❀ 4.7 - Too Technological ❀
❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀
"Careful not to trip," I say when I see Shuichi stumble on a floorboard sticking out from the ground, making him laugh uneasily as he catches himself and walks the rest of the way to the door I'm standing beside. He seems a bit embarrassed that he's proven his clumsiness, but I spare him the further teasing. "Ready?"
"Yeah," he answers.
With that, I open the door into the first room in the hall, only for the two of us to glance in and freeze when something materializes for a split second. It happens so quickly that I'm inclined to believe I imagined it, if it weren't for Shuichi's equally bewildered expression when I glance at his features to be sure.
There's three other people already in the room: Rantaro, Gonta, and Kokichi, but we don't immediately address them in favor of closing the door and opening it a second time to experience the…"anomaly", so to speak.
For a split second I see that something flash in my line of sight a second time, just before the dusty room lit by dim candles greets our eyes once again. Somehow, it's much darker in here than it is in the hall, barely illuminating the figures of the three that are looking our way now.
"Oh, there you two are. Decided to slink away while Runturdo and I were busy? You know I wasn't done trying to defend myself over the Smelly Dog issue? What's the point of arguing if the person that's supposed to be sorry isn't even around to-" Kokichi begins to complain from inside the room beside poor miffed Rantaro, only to be ignored when I take the door handle from Shuichi and close the door on Kokichi's annoying words.
Shuichi gasps like my action is in response to Kokichi's words, up until I abruptly open the door again to look back in as the anomaly flashes before our eyes again. Still can't really make it out...what is it that we're seeing when we open the door?
"What is that?" I ask the others in hopes that they know what I'm talking about and have a reasonable answer for it. Kokichi and Rantaro look unsurprised, watching as I give closing the door one more shot when they don't immediately respond. Kokichi has a dry look of exasperation on his face as he stares at me, the door closing and opening to reveal his unchanged expression when the anomaly passes my inspection again. Shuichi squints at the same time as I do, but we still can't really catch it or understand what we're looking at when it appears for only a fraction of a second.
"You could do that all day and I doubt you'd get an answer after so many attempts. Trust me, we tried it too and we still have no idea. I recommend ignoring it at this point. It's probably nothing important," Rantaro speaks up, just as I see movement from Gonta further in the left corner of the room.
"No use...Gonta no see bugs at all," the hulk of a teen laments before seeing Shuichi and I finally step into the room to continue our exploration. His initial disappointment washes away when he spots Shuichi. "Oh! Shuichi in here too? Gonta wondered why not see Shuichi yet. Very good to see Shuichi being Small Prairie meat shield!"
"'M-Meat shield'...?" Shuichi asks cautiously, like the thought is somewhat unappealing. Honestly, I don't blame him- I wouldn't want to be a "meat shield" for anyone either. I wonder why Gonta's so fixated on using his own body to protect the others though? Seems like something more along the lines of self-endangerment than a chivalrous or gentlemanly action…
"Nevermind that. This room's got a whole lot of 'empty' as far as new rooms go. I wonder what's the purpose for them?" I question, stepping in further and pausing when I feel the floorboards shift under my feet.
"Careful! Floorboards loose here. Not nailed down," Gonta states first when he notices me carefully testing my steps.
"...Is that so?" Shuichi muses, following my lead and crouching down to study the boards better. It'd sure be useful if we had one of those flashlights from the warehouse...these candles hardly light up anything! "Can you bring me a candle, Prairie?"
At his inquiry, I walk over to the nearest one- which just so happens to be next to Kokichi. He's leaning against the wall like he's bored, eyeing me a little too closely for my liking with his arms crossed behind his neck. After I lift the candle from its spot on a small shelf, Kokichi decides to open his yucky mouth and remind me of his unfortunate existence.
"Don't worry, by the way. I'll be open for your apology whenever you decide to give it. Just don't wait too long to apologize…" he says casually, causing an immediate scoff of disbelief from me as I scowl and turn away to bring the candle to Shuichi.
What a total idiot.
I crouch beside Shuichi and bring the candle closer so he can see the floorboards better. He sticks his fingers in a gap and tests trying to pull it up, which actually takes some work for him to even get most of it up since it's so heavy. As soon as he lets it fall from his grip, it slams into place noisily.
"Looks like they're just laying side by side on the floorboard railing. It shouldn't be dangerous to walk on though, they're pretty thick and sturdy despite their aged look. The chances of a board falling out is pretty unlikely," Shuichi explains after his diagnosis, knocking hard on the floorboard with his knuckles.
"They could have done a better job though, Runturdo almost made a hole in the wall with his head when he tripped earlier," Kokichi shares dryly, making Rantaro sigh heavily.
Just imagining it makes me burst into laughter, up until I realize what I'm doing and slap a hand over my mouth to stop myself. Too late though, I can feel the prickling sensation of Kokichi's eyes drilling into the back of my head along with his swift mood improvement when he chuckles. He seems a little less bored now...and I don't like the implications of why he's suddenly chipper.
"Still finding me funny then, Prairie Dog?" I hear him coo teasingly, causing a wave of frustration that crawls up my spine and begins to rot my insides when I turn to look his way.
He smiles warmly at me, but it doesn't make me giddy inside like before. I just feel like it's another trap he's trying to catch me with.
He'd do it all over again if he thought it was amusing the first time. Just like how he always treats me. I can do better than him, he's not special at all.
"Kokichi, can you do me a quick favor?" Rantaro asks, noting Kokichi's raised brow of distaste at the idea when he turns towards Rantaro. "I'm not about to start another argument with you, I promise. It's a legitimate question. You can relax."
"Thank God! Not that I'm going to answer it for sure or anything, but fine. You are granted an audience with the Ultimate Supreme Leader, Amami," Kokichi chirps, grinning brightly like he's not about to reveal anything useful to him at all.
"Cool. So why does it matter to you that Prairie apologizes at all? Just curious since it's clear you don't care about her even as a friend."
"Because! Her unyielding unrequited love for me gives me liiife~! ...Actually, that's a lie. I do what I want, when I want to. That's all," Kokichi laughs, before smirking as he tacks on an additional, "Or is it? Nishishi!"
…
"You wanna go look at the other rooms with us, Rantaro? You too, Gonta. You don't have to punish yourself by hanging out with someone like him," I speak up, causing Gonta to look from me to Kokichi and back. He's obviously conflicted, though I can't understand why considering he's fully aware of the conversation that took place in the kitchen.
"G-Gonta...can't. Gonta stay with Kokichi. Made promise- ungentlemanly to break promises," Gonta states with uncertainty.
I know I need to get Gonta away from Kokichi, but this seems like it's gonna be difficult.
