Hello, and welcome back to this story! We're nearing closer and closer to the first murder, which is exciting, but also scary! Which makes me wonder, hmm... I wonder who will bite the bullet and fall under the reign of despair? It could be anyone, and that's definitely scary to think about! Nonetheless, I don't have much to say as always, so have fun reading the chapter!

BIG THANKS TO OUR BETA READERS: Lupus Overkill and Prince PokePersona!

Hearing the announcement, the first emotion that struck Mayari was disgust. The woman's honeyed tone and the way she vocalized herself… honestly, it never failed to amaze her in a sickeningly horrendous way. Her stomach churned and her eyelashes fluttered, and she was unsure of herself now. What could Libitina possibly want from them? More injections?

Well, she wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. She already knew there was a focus on the idea of a killing game and that while it had only been a little more than a day since the idea was announced, the wards themselves looked impatient. That was quite obvious to the epidemiologist. She was certain Libitina and the others were plotting something right this instant.

I shouldn't stall them for long though, and with that in mind, the raven hopped off her bed and opened the door. Eyes scanning left and right, she made a small wave to Hotaru who walked outside as well. She also spotted Mikoto who was being pestered by Margaret, the woman telling her about her grandiose plan of a night out.

Would Mikoto even want to hang out? But she figured she was being a bit too judgmental, so she waved over at the pair who were by the end of the hallway. "Yo, wanna walk together?"

"Ah, a pleasure to see you again!" Margaret chirped, instantly twirling the parasol on the ground. "Do you wish to walk alongside me and Mikoto, dearie?"

Mikoto's face instantly turned sour when she heard the woman's words. "I wasn't planning on going with you."

"Oh, nonsense, Mikoto darling!" Her smile was as wide as it could be. "I'm sure you're just acting that way."

"I'm not."

Of course she isn't. Mayari clapped her hands together, just tuning down the sarcasm from her mind and smiling at the group. "Well, whatever the answer is, let's go! Pretty damn sure Libitina and the others wouldn't take too kindly to us stalling."

Mikoto just grunted and went her way, completely ignoring Margaret who called out for her and frowned, twirling the parasol on the ground with a pout.

"I swear, teenagers keep holding up those stereotypical emo phases…"

"Eh, let's just get going already," the epidemiologist remarked, cracking her knuckles. "No use complaining about her."

With a nod from the woman, the duo made their way, moving down the hallway and straight to where Libitina and the others were waiting for them. Mayari could hear how the parasol twirled in Margaret's hands, how the cherry red lipped woman took herself up with elegance, fitting for a woman of her appearance. The epidemiologist was admittedly rather intrigued by Margaret herself, but didn't say much as their destination wasn't far away.

Inside the lobby, everyone was already present. Mayari noted how Libitina was in the center, followed by Ares who was, as always, wearing a scowl and Pax who was to the side in his lonesome. She then took notice of the sneer on Nobuyuki's face and the lack of interest in Rebeka's, as well as Gento's own disinterested expression. She found Nao and Ray with their usual group. Shura smiled over at Margaret and Mayari as they passed.

The raven waved to the armourer in return as she watched the makeup historian leave her side. Green eyes scanning the area, she found comfort moving over to where Mazen was, the time traveler stuck to Silvana, Machi, Michi, and Keni who was currently hugging his plushie and onto Silvana's hand.

"Wooow, you're like more than a few seconds late!" the psychologist chirped, instantly causing the epidemiologist to roll her eyes.

"Uhuh, yeah, sure." She held the finger up. "Shut the fuck up."

Hotaru couldn't help but snort from her side. "Nice."

"Mhm, well, anyways!" Libitina clapped her hands together and smiled, silencing the crowd and looking over them. "I have brought you lovely rats here today for one singular purpose, which is, of course, concerning this blessed game!"

Not at all a good thing, as always. The raven sighed underneath her breath, keeping her arms crossed, noting the glee in Libitina's face as she continued.

