Editors: RioA & zephryr


"I'll taste test the food for you all, if that's alright?" I said, sweating slightly.

"A-Ari?!" Karuta exclaimed, "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes I am," I spoke bluntly.

"But who knows what sort of poison Monokuma might have injected into the food!" Izuhara protested.

"Well we won't know until one of us has tried it," I countered, "I mean would you guys rather starve for God knows how long or eat this food and find out if it's really some bluff?"

Everyone looked at me with looks of concern, worry and frustration. It seems this motive has really pushed us further into a corner, more so than I originally thought. Unlike the secrets and map motives used in the previous cases, this motive was something that we couldn't use willpower or friendship to solve. This motive was cruel, but very smart and tactical for someone like Monokuma.

"Are you sure you want to be the taste tester, Arihime?" Calypso asked.

"The food does look really delicious," Kazuko added, "Almost tempting…"

"And so disgustingly fatty and malnutritious," Camille snorted, saying grandiloquent words that seemed above his intelligence level.

"What other choice do we have?" I sighed in response, "I mean unless some of you want to starve to death, do you have a better option?"

Everyone wasn't sure what to make of this situation. The wafting smells from the various delectable foods entering into our nostrils was sinfully alluring, we simply couldn't resist this edible motive as it was our only means of surviving at this point.

"Guys, why don't we try fasting?" Simon asked, "I mean, I'm pretty sure the water in our bathrooms and in the sinks aren't potentially contaminated, right?"

"While the potable water from our bathrooms seem like an option," Reina pondered, "I don't think it's safe since Monokuma might have accounted for that as well."

"Esto apesta," Eduardo mumbled, "I doubt Monokuma would do that to our bathing water, pero it wouldn't hurt to try?"

"Damn that bear," Izuhara pounded his fist into the wall, "Is watching us kill each other off not satisfactory enough for him, he needs to torture us as well!?"

"Athena is most perplexed by what to do," xey said, pulling on their body suit, "Should we eat the food or should we let our tummies rumble like earthquakes?"

"The desserts really look sumptuous," Tokaku eyed the strawberry cheesecake, "You don't get to eat food this fancy unless you have some personal chef or go to one of those ritzy restaurants."

"Whatever..." Alia sighed, crossing her arms, "I say this is sketchy…"

"Agreed," Aohito said, holding back some drool.

"The garden of Eden's temptation is doth but a malicious trick," Nori poetically stated.

"I-I...don't know about this e-either.." Natsume whimpered.

"Guys, let me eat the food and see if there's anything wrong with it," I stated, "If I suffer any ailments or maladies, just know that I regret nothing and you'll thank me later for it."

"That's rather quite foolish of you, Arihime," said a familiar voice.

I looked to the side to see William appearing from the crowd. He was sitting on a chair with the back end facing forward and his legs in between the arm rests, looking as smug as ever, his glasses pushed all the way up to his face, his orange hair slightly messy and his overall demeanor giving off a very mischievous vibe.

"And what is so foolish about this, William?" I asked him, "Do you have any other bright ideas!?"

"Not really," he snickered, "I was just surprised that you, of all people, was the first one to actually come up with an idea to counter this waste of a time motive; a very foolish one at that."

"Unless you have any other ideas, William," I said gritting my teeth, "Feel free to tell me."

"And why should I tell you anything?" he smugly smiled, "I have my own plans, you lot are on your own here."

"William, if you know something, you need to tell us," Izuhara growled, "Did you have something to do with this? Did you pilfer the food!?"

"Why, of course not," William chuckled, "Wouldn't one of you have seen me going back and forth from the kitchen to my room if that's the case?"

"El tiene un punto," Eduardo remarked, "I would have noticed that, especially since I was making tea for Reina."

I silently sweatdropped. He was a poor guy, forever to be Reina's boy toy slave.

"So do we go through with eating this food?" Simon scratched his head, confused by the mixed responses, "Or do we wait it out?"

"Well, we did have a large breakfast this morning," Karuta noted, "So I think for now, we should wait it out until some of us start to get cravings."

"Good idea," Kazuko thought, "But what do we do in the meantime?"

"I mean, we've explored most of the third floor, but what are we supposed to do in the meantime?" Calypso asked "Unless you all want to go exploring and see if we missed anything in the new rooms?"

"Why not?" Aohito said curtly.

"Whatever, this is pointless…" Alia mumbled, walking off from the group.

Just as I thought, everyone is still trying to recover from all of the stress from the previous murders. Now, Monokuma is forcing us into another scenario where he gives us an incentive to murder and it will rinse and repeat until there's a certain number of us left. At this point, I might as well just have someone off me at this very moment due to how many convoluted things have happened so far. That first trial was such a clusterfuck that even I found it hard to understand at times and that second trial can go to hell for all I care.

Now he wants us to go through with this for a third time, and honestly, I'm just tired of having to deal with all these constantly annoying and solicitous schemes. I just want to escape, go home, binge on junk food and sleep, is that too much to ask for.

"Excuse me, butterfly?" asked a very deep voice, "Are you as lost in the memory of thought as the rest of us are?"

My thought process was interrupted, as I turned to see Nori facing me with his hands in his pocket. His grey fedora was tilted over his messy head of black hair and his black pinstriped white suit was neatly pressed and he looked as dapper as ever.

"O-Oh..hey Nori," I said a little surprised by his sudden intervention "How are you?"

"I'm as right as rain, thank you for asking, my crimson flower," he smiled at me, his green eyes sparkling in the light, "Care to join me in exploring the depths of this school's hidden treasures?"

Nori was such a gentleman, it's too bad he has to be in my cringy and intolerable presence, he deserves so much better.

"Are you sure Nori?" I asked, "Why not go with the others?"

"Their minds are filled with clouds of fog and confusion, Arihime," he explained, fiddling with his shirt cuffs, "You on the other hand, your mind is transparent and calm."

"Umm...thanks, I guess?" I rolled my eyes, his poetic lyrics never ceased to make me gag with every single line.

"So shall we?" he asked, extending a hand to me as if he were waiting for me to give him my hand so he could kiss it.


Free Time Event: Should I go exploring with Nori?

Continue the melody, encore! / Get off the stage, wannabe actor!


"Oh what the hell," I gave in, giving him my hand, "Might as well, I may have missed something the first time around."

"Then allow me to serenade you with another tale, butterfly," he took my hand and kissed it.

"Ugh!" I thought, cringing so hard that my face almost froze in place, "So...cheesy.. Let's get this over with."

We both left the cafeteria, the food left untouched as the smell started to dissipate the further we walked away. That's a good step to take, out of our sight, and out of our minds.

"So Nori," I asked, trying to make conversation as we strolled through the halls and headed up the stairs to the third floor, "You've told me about how you came to love jazz music, but my question is; what was the catalyst for all of this to begin with?"

