"Hmm? Why have you come back here?"
Maiha, the lone ballroom dancer, stood by herself in the ballroom, staring out at the starry window and fiddling with a fringe of her long dark-red hair. It seemed that Haruyuki had left to check out another part of the Moonlight City. Masashi had no problems with that; he would have asked him to leave, anyway.
"I've come to talk with you about something," Masashi began. "But before I do, could we go elsewhere? I'd rather that we went to the park, the room with the great Ferris wheel."
She looked at him with slight curiosity. "What about that room draws you in?"
"Nothing much, really. I just like Ferris wheels."
They were all right, but he had a different reason for having chosen that room. Unlike the park, the ballroom had two doors. Hence, one could watch over one door, but anyone could eavesdrop through the other. And Mari had already gone to her designated spot.
"I should hardly imagine that that is your reason," she replied. "But... I wonder what you wish to talk with me about."
She glanced sidelong at the window for a second. "Very well, then. I shall take a few minutes of my time to hear what you wish to say."
Wow, that quickly? I was kind of expecting to use a bit more persuasion.
Nonetheless, one ought not to look a gift horse in the mouth, and so he led the way to the park, which was on the bow side of the fifth deck. When they stepped in, Masashi made sure to shut the door.
"Not a bad sight, if I may say so," Maiha remarked. "Indeed, this whole Moonlight City appeals to me. I must begrudgingly commend Monokuma for choosing a scene of good aesthetics."
"Well… Actually, it's not Monokuma you'll commend."
"What?" She looked confusedly at him. "I don't understand. Elaborate."
All right, then… Time to begin.
Masashi then took out the note that Monokuma had given him and showed Maiha it.
"What… is this?" she said, sounding truly bewildered. "Duties of the overseer of this killing game?"
"Yep. It seems that 'overseer' is what Brightmere Research calls the mastermind. And it doesn't seem to be Monokuma, either."
"Yes, I can see so myself," she quickly responded. "The note mentions a 'host'. That must be referring to Monokuma."
"Then have you figured out who the mastermind is?"
"I'm afraid to say that I do not know. Judging by your face, though, you seem to have your suspicions."
Masashi then explained to her Mari's reasoning for thinking that the overseer, the mastermind of this killing game, was, shockingly enough, one of the eighteen participants. She looked only a little surprised to hear that there was a mole among the ones who were still alive.
"It's all too intriguing…" she said. "One of us has deceived us all… Unbelievable to think that a commoner has deceived even me."
"And that's not the only thing," Masashi continued. "The others who have read the note already have their suspicions on which of us is the mastermind."
"Hmm?" she said. "I bid you to tell me now!"
Masashi took in a short breath of air before giving it away.
"It's you."
"What?!"
She glared at him, a frown waxing on her face. "Surely you jest!"
"Do I look like I'm joking?"
She blenched as she tried to come up with a response. "What in God's name has driven them to such a ludicrous notion?"
"For one," he explained, "you've been rather antagonistic, and you haven't tried to befriend the others. It's almost like you're forbidden to do so. And if that's the case for the mastermind, then it makes a lot of sense. That's what Sorao and the others say."
Maiha, however, deepened her frown. "Is that it? Mere antagonism from me? What rank reasoning that is from that knavish musician and his knavish company. On those criteria alone, I alone cannot be condemned."
"True… It'd be a lie to say that you're the only one with an unfriendly attitude. But there's one thing about you that sets you apart. It's the fact that you're not, in your words, a commoner."
"What?" she said, puzzled. "Wh-What are you saying? I don't understand at all. How does that matter?"
"Don't you remember what we learned about Brightmere Research last night?" Masashi explained. "Brightmere Research… is funded by a bunch of elites."
Though that was all he said, it was enough for Maiha, who snarled as her fist shook.
"Are you saying that I have some kind of connection to Brightmere Research?"
To be truthful, Masashi felt a bit intimidated to hear the wrath in her voice. For a moment, he thought that Maiha might wring his neck for bringing it up. But he regained his daring again, feeling confident that if need were, he could fight back against her.
"I'm not the one saying it. It's what some of the others are saying," he said. "I have to admit, it is kind of suspicious that a rich person like you is here. I would say the same for Futaba, but her innocence has been proven already. If she were the mastermind, the killing game would already be over."
"H-How ludicrous… To accuse me of being the mastermind! The foolish commoners are free to think what they will. I'll simply continue my uninterest in them."
"That's all well and good, but… I don't think you can simply ignore them."
Maiha grimaced as she leaned forth. "Explain yourself."
"You see, the others have thought of something: the killing game can't continue if the mastermind can't do anything. So if they decide to lock you up…"
"WHAT?!"
She crossed her arms, scowling.
"How… How dare they say such a thing?! Did they not learn your lesson earlier?! Last time, one of them suggested that I be locked up, simply because I was holding onto one of that wretched thief's lockpicks! That was infuriating enough, and this has just surpassed it!"
"Well, I admit, I don't think it's a good solution at all. I don't want to see anyone locked up. That's why I don't want to lock you up."
Then he took in another breath of air. At this point, he must not show weakness.
"But the others disagree. They plan to talk about it after we're done investigating this place. And if the others want me to lock you up, then I'll think about it."
It was then that for the first time, Maiha said nothing at all. Every part of her face betokened her utter speechlessness, as if he had just stabbed her in the gut.
"You… You can't be serious!" she said eventually.
"As I said, I don't want to lock you up," he replied. "But in the end, Arashi still betrayed us. I tried to do things my way, and I failed. Maybe I should try something different."
"And so… that's why… you're open to this ludicrous idea?!"
It was ludicrous. But that was beside the point.
