favorite. Like you said, it has a lot of triggering content so I can understand that most people wouldn't like it."
"I mean, I already figured that Shigaraki-san here was into the trigger-happy shit, but, man. I would not have pegged you for being into dark stuff, Kobayashi-chan," Ren said with a laugh. "I feel like I'm learning so much about you now. Maybe you and Shigaraki-san can bond over your dark show."
She didn't say anything, her blush growing deeper as she looked at her lap in embarrassment.
Takahiko shook his head and leaned farther back into his seat. "She's sweet and all, but Kobayashi isn't some innocent snowflake," he commented, and Yuu reached out to try and silence him but he held her back with one hand, a small smile playing his lips. "She's always had some interesting interests. I mean you should read some of the fanfiction she's written. The stuff is dark. Kidnapping, psychological torture, physical torture, the list goes on."
"Takahiko!"
Once again the group started laughing at her dismay and Takahiko's unapologetic 'just saying it as it is.'. When they finally calmed down again, Daich smiled and nodded towards the two in front of him.
"So, Saikawa-san, Kobayashi-san, sorry if I'm just assuming this and all, but I couldn't help but notice just how close you guys have been since day one," Daichi pointed out. "Did you guys already know each other before we all came here?"
Shio made a small face. He was right, she noted. From the first time the entire group met up, those two had always been beside one another, confiding in one another. It was kind of odd when she thought about it, they would have been strangers who had just met each other, yet they've always acted like they were old friends. Even she and Daichi hadn't clicked that quickly.
But Yuu gave a small laugh and moved to lean against the much taller boy. "Well, guilty as charged. Guess we probably should have said this from the beginning, sorry," she said with a smile, wrapping and arm around Takahiko. "The two of us have been friends since we were little. We grew up in the same orphanage. Takahiko's pretty much my brother."
Takahiko nodded his head in agreement. "I was in the orphanage first, she got brought when we were six, was a crying mess for a good while. She's always been small, even when we were kids she was much smaller than the other kids so she got teased and picked on a lot," he explained to them with a lazy shrug. "I just kind of ended up chasing off the other kids whenever she got picked on, and before long we just always stuck to each other."
"We'd get in trouble so much at the orphanage because we'd always sneak into each other's bed to sleep, which was against the rules."
"Correction," Takahiko cut in, giving her a light slap on the arm and pushing Yuu off of him, "you'd always sneak into my bed because you were scared the shadow monsters were going to eat you while you slept."
"It's not my fault. Toga-chan always said that shadows on the walls were monsters waiting to gobble up kids!" Yuu complained with a pout.
Shio laughed as the two got at it. They really were like siblings. It had to be nice to have someone you cared so much about already to be here with you through this awful time. Or, maybe it just made it worse knowing they were in the same situation as you and their lives were in danger as well.
She didn't have much more time to dwell on it as the others began coming in one after another. It must have been time for the dinner meet up. Their conversation faded away as the table began to fill out with the others. First Eisuke, then Tsubasa. Kasumi and Hikaru came together as usual. Goro stole a chair next to Daichi and plopped himself down next to it. Shio made sure to count each and every one who came in. Kousuke followed Goro and found himself a seat next to Tsubasa. Eleven students.
Taiyou came in with a skip in his step as he sat on one of the nearby tables. Hayato slipped in quietly, she almost missed him. Izumi stepped in quietly with a bag over her shoulder and Mitsuru practically shouldered past her on her way in, both taking a seat on the side across from Shio.
At seeing Izumi, Shio smiled warmly. She was here, good. Now Shio could check on how she'd been doing, what sort of progress she'd made and then enlighten the rest of the group on their plan while everyone was still here and save her a trip of trying to find everyone to explain it to them.
"How's your work going?" Shio asked over the chatter of the other students when Izumi sat down. But Izumi didn't answer and Shio felt her smile slip, "…Hayasha-chan…?" she asked when she saw her face.
The expression on Izumi's face didn't raise much hopes, it was an expression Shio couldn't say she'd ever seen on her classmate's face. Her brows were knitted, a deep frown etched on her face as her eyes stared down sullenly at the table, unable to meet anyone's gaze. She hugged a bag tightly to herself as she seated herself across from Shio.
Shio felt flags start to raise, bright red ones, like Izumi had found something bad during her search.
