Editors: Crimson Spider Lily & RioA & KISL
"You're home now…" said a gruff, old voice.
I awoke, not to complete pitch darkness...but to a wholesome, warm light. The room didn't have a cold, somber tone, but instead a calming one that made me more relaxed and soothed, in some sense.
"Is this...a nightmare?" I wondered, glancing around the area I was in, "Where am I?"
It seemed to be some sort of living room that was big enough to host a small family gathering judging from how wide it was. The ceiling had a white-colored popcorn look, the floor a dark mahogany-colored carpet that was soft to the touch. The light grey walls made the room feel cozier and there was a large beige sofa in the middle of the room with red throw pillow cushions and an Indian woven red and brown quilt resting on its backrest. Two other red sofa-like single chairs were on opposite ends of the room with beige cushions and what appeared to be a flat screen TV was built into the wall so that you could see it from wherever you sat, regardless of what chair you rested on.
I walked around this normal-looking living room and sat down on the beige sofa. It was like sitting on a cloud; I couldn't help but want to lay down and rest my head on its fluffy surface. My maroon hair was strewn on the soft fabric, which smelt of wet flowers and warm dry-cleaned laundry. An aromatic chemical scent wafted throughout the room as I noticed one of those automatic air fresheners spray out the sickly sweet scent.
"Am I dreaming?" I wondered while resting on the warm sofa, "This all feels so surreal…"
This didn't feel like a dream….but at the same time it felt much more than that, almost mirroring some form of reality with how vivid each sensation and sight was. It was a reverie of consciousness; I didn't feel sadness, regret or sorrow….but pure comfort and tranquility. This was something I hadn't experienced in a long time, the feeling of being home.
"Welcome home sweetie," said a female's voice, soft and mature in tone, "Had a long day at work, I presume hehehe."
I awoke to the sound of her voice, almost alerted by how sudden it was. I raised my head off of the sofa to look to where it was coming from. It was a woman coming out of the kitchen. Her bright red hair was tied back into a big messy bun, and she wore an orange short-sleeved top below a white cardigan. It looked slightly crinkled from her cooking all this time, from what I can tell. A black ruffled skirt extended to her knees; she was barefoot and her face was devoid of any makeup, only displaying her natural and fair beauty even more so accentuated by the sweat dripping down the sides of her peachy face from all the steam coming out of the kitchen. Her dark brown eyes looked lovingly at me, as if she and I had some sort of bond.
"W-Who are you?" I asked, getting up from my seated position and sitting less comfortably, "Where am I?"
She didn't respond to my questions, instead greeting me with a hug. I could feel the warmth radiating from her body, probably from all the kitchen steam, as I was filled with all sorts of mixed emotions.
"W-What are you doing?" I was a bit taken aback by the sudden affection.
"Just giving you a hug, sweetie," she smiled, fixing her top, "Someone's a crabby pants today, hehe."
Regaining my composure, I sat properly on the couch, brushing back some strands of hair. My overall countenance was a mixture of confusion and being flustered. I didn't know what to say, which was odd since I'd usually question something that didn't make any sense. But with this lady, I didn't feel the need to….in fact, I felt almost happy when I was in her presence.
"Oh ok...thanks," I nodded wearily, not sure what to say next.
"Make sure to take breaks periodically sweetie, that way you won't be as stressed," she giggled, pinching my cheeks, "Make sure to wash up first, dinner's almost ready, and be sure to leave back some dumplings for your father when he comes home. You know how much he loves his dumplings."
My father...what? Does this mean that...she's my mother? I sat there on the couch, still completely unaware of what was even going on. I decided it'd be best for me to pretend for a little bit longer; at the very least, I could get some answers.
"O-Ok..mom," I responded nervously, unsure if that's what I should even call her, "Just give me a second."
She nodded with a bright grin before heading back into the kitchen. I headed to the nearest bathroom to wash up, as she began humming a tune while cooking the rest of whatever it was she was making for dinner.
The bathroom wasn't anything special: a simple white tiled floor, a beige fuzzy carpet underneath a white ceramic sink and a few fruity scented hand soaps near the edges of the sink. I turned on the faucet and spied about two different soaps. One was a purplish violet color that read 'Lavender Luxury' while the other one was a bright orangey yellow color, that read 'Lemony Orange Zest'.
"They both smell nice," I commented, sampling both hand soaps, sniffing their lovely fragrance and rubbing my hands together with each one, "Might as well use both."
After rinsing my hands off, wiping them down with a white towel on a metallic black hook and dusting my shoes on the carpet, I headed out of the bathroom, only to see that "my mom" was still cooking dinner and she was keeping a close eye on the driveway.
I turned to my right to see a dining table that wasn't there before when I examined the room. It was fully set and furnished, supposedly a table for three. It was a dark wooden, carpenter's finished polished table with four legs to stand on, a light yellow cloth placed over it to make it stand out more, and three chairs of the same dark wood stood beside it; two on the opposite ends and one in the middle of the table. Three white porcelain plates rested on each side, along with white folded napkins in a paper basket that must have taken a while to neatly stack on top of each other, a few transparent glass cups next to each plate, a fork and a knife on either side of each plate, a platter full of white round dumplings in the center and a clear pitcher of ice cold water with lemons floating on the top of the glass near the dumplings.
"I wonder what's the occasion?" I thought, sitting down on the middle chair, resting my bag down to the side and admiring the elegant table arrangement, "Who cares, I'm starving!"
The delicious scent of food wafted from the kitchen into the dining room, filling the room with a cozy home-cooked feeling. It was aromatically stimulating and I couldn't help but wipe away some drool dripping from my lips. Wiping my hands with a napkin, I suddenly heard a car reversing into the driveway outside.
"Oh my goodness, he's home early," my mother exclaimed, turning off the stove and resting down her cooking utensils to the side before heading out the front door to greet the person.
While she was doing that, I played with the slightly damp napkin, unfolding it and then trying to refold it into something else out of boredom. Then the front door opened back up. My mother walked back inside the dining room, however there was a man close behind her. Judging from the way they held each other's hands, they looked to be on very friendly terms with each other, maybe bordering on romantic.
The man that entered was a bit taller than her, maybe one or two years older. His short black hair was slightly messy with a slight shine to it, his baby blue eyes twinkling like diamonds. The dark stubble on his face made him look scruffy but in a ruggedly handsome way. His skin was a fair white complexion and he was an overall gorgeous man.
He wore a grey long sleeved dress shirt with a red and black striped tie around his neck, dark grey dress pants that looked neatly ironed, polished black dress shoes and black socks on his feet. I noticed a silver wristwatch on his right wrist, a silver wedding band on his left ring finger and that his hands were slightly calloused, probably from his job or something. His overall dress told me he was someone well off or someone who had a white collar level job. Was this man her lover or something?
"I'm home!" the man announced, kissing the woman who claimed to be my mother on her plump red lips, "Wow what a long day!"
So this man...was he my father? There's no way that's possible, a man as drop-dead handsome as him and a woman as stunningly beautiful as her could never have a daughter as scraggy and unkempt as me. Am I on one of those tv shows where I switch lives with someone from some outskirt town or something?
"Guess what honey," the man said to her enthusiastically, "I have some great news!"
"What is it dear?" she asked, curious as to what it is he was talking about, "What has you so riled up?"
"I got the promotion!" he announced, his eyes lighting up and his bright white smile looking at the both of us with glee, "My boss said I was the best candidate for the job!"
"Honey, that's fantastic!" the woman cheered, wrapping her arms around the man and hugging him, "See all that hard work and effort paid off, I'm so proud of you!"
My mother jumped into the man's arms, spinning her around merrily as he hugged her back. I sat there, watching the two of them, rolling my eyes and trying not to cringe at how perfect their love life was. I had no idea who they were, but something about them...felt oddly familiar, but I didn't know what it was.
