A/N: Hellooooooo people of the Internet! It is I, X, and I've returned from my sorta long hiatus! So, I've started school and such because that's what we young people do, and I was gonna work on this a bit later, but you know what I really can't wait anymore. And so, here we are, the second chapter commencing!
So, in the time of my little break, I was able to figure out some little details of the story that I hadn't quite solidified at the time of making my way through Chapter 1- but, I'll go more into those details when we get there. They have nothing to do with Chapter 2 anyways, so no worries! Another thing, you may notice a little change I'm making to this story- nothing too big, or maybe it is depending on your point of view.
So, I was reading through stuff, and I realized I had made a little...error. That error being Hana and her friends being Hope's Peak's 65th Class. Them being the 65th Class, that...that really doesn't work. I won't go into why in order to avoid possible spoilers, but just trust me, there's no way these guys can be a 65th year. Thus, the change: they are no longer the 65th Class, they are now the 80th Class! Yeah! Again, you may not give two flying effs about this, but I just figured I'd explain in case people get confused as to why all the 65s have changed to 80s. Speaking of which, I'm...gonna have to go back and change those numbers around in the previous parts once this gets posted. Hooray for work and editing!
And now, the moment you've all (probably) been waiting for! Let's give it up for Chapter 2, which happens to be one of my favorite chapters of the story! And I can say that because I've planned out all the chapters.
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MaskedGamer: Well thank you! I was going for executions that would be fitting with the ones from the games- now here's hoping I can keep up that goodness for the rest! And yeah, whoever wrote that message really needs to work on their timing...unless it was some kind of pre-set thing, in which case that's just bad luck.
Chapter 2: Pros of Despair- Daily Life (Part 1)
Ding dong, bing bong
"Good morning everyone! It is now 7 A.M., and nighttime is officially over! Get ready to greet another luxurious day!"
Monokuma's voice was the absolute last thing Hana wanted to hear as of late, but unfortunately the monitors did not have a 'mute' function. The Ultimate groggily opened her eyes and simply stared blankly at the ceiling. With the murder, class trial, execution, and the mysterious e-Handbook message, she had found herself with a severe lack of sleep throughout the night. Nevertheless, though it took her a few minutes, Hana sat up in her bed; she knew she had to get ready, meet everyone down at the breakfast meeting...
"..." At that moment, Hana remembered that, with two classmates dead, there would be two empty seats at the banquet table- a constant reminder of what had transpired just one day before. The girl let out a tired sigh, burying her face in her hands. Hana felt so broken down, like an old engine out of power- she wasn't even sure if she wanted to go to the meeting. She wasn't sure if she was ready to accept a reality where the 80th Class only had thirteen students now- therefore, she simply sat on her bed, completely wrapped in her mind for who knows how long...
Thud-thud-thud
The quick knocking on her door was enough to stir Hana from her thoughts. Curious as to who could be knocking at this hour, the surfer walked over and opened the door; at that moment, she was met by a certain pair of gray eyes beneath wavy black hair.
"Hey there, Hana," Hiroshi greeted. Despite the morning announcement having played...well, Hana had lost track of how long she had isolated herself in her room, but it still had to be early morning at least. Despite this, Hiroshi looked as neat and clean as ever, as if he had been awake for hours.
"Hiroshi...? What are you doing here?" Hana asked, surprised to see the boy.
"Just...thought I'd check up on you. I didn't see you head down to the dining hall like you usually do, so..." Hiroshi explained. "Did you just wake up?"
It was at that moment Hana grew conscious of her unkempt hair and the fact that she was still in her pajamas. "Ah...no, I've actually been awake for a little bit now. I was just...hanging out in my room, I guess."
"Oh- well, you should probably get down to the dining room soon, Akira's gonna be really mad otherwise," Hiroshi advised.
"..." Hana looked down for a moment, before softly sighing and replying, "Hiroshi...to be honest, I...don't know if I want to go to the meeting."
At first, Hiroshi looked taken aback by what the girl said...before his expression softened once again. "...Can I come in? I feel like this is something you'd rather talk about in private."
"Well, your feeling's a good one," Hana responded, stepping back so the coroner could enter her bedroom.
After closing the door behind him, Hiroshi looked at Hana with an unreadable expression, as if beckoning her to speak. "..."
"...Hiroshi, I...I just don't think I can face everyone right now, okay...?" Hana began, sitting back down on her bed. "After yesterday, it just...things just won't feel right. It won't feel right to sit there at that table...Mikio not sitting down with us, talking with us, and..."
Hana felt herself getting choked up again, but she fought down her grief as she continued, "They're gone, Hiroshi. Going down to that meeting would mean...would mean having to face that reality every day. And I don't think I'm ready for that. I can't...I don't want to live in a world where two of my friends are dead!"
She buried her face in her hands again as she choked out, "I'm...Mikio and Azami, they...it's just not fair, Hiroshi...why did this have to happen...? Mikio didn't deserve to die like that, and I might as well have killed Azami myself...I'm gonna carry that with me forever, and to see everyone else would just...it would just...hurt so much more..."
Before she could speak any further, Hana felt something gently touch her wrist. She looked up, moving her hands away- and was surprised to see Hiroshi had seated himself next to her on the bed and had put a hand to her wrist.
The coroner said, "Er, sorry- I know a hug or something would probably be better right now, but I'm not the best with physical contact, so..."
Hana said nothing, simply staring down at the young man's hand. "..."
"...You know...if you're feeling like this...I can only imagine that the others feel the same way," Hiroshi said. "You're not the only one having trouble letting go of what happened. I certainly haven't gotten that far, that's for sure..."
"What? But you look just fine," Hana pointed out, furrowing her brow.
"That's because I had plenty of time to get ready. Truth is, I've been awake for hours now...I'm just coming out of my bedroom now because, you know, I didn't want to break the nighttime rule," Hiroshi explained. "But before that, I was just...lying there, I guess. I could barely sleep at all...all I could think about were our friends."
