This is it! I hope you will enjoy this short chapter!
The night was going great. Laughter filled up the place. People were engaged in conversations. Some were blissfully eating the snacks. It felt like everything was finally turning out fine. Nao was smiling as he looked at everyone. Happily, he was drinking his coffee and listening to everyone's conversation.
All of sudden, he heard a loud cough. He turned around to see it was Eri who was coughing. At first, he did not mind it so he kept listening to everyone else. However, when Eri kept coughing, something felt wrong. At that moment, he never took his focus on Eri.
As Eri stood up, he continued to watch her over. Suddenly, Eri fainted. Out of everyone, it was Nao who first saw this. He quickly stood up and shouted, "Eri!" Worried, he ran off to where she was lying. It surprised everyone and caught their attention. Their eyes followed Nao and saw Eri. Just like that, their fun night took a dark turn.
Everyone rushed to Eri's aid. All they could do was panic for her. Nao knelt beside her and put his hand on Eri's forehead. He turned to everyone and said, "I think she has a fever." Norio quickly told Samuru to carry Eri to one of the quarantine rooms on the second floor.
The group rushed to the nearest quarantine room. Once they got there, Samuru gently laid Eri down on a bed. Asuka and Hana left the group to take a first aid kit from the clinic. All of the men were left with Eri.
All of them were levelheaded except for Takashiro. Takashiro kept walking back and forth mumbling on how much he is worried. The other three could only watch Takashiro as he spiraled into panic. While Takashiro was fidgeting, Nao approached him. "Calm down, Takashiro. Breath!" No matter how many times Nao repeated himself, Takashiro would not listen.
The girls came back with the first aid kit. They took out a thermometer and gave it to Norio. Then, Norio put it in her armpit to check her temperature. After a few minutes, Norio took out the thermometer and saw it was 42˚C.
Everyone was taken aback with how high Eri's fever was. No one could believe it. Samuru commented, "No wonder she fainted. It was that high." Hana quickly put out a bottle of water and medicine for fever. She sat beside Eri and slowly woke her up.
"Eri, can you hear me?" Hana asked.
Eri simply nodded. Then, Hana said, "I am going to help you drink your medicine to make your fever go down."
Eri slowly sat up straight. She took the pill Hana gave her drank it down with water. After that, she lied down again. It was shocking how much she changed in a short span of time. Earlier, she was bubbly. But now, she was drained of energy.
The group stayed beside her as she rested peacefully. Norio then asked, "How did this happen?"
Takashiro answered, "She must have overworked herself. She said she made the sparklers last night. Eri, why did you have to overdo it?" After that, he knelt beside Eri's bed and held her hand. "Eri, get well, okay!"
After that, Norio turned to everyone and said, "Obviously, someone needs to stay with Eri to make sure she is alright. I can do it." Nao did not expect Norio to volunteer himself. He looked at everyone and saw the shock as well.
All of a sudden, people started voicing out that they want to help in watching Eri as well. Everyone wanted to do their part. However, Norio strongly disagreed with it. "I think it will be best if only one person stays with her. In that way, she will not be bothered by the number of people around her."
People quickly voiced out their opposition to this suggestion. Samuru said, "I don't think it is fair for that one person to do it all. If you want, we could do shifts just like before." Everyone agreed to this idea except for Norio.
"The changing of shifts might bother her. Just let me do it. Trust me, I won't do anything to her." Norio said.
All of a sudden, Takashiro, "No! If only one person will stay with her, it has to be me! I am her best friend and I will do anything for her! I will stay by her side. I will not fall asleep. I will be responsible, I promise! Let it be me!" Everyone looked at Takashiro with doubt in their eyes.
Norio still continued saying, "I will do it." Everyone continued fighting who should stay with her. Mostly, the fight was between Norio and Takashiro. It felt like the fight was never going to end until Eri coughed and took everyone's attention.
She looked at everyone and said, "I-I-I want N-N-Norio to stay…"
Takashiro turned to Eri and asked, "Why him?"
Eri simply, "G-G-Get some s-s-sleep T-T-Takashiro." Takashiro was not convinced. He insisted he will stay but Samuru picked him up. "No! No! No! Put me down! I need to stay here!" Takashiro shouted. After that, everyone went out of the clinic. Hana told Norio to wake them up if he ever needed help.
The five continued walking to their rooms. Samuru still had Takashiro over his shoulder. Even though they were already on the fourth floor, he kept pleading to stay with Eri. He was crying all over Samuru. It was true desperation.
Samuru put down Takashiro once they were in front of Takashiro's room. Once he let go of Takashiro, Takashiro tried to dash away to the clinic. Asuka put out her leg and made Takashiro trip over it. Takashiro stopped and said, "Why are you all doing this to me? I just want to stay with her!"
