Haunted
By Dixxy Mouri
Chapter Ten: The Real Folk Blues
"We . . . we missed the elevator . . ." Leon said in disbelief. If something bad happened to Sayaka and Chihiro, they had no way of helping them . . . even if it looked like, somehow, Mondo and Celes somehow . . . could. . . they couldn't get to them. All it amounted to was even more questions and an overwhelming urge to start crying and never stopping.
The four of them and the unconscious body of the monster Mondo had hurt were alone in the execution chamber, staring at the place where the elevator should have been. Wordlessly, Hifumi helped Mondo to his feet – the biker was still visibly shaken by what had transpired. "What exactly did you do, Master Mondo Oowada?"
"I . . . I don't know," he answered quietly. Leon winced – he'd only seen Mondo like this once before, and that was the aftermath of Chihiro's murder. He was too quiet, too nervous, too . . . broken. He was probably worried about Chihiro and Kiyotaka, especially since he couldn't get to them, but then there was also . . . whatever had just happened a few minutes ago.
"This . . . seriously hasn't happened before?" Celes asked incredulously.
"No, it hasn't," said Leon. "When the wolf monster was chasing us around last night all we did was run and hide. There wasn't any sign that Mondo could do . . . whatever he just did." He looked at Mondo, who was still trembling and "breathing" heavily while staring at his hands in disbelief. "Dude, are you okay?"
The biker shot him a glare that might've killed him if he wasn't already dead. "How the fuck am I supposed to be okay!?" Mondo snapped. Leon took a step back, watching his friend carefully. "I . . . I died from electricity and now I . . . do you have any idea how terrifying that is!? How would you like it if you suddenly started vomiting baseballs or something, huh!?"
Leon had to concede that what Mondo had suggested was scary, but they needed him to calm down. He cautiously approached the other student, placed his hands firmly on his shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. "You're right. I wouldn't," he said slowly and firmly. "We will figure out what's going on with you and Celes later, okay? Right now, I need you to keep your temper in check so we can figure out how to get out of the trial room and back up to the school to meet up with Chihiro and Sayaka. Okay?"
Mondo continued to stare at him dumbly for several moments before nodding in agreement. Leon smiled, patting him on the shoulder. He turned to Celes to see if she was going to freak out as well. For the moment she was looking around the trial room in deep thought, probably distracting herself with their more immediate problem. She was probably just as terrified as Mondo, but was doing a better job of keeping that fear in check for the moment. Leon gave Yamada a knowing look, and the artist gave him a subtle nod in understanding. Once they were back up in the school, he would be the one to make sure Celes was truly all right.
The gambler, still at least pretending she wasn't bothered by what had just transpired, adjusted her skirt and tapped the side of her face. "There must be some other way out of here," she said. She took a few steps towards Monokuma's throne, paused, and turned back to the group. "Leon, can you tell me what you've been doing since . . . your passing?" She cleared her throat. "Like, for the trials and the elevator."
Leon paused for a moment to think about what she was asking. "Um . . . Sayaka came down here for the first trial, and then the two of us got back on the elevator as soon as possible. When Chihiro died we came down here for that trial to bring Mondo back upstairs. After Yamada died we split up because Kiyotaka's spirit never showed up – Chihiro and Sayaka went to look for him while the three of us came down here for, well, hopefully you."
Celes seemed to have mixed feelings about that, which he couldn't blame her for. "So then you've never taken the time to explore down here to see what else is around?" Leon slowly nodded, realizing this was true. It had never occurred to any of them that there might be something worth investigating in the basement.
"So there might be a way back upstairs?" asked Yamada.
The gambler looked around the trial room, which was now bathed in darkness. Her eyes settled on the curtain behind Monokuma's throne. "If there is one, we should look for it. If we don't, our only other option is to wait for our classmates to make another mistake, and that's assuming the elevator would even come here."
Mondo crossed his arms. "What do you mean?"
"Have you noticed that this courtroom is different from the last two?" she asked. "The décor is different, and probably not by coincidence there's a celestial motif – perhaps a subtle hint that I was the guilty party. While it's possible Junko has just done some redecorating between cases, which might make sense considering she is the Super High School Level Fashionista, I doubt she'd be able to do as much with the execution grounds. I don't see any signs of Leon or Mondo's executions leftover, do you?"