"Okay, Gonta, I'm gonna lay it out for you as plainly as I can. Kokichi likes to tout that he's a genius or something, but he's not. He's actually pretty stupid in some obvious aspects, like how to deal with people. You heard what went on in the dining hall, right? How he led me along and played with my feelings for him because I refused to see him in a bad light? Do you think what he did to me was okay?"
Gonta looks surprised that I'm even asking him that, as if it's obvious.
"No! Definitely not okay! But-"
"But you're perfectly okay with condoning it," I cut him off, causing Gonta to garble in panic before he falls silent with a guilty grimace. "You're not stupid or dumb, Gonta, so don't let Kokichi make you believe as if you are. And don't call yourself dumb either- if you're not going to uplift yourself, you'll attract people like Kokichi who love to take advantage of people's vulnerabilities. You're right that it's not good to break promises, but it's also not good for people like Kokichi to trick the people he supposedly cares about into fake promises that'll only benefit himself. Just let that sink into your head while you follow him around."
"Yeesh, you're so cruel, Smelly Dog!" Kokichi complains, before casting me a sunny smile when I turn to face him. "You really don't know anything about me."
I stick a pinky in my ear carelessly to pick at it- like there's a gnat named "Kokichi" buzzing about in there.
"So what if I don't? You think I care anymore? In fact, I'm glad I don't know anything more about you, I've seen enough. At most, I know I don't want to know anything else. You're just one copy of the millions of jerks that all walk on the same planet. Yeah, admittedly you can occasionally crack a good joke, but that's not exactly a unique trait limited to you," I comment directly to Kokichi. "I don't need you. I can do better and I deserve better. So that apology you're waiting for? If you dig enough, you can find it shoved all the way up your pie hole."
I turn back to Gonta, who looks more than flustered by my crude insult towards Kokichi.
"Just trust me, Gonta. As someone that just recently was in your position and thought Kokichi wasn't that bad? He's just gonna screw you over like he did to me."
With that, I take the candle back to the stand on the wall even though I have to pass Kokichi again. Kokichi steps back just a bit when I get too close, though I can't read his expression when my eyes flick his way. It's been a while since I've seen him put up such a guard on his emotions like that...I guess the only thing that made him a bit readable was the fact he was willing to let me see past a little of the curtain up till now.
Looks like things have changed.
That's fine though. I'm tired of trying to figure him out and now I don't have to.
Rantaro and Shuichi follow me outside of the room, the door closing firmly behind us. As if it's my cue, I let out a long sigh and try to shake off my jitters. I said I didn't want anything to do with him, but my mind just keeps going back onto the topic of the leech. It's more like I'm trying to convince myself of everything I'm thinking rather than actually feeling that way.
It's stressful.
"You're doing the right thing, Prairie. I know it's not easy, but you haven't said anything wrong," Rantaro tries to reassure me when I open the door to the next room. I try not to get distracted when I see that anomaly again for a split second, stepping in with the two.
"It's not easy because I feel like I'm lying to myself…" I huff, testing the floorboards with my foot and then proceeding deeper inside. "I almost wish I didn't care, sort of like how Kokichi doesn't care. I feel like his position in our 'fight'," I even turn to make quotation marks in the air with my fingers where the two can see, "is much easier for him than it is for me. When I think about it in a position where I'm not involved, never forgiving him makes sense...but all the time I've spent with him is time I didn't entirely hate, and I don't wanna let go...Ugh! I hate this! I hate him. Emotions are overrated!"
Rantaro offers me a sympathetic smile, just as Shuichi takes a chance to clear his throat for our attention.
"Not to interject where it's not my business, but I actually don't think that's the case...ah, on the theory of Kokichi 'doesn't care', I mean," Shuichi comments, before lowering his voice a bit and adding, "I don't believe he actually wanted this to result from the trick he pulled."
He didn't? ...Then I was right? He really doesn't know what's socially acceptable to joke about? Is that why his jokes and lies tend to ebb on the cruel side?
"So he didn't know any better when he did what he did? ...Well, I'm not here to baby him. Ignorance isn't an excuse, especially when he refuses to acknowledge he's hurt me. I don't have to forgive him if I don't want to," I decide, making Rantaro smile and reach over to rub the top of my head. He notably only messes my bangs up, prompting me to swat his hand away playfully. "Anyways...let's save this conversation for another time. It doesn't seem like there's anything different about this room compared to the last one."
Secretly grateful to have something to divert the topic off of Kokichi, I exit the second room and step out to move into the third. Kokichi and Gonta already seem to be heading out of the first room, glancing our way before Kokichi whispers something up to Gonta and takes his arm to drag him along towards the hall heading to Angie's room.
"Yeah, we already looked in the other rooms. We didn't see anything remarkably different about any of them, as you can tell," Rantaro comments when Shuichi and I peek into the last room. Since it's pretty similar to the last two, we close it without going in.
"What's that at the end of the hall?" I ask him as I move away from the door, approaching the dead end that seems to have framed glass mirrors hanging over it. Shuichi looks from me to the wall, Rantaro joining our side with a hum of interest.
"I suppose it's important, though I'm not sure what we're supposed to do here. Kokichi tried putting his hands on the surface of the smaller framed glass panels, but nothing happened. He suggested it might have been able to 'read his handprint like a secret base would', or something along those lines. I think he was secretly hoping it was his lab," Rantaro explains, making me look to Shuichi where he holds out the other items he has.
A scroll…and a hammer.
…
"We probably aren't meant to be here yet. It's sort of like that arch in front of those creepy statues that made you panic before, Prairie. This might be for a location we're supposed to visit late-" Shuichi begins, making Rantaro whirl around to face him. I can already smell the concern on avocado-for-brains just by the look on his face.
"Wha- panic? What are you-" Rantaro starts in a rush, before I cut him off when I blurt out, "Nothing! I wasn't panicking over anything! Shuichi, stop talking and overreacting!"
"B-But you even knocked the head off of that one statue-" I reach up and put my hand over his mouth to silence him, glancing at Rantaro only to see a sympathetic but amused smile on his face. Great...now he's gonna think I'm even more of a wimp!
"...Prairie. You don't need to do that, come on," Rantaro coaxes me into uncovering Shuichi's mouth and then steps closer, making me shoo his arms away and backpedal to escape his advances. He eventually manages to yank me aside into a cozy hug that only serves to make my face heat up to an unholy degree. I make a whine of annoyance, but Rantaro ignores me to laugh and rest his cheek over my grumbly head. "You're so silly."
"I'm gonna bite you," I complain irritably, wriggling away from him so I can fix my hair and turn towards the glass panels. Shuichi says it's probably not important yet, but… "I think there's something we need to do here."
