Editors: Lupus Overkill & ShyJoker


What would someone call such a miserable and frightening experience?

How does one go about describing something so inhumane, sinister and monstrous that it can't be described by any word in the human language? Is there even a way to comprehend the absolute madness that ensued before my eyes?

A slew of questions seeped into my head, trying to understand what it was that I had just witnessed. Is this what Monotide meant by an "execution"? How can someone, or even something, be so cruel to just treat someone so barbarically as this mechanical bear had?

Lev and Lou both fell victim to this bear's whims, one blinded by a competitive spirit gone awry and the other deceiving everyone in order to attain a drop of success. The only thing tying these two incidents together was one running theme….

Jealous pride.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Monotide loudly cackled, his red eye glowing a translucent hue, "Thrills, Chills, Kills! What a spectacularly despairing execution! Oh I can't wait to try those new techniques for future trials!"

What is he laughing about?! How…..How can he even joke about that? Future trials…..what is happening?!

"Why….." Sato gripped his fists tightly, unable to say anything else, "Why did you have to kill her?! Answer me, you monster!"

"Oh? Is someone having second thoughts about their decision?" Monotide cruelly snickered, regret was the furthest thing the bear felt, "Well too fucking bad! You urchins condemned Lou to her fate and did it without hesitation! It's not my fault you were swayed by such passionate ramblings! If anything, you guys are the monsters, not me~"

"You're absolutely revolting," Iena's stone cold expression matched her serious tone, "You didn't even give us a choice in the matter."

"Isn't that the beauty of it?" Monotide danced atop a still sleeping Inuyari, "The illusion of choice is such a deliciously cruel reality. We're all deceived by the idea of forging our own paths in society, but in reality, we're all slaves to the ever present tyrants that are time and societal expectations~"

"Stop deflecting the blame, asshat!" Kimiya angrily pointed at the bear, "Yeah, she killed Lev, but you forced her to do that shit! There's no talking your way outta this one!"

"Talk my way out of what exactly, Kimmy?" The bear continued to play ignorant, "I didn't set up any traps. I didn't steal the knife, cut the rope or let it crush Lev. I didn't do anything but give you guys a little push is all. Sounds to me like you all are deflecting your insecurities on lil ol' me."

"Influencing them to incite murder is just as bad, if not worse!" Stella was distraught, looking a bit faint like before, "You... you h-horrible demon! I won't forgive you..!"

The bear yawns as if this was another complaint, "As if I needed your forgiveness in the first place."

"Curse you, bear!" Takara removed her pirate's hat, almost as a sign of respect, "Ye deserve to walk the plank for such evil deeds! Krakens and sirens have more decency than ye."

"I'll take that as a compliment!" Monotide snickered playfully, "You kids are so adorable when you're worked up and acting all self righteous! It makes me wanna come down and give you all a group hug and pepper each one of you with kisses!"

"Urp...just no…" Nomi gagged, covering her masked mouth with a sickly expression.

How can he be so nonchalant about any of this!? Is whoever controlling him just as heartless as he is? How can he treat human life so….so maliciously?

"Y'know you've been talkin a lot of smack, Monotide" Dragomir bravely approached the bear's stand, cracking his knuckles, "How bout you come down here and face me! You won't be so tough once I'm through with ya!"

"Oooh I'm so fucking scared~" Monotide jeered at the zoologist like a schoolyard bully, "Need I remind you brats that I can pump all of you with a thousand bullets each right now?"

I peered up at the ceiling, still noting the mini gun turrets present above us, laser pointers trained on everyone as the bear sneered, waiting to pull the trigger. How did this facility even acquire such brutal weaponry? Is this aquarium even real to begin with? What's the point with all the added security?

"Aaaaa, I d-don't wanna dieeeeee!" Wayne was sobbing into Terrence's sweater, "M-Mommy….Daddy…"

"It's alright Wayne…" the communicator patted the young boy on his back, also nervous but refused to look away, "Just let it all out…."

"Ah! Now that's the fear and terror I love to see!" Monotide sighed with happiness, "Great job on your first class trial everyone! I can't wait for future ones~ Y'all better come up with even better scenarios to keep me entertained! Toodles~"

"I'm not done with y-" before Sato could argue, the bear vanished into thin air, completely leaving us alone, "Hey, where are you going?!"

"W-Wha?" Inuyari had finally woken up, alerted by the lifeguard's rage, "Wait for me, Monnie! I need to rewatch the trial later for posterity's sake!" The dog mascot soon followed after her abusive partner, "See ya, kiddos~"

"God fucking damnit!" Sato slammed his arm into the nearby podium, shocking everyone there, "I can't believe this crap….I'm not going to play his twisted game any longer!"