"If you haven't gotten a clue by now, we have injected you with some liquid in order to observe and watch over you." She cocked her head to the side. "However, there is another purpose to the injections."

Nomi raised a hand. "And it has to do with the game, nyah?"

Ares laughed out of mockery, rolling his eyes and looking straight at the pet detective's way. "Of course, why else would the injections happen otherwise?"

"Don't be so cruel, darling." Libitina chuckled at her friend. "We are only here to observe and make sure we fulfill our goals, after all, and we need help from these little kids in order to fulfill them. This killing game is what gets us paid, after all."

Akira raised a brow. "Soooo, you work for someone then?"

"Possibly, but I might just be speaking hypothetically~!" she teased, clapping her hands together. "Nonetheless, lovelies, I figure you're all dying to know what's the case with the injections, correct?"

Jian scowled. "What did you drug us with?"

"Nothing particularly special." She grinned. "It's not exactly urgent since it's only a small dosage of it; the symptoms won't emerge for a while."

Silence.

"What?" Mikoto stepped forward. "Excuse me, what?"

Libitina put a finger to her lips, silencing anyone who was about to speak. Continuing to grin over at them with glee, she continued, "Exactly what I said, darling! My dear rats, today is the day we announce to you all what your motive to kill is~!"

Rebeka rolled her eyes. "Great."

"You must be joking with us, right?" Mazen shook his head, sweat touching his forehead. "'Your motive to kill'?"

"Listen up now!" Ares swung his sword forward, then plunged it straight into the ground, causing a hole to form. The man stared intensely at the group as he continued to scream out loud, "This motive will only be said once and explained! Don't fucking doze off now and cause a ruckus!"

Nomi tipped her hat and frowned. "Surely you could just send a message in the chat to us, or announce it to us?"

Pax shook his head. "Just listen to us. It'll be easier to answer questions than to ask others who can misinform you all."

"Exactly, love," Libitina mused, nodding her head. "Why ask others when they might as well be planning to hurt you in the end? It's better to get information now than to simply dose off and have to ask later."

Akira sighed. "What's the motive then?"

"If it has to do with the injections, then…" Michi crossed their arms, murmuring to themself, "Does it have to do with poisoning us?"

Gento rolled his eyes. "Obviously."

"As if that wasn't obvious already," Ares sneered. "The injections won't kill you instantly. You're already still alive and well, yeah? As if nothing happened, yeah?"

Silence. The crowd couldn't argue with the man, nodding their heads and making small murmurs of yes's.

"Of course. Well, the injections are lethal, since we made it that way. It only stalls the symptoms for a while, but of course, since this is just for y'all to kill, we have a fast-acting medicine with us once someone actually kills. We don't need so many dead bodies at once."

How awfully generous of you. Mayari inwardly rolled her eyes, glancing over at Silvana and the group. The worry in their expressions was real, and the epidemiologist couldn't help but hold her breath, eyes wavering over to Libitina who continued where her coworker left off.

"If we had to give you all an estimate, you have around five days before the injections actually off you all for good." Libitina tilted her head and mocked a pout. "I'm certain you wouldn't want that, hm? Wouldn't it be better to just have one person die than to let you all die? Such a waste, hm? Dying with strangers."

Nobuyuki raised his hand, making a callous smile as he asked with a singsong tone, "What if one of us decided to kill ourselves though? Would that count and 'save' everyone?"

"Most certainly not! We're not that kind nor forgiving." She clapped her hands together. "This motive's made for someone to kill, not to play dead~! Besides, only we can provide you guys with the medicine, so we get the say in if someone's death warrants the saving of everyone else. It's just an easy requirement though: just murder, no suicide needed."

"What exactly did you inject into us though?" Jian asked, tapping his foot. "Will we feel the symptoms of the poison before we… you know, die, if ever?"

Pax made a small and timid smile. "Ah, yeah, that's inevitable. You'll definitely feel them as time goes on."

"What are they?"