"Do you think it's as ludicrous as the one who came up with it?"
"Certainly!"
"Call yourself ludicrous, then! If the one suspected of being the mastermind were anyone else, you would support it!"
"I admit, you seem more intelligent than the other commoners here. Still, I'm rather disappointed that you seem to trust that wretched thief."
"I can't help it, exactly," Haruyuki replied, keeping his placid voice. "From my interactions with her, I can't think of her as someone who would stoop so low as to commit murder."
Maiha scoffed. "That's your opinion."
"But you must admit, your predictions that she would soon commit a murder failed to come true. Perhaps you ought to reconsider your position."
She sighed as she shook her head in disapproval. "I'm afraid you're mistaken, commoner. I have yet to be proven wrong about her. The killing game hasn't ended yet, and sooner or later, she will act. Don't you think so, Masashi?"
"Huh?" Masashi said once she turned back toward him. "Well, uh… You're not suggesting that we lock her up, are you?"
"It's certainly worth reconsidering. You must agree that my suggestion looks more and more desirable, yes?"
Is there any way I can even get her to change her mind? Masashi thought as his dismay waxed. Even if I besought her a thousand times, she wouldn't yield at all...
"Hmm? Not convinced, are you?" She sighed as she set her arms on her hips. "Well, take your time, Masashi. Even if it is not the wretched thief that is the greatest threat to our well-being here, my proposal is still worth your consideration."
"Grrk!" Maiha said as she glanced to the side. "Th-That's…!"
"If we lock up the mastermind, then this killing game can't continue. That's what you would argue."
She staggered back. "And that's why you'll agree to this?!"
To be truthful, Masashi felt some glee from seeing Maiha like this. Even after being accused once, she had still stayed fast to her proposal. But now, there was a serious possibility that she would be subjected to her own punishment.
Still, the point of this was not to find delight in her pain. He needed something else from her instead.
"Maiha, hasn't it occurred to you why I've told you all this?"
"Wh-What?" She blinked twice. "I-I don't understand."
"If I wanted to lock you up all along, I would just wait for the investigation of this ship to end. Then the others would suggest that I lock you up, and then I would simply have to agree. In fact, I'd have the advantage of surprising you with my agreement. So why do you think I'm telling you all this now? "
"Th-That's…"
A few seconds later, the dread and the anger on her face were replaced with understanding.
"I see now… You wish to strike a deal with me," she said, her usual calm but sharp voice returning.
"Yep. I don't want to lock you up, but if I simply waited to speak up against it later, I wouldn't guarantee that you'd not try to accuse someone later. That's why I'll agree to speak against it… under certain conditions."
Maiha said nothing at first as her face growing graver and graver. After a few seconds, though, she sighed disapprovingly as she shook her head.
"What are your demands?"
And here it was. This was the crucial point.
"I have only two: stop proposing that we lock people up, and open yourself up to me and the others."
She looked dumbly at him for a few seconds. "What? Is that all?"
"That's all."
"Truly? No demands for money?"
"I'm not interested in your money."
She widened her eyes. "Then… why? Why the second demand?"
It seemed that she understood well enough why he had asked her to drop her proposal.
"I want things to go back to normal," he answered. "I want everyone to form a bond together, and that includes you."
"What? You still wish to do so?"
He nodded. "Even after Arashi's death, I still think we can form a bond together. Back at home, my younger sister, my friends, and I… we all had a bond. We all lived together in peace and harmony."
"Is that… so?"
Maiha stared blankly at him for a few seconds, looking at him with far less ridicule than Masashi had imagined from her, as if he had stricken her with awe.
"I must admit… I didn't expect you to demand such things from me," she said. "Though you are a bit different from the average commoner, you are, in the end, still a commoner. I was expecting something of… material worth to you."
"Once again, I'm not interested in your money. And besides, I think this helps you far more than me. If you agree to befriend the others, they'll think of you in a better light. And maybe you'll actually make a few new friends! Won't that be swell if that happens?"
Maiha heaved a small sigh. "You… even now, you cling to your ideals and insist that I spend time with those commoners."
"Commoners aren't bad people. Well, most of them, at least. They're a few bad people, sure, but can't you say the same for rich people?"
"Hmph. You truly…" she muttered as she glanced downwards with a sullen look. "You truly sound like him."
"What? 'Him'?"
She glanced to the side, looking slightly less hostile. "Oh, you haven't realized yet. I am the Ultimate Competitive Ballroom Dancer… and one does not do ballroom dance by oneself, yes?"
It took a second for Masashi to understand whom she was referring to.
"Oh, that's right… You have a dance partner, right?" Masashi said.
She nodded solemnly. "Of course… But now's not the time for me to prattle on about this. More importantly, about your proposal…"
She sighed once more.
"I suppose that it won't kill me to spend some time with a few commoners… Very well, then. I agree to your conditions."
The moment that she uttered those words, Masashi felt as if a great burden had been heaved off his shoulders. At long last, he would hear no more proposals of locking people up and snobby dismissals from Maiha Hanazawa.
To be truthful, he had expected it to be much harder. Maiha had shown herself to be incredibly prideful, and so he had worried that she was so proud that she would not yield to his conditions, thinking it better to subject herself to solitude. But in the end, she had chosen to yield, which caused a slight feeling of glee rush through him.
Yet this turn of events had surprised him as well. He had wanted to convince her through kinder ways, but in the end, Mari had convinced him that he must be ruthless toward her. And oddly enough, though this was the first time that he had to act toward someone like this, it almost felt familiar, as if he had trodden the path of ruthlessness before.