"And how's my little phoenix doing today," he approached me and planted a kiss on my forehead, "Did you have a good day at school today?"
"U-Umm…" I mumbled, a bit taken aback for words, "It was fine, I guess...nothing interesting of note."
"You're not getting into trouble again are you?" he asked me, raising an eyebrow, "I know you're in the newspaper club, but don't strain yourself, ok, phoenix?"
"Ok…" I told him, sighing softly, "I won't, dad.."
He ruffled my hair as he took the seat to my left, taking off his tie, unbuttoning his collar and rolling up his sleeves. As most girls would say, he was a DILF through and through, and my mom was the pure definition of a MILF. The two of them were like the ideal couple, it was cute but also disgustingly sweet on how perfectly they matched each other.
"So what's for dinner, hon?" he asked the woman, eagerly anticipating her next few words, "Is it what I think it is?"
"I made a pot roast with steamed vegetables, pork dumplings and mashed potatoes," she smiled at him, "And for dessert, I made a chocolate cake!"
"Oh boy, my favorite!" the man beamed a bright white smile, "Thanks Karin, you know me so well!"
"No problem, Akihiko," she skipped back into the kitchen, "Let's call it your congratulations on your promotion dinner! Hehe~"
So they're names were Karin and Akihiko, that's interesting. Are these two love birds really my parents? And why did he call me phoenix? Is it some silly nickname he gave me? Is it because of my fiery personality or is it because of my ability to look like I just got out of bed every single time and snap at people who try and greet me? I honestly don't know if it's meant to be cute or some form of mockery, but that's the least of my worries.
Either way, I was getting free food, so no use asking questions or complaining about this seemingly innocuous dinner. However, I still feel like I knew these people from somewhere, but I just couldn't put my finger on it. I don't feel uncomfortable around them nor do I feel eager to hug them back either. The strange part about it was that it felt like I've known them my entire life. Were they really my parents? If so, why did I forget about them?
"So phoenix," Akihiko crossed his arms, "Where do you think the three of us should go to celebrate?"
"Celebrate?" I remarked, a bit confused by the sudden question, "You mean where to go for your promotion celebration, dad?"
"Yes, but there's more to it than just that," he chuckled, "You haven't forgotten have you, Arihime?"
"Forgotten?" I pondered, confused about what he was talking about, "What did I forget?"
He chuckled some more, almost as if I made an unintentional joke, brushing back some of his raven hair, "Your birthday, of course!"
Wait what, my birthday? What is he talking about? My birthday just recently passed, I don't remember anyone else celebrating my birthday with me. In fact, I totally forgot it was my birthday a long time ago, I only know what age I turned due to the current year and that I was given time off on those days. So this random celebration felt quite out of place, considering my busy schedule.
"Oh…is it that time already" I acted surprised, playing along for the moment, "I guess time flies when you're having fun I suppose…"
"You're so silly, phoenix," he laughed, almost uproariously, "Your definitely my daughter, that's for sure."
He finished his fit of laughter, smiled and rested a napkin on his lap, as Karin brought in a bunch of plates covered with metal lids. The scent was filling me with a sense of gluttonous delight. I still had no clear idea of who these people were and I shouldn't be eating from strangers, but food was food. Then again the last time I said that...I ended up in a sex dungeon...welp time to eat!
"Enjoy you two," Karin giggled, blushing happily, "I made it with love!"
"Thanks honey," Akihiko chuckled, grabbing his cutlery and smacking his lips, "Hey phoenix, can you pass me the potatoes?"
"Sure...dad," I replied, handing him the bowl of mashed potatoes, "Here you go."
He took the bowl from me, ruffling my hair again, making it even messier than it was before and began piling a mountain of buttered spuds. I kept thinking of how many ways this dream could go sour fast, but it looks like I might be overthinking it this time. I mean so far I've been engulfed in darkness, chased by horrendous monsters and confronted by the possessed corpses of my dead classmates, so having something like this might be a refreshing change of pace. I might as well savor it while I still have the chance. The weirdest part about it all, I didn't feel all that particularly hungry, which is totally not something I would do.
"Oh, you're not hungry, sweetie?" Karin noticed as she sat to my right, untying her hair and letting it loose, "Is something wrong?"
"What...oh sorry, got a little lost in thought, mom," I remarked, waking up from my trance, "Don't mind me, just thinking about homework is all."
"Well then eat up first, then you can attend to that later," she giggled happily, "You'll feel much better when you've finished your meal."
"Sure thing," I nodded, almost zoning out again and putting on a fake smile.
She rubbed my right shoulder with a smile, serving me steamed vegetables then putting some for herself. It was a few sliced carrots, asparagus and some chopped broccoli covered in a greasy brown liquid, it honestly wasn't anything special.
I wasn't sure what to think honestly, but I might as well make the most of this dream while I was still asleep. It's a bit refreshing if anything. I placed a new clean napkin on my lap, wiped my hands and then grabbed the metal cover over the pot roast dish in the center of the table.
I expected the sweet, succulent, crispy meat juices to pop out at me, but as I lifted off that cover, I saw a sight that would be forever etched into my memory.
I shockingly saw what looked to be some bloody black animal intestines, swimming in some red soupy mixture like sauce, with a few eyeballs resting inside, all looking at me as I jumped back in horror. Words couldn't describe how grossed out I was, while both of my "parents" didn't seem phased by it whatsoever, as they began eyeing the intestines almost lustfully and stabbing their forks into the eyeballs and cutting up the intestines.
"Eww! What the fuck is this!?" I covered my mouth in disgust, dropping the metal cover as it crashed to the floor, making a loud ringing noise, "Oh my god, that is rancid!"
"Is everything alright, sweetie?" Karin asked, taking her knife and fork and digging into the intestines as if it were the aforementioned roast she thought she made, "Why aren't you eating the roast? Do you want me to make you a sandwich instead?"
I was breathless. I covered my nose to block out the pungent raw odor and my skin turned a ghostly pale white shade. I felt sick to my stomach as the bile in my mouth slid back down my throat and burned my insides. I wanted to vomit, but kept pushing it back down as to avoid causing a scene.
"She's probably a bit light-headed from school," Akihiko licked his bloodied fingers, "Might as well save some for her later and let her rest, Karin."
"Fuck that noise, I'm not eating that garbage, you fucking cannibals!" I thought in my head while my only facial expression was that of horrified disgust as the smell began seeping into my nose, making me gag in the process.
Karin then began scooping intestines, not at all phased by the fact she was pouring bloody intestines into my plate. Red liquid dripped from her lips as she dipped her finger into the soupy mixture and tasted it, delighting in whatever disgusting sensation the food was giving her.
"How can you eat that garbage!?" I protested, slapping the plate out of her hand as it crashed onto the ground messing up the clean floor.
"Sweetie, I put my sweat and tears into making this food," she scowled at me, "Either you eat your meal or go straight to bed and starve."
"Don't sass your mother, Arihime!" Akihiko growled at me, sucking on his fingers as he chewed on a piece of intestine, "Show some gratitude and stop acting like a brat!"
Starve..brat….what...is going on?…..
I started feeling faint due to the overwhelming smell of raw intestines, a bit tipsy almost, losing some of my footing. The room spun around like a top, a black and red light blinding me as my body hit the floor with a sudden thud. I lost consciousness almost immediately, my mind drifting back into a black void of emptiness. I peered up above and saw a faint light calling out to me, it was hard to make out but I almost felt like I heard someone's voice.
"Come on wake up!" the voice cried out, "Get up!"
"Who's...t-there?" I called out softly, reaching my hand to the light as it blinded my vision, "W-What are you?"
I closed my eyes to shield them from the incandescent ray of light and felt nothing but a warm light embrace me like a fluffy warm blanket.