"Aww, worried already?" Libitina chuckled. "Well, you've got the simple and rather cliched ones: coughing, runny nose, rising body heat, and all that lovely jazz. However, I do want to clarify that the drugs we've injected you all with is also meant to be an experiment to us as well, given that you all fail to kill someone."

The paleness on people's faces only served to amuse her further as she continued, "The drugs injected into you guys will work differently depending on how your body reacts aside from the standard symptoms. You might feel nauseous and want to throw up, and then maybe another might feel like they're having a manic episode. Who knows?"

Mayari held her breath. That's… that's fucking worrying.

"This is unethical!" Shura cried out.

"Ah yes, of course the wannabe knight would say something." Ares rolled his eyes and snorted. "Do you think your opinion even matters? It's not like knights don't fucking kill people who ain't on their side anyways, adults or teenagers or even fucking children. But, hey, y'all wanna play ethical on us when you signed up for this shit: okay, cool, keep playing hypocritical and idolize whatever the fuck you want to idolize."

Mazen shook his head in utter shock. "You're the one who's forcing us to kill though!"

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "I mean, can't really blame him for saying it." She clenched her fists together and frowned. "This is reality and we can't really do anything with our unnecessary opinions."

"Woooow, and she spoke logically for once!" Nobuyuki grinned and sneered. "I mean, if anything, I'd just push someone to kill someone else just so I don't die! That's how humanity works, no?"

"No, that's just you being an asshole," Mikoto hissed silently.

Libitina clapped her hands now. "Now, now, no need to fight! We wouldn't want everyone to be stressed out so easily! Just relax and allow yourselves to slowly contemplate on what to do."

"Of course, you're mocking us." Michi sighed from the back. "Not a surprise."

"Wait a second." Jian quickly blurted out loud and stepped forward, stress and anxiety all over his face. "How can we be so sure you haven't just injected us with a placebo?"

"Ah, of course we haven't injected you guys with a placebo. We play fair and we say nothing else but the truth." The woman sniggered. "Please relax, dear. The drug is real and will actually harm you as the days pass by. But, like I said, there's no need to rush! Contemplate on when you'd want to kill, why, and how! It'll make escaping easier, sweetie."

Ares snorted as he smirked at his companion. "Do you think they're really going to listen to that? They're playing the moral high ground."

"Well, might as well give them this little tidbit once the game finally takes place." She chuckled, not at all worried as she grinned back at her friend. "Our future murderer can come thank us once they realize our advice was worth an ear."

"Oh?" The masked man tilted his head. "So, you want someone to win already? I thought you were playing patient."

"I'm fine with anything that happens as long as the job is done, that is all!" Libitina then turned to Pax and smiled brightly. "How about you, sweetie?"

"Ah… well, it doesn't matter to me, that's all." He smiled sheepishly and turned to the Ultimates. "I think you are all dismissed now. If you guys have any further questions, please refer to any of us at any time. We are willing to lend a hand if it concerns questions about this place's layout, possible murder weapons, etc. Um, sadly we cannot reexplain the motive, as Libitina doesn't want to give you all the luxury."

Mayari just snorted to herself and turned around, deciding not to even bother with eyeballing the trio of caretakers. Why are you acting so nice to us anyways? Fake ass.

"A-ah, is it over already?" Keni threw a smile at the epidemiologist. That smile, however, soured slightly when his eyebrows furrowed. "You look worried, Big Sis! What's wrong?"

"Oh, Keni." The woman glanced at him for a second before quickly throwing on a smile, moving a hand to his head and patting him. "Nothing's wrong. Just wondering if everyone else was alright. Are you okay, though?"

"Mhm, I am, Big Sis Mayari-san!" The young boy held tightly to his stuffed toy, smiling brightly at the raven. "From where I am, being part of experiments is a daily thing! I like being a clinical research participant since it makes me feel like I'm doing good! What our caretakers are doing though… I didn't feel a single thing when Miss Libitina injected me with the drug! I'm a bit afraid of what they mean by the drugs will hurt us though… Ah, what do you think, Mayari-san?"