But he must not think that this was the end of it. Even though she said that she would no longer be a thorn on his side, nothing that she had done ruled out the possibility that she was the mastermind. If that were true, then it was no wonder that it had been surprisingly easy to persuade her. And even if she were not the mastermind, it was still possible for her to be up to something. In other words, he could not guarantee that she was truthful.
Still, for now, he had given her a chance to open up to the others, and having suspicions cloud his judgment would not help at all. He needed to be careful, but first and foremost, he needed to trust her.
After agreeing on their plans, the two chose to end the conversation. Maiha insisted on staying behind for now, so he left first. When he left through the door, he glanced to the right and saw that Mari was sitting on the long stairway, glancing down at the fifth deck while her hand repeatedly tapped the stair that she sat on.
"How did it go?" she asked after he rushed up to her.
"It worked," he answered.
He then whispered to her the gist of what had happened. Once he was done, she smiled a small but gentle smile as the only sign of her delight that her plan had worked.
"Did anyone else come by while we were talking?" he asked.
"Well, Faye came by, but she didn't stop by the door at all. Instead, she was going back to the dining room in the woodland kingdom, so I don't think she heard anything."
"Oh, well, good to hear… Still, I can't believe you came up with such a sneaky plan to begin with," he said. "I didn't think you would use this new information about the mastermind to deal with Maiha."
"When you told me about how she kept insisting that we lock Kasumi up, I figured that she wouldn't change her mind under normal circumstances. Of course, as it turned out, Sorao himself provided us with an opportunity."
"Yeah, he suddenly tried to have us lock her up! I don't get why, though."
"Neither do I. It confused me as well," she said. "Anyway, I figured you'd think to reject it, and normally, I'd have let you. But it was likely that afterwards, Maiha wouldn't learn anything as a result. She'd likely try something else or wait for another opportunity to bring up her proposal. That's why I wanted you to confront her and force her to stop."
Admittedly, it had felt underhanded to get Maiha to agree to his terms like this. Essentially, he had gotten her to do what he would with the threat of letting the others lock her up. Moreover, he had done something behind the group's back yet again, even though Maiha now knew about it. He wished that he could just do everything without the need for deceit.
But at this point, he must learn not to care about it. Seven people had died already, and if he wanted to return to how things were supposed to be through more questionable means, then he must make up for it by being as truthful as he could in his other activities.
"There's one thing I don't get," Masashi said. "Since we wanted to pressure her, couldn't we have just waited for Sorao to accuse her during the meeting? Then I could have used the pressure to ask her to change her mind about not befriending us."
"One problem with that," she shot back. "Even if the outcome had ended up being the same for us, how do you think she would have felt afterwards?"
"Ah…!"
If Maiha had been openly forced to comply with his demands, then there was a good chance that she would have felt humiliated, and who knew what the unintended consequences of that would have been? Of course, by agreeing to Masashi's proposal seemingly on her own will, Maiha would later save face.
Wow… She accounted for Maiha's feelings as well, Masashi thought. She truly is pretty thoughtful about all this.
Upon realizing it, he could not but look at her with much admiration. She truly made a rather good deputy. Indeed, the more he looked at her, the more he felt sad at the idea of her leaving him, even if it were for only a moment. Having been with her for these last few days, he found it hard to imagine how things would be like without her. Perhaps they could stay good friends after this ordeal.
Perhaps, many years in the future, they could look back at this moment and wonder at the crazy circumstances in which they had met.
"Anyway," Mari said, "let's go back to the dining room. I think we've investigated this place enough for now."
"Hmm… All right."
The two then walked up the rest of the stairs and left the Moonlight City. As they walked back to the dining room, doubt already began to appear in his mind.
Was it truly the right thing to have convinced Maiha to form a bond with the others? Or would it have been better if he had agreed to Sorao's proposal, whatever his true motives might be?
One thing was set in stone: he had begun to tread this path, and he could not tread back now.
When they arrived at the dining room, to his surprise, Kumi was there, looking down at his book. Faye, Kasumi, and Haruyuki sat at the same table as he.
"A-And the prince reunited with the princess at long last... Th-They returned to the kingdom… and they lived happily ever after…" Kumi read from his book, his voice shaky.
Faye clapped. "Well done, Kumi! That was such a wonderful, splendid, and marvelous tale!"
"Yeah, that wasn't bad at all!" Kasumi said.
"Th-Thank you…" Kumi said, though he looked none the happier to be praised. He then looked up at them both. "S-Sir Masashi… L-Lady Mari… You're here…"
"Huh? What are you guys doing?" Masashi asked.
"Kumi's just read us one of his tales," Faye explained. "When I came back here, I saw the three here. Kumi was looking down at the table while the other two were chatting with each other."
"To be clear, I was talking with Kasumi about the last manga that I've read," Haruyuki said, raising an index finger.
"I couldn't really stand seeing Kumi looking all so mopey," Faye continued, ignoring his comment. "So I gave him a leftover treat and asked him to read me one of his tales."
"It was one of his usual tales of a gallant prince," Haruyuki said, looking a bit dismayed at first that he had been ignored. "I must admit, his slow talking and dreary tone somewhat lowered my enjoyment of the tale, but otherwise, it wasn't all too bad."
"Haruyuki, don't speak like that," Faye said somewhat sternly. "You know full well why Kumi's like this."
The art critic shrugged his shoulders as he opened up his arms a little. "I was simply giving my opinions on his work."
"Well, there's a time for everything, and the time for it isn't now."
He let out a tired sigh, looking slightly annoyed. "Very well, then, if you insist."
"Anyway, Kumi, are you all right?" Masashi asked. "You don't look all that well."
"I-I…"
Kumi lowered his head and looked back at his book. Masashi awaited his answer, but a few seconds passed before he saw that no answer would come.