"So?" asked Leon.
"Junko wouldn't have a way of constructing and breaking down the executions ahead of time, especially since she can't possibly predict the rate at which we'd kill each other or who would kill who, but she already had them planned out for us in advance," said Yamada. He scratched his chin. "You're suggesting that there are multiple floors in the courthouse – one for each of us in the event we were the guilty party."
"If they aren't, that means there must be a way to get back to wherever that rat bitch is hiding."
Mondo grunted. "And she's not even the one who dated her."
"I bet if we looked around this floor we'd also probably see some sort of group execution chamber as well, unless there's a way to convert each individual execution into . . . well, a bigger death trap," said Celes. "The bear has always said if we failed to convict the killer in each case everyone else would die. It might not be as . . . elaborate . . . as what she did to Leon, Mondo, and me, but she must have had plans in place if we ever got it wrong."
"Probably, but I'm going to vote we don't actively look for that, regardless of how many floors this place actually is," said Leon. "I'd rather not see what would have happened to everyone if I'd actually gotten away with . . . what I did." He closed his eyes. He'd been scared at the time and more than willing to sacrifice what he'd then assumed was a group of strangers to get out of that hell hole, but the truth of matter and his own willingness to do it still bothered him.
The group began to head towards the curtained area behind Monokuma's spot in the trial room. It wasn't much, but there was a pair of double doors leading to a stairwell. Leon checked to see if they could pass through it, confirmed they could, and motioned for everyone to follow. Once they were all through, the ballplayer led them up to the next landing.
Licking his lips, Leon stepped through this new set of double doors – based on what he saw in front of him it was another back area of a courtroom. "This confirms Celes' theory about there being multiple trial grounds," he said. He stepped forward, curiosity getting the better of him. He wanted to see whose courtroom this was.
Though it was dark, Leon could make out that the walls were white with stone gray pillars and red flags, flags bearing Monokuma's sinister grin flanking each of the pillars. Five of the stands containing the crossed-out portraits of students stood in their assigned places – himself, "Junko", Sayaka, Chihiro, and Mondo. Before he could meditate on the matter much longer, Leon heard the other ghosts behind him, all of them looking around in awe.
"Master Kiyotaka Ishimaru," Yamada muttered. The others looked at him in question. "We all know he had a passion for politics, right? And was the grandson of a former Prime Minister. This courtroom looks like some sort of official government hall or something, plus it just screams order and rules. It's gotta be his."
Leon closed his eyes. Though Kiyotaka hadn't met a pleasant fate, he was somewhat relieved the prefect would never set foot in this room. "I don't like that we each have one of these. I don't like that there are rooms here for Sayaka or Chihiro or Naegi or any one of our other friends. These rooms shouldn't even exist. And I don't like that she'd trying to make fun of us with the décor."
"This is so fucked up," Mondo whispered.
"Understatement of the century," Yamada concurred.
"Is there any reason to confirm his premeditated execution is here as well?" Celes asked.
Yamada swallowed. "We'd be looking for a car."
"A car?" asked Leon.
"Master Kiyotaka Ishimaru's execution would have resembled an inaugural parade. He'd be forced to stand on top of a car, waving to a crowd of Monokuma units as if he'd just been elected Prime Minister. Then another unit would have shot him from a distance Golgoi style," said Yamada. "However, I agree with Master Celes Ludenberg's assessment that there's no need to go looking for it. This courtroom will never be used because he's already . . ." Unsurprisingly, Yamada didn't want to bring it up.
"We should probably get going," Leon said, ushering everyone out of the unused courtroom. All of the talk about the prefect had reminded him that, in addition to getting back to Sayaka and Chihiro, they had to find out where he'd disappeared to and hope that the monsters hadn't done something to him while he was by himself.
Kiyotaka wasn't sure what to feel with everything Maizono had told him. Why he'd been murdered and what had happened to his killer had been bad enough, but finding out that Junko Enoshima – his classmate, his friend, someone he'd thought he could trust – had not only been behind the killing game but the World's Most Despair Inducing Incident as well?
"Then that's why Mukuro was dressed like her sister . . ." he said in disbelief.
"Wait – did you run into Mukuro, Ishimaru-san?" Maizono was looking at him with wide eyes.