Nao went to him and helped him stand. Takashiro was about to run away again when he put his hand on Takashiro's shoulders and said, "We know you are worried about Eri but you are not calm enough to be helpful. Plus, Eri chose Norio to stay with her for whatever reason it is. We should respect that."
Takashiro stopped resisting and said, "I am so useless! Even Eri thinks that I won't be able to help her!" Takashiro started crying. Nao could not say a word and only gave him a hug. Hana went to him and said, "Eri must have her reasons for choosing Norio. Let's just trust her with her choice."
After a few minutes, Takashiro finally stopped crying. He was the first to enter his room. After that, everyone went into their own rooms and hoped for the best for Eri.
It was minutes before midnight and Nao was still awake. All he could do was stare at the ceiling of his room. His mind was too occupied and would not let him sleep. How is Eri right now? I hope Norio is taking care of her. Maybe I should visit them. But, I might just disturb Eri. He rolled around his bed a few times before finally deciding to sit up straight.
How did this happen to her? She should be in her room right now peacefully sleeping after having fun at the picnic. But instead, she is sick in the quarantine room probably having a hard time sleeping.
At this point, he got out of his bed and went to the door. He was going back and forth. He would reach out for the doorknob but would put his hand away from it. Going back and forth was starting to frustrate him. Just grab the goddamn doorknob.
As he reached for the doorknob, someone knocked on his door. He quickly took a step back. Who is visiting me this late at night? Nao did not say anything and stood there in silence. Once more, a knock was heard again. This time, it was accompanied by an introduction. "Nao, are you awake? It's me, Takashiro. I just need someone to talk to right now."
Immediately, Nao opened the door before Takashiro went away. Takashiro turned back once he heard the door open. Nao asked, "What's the problem?"
Takashiro simply answered, "I can't sleep."
Nao smiled and said, "Same. Come in." Takashiro went inside and sat on Nao's bed.
Takashiro only stared Nao in silence. Nao waited for him to say anything but it was taking him too long. Because of this, Nao decided to start the conversation. "What is keeping you awake?"
Takashiro simply replied, "Eri…"
Nao sat beside him and said, "You are really worried about her."
Takashiro nodded.
"Don't worry about it! I am sure Norio is taking good care of her!" Nao said.
Takashiro quickly replied, "That is not what I am bothered by. I just cannot believe she chose Norio over me. What is her reason? Does she not trust me enough?"
Nao put his arm around Takashiro and said, "Do you remember what she last told you?"
Takashiro shook his head.
Nao said, "Get some sleep, Takashiro. That is what she said. I think she wanted you to take care of yourself first. You know Eri always put everyone else's needs first before hers. Plus, she trusts you. She trusts you the most. She would not have stayed with you all of the time if that is not the case."
Takashiro said, "I just wish I can do more to help her."
Nao said, "Well, you can stay with her tomorrow. She might let you stay by then."
Takashiro said, "You are right. I can help her tomorrow. Maybe I should do something special for her tomorrow."
Nao suggested, "Why don't you perform a puppet show for her tomorrow?"
Takashiro stood up and said, "I shall do that! I might lift her spirits! But, if I am going to perform for her, it should be special. It should be great enough to energize her. What should I do?" Nao only looked at him and let him do what he does best.
Then, Takashiro looked at his bag of puppets. Suddenly, he jumped and shouted, "I got it! I am going to make a new puppet! And its name is going to be Shizu-nyan!" Immediately, Takashiro opened his bag and poured out everything in it. He had glue, socks, buttons, yarns, scissors, and anything he needed to make a puppet.
Nao just sat there as Takashiro cut and pasted on the floor. He let Takashiro do his magic as he watched in awe with how much energy he was putting into making a new puppet. Takashiro was giddy and could not stop smiling.
Eventually, he was finished with the puppet. He put it on his hand and said in a childish voice, "Uhmmm… Hello… I-I-I am Shizu-nyan! Hope we c-c-can be friends!" Nao watched in wonder. He came up with that character only minutes ago. Now, he already has performance ready. After Takashiro performed, Nao clapped and said, "Eri will love that!"
"You think so?" Takashiro asked.
"I know so!" Nao answered.
After that, Takashiro cleaned up his stuff. He stood up and said, "Thanks for listening! It really helped me clear my mind."
Nao said, "You're welcome!" After that, Nao went with Takashiro to the door. He opened it. The two said good night to each other. Then, Nao closed the door and went to his bed. He took his tablet and opened it. "It is already 1:48 am. Wow! How time flies so fast!"
After that, Nao set his tablet aside and fell asleep.
It was already morning. It had been minutes since Monokuma rang his morning announcement. Nao had just woken up and was sitting on his bed. After that, he took a shower and got dressed. He took his tablet and was about to go out of his room when someone knocked on his door. He opened it and it was Takashiro.
"Good morning!" Nao greeted.
"Good morning too!" Takashiro replied.