"Just like me, it sounds like..." Hana noted.
"Not just you, Hana. I'm sure the others are mourning too. You saw how upset a lot of them were when Mikio's body was found, and again when Azami was killed," Hiroshi pointed out. "If you think you're alone in feeling this way, Hana, then you're dead wrong. Which is why...which is why the breakfast meetings are more important than ever."
"You...think so?" Hana asked, frowning.
"Of course- Hana, we need to be together on this more than ever. A murder's already happened- for the sake of who we've lost, we cannot let another one happen," Hiroshi remarked with a small hint of emotion in his usually calm and stoic voice. "The only way we can move on and prevent more death is by working together. ...That makes sense, right? I've been thinking about it for the past few hours, too, and I think it seems like a good line of thinking."
"I-It is, don't worry...though you probably shouldn't waste your pep talk on just one person..." Hana pointed out to the Ultimate Coroner.
"Maybe, but..you seemed like you really needed it," Hiroshi responded. After noticing the surfer didn't look too uplifted, he added, "Hana...I only knew so much about Mikio, and even less about Azami...but I'm sure they were good people at heart. And those two wouldn't want you to just...give up like this. If we give in here- if you give in, then that'll just make their deaths completely meaningless. That's why, no matter how long t takes, you can't let that happen."
With that, Hiroshi removed his hand from Hana's arm and stood. "And...I know you can do it. You're stronger than you think, you know. I still mean what I said just before the investigation yesterday; I believe in you, Hana. Whatever happens, I believe in you."
Letting his words hang there, Hiroshi walked out of the bedroom, leaving Hana by herself once again.
I...I still don't think I'll be able to move on from this for a while... Hana thought to herself. And yet...oh, who am I kidding, Hiroshi's right. Hiding in here won't solve anything- I've got to be there for my friends, more than ever now. We have to get out of here- for Mikio and Azami's sakes, we have to escape!
Once Hana had cleaned up and gotten dressed, she was quick to make her way down to the dining hall. As she did, Hana didn't see any of the other students...they were probably already there, seeing as how Hana herself was very late. However, there was one person seemingly waiting for her just outside the entrance to the dining room.
"Hiroshi? Have you been...waiting here for me?" Hana asked.
"Mm, maybe. If I was, then at least it would mean you wouldn't be late to the meeting alone," Hiroshi told her, still as calm as ever- although by this point, Hana was getting used to this demeanor, so it didn't seem as creepy anymore.
"Well...thanks," Hana replied. "Alright, let's head in. Shouldn't keep the others waiting."
With Hiroshi beside her, the surfer walked into the dining room. Just as she had thought, it seemed like all the other students were already there (save for Tadao, but he was likely working in the kitchen)...however, true to what Hiroshi had said earlier, many of them didn't look too good. A good portion of the students either looked unkempt or appeared to be half asleep, some even a combination of the two.
"Hm? Oh- Ashi, Amari. You two are very late- especially you, Amari, I'm assuming Ashi had to drag you down here," Akira, who unlike the others seemed to be in perfect condition, stated with annoyance. "This is inexcusable- make certain it doesn't happen again. And that goes for you too, Ashi."
"Hm...?" Rumi muttered, turning to look at the entrance- this allowed Hana to see a slight redness to her eyes, as if she had been crying recently. "O-Oh! Hana!"
"Yeah...hey guys," Hana responded, trying to sound cheerful. She was fairly certain the others hadn't forgotten about her outbursts yesterday, which would explain their shock at seeing her.
"G-Good morning!" Shiro said- he, too, was clearly trying his very best to sound cheerful, though the slight darkness under his eyes indicated he had a difficult time sleeping as well.
"Morning...I'm sorry about being late, by the way," Hana responded.
"Ah, don't worry about it! Just ignore Akira over there," Ryoto said to her- though he didn't look too terrible, his hair was more of a mess than usual, indicating he hadn't bothered to fix it that morning.
"Bah- just because some of us are dead doesn't mean these meetings are no longer valid," Akira stated with a glare at Ryoto. "So I would appreciate it if some of us would put their feelings aside so they can make good on their commitments."
"Hey Akira, there's this great new thing called 'tact'- I think you should give it a try," Shiori pointedly said to the prosecutor. The surgeon also seemed as though she was suffering from a lack of sleep, although she had several mugs of...something scattered around her area of the table.
"Now now, let's settle down," Saku said with a concerned frown. "Hana, Hiroshi, come and sit. Tadao should be done with the food any moment now."
Nodding, the two Ultimates took their seats. Hana chose to sit close to the other girls, with Hiroshi sitting not too far away.
"W-Well, we're still glad to see you're doing okay," Asuna said to the surfer with a weak smile. Like Rumi, her eyes had a ring of red about them, though in addition there were also dark marks beneath them to indicate a lack of sleep.
"Yeah, I was so worried after what happened yesterday..." Rumi added, brushing some of her sky blue locks out of her face.
"Don't worry- I'm feeling better now," Hana reassured the scuba diver. She then looked to Shiori- Hana hadn't noticed before, but now that she was in closer proximity she could see just how jittery the surgeon seemed to be. Thus, the surfer asked, "Uh- Shiori? You okay?"
"What? Me? I'm perfectly fine, just drinking some of this coffee to wake me up, no big deal," Shiori responded, looking down at the mug she was holding.
"Sh-She's had seven cups already..." Asuna told Hana with a concerned frown.
"Make that eight!" Shiori yelled as she seeming finished off yet another mug, still shaking from the caffeine.
"...I, uh...think that's enough now," Hana responded, slowly brushing the mugs away from Shiori's reach with her arm. She then turned back to the table and said, "Hey- Kaneki, you've been really quiet. Is everything o...Kaneki?"