"This is so totally uncool…" Aphrodite looked shaken, if not a little frantic, "I can't even with this…..Levvie…"

The pageant queen seemed to be taking the loss of her friend even worse than us. To be honest, I felt the same way too about Lou. I wanted to voice my concerns with the others, but all I could muster up was a small whimper, something so weak and frail that it would break upon touch.

"Kazumi, don't feel too bad," Yumeji patted me on the back, relieving some of my stress, "I know it's no consolation, but you should be glad that you didn't die…"

"U-Ummmm...thanks?" the sentiment felt sincere, but somewhat insensitive at the same time, "B-But Lou is…." I can't even bring myself to finish that sentence.

"It's unavoidable what happened...in the end she brought this upon herself," the oneirologist's tired voice felt warm yet blunt, "I wonder….maybe if she'd talked with us, this could have been avoided? Would she have not gone through with it?"

"Does it really matter now? Who cares about that filthy wannabe?" Sakai casually said.

He continued with a smile, "I for one am happy that we have one less killer to fret over. It's quite satisfying, although that execution was rather tame and unimpressive…"

"You're a freaking p-psycho…." Ushio was calm, but her voice trembled and her face was red with tear marks on her cheeks.

"Sakai, that was a very inconsiderate thing to say," Torakusu's disappointed frown was matched with a furrowed brow of concern, "Especially about such a young girl."

"What?" the hair stylist continued his indifference, "Shouldn't we all be happy that we survived in the end? Come on, whatever happened to that sense of unity you all have been preaching about? Is it not trendy anymore?"

"That's enough, Sakai!" Yoshikazu sternly said, his voice raised as he cleared his throat, "Sorry, but right now we're all very drained and tired. Your comments are not appreciated."

"Whatever…" he couldn't care less, exclaiming with a disinterested huff, "Y'all are way too serious about this if you ask me."

"Can you really blame us though?" Terrence didn't know how to combat that tactless approach.

"W-What do we d-do now?" Nomi was shivering in place, wobbly at her knees, "H-How are we supposed to continue uh…..living like this?"

"Pfft! Hah, continue living together like nothing ever happened?"

There was only one person who would be so callous as to laugh in this situation, "Ah that's a good joke, garden gnome, you should do stand up comedy more often!" When Sakai stopped being the crude one, Akio would likely replace him.

"And what is so funny about that, Akio?" Vivienne calmly spoke, having been quiet this entire time, "You do realize someone died in front of us, right? This is not the time to laugh or make offensive jokes."

"Oh I know! I had eyes last time I checked," the gambler sat up and exited his chair, "I'm just amused that you all think that after this, we can resume some happy notion that everything is going to be all rainbows and sunshine."

"W-What do you mean?" Terrence asked, furrowing his brow at the man, "Are you saying it's not possible? Because I believe it can work!"

"God, you are fucking naive," he was almost flabbergasted by his response, "Face it everyone, you know as well as I do, that this is just gonna repeat until Monotide gets fucking bored with us!"

His words were vile, but a sense of truth was lined in between each one, "You're all a bunch of pawns in his elaborate game of chess, you just can't see it yet."

"And what does that make you huh, smartass?" Kimiya was growing even more irritated with the gambler, "Are you planning to do something stupid that's going to get us all fucking killed?"

"Not exactly, but I'm going to be the one to take down the king," The confidence he showed of the certainty he has in mind, made me believe him for a moment, "This is just another silly game, but with real life consequences. Nothing new, same old bullshit, rinse and repeat and I intend to come out on top as always."

"The way you teeter on the edge of fate's border," Moriko stoically said, "It is indeed the life of a duplicitous charlatan enshrouded in shadows and deceit."

"Wowwwww….how long did it take you to notice my talent, goth girl," he clapped half heartedly at the doll maker.

"You think this is a game!?" Torakusu stormed up to him, "Listen here asswipe, no one here is going to fall for you or that bear's mind games!" The sniper said it with so much vigor that he felt out of character almost, "So you can either shut up and play nice or you can continue to be a bully and let others think the worst of you! Which is it, dickhead?"

"Huh, Tora," Iena was baffled by his sudden aggression, "That was very…..impressive coming from you."

"...You really think so, Iena, baby?" He turned around with his classic smile. And there he is, good ol' Torakusu.

"Ugh, so much for that," Aphrodite scoffed, "If you weren't such a raging flirt, I'd have bought that hero attempt."

