Hello, and I finally back with another chapter! I hope you all enjoyed your year so far, and I'm excited to be posting this chapter since we're getting closer and closer to the end of the story! Wow, amazing, huh? I honestly didn't even expect to finish Disparity, so to finish that and then have this story be close to finishing is utterly shocking for me, like how?! How did I do that? I'm not even sure, but hey, I'm sure it's all thanks to you guys! Your feedback and love for my stories definitely make me happier! Well, other than that, I have nothing else to say, so let's get straight into this chapter!
Prince PokePersona: "Haha, going out in a blaze, going out in a Blaise, haha. Ignore me. Poor Kyatchi, we need to save him! Too bad he's already dead, sobs, my poor boy. We need to save him in Hell then. Fun stuff are the best, lmao. Shinji snapped during that chapter, but at least he didn't pull the trigger! The poor boy doesn't need anymore suffering, aha. Yes, all of his friends are dead. We need to make Shinji happy. Haha, poor Kyatchi. We need to save him- wait, I already said that, shit. Tomoyo is having a breakdown, please save her. Yes, Akio is still a ho, and thanks!"
TheRoseShadow21: "OOPS. But aww, thanks! I'm glad you liked the execution! I wasn't exactly sure if people would like it, aha."
BIG THANKS TO OUR BETA READER: Prince PokePersona!
Kiyoko looked at Tomoyo for a few seconds, expression stiff. The look of utter betrayal was on her face, the recreation worker frowning as she took a step forward. "You're too sensitive sometimes, you know?"
"... Watari and Kyatchi already told me that." Tomoyo sniffled, hiding the snot that was trickling down from her nostrils. "Ayako even laughed at me about it as a joke."
"Of course she would." A sigh escaped the taller woman's breath. "I guess hanging out with us for years hasn't made you any less sympathetic. Can't blame you though. Your story's different from people like Watari."
"I know everyone's mad about everything being a lie and all that," the screenwriter began, sighing, "but I still love my parents…"
"You're like the only person who feels like that," Kiyoko mused, a bitter chuckle escaping her lips. "You got bribed here because of Akio and Ayako, right? Since your parents are in debt over the hospital bills, this pays easy money."
Tomoyo shook her head. "This pays easy money because of the underhanded stuff we do."
"Yeah, you're right." Kiyoko awkwardly laughed, bringing a hand down to the screenwriter's hair. Tomoyo made a soft purr as the recreation worker ruffled her affectionately. "Just don't think too much about it, alright? Just remember what everyone here did to us. The vast majority of them are monsters."
"The vast majority…"
But were the vast majority truly guilty? Tomoyo would never know.
Reality was harsh. That was obvious though. Everyone knew that. They were in reality, stuck inside of a killing game for some unknown, messed up reason.
Harsh, so harsh. Why was reality so harsh? What happened to the want of world peace? Of calmness and serenity? Why did the world have to be so cruel?
Was it all humanity's fault?
Most likely, but Tomoyo honestly wanted to avoid having such a crisis. To think about such things were meaningless in this tiny world- this world which only revolves around her and her remaining peers.
"Tomoyo."
Her eyes fluttered open as she looked in front of her. Masako was next to her, the one to break her out of her trance. She blinked a couple of times. One, two, three. She flinched.
"Oh." The screenwriter's heart was beating erratically. With Masako's hands on her shoulders, she was completely unsure of how to respond, eyes darting back and forth from those hands to Masako's teary eyes.
What could she say at this moment? What could be done, really?
It's been a day since everything went down. The two pawns who died shouldn't have meant much to the world as a whole, but it meant much more to Tomoyo. Watari and Kyatchi were dead, and she still had no idea why they died. She couldn't fully grasp to understand this. Why were they dead? What happened exactly?
Something was off, and yet she had slept it off the moment she returned to her dorm. Even when Masako tried to call out to her, even when Akio was busy trying to figure out what to do with Yume and Shinjimae, she ran to her room, slept it off.
And now she was here, sitting in an empty cafeteria, left with Masako who was completely worried, eyeing her with teary eyes.