"Well, my father and I were wandering souls," Nori adjusted his red tie, clearing his throat, "We had no established lifestyle, due to his job."

"So you're saying that you moved a lot because of that?" I asked curiously.

"Correct as always," he smiled nostalgically, "I was a lonely soul, devoid of people to call actual friends and living alone in an empty house most of the time with nothing to do."

Poor thing, it mustn't have been easy for him. As a journalist I do tend to not stay in one place for too long due to my controversial and divisive opinions, but when you're a child trying to grasp and understand the new environments thrust upon you, it must have been hard for him.

"And during that time, was that where you met the man who inspired you?" I asked, awe-struck from hearing his past.

"Yes," he chuckled, "I also learned another skill as well."

Another skill? what is he talking about?


CHOICE:

Teaching

Singing

Cooking


"Assuming that you know how to play a few instruments," I surmised, "Did you partake in learning how to sing as well?"

"Yes," he said as we arrived to the third floor, "I was a natural said the old, wise soul."

"I'm not a singer myself," I chuckled in a self-depreciative manner, "I nearly shattered my glass windows when I listened to music, while writing an article about a new pop male idol group."

Nori chuckled and I blushed a bit. I can't believe I admitted to singing to someone and it was to boy band lyrics. He's going to think I'm some weirdo or crazy fangirl now.

"I say follow your heart," he simply stated, "You cannot quench the desires of one's passion."

"O-Oh...ok," I said in surprise, stuttering a bit, "Sorry about that…"

"Arihime, there is nothing you can say that will not satisfy this soul's eternal curiosity," he said in a very sultry and deep tone.

"Ok...t-thanks Nori…" I smiled, blushing a little as I looked away for a second.

"It's my pleasure," he tipped his fedora to me.

Friendship Points: 2/3 Nori Sho, it seems he's lived quite the nomadic lifestyle and has had trouble establishing a secure home and school life. It's kind of cool that he's gifted in the musical field, maybe I should ask him to serenade me next time..


"So is there a room that you would like to re-explore Nori?" I asked him, pushing some maroon strands out of my face.

"This soul would like to peruse the costume room," he remarked, "I would like to see if there are any snazzy suits that suit this lost soul."

"Sure, I guess I'll see you later, alligator?" I said, cringing mentally and waving to him as he walked off to the Costume room.

"In a while, crocodile," he chuckled as he entered the room.

Nori is such a dork. He's very charming and suave, but a total dandy as well. It's quite funny in a very cool way.

I wiped my glasses with the blouse edges near my skirt, as I pulled out my notepad and began detailing more notes about the rooms I've come across so far. Why was this floor so fantastical and whimsical in nature? I mean, a costume room, an auditorium, a music room with some instruments from the medieval ages and even a beach, if this doesn't scream fairytale paradise, I don't know what would.

"Maybe I should check out the armory again to see if I missed anything?" I wondered in my mind.

I walked over to the armory door, opened the door handle and walked back into the dimly lit room and spied the weapons laid out to bare left untouched and clean. I guess no one was going to come within five feet of this room unless they wanted to be suspected of plotting to murder.

I can bet money that this room will be used for something, but then again that would be too obvious now, wouldn't it, Mr. Author?

I observed some of the maces and chains laid around the area and it almost felt barbaric in a sense. I mean, who in their right mind would pay for this junk? In fact, the better question would be, who in their right mind would even authorize this in the first place?

I walked around the room for a bit, taking concise notes on each weapon and detailing how this school allowed actual weapons into a school meant for education. Now I'm convinced this school is going above and beyond to hire more criminal-like Ultimates than I previously thought.

"Hola?" said an accented voice, coming from behind and taking me by surprise.

"Ack!" I jumped, falling down on my butt and almost falling on top of the pointed spears.

"Cuidado!" the voice said, as an arm grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from danger.

My body was sharply tugged away as the figure pulled me into their body, my face landed on their chest. It was firm and was warm to the touch.

"Are you alright, senorita?" asked the figure.

"E-Ed!?" I looked up at him to see his hazel eyes staring back at me. His athletic body pressed up against mine, but in a 'helping me with my fall' kind of way, "Y-Yeah..thanks for saving me."

"No problema Arihime," he smiled at me, "I heard footsteps en esta habitacion, and was curious is all."

"It's just little ol' me," I chuckled nervously, letting go of him and dusting off my blouse and skirt.

"What are you doing, if you don't mind me asking, senorita?" he asked me.

"I was simply detailing how safe this room was and if it had the potential to be used in the next murder, if and when it happens," I explained to him bluntly.

"Oh that's a muy inteligente idea, Arihime," he gave me a thumbs up.

…...More awkward silence permeated the room as I stood there looking at more weaponry while Eduardo stood there looking as well. I might as well take this time to get to know him a bit more. The last time we interacted, I got him to talk more about his past, let's see what else I can dig up.


Free Time Event: Should I make small talk with Eduardo?

Es muy importante, yes! / No gracias, need to focus.


"Hey I've been meaning to ask," I turned to face him, looking at the shields on the wall, "But where did you learn to speak Japanese?"

"Oh, that," he rubbed the back of his head, "My publicist thought it was a good idea that I sumergirme myself in other cultures or immerse myself in foreign cultures more when I'm on vacation."

"I can tell your Japanese, despite being Hispanic, is very good actually," I tried to word without sounding racist.

"Gracias senorita," he laughed, "Unfortunately, it's not el mejor, as you can tell."

"Don't worry about it, I'm self taught and even I struggle with languages, even with my own," I chuckled a bit more, "Would you like me to assist you?"

"No thank you," he shook his head, "Reina has been helping me to understand the language better, she's actually really nice."

Reina...nice, did we meet the same people? I mean she can be a bit bitchy from time to time, but I wouldn't call her a patron saint either, if you know what I mean.

"Well that's good at least," I noted, "But about last time we talked, what did you mean that you didn't want to talk about your past?"

Eduardo sighed as he looked away from me, "I'm not ready to talk about it…"

"Ok, but can you at least tell me how you prepare yourself for a soccer match?"

"That I can," he smiled at me, "Before each match, I like to listen to music, it helps me concentrate better."

I wonder what kind of music that would be…


CHOICE:

Rock n' Roll

Rap/Hip-Hop

Classical


"Do you like classical music by any chance?" I asked.

"Si Arihime," he nodded happily, "I like to listen to Beethoven, Mozart and especially Tchaikovsky!"

Well to each their own I suppose, I mean I only listen to trashy songs like pop, alternative rock, and pop punk oddly enough. I don't mind listening to classical myself, I might give it a second chance when I'm researching later.

"That's interesting, I didn't expect you the type to like something like that."

"Well it's just something that eases my nerves is all," he chuckled, then looked down at his feet, "I tend to get a little too emotional sometimes."