Kiyotaka looked up. That was right – she didn't seem to want to make contact with any of them and had been uncomfortable just running into him. So she probably hadn't made any sort of contact with Sayaka or the others. "Y, yeah, right after I died." Kiyotaka relayed everything he could remember about the encounter to Sayaka. "I just . . . I'm sorry, I'm having trouble believing all of this."
"Me, too," said Maizono. "We were supposed to be in here so we'd be safe. Now . . . now only half of us are still alive and . . . I could punch Junko right now! She's responsible for everything! My dad and my bandmates are all dead because of her! She made me try to kill Leon and . . ." Maizono looked like she wasn't sure if she wanted to scream or start crying.
Kiyotaka wasn't given a chance to respond to that before the door to the bio lab opened. They were both stunned by the action and jumped a little, covering their eyes from the sudden influx of light. A moment later he lowered his hand and felt ill (or at least what passed for "being ill") at the sight of several Monokuma robots dragging . . . his body. Yamada's body was dragged in shortly afterwards. "What the . . .?"
Maizono opened her eyes, then looked at the wall with the panels. "I get it now." She looked around the bio lab, her eyes landing on the doors on the wall. "This room . . . it's been converted into a morgue." She pointed to the lit doors. "See? They're refrigerators. One for each person who's died." She bit her bottom lip. "I'm not sure why Mondo has one all to himself though . . ."
"Maizono-san . . . please. . ."
"O, oh," she stuttered. "But this makes sense now – this is where our bodies are being kept."
Kiyotaka swallowed, looking at the open door. During Maizono's explanation, they'd tried to leave the biolab but had discovered that, for some reason, this wasn't a door they could walk through. Now that the Monokuma bots had opened the door, however, they had a chance to get out of there. "We should leave while the Monokumas have the door open."
"R, right," said Kiyotaka. He got to his feet and offered a hand to Maizono to help her up as well. She accepted it and got to her feet. It seemed like the Monokumas were struggling with Yamada's body, but Kiyotaka felt an overwhelming sense of sadness as he watched one of the robots close the refrigerator containining his body, and he realized that was the last time he'd ever see it.
"Ishimaru-kun . . ." Maizono tugged at the sleeze of his jacket. Kiyotaka nodded and they left the biolab, relieved that they were finally out of what was functionally a morgue. However, once they were out, another question arose. "Now what?"
Kiyotaka frowned. "We're still stuck on this floor," he said, recalling his earlier escape attempts.
Maizono tapped the side of her face. "Yeah, even though the fourth floor should be opening up we won't be able to get there – the fifth floor is still sealed off." She sighed. "But this is raising even more questions. Why can't we go through the gates but the monsters who look like people can? And why can't the wolf monster use any doors?"
"I don't know about the wolf, but we need to leave before the Monokumas do," said Kiyotaka.
The pair quickly made haste, and for the first time Kiyotaka noticed just how long the hallway leading the biolab was, and just how little there was in that hallway. The lack of other classrooms around it felt isolating and lonesome. Most of the anxiety in this hallway before had been a result of a student trying to get to class on time – how many of his fellow students had he barked at over running in the halls? How badly did he want to do just that right now? So strange . . . when had he last felt that kind of conflict within himself? Was he a hypocrite?
Kiyotaka felt a hand on his shoulder, stopping him from going further. Maizono shook her head, and he realized they were at the end of the hallway. They were near classroom 5-C, and the way to the rest of the floor. "We need to be careful – we don't want those things to catch us. Right?" She swallowed. "They'll just bring us back to the biolab."
"Right, right," said Kiyotaka. "But now where? If Naegi and the others managed to convict Celes the fourth floor will be open to them, but this floor is still blocked off – we can't pass through them without one of those monsters dragging us through, and I don't think they're going to help us." Maizono shook her head in agreement.
They were quiet for several moments before Maizono's eyes widened. "Unless . . ."
"Hmm?"
"Well, think about it – how did the Monokumas bring your body here?" asked Maizono. "There must be some way to get back to the lower floors if there's a way for the bodies to end all the way up here." Kiyotaka mulled this over and nodded. How were the bodies being transported to the top floor? "But where are they coming from?"
"The only obvious entrance is the stairwell – should we check there first?"