Once Hana had finally turned her attention to the oddly quiet explorer, she realized the reason for the silence. Kaneki, who was between Asuna and an empty seat, was lying facedown on the table, her fedora messily slumped on her head- was she asleep?
"Huh...? O-Oh...she was awake before you got here..." Asuna said as she turned to the sleeping Ultimate with a frown. The gardener cautiously poked her companion in the side, as if trying to wake her-
"GYAAAH!" Kaneki cried, immediately awakening and nearly jumping up from fright.
"AH!" Asuna and Hana yelped simultaneously in response to their friend's shout.
"O-Oh...it was just you, Asuna," Kaneki noted, adjusting her hat with her dark brown hair falling into her face. Hana noticed that, along with the clear lack of sleep, Kaneki's hair was rather messy and lacked its usual braid (allowing Hana to see the hair's full length rivaled that of Akira's- no wonder Kaneki kept it braided). The Ultimate then saw Hana and asked, "Hana? When did you get here?"
Hana simply gave a little sigh of response. It seemed Hiroshi was right- everyone was just as badly affected by the trial as she was. Despite this...seeing her friends in a state of somewhat normalcy made the tragedy a little easier to cope with. Maybe coming to the meeting wasn't such a bad thing after all?
It wasn't long before Tadao brought out the food he had made. Like Akira, he didn't look any worse for wear- his hair and clothes looked just as neat as they usually did. However, there was one difference Hana noticed with the waiter- he was more silent than usual...
"Awesome! Come on guys, food is always a great way to feel better!" Shiro said to the group with a smile. "Come on- you agree with me, right Itachi?"
The taller boy in question, who was sitting next to Shiro, said nothing in response. His eyes were closed, and he seemed very calm- it seemed as though Itachi was meditating.
"Uh- Itachi?" Shiro repeated, tapping him on the shoulder. When he did, the Ultimate lurched forward, faceplanting on the table- as soon as his face met the surface, however, Itachi immediately jolted back up, his eyes wide. So, it was not meditation- it was sleep; even the Ultimate Weapons Expert wasn't immune to being tired, it would seem.
Once all the food was passed out, Hana figured Tadao would sit with the others like he usually did...but to her surprise, the young man actually turned on his heel and began to make his way back towards the kitchen
"Uh- Tadao? Where are you going?" Hiroshi asked just before the Ultimate Waiter could leave. "Aren't you going to sit down with us?"
"...Hm. And why would I do that?" Tadao asked, not looking back towards the others.
"Because this is the breakfast meeting, we're all required to show up," Akira reminded him, crossing her arms.
"Hah- is that it? Well, that's only your rule, Rimutsu," Tadao replied, facing the group once more. "Monokuma himself has not come and said we all must attend these meetings, has he? Therefore, we- and by extension, I- do not have to partake."
"But you have not had a problem with the meetings before," Saku pointed out with a frown.
"Well, Yamamoto- before, there weren't two dead students," Tadao replied. "This killing game of Monokuma's had not yet come into fruition."
"What are you talking about?" Hana asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"You see, ever since our 'headmaster' brought up the Graduation Clause, I've had my doubts about you lot," Tadao went on. "But even still, I tried to stay optimistic- after all, fifteen heads were better than one, I reasoned- so why not try to cooperate with everyone?"
"But then Kurobe did Nakamura in. And I realized- this killing game? It's a matter of truth," Tadao added, crossing his arms with a serious frown. "And now I realize what a fool I was, believing we were above giving in. The truth is, we are in a world of distrust, a game of kill or be killed...and I have no intention of mingling with the competition."
"Competition...? Tadao, this isn't some game show or anything, this is real life!" Hana replied, raising her voice. "You're seriously going to stop working with us now?"
"Yes, I am," the waiter responded bluntly. "A murder has happened, and the game has been kickstarted. There's no telling what the rest of you are capable of."
"But- But that's wrong!" Shiro insisted. "Come on, we're not gonna let another murder happen!"
"Haha, you say that now, but what about later, hm?" Tadao asked. "As I said, we are not above giving into Monokuma's temptations. And, once again, you all are my competition. And this game...well, let's just say I have no intention of losing."
"No intention of...?" Hiroshi began, seemingly dumbfounded.
"You wouldn't. You're not honestly thinking of committing murder, are you?" Akira asked, her eyes narrowed with anger.
Tadao didn't respond at first, but then he looked up with a smirk. "Oh, Rimutsu, you have better instincts than to ask a question like that."
Hana couldn't believe what she was hearing. "This...Tadao, you can't be serious! We have to work together on this, otherwise-"
"I already said we cannot trust each other. You see, I had big plans for when I graduated Hope's Peak. Just because we're in this killing game doesn't mean I've disregarded those plans, and I refuse to let the likes of you all put my ambition in jeopardy," Tadao responded, crossing his arms. "If that means I have to give one of you an...unorthodox departure, then so be it."
"Wha-? Did you seriously just say that?" Hinata asked, his eyes wide.
"Th-That...you can't be serious...!" Asuna cried. "N-No, this isn't...this isn't right! T-Tadao, you can't just...just turn on everyone l-like this! W-We need to work together! I-If you just abandon us like this, then...then y-you're just hindering yourself!"
Hana was surprised at Asuna's words, but she found herself even more shocked by how Tadao responded. "Hm-hm...bold words, coming from someone like you, Izumi. Though, you really should watch your tongue..."
He then looked straight at Asuna, his blue-green eyes gaining a sinister shine to them as he concluded, "Someone as small and meek as you...would make for a very easy target."
Asuna's face paled from the Ultimate Waiter's words, and she started to tremble in her seat.
"Alright, that's it!" Ryoto shouted, leaping out of his seat as he cracked his knuckles. "It's about to storm, and some ass-kicking's gonna rain all over you!"