Poor Kumi… He looks utterly forlorn, Masashi thought. Without Sister Hikari around, will he ever recover?
He wanted to say something, but before he should, he heard footsteps coming into the dining room. It was all the others, including Sorao and Maiha.
"Ah, there you are," Maiha said, pointing at Masashi. "Tell these foolish commoners that they're mistaken in their suspicions."
"Mistaken? How am I mistaken?" Sorao said casually. "I've already told all the others, and they agree with me."
"Gotta say, I wasn't expecting the rich girl to be the mastermind," Sayua remarked. "If anything, I'd think it's that dumbass storyteller."
"Wh-What? Why?" Faye said, she and the others looking with bewilderment at her.
Sayua scoffed. "He pisses me off the most, and so does the mastermind. Doesn't it make sense to think they're the same person?"
"Th-That's some reasoning you have there..." Hikari said, looking dumbstruck.
"It's incredible, in a way..." Tanjiro rolled his eyes, his tone a mix of befuddlement and tiredness.
In the meantime, Kumi let out nothing but a whimper, his face growing wan. Even though he had recovered enough to speak again, he was still so dispirited that he could not muster up a response.
"My, my, what's this now?" Haruyuki said. "What is this about a mastermind?"
"Oh, right, you guys don't know about it yet," Masashi said.
After he explained everything to those who did not know, the room was, for a moment, filled with silence as the others gazed toward Maiha, who looked not at all bothered by this.
"I see…" Haruyuki began. "I must admit, she has exuded a rather unpleasant air, but to think that she may be the mastermind all along…"
Sorao smiled. "Masashi, don't you think we ought to lock Maiha up? You agreed to think about it, right?
If he were to let Sorao continue, he would likely persuade enough people to have her locked up. Fortunately, Masashi would not let things play out this way.
"Hmm… Well… We've thought about it," he said. "And in the end, I don't think we should do it."
"Huh?" The celesta player gave him a puzzled look. "Are you playing me, dude?"
"Sorry, but even now, I don't think that locking her up solves anything," he said. "I want us to continue to form a bond, and this time, I want her to join in as well."
"Wh-What?!" Kasumi said. "Are you sure about that? Last time, she didn't accept, and I don't think she's changed her mind!"
Maiha sneered as she looked at her haughtily. "You are mistaken, wretched thief. Ever since last night, I've thought about it some more, and in the end, I've concluded that it's best that we cooperate."
"Huh?" many of the others said.
"A-Are you serious?" Hikari said. "Y-You… say you've changed?"
"Maiha, do you truly mean to bond with us?" Haruyuki said, looking intensely at her.
"I swear as a Hanazawa that I do," she said sternly. "At this point, I see no reason for this schism between us. Why, in fact, I'll even listen to the wretched thief's escapades."
"Wait, really?" Haruyuki sounded more surprised than one might expect from him. "If you speak truthfully, then I feel compelled to believe you!"
"How did that persuade you of all people?" Tanjiro said, befuddled.
"Hey, come on, man, think carefully about this," Sorao said to Masashi. "She says she's had a change of heart, but don't you think she's saying this only because we're accusing her right now?"
Maiha lowered her eyes as if bored. "I assure you, I mean to follow through with my change of heart."
"True, I can't tell whether she's lying," Masashi added. "But I'm willing to give her a chance. I've wanted her to change her mind, so it'd be wrong if I were to reject her now of all times."
"Well, if that's what you say, then I guess so," Tanjiro said. "I'd rather believe that she means to turn a new leaf with us than think she's trying to deceive us."
"Right..." Hikari said, looking surprisingly less uneasy than Masashi would expect.
Faye nodded. though much reluctance was written on her face. "I can't guarantee that we'll become close friends or anything, but I guess it won't hurt to give her a chance. I know for sure that she can be nice if she wants. After all, she's complimented my cooking before."
Huh, so that's what makes you open up to her... Masashi thought.
"W-Well, I wouldn't want to be locked up, so I guess it's only right for her to be free," Kasumi said with her usual chirpy voice. Despite that, however, Masashi could have sworn that he had sensed a bit of uncertainty from her.
"But… she may be the mastermind…" Sorao said, looking at the others with a confused expression.
"I don't think you have any concrete evidence against her, though," Mari responded. "She has been acting questionably, but that's not exactly good enough reason to suspect her."
"Y-You have a point there," Hikari said.
Sayua frowned. "If she's not the mastermind, then who is it?"
"That we do not know yet," Mari said. "But for now, I suggest that you not worry about it."
"Huh? Why not?" Faye asked.
"Worrying about which of us is the mastermind will do you no good," she warned. "Most likely, you'll 'figure out' which of us it is, and then you'll do something reckless."
"Oh, so you want us to be sitting ducks, then?" Sayua said accusingly.
She shook her head. "No… it's right to be careful about the mastermind. But don't let the idea of catching the mastermind consume you. In other words, if you think of someone, but don't have any concrete evidence for your suspicion, then dismiss the thought."
The cheerleader snarled as she lowered her head a little. "Tch… When you put it that way, I guess I can't argue against that."
"I'll try not to think about it," Tanjiro said firmly.
"So will I," Haruyuki added relaxedly.
Despite the growing murmurs of agreement, Masashi suspected that it would not be so simple as that. The genie was now out of the bottle, and it was extremely unlikely that they would easily forget something as important as the mastermind's identity. And now, they had Maiha to deal with, and she was not exactly held in high regard.
More importantly, Masashi glanced toward Sorao, wondering whether he agreed. To his surprise, for a very brief second, he could have sworn that Sorao had glanced back at him. Whatever he might be thinking, however, Sorao quickly bore a blithesome countenance as he faced the others.