"Aww Aphrodite," the sniper placed a hand on his chest, skulking away in disappointment, but lingers back at Akio coldly, "You wound me…"

"You have no shame..." Vivienne rhetorically said, brushing back her long hair.

"Like I said, you guys are fucking pathetic," the gambler snorted, almost amused by the performance he witnessed, "But continue to believe everyone is going to cuddle up to each other, build pillow forts and drink hot chocolate as you sing campfire songs, it's you guys' funerals."

He then walked out of the trial room, headed inside the elevator without a care in the world and clicked the button, leaving us down here as it whirred and lifted him back up top. His ruthless responses and general lack of empathy made him a scary person to deal with. He did prove that he was capable of investigating, but why does he choose to act so hostile towards us?

"Should we go after him?" Asta observed all of this from the corner of the room, "My analysis shows that everyone is already uneasy as is, so should we continue this discussion at a later point in time?"

"No Asta, uh…." the auctioneer answered the ethical hacker, "We're all very exhausted at the moment, I think we all should get some rest for now...we all have a lot to process."

"Affirmative, I need to reassess the situation in my computer lab at once."

"I agree, if anyone wants a glass of water before going back to their rooms." Stella replied in kind, "You know where mine is."

"I'll g-go with you…" Nomi nodded at her request, "I also need to check up on my plants, I hope n-none of them were damaged..."

"Arr, I'm in the mood for a good glass of brandy!" Takara tried to sound cheerful, but it fell flat, "Ahoy, lassie, ring me up as well when we get there!"

"Sure thing, Takara," the pub manager smiled at the sailor, "Follow me."

Yoshikazu, Stella, Takara, Nomi and Asta all left as the elevator came back down for them, all five of them went up the elevator as the rest of us continued to process the overall trial and execution.

"I'm gonna go blow off some steam…" Ushio mumbled, "Don't talk to me for the rest of the evening…"

"You said it, pal," Dragomir agreed with her statement, "Although a good workout should relieve some pent up sweat and frustration! Anyone wanna join me?" he looked pumped up more than he was before.

"I could do with some exercise," Sato seemed to have calmed down from earlier, "I've been a bit rusty, but I bet I can catch up with you, Drago!"

"I need to lose like five pounds, this stress is going to be the end of me," Aphrodite feigned distress, "I need a vegan blueberry banana smoothie!"

"I can help make you one, Aphrodite!" Torakusu jumped at the prospect, "I know a good recipe from my time in the military! A friend of mine blended up all his rations by accident and it came out tasting amazing!"

"Fine, but no funny business, you hear me?" she glared at the sniper, who was oblivious to her daggered glances, "I micromanage any calories I eat, so you better not be trying to fatten me up!"

"Wouldn't dream of it! Scout's honor!" he winked at her while placing his right hand over his heart, smiling at her.

"I'll go with you two….for insurance purposes," Vivienne sighed, shaking her head as she wheeled herself towards the elevator alongside the others.

The six of them soon followed the others, leaving only a small handful of us behind as I felt the room getting bigger and bigger by the second. I peered out to see the dimly lit ocean view in front of me, watching glowing fish and coral life pass me by as I watched from this glassy, Faraday cage.

"I think we should devise a new plan of action in the morning," Iena stretched her arms out to the ceiling, "For now, I'm going to bed, I need to get rid of this bad energy."

"Feh, I have some sculptures to finish anyway," Kimiya went ahead of her, "You all better not try to kill me in my sleep next, if you dickweasels know what's best for you."

"No promises~" Sakai giggled, following closely behind the ice sculptor, "I need to get back to sharpening my scissors."

Why did I internally freak out just thinking about that?!

"I'm feeling a bit groggy too…" Terrence rubbed his eyes, "I'm gonna go take Wayne back to his room. If you guys wanna talk, my door is always open." The knitter was still upset as he piggy backed on the communicator's shoulders.

"I shall convene with the darkness momentarily," Moriko sneakily entered the elevator, crossing her arms as they all entered the elevator, "I need to know how to proceed in the coming days, lest this be a recurring hellscape!"

The room grew quiet, leaving only myself and Yumeji. I was too mesmerized with the fish to really pay attention to the others. Somehow watching these marine life creatures swim by was oddly relaxing to me. It was like visiting the local aquarium in the city, except there was no way to tell which species of fish I was looking at without some visual list or perky tour guide.

"Hey Y-Yume…" I touched the glass, feeling the cold ocean temperature on my fingertips, "Do you think a fish knows when it's going to die? Do they live in fear at the prospect of being another fish's prey?"

I said that without thinking it through, she's probably going to think I'm some crazy person now.

