(I know I said I won't be responding to non-question reviews but since reviews are like gold dust to me at this point I might well ignore that rule for now)
Kamilia07329: Thanks, glad you like it :). I plan on showing more Taeko (partly cuz I find her easier to write). To me it seems like one of the very few natural personalities she could have since whenever she appears (in both canon sources and fan arts) without her hair-clips on she always has that nonchalant or indifferent face on her.
I also said shits will start happening but this chapter is much longer than I thought it would be so we're back to side characters and Shiki. Sorry about that, next chapter…
Anyway, enjoy and leave reviews if you've got time.
Chapter 5
"Good morning you guys! It is now 7:00 AM! Rise and shiiiine! Let's make today into the best day it can be!"
Bloody. Intolerable. Twat.
Whatever, a new day, shits to do…
Knock Knock Knock.
Oh come on. It's 7 AM. I can't deal with this so early in the morning.
Knock Knock Knock Knock.
Ugh fine, I grumpily open the door to find a face filled with a sickening amount of enthusiasm.
"Good Morning Nakahara!"
Piss off Ishimaru.
"…Ishimaru"
"I hope you will excuse my intrusion"
No, no I won't. He barges in regardless. This one better has a good excuse…
"…Well?" I ask after a while.
"Keep your feet planted solidly on the ground and the harshest wave won't knock you down. Don't you agree?"
I'm sure the harshest wave would just knock your torso off your feet. Hmm, pleasant thoughts.
"Yes Ishimaru" now can you please leave?
"If you can't hold out against the raging waters by yourself, then we need to support each other. In doing so, we can outlast the storm!" Ishimaru roars on with an unhealthy amount of vigor.
If I can't hold out against the raging waters I would just ditch the place altogether Ishimaru.
"Yes Ishimaru" now can you please stop talking?
"Nakahara, I've been thinking about this since last night. I've come to the conclusion that we will need to strengthen our teamwork. To that end, every morning from now on I would like us all to gather for breakfast. Today shall be that momentous first day!"
This early in the morning? Are you thick? Not everyone has that much energy. This will just likely just put most of us in a bad mood.
"Yes Ishimaru" now can you at least stop shouting?
"Meet in the cafeteria, posthaste! I will take my leave here! The others must be informed as well!"
I suppose misery is more easily dealt with when it's evenly spread. I feel better knowing each and every one of my classmate will also suffer Ishimaru's obnoxiously loud prepared speech. Such cheerful thought fills my head as I drag my feet to the cafeteria. Let's humor him for now, I suppose this might be a good opportunity to see how the other students are taking the situation.
Oowada was the only one in the cafeteria when I arrived. Me and Oowada, fuck's sake Ishimaru, you could at least start with someone less defiant or doesn't despise mornings.
"That asshat called you here too?" Oowada greets, irritated.
"Evidently" I reply with a frown. Be nice Shiki, especially to the ones with serious anger management issues.
"Who the hell does he think he is, trying to tell me what to do?"
"He fancies himself our leader no doubt, which isn't an issue at the moment. We can always decide to stop humoring him if it gets out of hand. Beside, this may actually improve our chances at understanding our situation" doubt it though. I already have Kirigiri on my side.
"Like I need this shit to help me escape"
I shrug "You're welcome to continue banging your head against the iron plates if you so desire"
"Tch" was all the rebuttal he had. Bravado will only do you so much good Oowada. Please start learning whenever you're ready. The others are starting to come in one by one. About time…
"So… what did you do before coming to Hope's Peak?" Oowada attempts to start a conversation after a brief silence. My God Oowada, social skills, be careful lest you taint your delinquent status.
Amnesia, tread lightly Shiki. "What informants normally do: finding and selling secrets"
He snorts "Someone who can't keep his nose out of other people's business then"
"Oh I very much can Oowada. I simply choose not to. And why the defensive attitude? Any skeleton in your closet?"
This visibly scares him "Y-You're threatening me asshole?"
I frown "Oowada, do learn to hide your emotions sometimes, it'll help. And don't worry about your secret, I promise not to sell it unless it gets really really profitable. Heh heh"
Immediately, his hands reach for my collars, lifting me up a good few inches from the ground "I'VE HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH YOU, YOU CREEPY ASSHOLE"
Stupid, stupid, stupid Shiki, baiting him like that. Should have gotten my coffee after all, this bad mood is getting in the way of my better judgment. Most of the students in the cafeteria backed off immediately.