"Oh, yeah, good point there, man," the musician said, scratching the back of his head. "I guess I got a little too zealous there. I was so driven by the possibility that we could stop this killing game, you know?"
"I don't blame you," Faye replied. "We all want to find the one behind this, but we shouldn't suspect each other."
Sorao sighed. "Yeah… Guess so. Sorry, Maiha."
Maiha flicked a fringe of her dark-red hair. "Hmph. I suppose I should at least be glad that you've shown humility, commoner."
"Uh, Maiha? Could you stop calling him by that?" Masashi asked, wishing that he had asked her this earlier. "I don't think it's kind of you to refer to him like that."
For a second, Maiha ground her teeth as if he had asked her to do the impossible. Eventually, however, she clicked her tongue and said, "I suppose not... If I want to cooperate with you, then I don't need to remind you of your status as commoner."
"Well, now, that's progress already," Haruyuki said approvingly. "It'll be very interesting to see how much you plan to follow through your words. I suspect it'll be harder than you think."
Maiha scoffed as she shot him an annoyed glance. "Once again, you talk too much."
Hoo boy... This will take a while, won't it? Masashi thought, amazed by how arrogant she still was.
"All right, now what?" Sayua asked. "What's our plan now?"
"Masashi and I will think of something that we can do together," Mari quickly answered. "We'll also look into the mastermind's identity, though we don't promise that we'll find an answer. And as we said before, we'll launch the fireworks again tonight."
"I guess that's all we can do for now…" Tanjiro said before he glanced over at a certain person. "By the way… what shall we do about Kumi?"
Kumi had not spoken at all ever since Sorao and the others had appeared, though he did not seem at all confused about what was going on.
"I'll watch over him," Faye said at once, her tone cheerful and hopeful. "I think he'll like some company right now. And maybe I can even have him watch me cook! Maybe seeing me make his favorite treats will raise his spirits in no time! What do you think about that, Kumi?"
Kumi said no words, but he nodded his head slowly, showing that he had no objections to her suggestion, even though there was absolutely no enthusiasm on his face. Perhaps he thought that it would be impolite to refuse her.
"Ooh, could I join?" Sorao said, raising his hand excitedly. "I like to eat pastries, so I want to see how the mistress behind them works."
"M-Mistress? Oh, you really shouldn't say that…" Faye said, though her blushing cheeks and her smile showed her true feelings. "If you're interested, then by all means, join us."
"Sweet! Can't wait to try out some cooking!" Sorao said, his eyes glinting. "Oh, I can't wait at all!"
"Uh huh…" Tanjiro said, looking oddly at him.
"Ah, buddy, what's wrong?" Sorao said. "You're looking at me as if I had something on my face."
"Oh… Sorry about that," Tanjiro said. "I was only… thinking about something. It's nothing, really."
After some more discussion, the meeting ended without a hitch, and the others headed their separate ways, doing whatever they would. In the meantime, however, Mari asked Masashi to take her to his room, wishing to speak to him about something in private. There was no need to specify what "something" was, for only one thing was left to talk about.
Why do you believe in fate?
He could not say why, but something about it bothered him enough that he felt compelled to learn more about it.
Agreeing to her request, he then took her to his room. After he shut the door, she sat down at one of his chairs, and for a few seconds, neither of them said a word, as if waiting for the other to make the first move. Eventually, Masashi chose to make the first move.
"To be sure, do you truly believe that Arashi was destined to die?"
She nodded without a moment's hesitation.
"It was always meant to be like this," she answered plainly. "Perhaps you could've diverted his fate by helping him deal with his feelings of revenge. But in the end, he would have avoided his fate for only a fleeting moment. He was always meant to leave us, whether as a victim or as a killer."
"Then… was it the same for all the others?" Masashi asked. "Were Sister Hikari and Murphy also destined to die that night?"
"That night? I can't say. But I don't think that they would have left this killing game alive."
For some reason, something about her answer nettled him, as if she had just insulted him, but he chose to stay quiet.
"How about Haruka, Futaba, and Abraham?"
"The same goes for them. Nothing about them made them so special as to avoid the clutches of fate."
"Not even Atsushi?"
But her only answer was a shaking of her head.
"What…?"
He thought that she might have thought twice about her opinion.
"Masashi, are you trying to change my mind about this?" Mari asked, her voice growing sterner, though her expression remained as soft as ever.
"Well…"
"You should know that this isn't something that I've just come up with," she responded. "Don't you remember the night of Atsushi's murder? You came up to the main deck after the class trial, and we talked."
"That's right… And you said…"
His voice drew to a stop as he recalled what she had said.
"Well, when you put it that way, I guess I shouldn't beat myself up for not saving Atsushi when I could have, right?" Masashi replied, rather amazed by her resilience.
"Do not think yourself to be at fault for it," Mari said as she looked back at the horizon. "There was nothing that you could have done to save him. He was always meant to be killed."
He was always meant to be killed...
He had then thought that she was simply saying that he should not blame himself for failing to stop Atsushi's death. And in a way, that was what she had meant. There was nothing that he could have done. But only now did he understand the mindset behind her words.
"Why? Why do you think like that?"
That was the only thing that he could say now. He looked down at her, who continued to sit at her seat without showing any conflict.
She heaved a small sigh. "This is a tale that I normally wouldn't share with other people… but at this point, I guess it's only right that I tell you."
Those words brought about no confidence within him. Those were not words leading up to something happy.
"When I was but a baby, while my parents were busy, I was taken care of by one of my cousins," she began. "It so happened that one day, while we were walking in a park, it began to rain. Naturally, my cousin took shelter under a tree. But the rainstorm grew in its intensity, and we began to hear thunder.
