In a hidden area within the academy, the Monokubs had all gathered together.
"So then..." Monosuke began. "We all brought the 'stuffs'?"
The other Monokubs nodded their heads and each pulled out a flashlight as the yellow bear did the same.
SMASH!
And all at once, the five bears smashed their items onto the floor, leaving a scattered mess of metal and glass.
"That takes care of that." Monosuke sighed in relief as he clapped his paws clean.
"Are you sure this is the best option?" Monophanie asked. "These things were a very important asset to us..."
"We're supposed to create a fair and fun killing game, aren't we?" Monokid argued. "Thanks to that bitch's execution, why should we stick with her plan?"
"It wouldn't be very fair if we followed her narrative right after she was executed." Monotaro concluded.
"But what are we supposed to do for a narrative now?" The pink bear questioned.
"THE-KILLING-GAME-TAKES-PRIORITY-OVER-THE-NARRATIVE." Monodam answered.
"Monodam's right." Monotaro agreed. "As of this moment, all eyes are on us to get this killing game back on track."
"Geez..." Monosuke lamented. "This killing game certainly deviated from where we wanted it to... Dammit, Pops, you sure left us with a heavy responsibility..."
"Don't worry." The red bear assured. "Monodam and I talked and he came up with a plan that will for sure get the killing game back up and running!"
"Yeah, I was there, and his plan blew my fucking mind!" Monokid shouted excitedly. "DAMN, MonoDAM, how come you never told me you were so clever?!"
"BECAUSE-YOU-WERE-ALWAYS-BULLYING-ME?" The green bear answered bluntly.
The blue bear laughed. "Oh yeah! Guess that's MY BAD!"
"In any case." Monotaro said. "With this plan, and a few other wildcards like the 18th and 19th students just implemented and Sharla's slowly recovering memory, we'll have ourselves a fun and fair killing game in no time!"
With their leader's confident declaration, the Monokubs all laughed in excitement.
...
Begin Chapter 2: Her Song of Passion and Sin
I stretched my arms as I rose from my bed. The morning announcement had already passed, but I decided to take a few extra minutes to reflect on everything that has happened yesterday.
Like the Disciple of Speed she is, Tsumugi went all out to try to frame Kaede for Rantaro's murder. And now she and Monokuma are gone, her Battle Gem's in pieces like some of those owned by the victims of Killing Titan War... Two new students, Miyuji and Tokuko are now in this twisted game. I'm sure that when the next murder happens, they won't be able to keep smiling for long. I thought to myself as I headed to the dining hall.
Seeing everyone there, I softly took a breath before speaking up.
"Is everyone feeling OK after yesterday?" I asked.
"We're fine, but I'm curious about who Tsumugi was." Miyuji admitted. "Everyone else keeps saying you should know, right?"
I nodded in confirmation. "Yep, I can tell you everything."
"It's about time we got an bloody explanation!" Tokuko exclaimed.
All eyes were on me now. I took a soft breath before I set the truth free.
"During the Killing Titan War, Tsumugi was the Disciple of Speed and the Ultimate Seamstress. Her speed can outrun any monster me and my friends could encounter... it could also freeze time itself and let her move freely. She devoted herself alot to sewing new outfits for others in her free time. She puts up an sweet and gentle facade to hide her true devilish nature." I explained.
"So her actions after the trial was her true colors." Kirumi theorized.
"That's right..." I answered. "She had low self-esteem so she transforms into her take on her deceased idol. That's why she looked like a different person when she transformed."
"And she acted like her idol too." Ryoma pointed out.
"Plain Jane clearly wasn't who she fuckin' claimed she was, so she kept that façade up during the trial, didn't she?" Miu asked.
"That's apparently the case." Miyuji answered for me. "Damn, the thought of a seemingly innocent person being a complete psychopath is totally insane."
"Well, at least the bitch got what was coming for her in the end." Tokuko snarked. "Anyway, the two of us forgot to tell you guys more about ourselves."
"Oh yeah, you two seemed to come out of nowhere and you didn't give much last night." Kaito said.
"As you can tell." The vocalist began. "I'm the leader of a band, the Strawberry Thieves! Everyone in Akademi High School knows for a good fact that me and my friends will have great music careers once we graduate. I'm also the daughter of the lead singer of Japan's most popular rock group, the Pumpkin Destroyers! They're well known for their Gothic Lolita fashion sense and their badass live shows!"