"So what've you been up to, Hayasha-san?" Ren asked cocking his head to the side, "I saw you just wandering and snooping around the campus like you were looking pretty hard for something. Lose something?"
She didn't answer just looked at the table. So Shio spoke up on her behalf. "About that," she said clearing her throat as she stood up a little from her seat to address the group. "After we all split up following Monokuma's motive, Hayasha-chan suggested looking to see if there really are any bombs hidden around campus," Shio explained and looked back to Izumi with a gentle smile. "Did you find anything?"
There was a prolonged pause before Izumi finally looked back up at the group and, after swallowing hard, she placed the bag she was carrying on the table. "I wish I could say otherwise, but, I don't have good news," the thief admitted as she opened the bag and reached inside.
What she pulled out was a black metal ball, a little smaller than a bowling ball, with Monokumas face painted on it. Just the sight of it put an ominous feeling in the air.
"What's that?" Aito asked, a bit of interest in his eyes as he leaned towards the table to get a better look at it, "and where'd you find it?"
Izumi frowned as she tapped her fingers against the metal object. "I managed to find a hidden hatch where one of those Monokuma copies were hidden near the wall sealing us here. I pulled out the bear and found this hidden in it," she answered. "It's a bomb."
As soon as those words were out, several students jerked back, some leaping out of their chairs and backing up. Kousuke was one of them, moving so that there was another table between him and the rest of the group.
"Why the hell are you bringing a bomb in here? Are you trying to kill us?" he demanded, though there was a hint of panic, the small sign of fear, in his voice. "Do you realize just how dangerous this is? Do you?"
Tsubasa was another who had backed off when she learned what it was that Izumi brought to them. "I know you already have a criminal record that you're proud of and all that, but you don't need to add suicide bombing to it."
Several others started talking, one over another, panic rising as they feared the worse. Honestly, Shio needed to get the group to learn how to handle panic better. "Guys, guys!" Shio called out, and slowly but surely the group started to quiet down, "let's let Hayasha-chan explain."
Izumi gave her a grateful look and cleared her throat. "First of all, the bomb isn't going to go off, I made sure of that so we don't have to worry about this one blowing us up to kingdom come," she assured them all, but she still looked pale in the face. "The problem is that it means Monokuma isn't bluffing. At least about there being bombs spread out through the campus."
That was what Shio had been hoping wouldn't be the case. She firmly believed that Monokuma was just tricking them with the idea of blowing them up, but if there were bombs placed around the campus, then the idea of the motive being a huge bluff was less likely. Still, she had to hold onto hope and keep moving forward.
"Regardless, you already found one of them, thank you, Hayasha-chan," Shio said smiling happily at her friend.
Mitsuru frowned, her arms crossed as she nervously sat back down in her own seat. "So you said you found it in one of Monokumas spawn points? Any way we can block it to keep him from popping out in that spot?"
"I tried," Izumi admitted, "but as soon as I made a move to cover it up, Monokuma—the one I'd taken out of the hatch to retrieve the bomb—came to life and told me it was a big no-no to knowingly block his exit points. He made it into a regulation so you might want to check it out."
Shio slid out her E-Handbook and turned it on, taking a quick peek at the regulations. Most were the same; violence against Monokuma and destruction of the cameras and monitors were against the rules, graduation clause, nighttime from ten to seven. Then at the end was the one she was talking about, 'The knowing obstruction of any of Monokumas exit points is prohibited'.
"That means we're safe if we block one so long as we don't know that's where Monokuma comes from," Daichi said, "that's good. He could have been cruel and make it so we're punished even if we didn't know that's one of his hidden deployment hatches."
"He's also giving us a fighting chance here," Hayato said, speaking up from his corner at the table as he stared at the rule and then looked at Izumi. "He could have very easily made it so that disturbing these areas when we find them would be against the rules, making it impossible for Hayasha-san to retrieve the bombs that may be hidden inside them. But, he didn't. As the rules are right now, we're allowed to open them and take out whatever is inside, giving us the chance to find and deactivate these explosives before time runs out," he said slowly but clearly, letting his words sink in for the others. "He's given us a way to survive this motive without killing someone."
