Chapter 4: Calm before the storm
Esteban walked into the A/V room and saw Chihiro fiddling with some of the equipment in the room. He decided to make his presence known just to not scare her.
"Hi Chihiro" he said softly. She jumped up as she saw him. She relaxed a bit seeing him.
"H-Hi Esteban" she said a bit shyly. Esteban smiled as he saw the box she was rummaging around. Replacement parts for electronics nothing really noteworthy. "I was looking for parts for the project we talked about yesterday!" She said proudly.
He chuckled as he ruffled her hair. "Well you work quick muchacha, I respect that." He said smirking.
"Muchacha?"
"It's like saying girl, anyways did you find anything that could help us?"
"It's hard to say... I've never built stuff like this... I'm sorry." She said softly almost as if about to cry.
"No worries Chihiro, there is always a way. If you can't do it we can find another way out." Esteban said smiling at her. "How long have you been here?"
"Umm... Since I woke up?" She said a bit confused.
"Well that simply won't do. How about you and me take a walk?" He asked calmly. "You can return to this a bit later."
"Okay!" She said. They both walked out. They headed to the gym where he found Aoi and Sakura. They seemed to be working out.
"Are we interrupting the morning routine?" Esteban asked amused.
"Not at all" Sakura simply said.
"Wanna join us?" Aoi asked surprising Esteban.
"You aren't scared of me?"
"Nope you promised to get us out and you told us the truth about you. So you must be good!" Aoi said making him chuckle.
'Oh if only she knew' his other self said sitting on one of the benches. He ignored him and looked over at Sakura.
"Hey Sakura want to spar?" Esteban asked surprising everyone in the room.
"I had thought you would have forgotten about that" Sakura said honestly.
"Never forget my promises. I promised you a spar, sure you'll probably wipe the floor with me but at least we can have some fun." Esteban said calmly.
"B-but she's much bigger than you" Chihiro said worried for him.
"No worries, brute strength isn't everything. Not that I'm doubting your technique." Esteban clarified.
"No worries, I understand what you mean." She said nodding. "Strength alone isn't enough to win Chihiro."
"When it comes to reach we are pretty close" Esteban concluded. "Although I am at a pretty large disadvantage I can make something work." He chuckled as he entered his raised his fists. "So how are we doing this?"
"I would recommend a 10 minute spar." She simply stated entering her own stance.
"Endurance huh? Okay!" He said smiling. "Chihiro, Aoi would you mind keeping track of time?"
"S-sure" Chihiro said.
"Okay! 3,2,1 go!" Sakura dashed with incredible speed towards him she threw a punch giving Esteban barely any time to dodge. Even with her size and build she was extremely fast. Esteban threw a left hook which she blocked.
As the fight continued Aoi and Chihiro watched in amazement. While it was clear Sakura was the better fighter and had the upper hand Esteban had done extremely well.
Sakura on the other hand was curious. Never in any of her fights had she seen an opponent move the way he did. For a person his size he was surprisingly nimble and able to contort his body to land hits. His fighting style was also strange. While she could see some of the inspirations like boxing, karate and capoeira and Krav Maga they had all been altered to the point it was almost his own fighting style.
He ducked under one of her attacks and got behind her trying to put her in a lock. Although it seemed to be working in a blur Sakura broke out of it delivering a roundhouse kick sending Esteban flying back. He landed with a loud thud as he coughed.
"Esteban are you okay!?" Chihiro asked worriedly. Esteban struggled to get on his feet. Sakura walked over to him and offered her hand. He took it and got back up.
"All good Chihiro..." He said regaining composure. "I see why they call you the ultimate martial artist. It's been a while since I took a beating like that."
"You should be proud. Although some lasted longer few have ever given me such a good fight" Sakura praised. "I would not mind fighting again."
"Of course camarada!" He said smiling. "I need to keep myself sharp."
"That was so cool! It was like something out of a movie!" Aoi said excitedly.
"Y-yeah... I didn't know you were that strong Esteban" Chihiro said.
"As Sakura said, it's not all about strength. You work with what you have" Esteban said.
"I must ask... Where did you learn to fight like that?" Sakura said genuinely curious.