The framed glass panels reflect our faces back to us, revealing Rantaro's and Shuichi's pensive looks as they examine it. Still, it's hardly a reflection considering it's not a mirror.
Rantaro casts the framed glass a curious look, stepping forward and resting a hand over the surface. "Well...we could break it, I guess," he suggests unperturbed, making me look towards him. He agrees then? This hallway might extend further?
When his eyes flick my way, he casts me a discreet wry smile and taps the tablet peeking a centimeter out of his pocket while Shuichi's not watching.
Ah, that's right, we have the walking map here with us.
"We have a hammer in those items you received, don't we?" I ask as I turn to face Shuichi, immediately swiping up the item in question out of Shuichi's hold when I see it. The detective has this funny look of panic on his face, glancing towards Rantaro like he's not sure whether we're serious or not.
It isn't until I've got the full weight of the hammer in my grip that I raise an eyebrow. Raising it and lowering it curiously with a noise of surprised understanding accompanying my motion. Considering the thick glass ahead of us and the weight of the item in question...I think Rantaro's suggestion is right on the mark.
"Y-You're really going to break it? Wait! We don't even know if that's supposed to be used here, and you want to break the glass?" Shuichi reflects our motives back to us, making Rantaro and I share a look. When we glance back at Shuichi, he looks flabbergasted by our mirrored expressions of total conviction.
"We want to break the glass," Rantaro confirms plainly.
"Yes, I got that part! But what if this isn't right and the Monokubs get upset with us? This just...seems pretty out of the ordinary compared to the other puzzles we've done with the random items we get. It's less like logic puzzle solving and more like random destruction...! I'm not exactly looking forward to violence here," Shuichi states. At his urging, I relax in understanding and lower my arm with the hammer.
"Okay…" I say, waiting until he sighs in relief to toss up the hammer to a better position and reel back my arm, "You need to cover your eyes for this anyways, so just pretend it's not happening."
"Prairie!" Shuichi panics, even though he and Rantaro both choose to turn away and cover their eyes rather than stop me. I join in and cover my face after hurling the hammer forwards with all my strength, hearing the glass shatter loud enough to make me shrink back up until all that's left is the sound of the broken shards skipping like beads across the floor.
I peek past my arms to see a large hole in the middle glass panel, revealing a space inside that extends the hallway. It's big enough for us to fit through and I don't wait to run over the crunchy glass bits, jumping straight through the newly made opening to explore more.
"Sometimes brute force is the answer, hm, Shuichi?" Rantaro muses out loud, following me in so Shuichi takes up the tail of our group with a nervous laugh.
What greets us is quite the sight, enough for us to pause as we process the new shift in the environment. Once again, the theme of this area has changed from what it was before. First was the post-apocalyptic school grounds, then the decrepit haunted house vibe of the fourth floor behind us, and now?
"This really is like some kind of twisted fun house. What's even the point of a factory setting anyways?" I ask, pulling at my shawl more to get warmth now that I've noticed the air has gotten chillier. "I'm glad we have winter clothes, this room's freezing!"
"Tell me about it...do you think these do anything in particular?" Rantaro questions, having drifted over to a few panels on the wall with blinking lights of various colors. Shuichi and I join his side, reading off what a few of the buttons do. They seem to have very vague commands, one button even marked as simply "up".
Shuichi reaches out to press it.
"Yours," comes out an automated mechanical voice, prompting me to make a dry scowl as we wait for something else to happen. When it doesn't I press the button again, procuring the voice to repeat the word a second time.
"Wow. Can't say I'm really surprised, but I guess that means this isn't anything particularly important," Rantaro comments, just as we hear footsteps coming in behind us.
"Yo! Find anything useful?" Kaito asks, just as he walks in with Korekiyo at his heels. Looking around the two for Maki, I look up at Kaito in question until he scratches his neck with a sigh. I guess he knows exactly who I'm looking for. "She went back to her lab, don't worry about it. She'll probably scope out the area in her own time or something."
"That being said...I was hardly expecting a room behind those glass ornaments. How was it you guessed this was hidden back here?" Korekiyo asks as he looks towards us.
"Oh, just a wild guess..." Rantaro comments casually, eyes flicking my way since we both know exactly how he would know. When he turns to start walking towards the large metallic door further ahead, I pull Shuichi along with me and resist the urge to snicker at the return of "Ambiguous Amami" yet again. No sense working the others up with the enigma that is Rantaro…
Above the metallic clad door ahead is a lit sign reading "computer room", making my heart jerk just a bit in anticipation.
A computer room? ...That means besides Miu's old lab, I might be able to use something in here for removing the files apart from just the bombs themselves. I've been wondering how I'd be able to do the full removal without a powerful computer like I used for Monosuke.
"This is a weird door, how do we-" Kaito asks out loud, reaching for the large green glass circle embedded into the middle of the door. As soon as he gets close enough, the six metal pistons to the sides pop open with a hiss that makes him jerk back quickly. The glass orb in the middle spins a fraction and the doors pop open for us without physical prompting.
"Interesting technology, yet again…I truly do wonder where this group Danganronpa managed to procure high tech for a crude place such as this," Korekiyo responds, following me in when I eagerly jump in past the doors.
The first thing that catches our attention is the large machine in the middle of the room, one which has a large green "X" design on the side. Cords are connected to it from a series of standing computers that surround it, all of them lighting up as soon as the lights flicker on with our entry.
"That thing's huge!" Kaito gapes, stepping up to the large machine with Shuichi to examine it.
"I've never seen a machine like this before...just what in the world-" Shuichi starts, just as I hear the usual cue of an abrupt entry from a group I'm more than happy to have in this place.
Maybe I can sneak Monokid or Monosuke over to ask some questions...Monosuke only if Monokid won't come over, considering I doubt he'd be very willing to help me. Unless I'm discounting his loyalty to the other bears improperly? I know at least Monophanie cares about her brothers, so...maybe Monosuke cares and just won't openly admit it?
Speak of the devil and he shall appear- but this time it's not so bad as summoning the demon of fizzy grape beverages.
"Rise and shine, ursine~!" The bears sing, sans Monokid who just bounds in after them...mainly because there's a black spiked collar around his neck, one attached to a studded matching leash that Monosuke himself uses to string him along after them.
"If-You've-Come-This-Far, That-Means-You-Solved-The-Puzzle-Successfully. This-Is-Amazing-Teamwork," Monodam commends us, making Shuichi frown slightly like he still doesn't quite believe he can call breaking glass a puzzle.