Didn't feel a thing? The black-haired woman frowned. "Well, the drugs are meant to make us sick, and once we get more and more sick as days pass by… well, nothing good comes out of that. They want us to kill."

"Ahh, yeah, killing… mm, none of us are bad people though, so I don't think we will do that." He hugged Kiki tighter. "B-but! I'm sure the drug won't actually hurt us! Maybe the meanies are just trying to trick us!"

Mayari could only smile grimly in response. I could only hope that's the case, Keni.

"Ah, Mayari."

The woman turned around, finding Silvana eyeing her with a slightly bemused expression. "Oh, what's wrong?"

The sin eater sighed, slowly averting her gaze and staring sideways at the ground. "It's… It's Mazen. He looked scared, but I sadly couldn't say anything. He ran away."

"Ah, right. He did look anxious when the caretakers were talking." She threw a glare at the caretakers who were busy talking to each other, seemingly about getting tea and coffee. How awfully casual of them, she snarked inside her head. "Where is he? You look like you want to check up on him."

"I do, but Machi and Michi went after him, so…" Silvana shook her head. "It'd be awkward now if I went, I believe. My apologies."

"Ah… Is Big Bro not doing fine?" Keni's face saddened as he looked up at the woman. He pouted, flapping his sleeves a bit as an idea popped in his head, making him bounce up and down. "Oh! Maybe we should make flowers for him! I can ask the caretakers to give us origami paper! I heard Big Sis Nao-san knows how to make origami and I love making origami! Maybe he can cheer up if he plays with us!"

Silvana nodded. "That sounds plausible, yes."

"Origami sounds fun, yeah." Mayari shrugged, not exactly intrigued. "Still, if it alleviates his nerves, you should go ask him, Keni. You could even ask Nao and the others to help."

"Mhm! I'll go do that!" The young boy clapped his hands together. "Would the others want to make origami too? Ah, but I'd have to ask Big Bro Mazen-san first if he'd want to do origami, of course!"

"I'm sure he would." The sin eater smiled politely. "You should ask him soon, Keni."

"Right, right. Should we go check up on him?" The epidemiologist turned back to the duo, arms crossed. "I can go for you if you want, Silvana. I'm worried about him myself."

Her eyes averted to the side. "Ah… well, if you'd want to, that'd be kind."

Mayari smiled. "Yeah, we can check! He's our friend anyways." She turned to Keni. "Would you like to go check on him as well?"

"O-oh! Yes, of course!" The young boy smiled, excited as he bounced around with Kiki. "I'm worried about him."

"Yeah, let's go look for him then."

With that settled, the trio headed out, Silvana leading the way as they walked out of the lobby and down the hallway. While the sin eater was unsure where exactly did Mazen and the others went, it took only a couple of rounds moving throughout the floor until they found them.

Mazen was currently sitting down on a seat in the cafeteria, Machi's expression was one of concern while Michi looked like they were completely lost on what to do. The time traveler was obviously not in the best mood, keeping himself uncomfortably rigid in movements, face pale and shaking.

"Ah, Big Bro!" Keni was the first to approach from their side, hopping over to the gray-haired man and smiling widely. He showed Kiki out in front of his face. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, Keni…" Mazen was flabbergasted at first, silent for a couple of seconds. However, that silence was replaced by immediate and forced laughter, the young man roaring with a loud chuckle. "Don't worry about me, my dear! This is nothing a time traveler like me can't handle! Once my, uh, pocket watch is near in sight, I'll save us all! Just, uh… the issue is history itself, but still! Never fear! I'm not scared."

Michi only shook their head in discontent. "Yeah, no, that's a really obvious act, Mazen," they murmured.

"Act? Of course not! I'm well!" He forced another laugh, though it fell short when he looked back at Keni. He stared at him for a second before lowering his head, sighing shakily. "I don't know. Just the whole talk of this whole killing game shtick and then the whole thing with the drugs just makes me… icky, y'know? It's hard to describe it, haha."