"I-I know you're still shocked over what happened, but… I don't know." The survivalist bit into her lips. "I-I know you're better than this."
But was she really? God, Tomoyo knew she was, but everything was screaming that it was her fault Watari was dead, that Kyatchi was dead. She believed that.
Tomoyo sighed, finally taking a look at Masako. Her eyes lacked any kind of shine, but Tomoyo knew better than to force it. She just smiled softly. "Did Blaise and the others eat already?"
Masako nodded slowly. "Ah, y-yes. Blaise managed to feed them, but Yume's mad at him, so she left after he tried to talk to her."
"Yeah, but that makes sense." Tomoyo chuckled forcibly. "I'm sure she's blaming him for Kyatchi's death, right?"
The survivalist eyed the woman for a few seconds, then nodded again. "Mhm. S-she refuses to really talk to any of us though. Then again, Shinji's…"
"Yeah, he's not in the best state right now." Tomoyo's expression immediately saddened. The last time she saw him was when he was crying, uncaring if he was soaking Saki in his dried up blood and tears and snot. The animal whisperer was broken, and it was obvious he refused to say much at this moment.
She should talk to him, calm him down, bring him back to his senses. But, she knew she couldn't. She couldn't really think at the moment, her mind only focused on whoever was talking to her and her own surroundings. Even when she wanted to work hard and do something, her body told her otherwise. Stand down. Do nothing. Stay here, relax.
Horrible. She hated this feeling of doing nothing, of being unproductive. It made her feel useless, disgusting.
"... did a new area open up?" She resorted to asking, staring up at the survivalist. "That's usually what happens."
Masako only shook her head. "Ah, no, not this time."
"Really?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "That's weird. Maybe Monokuma just ran out of places to lock up? He probably already showed us everything."
"Ah, probably." The survivalist toyed with her hands, rubbing them against one another. The silence was killing her. Nervously, she coughed. "... I-It might be something to check into, huh? I doubt Blaise and the others checked it out yet."
"Because they're depressed, and Blaise is a lying bi- nevermind." She shook her head, releasing a loud sigh. She knew that no matter what, she'd have little to no say in Akio's business. If she was one of the primary people who helped Akio, then she had no right to speak such crude words about the man, right? Honestly, she didn't know.
Her eyes directed themselves to the chocolate bar she had on the table. Of course she would try to comfort herself with her desired treat. She didn't know if it worked though, and she had the biggest feeling that it didn't.
"You're pathetic, Tomoyo. Come on now, you want me to continue berating you like this? Masochist."
Watari's voice was strangely distinct from her other thoughts. It was as if she knew him longer than she had expected. It was as if she knew him before this whole event spiraled- this damn killing game, and everything that happened within it.
But Tomoyo knew she was never involved in any of Watari's cases. Sure, she heard a bit from Akio and Ayako concerning some missing Ultimates and close friends, and she might've heard his name from a news a couple of times, but that was all, and she was so certain of it.
But all those flashbacks, the strange scene that Tomoyo saw yesterday from Monokuma… it felt so real, almost as if the screenwriter was reliving those exact moments. It was almost as if it actually happened, as if Tomoyo's memory was erased of all her connections, her memories of everyone that extended from the killing game.
"... Hey, Masako." Her eyes peered up at the survivalist. "The scene that flashed through our heads, what was yours? Was it the same as mine?"
"T-the one Monokuma showed us, right?" Masako waited for the shorter woman's nod, then answered, speaking in an unsure tone, "W-Watari and Kiyoko were arguing, and Kyatchi stopped them, right?"
"Yeah, that's what I got as well." Tomoyo crossed her arms, face hardening. "Hmm… they were arguing about Kiyoko punching someone in public, right? Watari was mad that Kiyoko could've exposed us all, whatever that means…"
Masako raised a brow, hands rubbing against one another. "W-Watari and Kiyoko agreed that people deserve nothing but death as well, if that means anything? Uh, I would think that connects to the idea that we're all murderers?"