"Emotional? How so?" I asked.

"It's nothing, I'll tell you some other time, when I feel comodo," he said.

"Ok, well if you to talk," I brushed some hair out of my face, "I'm your counselor...girl or whatever."

"Gracias Arihime," he looked back at me and winking, "I appreciate it…"

Friendship Points: 2/3 Eduardo Reyes, he's apparently trying to learn more about foreign cultures and even speaking many languages. He has a penchant for classical music, but I want to know more about his athletic career and past, maybe next time….


Eduardo walked out of the armory as I sighed deeply. I guess it's going to take more than making playful conversation to get him and the others to talk to me.

I took off the light and left the armory, feeling slightly groggy from this morning's breakfast, whilst my mind kept drifting back to the motive Monokuma had produced for us.

A food related motive that was very vague in description, but looked rather tempting and seemingly benign. As much as my stomach was begging me to go and eat something, I knew that I should wait it out for a bit before testing these mysterious waters.

I explored around the third floor some more, wondering more about that costume room as I walked to the room, opened the door and then ultimately remembered why I didn't enter the room in the first place.

The blindingly gaudy purple colors of the room almost hurt my eyes from how much of it there was, the lavender lights only seemed to heighten my irritation as I blinked a few times to get my bearings and I felt the soft white carpet brush against my ankles with each footstep I took.

After adjusting my sight to the room's color scheme, I perused the clothing racks in there, checking out the historical costumes and even feeling the soft fabric on my fingertips. I checked the tags of each costume, they all had the sizes for every body shape, they didn't seem to be washer/dryer friendly and are easily flammable.

Remind me to never wear something like this ever, the last thing I need is to get some rash from the cotton or get overheated while wearing these over the top outfits.

I then went over to check out the dresses and gowns, that I assume were for formal events or playing the princess in some dramatic play. It's a good thing I don't have to wear dresses often, I would have gone mad at some point, having to push down the skirt hem, every time I went on an undercover operation.

"What's soft, slippery, and feels good to the touch?" said another voice coming from the door.

"Oh my god…" I facepalm, realizing who it was, "I don't know…"

"A slipper, silly!" said the energetic voice.

I turned around and saw the walking CG Model, Athena, giggling at xer joke as their blue skin tight bodysuit hugged their androgynously muscular, lean body and xey fiddled with their black spiked collar around their neck.

"What is it Athena?" I asked xem, "Here to tell me more jokes?'

"Nope, Athena was wondering if Athena could try on more of those dresses Toka made Athena wear," xey commented happily.

I'm not sure Athena could even fit in a dress, let alone pull it off, they looked more like a tomboy if anything. Their black hair was tied into a side ponytail as xey twirled it around almost in a very flirtatious manner, it seemed Tokaku was doing more than just playfully teasing Athena.

"Then go ahead, I'm not one for dresses myself," I told xer, "They just get in the way, in my opinion."

"Oh is that so," Athena looked at me curiously, "How about this, what type of dress can't you wear?"

Oh please someone end me. Grab a sword and chop me into little bitty pieces…

"I'm quite not sure, what is it?" I remarked, humoring them.

"An address!" xey said, laughing and slapping their knee.

Oh sweet release of death please take me now….

I stood there as Athena went over to the dresses and began choosing mostly blue colored dresses with poofy skirts that seemed excessively feminine and didn't fit Athena's look one bit. I'm the last person to be giving other people fashion advice, but Athena's attire warranted more than just a fashion consultant, xey needed the fashion police to come in and arrest them for mismatched clothing.

"Ok Athena is done!" xey smiled as they tried on about twenty different dresses, all unsurprisingly didn't seem to suit Athena's body type at alIl.

Despite wanting to stay as far away from Athena as humanly possible, I knew little to nothing about xem, might as well face the facts and get this cringe over and done with.


Free Time Event: Should I humor Athena some more?

Might as well, let's get this over with. / I'd rather drown than listen to more cringy jokes..


"Hey Athena, do you want to go exploring?" I asked xem.

"Oh really! I would love to Ari!" xey squealed in a very high pitched tone.

Let's hope I don't regret this later down the line.

The two of us exited the costume room, walking aimlessly around the hallways and wondering what to do and talk about.

"So Athena, why did you become a comedian and what sparked your passion for comedy?" I asked them.

"Well Athena watched a lot of comedy movies and Athena even pulled an all nighter memorizing lines from famous comedians from all over the world," xey explained.

I can't say they didn't try to learn the craft, but that's a step in the right direction I suppose.

"So how did Hope's Peak scout you?" I added. I was a bit curious as to how this school could have scouted a person with the lamest jokes ever.

"Athena...doesn't like talking about Athena's past too much.." they said looking down at their feet, sounding a bit melancholic.

"Oh..sorry my bad," I said, tilting my glasses up a bit, "That was a bit rude of me to ask.."

"Athena doesn't mind, Athena likes to thing of happy things, the past is filled with sad thoughts and Athena doesn't want to think of those anymore."

Sad thoughts? What do they mean by that, I mean their past can't be that tragic...could it?

Athena and I arrived close to the auditorium, wondering which room to explore first. I should change the topic to something else, something a bit more lighthearted and playful.

"Athena do you like anything else besides stand up comedy and telling jokes?" I asked, taking a few more notes.

"Well Athena does like making puns, would you like to hear some?" they asked.

"No thanks," I said almost immediately, "Anything else?"

"Athena does love eating sweets, playing with cute animals and eating meat," they remarked, "Athena mostly likes watching comedy shows."

"That's interesting, do you also do research on jokes as well," I asked again, writing down more notes and getting a lesson on comedy.

"Yes, Athena even went all the way back to the beginning, comedy has been around since ancient times."

Ancient times huh...I do remember reading up on that somewhere..


CHOICE:

Ancient Egypt

Medieval Dark Ages

Ancient Greece


"Since the days of the ancients," I pondered, "Do you mean it started somewhere around the time of Ancient Greece?"

"Does Swiss cheese have holes in it?" Athena asked playfully.

"Yes…" I sighed.

"Correct, Ari," they smiled, "Around 400 BC, comedy, or more specifically 'stand-up comedy', had its' roots around that time period, and it was mainly for the cynics and epicureans of that time period."

That's very interesting to know, it seems Athena knows a lot of history regarding xer talent, to bad when putting it into practice, it comes off more juvenile if anything.

"I didn't know that, huh," I thought to myself, "That was certainly entertaining."

"Athena loves learning more about the fun filled world of laughter and humor, it's what helps Athena cope…"

"Cope...cope with what?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow with curiosity.

"It's nothing, Athena is going to go check out the auditorium some more," they smiled, "Thanks for talking with me Ari, it was super fun!"