"How amazing~! Even if one of them is pretty ugly…" Monophanie remarks, much to Rantaro's visible disapproval when he turns his attention onto the pink bear. Monophanie has the sense to flinch and fall silent from the quiet chastising glare.
Yep. We "solved the puzzle"...nevermind we have a walking map with us- not that anyone else knows but me and the map himself.
"So, what is this room anyways? Something tells me this isn't the run of the mill computer room...I mean, look at this big ass thing!" Kaito remarks, prompting Monosuke to chuckle and push his glasses up his nose further.
"Of course it's not a normal computer room. This is one of the strongest computers we have in this place. In fact, this thing is so strong, it's powerful enough to create new worlds!" Monosuke claims, tugging on Monokid's leash to get the blue bear to come closer. "Kid, tell 'em."
"...Yeah," Monokid simply huffs, making Monosuke bop him hard on the head with a fist. "OW! Okay, yes! You can make a whole new world with this thing if you wanted to. Code it in or somethin', I dunno! There, I said it. You happy?"
"In fact, I am. Now go back to being quiet, Princess Jasmine," Monosuke huffs as Monodam takes the leash from him.
"Hey, don't call me tha-!" Monokid breaks off into a choking wheeze when Monodam yanks on the leash to silence his brother.
"So long~! Bear well~!" The other bears chorus, before bounding out of the room to leave us with the exploration. Well, so much for pulling Monosuke or Monokid aside. Especially with that leash they've put on poor Monokid...
We all share a look as we approach the large machine in the middle of the room, it's imposing size dwarfing even my much taller peers beside me. Monosuke said it's possible to make a new world with that...what do they even mean by that? Like a simulated world?
"I'm not very good with computers, so even if I tried to investigate it...well, I doubt I'd really know what I was looking at," Shuichi admits with an awkward laugh. "This looks more like an oversized bento box from where I'm standing."
It's while Kaito starts laughing and poking fun at Shuichi that I notice a red velvet and gold chest hidden a bit behind the large machine. I walk over to it and pop the lid open, feeling my stomach churn at the sight of a flashback light.
Great...this thing again. I know Shuichi said we were looking for this, but I still don't trust it.
Still, I remove it from the velvet cushion within the chest and turn to bring it back to the boys that are still examining the large machine.
"Well, here's the flashback light…" I mutter half-heartedly, knowing full well the expression of distaste on my face as I pass it to Kaito unprompted. Still, Kaito takes it from me despite me technically forcing it's safety on him.
"Oh! Nice one, Prair!" Kaito brightly states, giving the light a once over. "Well then, I guess I'll head off and take it to the dining hall to wait for the rest of you. Anyways, I'm a little worn from all this running around, so I need a break."
"Sure, take it easy, I guess," Rantaro responds, giving the room one more once over and sighing. "To be honest, I'm not much of a computer nerd either. If Miu was still here, I figure she'd be thrilled to find a room like this though."
Not as thrilled as I am to have the room all to myself once I have time. I just need to recover my bag of tools from the AV room!
"Likewise. I deal in the studies of humanities and culture, not STEM," Korekiyo adds his two cents, before the three look towards Kaito and I curiously.
"Don't look at me. I may be an astronaut trainee, but I only know input commands and how to work tech for an actual rocket ship. Not regular computer programming or anything like that…" Kaito corrects their assumptions, before their attention simply falls on me.
"What makes you think I'd know how to use this either?" I ask, even though...well, technically I can totally use it- but only one way. To remove the Monokub bombs and the files related to the programs in charge of setting the Monokub bombs. I could probably figure out more if I put my intuition to the job, but other than that, I'm not an Iruma. "I think Kiibo would know more about this than me. And that's saying something because Kiibo doesn't actually have much tech knowledge from what he's mentioned before."
"Ah! I'm glad to see you aren't defaulting to robophobic assumptions in my absence, Prairie!"
All of us turn our heads to the doorway where Kiibo enters from alone, hands on his hips once we're all facing him.
"Excuse my intrusion, but Angie and the others found something that might be related to an item the Monokubs gave you," Kiibo states, making Shuichi pull the scroll item from his pocket curiously. "It wasn't intentional on our part, we were simply partaking in an outdoor jog with Atua when Angie came across it. We even did some yoga in the gym prior!"
Yoga? Well, at least they're doing their exercise...but wait, how does an inflexible robot like Kiibo do yoga?
"I'm guessing you...watched the others jog and do yoga?" I ask, unable to stop myself from my curiosity.
Kiibo turns his cyan gaze my way.
…
"Yeah…" he laments, his confident smile becoming somewhat pitiful.
"I think we're done here all the same anyways," Rantaro changes the topic quickly, casting me an amused look for my query to Kiibo. "Lead the way, Kiibo."
Kiibo brightens up and casts the computer room one last look before stepping out. Surprisingly, he doesn't ask any questions about the new areas that have opened up. He just leads the way with small talk about the weather and how it keeps his systems running fluidly- so long as he doesn't stay outside much.
It's during our walk and the conversation between the others that I start to feel my mind drift off. It's incredibly difficult to turn away and leave the lab to come back later, since I want to get started on figuring out how to navigate the system now. I want to get started and remove the bombs inside the Monokubs now. Better now than before Monokuma "comes back", if he's actually not around and has legitimately left the killing game for a brief time to do god-knows-what.
By the time we've reached the hallway of the third floor, Kaito breaks off from our group with a wave- the flashback light secure in his other grip.
"I'm gonna let Maki know about the flashback light in advance, you guys keep on going," Kaito explains, already stepping into the hallway leading down to her lab. "You'll definitely see me in the dining hall after though, so don't keep me waiting too long! The Luminary of the Stars can only be put on hold for so long!"
"R-Right. We'll see you later, Kaito," Shuichi answers with a smile Kaito returns, the rest of us making our way to the stairs.
Once we're outside, Kiibo points in a general direction and looks back at the four of us.
"See? It's just over there. There's some statue with a mask that looks like it has the perfect placement for a scroll," Kiibo says, all the while Korekiyo holds out a hand in the air for flakes of snow to fall in his waiting glove.
"Perhaps it's simply because we've been indoors for some time now, but...it almost appears as if the snowfall has increased," Korekiyo suggests thoughtfully, examining the school grounds with a critical gaze.
I follow his example and look around the courtyard too. He might actually be right- I remember there was much more greenery before when we went to eat. Now the grass is a bit harder to see. It's like the school is being rushed into winter now that December has been announced...which means it totally has to be artificial. I mean, sure it's cold, and it's real snow considering the flakes melt in my hands. That doesn't mean it's snow that came from the actual sky though- there's probably some kind of machine up there doing all of this.