"Criminals on the run?" The screenwriter spoke out loud, surprising the survivalist whose eyes widened. This caused Tomoyo to blush, quickly shaking her hands about. "Ah, just thinking."
Think of this as another play, Tomoyo. What could that flashback mean? Monokuma's obviously trying to both tell us what it is and hide it from us… like a game…
Her breath was held. Her heart was beating, mind at work. A few seconds passed as she tried to solve the puzzle together, forming different arrangements and trying to find the final piece in the puzzle that would connect everything together. She knew it was at the tip of her tongue, but what was it? What was the final piece?
"... Watari was killed in the library upstairs, right?" Tomoyo's face darkened. "He was killed because he knew too much, so he must've found something upstairs."
Masako blinked. "O-oh, you might have a point." She was observing the woman carefully. Hesitation was clear on her face. She seemed wary about something- the sudden change in Tomoyo? Relief? "Should we go up and search?"
Tomoyo looked at her for a few seconds, then nodded. "Yeah, I want to check."
"R-right…" Masako frowned as the woman stood up. A few seconds passed before she even began to make her way to the door, stepping just outside. She turned to face the woman, then gulped. Another few seconds passed by before her lips parted, voice slightly breathy as she spoke: "Are you alright?"
The woman only raised her brow in response. "What does that mean?"
"Y-you really don't need to push yourself," Masako continued, quickly following Tomoyo as she walked out. "It's alright if you rest. You're just faking it, right? Acting… cool and all…"
Tomoyo stopped. Midway up the stairs, her head turned back to face the survivalist. A few seconds passed between them. "I just want to get out of here, and… well, there's still so much we still don't know."
Masako frowned. "Y-you think the trial was suspicious, huh?"
"Yeah, same like you." Tomoyo just nervously smiled. "Watari died because he knew something, right? It wouldn't be crazy if I think that Monokuma wanted to rush the trial, right?"
The survivalist was silent. Her eyes were still staring at the screenwriter, peering at her. "T-true, but I don't think we really solved anything during the trial, so…"
The shorter woman frowned, then continued up the stairs, Masako quickly following suit. She was silent in her fixation, staring down the hallway as she strutted her way to the library. She thought to herself, long and hard. And, as that continued, her mind continued to wander, thinking of more than a couple of questions that stuck to her mind as she saw the library beckoning for her entrance.
One, why did Monokuma agree to the deal? Watari and Monokuma were both smart enough to know that the other didn't completely trust them. It would've been better to ask someone else to be traitor- Ayako or Kiyoko, for example. Even if Watari was the one who asked to be Monokuma's quote-on-quote "helper", Tomoyo knew that Monokuma should've shaken his head no.
Two, how much did Watari know? It's obvious that someone like Watari would've found something sooner or later, but what was he hiding? He was distrustful of everybody, and Tomoyo doubted he told Shinjimae much.
And three, what exactly was accomplished in the trial? Everything was a reach, and Tomoyo only had little to nothing for her to make it this far. All she knew was that Watari died for a reason, the mastermind wanted Watari gone, and… was that it?
She frowned to herself, just a step away from entering the library. She closed her eyes, thinking to herself. A few breaths in, and a few breaths out.
If people are watching us, why? Her heart was pounding. How do they enjoy something like killing?
Her face hardened.
Is it because we're murderers? If what Watari said is true, then…
She turned to Masako. Seeing that the woman was closeby, she stepped into the library, nodding to herself.
Cold. Heavy.
The air was heavy. The entire room felt heavy, Tomoyo shuddering the moment she stepped inside. Everything looked normal, the same as it should've been. It was as if what happened earlier never occurred. Watari never existed, what happened in this room never took place. Everything was too clean, too undisturbed.
Tomoyo sighed deeply to herself, moving further into the room. She glanced around the spotless room, her eyes directed to where Watari was killed. It was an empty space now. There was no blood, no weaponry, no dead body… It was completely empty, all except for a strange picture in the middle where the chair he sat on should be.