"Likewise Athena, see you later," I waved to xer, as they skipped off to the auditorium.

Friendship Points: 1/3 Athena, while their jokes need more work, it seems that Athena really liked studying the history of comedy and jokes as a whole, I can tell they have a love for the craft. It seems they use it to cope, but why? I'll ask next time.


I rubbed my temples, glad that that interaction was over and done with. I looked to my left to see the entrance to the indoor beach area. The warm breeze felt so comforting and relaxing, contrasting with the cold and unnerving halls of this god forsaken school.

"I really want to sleep on the sandy beach…" I sighed, "But that rule about sleeping anywhere else, forbids me from it, shit."

I decided to go in anyway because, well- Who doesn't need to get some fresh air and maybe get a potential sunburn from time to time?

I opened the door to the beach room. The familiar warm breeze embraced my skin like a caring mother's love. I wiped my glasses once again and took in the tropical wonders in front of me. The water's waves crashed against the rocks, the flowers glistened with color in the hot summer heat, and coconuts fell from palm trees as they rolled onto the sand. Seashells were glittering in the sunshine.

"Such a calming place," I breathed in the salty air, "If only the rest of this school was the same.."

I walked along the sandy shores, feeling the hot sand against my skin as the waves inched closer and closer to the shore. It felt like a real beach, but I knew this was only an illusion created by someone who seeked pleasure in watching teenagers kill each other.

It was so surreal though, almost as if there was some faint sense of happiness in this morally grey school of ugly colors and cold blooded murder.

I rested near a grass patch near the shady palm trees, sitting down against the tree's body. I placed my bag down on the ground, listening to the soothing rhythm of the ocean waves.

I took my glasses off of my face, rested them on my blouse top as I soaked in more sunshine. I almost fell asleep from the warm breeze.

I seemed to have dozed off for a few minutes, not caring much for the rules and resting peacefully on the yellow sand and green grass.

"Ari…" said a voice that sounded quite faint, "Are you ok?"

I grumbled a bit, not wanting to greet whoever it was that wanted to interrupt my nap.

"Ari!" the voice yelled.

"Huh!? Don't submit that tape!" I awoke from my brief nap, "Wait...who's there?"

My vision was blurry and I had a hard time making out who was calling out to me, I waved my hands around to search for my glasses, completely forgetting where I put it last.

"Here you go," the voice said, placing something over my eyes, "Is that better?"

The blurry figure rested my glasses over my eyes as my sight grew more crystal clear, I rubbed my eyes a bit and saw who it was that awoke me from my nap.

"Oh...Simon, it's you," I commented looking up at the tall giant, towering over me like a Greek sculpture.

"You almost fell asleep and broke one of the rules," he explained, happily smiling and sitting down next to me, "It's a good thing I was here, to wake you up."

"Thanks big guy," I yawned, covering my mouth, "So what brings you here to the beach room?"

"Just taking a walk around and seeing the sights is all," he scratched the back of his head, "I needed to clear my head from all of the pressure and stress this motive has caused everyone."

Maybe now is a good time to get to know a bit more about our resident bodybuilder…


Free Time Event: Should I relax with Simon?

Of course, I need to talk and vent a bit. / No thanks, people ewww…


"Ok, that's good at least," I nodded, "You're oddly calm about all of this. Is something on your mind?" I asked, pulling out my notepad.

"Not much," he sighed, "I'm just a little worried for someone…"

"Someone, who may that be?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.

"It's nothing," he sat with his legs crossed and his large muscular arms crossed, "I'm just a little homesick is all…"

"Homesick, how so?" I wondered.

"As you know, I'm not Japanese, I'm American actually," he said brushing up his blond hair, "Hence why my name is very foreign compared to the others, aside from maybe Eduardo and Dietrich."

"Oh that makes sense, so you're like a foreign exchange student," I answered.

"Yes," he smiled at me wistfully, his dark green eyes looking back at me, "It's a little scary, being away from home."

Poor guy, all alone in Japan and his family is back home in America. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. I patted his back, feeling his defined muscular form in the process.

"There there," I rubbed his back, "It'll get better soon, if we manage to make it out of this hellhole."

As I said before, I'm not one for comforting words, so this half hearted comfort session came off more cringy if anything. I'm someone who's more for snarky confrontation rather than cheering someone up with my sarcastic sounding tone.

"Thank you, Arihime," he looked at me, his eyes watering slightly.

"So, what part of America, or more so what state are you from?" I asked, curiously.

"Wanna take a guess," he teased.

Okay, time to answer more questions, someone put me on one of those trivia game shows, the answers are flowing into my brain!


CHOICE:

New Mexico

New Jersey

New York


"Out of fifty states, you're from New York, right?" I answered, "I can tell you have an accent."

"Wow, that's amazing," he chuckled, "It's so cool how you know so much about foreign countries."

"Well, as a Journalist, I make it my job to be more wordly and forward thinking," I explained, "If a journalist only gave one side of the argument and didn't explore other leads without sufficient evidence, then their words fall flat."

"That's interesting," he turned to me, "You know...I actually thought you were a cute news anchor...when we first met," he blushed slightly.

My face turned from pale to blushing pink in seconds. Wow, he really thinks I'm cute huh...poor boy, he must've forgotten who I was. I mean, I don't call myself pretty because I'm average, plain, and simple.

And don't use that 'not like other girls crap'. I didn't ask to be special, the people around me are just...weird, to put it lightly.

"Well…" I pushed up my glasses and played with some of my messy hair, "That's very sweet of you Simon, but I'm afraid it might not work out."

"Oh, why is that?" he asked, looking at his I-Pad.

"Long story short, jealous co-workers, a perverted cameraman, and the makeup/wardrobe girls fussing over my poor fashion choices and pimpled face," I bluntly stated.

He laughed at my remark, the sweat from the sun dripping onto his black tank top and his peachy skin, tanning slightly.

"You're such a nice girl, Ari," he smiled a shiny grin, "I enjoy talking with you."

"O-Oh!? T-Thanks Simon…" I responded, stuttering a bit, "No one's ever said that to me before…."

Simon simply chuckled, nodding his head and looking at the beach waves.

Friendship Points: 2/3 Simon Regal, aside from having a lot of knowledge on massage techniques, he also misses his home very much and whoever it was he was worried for. He's such a sweet boy, he needs some good ol' TLC.


"Well I'm going to go ahead and see if there's anything else we missed," I sat up, dusting the back of my skirt, "Thank you for the talk, Simon."

"No problem," he giggled, getting up as well, "It was my pleasure!"

He then walked closer to me as I felt his large body approaching me and I got a little nervous. Was he planning to kill me, was Simon more cunning than I originally thought!?

I felt his arms wrap around me as he pulled me in closer to his body. My cheek pressed against his muscular chest, as I blushed intensely.