Nao was waiting for Takashiro to say anything. Eventually, Takashiro started speaking. "Uhmmm… Nao, can you do me a favor?"
"What is it?" Nao asked.
"Can you come with me to see Eri right now? I am really nervous to perform for her and it will be really helpful if you come with me." Takashiro asked.
Nao looked at Takashiro who was fidgeting with his hands. "Sure."
Takashiro jumped and shouted, "Yeah!" He grabbed Nao's arm and said, "Let's go!" As they passed the statue, Nao noticed one of the statues were broken. It was Norio's. Clumps of wax from the statue were on the floor around the statue. Nao pointed it out to Takashiro.
As soon as Takashiro saw the statue, the two quickly made their way to the quarantine room where Eri was staying at. Before going in, Nao told Takashiro to be as quiet as possible when they come in because Eri might still be asleep.
Nao slowly opened the door and went in. Immediately, he noticed something. Takashiro went in next. Then, Takashiro asked, "Where is Norio?"
Eri was half-awake when they entered the room. She quickly recognized the two and called out to them. "I-I-Is that you Nao and Takashiro?" The two quickly went to her side and asked, "Where did Norio go?"
Eri answered, "He l-l-left me last night when we heard f-f-footsteps in the hallway. I-I-I wanted to l-l-look for him but I-I-I'm too weak to s-s-stand up." Nao quickly told Takashiro to fetch the others. Takashiro quickly went out of the room and looked for the others. Nao stayed beside Eri while Eri holds onto her bear.
While they were waiting for the others, Eri said, "Nao, I-I-I am worried about Norio. I-I-I hope he is okay." Me too. Eri used all of her force to grab her bear and give it to Nao. "Nao, b-b-before Norio left, he t-t-told me you kn-kn-know something about Rei." Nao was surprised by this. Why does he know about Rei? Do they know anything about Rei?
Nao could not say a word. Eri continued, "He told me t-t-to give my bear to you if something ever happens t-t-to him."
Nao suddenly interrupted her and said, "Why are you saying stuff like that? Nothing happened to Norio, okay?"
Eri continued, "I-I-I have a b-b-bad feeling about this."
All of a sudden, everyone came in. Asuka shouted, "What did Takashiro mean when he said Norio left you?"
"What is happening here?" Hana asked.
Nao stood up and said, "Norio is missing. We need to look for him." Immediately, the group split up and looked for Norio. Everyone just went wherever they felt like. No one said where they were going or who they are going with.
Nao ended up looking for Norio with Takashiro. The two scoured the first floor. They went to their previous quarters and every room there was on that floor. The only place left to look for was the gymnasium and the storage room. The two were standing in front of the passage connecting the gymnasium and the main building. Nao opened it and saw the usual lockers that were at the side.
As they were walking towards the gymnasium, Nao noticed one locker was unusually slightly opened. While Takashiro was walking towards the gymnasium, Nao approached the locker. Once he was in front of it, he slowly opened it. Suddenly, something fell out of the locker creating a loud thud. Nao was speechless as he fell to the floor. Takashiro turned around and saw in front of Nao the corpse of Norio Kurosawa, the Ultimate Defense Attroney, bounded in rope.
Sweet Life, Bitter Death (Daily Life)
-END-
Remaining Survivors: 6
1. Nao Hisoka - Ultimate N.E.E.T.
2. Umeko Midori - Ultimate Environmentalist(DECEASED)
3. Jirou Katashi - Ultimate Mathematician(DECEASED)
4. Reyes de Todos los Santos de Borbon Ortiz - Ultimate Fencer(DECEASED)
5. Jitsunori Setsunosuke - Ultimate Hairstylist(DECEASED)
6. Kayle Ito - Ultimate Tact(DECEASED)
7. Ichimako Watadzumi - Ultimate Lifeguard(DECEASED)
8. Manon Aida - Ultimate Cyclist(DECEASED)
9. Takashiro Tanoshi - Ultimate Ventriloquist
10. Eri Shizuka - Ultimate Toymaker
11. Ayumu Watanabe - Ultimate Mythologist(DECEASED)
12. Hana Ongaku - Ultimate Composer
13. Samuru Yagyuu - Ultimate Executioner
14. Asuka Kiyora - Ultimate Rocker
15. Norio Kurosawa - Ultimate Defense Attorney(DECEASED)
16. Rei Kurosawa - Ultimate Supernatural Novelist(DECEASED)
Death Toll: 10
That is it for now! I hope you guys enjoyed it!
I want to thank NSPunny for sending Norio! I really loved writing him! I hope you enjoyed how I wrote him. He was one of my most favorite characters to write.
Was your guess correct? Who do you think killed Norio? Tell me by voting on the poll on my profile.
If you want to talk about this story and other stuff, you can join the discord server for this story. The link is on my profile!
Anyway, that is it for now!
Good luck to all of us!