"That's December for you," Rantaro sighs. "Reminds me of winter up North. The snowfall can be pretty hefty."
"Agreed," Korekiyo comments, before glancing over towards Rantaro when we start walking again. "I was unaware you had traveling experience, Rantaro...perhaps it's related to your Ultimate Talent?"
Rantaro almost looks confused, up until I discreetly elbow his side and he seems to remember he's still got his talent hidden from the others. His charming smile immediately takes up his face, although it's guarded as usual around Korekiyo. Still, this is a good step forward in the right direction. Talking with him might help ebb off his assumptions that Korekiyo is a bad guy.
"Yeah, I've been to plenty of places. My father owns a few boats, so I've traveled pretty much everywhere," Rantaro answers easily, making Korekiyo thoughtfully bring a hand up to his own chin when we start walking again towards the general direction Kiibo pointed in.
"Could your talent maybe be the Ultimate Sailor?" Shuichi asks, making Rantaro laugh out loud and shake his head immediately.
"Absolutely not. I know about a few ships and I know how to sail, but I wouldn't say that's a passion for me...I also like walking around dry land, so I'm not intimately attached to my sea legs," Rantaro chuckles, before Kiibo makes a noise that has our attention falling on him.
"Or have you thought that maybe you're the Ultimate Traveler?" Kiibo suggests, causing Rantaro to look up thoughtfully before shaking his head like he really considered it a possibility.
"No, I don't think so, that doesn't sound right to me. Besides, Ultimate Traveler seems too...romantic," Rantaro comments.
He turns towards me after saying that, making me look up in confusion...until I realize why he's staring at me expectantly. Rantaro looks like he's waiting for something to happen, and from how many times I've embarrassed myself with such a topic, I know exactly what's made him look at me.
"Excuse me, Amami, what do you think you're implying?" I face him head on, narrowing my eyes even though my cheeks have undoubtedly turned red. And this I'm guessing at mostly because my face is getting unbearably warm with shame- increased only by the chill of the cold weather around us.
"Nothing…" He says casually, though he's still staring me dead in the eyes. Oh, this cheeky little…!
"Nothing my foot! I'm not going to get jittery all because of a simple word, you dummy!" I complain, reaching over to grab his scarf hem and pull it up over his face with a growl of disdain he laughs jovially at.
"What word? 'Romantic'? Hmm...I figure it's most likely because of how open you are with your feelings in the department of cru- okay, I'm shutting up now," Kiibo quickly amends his words when I whirl around to face him with a threatening gaze.
"Oh, I see Tenko and Himiko from over here! And there's Angie too," Shuichi speaks up at a higher volume than usual, likely one to end my bickering with Rantaro...even though Rantaro is smiling like there's no tomorrow.
Dumb Rantaro. Now I am feeling jittery, and it's all his fault. Next time I'm gonna pull on his ear piercings. He must suffer!
When I look around for them, I see Himiko and Tenko poking around at a statue along the path. If I remember correctly, it's that one ninja statue wearing a kabuki mask of sorts. Angie stands up from crouching by the statue, making it easier to see her even though she has a white winter parka with yellow accents that make it easy for her to blend into the snowy courtyard.
"Yoo-hoo! Hello, hello, Shuichi and company!" Angie brightly greets, followed by Shuichi's greeting.
"Um, Hello. Good to see you three are doing well too," Shuichi says, prompting Tenko to immediately get into a defensive stance when she notices something.
"H-Hey! Prairie, you've surrounded yourself in pure...testosterone! What are you doing, aren't you intimidated?! You should be with us! We have zero testosterone here!" Tenko tries to convince me with a semi-disturbed and pleading expression.
"If I may cut in, it's actually it's scientifically proven that even women have small traces of testoste-" Korekiyo starts to say, prompting Tenko to growl noticeably enough to silence the anthropologist. He's wise enough to not continue.
"Nyeh...? Why would she be intimidated? Prairie could beat the daylights out of them with her eyes closed if she really wanted to…that's just how powerful she is," Himiko says matter-of-factly in that slow drawl of hers, making me blink in surprise before giving a shrug of confirmation that doesn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group when they slowly turn to look at me. Well, I could! They just don't know it, of course.
"I know she could, but she's got their aura all around her! That can't be good for her body and soul!" Tenko complains, before I join her side and reach up to pat her head.
"It's okay. There, there," I simply say, which has Tenko giving me a dubious look for my nonchalance. It isn't until she notices I've strayed close enough that she moves to lock her arm discreetly around me so I can't leave. She really thinks she's protecting me from something...well, I won't pop her bubble for now.
"Anyways, Kiibo explained, no? This is the statue!" Angie says, leaning towards the side with a playful smile as she gestures to the ninja statue.
"Ah, I see. That gap in the statue's mouth is reminiscent of something missing...well, let's test it out in that case," Korekiyo say, moving aside for Shuichi to take out the scroll item. He moves to eye the gap and then inserts the scroll.
…
…?
Just when Rantaro opens his mouth to say something, the ground starts to quake.
I feel Tenko turn to hug me tighter when we hear the sound of falling trees. Looking far behind the statue with her, trees topple over onto the ground to reveal lit up billboard signs rising from behind the brush. It just keeps rising, leaving the rest of us to stare on in disbelief until it eventually stops. Before any of us can move, the snow coated bushes wither away before our eyes, leaving a dip in the snow leading towards the building along with metal standee rails to direct the flow of traffic...if you'd call thirteen students in this entire enclosure traffic at all.
Angie is the first to break the silence with a delighted laugh, pointing at the building when she turns to face us.
"What a warm welcome!" Angie chirps, considering the LED billboards all read "welcome" in various fonts. Still, even Angie's enthusiasm isn't really enough to make the rest of us feel any less unnerved when she skips on ahead towards the building. Kiibo hurries after her, panic strewn over his expression.
"Wait! Angie, not so fast! It could be dangerous, you should practice more caution!" Kiibo calls after her.
"...Is there any legitimate natural law established with this academy whatsoever?" Korekiyo inquires, a dark look etched across his masked features. Himiko shakes her head at his words, adjusting her hat to follow after Angie.
"Yeah, I can't even fathom how this building could have been hiding under ground...but then again, Prairie did say she found a whole office system under there, right?" Shuichi says, prompting me to nod in confirmation. "Say, we know the trial grounds are also deep underground along with the 'execution rooms'...how in the word do they have all of that underground?"
We all share looks, none of us able to come up with a plausible answer to that question. Eventually though, Himiko grunts to end our silent musings.
"That took everything out of me...it was my magic that did this," Himiko sighs as she walks away, causing Shuichi to raise an eyebrow as he joins her with Korekiyo and Rantaro.
