"Izuru! please stop…"
"Izuru! it hurts please… I was only trying to help…"
"IZURU!" The sound of his brother's voice suddenly woke Izuru from his nightmare. He opened his eyes and saw Hajime standing above him, his face wrinkled with worry.
"Huh…?" Was the only thing he could mumble, his mind still delirious from sleep.
"Izuru, what's wrong? You were making noises in your sleep…" Hajime replied. "And you were crying too."
"Oh… it was just a nightmare… I don't even really remember what it was." He lied. He remembered the dream vividly, but he wasn't about to tell his brother that. "What time is it?"
"The morning announcement just went off so it's about 7. I got out of bed when I heard the announcement and you were crying in your sleep… You haven't had a nightmare in years Izuru… well, I guess with all the shit that's going on, I guess it makes sense." As Hajime said that Izuru sat up in bed and rubbed his eyes.
When they went to the restaurant Izuru immediately went over to the coffee, not saying a word. He wasn't sure if the dream he'd had last night was just a dream or… a memory.
"Izuru? Are you OK? You don't look so good…" Izuru looked up from his cup and saw Nagito sitting across from him.
"I'm fine." Izuru replied curtly. Nagito crossed his arms, looking skeptical.
"If you say so…" The white haired boy said softly. At that moment, Hajime came over with two plates of food.
"What're you guys talking about?" He asked.
"I was wondering if you guys would like to come to the beach. Kazuichi found a sword, I think it was a sword, but he wants to use it to break open coconuts." Nagito explained. "He wants to break coconuts open with everyone. I think he said something about swimming too… think he just wants an excuse to see the girls in swimsuits again." Izuru snorted at that. It did seem like something Kazuichi would do.
"I dunno… I don't really have… anything that'd be good for swimming. I thought I had a good swimsuit but it disappeared from my suitcase…" Hajime mumbled.
"Oh… yeah, Hajime, I've been meaning to ask you about that, when Byakuya was doing that body check thing you mentioned something about a-" Izuru cleared his throat, getting Nagito's attention, and looked around the room. No one had heard what they were talking about, but Izuru didn't want him saying anything in front of everyone… or at all really.
"O-oh. Sorry. I'll shut up." The lucky student replied. "But uh, you don't have to swim! You can just crack open coconuts with us and sit in the beach."
"That sounds fun actually. Izuru, you should come too. I mean, it'd be good for you." Hajime said after thinking for a moment.
"I don't see how it would." Izuru responded, staring at his cup.
"Bro, we both know that you need to get some sun on you. You look like a vampire with how pale you are. Besides, it'll be a good chance to gather those Hope Shards so we can get off this island." Izuru thought for a moment after his brother finished speaking. He let out a slightly annoyed sigh.
"Fine, but I'm not swimming. I'll just sit on the beach with Hajime."
Two hours later, everyone, sans Fuyuhiko as usual, were at the beach. The sword that Kazuichi had found was actually fake, but still opened coconuts just fine. Most everyone was in their swimsuits, except for Hajime, Izuru, Hiyoko and Byakuya.
"Hey Hiyoko, why aren't you swimming?" Hajime questioned the dancer curiously.
"It's more fun to stay on the beach and step on crabs." She replied. Izuru leaned over to his brother and whispered.
"Seriously, when do you think she'll move onto cats?" Hajime punched him in the shoulder.
"Why aren't you guys swimming? Are you scared of sharks or something?"
"N-no, I just don't like the swimsuits that Monomi gave us." Hajime replied.
"And I don't like being so exposed." It was a miracle that Hajime had convinced Izuru to dress as he was. He'd convinced his brother to ditch the suit jacket and switch the pants for regular jeans.
"Hmph, wimps." The dancer said as she went back to her previous activities.
Hajime sighed and stared at the others playing the water and building sand castles, a bit jealous. Izuru sensed his brother's change in mood and got an idea.
"I found these shells earlier." He said, taking a few shells out of his pocket. They were fairly multicolored, making him curious as to what kind of animal they'd come from. Some were shapes that he'd never seen before, nothing that he'd seen in textbooks or in anything he'd read.
"Whoa… they're cool!" Hajime exclaimed, taking one of them gently.
"There might be more around here… want to look for some?" Izuru asked, hoping that this would cheer his brother up.