"There was this gym in the center of El Carmen. Next to soda La Tapia. Soda is like a small family restaurant I'd say." He began explaining. "The gym was what you would expect. Lots of weights, rusted equipment, buff guys. It was run by this huge bald guy they called Mala Muerte." His mind wandered back to those days. Mala Muerte was an intimidating man who had spent more time in prison than in freedom.
"Mala Muerte was a mean son of a bitch. No one messed with him. He used to set up fights in the boxing ring he owned. There was only one rule... No cheating. Whoever won got a prize so a betting ring started."
"What would happen if someone cheated?" Aoi asked.
"Mala muerte would go and beat you within an inch of life." He simply stated. "He was a criminal but he had his code. Anyways getting off topic. One day while at the gym he said I could have potential and decided to teach me boxing."
"And you just said yes?" Aoi asked.
"I was too scared to say no." He said chuckling. "With him I learned boxing, especially how to dodge, last thing you wanted to do was take a punch from Mala Muerte. He punched with the force of a train."
"What about the other fighting styles you used?"
"Learned them while traveling. One of the people I trained with told me to use all that I had learned and adapt it to my own style. Keep people guessing what you were going to do."
"Regardless it was a good fight, I look forward to the next one." She said.
"Same... Well I'm going to check on the others see how they are" Esteban said. He left with Chihiro following him. She looked at the ground avoiding eye contact with him.
"Is there something wrong Chihiro?" Esteban asked concerned.
"It's just... I... I wish I was strong like both of Sakura and you..." She said gloomy. Esteban put his has softly on her head.
"There are things one can change Chihiro. Strength is one of them. If you really want to get stronger I can help you or you can ask Sakura. I'm sure she would be glad to help." Esteban said smiling at her ruffling her hair.
"I-I see... Would you help me get stronger?" She asked shyly.
"Of course. Tonight we start a bit of training. Don't worry nothing like what I had to go through." He said chuckling. As they walked through the hallway they heard some fumbling inside one of the clases. They both stopped and exchanged a look. Esteban slowly walked over to the door
"If something happens run as fast as you can and get Sakura" Esteban whispered. Chihiro nodded determination filling her eyes. He slowly opened the door and walked in and saw a curious sight. Toko was on her knees looking under the desks. As soon as she spotted him she screamed and jumped upright running to the far corner of the room. Chihiro ran in worried and saw Toko cowering in a corner.
"Y-you're here to k-kill me aren't you?" She asked fearfully. Esteban slowly walked away from the door. And lowered himself.
"I wouldn't kill you Toko" he said softly.
"Y-you're lying! Y-you just want me to relax so you can pounce on me and kill me!" She argued no.
"Not at all Toko" Esteban said lowering himself more. "You're the writing prodigy right?" He asked softly. "You wrote So Lingers the Ocean?"
"H-how do you know that? H-have you been stalking me!?" She asked accusing him.
"Not at all. You see where I live we are very poor and with the money I made I helped better the town. One of the things I did was build a library and fill it with as many books as possible. One of the girls found your book and fell in love with it" he said smiling. "Esmeralda begged me for more of your books. I looked everywhere for a translation in Spanish. It would make her the happiest girl if after we got out you could sign her a copy of your novel." He said. Toko relaxed a bit at this.
"Y-you're lying. Y-you're a filthy criminal. You are trying to trick me to kill me!"
"Nunca!" He said. "I am many things but a lier never. If you are feeling uncomfortable Toko you may walk or run out of the room. As you can see I've moved as far as I can from the door giving you a clear way." He said softly.
She looked at the door conflicted as Esteban looked as relaxed as possible. All the meanwhile Chihiro watched with curiosity as the situation unfolded.
"W-why do you care if we all make it out alive?" She questioned his motives.
"Because I think you are all innocent. While I have done terrible things and deserve being here I'm the only one who should be here." He began explaining. "You all have something to give to the world"
'Except that cabron Togami' his other self said slowly getting more talkative.
"You in particular gave Esmeralda someone to look up to in a place where we still were poor. I have fixed most of El Carmen but it's still pretty isolated. To that girl you gave her hope and inspired her to start writing." He explained. "That is enough for me to fight for your freedom." He proclaimed.
Toko stood there shocked, she had never in her life been treated so... Well. All the boys she met had manipulated her, had made fun of her... And now here stood a boy who sounded so sincere. Who gave her the power and options and didn't plan to interfere. She didn't know what to do so she ran.