"W-What are you doing!?" I mumbled, fumbling for words.

"Just giving you a hug," he laughed, letting me go and fixing his white shirt, "I just wanted to thank you for being such a good friend to me and everyone else."

"Oh...ok," I shrugged off the hug, "I'm glad to be of some help, I guess?"

My mixed feelings jumped around in my head like an emotional battlefield of thoughts. I'm not used to getting hugs. The last time someone tried to put their arms around me was when they tried to stab a knife into the back of my neck.

I guess it's not so bad though. I just don't feel like it's my place to spurn Simon's friendship or anyone else's for that matter, given what happened last time.

After waving goodbye to Simon, who decided to venture further inside the beach room, I left the calming warmth, only to be greeted by the brisk cold of the A/C coming from the vents in the gaudy colored hallway. I shivered and rubbed my shoulders upon realizing that I hadn't made much progress in terms of discovering new areas of interest.

"This is going well…" I lied to myself, "Now what else is there to investigate?"

DING DONG DING DONG

Then as if on cue, the announcement bell dinged as Monokuma appeared on a nearby TV screen.

"Ahem, attention all students, please report to the auditorium for a special event, anyone who doesn't show up will be quartered on the spot, hurry hurry."

Of course it had to be him, what fresh hell are we in for now, he better not try and show another secret to make everyone else even more suspicious of me, I mean the creator isn't that lazy right….right!?

Since the beach room was closer to the auditorium, I didn't have trouble finding my way there. I pushed open the double doors, walked inside the dimly lit auditorium as the red curtains were open and covered the entire stage. It seems someone was trying to hide something or is going to surprise us with something, who knows.

I swear to god if Monokuma pulls another stupid character reveal, I'm done.

Everyone else started to file into the room, I sat somewhere in the middle second row while the others sat in the front or some hid in the third row behind me.

"I wonder what Monokuma wants to show us this time?" Karuta asked, sounding a bit worried.

"I hope it's not something terrible or frightening," Tokaku replied, "I'm not sure I can take anymore of this anticipation."

"Is the bear going to put on a performance?" Izuhara wondered, a bit irritated with Monokuma's meddling, "He better not do anything to mess with us again."

I was just as confused as everyone else. I prayed that it wasn't something detrimental to my cover, but thinking upon it now, my cover was blown the second that video surfaced. So I think it's safe to assume that it's nothing similar to that.

"I mean he showed us the motive already," Calypso thought, "What else is there?"

"Not sure," Eduardo pondered, "Let's hope it's not un problema."

As everyone kept guessing at what's going on, I sat in my seat looking back at the notes I took. I was questioning my findings even more. I found nothing of interest on this floor and it infuriated me that my research was going nowhere. I didn't have many resources at my disposal.

"Aww are you sad, you're little expedition didn't go as planned," said a snide voice.

"What is it now, William?" I asked, looking back to see him sitting in the third row behind me.

"Oh it's nothing special," he snickered, playing with his orange messy hair, "Just watching as you stumble to find more secrets when you're barking up the wrong tree."

"And do tell what am I doing wrong?" I sarcastically responded, "From what I can tell, you're not doing much either, unless you think trolling me is going to work."

"Trolling you?" he feigned being hurt, "You wound me, Arihime."

I rolled my eyes at him as the lights started getting darker in the auditorium. A vibrating noise came from nowhere.

"Ahem!" said someone, clearing their throat, "Ladies, gentleman and those in between, thank you all for joining me!"

We all heard Monokuma's voice coming from the intercom from above the stage. The red velvet curtain were drawn back to reveal something on the stage.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

As the curtain finished opening, on the wooden stage there seemed to be some sort of set like something you'd see in a play or stage show performance.

There was a castle like wooden prop that emulated a castle's front gates; it was a grey brick like stage piece with a red, white, green, yellow and blue flag flowing from near the top of the castle walls. There were cardboard cutouts lain on the floor to look like moats, paper alligators taped on the front. There was also a wooden door attached to the castle's curved entrance like a drawbridge. Also present were small windows near the top parts of the walls with toy soldiers in each window to look like they were protecting the castle.

In the back of the stage there seemed to be a larger portion of the castle where there was an ivory tower of the same brick like color, but it was slightly taller than the rest of the castle and had a mannequin in the window dressed like a princess, wearing a blonde wig and a poofy pink dress.

"What the heck?" I wondered in my mind, "What exactly is this?"

"That's a good question," said Monokuma's voice coming from somewhere on stage.

As he said that, a spotlight appeared on stage to reveal Monokuma on the top of the stage. He was near the ceiling where two gold masks rested, one a laughing mask and the other a frowning mask. He was dressed in a knight's armor and brandished a shield and a sword.

"It is my pleasure to announce to you all," Monokuma giggled as he jumped off of the masks and landed somewhere in the castle, making a loud crashing noise.

"What is even going on?" Camille asked confused.

"Not sure," Aohito mumbled.

"I'm alright!" Monokuma announced. He did a bunch of leaps as he began combating toy soldiers.

Monokuma swung his sword around and defeated the soldiers. He then ran around the set, reached the tower area, rescued the mannequin princess, and then threw the body out of the window as a cardboard dragon appeared.

"I'm confused.." Simon looked in awe, "What's the plot?"

"Don't know," Alia sighed, shaking her head.

Monokuma then pierced through the dragon's body as it landed on the castle set and destroyed it. Monokuma was crushed by the rubble, only to reappear with the armor off his body and strewn across the stage as the curtain closed.

"What, no applause?" Monokuma eyed everyone, "Tough crowd."

Monokuma pouted as the curtain on stage opened up to reveal the once decimated stage set. It was completely gone from sight and devoid of any mess or rubble.

"Why did you bring us here Monokuma?" Reina scoffed at him.

"Wow, everyone's a critic," he sighed and jumped back on stage, "But no matter, I have gathered you all here today to give you guys a little treat, because I'm that generous!"

We all collectively sweatdropped at Monokuma's gestures, I mean I know it's his M.O to fuck with us, but is he really going for overkill at this point with the silly antics?

"T-Treat?" Natsume questioned, "What i-is it?"

"If you'd let me finish, then I can tell you brats," Monokuma put his paw up, waving it around, "I was about to say, that you all will be cast in your very own plays!"

…..WHAT!? Plays, really!?

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean by plays?" I asked, raising my hand, getting his attention.

"I mean it should be obvious," Monokuma shook his head, "Like stage plays, dramas, live and in person, not that Television soap opera shit, I'm talking about the real good stuff!"

"Like what?" Kazuko asked as well, "Why must we be in the plays?"

"You guys sure do ask a lot of tiresome questions," Monokuma seemed annoyed, "It's for my entertainment and you all will be cast as actors in fairytale-esque plays!"