"I don't know…." she yawned again, "Maybe they've adapted to their environment for so long, they've become accustomed to being some other creature's meal," she tiredly said, "Why do you ask, Kaz?"

"Ummm...I just…..do you think Lev knew h-his plan was going to fail?" I asked her and internally myself, still trying to wrap my mind around his plan, "Do you think Lou would have done all of this…..if she knew her fate would have been sealed?"

"We can't really know for certain…." she mumbled, "Whether they had good intentions or not, they paid the price for it and….." she chose her next few words carefully, "Maybe we should get going, you look a bit exhausted..."

I looked back at her, noting her calm voice, tempered demeanor and relaxed stance. She was right, I do need to get some sleep, take my mind off of the worries lingering in my head. I turned once more at the glass walls of the trial room, pressed my hand against the cold surface and started crying instinctively.

"W-Why….*sniff*...why do we have to do this…" I couldn't stop myself from sobbing, tears welling up in my ducts, "Why a-are we here….aaaaaaa!"

"Shh...it's alright, let it all out," she proceeded to hug me, embracing me with her red sweater pressed against my weeping face, "Let's just go back up top for now and discuss this there."

"A-Alright," more loud sniffling overtook me as I walked with her to the elevator, stepping inside as she pushed the button.

A few minutes of awkward silence passed as the elevator whirred and lifted us to the main aquarium.

"Thank you.. Y-Yume…" I let go of her, wiping my nose and hugging my teddy bear, "You're a really good friend...even though I don't know w-who you are…"

She seemed stunned by my remark, but smiled, "You don't need to thank me….it's what anyone would do in this situation."

Her words were soothing, even if she appeared carefree and nonchalant. The elevator continued carrying us up, the endless quiet pervaded throughout this small metal box as it dinged ever so suddenly, alerting us out of our dazed trance.

"I'll catch you later…." she sleepily exited the elevator, she went on ahead of me, "Sleep well, Kaz."

"You too…." she walked down the hallway, leaving me alone as I exited the elevator.

The room's lighting was even brighter than before, the sharp contrast between below and above were stark in quality and I couldn't help but admire the little bit of light that I could faintly make out. I sat against the clear glass, looking at my teddy bear with a solemn gaze.

"What do I do, teddy?" I started chatting with it as if it were a living person, "How do I make it out of this terrible s-situation? Can I even….e-escape?"

I played with its arms, fiddling with the lost ribbon as I remembered how it was used to almost indict me of the murder. I know Lev and Lou were strangers to me but….I could almost feel the pain and struggle in their voices.

It felt like they were crying for help beyond the shouting, screaming and anxiety. A shallow attempt at a slice of fame and begging for sympathy votes, those two were the definition of fake friends. However, hearing the defeat in Lev's voice….the last goodbye of Lou and her wish for us to get out alive…..were those genuine moments of weakness and regret?

"DING DONG DING DONG!" the intercom rang.

I looked up at a nearby screen, the same smug look Monotide expressed on his bear face was sickeningly grim. He was relishing in our misery and I couldn't even bring myself to continue looking at it a second longer.

"Ahem! It is now 8PM!" the bear announced loudly, "Time for bed little urchins! Make sure you tuck yourselves in real snuggly tonight, you're in for a delightful treat in the upcoming days! Sweet dreams!"

His voice was starting to grate on my nerves, but I wouldn't dare shout and overexert my voice. I felt a small headache coming on, I then rose from my slumped spot and headed back to the main room. I exited through the doors, walking past the dining room as I almost did a double take on the spot.

"W-What?" I couldn't believe what I was seeing or….what I wasn't able to see anymore.

In front of me was the dining room, as pristine and immaculate as it was before the murder had happened. The chandelier had been replaced with a newer one and glistening in the evening light, there were no bloodstains on the floor, the tables had been rearranged to their proper positions and to top it all off….Lev's body was nowhere to be seen.

"H-How…" I tried remembering how long the trial took, but couldn't remember given how ambiguous the sense of time was, "W-Where's the crime scene? Who d-did this?"

As if on command, Monotide appeared out of nowhere atop a table. I stumbled on my feet as I saw the bear giggling at my pratfall attempt.

"Looking for something, little Kazzie?" the bear snickered and grinned like a cartoon character, "Do you need a widdle baby bottle before heading to bed?" He mimicked baby noises at me.

"N-No I….w-where did you put-"

"Oh you're referring to that disgusting corpse, right?" the bear interrupted me before I could finish my sentence, "Oh, don't you worry your precious widdle head about that! As the host of this lovely killing game, once a murder and trial have finished and you all manage to live another day, the place will be cleaned up and revert back to the way it was before!"