Esteban let out a sigh as he looked over to Chihiro. "That went surprisingly well."
"You handled that... So well, where did you learn to do that?" She asked in amazement.
"I am the ultimate heister. I know how to deal with people" he simply said. "Some people are just... Harder than others." Crowd control was vital in some of the hits. Getting the people on your side, that was the real winner in some cases.
"Is it true? The story about that girl?"
"Esmeralda? Yes, is a bundle of energy and she decided to start writing short stories. I'll be financing what she decides to publish" he said.
"That is so nice!" Chihiro commended.
"You'd be surprised how people truly blossom when they have the chance to be themselves and do what they love." Esteban said smiling. "If my vision for El Carmen could be spread to other parts... Now that would be the greatest heist of them all... Breaking the illusion of choice this capitalist world gives people."
Esteban checked the room again just in case. This time he found a coin with Monokuma on it. It disgusted him but also made him curious.
"Did you find something?" Chihiro asked, as time went on Esteban noticed Chihiro becoming more comfortable around him. Which to him was a great success.
"Just this coin. Don't know what it is for..." He said.
"That's a Monokuma coin!" The monochrome bear. Instinctively Esteban got in front of Chihiro covering her. "Whaaat? I'm not here to hurt anyone! I am here to deliver the information you seek!"
"Just speak your part puto" Esteban snarled.
"The hostility!" Monokuma said dramatically. "Very well there are many of these monokuma coins scattered around the school. You can use them in the store at the Monomonomachine to get random rewards!"
"Hmm... You are not very imaginative with names..."
"How dare you insult the creativity of your beloved headmaster!" Monokuma said trying to sound hurt. "I swear, kids these days don't respect their elders..."
"So basically we get the coins the machine spits out rewards?" Esteban asked.
"Yup!"
"Hmm... Okay scram" Esteban said waving him off.
"The work of a headmaster is a thankless one" the bear lamented disappearing. Chihiro let out a sigh of relief as Esteban relaxed a bit.
"You okay Chihiro?" Esteban asked.
"Y-yeah" she said shyly.
"Well I think we did enough for now. We should leave."
"Y-yeah I was thinking of going back to the A/V to keep working on the project." She said as Esteban nodded.
"Got it, if you need anything just give me a holler okay?" Esteban asked. She nodded and left. Esteban left shortly after and walked a bit before seeing the entrance to the store. He walked in and saw a variety of items everywhere. He would be back here at some point. He walked over to the machine. He put in the coin and pulled the lever.
After a few seconds an egg came out. He went ahead and cautiously opened it. He saw there was a recorder inside. He groaned, it really wasn't anything he could use. Even the pieces would be useless, the more he looked at it the more he realized it was more of an antiquity than anything else.
'To see you fall to gambling... How disappointing...' A voice said. His other self leaned against a nearby wall and chuckled. 'Camarada what's happening?'
His voice was mocking and mean spirited. Although he and Esteban had been at odds ever since they got here he had gotten more... Violent, more aggressive.
'What do you want?' Esteban asked acidly.
'Nothing camarada, just looking out for you parce...' He said chuckling. Esteban flipped him off and walked out. He bumped into someone.
"Sorry" Esteban quickly said.
"No worries it is also partly my fault" Taka said. "But now that I found you I wanted to ask you something."
This caught Esteban's attention. Why would the moral compass want to speak to him?
'This ought to be good' His other self said leaning against a pillar.
"And what would you like to talk about camarada?" Esteban asked neutrally.
"I wanted first to thank you for your efforts to help us get out of here" he began speaking.
"No worries" Esteban quickly replied.
"Someone of your talents is clearly built to escape so I believe you'll find a way. After we get out I would like to ask for you to turn yourself in."
Esteban looked incredulously at the Moral Compass. Clearly, it wasn't a joke but was he that oblivious to think he would turn himself in.
"Are you for real?" Esteban asked a bit amused.
"I know it sounds ridiculous but with the act of saving people you show you are not irredeemable. So I believe that if you turn yourself in your sentencing won't be as harsh" Taka explained.
"No" Esteban said clearly. "The day I trust the justice system is the day I bite the bullet."