I slowly opened up my eyes, the bright light fading away as I awoke in my dorm room, once again wrapped in my blanket covers in the comfort of my bed. This is getting really old fast, having to wake up suddenly like this after having a nightmare, very clever Mr. Hack Writer. Why do I keep having these sudden blackouts?...did I overeat again or something? Did I have some sort of allergic reaction to the food? Is there some convoluted plot reason for it?
"This is so annoying," I thought tiredly, yawning loudly, "Might as well get out of bed and see what hell is upon us today."
I stretched my arms out wide, hearing a few popping noises in the process and left the comfort of my soft, poofy bed. I rubbed my eyes, opened the bathroom door and looked in the mirror sleepily. Yep, I still looked like a gremlin with how messy my maroon hair was, what's new anymore. I should really invest in a hair brush when I get out of this sick joke of a school.
"H-Hopefully today g-goes w-well…" I mumbled out, stopping in my tracks almost immediately.
Wait, what?! I covered my mouth and looked in the mirror, a bit surprised and perturbed by what came out of my mouth. What the hell did I just say!?
"T-These plays are making m-me a bit a-anxious…" I spoke aloud, noticing a sudden stutter in my voice, "Oh g-gosh.."
What the hell is going on!? Was it something I ate? Don't tell me, the food doesn't actually kill you….but it actually makes you sound weird? I don't get it at all.
I shook it off, proceeded to take a warm shower, brushed my teeth, headed out of the bathroom and got dressed as quickly as possibly. Why did I sound like that? Why did I sound so meek when I talked earlier? Is it only just my voice that was affected? Did the food do something else to my body while I was asleep?
"Ummm…." I meekly muttered, "W-What is g-going on?"
I didn't know how to process this properly. So the food wasn't lethal, but in exchange my voice became more timid and I sounded less sassy? I don't see how that could be a viable motive to murder, but whatever makes Monokuma and Nekotang happy, I guess. That's a pretty lame ass motive to kill someone if you ask me. I've seen people kill for way less and this is nothing compared to that.
I exited my bedroom, locked my door and began roaming the empty halls, feeling both dumbfounded and speechless as to what was going on. I walked down the corridor cautiously, the eerie silence growing quieter and quieter with each footstep that echoed. I only remember passing out after eating the food and savoring how delicious it was, but what was I forgetting? Did someone say something to me before I hit the ground? Who was it? Oh well, time to find the others and see what's on the agenda for today.
"W-Where is e-everyone?" I meekly mumbled, looking around for someone else, "A-Are they still asleep?"
I waited for a few minutes, leaned up against a wall and zoned out for a moment. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary and the ominous silence grew with each passing second I wasted looking at the gaudily colored ceiling. I didn't know what to do next, when something rang over the intercom, scaring me in the process. I usually never get this antsy when something like this happens, must be another side effect of the food.
DING DONG DING DONG
I looked around and saw a monitor on the wall with Monokuma's smug face positioned front and center, sipping on a wine glass of grape juice. He swirled it around some more as he cleared his throat, smiling from ear to ear like a demonic jester.
"Ahem! It is now 8 AM," he giggled, announcing the daily morning reminder over the intercom, "Good morning everyone, time for another beautiful day~ So wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!"
"M-Morning?" I muttered in shock, watching as the bear disappeared off screen, "Wait a m-minute…"
Did I pass out for that long and miss an entire day or something? I know it's become a meme at this point, considering the amount of times I've passed out spontaneously, but this is getting ridiculous. Still, it's odd….why did I pass out again? Oh well, who cares, time to move on with the story and see what hell broke loose today.
I walked over to the cafeteria entrance and heard indistinct voices coming from inside. It seemed that the others were already awake and were probably discussing the motive from the heated yelling coming from inside. The voices grew louder and louder as it was hard to make out who was talking to whom. The amount of white noise in the air was ear deafening, it's as if someone opened up a can of worms and now everyone is talking like the world's about to end or something.
"W-What is i-it this t-time?" I reluctantly thought, sighing deeply, "L-Let's hope t-they aren't k-killing each other in t-there…"
I've only spoken a few sentences and I'm already done with my timid voice change, someone kill me now and end my suffering. I proceeded to open up the cafeteria doors and was greeted with a warzone of emotions and teenage angst coming from all directions and sides. It was a complete disaster inside the room.
The buffet of food was still present from the appetizers, main courses, drinks and even the desserts, however what I wasn't expecting to see was everyone looking at each other with looks of contempt and disgust. They all looked to be at each other's throats with how much their faces scrunched into frowns and scowls and their overall body language emanating unease and distrust.
It seemed that some of the others were arguing and fighting over a scene that almost made me keel over in frustration. Izuhara, Simon, Camille, Reina, and Kazuko were all arguing with each other, some of them even yelling at the top of their lungs to get their point across to the other. Nori, Aohito, Tokaku and Alia were all at the corners of the room, staying as far away from the drama as possible while Calypso and Karuta were on the ground doing something and trying to calm the others down and I noticed William sitting down on a chair and holding back some laughter as he watched the chaos ensue like he was watching some poorly written teen romantic comedy.
"Oi v-vey…" I mumbled tiredly, still trying to process what was going on, "W-What did I w-walk into now?"
But what baffled me the most was who Karuta and Calypso were attending to. I saw Natsume, Athena and Eduardo on the floor, their bodies slumped over, crumbs of food from the buffet on empty white paper plates surrounding them and their bodies bent over in pain. It seems they gorged themselves as well from how sluggish and limp they appeared to be.
Natsume's face was very pale, almost ghostly white, slobber trickling from his mouth, his messy blonde hair covering his eyes and his body curled into a fetal position as food crumbs rested underneath him and soiled his clothes. Athena was hunched over by the main course section, their arms resting on the table as their face rested on top of a plate of food, almost as if they smothered themselves with the food, but xey still looked alive by the slight twitching in their legs. Last was Eduardo, a soggy brown stain was on his green and white soccer shirt and he was laying on the floor, face forward with a plate of half eaten food next to him. They looked absolutely famished and sick from the way their bodies were contorted in agony, their almost lifeless movements made me shiver from the sight of it all. It's as if someone had poisoned the food beforehand and committed a triple murder or something, which seems unlikely from what the rules say.
"W-W-What is g-going on?" I wondered aloud, clutching my bag strap in my hands, "What e-even happened?"
"Oh Ari! You're awake, thank goodness," Tokaku turned around noticing me and smiling, twirling with her long black hair, "It's a nightmare in here…."
She tensed up a bit, her movements slightly shifty and she was fidgeting with her black dress a bit too much. She was nervous about something, I just wasn't sure of what it was, she acted almost like someone going through withdrawal from drug relapse or something. She's probably grief stricken from seeing everyone so worried and three of her classmates suffering.
"W-What's going on T-Tokaku?" I asked her, still sounding as meek as a mouse, "D-Did I m-miss something?"
She seemed to have caught on to my sudden change in tone as well, but didn't say anything as she ignored it and began describing the scene for me. From the look on her face, she most likely witnessed the entire thing from start to finish.
"Well, it all started when we heard noises in the early morning, we found those three stuffing their faces with food and munching away carelessly," she explained very dramatically, "Apparently Natsume had been complaining about stomach pains, Athena almost threw up from gas and bile build up and Eduardo was feeling sluggish and lethargic and almost collapsed, poor things."
So I wasn't the only one to cave in to the motive. Fucking figures, I was too late to warn them about the food due to being unconscious. I mean, I know I agreed to be the guinea pig and everything, but it seems what I did only made the others freak out even more from what I can tell. They probably checked my pulse or something to confirm I was alive, which probably lead those three to assume eating the food will only make you drowsy or something.
"At least t-they're not d-dead," I responded sarcastically, "I can a-attest the f-f-food isn't poisonous.."