Slowly making her way over, she bent down to pick up the picture. It only took her a few seconds before she recognized what it was, her eyes widening at its content.
It was a picture of the detective himself, smiling purely next to Kiyoko. It seemed like the duo were extremely close, Kiyoko's arm wrapped around his shoulder and the shorter man using his fingers to act as bunny ears for Kiyoko. It was rather cute, but what surprised Tomoyo the most was that everyone was involved.
Watari and Kiyoko were in front of the photograph, yet everyone else were around them. Akio was near Wakana, hugging her tightly with the florist smiling widely as she looked up at him. Decebel was posing behind them, a calm expression on their face while Misaki was winking at the camera, Masako and Tomoyo herself close to her, all smiling and posing accurately. Shinjimae, Hitomu, and Keishi were together, Hitomu wrapping his arms around the duo who smiled shyly at the camera. Even Kazue and Reiji were there, close to Saki who was near the front of the camera. Kyatchi was there in the back, uncaring though slightly smirking at Ayako who was near Yume, Ayako smiling all cutely while Yume just deadpanned.
It was a photo of all of them together, and yet Tomoyo never registered being around the entire group ever… especially for a photograph, and especially as what seemed to be friends.
"W-what is this…?" Masako's breath was shaky. "I don't remember anything like this, right…? We never…"
Tomoyo only shook her head. "No, we weren't this close. I don't remember anything…" She held her breath. She didn't know. She had absolutely no idea when and how this picture was taken… if it was even fake or real, fabricated, photoshopped- she didn't know.
"Oh, looks like someone actually found it."
Monokuma immediately hopped off from thin air, easily landing on his two feet. He sneered at Tomoyo and Masako, his red eye glowing in utter malice.
"Monokuma." Tomoyo's face immediately hardened, eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed. Her grip around the photograph tightened. "What is the meaning of this?"
The bear only sneered. He knew what he was trying to do, and the reactions that came from the women made him confident in his own manipulation. "You never would've thought you guys were that close, huh? It should've been obvious, Watari kept that."
"What?"
"Pfft, he was just as confused as you guys were when I gave it to him. It's a little present for him being such a good helper during Wakana and Kiyoko's trial." He shrugged, throwing his paws back over his head. "Of course he didn't really know what to make of it. He thought it was another lie I spilled his way."
Tomoyo frowned. "Why didn't you take the photograph along with his body? You cleaned everything, but left this photograph out."
"Eh, just consider it another present for finishing the trial." He snickered. That high-pitched laugh of his grated on the screenwriter's ears. "If you want to know, I have lots of pictures of you guys. Aki and Wakana's pictures are cute, just for your information."
Masako gulped, looking at Tomoyo. She looked from the woman, then to Monokuma. "W-why exactly are you telling us this?"
"I'm only being fair," he answered, chuckling. "I'm letting you guys go the moment only three of you guys are left."
The survivalist's face paled. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, did I not tell you guys? Oops." Monokuma laughed. "This is a killing game, remember? It's not a game unless we have some winners, y'know? The remaining survivors get the reward of survival, obviously."
Tomoyo clenched her fists. "Why three?"
"Can't have a trial with two people, right?" The bear raised a brow. "Look, it's five of you guys left, right? Can't kill three of you, there wouldn't be any fun in the trial. If one of you end up victim and the other dies as the murderer, there'd be… hm, three left? Can't have a trial after that either, sooo we have three as our winners."
Masako was shaking her head, obviously confused. "B-but what if the murderer kills two people?"
Monokuma sneered. "We'll hold a trial still. I'm not ending the game without a finale, Masako."
"For the viewers?" Tomoyo crossed her arms. "Is that why?"
"... Heh, I like that spunk." Monokuma smirked, eyeing the screenwriter whose face was hardened and dark. "Y'know, with people who actively tried to repress people's need to kill, it's sad you're all down to five. Hitomu wanted to give people a sense of comfort, Aki failed with his supposed foolproof plan to look for anyone murder-high and stop them, and then you have Watari. He was so close too."