Before the racecar driver could make good on his threat, Saku put a hand on his shoulder and forced him back into his seat. With a chuckle, Tadao went back into the kitchen without another word.
"What...just happened...?" Rumi asked, her eyes wide with shock.
"I believe...Tadao has deserted us," Itachi remarked, his arms crossed.
Hana grimaced- before she took notice of Asuna. The Ultimate Gardener was still shaking, visibly terrified by what Tadao had said.
"Asuna...?" Hiroshi began, his brow furrowed in concern.
"H-Hey, forget what he said, I'm sure he wasn't-" Kaneki began, trying to sound reassuring...but before she could finish, Asuna jumped up out of her seat and bolted out of the dining room. "Wait! Asuna!"
"...Well- this is a fine clusterfuck of a meeting, isn't it?" Hinata remarked, scratching his head with a sigh.
"Oh really? We hadn't noticed amongst all the threats and betrayal," Shiori deadpanned with a frown.
"I'm...gonna go look for Asuna," Kaneki said, standing up.
"Good idea," Akira responded, sounding eerily calm after Tadao's speech. "Amari, you go and help her."
"Wha- but, what about my breakf-" Hana began in protest, only for Akira to glare right at the surfer with eyes of burning fury and frustration and repeat, "I thought I said- Amari, go and help her."
Hana didn't know if it was the power of Akira's piercing death glare or her own desire to not stoke the prosecutor's rage with her protests- but suddenly, Hana felt as though she really should obey the demand. With that, the surfer stammered, "Y-Yes ma'am..."
And that was how Hana found herself following Kaneki out of the dining hall, leaving her breakfast behind.
"So...where do you think Asuna ran off to?" Hana asked her companion as the two headed down the hall.
"My guess would be she went back to her room," Kaneki replied, putting a thumb to her chin in thought. The explorer then sighed and muttered, "Damn Tadao...I can't believe he'd actually threaten someone to their face like that..."
Hana frowned, rubbing the back of her neck with a grimace. "I was hoping everyone would be more willing to work together after what happened yesterday..."
"Mmph- I'd say we should just ignore him, but...I dunno, I'm worried his bad attitude'll spread to the others..." Kaneki added, shuddering. "Like a virus..."
Hana pursed her lips before responding, "I...feel like we don't have to worry about that. Yeah, I'm worried about Tadao too, but...I think we're better than his mindset."
Kaneki smiled a bit, as if reassured, and said, "You're probably right...I just don't want to go through another class trial."
"Okay, that I can completely agree with," Hana responded as the two entered the bedroom hallway. "Okay, so, Asuna's room should be...right here."
Sure enough, the two Ultimates stood in front of the gardener's door, as evidenced by the nameplate with the corresponding name and sprite picture. Hana walked up and knocked on the door, asking, "Hey, Asuna? Are you there?"
There was no response. Kaneki knocked on the door next, saying, "Asunaaaa? It's Kaneki and Hana, we just wanna talk- are you there?"
For a few moments, the hall was still silent...but then, the sound of a doorknob turning could clearly be heard, and the bedroom door opened just enough for Asuna to timidly poke her head out. "H-Hey...guys..."
"Asuna, are you okay?" Hana asked. "Why'd you just run out like that?"
"W-Why did I...i-it was nothing!" Asuna insisted. "L-Look, I...I don't want to talk about it! S-So just leave me be!"
"Hey, wait!" Kankei yelped, immediately sticking her foot into the doorway to prevent the Ultimate Gardener from closing the door on them. Once Asuna opened the door again, the three girls were silent for a few moments. Then, Kaneki turned to Hana and told her, "Hey...Hana. Think you could let me talk to Asuna, just the two of us? You can go back to the dining hall- don't worry about Akira giving you a hard time, just tell her I sent you back."
"Uh...sure thing," Hana responded, nodding before turning to walk away. As she went back to the dining room, the surfer couldn't help but wonder how Kaneki intended to get through to Asuna by herself...regardless, she decided to trust the Ultimate Explorer's judgement.
True to Kaneki's prediction, the moment Hana reentered the dining room with one less companion, Akira was already on her case. "Wha-? Okay, where's Tenmaru now? Amari, did you honestly lose track of her?"
"I did not," Hana explained, a little annoyed at Akira's questioning. "We found Asuna, but Kaneki wanted to talk to her in private, so she told me to come back here. Not sure when they'll be back here, though."
"Mmph- well, nothing we can do about that, I suppose," Akira concluded to herself as Hana went to sit back down. For a few moments, things seemed to return to peace, and Hana was ready to dig into her breakfast at long last...
...Unfortunately, 'peace' wasn't something that lasted long in this castle. At no point would that be any more true than at that moment- when a certain black and white being seemed to pop up out of nowhere, seating himself in one of the empty seats.
"Well now, would you look at this? Five out of fifteen seats empty, so much for unity!" Monokuma declared as he appeared, putting his paws over his mouth as he giggled in amusement.
"Gyah! It's him!" Rumi cried in fright.
"Hey, get out of that chair, that's where Kaneki was sitting..." Shiro told the bear with a disapproving frown.
Ryoto growled, his eyes filled with hatred as he saw the bear. He reached for his fork, and looked as though he was about to throw it at Monokuma- but once again, Saku had to intervene and forced the Ultimate's arm back down.
"Forget the seats- what the hell do you want?" Hinata asked the bear with a glare of his own.
"Yeah, don't you have a puppy to dissect or something?" Shiori asked with her own narrowed eyes. "Seems like the kind of thing you'd do..."
"What's this? Can't a headmaster come in and say hi to his loooovely students?" Monokuma asked, his tone of voice suggesting the opposite of the word 'lovely'.
"State your business. Now," Itachi demanded in a growl.
"I'm certain you wouldn't be here for nothing, at any rate," Hiroshi added, skeptical.