"Wait, you're the Miyuji Shan?! The daughter of the Pumpkin Destroyers' lead singer, Kuroi Yurei?!" Kaede shouted.
"Yes, my father, Haruto Shan, is the lead guitarist of the equally popular Flaming Cherries. Only problem is, they barely address me in any way and they're always distracted by the perks of being part of two of Japan's most popular music groups, live tours, interviews, photoshoots, and all of that." The black-haired girl admitted.
"This makes sense since popularity can lead someone into neglectfulness. That is especially true in modern day music." Kiyo said.
"Hey, I should tell you guys some juicy information too!" Tokuko exclaimed. "Anyway, my mother, Kireina Jonetsu, is one of Japan's best known Broadway stars. She got her start in Princess Mononoke as the title character! Most of you guys might know her as the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. I desire to follow in her footsteps and become the best-known performer in all of Japan!"
"That sounds like a pain because of all the work needed if that's what you're aiming to become." Himiko snarked.
"Of course, this leaves me at constant odds with the leader of Akademi High's Drama Club, Kizana Sunobu. But I don't act as prideful as she is for my own sanity." The actress admitted.
Once everyone let this new info in, it was time to start planning on what everyone was going to do. The day before everyone finished exploring all of the newly unlocked areas. Tenko even set up a little poolside date for most of the girls and Keebo. Maki wanted to stay in her lab again instead and Miu was too busy due to a project Kaede asked her about so she pushed for Keebo to go in her place. I was exploring Miyuji and Tokuko's dorms and research labs, they seemed excited to find out that they got similar rooms like mine.
"Has anyone else watched those tablets the Monokubs gave us? I tried to but when saw that I got someone else's I stopped so I didn't see the whole thing." Kaito said.
"Huh..?" Shuichi muttered
What? More tablets? Why? I thought.
"Kaito got one too? Atua said the one Angie got would mean nothing to her, so I just started trying to incorporate it into a sculpture instead for now. Since damaging it was said to be against the rules." Angie muttered.
"What the bloody hell do you mean you got someone else's?" Tokuko asked the astronaut in concern. "Mine had my name written on the back but it wasn't anything I thought was special."
The actress herself most likely knew what she was talking about as I saw the tablet too.
"I didn't see anything when Gonta got me this morning, what are you guys talking about?" Kaede questioned.
"What, really Kaede? We all get motives delivered beyond our doorstep and you can't even get ahold of yourself enough to even notice? Jeez, some 'leader' you are-" Kokichi was about to mock before being cut off.
"Hey, watch it you brat! Besides, if these are motives, it might've been for the best most of us didn't fucking see 'em." Kaito exclaimed.
Keebo was quick to latch onto this idea. "I agree with Kaito! If they are truly intended as 'motive videos' for us, I think the easiest way to protect ourselves from this threat is to ignore them."
"Oh come on, you guys. Are you guys seriously chickening out of a motive? All of you could've died from the time limit, so how is this motive any different?" Miyuji asked.
"Yeah! You guys are just cowards to keep me away from my entertainment!" Kokichi yelled.
"You two are suggesting we all divulge the contents of whatever video we were given, yes?" Kiyo asked. "Have we and the owners of their respective videos no right to privacy anymore?"
Everyone began arguing over what to do, some sharing who's videos they had while others refused despite trying to find out who had their own.
"Wait, everyone! Kokichi and Miyuji might have a point here." Kaede exclaimed.
The pianist tried ignoring the look of smug superiority on Kokichi's face, but she certainly had everyone's attention now.
"If we watch all of these videos together, we'll better know what's being used against us." She explained. "Depending on the contents of the motives it may also be good to have others to talk to about them too, rather than dealing with any stress they could cause alone. I don't see anything Monokuma and his cubs want us to have being purely for our own benefits after all, and who knows if the contents of these are even true or not."
Everyone quieted down to weigh down their options.
Ryoma was the first to speak up. "Not all of these motives could even lead to a person trying to kill you know. I just want to know what reason Monokuma and the Monokubs think would work on me."
"Gonta thinks it could also help us get to know each other better!" The entomologist exclaimed. "Gonta never watched movies with friends like this before."
"And what of those of us who would rather not know?" Maki asked. "Or those who think their video could do more harm than good? Will you just force us all to participate for the sake of your own paranoia?"
"Come on now Maki Roll, it can't be that bad." Kaito responded. "And if you don't want to know what your own video's about you can just leave the room for a bit or something. If it's because the idea scares you then at least we'll be able to let you know if those worries were founded or not and help you through it either way!"