"Or it means," Taiyou cut in with his usual cheery, sing-song voice as he leaned back in his chair, feet kicked up on the table, "that the mastermind doesn't think we'll be able to survive even with this handicap. After all, who knows how many bombs there are. There's no way the sneak-thief over there can find and deactivate them all within the time limit. Monokuma knows this he's just giving us a bit of hope that'll come crashing down when we realize it's not working and we're running out of time."
"Adachi-kun," Shio began, but before she could get any further than that, Daichi cut her off, his fists slamming on the table as he glared at the blonde.
"Who're you to decide if we can or can't make it?" he asked, "I have full faith in Hayasha-san's capabilities. And, if we all work together to get through this, then there's no way we can't survive something like this."
But Taiyou was still smiling as he closed one eye, his other trained on Daichi. "Oooh? And how to you suppose we'll survive if she doesn't find and deactivate all the bombs? Dig ourselves little holes like rabbits and hope for the best?"
"We'll… we'll…" Daichi began, his voice wavering as he found himself at a loss, confronting Taiyou but with no actual ideas to present.
Yet it was fine, because when Taiyou said that a lightbulb went off for Shio and she clapped her hands together once with a small 'ah-hah!'. "That's it!" she said, and the all eyes were on her again. Taiyou was a freaking genius! "That's exactly what we can do."
"What…? Dig a hole?" Eisuke asked in disbelief.
Shio nodded her head firmly, "Yes. Not just a hole, we can build ourselves a makeshift shelter to protect us from the explosion," She explained, her pitch growing more and more excited as she spoke, the ideas rushing through her. "It's just, does anyone have a paper and pencil I can borrow?"
Yuu drew her bag to her front and began rummaging through it, "I do, hold on," she said and then withdrew a pen and a notebook, flipping it to a clean page before handing it off to Shio. "Here you go."
She took it with a thanks and began sketching. First a large circle, then a few rectangular shapes, writing down names to list what was what. She was a violinist, not an artist so it wasn't the best sketch, but it'd do. "See, this is the campus right now. I tried to put down where everything was and how they were facing to the best of my ability," she said and held out the items to Izumi, "Here, mark where you found the bomb."
"It was… right around here," Izumi answered and put a small Monokuma eye near the wall.
"Good, so that's one bomb, and to blow up the entire campus they'd need a lot. But, if we can try and clear out a specific area," she lightly began sketching a small bubble near where Izumi marked the bomb at, "that could be a safe zone farthest from the rest of the bombs. Of course we'd want to get rid of the other bombs too, to lessen the damage and all that."
Mitsuru let out a large groan. "Get to the point already! What does this have to do with digging a hole?"
Okay, so maybe she was dragging it on a little too much, "Sorry. Yeah, okay," Shio mumbled and then nodded to herself, "So, in the cleared area, we could build ourselves a hole. I think I saw plenty of tools that could work in the storehouse. We can fill sandbags up with the dirt we dig out to make a protective wall, or fill bags up with other things, preferable softer stuff that won't hurt us if they blow up, and when we draw close to the time limit, we can all climb into our makeshift bomb shelter where we'll be the safest on the chance that Monokuma isn't bluffing about blowing us up."
"Would that even work?" Tsubasa asked as she looked at the final project, a shabby drawing of a circle within her 'safe zone' circle with crudely drawn sandbags circling it. "I can't imagine we'd get that done in time."
"If we all work nonstop in shifts, it's possible," Takahiko offered. "We have groups of two to three people working and every few hours replace them with other students so they can rest. Even have students working during the night in groups to keep progress going."
"There's no rule saying we can't," Kasmi added, twiddling her fingers. "Though, Monokuma could easily make one when we start to keep us from doing it."
"It sounds like way too much work," Mitsuru grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest. "This kind of manual labor sounds like something for the dumb athletes, not for me."
Hikaru narrowed her eyes, "Watch what you say, princess, you're in the same boat as us. You really expect to survive if you don't pull your own weight?" she demanded. "Besides, do you really wanna pick a fight with us 'dumb athletes'? You wouldn't stand a chance."
Mitsuru looked like she wanted to say more, but quieted herself and sank in her chair with an expression like she just sucked a lemon.
"Guys, please, we're trying not to start fights," Ren called out with his hands held out in a 'stop' gesture towards the two girls. "Or did you forget the point of this is to not get killed? Because all this hostility is not doing the job."
"She started it, the girl's all bark and no bite," Hikaru grumbled but said no more to that.