"Ah, it was the item, wasn't i-" Shuichi starts, only to be cut off by Himiko repeating, "It was my magic."
"Come on, Shuichi. It was her magic, okay?" Rantaro agrees with a pleasant smile, making Himiko beam lazily with pride as she leads the way. Shuichi evidently gives in at Rantaro's prompting.
"Alright, let's go with that," the detective surrenders, giving Rantaro a look and then glancing back at me where I'm still with Tenko.
Seeing we're about to get left behind, I realize Tenko has not been paying attention much. That, or she cares very little of the questionable technology. Instead she's been playing with my ponytail curls while I've been trapped in her hug. Upon this realization, I pull at Tenko's sleeve to get her to follow them with me. She eventually looks up and squints as we get closer, up until her face breaks out into an enthusiastic smile.
"Wait! That's not just any sort of building, that's a dojo!" She shouts, her grip on my arm becoming ironclad as she suddenly breaks into a sprint I have to match so I don't end up tripping and eating dirt. "That thing could have fallen from the heavens, I don't care! YES~!"
She manages to drag me past the rest of the group, stopping at the doorway to squeal some more. The door is the sliding type like the one leading to Korekiyo's lab.
"It really is a dojo! This is essential for every school- isn't this great, Prairie! Now we can let off steam in here rather than the stuffy gym! And look how well built it is! Let's hurry and go inside, this has to be my ultimate lab!" Tenko says, only for the footsteps of the others to stop behind us.
At the recollection we're not alone, Tenko turns to eye the males of our group with a dry look.
"That said, some of you are degenerate males, so feel free to refrain from coming in," Tenko adds before coming behind me to usher me and Himiko in with her. Angie and Kiibo follow us, leaving Rantaro to decidedly dismiss her advice and follow us in with the rest of the guys.
Inside is a dojo as expected. There's a fresh new scent that floats in the spacious air, which tells me everything is new inside. Odd since this is from a building that literally rose up from the dirty earth.
There's also a large wooden figure several times our size overlooking the dojo, arms and fists up in a martial arts pose reminiscent of Tenko's poses when she's ready to fight somebody. Furthermore, there's also a lineup of similar figures along the tatami mats, all of them lifesize in fighting poses as we walk to the center of the room.
Yep, this is definitely Tenko's lab, but…
"Do you actually use those suspended platforms for aikido?" I ask Tenko curiously, even though I'm not really inclined to believe so. Tenko also cocks her head to the side looking up at it.
"No, but they look cool, I guess. I have no problem with it!" She answers, examining one of the training dummies pensively. "I don't think I'd use these dummies either- this is more for newbies. After all, we have to study the human form to fight proper Aikido!"
"Mm...there's no mana in here...I already knew this place had nothing to do with me," Himiko huffs from my side.
"See, see? This really is my lab!" Tenko snaps at the others behind her, making Shuichi hold up his hands in an habitual effort to calm her down.
"Ah, w-why are you angry though?" Shuichi dares to ask, only for Tenko's expression to break into a grin as she giggles to herself.
"I'm just so happy! My emotions are going haywire being in here! You know, sort of like how dogs pee themselves when they get excited to see someone!" Tenko claims, prompting Himiko and I to look at each other long and hard in confusion. That's some analogy… "Well, we have this whole dojo to ourselves, so we may as well have a fun and intense fighting session now!"
"Eh? But...who do you plan to train with?" Shuichi asks, just as Angie laughs and places Shuichi forward in front of herself- thereby closer to Tenko. He doesn't seem to understand her motive at first, fidgeting as he looks back at Angie's cheerful visage in confusion.
"With you of course! The best option for a blood sacrifice!" Angie chirps, causing horror to roll over Shuichi's face when he turns back to Tenko.
Tenko's already closed in, grabbing his arm and turning to lift him off his feet easily.
"WHY?!" Shuichi manages to get out through his wail, just as Tenko flips him onto his behind hard. The sound echoes in the dojo, leaving me unable to refrain from snorting in laughter at the shocked look of pain on Shuichi's face. Tenko lets go of Shuichi's arm, allowing him to slump over onto the floor.
"Whoa, Shuichi, are you okay?" Rantaro is quick to check on him, all the while Korekiyo places himself wisely behind the two so he's the furthest option for becoming Tenko's next victim.
"She threw him pretty hard!" Kiibo says with a wince as he leans over the two.
"Yes, but Atua is very impressed by this show of strength, Tenko! You flipped Shuichi just like a pancake!" Angie states, clapping with a cheerful smile.
"Throwing people unprompted...I see it's not driven by malice, but I believe I'll be keeping my distance," Korekiyo comments.
"Why all of a sudden, Tenko…?" Shuichi asks, still somewhat cringing in pain even as the others help him stand up.
"Hii-yah! Neo-Aikido is an ultimate combat type of aikido! What you need is real combat experience, not training! Okay, Prairie, you can go ahead and deliver the final strike! Aim straight for his heart!" Tenko says, making me jump away from Himiko and join Tenko's side just to see if I can scare Shuichi.
"W-Why do you want to finish me off?!" He asks in horror.
Even though there's a smile on my face since this is so ridiculous in the grand scheme of things, Shuichi still yelps and staggers back against Rantaro and the others when I lift my foot to come closer. I guess he still remembers all the other times I've smacked him around.
"Pfffftt! We're only kidding Shuichi, she doesn't really want me to do that!" I laugh with Tenko after a second, making Shuichi scowl a little our way as he recomposes himself and rubs his arm from Tenko's previous assault.
"Yeah, well it's a little hard to tell! Why is Tenko suddenly trying to throw me into combat-"
"Shuichi, you have no confidence in yourself."
I fall silent at Tenko's sudden interruption, her face set into a serious look as she regards Shuichi directly. Shuichi even falls silent, the others watching curiously as she continues.
"When you don't have self-confidence, you doubt your own strength. You've been making some progress, as little as may be, but you still have a habit of doubting yourself when you shouldn't. I can usually tell when my sparring partner has doubts. I recommend Neo-Aikido! To help with your troubled heart! As a traditional Japanese martial art, It's the perfect way to cleanse your body and soul!"
After that explanation, Tenko turns to the next closest person. Me.
"How about you, Prairie?"
Oh no. She's getting excited, I can see it on her face. It was funny with Shuichi, but I'm not prepared to delve into sparring right now!
"If we combine our powers, we can solve everything in the world together by force!" Tenko claims, making me lift up my hands defensively with a nervous smile that doesn't go unnoticed by anyone.
"That's okay, ah...I-I just ate, so-" I start to stammer just as I see her body move in to grab my arm.