The screenwriter felt her heart pounding. Adrenaline was pumping through her veins, her cheeks flushed of its color. "And that's why you wanted him killed, right? You and whoever's working with you."
"Hmm, whatever you believe." Monokuma chuckled, shaking his head. "How does that correlate to your idea that we're in a gameshow?"
"Isn't that obvious?" Tomoyo scoffed. "It's for the views, right? I don't know how or why you're doing this, but you want to get money by actually killing people. I don't even know if the viewers know that we're actually real, and not some fictional characters they can bend to their will, but it's pissing me off and-"
"T-Tomoyo." Masako immediately grabbed the screenwriter's shoulder, shaking her head. Her tight was grip. "... Please calm down."
The woman's eyes were wide. White noise. Fuck, not again. Tomoyo quickly snapped out of her anger, nodding her head and immediately stepping back. "Right."
"Aww, that's it? Boring." Monokuma snickered, tapping his foot on the ground. He looked between Masako and Tomoyo, then grinned. "Well, want Papa Kuma to help you some more? I'm giving out shit to you guys as your last motive anyways- what do you mean, you want to rest? Nah, anyways, I only gave you guys the photograph evidence and all that jazz, soooo pick a number. One or two."
"What?" Tomoyo blinked. She turned to Masako who shrugged, then frowned. "Uh, two."
"Cool, gotcha."
And without warning, Monokuma flashed another light at the duo, immediately sending the women into another flashback.
Tomoyo was unsure of what to say the moment Watari pushed her against the wall. The anger in his eyes was apparent, blood red and shining in pure malice. It didn't help that his scowl was wide, eyebrows furrowed and nose scrunched.
Inside an empty room with nothing but slight dirt and grime, cobwebs dirtying the corners of the walls, the duo were stuck in their intentional (mainly on the detective's part) predicament.
"I…" The detective's voice was strained. A million amounts of emotions were on his face, overwhelmed. "You have no idea how much Tadaomi means to me, right? How can you fucking say that I should just move on like it's nothing?"
Tomoyo held her breath. Seeing the detective getting mad wasn't anything new. He was very emotional when it came to his beliefs, especially when he argued with Kiyoko or the others from time to time. But to see him getting mad at her, she had no idea what to say, face pale.
"You only say that because you're such a spoiled little girl, right? It doesn't matter that our families aren't real, right? Fuck the people that left us, right? I…" He didn't make any sense, and he knew that. "No, no, no, please, you understand, right?"
Tomoyo shook her head. She couldn't lie to him, she had to be honest. "I'm sorry. I… I just don't think it's smart to run ahead just to save him."
"I can't do that." Watari looked at her, laughing miserably. "I hate this fucking world, but Tadaomi's the only exception, remember? I want to leave this stupid ass fake and bring Tadaomi with me. I… come on, I'm nothing without him."
Tomoyo bit into her lips. She knew he hated everyone. Everyone else hated humanity. She knew she was in this for the same exact reason, but her mind was cloudy. She couldn't think straight, breaths shaky.
"Haha, I'm a mess." The detective's grip on Tomoyo's shoulders loosened. He stumbled back, shaking. Tears were falling down his face. "I can't do this anymore. I can't lead you guys. If Tadaomi dies, everything I did was for nothing… I-I can't live like that!"
"Watari." The screenwriter immediately reached for the man, throwing her arms around him. Her embrace was tight, her hand rubbing his back. "I'm sure he's alive, and you didn't do this for nothing. You can be honest with me, you know? I know everyone's mainly doing this for revenge, but… you just want to protect the future generations from experiencing our ordeal, right?"
The detective said nothing in response, just sobbing as he threw his arms around Tomoyo and tightened his grip around her.
It was a snap back to reality, Tomoyo's eyes widening as she found herself staring at Monokuma yet again. Her face was pale, lips slightly parted as she stared at him in utter shock, confusion. "... W-what was that?"
"Your present." Monokuma laughed. "Or motive, whatever you want. Doesn't it make you want to kill somebody?"