"You should rest," Machi spoke softly, taking a step back, as if giving the man some room to breathe. "You're pale."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'll probably calm down in a few minutes anyways, just need to figure myself out." He waved his hands about. "But! Really, really, I'm doing fine. Just- shouldn't we worry more about the others? It's not good if you just focus on me!"

"Are you sure?" Silvana's eyebrows furrowed. "You just… well, my apologies, but you don't look well ever since the killing game started."

Mazen waved her off. "It's just the thought, that's all. It disgusts me, even if I've been in a lot of other places throughout my life! It's just… ugh, it makes me want to throw up."

"Well, don't throw up. Ew." Michi tried to lighten up the mood with a slight joke, though their expression bittered once again. "Silvana's right though. Didn't Nao and Akira help you out last night?"

"Yeah, and I know this sounds really bad, but…" Mayari sighed. "You really shouldn't be out around nighttime, given the situation and, well…"

"Some people? Yeah, don't worry, I understand that." He chuckled slightly. "Some people here aren't exactly the friendly types. Luckily, most of us are! I still need to thank Akira and Nao properly for that."

"Ah, right." The raven poked Keni.

The redhead smiled. "Oh, oh! I know a way you can thank them, Big Bro Mazen-san! I heard Big Sis Nao-san likes origami, so I was wondering if you wanted to join her? I was planning on asking her, and- ah! We can ask Big Bro Akira-san to join as well! It'll help calm you down too!"

"Oh, origami? I haven't really tried that." He smiled a bit awkwardly. "Guess I'd be willing to try. You said Nao knows?"

Keni nodded excitedly. "Mhm, and I know as well! I can help teach you! I'll make you, um, a dragon! Do dragons exist in the future?"

"Huh?" Michi raised a brow. "Wouldn't they exist in the past though?"

Mazen glanced at Keni for a second, then smiled, now calmer as he moved a hand to the boy, ruffling his hair. "Well, maybe. Haven't seen them myself though! I have yet to venture onwards to the future where such magical things exist! Latest I've been to was the era where flying cars exist, which is around a thousand years from now!"

Mayari blinked. "Wait, that far in the future?"

"Damn, our era sucks," the cartoonist snorted. "But, uh, yeah, I don't mind helping out with origami too if you guys are accepting more people. Sounds fun."

"Mhm, everyone can join and help us out! I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun! I just need to ask Big Sis Nao-san before we can do it!" Keni turned to Machi. "Are you going to join us as well?"

"Oh, uh…" Machi looked at everyone, then at Silvana and Mayari. "Depends. How many people are joining? You still need to ask Nao, right?"

Mayari shrugged. "As long as it doesn't align with the plan Marge has planned out, then yeah."

Mazen raised a brow, blinking a couple of times. "Oh, what is it?"

"Some type of girls' night out. Standard thing." Mayari grinned over at the gray-haired Ultimate. "Unless you'd want to join? Pretty sure Marge wouldn't mind. Maybe I can paint your fingernails some ugly ass color!"

"Why is that the reason why you want me to join?!"

"Oh, then, uh, guess we need to ask her too then." Machi averted her gaze, not exactly sure where to look.

"Yup, but I'm pretty sure we can plan it out." The woman shrugged. "Just depends on when Marge wants to hang out and when the origami event takes place. It's a good way for everyone to relax anyways."

But it wouldn't negate the fact we're in a killing game and we've been injected with something. Mayari hid that to herself, still smiling at the crowd. I might need to ask Akira and the others what they think about this. I hope Nao or the others tried talking to the caretakers and got some info.

"I will create the most amazing origami piece ever!" Mazen exclaimed, extravagant in his movements and dramatic. "I'll make one for everyone!"

"Yay!" Keni threw his hands out. "I'll help you out with that!"

"Ah, I might help you guys out as well then." Silvana managed a small, sweet smile. "It sounds like it'll be fun."