My reaction is immediate along with my resignation to my fate.
"Shuichi, watch closely! This is the kind of response Neo-Aikido requires!" Tenko says, already expecting me to slap her elbow past me and dig my other fist hard against her armpit to send her a message. Unfortunately, the "don't mess with me" message this would normally convey only sends a different message to Tenko. Specifically, the "don't go easy on me" message.
Tenko easily ducks so her arm drags my fist down, bringing with it the momentum of my fist. Next thing I know, she's folding my arm and pulling me off balance so gravity does the work.
Realizing she's about to throw me, I hastily plant my heel against the inner side of her foot.
With gravity already forcing most of my weight hard against it, I manage to get her balance off enough to stabilize my foot and bring my knee up under her's.
She doesn't seem to expect this kind of retaliation. Especially when I jump and kick out her other foot under her, pinning my side against her body and taking us both down so my full weight falls on her when she hits the ground. Tenko sputters in shock, all the while Himiko watches on lazily with...well, not that she actually looks surprised. She just watches on because what else is she supposed to watch, I suppose.
"Thanks for breaking my fall~" I comment cheekily with a pat on her head, getting back on my feet and dusting my coat skirt off with a grin when Tenko eventually follows with a breathless laugh of pride and turns to face Shuichi.
"You see? Look how well Prairie has progressed with her self-control! Well, there's still some lack of restraint, but it's going better than expected! After only one sparring session before too!" Tenko brags with a grin of elation. She looks like she can barely contain her glee.
"That looked like it hurt though! I didn't think Prairie could get more aggressive, and yet…!" Kiibo says with a hint of horror.
"That looked less like martial arts at the end there and more like pro-wrestling…" Rantaro observes thoughtfully, visibly intrigued despite how much he had been against my aggressive traits before.
"Okay! Your turn, Himiko!" Tenko suddenly whips around to face the other girl, barely giving her a chance to make her trademark puzzled "nyeh" before Tenko has her flipped on the ground just like she had with Shuichi.
Once she's got Himiko straightened up, or as straight as she can with how Himiko's back seems hunched over, Tenko hums in thought and begins her reading of the "fight" again like she did with Shuichi and I.
"I see...it seems like you're too shy to show your emotions. That's a shame. You have the richest heart of all compared to most," Tenko observes, barely paying mind to how Himiko reaches back to rub her backside through Tenko's diagnosis, of which only one cure seems to exist. Neo-Aikido training, of course. "Just as I thought, Himiko! You should also participate in Neo-Aikido with me! Training your body will help you express your emotions easier! We can sweat together and then hit the showers together to wash that sweat away! Prairie and I did that before!"
"Together…" Angie trails off in thought before grinning and hopping over with a bright smile to take Tenko's hand and my hand in hers. "We should all have a swimming party at the pool sometime! The room the pool is in stays warm even with this winter weather, according to the bears~! Perhaps for Himiko's birthday?"
She already asked then? Well, not like it matters, I don't think I can swim anyways. I won't be going.
"Oh, that's right! We should throw a party for Himiko!" Tenko brightly jumps in, despite that the person she's talking to isn't even someone she particularly likes. I guess when it comes to Himiko, that's enough to trump her dislike for Angie.
"Nna...I can't move my back…" I hear Himiko moan a little from behind, making me turn to examine her and run my hand up and down her back.
"Where does it hurt?" I ask, before her hand comes up to press her fingers to a spot along her spine in the middle of her back. Glancing up really quick to make sure everyone is preoccupied with Tenko and Angie's talk on Himiko's birthday, I close my eyes and quickly rub the part of Himiko's spine that aches, studying the bone. It's hard to tell what's wrong, but I eventually make a fist and strike a certain area that makes Himiko yip in surprise.
I open my eyes and she straightens up properly, blinking and then twisting her torso experimentally. Once she registers that there's nothing else wrong, she speaks up.
"I feel better…! I knew you could manipulate my magic energy back into place...since I can see the future…" Himiko states, loud enough that Tenko hears and turns to regard us.
"Ah! So you're interested in Neo-Aikido then, Himiko? I'm glad it made you feel better!" Tenko says, prompting Himiko to scowl darkly up at her and pull her hat down as she conceals most of her disdain.
"No. Not that. I was talking about Prairie fixing my energy...I feel like turning you into a disgusting toad with my magic…" Himiko comments, her drawl somehow managing to contain a sharpness uncommonly seen from her.
"Ah...so now you're angry. Yes, I can tell now," Tenko sheepishly responds under Himiko's deadly stare. Had she not had her hat in the way, it probably would have been twice as scathing of a look.
"This means we've used every item and we have our flashback light to address in the dining hall with Kaito. Furthermore, it seems like all of us are aware of the light save for Kokichi and Gonta, so we'll need someone to inform them," Korekiyo states.
"I'll go find them," Rantaro says first, leading us all out of the gym with him.
I wonder what that flashback light will have...am I going to have to be there when they set it off? I think I'd rather leave the room just to be safe. I don't want to end up becoming a bloody mess like last time. It put me in a state way too similar to the kind that overusing my intuition puts me in…
I enter the dining hall with the chatter of Angie, Shuichi, Tenko, and Kiibo behind me, Korekiyo and Himiko quietly following as we're greeted with the sight of Kaito and Maki already waiting for us.
"Hey! Finished with that last item then, Shuichi?" Kaito asks, making Maki glance up at us as we all find a comfortable place to sit. When I sit down in a seat, Himiko and Tenko are already sitting on either side of me, with Himiko scowling slightly when she notices Tenko close by. "What'd you find?"
"Yeah, we found a dojo out in the courtyard that ended up being Tenko's ultimate lab," Shuichi answers, causing Kaito to pause drinking from a glass of water with a puzzled scowl. He swallows the water down and wipes his mouth of the liquid.
"I'm sorry...you say you found a dojo? In the courtyard?" Kaito asks in confusion.
"I never saw any other unmarked buildings out there," Maki also adds input, making me shake my head so the two face me next.
"No, it wasn't a pre-existing building. We literally found a new building. The scroll item we had was for this ninja statue, and when we used it the ground started shaking. Didn't you feel it over here? It was really strong," I say, causing Maki to narrow her eyes suspiciously.
"We felt a quake, yeah…" Maki answers, though it still seems like she doesn't quite believe what caused it.
"It isn't just Prairie that can confirm- we all saw it! Trees fell over and the dojo sprung up from the ground! Like a blooming flower of a seed planted by Atua~" Angie says, clasping her hands together from Himiko's other side. Himiko mimics her, a prayer quietly gracing her moving lips before she lets her hands rest over the dining table lazily.