Glad that that bit of strife was over, Shio quickly got back to the topic at hand. "Like Saikawa-kun said, so long as we keep working at it, we should be able to get it done in time. It doesn't need to be super deep either. Just enough to keep us safe should the worse come to happen."
"It feels like a waste of time and energy," Taiyou complained, loudly voicing his opinion as usual. "I mean, come on, if someone just kills another, won't that solve the problem so much quicker?"
"Don't even joke about that, Adachi-san," Daichi snapped.
"I'm just saying it as it is, we'd have a better chance of surviving if we just sacrifice some people."
Taiyou continued grinning from ear to ear as he said that, as relaxed as ever even though Daichi looked on the verge of attacking him for that. Shio reached out and grabbed him by the hand and gave it a slight squeeze, forcing Daichi to look away from Taiyou and at her. She offered him a small smile before turning to the other boy.
Her gaze hardened and her smile vanished. "I know this isn't as interesting for you as a killing game is, Adachi-kun," she began, "but I'd rather not play into Monokuma's hand. I'd rather take this chance to keep everyone alive than let two of my friends die for the rest to live, regardless of how high or low the odds are."
Taiyou stared back at her, still smiling, his eyes unblinking as they locked onto her own, like he was trying to figure her out from a simple look. The seconds felt like hours before he finally shrugged and looked away. "Fine, fine, suit yourself. Just don't count on my help for this plan."
A few students grumbled as he got up and walked away, a skip in his step and a hum fading as he left the room. She hadn't let go of Daichi's hands, feeling how tense he was, how tense everyone was.
Despite his attitude, despite everything… Taiyou had a point. There was no guarantee that, if Izumi could not find all the bombs and should if Monokuma went through with this motive, that the makeshift bomb shelter she had planned would protect them, would keep them all alive and unharmed. The only guarantee they had to keep the majority alive would be if two sacrificed their lives.
It'd be the easiest and quickest.
But, no, she couldn't think that way. Even considering the idea of letting two of her valued friends die so she and the others could keep on living was awful, it filled her with a gut wrenching guilt just thinking about it.
"For what it it's worth…" Kasumi began quietly, looking down at her lap, "I think Shio-chan's idea is really good."
Hikaru nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that's an idea I can get behind."
"I can't say I've ever dug out a trench before," Goro scratched the back of his head, "But, yeah, I'd be for it. Better than killing someone."
Kousuke sighed and shook his head. "I'm not entirely happy about the idea of doing such physical and dirty work such as digging a hole, Kita-san had a point about her, and I by the same reasons, not being suited for this kind of work," be began but sighed again in resignation, "but it's the better option and I'd be much happier not dying."
"I know there are lots of bags in the warehouse, and there's a few boxes of spare pillow cases and blankets we could use as makeshift bags if we run out," Tsubasa offered.
Takahiko nodded as he spoke up next, "We could probably use some of the gym equipment for some cushioning against the explosions, too," he suggested "There's two punching bags and few stacks of those foldable gymnastic mats in the closet. They're pretty durable stuff, they could probably work."
"There's some yoga mats in there as well. If we roll them up tight, they'd make an okay wall. Maybe," Eisuke added.
Slowly but surely more and more of her classmates began voicing their opinions, their agreement to the plan. Even Mitsuru, in her own sarcastic way, agreed to it and threw in a duct tape suggestion to keep the bags and mats together. Of course Izumi promised to keep looking for bombs, and asked to keep the makeshift map of the campus so she could keep marking where she found them.
Daichi got to work almost immediately, setting up schedules for who will dig and when, with where the first bomb was found the decided location for the trench. Groups of three were decided on, that way two can keep digging and the third can run to the warehouse and gym closet for tools if they need something, that way they can have each other's back in case Monokuma tried something. And to help prevent someone from being killed during this.
By the looks of things, the only one considering the idea of murder was Taiyou. It worried her some, but, she had a feeling since day one that he would be a problem in here. He was naturally antagonistic, and while she wasn't sure if he was genuine in his statements or just saying them to cause a problem, she knew she was going to have to sort something out with him to help prevent more problems.
But, honestly, Shio wasn't even sure if this plan was going to work. Could a hole in the ground walled up by dirt bags and foam mats really protect them from some explosions? Could this really keep them safe?
God she hoped so.