The look on the caregiver's face was enough to reconsider how safe of a plan this really is. Or at least think twice about using that cutesy nickname for her as that's when this glare started, not that the astronaut noticed.
"Well everyone, let's just take a vote then!" Kaede declared. "If we want to watch the videos we'll find a way to hook them up to the projector in the AV room, and if we don't we'll just gather up all of the videos and decide on a safe place to lock them all up as a group. Since Angie mentioned destroying them isn't an option for us."
Ryoma's hand was the first up when voting for the videos, followed by Kokichi, Gonta, Kirumi, Kaito, me, Miyuji, Tokuko, and Kaede. It looked like Tenko was going to wait for the 'no' votes but when Himiko raised her hand so did she.
Maki, Angie, Keebo, and Korekiyo voted against it. Miu said she wasn't really interested either and already had other projects to work on so she just didn't want to be put in charge of projector duty.
With the results in, 12 for it to the 5 against it, it was easy for the pianist to announce their decision. "So looks like that's settled then! Think we could watch them all tonight, about when nighttime starts? It'll be better to get this over with sooner rather than later to keep more of us from peeking early."
"I guess I'll take a look at the projector now and tell ya if it'll look like I'll need to make any adjustments to it for this to work, but sure sounds like a plan so far." Miu obliged. "Or ya know, even if it doesn't we can just bunch together and use the tablets directly while we Netflix and chill-"
"I'm fairly certain that's not a program any of us have access to nor is 'chilling' a part of neutralizing a potential threat to our lives." Keebo said, not understanding where the inventor was coming from.
"I think it's obvious that's not exactly what she had in mind, Keebo." Shuichi told the robot.
Before the detective could explain what Miu meant, Kaede spoke up. "So anyway, I guess we'll just have some free time for ourselves for now!"
After that, I decided to let Miyuji and Tokuko join the rifle lessons with Ryoma and Tenko. They seemed catch on pretty easily.
I am a bit curious about the motive videos to be honest... Maybe we'll get some clarity on each other's backstories. I thought to myself.
Kaede was the last to enter the A/V room, as she made sure to remind everyone to come down before making the trip herself. Kokichi was on Gonta's shoulders making sure everything up there was hooked up the way Miu wanted it, while the rest of us took what seats we could, including some beanbag chairs me and Miyuji got from the warehouse. The Monokub pads were in the order Kaede, Kokichi, and Miyuji had agreed on since this was their idea.
Kokichi had initially wanted to do the opposite order of who voted for what, so those who didn't want to see the videos went first. I couldn't tell if it was out of petty spite against them disagreeing with him or to give them an excuse to leave early if they really wanted to, so I decided to quietly believe the latter. That didn't stop Kaede and Miyuji from making their own changes to it, like being against keeping Ryoma's last since he was most interested in what could be inside it.
It boiled down to Kokichi, Kaede, and Miyuji first since they pushed for this, then Miu so she could go back to her projects if she felt like she needed to. That did result in the supreme leader pestering what I had commissioned from the inventor but he eventually dropped it in favor of focusing on the task at hand. Ryoma was the most eager out of all of us so his would be next, followed by Kiyo since he was against it and the trio who suggested this idea decided I would go last. After Kiyo would be Kaito, Shuichi, Keebo, Himiko, Tenko, Angie, Kirumi, Gonta, Maki, and then Tokuko.
"Why exactly am I the one going last?" I asked.
"So you can sit there agonizing about what we're going to see! Duh. Nee-heehee~" Kokichi answered mockingly.
"No, that's wrong!" Kaede exclaimed before turning to me. "We agreed on a theory that yours has something to do with this 'Killing Titan War'. This way, we can learn exactly what happened to you during that time without missing anything else. Angie and Kiyo still at least seemed curious about what their 'motives' could be, so I thought having them be earlier would be OK."
Angie was making a puffy face as she considered it before she reluctantly nodded in agreement and Kiyo had his hand to his mask in thought for awhile but eventually shrugged his own consent too.
"And so you don't try to kill us until after the show's over!" Kokichi exclaimed.
"Can you not talk like that? It's freaking me the hell out!" Miyuji scolded, but the supreme leader couldn't care less about the number of glares he got from that comment. "Anyway, is everybody alright with this?"
No one else had any objections or questions about when we were going, so when the lights went off, all of us settled down to see what exactly Monokuma and his cubs could've believed would drive us to kill.