"They're telling the truth. We were in fact quite bewildered when we saw it happen before us. It remains that this place is not ordinary in the slightest with such advanced technology…" Korekiyo speaks up from where he's leaning by a wall near the table.
"It was a result of my magic…" Himiko repeats yet again, making me sigh and reach over to pat her back.
"As shocking as it is, I'm inclined to believe in magic at this rate," I comment, causing Himiko's eyes to peer my way in almost an accusatory manner that I try not to pay too much attention to.
"...So you didn't believe it before?" She asks, making me glance back at her and give an innocent smile that does nothing to settle her expression.
"Hello, friends! Gonta here with-"
"Heeey! We've got the thinga-ma-flash then? Cool~! I was hoping I'd find it first, but I guess someone beat me to the punch! Who found it, anyways?" Kokichi cuts Gonta off to ask as he waltzes in, a group which Rantaro seems the least bit enthused to be a part of simply from his dry expression.
I wave him over, making him brighten up a smidgen as he leaves Kokichi's side to place himself behind my seat. Noting his proximity, Tenko casts him one of her famous looks of suspicion but thankfully says nothing to shoo him away.
"It doesn't matter who found it, but if we're still on board with using it or not," Shuichi redirects the question to the rest of us, making me stare down at the table.
If they all agree, I'm going to wait outside the dining hall till they're done. I could tell them not to use it because it's possible they're full of lies, but they did already hear about the documents I found underground.
Monokuma said we're on live television meant to kill each other for entertainment, but didn't dismiss the fact there's a cataclysmic event unfolding outside of the killing game. Why would people be watching the killing game if it was the end of the world out there? His words were carefully construed even with Tsumugi's blabbing of things he probably didn't want her talking about.
Or did he? I can't be certain, there's no telling what he may do compared to Tsumugi. As far as I can tell, he seems all too keen to change the killing game on its head just to maim us.
All the more reason why I'm still inclined to believe we aren't getting the total truth from questionable items like the flashback lights.
Or am I the one misguided in thinking the flashback lights are false?
"Prairie?"
I hum in question, looking up from the table to see everyone staring at me. At their silence, I laugh nervously in embarrassment.
"Sorry, I was mulling things over about our situation...did you need something?" I ask curiously, hoping no one asks me what I was thinking about. That's really not something I should be hoping for when we're all stuck here with peers eager for the first suggestion on a way out though…
"What's up? You got anything important to say?" Kaito asks, making me smile sympathetically and shrug as I answer, "It's nothing concrete. Also, I'm also unable to speak about it since it's related to rules I'm forbidden to disobey unless I want to lose my head."
"Kokichi mentioned what happened last time with the flashback light. Remember? It had a really bad effect on you, so we wanted to know if you wanted to stay or step out until we finished using it," Kiibo says, making me glance back at the mechanism laying on the table beside Kaito. So they're giving me an option this time?
I could try it again, but it would mess me up pretty bad if it doesn't function how it does with the others. Or I could do as I initially planned and step out.
…
"I'll wait outside. Just come get me when you're done, I suppose," I say, pushing out my seat from the table much to the dismay of both Tenko and Himiko, both of whom I only then realized had scooted closer to me during the time I spaced out.
Huh. Didn't even notice that till now.
As I walk towards the doorway, heels clicking in the distance make me stop short of stepping out. At my pause, Gonta makes a noise of discomfort.
"Hear...Kirumi steps," Gonga states, making me turn and go around the table to exit through the back door instead.
"I'll be up in Gonta's lab," I say, much to the confusion of other students considering I'm walking outside and not further into the school.
Once the door closes behind me, I start walking around the school to re-enter through the main entrance. I peek down the hall cautiously, only scurrying towards the basement stairs once I'm sure Kirumi isn't around. My boot taps are the only sound in the droning silence of the halls as I head straight for the game room and finally the AV room.
Sliding open the door, I'm unable to stop my jaw from dropping a little at how clean the room looks. I mean, there's only one speaker now- with the second broken one shoved in a corner out of the way, but everything's in place and the water along with the little firepit box of blueprints Kokichi made is gone.
That said, so too has my bag of tools disappeared much to my dismay. I even go around the room in search, looking under the couches and around a few boxes until I surrender to the fact the bag I left behind is not in this room anymore.
There's two possibilities with this...either the Monokubs confiscated it and discarded it, or Kokichi took them himself. Neither of those are particularly good things, but I'd like to believe Kokichi took them since I have a better chance at recovering them from him.
With a sigh, I shake off my disappointment and start walking out of the lower floor, allowing my thoughts to fade into a fluid state. My focus is entirely on the quiet walk, a blissful break from the rest of my concerns regarding the academy up until I'm back on the first floor where my anxiety spikes again. I'm scared I could run into Kirumi leaving the dining hall at any moment, so I jog over to the next set of stairs in the hall where I can leave her vicinity.
To think Kirumi has the guts to enter the dining hall with everyone there and not expect people to try and restrain her again...I wonder if she was waiting until the flashback light was available to show herself? I guess she's just that unwilling to miss out on something important, even if being guarded by Gonta and Kaito is the price.
If even the kubz pads tell the truth, on top of that. Even though we saw the video with Kirumi in the trial, it still sounds pretty far-fetched that she's the Prime Minister of Japan.
I'd have only been waiting outside the door for the others if Kirumi didn't show up to crash the party...now I get to hang out alone again until they're done. Is this how long it took last time? I thought it was just a sort of "flash and done" sort of thing...
Stopping in front of Gonta's lab, I regard the butterfly embossed door curiously. Come to think of it, I've never actually been inside of this room. Neither his, nor Himiko's from what I recall. I should probably check out her lab after Gonta meets me up here...god, he better not bring Kokichi with him when he does.
I push open the door and step in, surprised to see green grass under my feet as I walk in and skinny trees to the side of the room. There's a large circular table made of a large piece of a tree trunk and the walls are lined with various types of bugs placed within glass showcases.
There's one wall to the back of the room that I notice seems to contain moving things, prompting me to step closer and find them to be little bug boxes- like the kind kids carry around to put caught bugs in.
There's not just one type of bug either, I see insects, arachnids, and even one container with a pair of hermit crabs much to my surprise.
Gonta probably still remembers what I threatened to do back by the stairs when I was trying to ward him away from Kokichi, so I better just wait patiently until he gets here. Even if I do want to see some of the bugs up close.
And so I resign myself to sitting on one of the log seats at the table, resting my head on the surface and closing my eyes for a little.
Just a little shut eye until Gonta gets here to show me the centipedes…
❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀ 〰〰〰〰〰〰 ❀
❀ End of 4.7 - Too Technological ❀