The redhead flapped his sleeves about. "Mhm! Of course! Everyone is welcome to join as long as they're not mean to us!"

Michi shrugged. "Well, I mean, I doubt Libitina and the others would join."

"If they do, that'd be messed up." Mayari shuddered. "Ick, just thinking about them hanging out with us casually is disgusting."

"True." Machi nodded. "Oh, right. Are you fine now though, Mazen?"

"Yeah, of course! Like I said, I get better after a couple of minutes! See, I'm all happy and excited as I always am!" He saluted the group, grinning widely with his pearly teeth. "I'm proud to announce that I'm back and ready for anything! Your resident time traveler is here to welcome you all!"

Mayari and Keni clapped their hands.

Michi chuckled a bit and made their own small clap. "Bravo, bravo."

"Yes! Thank you, thank you." The man bowed his head down proudly. "I'm grateful for the applause."

"Oh hell yeah, that was an A+ performance," the raven mused, snickering in response.

"Ah, right, we should go ask Nao," Silvana brought up, smiling shyly.

"Mhm, of course!" Keni bounced about. "Should we, ah, go message her? Or should we go look for her?"

The sin eater nodded, albeit slightly nervously. "Ah, we can go look for her if you'd like."

"Hmmm… okay~!" The boy hugged Kiki tightly and turned to Machi. "I think that'll be fine! And, ah, it'll be fun! Would you like to go together, Big Sis?"

"Oh?" Machi smiled. "Oh, yeah, that'd be great. Would… uhh, would anyone else like to join us?"

Mazen nodded happily. "To find Nao? Yeah, sure, I don't mind! Your local time lord here is ready for anything!"

Looks like everyone's eager. Mayari scratched the back of her head as she looked over at everyone else. Her eyes settled over to Michi though, and she raised a brow. "Are you gonna join?"

"Oh, nah." The cartoonist shook their head. "I was planning on sketching this place out and maybe hopefully work on some doodles."

"Sounds cool." The woman remembered what Shura had done with the cartoonist a while ago, and she had to admit, her curiosity was piqued (mainly because she was curious to see what Michi drew with Shura as their subject). Then again, the woman realized the cartoonist probably wouldn't share, though it was only an assumption. Art was quite personal, after all. "Wait, are you looking for a test subject though?"

"Pfft, you think of Shura as a test subject, then?" They snickered. "But nah, not really. I legit only drew him sitting down… and next to an imaginary leech. Did you want to be in a drawing or something?"

"Leech? But, uh- yeah, because I'm so amazing." The woman smirked. "Just kidding, but that does sound like a tantalizing idea."

Michi shrugged in response. "Uh, you could join me if you want. I don't really mind."

"Sure, I don't mind. I would've just gone back to my room anyways. I don't really feel like going anywhere else right now." She frowned. "So, where we going?"

"Uhh, I'm thinking of heading to the lobby near our rooms. Don't really wanna go to the one where the caretakers might be still." They scratched the back of their head. "Is that fine with you?"

"I'm fine anywhere." The epidemiologist shrugged and looked over to the rest. "Michi and I are going to go, so you guys can leave without us."

Keni nodded, bouncing in his spot. "Alright, that's fine! Have a nice day!"

The duo waved to the others and headed off, easily making their way over to their destination and taking their seats. Mayari glanced over at Michi who had told her they'll fetch their sketchbook real quick, and the woman only took a moment before they were back, sketchbook and pencils in hand, scattered on the table.

However, as the group was about to speak or move a muscle, the door opened, revealing Hotaru who raised her brows over at the scene.

"Oh, am I interrupting something?" she asked, scratching the back of her head. "You look like you're planning something."

"Oh, uh, nope." Michi blinked. "I was just gonna draw. Mayari's just gonna rest here and watch."

"Yup, sadly I'm not a godsend like Michi here." She sighed. "Are you going back to your room?"

"Yup, that was the plan." Hotaru shrugged. "I feel like getting in some shuteye. The whole motive and that shit just pisses me off. I need to sleep the anger out before someone ticks me off."