"Puhuhuhu- well, you'd be correct!" Monokuma responded with a nod. "Truth be told, I actually come with some good news for you all!"
"The only good news you could give us is telling us that we can leave..." Hana murmured to herself.
"Quiet, Cowlick! Didn't anyone teach you not to interrupt when someone's talking?" Monokuma shouted at the surfer, his face going red with rage.
This...isn't even a cowlick, though... Hana thought to herself indignantly, one hand going up to her ahoge. Regardless, it would seem her muttering had been louder than she had intended- Hana made a note to herself to be mindful of that in the future...
"Anyways...I just thought I'd drop in and tell you guys something that I'm sure will pique your little minds' curiosities!" Monokua continued. "As a...reward for your stunning performances during the trial yesterday, I have given you all a whole new world to explore!"
"...Come again?" Ryoto asked.
"Oh come on, read between the lines!" Monokuma replied, somewhat exasperated. "I mean that a whole new part of the castle has opened up for your exploring pleasure! You now have access to the entirety of the 2nd floor of the South Wing! That's where we are right now, by the way."
"The entirety of the second floor...?" Saku pondered aloud. "You mean the parts that were blocked by the gates?"
"Exact-a-mundo!" Monokuma confirmed with a widened grin. "And...who knows? Maybe if you survive more class trials, more parts of the castle will open up too? Something to think about, for all of you who hate being cooped up in one place too-"
"Get out please," Hiroshi said to the bear, his brow subtly furrowed.
"Grr- you brats really like interruptions, don't you?" Monokuma asked, his face going red again. "Fine! I said what I needed to anyways, so have a nice damn day! Ciao!"
With that, Monokuma slipped beneath the table and vanished yet again.
"...So. What Monokuma said..." Rumi began. "Do you guys think he was...telling the truth?"
"Why wouldn't he be? Seems like an odd thing to lie about," Shiro pointed out.
"I have to agree with Koichi on this one. I doubt Monokuma would lie about something so small- plus, a reward system such as that would probably help to fuel more hostilities," Akira responded. "Alright. Once we're done here, we will go and investigate the second floor. ...But first, I expect you all to go and get cleaned up- most of you look terrible- and one of you should let Tenmaru and Izumi know about Monokuma's news."
Nobody protested Akira's orders, and so breakfast continued on with no further interruptions. Hana breathed a sigh of relief, happy to finally eat her breakfast...only to look down at her plate and see the food that had once been upon it was now...gone? Blinking in shock, Hana scrutinized the plate, looking around and under it- but there was no sign of her breakfast.
"Wh-What the...? Wh-Where'd my food go!?" Hana asked, frantically looking around. "I-It was right here on the plate when I left!"
"Mm- yeah, seems like a mystery," Hinata responded, wiping some crumbs off his face...suspicious crumbs. As if to confirm Hana's thoughts, Shiori looked towards the thief and gave him a disapproving shake of the head.
With a dismayed groan, Hana proceeded to rest her head against the table with a thud. So much for breakfast, then.
Seeing as how Hana had already cleaned up prior to arriving to the meeting, there was no reason for her to go back to the bedrooms with everyone else. Thus, she ended up having to help Hiroshi, Akira, and Tadao clean up from breakfast. The waiter said nothing, and neither Akira nor Hiroshi told him about Monokuma's announcement (although, seeing as how Tadao was right in the kitchen, Hana figured he still knew about it).
Once that was taken care of, the four Ultimates exited the dining room and made their way into the main hall. Akira and Tadao split off, heading up the stairs that led to the South Wing's second floor.
"Well then- I think it's time we do some exploring of our own, yeah?" Hiroshi suggested, looking up at the doorways that led to the second floor's hallways. "I can see from down here that those gates that were blocking the hallways are gone..."
"Then, it looks like Monokuma was telling the truth?" Hana responded.
"Looks like it. Well, let's go see what this second floor is all about," Hiroshi stated, making his way towards the left stairwell. Hana followed suit, ascending the ornate steps to the upper level. The duo made their way to the far side of the upper level- Hana hadn't noticed before when she initially investigated this area, but now she could tell that from up here, one could get a very good view of the ground level of the main chamber.
Hana could also see that there were already a few students up here. She and Hiroshi saw Hinata in the east hallway, just beyond the point where the gate once stood. The Ultimate Thief seemed to be examining something on the wall- once the two approached, they saw he was looking out a tall window.
"Mm? Oh, hey guys," Hinata greeted them. "So- looks like we got some windows. That's...something, I guess."
"It's not bolted with a metal plate like the ones in the dining hall?" Hana asked, going over to look for herself. Sure enough, Hana could get a clear view of the courtyard through the glass.
"Nope, and neither is the one over there," Hinata replied, pointing to the west hallway, which had an identical window in the same spot.
"Probably because you can only see the courtyard and the walls around it from here," Hiroshi surmised.
Speaking of the west hallway, Hana could see two figures at the very end of it- Shiori, who seemed to be examining something on the left wall, and Ryoto who was looking at something further down on the right. Figuring there was nothing else Hinata could offer, the surfer and her companion decided to head down to the opposite hallway and see what they were up to.
Hiroshi was the first to speak up, walking over to Ryoto and asking him, "Ryoto? Something wrong?"
"Yeah! See this? Another fucking gate!" Ryoto yelled. "Can you believe Monokuma only opened up this one little area? Sheesh, talk about a tease."
While the two boys continued to converse, Hana turned her attention to Shiori. "Hey, Shiori-"
"Hana. I need a second opinion on this," the surgeon told her, before gesturing to the door she was standing in front of. "Look at this door. Doesn't something seem...off about it?"
Hana furrowed her brow, examining the door. At first glance, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary- the door looked as though it was made of a simple mahogany material, with a gold-colored doorknob with a cylindrical lock on it. "Uh...I don't really see what you mean..."