My mind raced with a multitude of questions, some of which ranged from what is even going on right now to what the fuck is this middle school garbage. Not only is he tempting us with food, he's now trying to force us into performing for him live on stage. This is so beyond cringy that I might as well throw up right now in my mouth.

"Ooh fairytales!" Athena seemed a bit excited, "Like stuff from storybooks?"

"Yes, more specifically there will be a total of 8 plays that will be orchestrated by you the student body," Monokuma giggled, blushing in the process.

"I know it's for your entertainment," William chimed in, "But is that really all there is to it?"

"I'll leave that up to your imagination, Willy," Monokuma snickered deviously, "For now, I will now assign you all your roles and what plays will be organized as well."

Monokuma fiddled with with something on his body as he pulled out more envelopes and tossed them so that they landed to a certain person specifically, my envelope landed in my lap as I picked it up, wondering if there was anything suspicious on it.

"If you all would kindly open up your envelopes, you will see what role you received," Monokuma announced, eagerly awaiting our reactions.

I sighed deeply, turned the envelope over, unattached the string, opened the flap as I pulled out a sheet of white paper that had my name and my picture profile, and on the cover it said in beautifully written cursive black inked handwriting, there was a title.


Arihime Koyuji

Ultimate Journalist

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

ROLE: Belle, lead


I stared at the paper, confounded for words as I my eye twitched in frustration. Is he serious…..haha…

"What the fuck is this?" I almost said out loud, "Is this a joke!?"

"Oh you have a problem with it, firecracker?" Monokuma snickered, "Well too bad, you're stuck with the role until the plays are over!"

I continued to stare at the paper as I inserted it back into the envelope and rubbed my temples in frustration.

"This is absolutely outrageous!" Camille shouted out, "Why am I stuck with this measly and unseemly role!"

"Huh...this is oddly fitting," William eyed his paper, "Interesting choice Monokuma."

"Is it because I'm a bit of a neat freak that I got this role?" Calypso wondered, a little embarrassed by what was on her paper.

"This is most bewildering indeed," Nori thought, looking at his paper, a bit worried.

"Well I guess this isn't so bad…" Kazuko read her role and sighed in disappointment.

"A princess?" Karuta seemed slightly happy and confused, "Is my attire that regal looking?"

Alia simply took her envelope, put it to the side, crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor, crossing her arms accompanied with an irritated look on her face as she brushed back her bangs.

"Huh...how fitting," Reina looked at her paper, a bit pleased with what she got, "What did you get Eddie?"

"I got this," he showed her his paper and she began squealing, "Me alegra que estes feliz."

I guess not everyone is totally against the idea of these plays and the roles they were given. Still it kind of creeps me out that I'm playing the lead role in a play, I never imagined I would be doing something like this in my entire life.

I was never one to hog the spotlight nor did I crave to be on stage like most wannabe thespians nowadays.

"Why did I get this role?" Tokaku looked at her paper, a bit weirded out.

"Athena is most perplexed by this as well, Toka," Athena scratched their head.

"Hmph…" Aohito looked at his paper indifferently.

"I-It could be worse…" Natsume whimpered.

"This is just...insipid," Izuhara gripped his paper tightly, "We're forced to be his playthings for his amusement, I cannot stand for this!"

"Oh is there a problem?" Monokuma looked at Izuhara with his glowing red eye sinisterly, "If you have a complaint, please feel free to make one at our help desk right next to the turret."

Izuhara clenched his fist tighter, gritted his teeth and sighed loudly as he put his paper back into the envelope and conceded.

"Anyone else have any questions?" Monokuma asked us, a bit content with our yielding to his whims, "Good, now you all will perform for me in due time, but until then, better get to doing research on your roles in the meantime, ta ta!"

Monokuma disappeared from the stage like a phantom in the night, as the rest of us had looks of dumbfounded confusion. I imagined that half of us had a million questions running through our brains wondering what the hell Monokuma was after, but at this point it's hard to say what exactly it is, since he's so spontaneous and unpredictable.

"Are we really going to do this?" Karuta asked worried, "I don't feel comfortable doing this…."

"I don't think we have a choice…." Camille said, clearly annoyed with the role he was given.

"Do you guys know what roles you got?" Aohito inquired, "We might be able to help each other better if we knew what our roles were."

"That's not a bad idea," Kazuko added.

Wow, somehow everyone is working together despite how hopeless the situation is. I will admit I'm not too fond of this play thing either, but there's not much else we can do, let alone I, so it's best to play along for now.

Everyone huddled in one big circle close to the stage as we planned to discuss our predicament further. It's weird, just a few days ago, we were at each other's throats, but now all of a sudden we want to work together to solve our problems….talk about lazy writing.

"So what roles did you all receive?" Izuhara asked everyone.

Then one by one everyone, minus Alia, had presented their envelopes, opened them up and took out the papers with their roles on it.

"Wow Ari," Karuta looked at my paper, "You're so lucky, you get to be Belle!"

"Heh...I guess so.." I sighed deeply, feigning happiness, "It doesn't matter to me."

"Well speaking of princesses," Reina added, "I get to play the role of Snow White!"

"Wow that's so cool, Reina!" Tokaku cheered for her, "You get to be a princess like Ari, I'm so jealous."

If only you knew how I really felt about all of this nonsense, then you might think differently. I mean I don't have a problem with fairytales, I practically grew up with them. I'm just worried about what Monokuma plans to do with these plays and why he's forcing us to participate.

"I got Morgan Le Fay," Tokaku pouted, clearly a little unhappy.

"Athena got Guine- something…" they tried to pronounce the name of the role.

"Guinevere," I corrected them, "I presume you two will be in the King Arthur Play?"

"How did you know?" Athena looked curious, "Do you have magic powers that lets you see into the future or something!?"

"No...I just read a book about King Arthur and came to that conclusion, since those names are prominent in that book," I detailed for them.

"Oh thanks Ari," Athena dumbly smiled, "But who's playing King Arthur?"

"That would be me…." Izuhara joined in, "It seems I will be the one to take home the glory and become king..heh…"

"Nice going man!" Simon patted him on the back, "You get to be royalty!"

It seems some of them were happy to get good roles, I don't understand how their excitement came to be, when just a few seconds ago, they were all scared out of their minds about what Monokuma was planning to do. Oh well, I shouldn't burst their bubble.

"I am Reina's principe," Eduardo smiled, "She is la manzana de mi ojo."

Reina blushed happily, it seems her Hispanic lover is charming her with the language of love, I pray those two make the right decisions later on. What am I talking about, I know next to nothing about love, what am I doing telling other people how to manage their love life.

"I got Princess Kaguya," Karuta said, "I love that story, despite how dark it is."

"I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off, Karuta," Kazuko chimed in, "Meanwhile I got Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz."