"Like a ticking time bomb." The raven snickered. "Alright then, see you later, Sleeping Beauty."

"I mean, I would sleep, but I'm not really in the sleepy mood. Already got ruined from a couple of people here a while ago." Hotaru sighed, grumbling inaudibly for a second before stepping aside from the door. Leaning against the wall, she crossed her arms and rested her foot against it, eyes staring at the scene. "Whatcha planning on drawing? You up for another pair of eyes?"

Michi raised a brow. "Oh, you wanna stay here too? I mean, that's fine with me, but are you okay with that? We're not really doing anything."

The stuntwoman chuckled, waving her hand about. "Nah, I'm chill. As long as you're not a jackass or anything, I'm fine."

So, basically, as long as you're not Nobuyuki and the others. Mayari just nodded. "Yeah, sure, you can join."

"Nice." Hotaru hummed slightly to herself. "What're you even drawing anyways, Michi?"

"Just a couple of comics and some doodles." The cartoonist flipped to a page, opening it up and showing it to the pair. It was a doodle of the cafeteria and the chapel, and then there were a couple of other doodles- one of a cute leech, one where Michi was with the leech and Shura, and then there were a couple of other doodles of the others… even the caretakers, but their faces were replaced with dark outlines of X marks than anything else.

Huh, makes sense. Fuck them. Mayari smiled. "Oh, those are really cute."

"Yeah." Hotaru's face went deadpan. "Um, except- why the fuck is my face covered in dirt?"

Michi dryly smirked in amusement, shaking their head. "Oh, I watched a movie with a couple people yesterday after we got permission from Libitina. Apparently the movie we watched had you as the stunt double, and we even saw the interview where you said you face planted in mud once."

The stuntwoman's face turned slightly red. She blinked a couple of times and coughed, shaking her head and stiffening her posture. "Huh? What? Okay, who the fuck watched it? I'm going to kick their shins really quickly-"

"Akira and Nomi said I should show you the doodle one day though." Michi shrugged. "Said you might like it- oh, and just so you know, it was Akira's idea, not mine."

"Oh, of course, it's that damn jokester!" Hotaru groaned. "Ugh, at least it's not Nobuyuki… I'll give him the worst set of nightmares he can ever imagine when he sleeps. Fucking bitch."

Mayari just shook her head. "Why did you even decide to doodle it anyways?"

"Dunno. I just want to keep my artistic abilities alive. Don't know how long it'll take till we get out of here, so… yeah."

"Okay, but I'd rather you not draw that and just draw something better." Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Look, I'll give you a whole ass list of the movies I've been a stunt double for, just don't show that shit to anyone else, cool? Just rip it out and burn it, shred it even. And tell Akira and Nomi that I'm coming for their asses tomorrow."

The raven whistled. "Wooow, you really don't want to be embarrassed."

"You'll be next," she hissed back.

Mayari shook her head and grinned. "Nah, don't think so. I did a lot of shit when I was little."

"Oh, wait, really? What did you do?" Hotaru's blush faded away, her curiosity now piqued. "Boxing?"

"Only a bit, I mainly did taekwondo and karate. Krav Maga too!" Mayari smirked smugly. Aha… when I was little, that is.

"Ohh, that's cool. I do boxing in my spare time." The stuntwoman scratched the back of her head. "Obviously not a professional or else I'd have two talents-" she added with a smirk. "-but that's still pretty damn cool."

The raven snorted. "You look like the type who accidentally knocks people's teeth in."

"Hey!" Hotaru scoffed. "It's boxing, what do you expect?"

Michi just shrugged. "Oh geez. I just enjoy birdwatching and card games."

"Hmm?" Mayari raised a brow. "Oh, sounds cool. Never tried that out myself."

Hotaru smirked. "The card games or birdwatching part?"

"Uhh, duh, the birdwatching part."

Michi chuckled. "Guess so. I don't think it's a common hobby. I just find birds cool. They're fun to doodle too."