"What? Come on, don't you think there's...something wrong with it?" Shiori insisted, gesturing to the door. "It can't just be me who's seeing it..."
"And you'd be correct!" a certain high-pitched voice confirmed, accompanied by Monokuma suddenly appearing behind the two girls. "Nice to see some of you so-called 'Ultimates' are actually astute!"
"Aah! You again!?" Hana yelped.
"We really need to put a bell on you or something," Shiori remarked.
"Take a good look you two, it may just save a life! Or end one, if that's what you prefer," Monokuma explained, gesturing to the door. "Now, I don't know who built this castle of ours, but whoever they were made a little...oopsie with this door."
"What kind of 'oopsie'?" Hana asked.
"I'm sure Dr. Sauchi noticed, didn't she?" Monokuma responded. "This door isn't installed properly- it's backwards!"
"Backwards...? Oh! I get it now!" Shiori exclaimed. "That's what was bothering me- the lock on the doorknob, it's outside instead of inside!"
"Ding-ding-ding, cooooorrect!" Monokuma declared. "Yup, because the door is backwards, is locks from the outside instead of the inside like it's supposed to! Kind of counterproductive to what the lock is supposed to do, but it would be great for pulling a prank on your friends, wouldn't you say? Just stick someone in here and lock the door, and they wouldn't be able to get out at all! Puhuhuhu, that would be hilarious!"
"..." Hana and Shiori kept silent, clearly not as amused as Monokuma.
"...Well whatever. Hope you found my little PSA to be helpful to your school life!" Monokuma concluded with a little wave as he ran off and disappeared around the corner.
"Hm...a backwards door...interesting," Shiori said, more to herself than Hana, before turning to walk away. "Well, I won't dwell too much on it anymore. I'm going to find Rumi- she's down in the courtyard checking those other doors, just in case any of them opened. But anyways- see you, Hana."
The surgeon walked off. As Hana watched her go, she noticed Ryoto breaking off from Hiroshi and heading towards the stairs too. "Ryoto? Where are you going?"
"Hm? Ah...well, everyone else is handling the situation up here pretty well," the racecar driver began. "Plus, there's...something I've been meaning to check out back on the ground floor, and I figured now would be a good time. So, I leave the rest to you guys! Ryoto Miura- away!"
With that declaration, the young man took off, his cape flowing behind him. Hiroshi raised an eyebrow, before turning back to Hana. "So, what's in that room, anyways?"
"No idea," Hana responded, looking towards the inverted door. "We should probably check, though."
Hana and Hiroshi quietly entered the room, the surfer scanning her eyes around the vicinity. The room wasn't too big, the walls having a wood design to them, and the place generally having an office-like feel to it. To the left was a set of bookshelves, lined with books and binders of some kind; to the right was a desk and a chair, a pile of clean white paper neatly stacked on one side, a cup of pens tidily placed on the other side of the desk's surface, and a lamp that was plugged in and stood on the upper left corner of the desktop. On the opposite end of the room was a metallic door of some kind- though Hana wasn't focusing on that at the moment. She turned her attention to the two students who were already investigating the room- Itachi Kunata, who was looking at the bookshelves, and Shiro Koichi, who was investigating the desk.
"Hi Itachi. Hi Shiro," Hiroshi greeted the two young men as he and Hana entered.
Itachi simply glanced at the two and nodded in acknowledgement. Shiro waved and responded, "Hey guys! Isn't this room neat?"
"It definitely seems...homey," Hana remarked. "What is it, though?"
"It's a study," Itachi stated, fully turning towards her. "The desk and bookshelves make that clear."
"I think it's great!" Shiro said happily. "This is the perfect place for me to work on my poetry, and they've got all these writing utensils and extra paper..."
If Hana was honest, she didn't think the study was anything to write home about compared to other rooms in the castle- however, she kept silent, since this room was probably paradise for the Ultimate Poet.
"Say, what's in there?" Hiroshi asked, walking across the study towards the metallic door. Hana followed, where she was able to get a better look at the door itself. It was made of a clean metal, with the doorknob having a little keyhole on it. Adjacent to the door, a hook was sticking out of the wall, similar to the kind you'd hang some keys or a coat from.
"That...I'm unsure of," Itachi replied. "However, we saw Akira go in there. She is likely investigating it herself. It may be best not to disturb her."
"...But I'm so curious..." Hana responded sadly.
Hiroshi shrugged. "I'm sure Akira won't mind an extra hand or two, right?"
With that, the coroner turned the handle and pushed open the door. He and a slightly apprehensive Hana entered, leaving Itachi and Shiro to the study room.
Once inside, Hana could get a better look at just what was behind the door. The room i question had a much more industrial feel to it than the rest of the castle. The floor was made of a gray tile, and the walls and ceiling seemed to be just as metallic as the door itself. In the front two corners of the room, several boxes were stacked up in a pair of piles, one in each corner. Along each side of the room, tall metal shelves lined the walls, with smaller boxes and crates stacked upon them. All in all, the room wasn't too big- and yet, Hana saw the red-haired prosecutor Akira Rimutsu examining the boxes and shelves intently.
However, it would seem her concentration was broken when Hana and Hiroshi entered the room. Adjusting her glasses, the young woman turned to the two and asked, "What do you two want?"
"Uh...just doing some investigation..." Hana responded, still very much intimidated by the Ultimate Prosecutor. The glare she was giving them (though it seemed more directed at Hana specifically than Hiroshi) wasn't exactly helping calm the surfer's nerves...
Hiroshi, who seemed to be much more collected, looked around the room casually. "Is this...a storage room?"
"Hmph- no need to ask questions you can easily figure out on your own," Akira responded, turning away with a huff. "At any rate, I'm already handling the investigation here."
"Well, nothing wrong with help, right? I imagine you just started, and it's not like we'll be in here long," Hiroshi responded. Hana, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to be anywhere but in the presence of a clearly irritated Akira...