"I . . . I guess."
"Okay. I normally wouldn't recommend this, but we're going to need to run."
". . . Ishimaru-kun this is not the time to be worrying about running in the halls."
"Of course I know this isn't the time to be worrying about running in the halls, that's why I said I wouldn't normally recommend this," he explained matter-of-factly. Maizono sighed heavily, rolling her eyes at him. "If the gate is closed, make a beeline for Classroom 5-A. We'll re-strategize from there – we'll need to listen for it opening, maybe if they bring Ludenberg-san' body."
"On three?"
"One . . . two . . ."
Taking one last look to check for monsters, the escapees said the last number in unison and broke out into a sprint towards the fifth floor stairwell. They couldn't hear anyone or anything behind them, but they could hear the pitter patter of several Monokuma robots ahead of them. Kiyotaka's eyes widened as the sight of a charred, broken corpse came into sight. Time seemed to slow down as they passed, and he was able to pick out a few distinctive details. What was left of a gothic Lolita dress. The charred remains of two huge black curls. And distinctive red high heels.
That . . . must be . . . her . . .
Even knowing what she'd done to him, and to Yamada, it was still surreal seeing her body being dragged down the hallway. He wanted to stop and stare, but he focused on their escape. Getting off the fifth floor was their first priority – staring at what was left of his murderess was not. He looked away, gritting his teeth as the stairwell came into view.
They rounded the corner and saw a horrible site.
The grate was descending.
Both of them started to panic, throwing themselves headfirst toward the remaining stairs and landing on the stomachs. Skidding and sliding forward, Kiyotaka felt the grate clip the toe of his boot before their forms finally stopped several tiles away from the grate, shaking and staring at it in terror. Mustering up what little strength he had, Kiyotaka ushered Sayaka to her feet. "We need to hide in one of the classrooms until morning – then we'll meet up with the others once the fourth floor is open."
"What?"
"We don't want those things to find us and bring us back upstairs," said Kiyotaka.
"Then let's hide in the third floor stairwell – if one of the others walks by we can let them know we're okay," said Sayaka. Kiyotaka mulled this over – while it would technically corner them if they were caught, they'd be no better off in one of the classrooms. If anything that put them a comfortable distance away from the fifth floor stairwell so they could, in theory, have a better chance of breaking away should one of their captors find them.
"All right. Let's go."
It had taken a while for Chihiro to stop crying once they realized that the others weren't coming back from the trial. Mukuro was not good at this kind of thing, and settled for ushering her into the bathhouse where they could sit down and she could pat the programmer's shoulders, telling her "there, there" or whatever else seemed like the kind of thing that might work to calm someone down. Protecting Chihiro from the monsters was one thing – getting her to stop crying was another.
Mukuro was drawing a blank. What was she supposed to say to someone bawling their eyes out like this? Part of Mukuro wanted to chide her for being a crybaby just out of sheer frustration, but considering everything that she'd been through for the last . . . year, really, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Junko had done her best to traumatize the entirety of their class, and the two boys she was closest to were trapped in the trial room or suffering some unknown fate on the upper floors. Chihiro was scared out of her wits – she was dead, her friends were dying all around her, and the person she was stuck with was one of the monsters responsible for what had happened.
But after what felt like an eternity (but was really only about twenty minutes), she was finally calmed down somewhat. Now they were just sitting in the bath house, quietly trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next. The fourth floor wouldn't be open until the morning announcement so they couldn't get to Ishimaru or Maizono (assuming they weren't trapped on the top floor) and Mukuro wasn't sure how they were supposed to get to Oowada and the others down in the trial chamber.
"Mukuro?"
"Hn?" she asked.
"Why did you do it?"
Mukuro stared ahead of her. That was a loaded question. Why had she agreed to her sister's mad plan? Was this something she'd really wanted? She wasn't sure how to answer Chihiro. She wasn't sure how to answer herself, even if she knew what she'd wanted . . . how could that possibly sound like it was worth it?
"I . . . love my sister," she muttered. "She's the only family I have . . . had."
Chihiro studied her for a moment, and Mukuro felt exposed. Did that make sense? It had to. Family was important, you only got one, and Junko was it. Junko was always looking out for her, making sure no one took advantage of her or used her . . . right? Her head was a mess and she felt like she had something resembling a headache.