"Alright! Back by popular demand, it's time for the motive video~" Monokuma's voice crooned out over a title screen proving it was indeed 'Kokichi Oma's Motive Video'.
As it went on it showed Kokichi and his fellow 'DICE' members, all but himself in clown themed masks to protect their identities, and explained the nature of this group. How… innocent his 'secret organization' really was despite all of Kokichi's earlier claims. Honestly, it sounds more like they were an overblown gang of pranksters than the sort of world controlling monsters he liked to paint it as being.
Only 10 members strong, indicating that the 9 masked figures seen here behind their 'leader' really were just it. Sounds more like they were his best friends, maybe even practically family for him, rather than 'goons' who disliked him as much as he'd claim they did.
They say you can tell a lot about someone by looking at their friends. If this video is accurate, this means a lot of what he said have been lies, just trying to trick us into thinking he's a worse person than he is. How could someone only interested in harmless, petty, non-violent pranks possibly be enjoying a killing game? I thought to myself.
Then the scene changed and the group of 3 girls and 6 boys were behind bars. It's unclear how badly hurt any of them were but there was blood on their previously spotless (but still ragged) white outfits much like Kokichi's own and at least one was lying on the floor. At the end, Monokuma's avatar appeared over that image mocking him over how little he knew about the 'event' that happened to these people so precious to him, taunting him to try and find out as if graduating could help solve this.
"Well, so much for being the Ultimate Evil Leader, huh?" Despite his insensitive words, Kaito was obviously taken aback by all of this, as if he was unsure what to do with this information.
It made sense to me, as it shows Kokichi does understand the value of teamwork and companionship at least as well as the astronaut does. His experience was just in a more close-knit personal way instead of what Kaito's astronaut training opened him up to.
"Kaito! I'm... sorry that your friends are in trouble like this, Kokichi." Kaede said as she reached out to try to pat his shoulder but decided against it because of how closed off his body language became.
"Guess you were lying when you said no one outside would miss a little degenerate like you back then, huh?" Tenko asked.
Seriously?! Now is NOT the time for hateful wordplay! I thought.
"I'm sure they're fine, this must be a lie! After all, if their crimes are as harmless as it claims, they couldn't be in too much trouble for anything, right?" Shuichi said, trying to lighten the mood.
"Unless it wasn't just the law they got in trouble with." Ryoma muttered as he stared as the screen, as if he was lost in a memory of his own.
No matter what anyone said, Kokichi just sat there impassively looking forward but I swore there was a sharpness in his eyes that I've seen before but can't remember when the last time I saw it and his knuckles were nearly as white as his clothing. For all of his talk, he really did choose to hold off on watching his video until it was time to do it with everyone else instead of coming in with an upper hand of some sort.
As agreed upon as the second ringleader, Kaede's was next. It looks like every video's going to start with Monokuma making explicit who the video was for by stating their name and talent, which made Maki in particular bristle for some unknown reason.
Next was an image of Kaede's family, her mother, father, and sister smiling proudly at the camera in front of her favorite piano. The pianist seemed to remember when this was taken, right after her last big show before all of this happened. Then Monokuma starts talking about how close she is to them and how they're all waiting for her to get back home. But as he starts talking about how worried they're getting now that she's been gone for a long time without a word, the image changes.
The room's dark, everything trashed, even her piano was broken now, but worst of all there's no trace of where her own family has gone. He makes it sound like looking for her lead to them all getting into some sort of accident, and she's just about ready to throttle him to find out what that is. But only the Monokubs! I knew the pianist would never hurt someone else over this, never her friends.
"Mom, Dad..." She muttered in horror.
"Wow, Kaede, you really are boring, aren't you? Even your lines are sooooo cliché. I think you need to hire a better writer." Kokichi mocked.
"Oh, so now the clown prince of crime has something to say?" Tokuko snarked. "Leave her the bloody hell alone, this is no laughing matter!"
"But he doesn't have any scars-" Miu was about to say before she trailed off.
That's what you're choosing to take from all this, Miu? I thought.
"He wasn't a clown, that doesn't count-" Shuichi pointed out.
"Can we not ignore Kaede's plight in favor of arguing about comics right now? This is serious, you guys." Kaito interrupted, getting everyone back on track.
"Indeed, the lost of a family member is no small matter, even if it's only a vague possibility." Kiyo explained. "At the very least it didn't show them in any kind of direct distress, that sort of damage to the room could be easily staged or done when they were gone. However, I don't recall you mentioning a sister before, is she your twin perhaps? You both look remarkably similar."