"That's reassuring at least," she sighed, relieved to hear it, "I'm just glad no one is dead, this is all so nerve wracking.."
I guess it's not only those three and I suffering, the others must be taking it just as hard. It must be tiresome having to carry us to our rooms and care for us like we're babies or something. I know I'd get sick of it too.
"Ari! You're alive!" hollered a voice, coming towards me, "I'm glad you're alright!"
I perused the room and saw Simon approaching me at an almost brisk pace. He loomed over me, a concerned look plastered on his face as he hugged me on sight, almost crushing me to death with his massive frame alone.
"I-I'm f-fine Simon…" I explained to him, gasping for oxygen, "C-Can't b-breathe.."
"Oh sorry!" he exclaimed, letting go of me and blushing intensely, "I didn't mean to hurt you."
"No it's a-a-alright Simon…" I clutched my chest, gasping for air, "I-I'm f-fine…"
"Are you sure?" it seemed he caught on to my stutter as well, "Your overall stance is shaky and you look very tense, do you want to sit down and have me rub your back or something?"
"I'm g-good….I guess the food had s-something in it…" I said, trying not to sound like a bumbling idiot in the process, "It's m-making m-me sound t-t-timid.."
"Oh ok…" Simon nodded, making a dumb smile and putting his hands on his hips, "I'm just glad you're safe and the food didn't kill you."
He blushed even more, walking over to attend to the others currently laying on the floor in an intoxicated fashion. It didn't look pleasant whatsoever, as Natsume coughed loudly, Eduardo moaned in pain and Athena was unresponsive and still covered in food.
"I'm telling you, we can't eat this crap!" Izuhara yelled forcefully, "Do you want to risk catching what they got?!"
"Well, it's better than freaking starving to death!" Kazuko jumped in, she was a bit rowdy as well, "Is that what you want us to do?!"
"Even if the food is well made, it's still not a good idea to eat it, obviously," Camille snorted, "And you people call me the dumb one, I'm not that stupid."
"Zip it," Reina snidely remarked, "Look at those three, even if the food is contaminated, would you rather we suffer and get sick or worse, pass out!?"
"I mean I trained my body to fast for a few weeks…" Camille dejectedly remarked.
"Shut up!" the two girls yelled back at him, as he cowered almost instantly, his ego having been crushed once more.
"This is pointlessly annoying…." Alia sighed, shaking her head in disappointment.
"I agree," Aohito added, "We're getting nowhere."
"Tis a fool's errand to reason with everyone in this moment of precarious judgement," Nori eloquently said, trying to lighten the mood, "Let us wait and watch from afar before jumping the gun."
I continued watching as the others were screaming at the top of their lungs, wondering what to do. Obviously eating this food seemed harmless enough, but if I only got a timid voice, then who's to say that those three's personalities will remain the same once they eat the food. If I went from sassy and spunky to timid and shy in a matter of hours, imagine what would happen to them.
"This is pure gold," William snickered, "I can't believe you idiots actually took the bait."
"Unless you have a better solution, William," Izuhara snapped, making an angry fist, "I suggest you stay quiet before I knock your teeth out!"
"Woah, calm down there, buddy," William smugly smirked, "I'm just saying you guys should have expected this, not everyone is going to be able to survive without food for long, especially you athletes who eat twice your body size."
I mean, he's not wrong, I half-expected some of the more fit people to want to gorge themselves more than the others. I see Eduardo caved but it's surprising that none of the other muscle freaks did either, I guess they must have unique fasting techniques they didn't bother telling us about to avoid this mess.
"Poor Eddie," Reina looked at him, laying the floor, "I should have been keeping an eye on him, so I feel partially to blame for this."
"Rei, it's not your fault," Kazuko reassured her, "You and he can't always be together 24/7, so this was bound to happen at some point."
Reina looked a bit irritated and upset. Even though she's been a massive bitch this entire time, I can't necessarily put this all on her. Monokuma dangled this motive in our faces and forced our hand, so I don't see why she feels so guilty about all of this.
"Honestly speaking," Karuta tiredly commented, rubbing Natsume's head, "I don't think you should be blaming anyone else but Monokuma, Reina."
"She's right," Calypso interjected, "We can't predict what other people are really thinking, so it's no surprise that some of us would give in and eat the food, not to mention Monokuma stole all our food, so this was bound to happen."
"This is quite the pickle," Camille added, "I mean I don't think there's really anything we can do, the human body can't live without food for a week or so, but we need water or else we might die in three days."
For once I agree with Camille, so someone either kills and we get to eat uncontaminated food again or we risk dying from starvation; either way it's a lose lose situation. This is worse than I thought it was going to be, an evil motive from an evil mind.
"Howdy de doo everyone!" Monokuma jumped up from behind me, "How are my lovely students doing today?"
I fell on my butt, landing on the cold tile floor, rubbing my sides as Monokuma and his little cat lackey Nekotang arrived, giggling and snickering as if they just heard some fresh juicy gossip to spill. They almost looked a bit too pleased with what's been going on so far.
"What do you want now?" Izuhara growled, "Haven't you two done enough damage as it is!"
"Now that's rude," Monokuma smiled, "We go out of our way to make you ingrates a lovely buffet and all you do is scorn and spurn our offering like it was moldy leftovers, how typical of teenagers nowadays."
"These kids certainly are showing their true colors," Nekotan purred, "How purrfect~"
The two animatronics both laughed in unison as some of the others looked at them with looks of disgust, while others were too preoccupied with helping the three on the floor to care about what the bear and cat were scheming and cackling about.
"Anyways," Monokuma halted his cackling, "So what are you all doing to prepare for your plays?"
"Y-You want us t-t-to still go t-through with them?" I manage to stutter out, "T-That's wrong.."
"But of course," Monokuma playfully winked, noticing my change in demeanor, "It wouldn't be any fun if I had to suddenly cancel my plans all because some of you morons lack a proper iron stomach."
"Iron stomach, my ass," Kazuko remarked angrily, "I don't think these three needed an iron stomach to know that something is off with this food, did you spike it with something?"
"Why that's a very good question indeed," Monokuma laughed, "But looks like the cat's out the bag now!"
"Hey that's my li-" Nekotang said, before getting punched in the face by Monokuma and landing into a wall, some rubble and plaster falling onto the floor, making a large hole in the wall.
"As I was saying," Monokuma cleared his throat, "What the food contains isn't any type of poison, but a little concoction I call the 'Despair Disease'."
Despair Disease? Now that's obviously a fake ailment, otherwise scientists would have found a cure for something as ludicrous as that a long time ago. It sounds like some stupid online medical condition someone made on a blogging website to validate their petty feelings of loneliness and self misery, leading to others self-diagnosing themselves with it as well. But I digress, if this so called disease is what's making me cower like a bitch, then I best hear more about it.
"Despair Disease?" Simon thought, not sure of what that even was, "What's that?"
"I mean, it should be fairly obvious what it is," Monokuma facepalmed, "When you eat this food, you and your personality will start to noticeably change throughout the course of a day or two, judging from your journalist friend over there, it seems her symptoms are taking its toll as of this very moment."
"S-So you mean t-t-to tell me that I'm s-sort of in the b-beginning stages?" I mumbled out, trying to compose myself.
"I guess you can call it that, for some it takes a while to fully set in and for others, it's an instant reaction," Monokuma smiled evilly, "So I'd best be on my guard when it comes to those who have eaten the food already."
"You sick bastard," Izuhara sneered at the bear, clenching his fists, "Why do you continue to torture us like this!?"
"Why, my dear fighter," Monokuma turned his back and giggled some more, "I delight in this kind of stuff, it's pretty pointless for you to keep questioning my motives like this every single time something goes wrong."
With that Monokuma disappeared in a flash, Nekotang wriggling his way out from the wall, covered in dust and plaster from the hole in the wall. He growled in a cat like manner, clearly still upset that he's been Monokuma's punching bag throughout the entire time we've been stuck here. I honestly forgot he was even here half of the time, which is very sad indeed for someone who works underneath him.