"Y-You mean-" horror crept up my spine as I felt all the color drain from my skin.

"Yes indeed! I've taken the liberty to get rid of that eyesore of a dead body before it disturbs the peace in this facility," the bear continued to give me the rundown, acting as if he didn't just erase evidence of his shenanigans, "It'd be rude of me to not clean up after you lazy little children, you should be thanking me for doing your messy bidding~"

I wanted to retort, but he kept ignoring me as he looked at the state of the room and then back at me. He didn't say anything of value, but the verbal taunting was even more unnerving as he sinisterly smiled once more.

"There's no need to pout, little boy," he continued to talk down to me, "I can assure you that in time you'll see things my way….and when that time comes….you'll be thanking me! Ta ta~"

With no complaints, the bear vanished into thin air, leaving me to wallow in my confusion as I felt bamboozled and starstruck. Not only did he treat us like his playthings, but he disposed of a dead body like it was just another day for him….He treated Lev like he was nothing but dirt on the side of the road.

"Who does he- ack!" Before I could question the bear's logic, my head started hurting intensely, "Aaaagh! My head…" seething pain enveloped me as I dropped what I was doing and fell to the floor.

My body collapsed, my head writhing miserably and I felt something pop into my head, bits and pieces of memory colliding with each other as I closed my eyes and felt a vague memory enter my subconscious. It was muddled, blurry and incomprehensible, but everything fell silent in that moment as I started shaking and shivering on the floor.

Is this what Yumeji was talking about? Is this revelation something that would trigger a buried memory of mine?

"You're so cool…...I wish I could be more like you…"

"Well I'm sure that will be no small feat, Kazumi! Haha, you're an Ultimate student…..and the Ultimate -*static*- at that!

"But I'm n-not that special…..you deserve the title more than I d-do…."

"Maybe…. but if someone from our family is talented enough to get Hope's Peak's attention…..static….then who am I to judge."

"You... r-really mean it? You're not m-m-mad at me….."

"Why of course not! *Static* are expecting great things from us, we can't keep pretending that we are deserving of success…..if we never acknowledge our own flaws. I'm sure Tak would feel the same way too!"

"I guess s-so….."

"But if you really wanna give up the title…..maybe you can let me take your spot!"

"H-Hey…"

"Just kidding, haha! Gosh you are so easy to tease….."

"S-Shut up…..you k-know I don't like when you do that….*static*"

"I know, I know…*static*...anyway, if anyone bullies you there….you can come directly to me and I'll handle it for ya!"

"T-Thanks…Hiro..…:

"Anytime, Kaz!"

I felt a cold shiver crawl up my spine, reliving a cagey memory as it faded back into the recesses of my mind. I couldn't make out whoever it was that was talking to me, but I do know one new detail….

I knew someone named Hiro…..But who was he? What's my relationship to him?


Meanwhile…..

"Miss Furusawa?" a faint voice entered my sluggish mind, unable to register more than a few letters, "You need to get up, ma'am. You'll be late."

"Whazzat….." enunciating words felt like a tiring chore, "Oh….urp...right that.."

I didn't want to move from my spot, the couch was even more comfortable than before. I wished I could have stayed like that forever, but alas the universe would not grant me that fleeting pleasure.

"Gimme….a sec…" a loud hiccup jolted me awake, "Musta…blacked out…" a loud yawn soon followed those words, "Haaaa….What's za time…."

"It is currently 8:24 PM, ma'am," her voice grew more distinct and legible as I arose, "I shall help you get dressed for this evening's event. Good gracious, look at the state of you….Master Furusawa will be so cross with you."

When has that man ever been pleased with what I do? He always nitpicks and whines about being prim and proper and keeping the family reputation pristine. He's off entertaining those bigwig corporate types while I have to spend hours on end entertaining their vapid wives with their annoying gossip. They're probably bad mouthing me as we speak.

"I'm up…." sobering my mind and body proved to be a difficult task, "Feh….Masako...find me….*hiccup*...a good gown…"

"Yes, mistress," she politely curtsied, heading over to my wardrobe with a pep in her step, "I'll see if I can find your matching accessories as well…" she seemed to take pity on me, I didn't ask for it.

In an effort to sit up straight, my stomach gurgled loudly and my seeping headache grew even bigger than it was a few hours ago. Masako had turned on the light inside my room, the unwelcome brightness blinded me as I opened my eyes, flinching at it at first before peering at the state of my bedroom.