"R-Really…" Natsume looked at his paper and it fell out of his hands from all his shivering, "I-I got the C-C-Cowardly Lion.."

That's the most perfect role ever typecasted for Natsume ever. It's befitting of my childhood friend, poor boy.

"The Tin Man," Aohito interjected, "Looks I got that role."

Another role that was a match made in heaven, Monokuma seemed to be on a role with all of these, no pun intended. Aohito doesn't say much, but to say he doesn't have a heart is pretty far fetched.

"I cannot accept this role, it is beneath me," Camille took the paper and almost ripped it before Kazuko took it from him and stifled some giggling.

"The Scarecrow," she burst out laughing, "How fitting, you seem to lack a brain, despite having a massive ego."

I also stifled some laughter, but more at the fact that Kazuko was the one to point it out first, you go girl.

"Just think about it Camille," I told him, stroking his broken pride, "Not many scarecrow are as athletically stunning as you, you're the first of your kind!"

"Oh...when you put it like that," he quickly recovered, flexing in a muscular pose, "I'll be sure to put on a performance that will outshine everyone!"

"So it looks like you four will be in one play," I thought out loud, "Reina and Eduardo in one more, Tokaku, Athena and Izuhara in the other and Karuta as the sole lead in her own."

"So what about the others?" Nori asked, "Do they also become thespians as well?"

"Well what did you get Nori?" I asked him.

"This cat got something that will knock your socks off," he claimed, fixing his fedora.

He showed me his role and I was a little surprised at what he got.

"You got Prince Charming," I noticed and was a little surprised by the role, "So you get to dress up in even ritzier attire and your dialogue will come off more natural."

I slightly cringed at what I just said, but Nori didn't seem to mind as he smiled at me, winked and tipped his fedora.

"Alia what did you get?" Karuta asked, "You seemed pretty annoyed with what you got."

"I don't care...Alice in Wonderland…" she grunted, sat back down, crossing her arms in irritation.

"Ooh that's so cute!" Reina chirped, "But I never imagined you the type to be in such a naive role as that."

Alia glared at Reina with daggers in her eyes, as it seemed that made her cold demeanor even more harsh and brisk.

"Well I love this fairytale regardless," Calypso played with her hair braid, "It's been a dream of mine to be cast as Cinderella!"

"Oh how romantic, Caly!" Tokaku squealed, "You're so lucky! I wish I had a prince charming of my own."

"Well it looks Nori and Calypso will be cast into the same play then," Izuhara thought, "So that leaves Simon and William, what did you two get?"

"Took you long enough," William sneered as he stood in the middle of the group, "How apropos a role as this, to be cast as the Ultimate Trickster himself, Rumpelstiltskin!"

He was right, that fits him to a T. I hate Monokuma for having to make me go through with this absurd play, but I will applaud his sense of dark and cynical humor. William, in a role that satirizes his entire personality and character was such a match made in heaven. I almost felt I was in heaven itself.

"Simon, you didn't tell us your role," Athena mentioned as she saw the tall giant looking at his paper and blushing a bright red color on his face.

"I…" he had trouble finding the words to speak, "I uh…."

"What is it Sime?" I asked the towering musclebound dork, "Are you getting cold feet?"

Izuhara took the paper from Simon, read his role as his eyes almost bulged out of the sockets.

"Woah," Izuhara wolf whistled, "This is...very interesting indeed."

"What?" I asked, as everyone gathered around to see the paper.

They all looked at me and Simon in surprise, the girls cooing and aweing and the guys nudging Simon, winking at me or nodding.

"What?!" I got antsy from the suspense of it all.

"Oh hoh," William took the paper and giggled, "It seems you found your match!"

I took the paper from him and looked at it closely, reading what Simon's role was as it read, "Beast" from Beauty and The Beast.

…..

I stared at the paper, my emotions peaked and my skin tingled. My cheeks felt warm and my skin turned a bright red.

"Umm…..uh.." I was aghast for words, "So..Simon and I…"

Everyone else nodded, whilst people like Nori and Natsume seemed slightly disappointed, but happy for Simon as they patted his back.

"Nice one Simon!" Izuhara slapped him on the back, as a sign of encouragement, "You finally get to be the romantic interest in a play!"

"...with the girl you've had a crush on since you got to this school," Calypso smiled and giggled as well, "That's kind of weird, but also romantic!"

What!? How...what!? Crush…..oh my god...

Due to all the excitement and everyone trying to ask me a billion questions, I got a little tipsy from all the pressure and proceeded to faint onto the floor, as some of the others rushed over to my side. It all went black.


Then like magic, I felt the warm comfort of my red blanket, and my body feeling slightly numb from falling on my backside.

"God...damnit…" I rubbed my back, and opening my eyes, the blurry vision only heightening my curiosity, "Where the fuck….?"

I searched for my glasses, swishing my hands around the bed and felt them on my nightstand nearby. I slid them onto my face and awoke in my room, slightly dazed and confused.

"How did I get here?" I wondered, brushing some messy strands of maroon hair out of my face, "What even happened?"

"You passed out is what happened," said a voice coming from inside my room.

"Who's there!?" I looked around my room frantically, "I have a taser in my bag and I'm not afraid to use it!"

The voice began laughing as I turned in front of me to see someone standing near my doorway, their back leaned up against the wall and crossing their arms.

"W-William!?" I sputtered out, "What are you doing in my room!?"

"Woah calm down there, Arihime," he put his hands in front of him, trying to calm me down, "I'm not here to watch you undress or anything salacious as that."

With him, I find it almost hard to believe. I mean he drugged me, has been a total pest to me since I got here, and now he tries to act gentlemanly at random moments in our meetings. What is he hiding?

"Then get out of my room, you creep," I growled at him, "Don't make me call for help!"

"If you'd shut up for a few seconds," he sounded a bit irritated, "I'm here on guard duty, because for some reason, everyone thinks it's alright for me to be watching you of all people."

Well then, looks like I'm going to have a very nice...long chat..with everyone.

"Why am I being watched? I thought I was cleared of all suspicion?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Don't ask me," he shook his head, "But I'm more interested to see how you'll handle the role of a princess, when you're so feisty and have a sharp tongue?"

"Are you looking to get tased?!" I glared at him with an icy cold stare coming from my tired, baggy eyes.

"Ok, I'll zip my mouth now," he snickered and pushed up his glasses, "But what are you planning to do about the motive?"

That's right, I almost forgot about the food motive Monokuma presented to us. Honestly, I think the only way to actually test if this motive is actually dangerous, is for one of us to gauge if it's poisonous or at the very least edible.

"I'm going to march over to the cafeteria and eat something right now!" I proclaimed, thrusting my blanket to the side, hopping out of bed, cleaning up my appearance, and heading out the door.

"You really are stubborn," William followed closely behind me, "Did you even think this through?"