"Grr…." Nekotang purred irritatedly, "This is getting ridiculous, meow~"
"Why do you even put up with him if he berates and mistreats you so frequently?" Karuta asked the cat animatronic, "Don't you get tired of being his helper?"
"You wouldn't understand," Nekotang purred softly, "But enough about me and my purrfect plans, I have here a list, marking the times of each play, here you go~"
Nekotang pulled out a long piece of paper and rested it on top of one of the cafeteria tables, licking his paws some more, trying his best to imitate a cat while shaking off some more dust.
"Bye bye, have a meowvelous day!" Nekotang squealed before disappearing into the ether.
As the cat left the room in suit of Monokuma, we all collectively had mixed feelings about what's to come later on during the rest of our day. I wanted to voice my frustration with this whole play nonsense, but due to the despair food or whatever, I sounded like Natsume but worse, so I best keep my thoughts to myself this time.
"So...what do we do now?" Aohito said, ironically breaking the ice, "Do we do the plays?"
"A conundrum of the worst caliber," Nori sighed deeply, "We best approach it with open ears and open eyes."
"I guess that makes sense," Calypso wondered, a bit unsure of what he just said, "But what do we do about the plays exactly?"
None of us knew how to answer that question, until once prominent voice popped in.
"Here's a bright idea, let's actually do them," announced a slimy voice, "Isn't that obvious enough for you morons?"
We all turned our heads to see William, sitting in his chair and pushing up his glasses smugly. The grin on his face was unnerving and discomforting, but as we all knew, it didn't mean anything pleasant in the long run.
"What do you mean?" Reina asked, looking a bit cross as she headed over to coddle Eduardo.
"I'm saying we might as well not stir the pot with our current state of mind," he plainly said, standing up from his seat, "I know most of you are too stupefied to actually come to a logical conclusion, but what are the chances we actually go through with this play and the food is back to where it belongs and everything resumes back to normalcy?"
I have to admit, that was a smart idea. Who's to say that Monokuma won't actually give us back the food he pilfered if we did what he asked us to do? Then again, this might be another trick or something that William concocted to make us even more doubtful. At this point we couldn't afford to be desperate and gauge our options, if it meant avoiding another murder in the process. I steeled myself, taking a deep breath and spoke some words I thought I never would have to say.
"I-I hate to s-say it," I gritted my teeth in annoyance, "B-But he's right…"
Everyone then turned to me, their eyes fixated on the two of us at the same time, shifting back and forth as each of us spoke. Everyone knew the two of us agreeing on something was the ultimate taboo, but at this point we've been utterly cornered by Monokuma, so when push comes to shove, we need to come up with something fast.
"Wow," Camille exclaimed, just as surprised as the rest of us, "For such a proud woman, you sure caved in quickly."
"S-Shut it…" I stuttered, "A-At least I can a-admit I need h-h-help from time to t-time.."
"That aside," Tokaku interrupted, "I also have to agree with them as well, I mean who knows what could happen if we actually go through with this."
"Maybe so," Alia thought out loud, "But what about the people who are currently incapacitated?"
"Maybe we only practice the plays that don't require those three," Simon replied, scratching his head, "If I remember correctly, there were about 8 plays in total."
"I think so," Kazuko wondered, "Which means the plays that might be on hold at the moment are...what were they again?"
I grabbed the piece of paper from on the table and looked at its' contents in detail. Apparently it listed the times about which play was performing first. The fancy cursive text and the black ink inscribed on the paper were elegant and precise, almost imitating the olden style of writing and probably written using a quill pen or something.
It read as follows:
Beauty and the Beast - 9:00 to 10:00 AM
Cinderella - 10:30 - 11:30 AM
Rumpelstiltskin - 12:00 - 1:00 PM
Snow White - 1:30 - 2:30 PM
Princess Kaguya - 3:00 - 4:00 PM
Sword in the Stone - 4:30 - 5:30 PM
Alice in Wonderland - 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Wizard of Oz - 7:30 - 8:30 PM
I looked at the time slots for each play and noticed a thirty minute period between each play that lasted for about an hour each. I guess it's to give the people who participated in the previous play a break to recover from the stage anxiety and stress, or maybe to set up the scene for the next one right afterward I suppose.
"So I guess this means that you and Simon get to be on stage first, Ari!" Tokaku giggled and blushed excitedly, "It must be fate!"
I shook my head, rubbed my temples, wondering what the heck she was talking about. I mean, is this some crappy mystery rom com or something? I know a lot of people imagine the two of us together, but come on, at least give the other guys some screen time to shine as well! But that aside, despite my disdain for wanting to be on stage, I was more or less interested in playing Belle. I may not have had the best childhood memories, but I did enjoy watching and reading old fairy tales as a kid, and to be cast as the lead heroine in one of my favorite stories was something I thought would never happen, death game or not.
"I don't know how you can be so excited, considering our situation," Reina rolled her eyes, "It's honestly a bit annoying at this point."
Tokaku turned to Reina, still keeping her cheerful disposition and twirled some more of her raven locks, "Don't be such a sourpuss Reina, it will all work out in the end."
"I hope so…" Reina sighed, rubbing Eduardo's head, his body still limp and almost lifeless.
"I think we should aid these three to their rooms," Izuhara said, lifting up Natsume and hauling him over his shoulder, "Let's let them rest and then figure out our plan of attack."
"He's right," Karuta chimed in, doing her best to help up Athena, "Let's all calm down first and then discuss the plays afterwards."
Simon assisted Karuta in helping Athena as he carried xer on his back. Due to his massive frame, he lifted the comedian up with ease, not struggling once as Karuta dusted off her kimono.
"Thanks Simon," Karuta smiled, loosening her grip and stretching her arms.
"No problem!" Simon winked at her, as he carried the unconscious comedian with pie all over xer's face outside.
"Camille will you please assist me in carrying Eddie?" Reina asked politely.
"Hmm...ok," he thought for a second, "Hopefully this won't take too long, I need to take more cover photos for my profile."
Izuhara, Simon, Karuta, Reina, Camille and Kazuko, who offered to go with Reina, all left the cafeteria to put the unconscious Natsume, Eduardo and Athena to bed. This left me, William, Nori, Alia, Aohito, Tokaku and Calypso as the only ones still in the cafeteria.
"So what now?" Aohito asked, tugging at his hoodie strings, "Do we go to the auditorium?"
"Unfortunately so," Alia sighed, "Let's get this over with…."
As the others left the room, William sat there admiring the food on display and smirking. From the way he behaved, it's almost as if he put the disease in the food himself or something, which is probably the case, but I wouldn't bet money on it.
"W-What are you s-smiling about?" I asked, trying to sound sassy and failing due to this damn stutter.
"Oh, nothing," he wiped his glasses on his shirt hem, "I'm just a little taken aback by the fact you and I came to the same conclusion regarding this whole tainted food debacle."
"I-I mean seriously...it's c-common sense at this p-p-point," I rolled my eyes at him, "I k-kind of f-figured t-this was the case."
"I guess so," he shrugged his shoulders, "How are you feeling by any chance?"
"W-Who are you a-and what have you d-done with William?" I questioned, noting that he asked how I was doing, which is so not like him, "W-Where's the snappy i-insults?"
"It seems you forget, it's common courtesy to ask someone who's unwell how they are doing, or did that concept fly over your head?" he retorted, almost passive aggressively.
"T-There he is.." I mumbled out, "I-I'm fine...just n-need to get r-rid of this d-d-damn stutter."
"Well good luck with that, phoenix," he chuckled, "See you later!"