'This room is spacious, but it's not so large that we need three people in here," Akira responded, crossing her arms with a glare.
"Y-You know what, you make a great point, which is why, um..." Hana began, backing away towards the door. "I'll leave you two alone to look around! Yeah, two's all you need, really!"
"Well- alright, fair enough. I'll catch up to you a bit later then, Hana," Hiroshi responded, not seeming the least bit worried or upset about being left alone with Akira. Akira, meanwhile, continued to glare daggers at Hana, sending a continuous chill up the surfer's spine that lasted until she exited the room and reentered the study.
Once Hana was back in the study room, she became aware of Shiro and Itachi looking at her strangely.
Raising an eyebrow, Itachi asked, "Something wrong? You look as though you've seen a demon."
Hana sighed and replied, "I think I would have preferred a demon..."
After that terrifying encounter, Hana left the study and looked towards the east hallway- she hadn't fully explored it before, so she figured now would be a good time to fix that. She made her way across the platform and towards the opposing hallway; Hinata was no longer at the window, most likely having moved on to another location, and Hana could see no other students in the halls, so they were probably in the remaining rooms.
In the east hallway, she could see two doors to the right. The closer one was another wood door, and the ones on the far end of the hall were a pair of clean white doors. Opposite of the white doors, Hana could see another doorway, but that one seemed blocked by a gate as well. The surfer decided she would investigate the room closest to her, and so she quietly opened the wood door.
The room on the other side seemed to be some kind of lounge- overall, it had a distinct baroque design to it; a red and gold carpet covered much of the wooded floor, the walls were a dark blue color, an ornate fireplace sat in the left of the room, and several red cushioned seats were arranged around a fancy coffee table of some kind. Hana saw Tadao and Saku looking around the room, though only the latter looked up to acknowledge Hana.
"Ah, hello there, Hana," the large young man greeted. "Come to see the room as well?"
"Yeah- this place actually looks pretty comfortable," Hana remarked as she looked around.
"Yes, I have to admit, whoever designed this damned castle certainly has good taste," Tadao added, rubbing his chin contemplatively as his eyes scanned the room. "I would have preferred some windows, but I suppose it's the fault of the room's location."
"Well, windows or none, I still believe this room will make an excellent new meditation spot for me," Saku said with a smile.
"Huh? But don't you usually meditate down by the fountain? In the courtyard?" Hana asked, tilting her head a bit.
"Not anymore. After seeing that...evil location that lies underneath the fountain, I've chosen not to go near such a death-ridden thing," Saku explained, his face paling a bit as he shuddered slightly.
Evil location...? Oh, wait- he must be talking about the trial room. Hana concluded to herself. Once she figured that out, she found she couldn't blame the Ultimate Kickboxer for despising that spot so much...
"Oh? The big strong kickboxer afraid of a fountain?" Tadao asked, a mocking tone creeping into his voice. "With an attitude like that, you won't last long at all here. Well...with your physique, at least, you may last longer than some of the more emotional people here."
Tadao then gave Hana a calm enough look...but it wouldn't take a genius to see the darkness hidden in that statement. Saku simply sighed and shook his head, clearly exasperated.
Aaaaand that's my cue to leave. Hana told herself as she started making her way back towards the door. "Well, it was nice seeing you guys but I've got places to go and investigate so I'll be doing that bye!"
Saku gave Hana an apologetic look, as if to apologize for Tadao's behavior, and gave her a wave of farewell as the surfer quickly exited the lounge.
Hana sighed as she closed the door, closing her eyes to calm herself. Ugh, what's with me and being freaked out by everyone today? First Akira, now Tadao- what's next, is someone gonna sneak up on-
"Hana!" a cheerful voice suddenly yelled from behind the surfer, followed by someone putting a hand on her shoulder. Hana, however, cried out in fear and shock; she quickly whipped around, firmly acquainting the back of her hand with the unknown person's face.
A familiar, female voice yelped in pain, the tall person stumbling back and clutching their jaw with a wince- it took Hana a moment to realize it was not some kind of assailant, but in actuality her friend Kaneki Tenmaru. "Ugh, where'd you learn to slap so hard...?"
Hana gasped in shock, then quickly stammered, "Oh my god, Kaneki I'm so sorry, I panicked and I've been a bit jumpy today and-"
"See, I was worried that would happen..." a new voice chimed in, cluing Hana in to the fact that Kaneki was not alone. Rumi and Asuna quickly came over, the former being the one who had spoken up. "Told you, it's dangerous to sneak up on someone!"
"H-Hey, are you okay?" Asuna asked the explorer, concerned.
"Ah, yeah...let's just call this karmic retribution for that time I hit you with that door, Hana," Kaneki responded with a little chuckle.
"Aha- if you say so," Hana replied, relieved she hadn't caused any real damage. She noticed that, like the rest of the class, the three girls did look better than they had at breakfast- Kaneki's hair was even back in its usual braid. She then asked, "Hey...Kaneki, Asuna. How'd you know about the second floor being opened up? You weren't in the dining room when Monokuma made his announcement, so..."
"Rumi told us," Asuna stated.
"Hey, Hana- we haven't missed out on the investigating, right? Anywhere that hasn't been seen yet?" Kaneki asked, her hazel eyes shining- Hana supposed she should have expected nothing less from the Ultimate Explorer.
"Well, I personally have seen every room up here- except that one at the end of the hall," Hana explained, pointing to the white double doors in question.
"Then that's where we're going! ...Unless this gate here can be removed!" Kaneki declared, running over to the blocked off doorway. Rumi giggled and followed her, telling her that she wouldn't be able to remove the gate no matter how hard she pulled on it. Asuna, meanwhile, drifted away from the two of them to look at the double doors in curiosity.