"YIKES. CALM THY WRATH MASTER OOWADA" that would be Yamada…
"Oo-Oowada-san…" Fujisaki squeaks.
"L-Let him go Oowada" Enoshima shouts out.
I raise both my hands "Calm your tits Oowada! Just a joke! (What? It was! I think…). We were both Ishimaru's 'victims' no? Couldn't get my morning coffee so I was in a foul mood and jested in bad taste" not appeased. Damn it I can't breathe properly. I'll need to do this quick. You're asking for it Oowada "Fine, listen carefully, Br…"
"Oowada, put him down" a voice so calm it sounds out-of-place. Kirigiri, no doubt "Control yourself. Don't repeat the incident from the other day"
That actually calmed him down. Oowada slowly puts me back down. My eternal gratitude Kirigiri. Resorting to his secret would not have made my relationship with him any better. A rather awkward silence follows, might well take the high road now.
"Apologies friend. That was in bad taste. I'll try to be more sensible in the future" I offer him my hand.
He's clearly uneasy about this, but eventually takes my hand "Um… yeah… Me too, sorry about that" Someone go make sure the sky's not falling.
That's one hurdle out of the way. I approach Kirigiri "Thanks Kirigiri, I owe you"
"I didn't save you or anything, although if you say you owe me I'll have to take that offer" Yeah I would as well. Before I can get back to my seat, she adds "Don't push their buttons Nakahara. They're already on edge due to everything that's going on"
Yes mum. She's not wrong though, I'll need to keep that in mind.
Then the others arrived. Each student picked a seat, most do so reluctantly. Togami sits on a separate table, because of course he does. Fukawa simply stands near him, because of course she would.
"Excellent, everyone's here! Very well, let us begin the breakfast assembly right away!" Ishimaru started after the last of us arrived "Soldiers, I appreciate you taking the time out to assemble here this morning"
"I told ya to piss off, but you dragged me here against my will" Kuwata complains.
"I believe I mentioned this early, that in order for us to escape…" and that's as far as he got before I begin eating my breakfast. Feel free to start talking about things that actually matter whenever you're ready guys.
"More importantly… Anyone here, like, found any clues?" Good question Enoshima, about damn time. "Seriously?! We haven't gotten anywhere?! Does no one have anything?!" Some of us do Enoshima, but we noticed the cameras in the room.
"You will die" Ludenberg leans forward, eyes staring in her signature creepy way.
"We're all going to die at some point Ludenberg" I said. Please let this not escalate further…
"Maybe so but those laying bare their weakness for all to see, are the ones who will die first"
"W-What're you going on about?! I'm going to die? Give me a break!" Enoshima visibly flinches.
"Adaptability is survivability. I believe I said as much already? You must adjust to your new lifestyle, and soon"
"Girl, is there something wrong with your head? Adapt to this place, are you nuts?"
Oh bollocks to this. My breakfast can be dealt with more easily than this mess. Kirigiri is more interested in observing the students than calming them down. Ludenberg is having too much fun yanking on their chains. Naegi is being as passive as always. Togami is too busy not giving a shit. This breakfast assembly is faring no better than what I've expected.
"You've all heard of Genocider Syo right?" Fujisaki spoke up at some point.
Heh? You heard that Fukawa? She bites her nail, a typical action for a school girl….or the killer herself.
"You're talking about the serial killer who's all over the internet?" Naegi asks.
"A villainous homicidal maniac with a brutally demented modus operandi" Togami explains "choosing his victims at random and without warning, even the police can't find a pattern. The internet has dubbed the suspect of these serial murder cases… Genocider Syo was it not?"
"Rumors say his victims number in the thousands, dude" Hagakure said.
"That's just a legend isn't it? In reality, it's just ten or twenty… which is still, like, a lot" Enoshima.
"Twenty-Six" I said, earning me blank stares from the other students "Twenty-Six victims. All males"
"How do you know that?" Enoshima asks.
"…did you seriously just ask me that?"
"Um… right, Super High-School Level Informant. So do you know who it is?"
"Nope" Fukawa Touko "He's quite elusive, despite his bombastic methods" The police wasn't desperate enough, they would have paid more for the information if I wait. Also it would have been in bad taste to reveal a classmate's secret. Tee. Hee.