For once he didn't come off as a complete asshole, which is the most surprising part of it all. I mean I guess he's starting to warm up to us, who knows for sure, but that man's mind is an enigma to the core. I do know that I best go and head to the auditorium on the third floor and see if the others are there already.
As I left the cafeteria, the scent of the contaminated despair food left my nose as soon as I headed for the stairs. Traversing the steps felt even more tedious than before, maybe due to the fact that I was mentally unsound and lethargic due to eating the food or probably because the idea that we had to kill or do the plays were the only ways to getting back to normal.
An uneasy feeling in my stomach started to bubble up and fester, almost as if I ate some bad Chinese food or something. My gut was telling me that putting on these plays was a bad idea, but I didn't have much room to complain, considering that it was our only surefire option of actually beating Monokuma and this delectable motive.
I arrived to the pinkalicious third floor and walked over to the auditorium, hoping to get this rehearsal or whatever it is we were doing over with, so that I could relax on the beach and maybe get some shut eye underneath the warm sun and salty ocean breeze. I headed to the auditorium, passed through the double sided doors and saw something a bit different from last time.
The stage was opened up with the curtains pushed to the sides and tied with golden rope while there seemed to be a set of sorts on it that consisted of a giant grey brick castle in the background, a few flower bushes in the foreground on the sides of the stage, a cardboard sun and a cardboard moon hanging from the ropes above the stage and there seemed to be a bright light casting down upon the stage, almost as if someone was on the catwalk adjusting the lighting.
"W-What's going on?" I wondered, walking closer and seeing no one inside, "A-Anyone there?"
"Oh it's you," Alia poked her head out from the auditorium seats, it seemed that she wasn't the slightest bit interested in the play's production and held a blank and stoic stare the entire time.
"So...w-whatcha doing?" I asked her, approaching her, "Y-You're not helping out?"
"Does it matter?" she grumbled, "I don't want to be in this stupid play…."
I can relate in so many ways. However the show must go on, or else we pay the piper for it. Considering she got the weirdest choice in plays, Alice In Wonderland, I'd assume someone else would fit the bill except her, but whatever makes Monokuma happy.
"Maybe y-you can help the o-o-others backstage?" I told her, "T-That might be m-more your style.."
She just shrugged off my suggestion as she continued sulking and fiddling with her zip up jacket. I guess you can't get her to socialize no matter what you do. Oh well, what can you do.
I looked around the area and noticed a flight of stairs on the far right side of the stage and walked up them to get to the stage. They were quite narrow and it was hard for multiple people to get up them without slipping down on the wooden flooring, so I slowly walked up and entered the main stage. I stared at the large auditorium and gazed at the row of seats before me.
"So this is what it's like to be on stage," I thought, zoning out for a second before being awoken by the bright stage lights from above, "Ow! That's b-b-bright!"
I exited the light's line of sight, peered around the curtain and noticed there was a backstage area and decided to check it out to see if there was anything that I missed the first time I came here, since I know I never saw this area before.
I went behind the scenes and it was a typical backstage set you'd see in any theater like this. The area was littered with cardboard boxes filled with props or other stuff related to backstage work, there were a few consoles with complicated machinery probably used to work the lighting, music and curtains, I could see a catwalk up on top of the stage where you could access the stage lights, I noticed some half finished set pieces from other plays, a few large pieces of plywood probably used in making the sets and there was an orange and white door in the middle of the room that read 'Prop room'.
I twisted the doorknob and entered to see a lot of set pieces and props inside. There were costumes for various plays that I couldn't remember off of the top of my head, props of different sizes and shapes from fake swords, toy horses, a large bed like structure, a glass coffin stage piece that was probably going to be used in the Snow White play, a few tables as well as chairs and an assortment of boxes stacked on top of each other reading fragile and handle with care labelled on yellow stickers stuck to the front of each box.
"I guess this is one of those storage rooms," I deduced, curiously inspecting each box, "There only seems to be one door entrance into this room, but I don't see anything else noteworthy."
I exited the prop room, left the backstage area and came back to see the others gathering inside of the auditorium, with the exclusion of Natsume, Eduardo and Athena. Some of them were a bit anxious, while some tried putting on a smile to cheer the others up. A false sense of morale pervaded throughout the room as I joined the others, everyone sitting in the front row while some opted to stand around or lean against a wall.
"So what are we supposed to be doing exactly?" Kazuko wondered, brushing back some of her brown hair, "I mean we know our roles, but what are supposed to do now?"
"I guess Monokuma expects most of us to improvise?" Tokaku tilts her head playfully, "I mean, I'm not that well versed in my role as Morgana, but I'm sure we can all manage!"
"Y-You're right Toka," Karuta chimed in, trying her best but showing a bit more concern regarding these plays, "W-We can do this...just have to persevere…"
"You okay Karuta?" Tokaku remarked, noticing her mild stammer, "Do you need to lie down?"
"N-No..I'm fine, just a little stressed with all that's happening so far," she replied, feigning a smile.
She seemed even more fearful of this than I previously thought. I mean, I can see how her overall jovial disposition has started dwindling. After all, one of her friends died and I can tell she still feels her involvement will get someone else hurt. I don't blame her for being a bit apprehensive this time around.
"I-It'll be f-fine," I rubbed Karuta's shoulder, "L-Let's just get t-these stupid plays over w-with."
"That aside, I have a general idea of what I'm doing with Eddie for our play," Reina interjected, crossing her arms, "Since our play is currently fourth in line, that will give him enough time to recover from the food poisoning."
"I guess that works," Aohito thought, "But that means three plays will be put on hold, since some of the main stars will be missing."
"Snow White...Wizard of Oz...and Sword In The Stone.." Alia recalled, brushing some of her fringe out of her face.
"So that just means we have to rehearse for the others plays in the meantime," Izuhara remarked, "In that case why don't we have the first play rehearsal first and the plays that come after that one have some time to rehearse beforehand during intermissions when the plays commence."
"Sounds about right," Calypso commented, "So I guess that means Arihime and Simon will be going on first."
I almost froze up when she said that. The others' eyes were on me and Simon as the two of us seemed to be the ones who would have to perform first. It meant having to recite cheesy romantic lines, learning how to dance and maybe have a kiss scene at the end to seal the deal.
"Oh!" Simon noticed everyone staring at him and at myself, "I-I guess so…"
He pulled out his Ipad and continued scratching his head, typing in some notes as I clutched my bag strap. I guess we both felt a bit nervous and bashful when it came to performing this particular play. I guess it couldn't hurt to try, I just hope I don't start gagging from all the mushy romance.
"O-Ok…" I tried to hide the embarrassed look plastered on my face, but I guess some of the others started to notice it as well, "G-Get a room g-guys.."
"You might as well get up and do it," Camille added, "We're losing daylight...I think."
I sighed deeply as the both of us headed up on stage together. I took the small staircase while Simon was tall enough to pull himself up on the stage. The two of us headed to the center, both of us clearly a bit anxious about this whole thing as we looked at each other in the eye, not sure of what to say.
"And action!" screamed a voice elevated by some sort of megaphone, "Try to look like you two just met but fall in love in a matter of seconds!"
I looked ahead of the crowd, as did the others and we noticed Monokuma sitting in some type of director's seat. He wore one of those black berets on his head as well as a weird black and red scarf wrapped around his neck like some fashion designer and he held a small blue and white bullhorn in his left paw like some weird metrosexual dictator.
"I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?" Reina noticed Monokuma, seeming a bit irritated, "You didn't bother to give us scripts and you expect us to perform for you, when we don't even know where to start."
"Oh you're right," Monokuma snickered, putting down the bullhorn, "Which is why these plays will be improvised to the max and altered to suit my liking."
"Care to clarify for us lost at sea?" Nori asked, "We don't know, therefore we can't understand."
"Calm down with the poetry, jazz boy," Monokuma snickered, "I've come prepared for stuff like this."