"You know what," I turned to look at him, "I'm starting to get sick of you questioning my motives and making me look like an ass in the process. I'm fucking...sick...of it!"

"Temper temper," he chuckled, "Well I'll leave you to it, have fun with whatever it is you're going to do."

And with that William sauntered back to his room, to do god knows what. Honestly he needs to learn to mind his own business for once, but enough about him, time to savor this supposed motive and devour it's contents.

I headed to the cafeteria, pushed open the doors and was greeted by the same display of food right in front of me.

The table of meat entrees still looked juicy and sizzling from the first time I saw it this morning, the salads still maintained their crisp and light green look, the fruits didn't rotten nor did they attract any bugs whatsoever, the soups rich aroma still pungent and mouth watering as ever, and don't get me started on how fabulously decorated and pleasing the desserts table was. My mouth dribbled with drool as tried to brace myself for the hell that's about to come.

I should only eat a small portion of food because if this is really poisonous, then I'm going to end up killing myself if I eat one of everything at once. So what to eat first?

"Oh what's this?" popped out Monokuma and Nekotang, "Is something getting hungry already?"

"She's absolutely starving, how meow-velous," Nekotang purred.

"What do you two want?" I sighed deeply, "Here to watch me cave in to your motive, because I'm a glutton for punishment?"

"No, just wanted to see if one of you lovely imbeciles would be that stupid to actually take the bait," Monokuma giggled.

"I bet it was Camille," Nekotang snickered, "He's one litter too short of a kitten if you ask me."

Monokuma then punched Nekotang in the face, pushing him into a wall and almost making a hole in it as Nekotang somehow survived that blow.

"Now as I was saying," Monokuma continued, "You can eat as much as you want, I promise you there's no poison in it whatsoever."

I looked at the bear, rolling my eyes in disbelief.

"How do I know you're not just saying that to inevitably kill me off?" I asked, a bit impatiently, my stomach gurgling.

"My dear, if I wanted to kill you all off, I would have done it a long time ago and probably while you all were asleep too."

True, he's had many opportunities to strike us down, but if I remember correctly from the rules… I believe it was rule 16 which said that neither he or Nekotang could exact any harm to us, but that doesn't mean the person behind the robot bear was limited to the rules.

"Hello," Monokuma snapped his paws, "So are you going to eat something or are you going to stand there like an idiot while saliva drips from your mouth?"

I shook myself out of my daze, wiped some drool from my mouth, and stared at the food in front of me. I couldn't help it as I almost lunged my body at the food, grabbing a plate and piling slices of chicken, a side of Caesar salad with blue cheese dressing and setting that on the table.

"Enjoy the meal," Monokuma cackled, "It might be your last…."

He said those words, and disappeared as Nekotang simply followed in suit. I didn't care as I grabbed a ladle and poured pumpkin soup into a bowl with a baguette on the side.

Lastly I grabbed a plate and stared at the desserts table and pondered deeply on what to eat first, while I did love cheesecake, I can't help but crave the ice cream cake and the cookies.

"Fuck it, I'm taking all," I said, grabbing two cookies and a slice of cheesecake, "Let's taste test this now.."

I set all the food on the table, took a water bottle from one of the coolers and grabbed some cutlery before observing the food once again.

"Sorry everyone," I closed my eyes, "But I'm fucking hungry and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

To say I wolfed down the food was the understatement of the century, the food was beyond delicious, it was five star worthy of cuisine!

The chicken and the gravy slathered on it tasted so savory and had a lot of flavor to it; with each bite tasting like a meat lovers' heaven. The salad was crispy and the lettuce was still slightly wet as the dressing complemented its' rich flavor. The soup was pureed nicely with no stringy bits leftover and each spoonful felt warm and delicious.

After finishing the meal entirely, I burped loudly, forgetting my manners as I sipped the water, which oddly enough was even more refreshing than the water they served in the cafeteria before.

Lastly I helped myself to the cake and cookies, biting into the chocolate chip one as the chocolate chips melted in my mouth and the crumbs tasted soft on my tongue, the cake was by far the best part, the creamy texture was fluffy and milky, the strawberry glaze was fruity and sweet and the taste was an explosion of flavor in my tastebuds!

I cleaned my plates, licking every last drop of food and feeling even more satisfied than ever. I felt slightly groggy from eating the meal, but I was still alive so it seemed there wasn't any poison inside the food.

However after eating the food, I felt slightly dizzy as if the entire room went topsy turvy on me. My balance was off slightly and my vision blurred more than before, even with my glasses on.

"What…." I managed to say, with my slurred speech, as I slumped out of my seat; one of the plates on the table crashed into the floor and shattered.

"Is it me….or is the world...upside down," I mumbled as I fell onto the floor as I heard faint footsteps in the distance.

"Arihime!" screamed a voice as more footsteps followed suit, "Oh my god!"

I tried to keep my eyes open, only to see blurry images of the others bodies and one voice saying to me before I passed out once more..

"Nighty night…"


To be continued….upupupupupupupupu


A/N: Hello Hello Hello everyone, it's so nice to see you all again after so long!

Thank you all for being so patient with me and I'm super sorry for leaving you all on that silly little thing we all hate called a cliffhanger….I did it again...gosh dang it.

Well that aside, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and boy did this one take forever to type and edit. Let me tell you, I was struggling to even get this chapter started, let alone make it, but now I can say that I got it done and I'm happy.

That being said I've been busy lately and have been preoccupied with IRL life and other things, my emotions were all over the place and I was a bit stressed, but I'm fine now and I hope you all are doing good as well.

So did you all like this long chapter, I know it's the same amount as my other chapters, but I hope this makes up for me taking so many breaks in between each upload. I love you all and thank you for being patient with me, especially since I have a lot of stuff to figure out in my life and not to mention I'm managing two other stories at the moment, yippee….

That aside, I love writing these chapters and I'm kind of excited but also a bit scared to write the double murder chapter, as you know how most chapter 3 cases tend to be pretty moot at times. Hopefully I can make this one worth the while :3.

What did you guys think of this chapter? Did you like the FTE? I know some of you are fanboying/fangirling right now over one FTE in particular ;)

You can thank me later :3.

Now we get to see the main theme of the chapter, fairytales and fables, this is going to be my favorite one to make since I love this genre and I hope you guys like it as well 3.

Looking forward to you guys' reviews and I'm interested to hear your thoughts on the places of interest and who the first victims will be, since this is the third case, let me know in the reviews or PM's what you thought about this, I love to hear what you guys have to say.

That's all for now, I hope you all have a fantastic day, night, holiday or whatever it is you're celebrating at this point in time.

And a happy Fourth of July or late one, depending on the time, to all of you in the US right now, have a nice day guys!

Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alike, I will see you all next time or whenever I decide to update next.

Bye bye!