"W-why would I kill just because of that?" Tomoyo narrowed her eyes. "I'm so confused. What was that?"
"Memories, you dolt." The bear rolled his eyes. "It'll help you figure shit out, or not. Depends how you take it. Is it even real? Fabricated? Who knows."
Masako was completely pale, unsure of what to say. Her eyes directed themselves to Tomoyo though, and she silently reached over to grab at her sleeve, tugging and motioning her to move.
Tomoyo knew the survivalist wanted her to avoid Monokuma, to ask questions later and keep her anger in check. But she couldn't. Her head was hurting and her heart was beating, pounding throughout her body. She had no idea what game the bear was playing at, and she did not want to play his game. She did not want to be played, to be fooled like some puppet.
"This is a gameshow, right? We're the participants and people are watching us." She held her ground. She needed to get a reaction from Monokuma- she needed to get somewhere. "Ultimates are getting kidnapped to play this type of sick game, right? Do you hate Ultimates or something? Is that why the cases in missing or dead Ultimates keep rising?"
"Oh?" Monokuma tilted his head. "What makes you think that? Jumping to conclusions now, are we?"
Tomoyo crossed her arms. "Watari was killed because he would've exploited this, right?" She held her breath. "If given the photograph and all the things you showed us, we all knew each other. We were close."
"You're assuming that from the memories I gave you, huh." Monokuma wasn't the least bit surprised, grinning. "If you actually want to know, then yeah, those memories and things I'm giving you are real. I play fair, Moe."
Tomoyo gulped, silent. "... Why did you kidnap us out of the other Ultimates there are in the world? Are we significant to you?"
"Just think about it for a few seconds." He frowned. "Think about the reasons and- boom! You might be getting somewhere with it."
"I… I guess so." Masako immediately stepped in, looking back and forth from Monokuma to Tomoyo. She tugged on the screenwriter's sleeve again. "W-we should go, Tomoyo."
The woman turned to look up at the survivalist, then frowned. Her eyes slowly glanced over to Monokuma who was unmoved by the scene, silent in his spot. She pursed her lips, then shook her head. "Right."
Masako motioned her out, and Tomoyo silently followed, not taking a second to look back at Monokuma. She could tell that the bear was smirking at her, mocking her for her constant confusion and bafflement. It was annoying, frustrating, and downright insulting. It made her want to gag and just spit at the overseer, but logic and common sense forced her down to society's norms… well, this school's norms.
The duo made their way into the hallway, a few steps inside before Masako turned to look at the screenwriter. She pursed her lips, hesitation in her eyes before she muttered, "Are you alright?"
"Y… yeah." Tomoyo held her breath. "I don't know. I just want to get out of here already. To stop Monokuma."
"I understand that. I-I'm sure everyone wants to get out of here." She glanced around the room. It was silent, empty. "I… well, do you think we should look for the others and talk about this?"
"Would they even want to talk?" Tomoyo turned to her, raising a brow. "They haven't even texted in the group chat ever since the trial. Did you, er, check on them at least?"
"Ah, only a bit, yes." The survivalist awkwardly laughed, scratching the back of her head. "They don't seem to be doing anything, really. I-it's just Blaise taking care of Shinji and Yume right now."
"Right." The screenwriter stayed silent for a few seconds. She was pondering, wondering to herself. A few long seconds passed before she looked at Masako, staring up at her. "What memory did you get? I doubt it was the same as mine."
"M-memory? Oh, the one Monokuma showed us earlier?" Watching her friend nod her head, Masako pursed her lips. "I-I was running with Keishi and Misaki. It seemed like we were running from authorities or something. H-Hitomu came at the end to call out some order, and before I could understand what was happening, I heard a gunshot…"
"What?" Tomoyo squinted her brows. "That's… certainly weird."
"Yeah…" The survivalist's face hardened. Her hands were rubbing against one another, fingers fiddling silently. "D-do you think that means we were running away because we did something?"