A queen sized bed with four white pillows and dark cushions messily scattered about with a silk lavender blanket wrinkled up into some elongated shape. Solid tiled floors with a tacky grey carpet that was scratchy and unpleasant to touch. The brown couch I laid on was adorned with cream cased throw pillows and resting on the floor was a wine stained blanket that smelt of grapes and some other sweaty substance.

Fancy ornate wooden cupboards and abstractly designed chests of drawers along with a large built in full length mirror greeted me as I looked at it. In front of me was a glass table with a half broken orange vase resting atop next to some empty wine bottles and spilt glasses.

"Your outfit is ready for this evening, mistress," Masako formally said, "I'll clean up the mess…." she sighed but understood the routine.

I didn't respond to her, only sat up and watched as I stared out the clear view window gaze of the city below me. Japan was always lovely at night, you could see all sorts of brightly lit buildings, architecture and neon colors blending seamlessly together to give the effect of a bustling nightlife. Planes soared above as I could faintly see the Tokyo tower in the distance.

The maid then shuffled out of the room, toting a small garbage bag rustling with broken glass and grabbing a vacuum as well as a mop to clean up the residue shards. The hovering vacuum noise irritated my dulled senses, I almost wanted to punch her in the face for disrupting my thoughts, but I was too nauseous to think clearly so I hesitated.

"Thanks…" I softly muttered out, walking over to my wardrobe and noting the outfit planned for this evening's dinner, "Better than nothing…" I sipped on a nearby glass of ginger tea, Masako probably made it.

I put on the garish outfit, ignoring the maid's presence, and the fabric hugged my skin. It was a sensible wine red gown that covered every inch of my thin body, a modest blanket to hide the small stretchy skin I kept under wraps. The long sleeves were decorated with small red sequins and I put on a tacky pair of diamond earrings and necklace to match.

"Would you like me to help you apply your makeup this evening, mistress?" Masako seemed even more eager than usual.

"No thank you…." I waved her away, gesturing for her to leave me be, "I'll go for a simple look this time…"

"Very well, miss, have a pleasant evening!" she chipperly said, sauntering out of the room without a care in the world.

I took one more look at the beautiful cityscape in front of me, before heading over to my vanity. My husband had it custom made from Italy, some fancy mahogany one with curly ornate designs and intricate patterns on each desk drawer.

"What says…..effortless and yet not trying at all?" I pondered, scouring the cluster of makeup products, "Maybe red lipstick…"

Without thinking about it too much, I did my usual routine, primer, foundation, simple faint eyeshadow, color corrector and finally my favorite dark red lipstick to cinch in the blood red aesthetic. I grabbed a nearby hairbrush and started combing my medium length black hair until it was presentable looking and sat up straight.

"Welp time to go…." I lazily left my chair, grabbing my small black purse on the bedside counter and headed out, "Shizuha! Where is that girl…."

"Sorry, mistress!" a red headed maid appeared from the kitchen, she seemed to have been preparing a late evening snack for herself, "I was uh….a l-little famished…."

"Whatever, is Keijiro still waiting on me?" I asked, hoping for a no response in case he'd left without me.

"No ma'am, in fact he just arrived at the front door," she composed herself and stood straight, "He's waiting for you in his limo, Miss Furusawa!"

Fan-fucking-tastic, that man is never going to let me hear the end of this.

"Alright, tell Masako that you and her can take tonight and tomorrow off," I blinked sleepily, covering my yawns with my hand, "I'm probably going to be hungover and not do much else."

"O-Oh! I uh...t-thank you ma'am!" she responded overly polite as usual, "Have a lovely evening!"

It'll be the farthest thing from it actually. I bade her goodnight and left my homely apartment, into the glittering high rises of the hotel. The hallways were all the same dull grey and black tones with stone pillars and marble floors. The carpet was a fine dark blue color and there were random potted plants scattered about to give it that earthy nature touch.

"Shit…." I noticed the clock and saw the time was 8:45PM and hurried to the elevator.

The elevator doors were obnoxiously large, silvery and opened about as fast as snail's pace. I pressed the first floor button, the doors closed not before an older gentleman and his probably forty years his junior date stepped inside as well.

"Pardon me, miss," he was decked out in a fancy three piece grey suit and reeked of overpriced cologne, "What luck, honey! We might just make it in time for our dinner reservation!"

"Ooh sweet! Please tell me you booked us a VIP booth this time, Fuminori?" her squealing voice was annoying to listen to, seemed to fit perfectly with her skimpy purple bodycon dress and cakey makeup look, "You promised you'd treat me to those fancy desserts too!"