As Hana watched her friends, the surfer couldn't help but feel a little relieved. Looks like things are starting to get back to normal a bit. I'm just really glad to see Asuna's doing better after Tadao's threat before- whatever Kaneki said to her, it looks like it worked.
Then, Asuna opened the doors slightly, as if to peek inside...and then the girl gasped in shock, swiftly bolting into the room.
"Wha-!? Hey! Asuna, wait up!" Hana yelled, running over to the doors herself. Kaneki and Rumi heard the surfer's shout and quickly followed her; soon enough, all three of them went into the last room together.
Hana and her two companions practically burst into the room simultaneously; the first thing Hana felt upon entry was a warmth upon her face. It didn't take long for her to realize this was sunlight- and when she took a good look around the room, the surfer could not hide her surprise.
The walls were of a clean, silver color; the ceiling was made of shining glass, with the sky clearly visible, and crisscrossed with pipes connected to dozens of sprinklers. The room itself seemed to be split into four quadrants, separated by stone paths in a plus shape. The front two sections consisted of several smaller plants and flowers, organized neatly and in colorful arrangements. The back two quadrants were comprised of larger types of flora, including actual trees (which provided some shade for the back).
"What the...? They've got a greenhouse?" Rumi wondered aloud. "It's so pretty! I'm glad to see some actual greenery in here."
"'Pretty'? This place is amazing!" Asuna called out from farther back in the room, running back to the three girls. "Look at all this! There are so many plants here, some of these aren't even native to Japan! It's so great, I wonder if I'm allowed to take some of these for my room?"
As she spoke, the short teen had a happy gleam in her eyes, and her stutter was completely gone. Hana supposed she couldn't blame Asuna for being so enthusiastic- as the Ultimate Gardener, she probably felt right at home surrounded by all the flora.
"Well, I'm glad that this castle has a place you can enjoy, Asuna," Rumi told her with a smile. "If only this place had a pool or something, then it would be perfect."
"Hey- did you say there were foreign plants here?" Kaneki asked Asuna. "Can I see? Maybe they're from some of the places I've visited!"
"Yeah! I'll show you!" Asuna replied. She and the explorer then eagerly took off towards the back of the greenhouse, leaving Hana and Rumi behind.
"...Well now I kinda feel left out," Hana muttered as the two left.
"Oh, it's fine- I'm just glad we're starting to get back into high spirits!" Rumi replied. "Especially now, we have to stay positive!"
"Heh- sounds kinda like something Hiroshi would say," Hana responded with a little smile.
"Well he's right! Actually, you know what?" Rumi said. "I'm gonna plan another hangout with us girls! Maybe we can get Akira to come with this time! Maybe we can-"
At that point, Rumi was talking more to herself than Hana, making her way out of the greenhouse while pondering to herself. Hana herself looked towards the door, then back at the greenhouse, where she could see and somewhat hear Asuna and Kaneki near the back quadrants. Figuring there was nothing left for her in here, the surfer exited a few moments after Rumi.
Hana walked out into the hallway, stopping just outside the entrance to the east hallway. She didn't see anyone at first- but then, she saw a certain young man making his way towards her.
"Hey, Hana- sorry about going missing, me and Akira ended going through the storage room longer than I thought we would," Hiroshi explained. "I guess she thought there might be something in there leading to a clue- turns out, it's just a bunch of office supplies, some extra plates and glasses and silverware...miscellaneous stuff, really."
"Well, while you were playing with boxes, I looked around the rest of the floor," Hana began to explain.
However, Hiroshi interrupted her and said, "Actually, you should probably put a pin in that. Akira wants us all to go down to the dining room so we can talk about what we found. She...actually told me to go spread the word."
"Hm? So she's making you run all the errands now?" Hana asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Eh, I guess with Mikio gone, she needs a new errand guy? Well, I won't argue," Hiroshi responded, still smiling contently. "I'd just say to go down to the dining hall soon. Also, ah, if you could tell me where the others are, that would be helpful."
"Oh- well, Kaneki and Asuna are in the greenhouse, and I saw Saku and Tadao in the lounge- but I'm not sure if they're still there," Hana explained, pointing down the hallway she had just come from.
"Gotcha, thanks- I'll meet you down there soon," Hiroshi responded, before making his way down the hall. Seeing as how there was nothing left to see on the second floor, Hana decided to obey Akira's summons and head down to the dining room.
A/N: Alright! New area, Tadao being a jerk- nice way to kick off the new chapter, right? Anyways, I apologize for this chapter taking a bit longer to be uploaded, but to be fair I have school now and liiiiife stuff. But seeing as how eager I am to write this chapter as well as the rest of the story, I'll do my best to push through it! ...Also it didn't help that the site went down when I was in the middle of writing, taking out a chunk of my progress and forcing me to rewrite it, which I haaaate.
But anyways, complaints aside, next time...we get the next set of Free Time Events! However...I'm going to do the FTE voting a bit differently this time. A bit of an experiment, if you will. I know there are a lot of people at least looking at the story, yet there are little reviews. And seeing as how FTE voting comes from the reviews...yeah, seems like an issue to rely on one person voting over and over again (not that I don't appreciate it). So, I'm gonna see how this new method works, and if I deem it a good, then it'll be the new voting method!
So, what's this method I keep mentioning? Well, it's the age-old polling solution: Strawpoll! Yes, I made a Strawpoll, and here's the link:
https: straw poll. com / dp1 c7y4b (remove the spaces and add the two slashes after the "https:", because apparently FF also loves cutting off parts of links and I can't make it not do that without adding the spaces/removing those slashes entirely. Trust me, I tried to make it not do that, but nothing else worked. Can you believe this chapter got pushed back another day because of that?)
There will be two FTEs next time, so be sure to pick two characters! And that means no voting in the reviews this time! Just leave the reviews to speculation, criticism, and whatnot. And I'll see you guys next time, while I go change all the 65s to 80s! Bye!