"And then it happened," she continued, stopping for a moment. "I am sure that of all the things that could have befallen us, never had my cousin thought that we should be struck by lightning."
"What…?" Masashi said. "You… were struck… by lightning?!"
She nodded rather nonchalantly as if talking about an everyday subject.
"Unfortunately, my cousin met her end… but miraculously enough, not only did I survive, but a man who had seen the lightning also found us not long after and called for an ambulance. As a result, the doctors managed to ensure my survival, and I made it through the incident unscathed, save for a few minor effects to my hearing."
"That's…"
"I didn't remember the incident at all, naturally, but as I grew up and was told of the tale, everyone called me special. To me, it sounded like praise. You know, how a mother might call her kid special for winning a sports tournament.
"But later on… I came to understand why."
Suddenly, her voice and her countenance both grew grave.
"That day in the park, I was supposed to accompany my cousin to whatever awaited us after death... But instead, I survived. That wasn't meant to be how things were meant to play out. And so I understood that I had cheated death.
"But fate doesn't allow for cheaters. Because of this, I knew I'd never live a normal life like most other people. Instead, death will always lie nearby, awaiting its chance to correct this mistake...
"And that is how I learned of destiny," she finished. "None can escape their fate. Not Arashi, not Atsushi… and not I."
Masashi had no words to say.
For a moment, he only stared dumbly at her, trying to process what he had just heard. Though there was nothing outwardly fantastic about it, it still sounded something out of a fairy tale. He truly thought about the possibility that all this was some weird tale that she had come up with, or that she had heard about from someone else. His mind would then rightfully reject it as something separate from the truth.
But the more he thought about it, the more he came to see that nothing about this went against what he had seen of her. He recalled the time when he had ridden the Haunted Woods ride with her, and the time when she had suddenly rushed out of the power room during the blackout.
When the ride stopped, to his utter amazement, Mari looked way less affected by it than he.
"You look rather shaken by it," Mari remarked. Though she had screamed much during the ride, Masashi had still sensed that she had found the experience rather thrilling.
"Y-You could say that again," Masashi said, feeling slightly disoriented. "H-How could you go through it without getting shaken?"
"Hmm… Well, believe me, it frightened me, but only a little bit," Mari answered. "It's important to keep in mind that frightening images are meant to evoke in us our primal fear of death. But I'm not particularly worried about that."
"H-Huh?"
Masashi stared at her with more confusion than wonder this time. The last part puzzled him the most, since it was her reason for keeping a calmer mind during the ride, and she essentially deemed herself exceptional in some way.
"Y-You guys sure run quickly!" Arashi said before letting out a small groan. "D-Don't leave me behind like that next time!"
"S-Sorry... And, Mari, could you not run off like that next time?" Masashi said as he caught his breath.
"Oh... Sorry. I just felt like seeing what had happened," Mari said, not facing him. "A few seconds could make a huge difference."
"Y-Yeah, but still... Don't you think it was risky to simply run off like that?" he replied. "You could've been hurt or put yourself in great danger. Besides, for all we know, we're still in danger."
It all made sense now.
Mari, having realized that she was destined to die, did not see it as a bad thing. Indeed, she had not fallen into thinking that everything was meaningless. On the contrary, it had emboldened her to be as daring as she wanted. After all, if she succeeded in her daring ventures, then she simply delayed her meeting with death by only a tiny bit. But if she failed, then she was simply letting things return to the way that things were. Hence, she had ventured outdoors as much as she could, wishing to live as fulfilling a life as she could before returning to death's embrace. She might feel fear, but in the end, she would not let it affect her.
It was odd: since things were all predestined, any changes were naturally part of that, but that did not stop her from acting complacent. Rather, if she felt like it, she would dare to try to have things go her way. As neither she nor anyone could foresee what was meant to be, her interference too could be deemed to be part of fate.
He asked her whether what he understood of her was true.
A second later, she nodded.
"Then… are you the kind of girl that will let others do to her what they will?"
"It depends," she answered calmly. "If it's something I'm against, then I'll try my best to stop it… but in the end, if I cannot, then I shall accept it."
"Because it's all part of fate, right?"
"You could put it that way."
Throughout her speech, she had spoken with a most nonchalant answer, as if merely answering any normal problem. But he set that aside, for he must ask her one more question.
"What if someone tries to kill you in this killing game?"
Mari looked askance at him. "I'd like to survive as long as I am allowed to… but if someone targets me, I'll think it's a sign that death has come for me at last."
"You... You will accept your death just like that?"
"I admit, it'll be sad that I can't explore more of the world once I'm gone, but if that's how things turn out, then it can't be helped."
The moment she uttered those words, a certain feeling arose within him.
How can you say those things so easily?
He began to feel slightly dizzy, as if the world around him had begun to be warped.
When he had been by her side, he had envisioned that somehow, they should find a way out of this nightmare. Then he and the other survivors could make their ways back home, and he could make his way back to his peaceful life.
That was what he had wanted. That was what he had thought Mari wanted as well.
And now, she would dismiss the thought of her death as if it were any ordinary thing that was out of her control.
The future that he had envisioned began to disappear. He tried his best to keep his grasp on it, but as it slipped away, it shrank and shrank in his sight, until there was no more of it.
"Masashi… are you all right?" she asked, looking somewhat concerned. "You look a bit… shaken."
He thought of only one thing to do.
"Leave."
He pointed at the door.
"Please leave... I want to be by myself right now."
"What?" she said, looking confused. "What's the matter—"
"Leave!"