"Eh, you do have a point there." Hotaru shrugged. "I just tend to focus more on my own shit than just stop to enjoy nature. Maybe if we're out we can try that, who knows?"

The epidemiologist hummed to herself. "Yeah, once we kick the caretakers' asses and get out of here, sure."

About an hour had passed before everything came to an end, starting with Hotaru's yawn and her stretching her arms out. She wiped her eyes for a bit before glancing over at Michi and Mayari, waving over at them.

"I'll go and sleep now," she mumbled, rubbing her eye a bit more. "See y'all tomorrow or something. Don't die."

Mayari snorted. "We won't, don't worry about it."

Seeing her leave the room, the woman turned to look at Michi, asking,"You thinking about heading to bed?"

The cartoonist shrugged in return. "Yeah, maybe. It's getting late. Kinda dangerous to be out when it's night."

"Mm, true." She frowned, pursing her lips. "I guess you have a point."

Michi snorted, putting their sketchbook in their hands. They hugged it tightly as they stood up, glancing over at the woman with a slightly amused smile. "I always do, yeah."

"Right, right." Mayari nodded. "See you tomorrow then."

She waved to the cartoonist as they exited the room, leaving her alone in her stead. The woman sighed as the lingering silence loomed in, the epidemiologist herself wondering what was the best course of action now.

She wasn't exactly sleepy, but she wasn't exactly in the mood to wander off alone. She was certain that a couple of people may be up and about, and she was certain that some might just be hanging out in their own rooms. The thought was amusing to her, but nonetheless, she was alone here.

Which honestly led her mind to wander off. Her mind went through a couple of scenes, the first being her waking up in this dump, then the second being the announcement of the killing game, and then everything up until now.

While she was certainly optimistic that no one would be so cruel as to kill, if what the caretakers said wasn't merely for fear mongering, then everyone would die. But, even then, her optimism was rather low, and that was primarily because of the amount of people here. No one acted and thought alike. Nobody here was safe from one another.

Everyone was still strangers even if they masked everything with a friendly and cooperative face. Even those who weren't as friendly were subjected to that same mindset of "oh, nobody would kill that easily". Even the realists and cynics would have trouble bouncing around such an idea. It was an obvious, but nonetheless creepy thought, she knew.

Anyone could kill, and everyone was capable of it. Nobody was exempt from being harmed, and that was the cold reality of life. No matter how horrible and how badly it may affect people, the cold truth was that reality was harsh. People were often willing to cast a blind eye to the presence of death when it wasn't right in front of them.

She sighed, standing up from her spot. Allowing herself to yawn before she stretched her arms out, her eyes looked around her. There was nobody to be seen but herself here, and she figured most had either left to sleep, or were occupied with whatever event they were doing.

Are Keni and the others doing origami already or something? She couldn't help but ponder, but then again, she was still relatively curious about Margaret's own plan. A night out together, and Mayari could only assume it was foolproof. Everyone who attended would be able to stay put and talk to one another, free of death.

The woman frowned. She doesn't look like she was thinking of anything malicious anyways. Even if she was, I feel like at least someone would see through that confident mask of hers.

She rubbed her eyes and sighed softly. She was certain nothing bad would happen during the start of everything at least, but as the time ticked down on their own lives, she couldn't help but ponder: would the motive motivate someone to kill?

Well, she could never be certain. She just had to pray and hope.

For now, she decided it was best for her to sleep her worries away.

And that's all I have for you all! Like I said before, we're nearing closer to the first murder of this entire story! Isn't that exciting? I certainly am excited for it, but also nervous, aha! Writing murders take a lot of work, but the payoff is good in the end as always, since it's a step closer to the end of the story, of course. With that being said, I'll see you all next time! Goodbye!

Recommendations:

Danganronpa: Gold House by CandleFire45

- deadline is nearing at the end of the month, but you can always ask for extensions!

Dead Zeppelin by Orlando Butler