"It's all good! It's absolutely, positively, no questions asked, all good! Because help is on the way soon!" Come on Asahina, that's right up there with 'what could go wrong?' "I mean, it's been a few days since we were trapped in this place. If everyone just suddenly lost contact with us, wouldn't the police get involved?"
"DAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" a maniacal laugh, followed by Monokuma himself "You're holding out for the police? Do you guys know what the role of the police is? They're foils. For the evil organizations, the bad guys, the dark heroes. Without them, the bad guys don't stand out as much I know it's their job and all but I'm not sure you should count on a group with such a superficial role. Either way, if you really want out that bad, all you've gotta do is kill someone!"
This launches yet another meaningless argument. Despite his rambling, Monokuma still has not explained one thing: Why the police have not come to save us. They're not that competent for the most part but I will not buy the fact that they're dumb enough to overlook the disappearance of sixteen students of the most prestigious school in the country. Could Monokuma actually have enough power to control the police? Did something major happen outside? Are we not actually at Hope's Peak? Perhaps… the Iron Plates aren't to just keep us in, but to hide what's outside?
"…There's a distinct lack of 'motive'" Monokuma said something that caught my attention "Upupu, I've just gotta give you all some 'motive'! I have something I want to show you guys! A video from outside the academy!"
"A movie… of what's outside the academy?" Naegi asks.
"Teehee, you're so impatient! Save the fun for when you're watching! Ye scurvy dogs should be able to watch the movies if ye go to a certain place in the school, arr!"
"Then we should check it out right away" Kirigiri suggests "But before that, can I ask you a question? Who, exactly, are you? Why are you doing this? What is it you want from us?"
"What I… want from you guys?" Monokuma tilts its obnoxious head "Despair… that's all I want. Any more than that, you guys will have to find out on your own. Watching you guys frantically search for the truth will make for an exciting spectacle! Bears just wanna have fun!"
And he disappears, just like that.
Despair? I don't understand… What does that mean… Despair… Despair… Despair…
No. Focus. Don't try to understand that demented thing. Right, back to reality, the videos…
"Yo, Naegi! Go check it out for us would ya?" Oowada asks with a grin.
"Huh? Why me?!" Naegi replies, understandably nervous.
"You're standing closest to the door. So that's that"
Naegi looks like he's about to protest. I approach him before he could. "No reason why not right? I'll come with you too"
"A-alright"
"Sweet. Sounds good. We're counting on you two!" Oowada said, satisfied.
"Um… why did you decide to come with me Nakahara-san?" Naegi asks as we leave the Cafeteria.
"There's an advantage in getting information before everyone else Naegi, and you use every edge you can get in here. Since it's a video I guess we'll head to the A/V room?"
The rest of the walk was silent until we reach our destination. The A/V room is mostly the same as before, except…
"DVDs in the box, each one labeled with one of our names" I report.
"This has to be the 'motive' Monokuma was talking about"
One for each huh. Motives. Outside world.
"Naegi. Go tell the others"
He nods and leaves immediately. Trusting fool. I'm sorry guys but as the Super High-School Level Informant, it's only natural for me to do this.
'…That Maizono girl in particular is unstable…'
That one then, I thought as I reach out for her DVD, privacy means little when our survival is at risk, sorry Maizono-san.
The video begins by showing Maizono and her band performing on stage while a voice introduces to us who she is, nothing new so I fast forward the video. It then shows an empty stage, telling us the band has been disbanded for whatever reason, with a cheesy "Find out after Graduation" text appearing on the screen. So that's what he meant by "motive".
Nothing good can come out of this, the girl is already on edge as it is, and this video will be the finishing blow. Perhaps it will be wiser to destroy the DVD? No, Monokuma is determined about getting one of us to start killing, and he's likely watching me this very moment. Chances are he'll just give her another DVD. Tch, nothing to be done now.
There may still be time for one more. Kirigiri is the odd one in our little group. I'm curious about Celes's. I was told not to trust Enoshima. Decisions, decisions, decisions…
Footsteps. Well, so much for that. I quickly toss Maizono's DVD back in the box and grab my DVD, pretending to look over it while waiting for them to arrive.
"Report soldier, what were those DVDs Naegi mentioned" Ishimaru said as the students arrive.
I give them an honest smile "Would have been rude of me to start the party early no? Now that we're all here, let's begin together"
Heh heh, I'm a terrible person.
As always, reviews would be nice. Next chapter is already written so I plan to upload that tomorrow.