"So . . . you did it for Junko?"
Mukuro knew that was the truth, but hearing it out loud made it sound even worse than it was. "Yeah. Family and all that, you know? I mean . . . family, right? That's supposed to be important." Chihiro looked at her sadly before shaking her head. She didn't look angry, just disappointed, but it just made Mukuro feel like she'd been punched in the stomach.
"No," she said. She hugged herself, gripping her arms as she spoke. "It took my parents a little while to realize it, but every time we went to a family reunion . . . no one wanted to talk to me after I started dressing like a girl and, when I got older, identifying as a girl. They looked at me like there was something wrong with me and sometimes, even if they thought I couldn't hear them . . . I did." Chihiro closed her eyes. "We stopped going to family reunions. One of my aunts stayed in touch and visited when she could but . . . that was it."
"That's . . . awful," said Mukuro.
"Not in the way you're thinking," said Chihiro. "Those people aren't important to me anymore. I mean, I don't want them to be dead or anything, but my dad and I talked about it and he said that sometimes you need to find your own family." She laughed a little. "That's what happened when I found Mondo and Kiyotaka. That's why I think of them as my big brothers . . . even though I'm older than Kiyotaka." Chihiro couldn't help but crack a grin. "If you ever want to get him really angry, bring that up." She giggled. "I used to do this thing to him, where I'd put my arm around his shoulder, and tell him 'when I was your age' and then tell him what I was doing four months ago. He'd give me this look, and I'd just smile and tell him he'd understand when he was older. Mondo tried the same thing but he's a year older than us and didn't put that much forethought into it."
"So you . . . just chose Ishimaru-san and Oowada-san at random?" asked Mukuro.
"Mmm, not at random – we just clicked really well. Everyone else too, but they're all more like cousins than anything else," said Chihiro. "Especially after this last year. We all got really close, you know? Because we were all we had left, assuming the information Headmaster Kirigiri got was accurate." She frowned. "I think about that sometimes. With all the chaos outside, it's possible some of that information was bad, but, even if my parents are still alive . . . this school should have been the safest place for me."
Mukuro frowned. She'd known it was a trap before the World's Most Despair Inducing Incident had even happened. Come to think of it, why wasn't Chihiro yelling and screaming at her over that? She should have been punching and kicking her for what she'd done to her, her precious 'big brothers', their classmates, the world . . . and yet Chihiro just . . . wasn't. Maybe that was part of Chihiro's nature, but it made Mukuro feel like she didn't deserve that kindness.
"I need to ask you something now," she said. "Why don't you hate me?"
Chihiro paused to think about this. "I don't know," she said. "I know I should, but I just don't."
DING DANG DING DONG!
Mukuro and Chihiro paused as the evening announcement played over the loudspeaker. It was now nighttime and, presumably, the remaining students would be going to bed. It would be nine hours until the morning announcement and the opening of the fourth floor. The soldier crossed her legs – that was a lot of time to fill with Chihiro before they could look for any of the others.
"What now?" asked Chihiro.
Sheesh, are you a mind reader now? Mukuro wondered. "I . . . don't know. We could head up to the third floor to wait for the gate to open up so we can see if Ishimaru-san and Maizono-san are up there, or try to find a way to the courthouse to find the others." Right. That was her priority. Get Chihiro back to the others, then . . . then what? Now that the others knew she was the sister who had died and everything that Junko had done . . . was there a point in going back into hiding?
They probably do need my help to fight off those monsters . . .
Chihiro got to her feet and brushed off her skirt. "O, okay," she said.
Mukuro got to her feet as well, and the two walked out of the bathhouse . . .
. . . and saw Sakura Oogami going somewhere.
"Where's Oogami going at this hour?" asked Mukuro.
Chihiro blinked. "Leon and Sayaka said something about Sakura being a mole."
"Mole?" asked Mukuro. I thought that was supposed to be my job . . . though obviously Junko had other plans . . . but why kill me and replace me with Oogami? "That's weird. Oogami had her memories erased just like the rest of you – she wasn't involved with any of this." Chihiro looked at her quizzically. "I'm not lying. She should be on the same page as the rest of you."
"Should we follow her?"
"Might as well – it's not as if we have anything else to do."