And with that Monokuma then jumped on top of stage, waddling towards the two of us as he directed us to stand near the end of the stage. He walked to the front stage and posed with his arms wide out as everyone looked at him, sweat dropping in confusion.
"In cases where you two forget your lines or remember little about the plays you're supposed to be performing for the audience, you know as they say, the show must go on!"
"I-I'm sorry?" I asked him, a bit unsure, "Y-You want us to m-make it u-up if we f-forget?"
"Exactly!" Monokuma smiled at the two of us, "The truly best actors and actresses always work best under intense pressure and high expectations, the moment your mind fails, is when your creative instincts kick in!"
"So improvise?" Kazuko remarked baffled, "That's rather stupid."
"Yes, thanks a lot captain obvious," Monokuma pouted, "But that's what makes theater that more exciting and scintillating!"
"Even if we improvise," Izuhara interrupted, "What happens if someone gets sick or isn't present for their performance, what happens then?"
"Oh, my dear boy," Monokuma chuckled, waving his paw out, "It's a little thing in the showbiz industry we call understudies."
"Seriously.." Alia scoffed, shaking her head, "Do we even have time for that?"
"Oh, come on, you don't have time to be picky," Monokuma snickered, "Besides the plays are tomorrow!"
"What!?" Calypso exclaimed, "You mean we only get to rehearse for one day!?"
"That's rather pointless," Aohito stated, crossing his arms, "Why even bother with setting up then?"
"Hey I make the rules, so what I say goes!" Monokuma barked and jumped back into his director's chair, "I want it all, give it all you got, the glitz and the glamor!"
We all collectively shrugged, not even sure why we bothered arguing with the psychotic bear, as Monokuma cleared his throat, grabbed his bullhorn and made even more demands.
"Alright everyone!" he screeched into it, "Places, places, lights, camera and….action!"
As he said, the others scrambled into their seats in the front row, while Simon and I stood there looking at each other with the most uncomfortable stares we could muster and had uneasy stances. Who knew someone as imposing and structurally domineering as him could quiver out of stage fright.
I mean, do I really need to explain the basic synopsis of this classical fairy tale? Despite there being many different interpretations of the story, oddly enough Monokuma went for a grim approach to these stories, no pun intended. A girl asks her father for a rose while her two other sisters ask for materialistic crap, the father gets lost and ends up in an enchanted castle, he goes missing and she searches for him, ends up taking his place and eventually befriending the Beast. A pretty straightforward love story if you ask me.
"So, you want us to perform your own twist to the story?" Simon wondered, a bit bewildered.
"Correct," Monokuma nodded, "You'll still be performing the same old story, but I will add some noticeable twists or maybe combine other interpretations into the story."
"Like w-what changes?" I asked the bear, "Y-You're not t-trying to g-get us killed?"
"Good heavens no," Monokuma gasped, "I would never disrupt the glorious art that is theater….besides, the rules forbid me from harming you brats, so be thankful for that."
I sweatdropped at the mention of that sentence as Monokuma yelled action one more time and Simon and I began rehearsing our lines once more.
To make a long story short, the rehearsal was an awkward mess of me trying to come up with lines to remember and stammering like an idiot and Simon having a hard time remembering half of the lines the Beast had in his role. Although he does do a convincing angry voice once you get his mind in the proper mood, which is the part of him that shocked me the most, who knew he had it in him.
"As the last petal on the rose falls, the curse is sealed," Monokuma directed, "So that's your cue to hold the fallen prince, Arihime."
"O-Oh...okay.." I mumbled, looking at Simon, laying on the floor pretending to be dead.
I mentally cringed at the idea of resting on his chest, I know it's for the play but it still felt weird to be touching him like that. And yes, keep your dirty thoughts to yourself you perverts at home reading along, I swear to god there better not be artwork of me and him online somewhere.
"O-Oh no…" I feigned sadness, trying to look worried and upset but failing badly, luckily my new voice helped, "I-I-I love you….d-don't go.."
I tried not to repulse myself away from all the mental cringe as well as the others watching the two of us performing this. Some of the girls were eyeing us wondering whether or not we would kiss, while the guys were watching intensely as well, even Nori himself who seemed slightly irked by the fact I wasn't his princess or some jealous reason like that.
"Dear gosh...save me now.." I leaned closer to his chest, aiming to kiss him.
"And cut!" Monokuma announced, waking us up, alerting Simon as well and halting the kiss, "That was decent...nothing to rave home about….passable at best."
"W-Well I'm s-sorry.." I meekly muttered, "I-I thought it w-was o-ok…"
"I guess that was good," Simon blushed intensely, his mouth quivering from having a girl touch him like that, "Good job Ari."
"T-Thanks...I suppose," I wasn't sure how to reciprocate the favor now that it was over, "Y-You too Simon…"
"Ok next play, Cinderella!" Monokuma shouted out, "Calypso and Nori, get your asses on stage right now!"
"Oh alright!" Calypso jumped from her seat, frantically heading up on stage almost tripping on the carpet, "D-Don't rush me."
"So it's my turn to host the show," Nori got up from his seat and buttoned his jacket, "Be sure to capture my star potential, hopefully I'm not too bright for the stage."
As they walked on stage, taking orders from a barking Monokuma, I sat in a seat that was far away from the action, preferring to keep quiet after that embarrassingly poor performance. I still didn't feel good with this play nonsense, or maybe it was the food talking. I wanted to leave, but I didn't feel like going anywhere out of fear someone might ask me to stay for the others and cheer them on or something.
"You really killed it out there," said a voice popping up from behind me.
"O-Oh.." I jumped, turning behind me and noticing him, "W-William….what d-do you w-w-want?"
"Just wanted to say bravo to your spectacular performance!" he gave a half hearted clap, smirking as well, "I couldn't have done it better myself."
"You k-know I w-was starting t-to warm up t-to you…" I sighed deeply, too embarrassed to argue with him, "S-So much f-for that.."
"Oh how sweet of you, that's just too precious," he cooed, as we both noticed Calypso and Nori performing on stage.
The pharmacist seemed to be a natural at being Cinderella, whereas Nori's eloquent manner of speaking took center stage almost half of the time. Those two were natural born thespians unlike yours truly. She seemed born to play Cinderella and he was very charming indeed, almost persuasive with his dramatic words. I couldn't help but blush red like a tomato, it was a lovely and wonderful rehearsal.
"D-Do you t-think p-p-people a-are coming to r-rescue us?" I asked, still trying to convince myself that we weren't alone in this.
"Oh, why the sudden interest in that?" William noticed, raising an eyebrow, "I mean at this point isn't it pointless to assume things like that?"
"W-Whatever….just w-wanted to know…" I mumbled, brushing him off after realizing the truth in his words, "O-One...can dream.."
"I know my word may not mean much now," he whispered, as the rehearsal play was coming to the climax, "But you'll be surprised at what can happen in the denouement."
He mysteriously left a cryptic message lingering in my mind, as he trailed off to god knows where and I sat there with more thoughts running around in my head. I had no idea what was going on and didn't bother to know, seeing as I was too enamored with Nori's and Calypso's perfect performance to care, it was such a stunning performance, those two are almost cute together.
She was swept off her feet as Nori placed a fake glass slipper that randomly appeared on stage onto her foot and looked into her eyes as they sparkled like gems. Even though it was all pretend, I could feel some semblance of love in the scene.
"I found you, my love," Nori smoothly said, holding back some fake tears.
"Yes, you did," Calypso blushed intensely, stifling some embarrassed giggles.
Despite them acting out their intended roles, I almost felt a small spark of love between the two of them, before Nori and Calypso looked towards the audience. They both bowed as Monokuma yelled CUT, Nori looking at me, awaiting my reaction and noticing me blushing. From the smile on his face, he knew that my heart was captured by his amazing portrayal of Prince Charming.