He raised his voice, staring at her anxiously. For a moment, the two only stared at each other, as if waiting to see once again which of them would make the next move. But in a few seconds, Mari settled things once and for all.
"I see… That's how you feel now."
It should not have surprised Masashi to see the small frown on her face. He had not expected her to be happy about this. And yet, when he saw it, he felt slight pain smite his heart, her frown filled more with disappointment than with wrath.
She stood up from her seat. "In that case, I'll go look around for clues about the mastermind. In the meantime, you're free to do whatever you will. Goodbye."
He said nothing as Mari passed by him, left the room, and shut the door.
She had promised him that she would explain her mindset, but in the end, he had to rethink everything that she had done. All her daring had seemed to be a sign that she was naturally of the courageous kind. But now, he knew that she saw her being as the result of having cheated death.
How could she say such a thoughtless thing?
That was all that he could think for the next few minutes.
Eventually, he grew unwilling to move, even though he hardly felt any tired, and so he did nothing more than to look silently at the walls. He had no idea how much time had passed. Likely, it had only been a few minutes. But already, it felt as if Mari's departure had happened days ago. And as his heated emotions began to cool down, slight pain began to smite his heart.
No... Why did things have to turn out like this?
Mari would say that it was fate, but he loathed thinking of that as an actual answer.
And it was then that he heard it: a knocking on the door.
Mari...?
He rose from his seat at once and went over to the door, not even thinking about what he would say. But when he opened the door, he felt a small shock at who it was.
"Huh? It's you two. What are you doing here?"
It was, of all people, Hikari and Haruyuki.
"I, um…" Hikari glanced to the side for a few seconds before looking back at him. "I-I was wondering whether you were all right."
"Oh, uh, I am," Masashi answered. "Why did you think I wasn't?"
"A few minutes ago, I… saw her," she answered. "M-Mari, that is. She looked a bit sad about something, and I asked her why. And then she said… you guys had a bit of an argument."
What? She said that?
To be truthful, he would have expected her to be far more frustrated. But then again, how could he tell what was going on in her mind, given that until today, he had never expected her to think the way she did?
"Ah..." Masashi said once he realized what had happened next. "I get it. You both wondered how I was doing, and wanted to see what I was doing."
Haruyuki raised an index finger. "Actually, I've come here to talk with you about something. I simply happened to bump into Hikari on the way."
Oh… Well, that's kind of disappointing to hear from you… Wait a minute.
There was something clearly odd about this. And by "this", he meant the very scene that he now beheld.
"I'll get to you in a minute, Haruyuki," he said before facing Hikari. "I have a question for you."
"Y-Yes?"
"You're here, asking me whether I'm all right... But that's definitely not something I'd expect from you. You're usually closed-off and tend to your own affairs only."
Haruyuki chuckled. "That's something I've been wondering as well. Would you mind telling us why you've suddenly chosen to show concern for him, Hikari?"
"I-It's nothing groundbreaking…"
The spirit channeler took in a breath of air before answering.
I… I've been doing some thinking… For a long time, I wanted to be by myself… I didn't care about other people, nor could I trust them. The only thing about me that interested other people was my Ultimate talent… They didn't care about me otherwise.
"But that man… Murphy… he was different," she continued, sounding slightly gladder. "He didn't see me in terms of Ultimate talents… In fact, he understood why I didn't like my talent. For the first time, I felt like someone truly understood me. And in a way, he even looked out for me... He would try to get me to play arcade games a few times, but I always refused… at the time, I was more content with watching…"
She lowered her head slightly, a small frown on her face.
"But now, he's dead… And worst of all, from his last words, he died full of regrets..." she said. "That's why after the class trial, I couldn't stop thinking… Is this truly how I want to live my life? Up until then, I could always say no… but this time, I just couldn't."
She looked up.
"And that's why I want to change," she said. Though she did not raise her voice, she undoubtedly sounded much bolder. "I… I can't let Murphy see me remain my old mopey self. I don't want to live my life like this anymore."
"Hikari!" Masashi said, gaping. "That's…"
He had wondered about how she had seemed a bit less gloomy since this morning, but now he knew why. Instead of letting Murphy's death be an excuse to continue her gloominess, she had become devoted to changing into a better woman.
Haruyuki clapped his hands, beaming. "My, my, I'm glad that I've come here with you! If I hadn't, I would've missed seeing this in the flesh."
"R-Right…" Hikari said, her voice sounding shaky as she looked at him skeptically. "A-Anyway… I want to start making connections with other people… That's what Murphy would want me to do, I think. And I think it may be best to start with people here."
Hmm… She still has trouble speaking confidently, Masashi thought. I guess that's not so surprising… A change in heart won't cause her to become full of confidence.
"Well, that's good, Hikari!" he responded. "I'm glad to see you want to do that. You should find someone you have something in common with and get to know that person more."
"A-All right. Thank you."
She then headed off to her room.
"That was fascinating to watch, was it not?" Haruyuki said, his hands clasped behind his back. "Now, I believe it's my turn to talk with you."
He doubted that Haruyuki would say anything that would want him to drive him out of the room. In fact, maybe now was a good opportunity to ask him.
"Hey, Haruyuki, before we begin, let me ask you something," he said after he shut the door. "Do you believe in fate?"
"Fate?" The man furrowed his brow as he sat down on one of his chairs. "I can't say anything definite about it, I'm sorry to say."
"Really? I thought you might have an opinion on it."
"I have opinions on many things, but fate is not one of them. Thinking about it doesn't interest me," he explained. "And to be clear, I'm talking about the phenomenon itself. I, of course, am interested in seeing how others react to what they call 'fate'. I'd talk about it some more, but I have something else to talk about with you."