The third floor stairwell was dark in the wake of the nighttime announcement, but for the moment that was perfectly fine with Sayaka. She wasn't confident that the monsters would have a hard time seeing her and Kiyotaka in their current hiding spot under the stairs, but it was a nice fantasy for the moment. Part of her wanted to call out for Leon and the others, but then she realized that might attract the monsters first. The smart thing to do would be to wait for the gate to open, then look for the others quietly.
"We can talk if we're quiet, Maizono-san," Kiyotaka whispered.
"You can call me Sayaka if you want, Kiyotaka – we've known each other long enough, right?"
"I, I supposed so," he said. He shifted around a little. "And . . . no, nevermind."
"What?" she asked.
"It's nothing."
"No it's not, you started saying something."
Kiyotaka's eyes darted away. "I don't know. It was a stupid idea."
Sayaka sighed. "From you? No way."
"Thanks."
"So what was this idea of yours?"
Still refusing to look her in the eyes, he swallowed. "I wanted to ask you to call me something."
"That was it?" she asked.
He frowned. "Is it that stupid?"
"No! No not at all!"
"It's just . . . this feels weird," he said. "I think it's because of what those things did to us when they brought us to the dojo." Sayaka swallowed – she remembered hearing her father and most of her bandmates crying for her right before the one with the sword cut the red thread he'd summon from her chest. The sudden disappearance of their voices was possibly even worse than the pain that followed. "I heard my mom."
"I know how you feel," Sayaka said. "I heard some of my loved ones, too."
Kiyotaka gave her a sympathetic smile. "I wish I knew what it meant."
"Me, too," she said, shuddering. "But you wanted me to call you something?'
"Oh, right," he said. "This might sound kind of weird, but . . . it was really just my family that ever called me 'Taka,' and I'm . . . I'm not sure what I want." Sayaka raised her eyebrow. That much over a nickname? "I . . . I just sort of know I'm never going to hear my mom call me that again and now . . . I'm wondering if I should have you and the other call me that once we get back to them." He shook his head. "It's probably really stupid. We have much bigger things to-"
They both froze at the sound of the monsters on the floor above them. They covered each other's mouths, their eyes gazing upwards in horror. The sounds stopped, and for several minutes it was completely silent. Still, neither of them dared to make another sound until they were sure the sounds were gone and that those . . . things . . . weren't getting any closer.
Still, even when Sayaka thought about going back to the topic at hand, she couldn't. She was too scared to say anything. What if they heard them and dragged them back to the fifth floor? There was no guarantee there'd be another killing or that the top floor would open up. As removed her hand from Kiyotaka's mouth, she pressed a finger to his lips, and he nodded in understanding.
It was going to be a long wait to morning.
Sakura was fighting Monokuma in the gymnasium.
Leon and Sayaka had been right about Sakura being a mole for Monokuma, and the mention of "hostages" confirmed the couple's theory that she was being coerced. Chihiro had mixed feelings about that – on the hand it made her glad to know that she wasn't doing this because she wanted to or had gotten mixed up with Junko's plans. On the other hand it still left a bad taste in her mouth.
No. None of this is her fault. Just like I don't blame Mondo for killing me, I can't blame her.
Mukuro was watching the whole fight quietly, muttering to herself. She was studying the fight closely, being the only other student who had truly mastered any kind of combat skills. "Junko's taking this seriously," she finally said aloud. She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her gaze. "But why hasn't she had Oogami killed yet?"
Chihiro turned to her in question before her eyes lit up. "Violence against the headmaster is forbidden," she said quietly. It was the rule that had gotten Mukuro killed and yet Sakura had violated it multiple times with more aggression than the soldier had. "I don't understand. Why is Sakura still alive if she's violated the rule?"
"Because there's no one else watching," said Mukuro. She stole a sideways glance. "Well, not that Junko can see. Aside from us, it looks like there's another spectator to this event." Chihiro turned to see the gymnasium door open a crack – she stepped closer and saw it was none other than Naegi, watching on in horror.
"Naegi?" Chihiro asked. It took her a moment to remember her couldn't see her or hear her and she sighed, turning back to the fight. "A, at least Sakura isn't going to be Monokuma's mole anymore, right?" she asked. Mukuro didn't answer her, and Chihiro realized she was still conflicted about her sister. She frowned. I guess that I didn't get through to her . . .