"Excellent acting you two!" Monokuma screeched like an obsessed fangirl, "Where's the orange haired troll, it's your turn!"
As those two left the stage, William snickered taking his place on stage as a mannequin dressed like a queen with a fake baby in her arms popped up on stage. It gave out voice lines while William's voice grew to a cackle and sounded really sinister almost like there was gravel in his voice, it was so deep it was almost hard to tell that it was his real voice.
I was bewildered but astounded by his portrayal, almost as if he were born to play that role. No scratch that, considering the symbolism of Rumpelstiltskin, him playing this role was a match made in heaven.
"I'll be right back guys," Reina said, rising from her seat, "I'm going to use the ladies room."
As she left out the doors, the others seemed to be also amazed by William's performance, as he finished his scene, bowed and waited for applause. Sadly, it was a half hearted applause, with a few of us actually congratulating him on his performance.
"Thank you thank you," he bowed some more, revelling in his pride, "I hope to wow you when I'm on stage proper!"
As he left the stage, I decided to step outside for a while myself to get some air, it seemed Alia was next to perform on stage as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. The clearly disgruntled look on her face said it all, she didn't want to be a part of any of this and if looks could kill we'd all be dead by now.
I exited through the double sided doors, heading into the gaudily colored pink hallways, blinded by their grossly hideous hue, as I noticed Reina exiting the girl's bathroom on the other side of the long hallway.
She stretched her arms out wide, her black leotard accentuating her svelte form and dusting off her blue skirt from sitting down the entire time. It must have been one of those days for her as a yawn escaped from her mouth, she was bored out of her mind.
I then heard footsteps walking by and turned around quickly, hiding around a corner and noticing the action from afar. I peered around and to my surprise, I saw someone else walk by and grab Reina's arm and drag her somewhere else.
"Is that Eduardo?" I thought to myself, wondering what's going on, "Is he feeling better?"
The soccer player took the figure skater by her arm, looked around the area and dragged her to another corner near the costume room. She didn't seem all that shocked by this sudden rendezvous as she went along with him willingly, not fazed by him being out of bed one bit.
"What's going on?" I thought again, walking slowly and trying to get closer.
I eventually kept a fair and safe distance from the two, hiding behind a corner and tiptoeing as silently as I could. I glanced around behind a pillar that obscured my body, as I voyeuristically turned my head to see the two talking about something.
It was hard to make out what they were saying, but I was able to read their lips, due to my time as a journalist from reading liars and deceitful con artists. It was almost second nature for me to be able to read people's nervous reactions and their true intentions, so this was nothing.
"What's the meaning of this Eddie?" Reina shook her head, "I thought you were supposed to be recovering, what are you doing out of bed?"
"Yes, señorita," he nodded firmly, "But there is something that I must confesar."
"Oh and what would that be?" Reina asked curiously, sounding a bit surprised by his tone, "Do you need something?"
"I finally have the valor to say it," he gripped his fists and smiled at her happily, "Te amo."
…..WHAT!?
In that moment, I was utterly flabbergasted, not sure how to process this new development. From Reina's red and flustered face, I could tell she was a bit caught off guard by this as well.
"O-Oh...Eddie...I uh.." Reina was too stunned for words, "T-This is all so sudden, are you s-sure?"
"Si, señorita!" he chirped proudly, "I've never been this happy in my entire life, mi amor~"
I for one hand saw this coming from the very beginning. Sure, she's been nothing but a cold and bitchy person and has treated him like her personal lapdog the entire time, but I can tell he obeyed purely out of being a nice guy or it was that he was so stupidly in love with her that only now he decided to confess. Took him long enough, geez.
"How c-cute…" I almost whispered out as the two of them turned their heads and noticed.
I quickly pulled my head back as the two of them dismissed my ramblings as someone passing by or something. I sweated mentally, breathing a relieved sigh as I tiptoed away from the scene and headed to the bathroom to wash my face.
I headed inside of the girls' bathroom, rested my shoulder bag near the edge of the sink, turning on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face as I tried to shake off the unnerving feeling that something weird was about to happen. I shook it off as I continued washing my face with the running water, brushing back some of my messy hair strands and grabbing a few paper towels and wiping my hands clean.
"What's going to happen next?…" I thought worriedly, "I need some sleep…"
I exited the bathroom, noticing the others leaving the auditorium, meaning the rehearsal was done for the day. I followed the crowd as we all left for downstairs, heading back to the first floor and going back to our rooms.
Some of the others had a look of joy on their face, while others seemed a bit anxious about the plays. I, on the other hand, wanted to marry my bed right about now as I entered my room and jumped onto the bed carelessly.
I tossed my bag to the side of my bed, rested my glasses on the side desk and quickly went back to sleep.
I knew these plays were going to be a hit or a miss….I just didn't expect it to be blown out of proportion like this. Hopefully this will all blow over soon….right?
Meanwhile outside of Hope's Peak….
"Sorry about that Kyoko," Makoto nervously apologized, "The general and I were talking about the current situation regarding the-"
"Regarding the 20 students currently locked up in a killing game," she interjected, before he could finish, "Yes, I was aware of that from the start."
"You sure are well informed," Makoto chuckled, "So what's your take on all of this?"
"Well considering that four out of the twenty are now deceased," the former detective pushed back some strands of lavender hair from her face, "It's best we act quickly and join B team right away."
"Good idea!" the former lucky student agreed, "But what are we supposed to do exactly?"
"I thought you'd say that," she smiled confidently, "Since the layout of the school is exactly the same as our own, I suspect that there must be a closed off entrance that the students haven't tried yet or maybe didn't find."
Makoto thought for a second and deduced that it might work, however they only got out because Junko died, leaving behind the remote. So thinking that the remaining students had to find out who the mastermind is and find an escape was a feat in and out of itself. However, he knew they could pull through, since he believed in hope, the one thing that pulled them out of their Killing Game and saved the day.
"That's true," Makoto pondered, "Alright, let's go quickly, the faster we get out in the field, the less students have to die!"
"You're still the same old Makoto," Kyoko smiled again, following him out the door, "I hope so too…"
A/N: Hello hello hello lovely people! Did you miss me? I know I didn't, but thank you all for reading this chapter and coming back for more XD.
I know it's been quite a while since the last time I posted a chapter and I wanted to apologize for that immensely. I've been a little preoccupied with my IRL life and something came up, a personal family matter, so that kind of took my attention away from writing for a bit.
I won't delve too much into it, but long story short, I was mentally stressed and in a bad place during that time, so putting out a chapter was a bit difficult to do.
But since I love writing and making this story, I decided to persevere, if only I had this much faith and confidence when it came to my IRL life XD. Other than that, I'm back now and I hope this long chapter suffices.
I was having such a hard time planning the third case of this story and don't worry it's still coming. I've been overthinking a lot of things and getting so overly ambitious that it was mentally exhausting. I love making these chapters and it was a struggle, but I made it happen and hopefully I can make the next chapter just as suspenseful.
Enough of my life rambling, I hope you all liked this clunky and weirdly edited chapter. I know it's not the best and I'm currently juggling three stories at the moment. I fear I might be losing my touch, but at least I made it to the third chapter of a story, which in and out of itself is an accomplishment since most stories don't even make it past the first chapter, let alone make it this far, not to brag X3.
I'd love to hear what you guys thought of this chapter and I can see from the poll that you guys have some interesting choices as to who the victims might be X3. I can't wait to show you all how the next case will be pulled off and I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it.
If you have any thoughts or questions, please let me know in the reviews or the PMs. I would love to hear what you guys have to say and your theories on who dies next.
I hope you all have a nice day, night or holiday or whatever it is you celebrate. I will see you lovely people in the next chapter whenever I decide to upload next and thank you all once again for sticking with my story, despite the sporadic uploads XD.
Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alive.
Bye bye!