"Ah, go ahead," Masashi said, sensing that Haruyuki would not have given him any meaningful answer, anyway.
"I have only one thing to talk about with you," the art critic began. "Have you talked with Kasumi this morning?"
Huh? Not exactly what I expected...
Given that the man seemed observant, he thought that he might have found a clue on the mastermind's identity. Instead, here he was, talking about her of all people.
"Well, yeah, we talked while we explored the Moonlight City."
"How did she come off?"
"Um, she was her usual cheerful self."
"Really? Did nothing in particular stand out to you?"
Masashi let out a small gasp. Since he was asking this now, had he too felt something odd in her behavior?
"I sensed something, actually. She sounded way too happy, given that she had just lost a good friend of hers. But she was insistent that she was fine."
"Ah, so you sensed it, too. I chatted with her a while ago. To be truthful, I actually expected her to suppress her negative feelings."
"Wait, you did?"
"Of course. It's rather clear that she's not been truthful about herself. Do you remember her brief episode of rage in Futaba's class trial?"
"Oh yeah… She went berserk, to put it lightly. And if I remember correctly, you were happy at her sudden change in character..."
That was not a moment that he was fond of remembering.
"The sight of her anger simply interested me, that's all," Haruyuki said, looking somewhat amused at Masashi's comment. "Up until then, she presented herself as an easygoing girl, and even when she was accused, she still clung to it at first. Hence, to see her show her wrath caught my eye, to say the least."
"Then… was that part of Kasumi her suppressed feelings?"
The art critic nodded. "Setting aside your conversation with her this morning, have you ever felt anything odd from her?"
Masashi took a few seconds to recall his encounters with her.
Kasumi nodded, clapping her hands. "I'm the kind of girl that thinks positively. It may not be all that obvious, but one's mindset affects one's performance, however skilled one may be."
"And I take it that it's something you know full well from experience," he replied.
"Yep! In my heists, even if it seems as if I were backed in a corner," she answered. "I feel no fear at all. Instead, I stay calm and try to find a way out of the situation. And that's why I can stay positive right now. I don't feel angry or anxious about how things are."
She paused for a few seconds as she glanced left and right. Afterwards, she let out a small sigh. "All right, I'll talk... It's nothing huge, really. Since yesterday, I've been thinking about… my bonds with the others."
"Your 'bonds'?" Masashi replied, a little astounded to see that this was the thing that she must have felt anxious about.
Kasumi nodded softly. "I've kept asking myself whether I've been a good friend to the others… I know I'm not someone easy to trust. For example, I think I'm getting along with Arashi, but even after yesterday's reconciliation, I get the feeling he's still wary of me."
"Well… I got the same feeling, too," Masashi said. "But I don't think you should worry too much about it. This kind of thing takes time. Old wounds don't heal in a day."
Thinking about those two moments, Masashi now saw that Kasumi had not been truthful about herself. In the former, she had clearly been lying. And in the latter, even though she had admitted that she was worried, she had clearly tried to dismiss it as a minor issue. On both occasions, Masashi had sensed that something was wrong, but in the end, he had chosen not to do about it.
I should've known... Kasumi was lying about herself. She was suppressing her true feelings.
Masashi ground his teeth at the realization.
"Alas, her other emotions are something that she would rather not show before others," Haruyuki said. "You know very well that when we talk with others, we each wear a 'mask', yes? In other words, what we show others doesn't match what we keep to ourselves in private. You can see the benefits of that, yes?"
Masashi nodded. Obviously, all people had secrets that they wanted to keep to themselves, whether it were good or bad to keep them hidden. And in some cases, it was best that one not show weakness, even if one truly felt weak.
Haruyuki then let out a mellow sigh.
"But it has its drawbacks as well. One's public persona is only a part of one's self, but for some people, they insist on clinging to their public images and ignore the darker parts of the self. The suppression begins to fret them, the victims become more and more agonized, and eventually, they wind up harming others one way or another."
"Ah, so Kasumi's trying to hide her negative emotions," Masashi replied. "And holding all those emotions in all the time is unhealthy, right?"
"Precisely. It seems that her eyes aren't the only thing she's put a mask on." Haruyuki chuckled at his own comment, which came off as a bit weird. "Anyway, you must have realized that I haven't come here simply to tell you all this. In fact, I'd like you to do something about it."
"What? You want me to help her?"
"I doubt that she will willingly confront her suppressed emotions. Therefore, an outside force is needed here."
"I see… Well, I can see your point. But first, could I ask you something?"
"Yes, what is it?"
"Why are you interested in having me help Kasumi?"
When he said the question, it sounded a bit silly. Of course it was good to care about other people, and from anyone else, he would not give that person's motivations a second thought. But this time was different, for he was dealing with Haruyuki, who had been insistent that he would only watch how the killing game would play out and hence would not interfere with the group's affairs. But here he was now, beseeching Masashi to do something.
Haruyuki said nothing at first, looking down with a furrowed brow. Eventually, he looked back up at Masashi and answered.
"If I must give you an answer… I would say that it'll make things better for me."
"Better?"
"Yes... So far, Kasumi has entertained me greatly with tales of her escapades. Indeed, the lady thief who laughs and smiles in the face of adversity is a most interesting character to observe."
Haruyuki, speaking more quickly, showed a small and desirous smile.
"But I wish to see more than that. I wish to see her other side."
Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Here's the next part! No Free Time Events yet, but a few important things have happened. After three sets of killings, Maiha agrees to hang out with Masashi and the others, and Masashi learns more about Mari and becomes shocked, to say the least.
Anyway, my question for you this time is: so far, which characters, if any, do you wish had survived instead of another? For example, do you wish that Sister Hikari had survived instead of, say, Sorao?