"Hahaha, anything for you darling," he chuckled, a wrinkly smile adorned his bearded face as he pulled out a black credit card, "We'll dine to your heart's content!"

"Yay! I love you so much!" she peppered him with a barrage of kisses, his cheeks painted with her lipstick.

For the love of whatever god is up there, please make this sappy bullshit go away, I beg you.

The two started talking about other things, the ride down the elevator seemed like it took half a decade to reach the ground floor. It finally dinged as the dubiously aged couple left first, the girl clinging on her gentlemanly date's arm tighter than his blood pressure.

I exited the elevator, noticed the half empty hotel lounge with people hustling to and fro, some clerks attending to guests luggage, concierges checking in clients and accountants arguing with an older woman over her last minute hotel booking.

"Miss Furusawa?" I turned to see our usual limo driver greet me, "I'm here to receive you, Master Furusawa doesn't seem to be in a bad mood, just a heads up."

"Oh joy, hopefully he's tolerable…" a creeping headache lingered around in my head as I left with the driver, "Has he been waiting long, Yoshito?"

"Only about five minutes or so, miss," the driver opened the door for me, "I doubt he'll be that upset."

Wouldn't that be lovely if that were happening. Trust me, you don't know him like I do.

The brisk cool air brushed against my face as passersby walked back and forth. Teenagers dressed in either their school uniforms or streetwear, other adults wearing business suits rushing to catch a train, seedy men loitering in darkened alleys, smoking cigarettes and staring menacingly at others and you have the rare couple holding hands and leaving for their date.

"After you ma'am," he opened the door for me, "Mind your step."

I crouched into the limo, sitting comfortably near the open bar and saw Keijiro sitting on the opposite end of the limo, currently taking a phone call from the looks of it, I can tell from his scrunched up nose that he wasn't too happy.

"You better not be wasting my time and money, Mr. Makiuchi," his voice was sharp and to the point, "Either you fire some of your deadbeat employees or you can see a rapid decrease in your company's investment funds. Which will it be?"

Oh boy, he's getting impatient, better crack open another bottle of wine just in case. The driver took us on the road to the fundraiser dinner, and so it began.

"Smart man, I'll see to it that you receive next month's funds in due time," his frown curved into a placid smirk, as he hung up abruptly, "I try so hard to be generous, and what do I get? A bunch of fucking excuses and pathetic sob stories…."

"Evening, Keijiro," I finally acknowledged him, hoping he'd brush me off, "Busy scaring off more impressionable startup business owners?"

"Oh, if it isn't my lovely drunken wife," he retorted, noticing my attempt to not slur my words, "Let me guess Irisa, you passed out on the couch again while complaining about how terrible your mid-life crisis is?"

"Well, what else am I supposed to do in the apartment all day, sweetie?" I slurred lovingly, half-assing a reply, "You know I find it boring just listening to tedious gossip...I'd much rather indulge myself with this vintage bottle of wine instead, at least I know it'll listen and cheer me up instead of bitching."

"You act as though you're the one paying the goddamn bills," he scoffed, rubbing the sides of his temples, "Whatever, let's hope we arrive on time. I can't handle the embarrassment of arriving 'fashionably late.'"

"It's just another formality, Keijiro." I poured some more wine into a glass, "Shake some hands, write some cheques, humor their lame jokes, eat a fancy meal for free and then we can leave."

"Heh, you make it sound easy," he adjusted the collar of his thousand dollar black tux, "Please tell me you didn't overdrink before this?"

"Noooo…." I lied through my teeth.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Irisa! I hate when you do that shit!" he yelled, progressively getting more tense, slicking back some of his hair, "I can smell the wine on your breath from over here, ugh."

His voice startled me, almost spilling my drink on my gown, "Don't get your panties in a twist hon, it's not the end of the world."

"But you do this crap every fucking time!" his yelling started to intensify, "Anyway, where's our son? Is he off messing about with those old friends of his?"

"Don't know….Takayuki is his own person, Keijiro. He's nearly twenty y'know," I gargled down some more wine, "He's probably at some late night club or studying at some library...who knows."

"Hmph, let him continue to ruin his life," he crossed his arms, tapping his foot, "He doesn't seem to care that he has a bright future ahead of him, but no! He chooses to party all night, hang out with those illiterate friends of his and is probably seeing some trashy girl on the side."

The more I listened to him rant, the more I wanted to swim in a cold lake on a winter's night and freeze to death. He should just let the poor boy live his life for once, he's already upset as is.

"I wonder what's on the news…." I grabbed the nearby tv remote and switched to the news channel, "Maybe watching the stock prices rise will cheer you up."