In the end, the brothers found a lot more seashells, and even helped decorate Gundam's sand castle with them. Gundam had called the castle a replica of a castle he'd been too in hell, where he'd made the pact with the Four Dark Devas.
Back at their cottage later that day, the brothers were sorting through some of the prizes they'd gotten from the MonoMono machine when the monitor suddenly came to life.
"Ahem, this is an announcement from Hope's Peak Academy's Field Trip Executive Committee… Emergency! Emergency! Everyone please hurry over to Jabberwock park! The first students to arrive will be treated to my special curry rice tomorrow!" Monokuma announced before the screen shut off.
Hajime looked at his brother, who had a slightly annoyed look on his face.
"What's he going to do this time?" Izuru grumbled as he stood. Hajime followed suit, and the brothers headed over to the park.
When they arrived, Akane and Byakuya seemed to be arguing.
"I got here first!"
"No, I did." Izuru pinched the bridge of his nose and tuned the two out.
"They seriously fell for it?" Hajime wondered aloud.
"Anyone know the scientific term for how you suddenly start feeling hungry when you hear the words "curry rice"?!" Ibuki seemed to have fell for it as well.
"Why are you morons getting so excited over this...? You're giving me a headache." Fuyuhiko snapped as he entered the park. "Hey! Monokuma, get your two toned ass out here!" The yakuza demanded. As if on cue, the bear obeyed.
"Hello!"
"Hey! Monokuma, settle this dispute. Who got here first, myself or Akane?" The heir asked, towering over the bear.
"Hm… well… Let's just call it a tie. I wasn't paying attention actually. So you iboth/i get my special Monokuma curry!" The bear declared.
"M-Monokuma curry?" Hajime asked, not sure if he wanted to know what was even in it.
"It's a super-delicious curry made with unidentified meat, wilting vegetables and a mysterious rice brand!" Izuru wrinkled his nose as Monokuma explained the ingredients of the dish.
"'Delicious' isn't the first word that comes to mind when hearing those ingredients…" Mahiru remarked.
"What do you want this time?" Izuru asked the bear curtly, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible.
"You haven't noticed! God you guys are slow!" The bear remarked. Everyone looked around and eventually their eyes landed on an arcade machine standing next to a giant TV.
"Is that a video game?" Chiaki asked excitedly, running up to it.
"This… is your next motive!" Monokuma announced.
"A video game… is the motive." Hajime said, disbelievingly. "You can't be serious."
"What video games are on it?" Chiaki questioned, looking the machine over.
"There's just one game installed, but... it's a jewel of a game. I mean, it's a game I made on my very own!" The bear proclaimed proudly.
"You… made a game." Hajime could almost physically feel this situation getting more and more stupid as Monokuma went on.
"If that's the case… then I'll pass." Nagito mumbled.
"No, no, no. This is far better than some silly amateur indie game... I made a sequel to a certain legendary game! It's been waiting for one for so long!"
"A sequel to a what?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Hajime regretted the question. The bear jumped up to a small podium after Hajime spoke.
"Let me formally introduce… 'Twilight Syndrome Murder Mystery'!" The bear yelled as the TV screen came to life, displaying the home screen of the game.
"Really? That sounds soooo lame. I think games with, like, a professor who solves puzzles or where you collect cute monsters are much better!" Hiyoko complained loudly.
"Don't even joke about that, stupid! What're we gonna do if we start getting pressure from the publisher?!"
"Twilight Syndrome… An adventure game series, first published in 1996. Its story revolves around a group of high school girls investigating the veracity of various urban legends… It's also known for its unique vertical-scrolling stages, in which the characters move freely." Chiaki explained. Izuru had heard of the games before, and how there had been sequels of the game… that weren't very good.
"Video games are for weaklings! I have no interest in them! Besides... how would I even know about an ancient game from generations ago?!" Nekomaru said, looking bored.
"Technically Nekomaru, video games have been shown to increase reaction times, as well as cognitive abilities. That is mainly action games and possibly platformers." Izuru put in, staring at the machine dully.
"But aren't adventure games boring? They're a pain in the butt!" Hiyoko piped in again.
"Hey, with the budget we get, there's not much we can do." Monokuma replied.
Chiaki suddenly sighed. "I was a big fan of the series too… Now I feel like you've ruined it."