Tomoyo frowned. She nodded her head slowly. "Possibly. The one I got was Watari yelling at me. Something about his brother…" She crossed her arms. "I made some claim that he wasn't doing this for revenge like the rest of us. Something about protecting future generations."
"Protecting future generations, huh? Hm…" Masako cupped her chin, meekly rubbing it. "B-but given Watari's claim, we're all murderers, right? Why would murderers want to protect future generations? If we're murderers, all we do is…"
"There's plenty of reasons why someone would kill, and we already saw that with the cases conducted here." Tomoyo held her breath, face darkening. "Kiyoko wanted everyone to die because of what Watari said, Keishi was manipulated, Misaki wanted to protect, and Kyatchi…" She closed her eyes. "... I'm not sure."
Masako just smiled softly, a small one. "Y-you still think Kyatchi's death was forced and sudden, right?"
"I… I don't know, Monokuma pressed on that we should just vote. I know we weren't really getting anywhere to who the killer is, but still." She opened her eyes again, now looking up at the survivalist. "Watari came close to figuring out everything, but if he died because of it…" She shook her head. "I really want to get out of here and figure this out. I don't want people to die. Watari's death, and the suddenness of Kyatchi's… I don't know. I want to get out of here already."
Masako frowned. "H-how would we get out of here if we're in some type of gameshow, like you said?"
"That's why we look for it, an exit." The screenwriter clenched her fists, holding her breath. "We… we should stand strong, right? If we just die here, I'm pretty damn sure Watari and the others would mock us in our deathbeds."
"That's…" Masako heaved a breath, worried. "Sudden."
The shorter woman nodded, her lips curling to an awkward smile. "Ah, is it? I don't know, I just… hearing Monokuma and thinking back to how everyone reacted, I just don't think it's in our best interest for us to do nothing and just mope. I just need to stand strong, right? Fight back and find a way out."
The survivalist was silent. She stared at her dumbfoundedly before a few seconds passed by, her expression softening and her lips curling to a small smile. "Ah, right. I-I agree with you there, Tomoyo."
Tomoyo threw her a smile in return, and moved up to pat her shoulder. "Right. Let's head back down then. We should check on the others."
"S-sounds like a good idea." Masako nodded.
And with that settled, the two women moved back down into the first floor. It was empty, well emptier than normal. There lacked energy, movement. It only made Tomoyo look at Masako in slight worry as she continued down the area, making her way into the dormitories with the survivalist following closely behind her.
Tomoyo held her breath, deciding to move to the boys' side. Down the hallway, she looked at the names that were lined on the doors, reading each one. She frowned as she eyed Watari's door. Her hand slightly pushed down on the handle, but, like expected, it was locked. Shaking her head inwardly, she moved over to Akio's door.
Masako was behind her. She held a few breaths in and out. One, two, three. Tomoyo clenched her fist and knocked on the door.
Silence. She could briefly hear the echoing of footsteps coming closer.
Creak. The door opened slightly, revealing Akio's face. He popped his head out and glanced down to eye Tomoyo. "Uh, yes? What did you want?"
Tomoyo eyed him for a few seconds. He seemed to look the same as always, not too depressed or perky or anything specific. She had no idea if that was a positive or negative thing though. She wasn't sure. "I was just wondering if Monokuma spoke to you?"
Akio's eyebrows were raised. "Huh? Why?"
"He came to talk to me and Masako." The screenwriter crossed her arms. "Said that he already gave everyone else a motive."
"Ah, that?" The actor scratched his head. A small yawn escaped his lips. "Yeah, he talked to me before you two. Said he gave them out to Shinji and Yume already."
"Oh." Tomoyo bit in her lips. "Um, what's yours' about?"
"Mine?" Akio narrowed his gaze. "Well, I guess it's nothing too vague? Just me and Wakana, something about how we're supposed to save the world. I think we were in the middle of some war? I don't know, the place looked destroyed."
"War?" The screenwriter raised a brow. "That's… weird."
"Hah, no kidding. I thought it was just gonna touch on Wakana, not show some broken wasteland." He chuckled bitterly, then frowned. "What about you two?"