"What is your problem with the law? Rules must be enforced." Taka countered.
"By who?" Esteban questioned.
"First by the police officers then judges and so on" Taka said.
"The day I trust a cop... That's the day I have gone insane." Esteban almost growled.
"Why do you not trust cops? They are necessary to keep order."
"I would be careful Taka, I said I wouldn't kill anyone but I never said I wouldn't give them a beating" Esteban warned. "You're on some real fucking thin ice."
"T-threatening me? I just want to help you. Your experience with the police force might not be the best but I can assure you they try their best." Taka said.
"Oh I'm sure they do!" Esteban said sarcastically. "They sure tried when 4 of them beat my friend to death" Esteban said acidly.
"What? That's... Horrible! They must have faced repercussions!" Taka said.
"Nope, that's not how it works. Cops are like a gang they look out for each other. They don't face accountability." Esteban explained.
'At least not officially. But that's why we exist. Killing them didn't bring justice' his other self said equally as insulted. 'That didn't bring Diego back, that would have been justice. What we did was give them accountability.'
'I agree...' Esteban said.
"T-thats preposterous. B-but I can see you are not lying. I can see why you would distrust the police and fall down the path you did..."
"Thank you.." Esteban simply said.
"But that doesn't mean I won't ask again for you to do the right thing when the time comes!" Taka said.
"You can waste your time like that for all I fucking care Taka" Esteban said pushing past him.
As he left the area he felt some eyes on him. He chuckled a bit. "You are good but you can't get past me Kyoko" Esteban said.
"I see... I think I have a clearer picture of who you really are." She simply stated.
"And by that you mean?" Esteban asked curiously.
"You didn't lie about being the Ultimate Heister, that much is clear. But I can see you have another talent. At first I thought it could be the Ultimate communist as you clearly have sympathies for left wing ideas but your distaste for hierarchies, rules and any order led me down another road."
"What would that one be?" Esteban asked crossing his arms.
"You are the Ultimate Anarchist too" she simply stated.
Surprising Esteban was hard but Kyoko had definitely done it. Esteban let out a faint smile and applauded.
"Nailed it" Esteban simply said. "Your deduction skills are impressive" Esteban said. He threw the tape recorder at her. She caught it and looked at it confused.
"Why?"
"Consider it a gift." Esteban said.
"I do not appreciate you being condescending" she warned him.
"I'm not, I honestly didn't expect you to figure it out so soon." Esteban mused. "Besides I think you could find more uses for it than me." Esteban smiled taking her aback.
"Thank you" she coughed a bit trying to hide her blush.
"You know I am almost sure you are the Ultimate Detective. Your reasoning skills are definitely up to par" Esteban said.
She stopped for a second. Almost as if she had remembered something. Then he saw pain in her face. Then she almost faltered. He caught her before she could fall.
"Are you okay!?" Esteban asked worriedly.
"I-I need to lay down" she grunted. Esteban nodded and picked her up bridal style.
"Let me take you to your room." Esteban said. He carried her to the door. "Keys?" She weakly gave them to him." He opened the door and laid her on the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"Not... Good..." She struggled to say.
"I can imagine, my guess I triggered some sort of memory that was tampered with." Esteban explained. "For now I think you should rest. Need anything? Water?"
"No..." She simply said. Esteban nodded putting the keys on her nightstand.
"If you need something don't be a stranger" Esteban said.
'And here I thought you were the only one who suffered from crippling headaches.' His other self mused.
'Fuck you cabron.' Esteban said walking away.
'So she got her brains scrambled? That can't be easy...'
'Which lends credibility to my theory we have been in here longer than expected' Esteban said. His mind wandered back to what Monokuma said. Soon he would give people motives to kill each other. Could he really stop them? 'Fuck it... No rest for the wicked.'
And cut! New chapter is here! Sorry for the delay but I have been busy. College tends to do that to you. Anyways I hope you guys are enjoying the story. I certainly am enjoying writing it. Now onto the voting. As it stands right now we have.
EstebanXHarem: 2
EstebanXKyoko: 1
EstebanXMukuro: 0
EstebanXJunko: 0
I still don't know when I'll close the voting so for now go ahead and vote while you still can! I also want to thank you all for your support, it really has helped me! As always feedback is always welcomed! UltimateMetroMan out!