"Your face should be ruined! Ruined with tears of joy at me shining a new light on a forgotten title!"
"You said this game was the motive. How?" Hajime asked, glaring at the bear.
"You see, this game's theme is "the missing link". Y'know, that old mystery trope? Hidden connections and such." Monokuma explained.
"What… do you mean?" Mikan whimpered.
"You'll find out if you play the game!" The bear declared.
"Fine." Izuru stated, walking over to the machine, but was grabbed by Mahiru.
"What are you doing? Are you really going to give into his trap?" She asked, looking disappointed, reminding Izuru of his grandmother.
"I'm not 'giving in'. We should all play it right here and now, so we all know this 'missing link', and we can discuss it so that we can prevent a killing." Izuru said, looking Mahiru in the eyes.
"That's… not a bad idea. If we all know, we can know who has the greatest motive for killing, and either talk to them before they kill, or if they do kill someone, we can know right away." Nagito agreed.
"No way! What if someone lies about them understanding the motive, and then when they kill we're totally lost!" Kazuichi announced. Everyone seemed to agree with this, making Izuru sigh.
"Then why don't we just destroy the machine so no one has a chance to play it?" He suggested.
"No way! If you destroy this machine then I'll be very, veeeeery sad. Also you'll be punished. Let's consider this machine the same as breaking a monitor or a camera. So you can't destroy it even if you want to!" Monokuma cried out, looking furious.
"Then we just don't play the game." Hajime said crossing his arms.
"Gahahaha! That's a good idea!" Nekomaru agreed, laughing loudly.
"I see... so that is your plan. But, are you sure it's going to work? Having a motive means fortifying one's resolve. A human who has found their resolve, and a human who hasn't… I don't have to tell you who's the strong one and who's the weak one, do I?" Monokuma mused.
"… W…What do you mean?" Mahiru asked, whimpering.
"Let me give you an example. Suppose someone sneakily plays this game, and decides to go and kill someone else. Getting ahead of the pack can win you the battle... and in this case can save your life!" The bear continued.
"W…What the hell?!" Kazuichi yelled.
"You bastards are all each other's enemies, aren't you? Are you sure you want to give your enemy an advantage? I suggest you give this proper consideration, and if you still decide to ignore this game... well, do as you please. See ya later!" Monokuma finished as he ran out of their view.
"What… just happened?" Hajime mumbled.
"Hey, what are we going to do?" Kazuichi whimpered.
"How should iI/i know? I'm just as confused as you are!" Mahiru yelled back at him.
"Obviously Monokuma is going to use someone's weakness here against them… we won't know who that person, or persons, are until we play the game. The simple solution would be not to play it, but I know that's not going to happen. At least one of us is going to play it out of curiosity. There's the possibility that Monokuma's plan will fail, however, this time, the motive might not be as weak as last times, and despite the motive being weak, Teruteru still fell for it. Who's to say that a stronger motive won't cause someone to kill? Most of us know nothing about each other, so it's obvious we will doubt each other. I've already suggested a solution to this problem, yet you all refused." Izuru said, staring at the machine.
"Still… your idea isn't that good dude. I mean, someone might lie." Kazuichi mumbled.
"It's still better than being sitting ducks and having no idea. However, if that is how you feel, then feel free to do as you wish." As Izuru said that, he walked away. Hajime cursed and ran after his brother.
When he caught up, he grabbed Izuru's shoulder.
"Bro, what the hell?" Hajime yelled at his brother, confused as to why Izuru was acting even more cold than ever.
"If they're going to be stubborn, then so be it. I tried to help, to prevent a killing, but they didn't want to listen, all I can do now is make sure you and I aren't the victims." Was the reply he got.
"Still… you shouldn't doubt them though. I mean, what if no one takes the bait and doesn't kill anyone?" Hajime suggested. Izuru sighed and looked away.
"We thought that a killing wouldn't happen before, and yet it did. As long as Monokuma keeps providing motives, the killings will continue unless we take the proper measures. And no one seems willing to take those measures." Izuru responded. "I'm not going to let either of us become victims. I know that the two of us wouldn't commit murder, at least not for one of Monokuma's dumb motives, but I'm concerned about us being the victims."
"That… won't happen."
"Not as long as I have anything to say about it."