. . . at least, not yet.
7 am rolled around, and the familiar chime and morning announcement followed.
Kiyotaka closed his eyes and gripped the sleeves of his jacket. Soon the gate would open and he and Sayaka would be able to leave the fourth floor and reunite with the others. They both got to their feet, fidgeting nervously as they waited. Their eyes met for a moment – if the monsters found them, who knew what they would do to them as punishment for escaping?
A handful of the living students came into view, and after a satisfying "clunk", the gate began to raise. While the living students were waiting patiently, Sayaka dropped to the floor to crawl under once there was enough room, and Kiyotaka quickly followed suit – she had a point, and he wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible, too. It was a liberating feeling – even as trapped as they felt within the school itself, it had been NOTHING compared to what he'd gone through these past twenty-four hours or so.
"Okay, now what?" Sayaka asked nervously.
"I guess we look for Kyoudai and the others," he said.
Sayaka nodded as the two hurried away from the fourth floor corridor. Neither of them was ready to start calling for the others just yet out of fear the monsters would find them first, but they HAD to find the others. Safety in numbers, maybe, but if nothing else they both wanted the comfort of the people they were closest to.
They didn't need to look far.
"TAKA!"
Kiyotaka was taken by surprise when he was suddenly struck with a 90 pound freight train named Chihiro Fujisaki. He was too stunned to react right away, but she already had him in a bear hug and was sobbing into his chest, but once he was able to process what was going on he returned the gesture, slightly lifting her into the air in the process. He could barely make out that she was worried and scared and thought he was gone. It was unfortunate that she was so cold, but he didn't care. After everything he'd gone through he NEEDED his little Chihiro.
"I missed you, too," he said, barely holding back his own tears.
"And where the hell have you been?!"
Kiyotaka looked up from Chihiro (who was still crying but seemed to be calming down some) to see Sayaka was staring down Mukuro Ikusaba, her arms folded and an angry glare on her face. The soldier was looking at the pop idol with wide eyes, but otherwise she was doing a rather good job of holding back her emotions. Strangely, none of the others were in sight.
"I suppose I could ask you two the same question," said Mukuro.
Kiyotaka felt conflicted. I guess it's not easy when the girl you like helped end the world.
"And we'll answer that, but I think you've got a lot more to answer for right now." Sayaka's words were acidic and angry, and Kiyotaka supposed she had every right to be. He could almost feel her anger, and he clung to Chihiro a little more tightly in response. She was just a little bit terrifying in that moment and even though he knew she wasn't mad at him he didn't want to be there in that moment. What the twins had done was beyond terrible, and they absolutely deserved some kind of an answer from at least one of them. Junko was the mastermind, yes, but undoubtedly Mukuro must have known something.
Right?
"N, no, it's okay!" said Chihiro. "Mukuro saved me!"
"After she and her sister ended the world and made us play a game that's killed eight people."
"Wait, she saved you?" Kiyotaka asked.
Sayaka grunted in frustration before grabbing Mukuro by the arm and starting to drag her towards the second floor. "Let's get the hell away from here so we can talk," she said, her voice dripping with bitterness. She shot a nasty glare at Mukuro. "And don't you dare pull another disappearing act. Do you understand?"
Mukuro silently nodded, unable to look Sayaka in the eye. Kiyotaka shuffled uncomfortably as he started to follow the pop idol and the soldier, Chihiro clutching his hand as she followed along behind him. He turned to look at her, seeing a worried look in her eyes. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but in that moment he felt like he needed some reassurance himself.
DING DANG DING DONG! Author's Announcements!
Although Chihiro's gender came up in the reviews this past chapter, I'm not going to reiterate my stance on the issue, though I will admit Chihiro as cross-dresser may have been the "safer" option. I dunno, guys, I've just heard people can get nasty over this one because of how the whole situation was handled in the game and the anime (which . . . yeah it could have probably been better). So there's that.
Song Choice: "The Real Folk Blues" by Yoko Kanno. "The Real Folk Blues" is far and away one of my most favorite anime endings EVER. Usually people go crazy over openings (and yeah usually openings beat the stuff out of endings – usually) but this is just SUCH a good ending.
Dixxy