Tomoyo nodded. "Oh, I was arguing with Watari." Kind of. "It was about his brother."
Masako looked at Tomoyo once she finished, then looked at Akio. "Er, mine was about me, Misaki, and Keishi running away from authorities. Mine's just… confusing."
"Hmm, I see." He frowned. "Did you talk to Shinji and Yume yet?"
"I mean…" The survivalist raised a brow. "Are they fine right now?"
"Most likely asleep. Their motives were more, hm, dramatic." He sighed, crossing his arms. "Shinji's was him trying to convince an officer to let his friends get out of jail, and Yume's was her for being shot in the arm. I don't know the context. I doubt they know too."
"I would think it would relate to the murderer theory," Tomoyo assumed, answering with a furrowed brow. "If we somehow find a way to piece everything together, maybe we can decipher everything and figure out what Watari did, if not more."
Akio cocked his head to the side. "Hmm, hopefully." He blinked. "Monokuma said he'd release us if we're down to two or three, right?"
Masako gulped. "Three."
"Hmm, I see." Akio looked at the two women for a second, then frowned. "Y'know, Monokuma didn't give us a deadline for when people need to kill. We could just live here."
"The audience wouldn't like that though." The screenwriter pressed. "I'm sure if time passed and nothing happened, he'll give us a deadline."
"True." The brunette scratched the back of his head, grunting. "That sucks. What're you going to do then?"
Tomoyo held her breath. "... I'm going to try to finish Watari's work."
"Oh?" Akio's face immediately scrunched up in dismusement. "You sure that's safe? Are you even capable of doing something like that? Watari's room was locked by Monokuma anyways."
"I know that." Tomoyo frowned. "But I still want to try. I really don't want to see anymore of us dying."
"Optimistic, but I get it. I just kinda gave up on that." He chuckled, still staring down at the woman. "Look, if anyone needs to die, just tell me, cool? I can probably afford to slit my throat if you want. That's what you would like, right?"
"W-what?" The woman was caught completely off guard. "I don't want that."
"Based on the idea that we're in a gameshow," he began, "the audience would love to see me dead, right? Shinji's been through an entire turnabout, Yume's emotions flew out of the window, Masako there seemed to be getting more confident, and then there's you. You want to follow in Watari's footsteps, right?"
Tomoyo was hesitant. She wasn't sure what to say. "Er… maybe?"
"Hm, I literally have nothing then." Akio shrugged. "So, with that settled, I'll just make sure Yume and Shinji are healthy, cool? You and Masako can try to find a way out. I'll just hang here until you need me."
Masako quickly stepped in, shaking her head. "I-I don't think you should do that. I'm sure we can find a way out if we work together."
"We never worked together." The actor crossed his arms, raising a brow. "Even from the start, all of us were never on the same page. I don't see how we can fix that now. Shinji and Yume are fucked up, and honestly speaking, I'm kinda done. Let's just do our own thing. We don't really have common interests, right?"
"But we do have common interests." Tomoyo bit into her lips. "Aren't we all fighting against Monokuma?"
"Yeah, all of us except for the mastermind." Akio frowned. "Do you even suspect anybody here, or do you still want to trust everyone?"
"I do want to trust people," she answered, "but we should still work together."
"The mastermind could tamper with that plan of yours then." He shrugged. "I don't know. I just don't want to follow orders. I'm more of a leader, I guess."
Tomoyo squinted at him. She wasn't sure of what to say. She wasn't even sure if she was supposed to retort or answer or not. Even Masako's look of utter confusion made her silent. She was just… there, thousands of emotions inside of her head.
"You understand now? Glad we came to an understanding." Akio was slowly creaking the door closed. He waved at the duo, a dry smile on his face. "Cool, I'll see you two tomorrow then, maybe. Depends if we eat or see each other in the same place at the same time. Bye."
And, as if uncaring about this whole, entire situation altogether, Akio successfully closed the door.
Fuck. Tomoyo bit into her lips. How will I do this?
And that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all have a great day and enjoyed this chapter! Peace!