"And you're dodging the issue once again," he sighed deeply, "Typical, drown your sorrows in alcohol, that'll totally help your mental health!" Mocking me again, how and why did I marry a toddler?

I turned up the volume on the tv, hoping to drown out future complaints. The flat screen in our limo showed a big breaking news transition in bold white letters, I must have caught it at a good time.

"Good evening everyone, I'm Takuma Nakashiki here with your 9PM news announcement with some breaking news!" I wonder what's got him so excited, "Tonight we bring you an update to the recent missing persons case revolving around a group of rising teen prodigies.

I almost choked on my wine when I heard that, it's that same story again the one that's been running for a few weeks now. I wonder what "brilliant" deductions our law enforcement have dug up now.

"According to the Tokyo PD police commissioner, we now know with full confidence that the missing group of students who went missing nearly three weeks ago were going to be the new Ultimate class for Hope's Peak Academy. An insider source has rumor to believe that their disappearance might have something to do with the resurgence of the Killing Games."

"This nonsense again?" Keijiro watched on in disappointment, "If they spent more time investigating instead of wasting our precious tax dollars sitting on their asses and doing nothing, they might have done something by now."

"We also have word from the Hope's Peak Academy headmaster himself, that these twenty missing students were intended to become the new 79th class of Ultimates, to commemorate the academy's reentry into society after the many scandals that have plagued it's halls."

"Oh... they're referring to those silly bogus rumors…" I half heartedly sighed, sipping more wine, "Good thing you stuck with them for the long run, hon!"

"Don't patronize me, Irisa," he looked ready to lunge at me with the rage he had been suppressing, "That school had always been a reputable institution to invest in. My father and his father before him all said the same thing. How could I have known that something like that would have happened!"

I directed my attention back towards the tv, "The police have reassured us that they are hard at work deducing where these missing teenagers have vanished to," the middle aged tv reporter continued, "They are currently working alongside former ultimates such as the former special agent, detective, crime analyst and even a special expert theorist."

"More resources down the drain…." he just kept bitching and bitching.

"We'll keep you all updated when we have further information, reporting live on TV Tokyo News!" The broadcast ended and it soon cut to commercials.

"We've arrived, sir," the driver opened the small window behind him, "Apologies for the tardiness, traffic was awful."

"All that matters is that we're here," he seemed to have calmed down upon hearing this, "Irisa, please don't embarrass me more than you already have. I don't want to keep apologizing to the shareholders every time you have a little 'episode.'"

I ignored his comment and waited for Yoshito to open the door, hoping to escape this confined car for some fresh air. The limo door swung open gracefully as my husband stepped out first and I soon followed.

I couldn't help but keep my attention hyper fixated on that news report from earlier, almost distracted by it as if it were jangling keys on a metal ring. My long gown accentuated my figure, which seemed to have caught the eye of many other wealthy men at the entrance and other young men passing by.

"Just stick close to me this evening, darling," he forcefully grabbed my arm, interlocking right hand around his left shoulder, "Wouldn't want you to fumble over and fall in your own vomit again."

"Of course, dear," appeasing his fragile temper had become a survival tactic for me, just smile and wave, don't walk ahead of him and don't speak unless spoken to.

All I could think of the entire time as we walked towards the entrance….Did the missing students case have anything to do with the incident that happened two weeks ago?


Chapter One: Shallow Surfaces

-END-

Remaining Students: 20

Death Toll: 2


Trophies Acquired: Crystal Snowflake Earrings & Black and White Panda Satchel


Danganronpa…..

Start Chapter Two: Promises Written In Sand

[YES] / NO


A/N: Hi there everyone, lovely to see you all again, I hope you all are well and enjoying your February so far. I had wanted to get this chapter out as soon as the first trial had concluded, but things got in the way such as online classes, quizzes, tests and overall anxiety and depression.

I hope this chapter was enjoyable and if you liked it, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it in the reviews or in the PM's. So what did you think about the outcome of the first trial? Were you surprised? Also what do you think of this new character perspective in Irisa? How does she relate to this story in particular? Hopefully you'll know soon.

I plan to take some time away from this story to focus on my other ones to get them ahead and running, especially Laughable Rejects and Remnants of My Heart. So I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and that's all I have to say.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, night, holiday or whatever it is you are celebrating right now and I will see you all in the next update or whenever I decide to post next. I love you all, thank you for the reviews and the love and support, I appreciate all your theories and criticisms on how I can improve and if you have any future predictions for chapter 2 please let me know in a review.

Happy reading my fellow readers, authors and otaku alike, I will see you all next time. Bye Bye!