The anthropologist's offered distraction of more pleasant type of reminiscing was greatly appreciated, so Kaede gladly took it.
"Y-yeah, we're twins but she's a bit younger." The pianist said. "We get along great, even though I think she's... kinda bitter she didn't also turn out to be some sort of Ultimate like I am? Since it'd put me in the spotlight so much, and would end up with her either getting ignored or mistaken for me which is the worst. I mean it's one thing when we'd want that to happen, but when it's a genuine mistake it's just frustrating and awful... We'd do the 'twin switch' trick a lot when we were younger, but all our folks ever had to do to tell us apart was stick us in front of a piano, it didn't even matter what type."
"Aww, lucky I've always have someone I could do that with! Hey, Tokuko, do you want to try it sometime with me?" Tenko eagerly asked, cooing over how 'cute' it would be.
"Ah! I see what you mean!" The actress exclaimed. "I can do that with you, but the big problem is how to get the costumes. Maybe if I find something in my room, we can do something similar to do with everyone else later!"
"Oh, I think that's a great idea! We could make a great big party out of it, and everyone can wear fancy outfits!" Angie cheerfully said. "I can do the decorations if Gonta and Ryoma will help me get supplies and put them up~"
"I-isn't that kinda random? And it sounds like a lot of work…" Himiko muttered, showing a bit of interest herself.
Maybe she would like the chance to have us as an audience for one of her magic shows? I thought.
"Well, it's an idea for another time at any rate. With how the videos may be we might need this sort of random levity if we can find a way to get everyone involved. Maybe even show off what we can do for each other if we want." Kaede suggested since she thought it was a fun way to get together for everyone.
"Either way, I can perform a song for you guys too! I was thinking 'Smoke and Mirrors' by Lollia! It's like a warning sign to a boy about a Yandere girl's true intentions." Miyuji exclaimed with excitement.
"Can I perform a song too?" I asked.
"Ooh~! I had no idea you were interested in music." The vocalist admitted. "What do you want to sing?"
I thought about it for a moment before responding. "I would say 'Never Enough' by Loren Allred."
"Kick-ass! That song is one of my favorites! Looks like we have alot of work to do." The black-haired girl said. "Anyway, let's start my video. I'm the third ringleader of this idea after all."
Like we agreed on, her video was next. The first thing we saw was a live video of the vocalist's parents performing with the Pumpkins Destroyers and the Flaming Cherries. Monokuma made it clear that they at least gave her everything needed for survival. The scene then change to both of her parents in a interview room with posters for their bands on the walls behind them.
"Miyuji, don't take this the wrong way." Haruto advised. "It's hard to be with you all the time with this whole celebrity life thing."
"We're really grateful that you decided to follow in our footsteps and join your school's local Light Music Club, in fact we're proud of you!" Kuroi admitted.
"We don't know where you are, but we hope you come back soon." The Flaming Cherries' lead guitarist pleaded.
"We apologize for not being able to be with you when you wanted us the most, our careers got in the way, that's all." The Pumpkin Destroyers' lead singer muttered.
"We know for certain that the Strawberry Thieves will be just as popular as we are when you graduate, both of us know it. So don't lose sight of the truth no matter the odds, Miyuji." Haruto said before the video ended with no word from Monokuma at all.
The vocalist had a warm smile on her face. "They really did care for me in all this time."
"Looks like we're gonna go through with our party plans." I said with a soft smile.
"More work for me to do? Let a girl catch a fuckin' break, guys. My stamina's good, don't get me wrong, but even I have my limits." Miu groaned. "Speaking of which, let's just get my vid started so I can leave already, OK? Your little 'talent show' can come later, just like-"
Right on her cue, the inventor's video did just that. Monokuma's voice being appreciated for once as none of us wanted to know how exactly she was going to finish that thought.
Please let her motive be cleaner than the rest of her. I thought to myself.
All that was seen was what looked like a workshop of sorts. All sorts of half finished projects and equipment could be seen but it's hard to tell what any of it was supposed to do. Monokuma starts going on and on about how wasted all of her work's going to be if she can't leave and get back to them. How no one else cares enough to realize they even exist, much less how to make them carry on her legacy.
He even starts naming a few, a machine that can safely recycle those cheap plastic bags no one knows what do with into things like medical gloves or… condoms? Another that would help clean and regulate water supplies when resources are low. Even some that sound like they're meant primarily for emergency relief efforts or helping the handicapped. But only if they're finished, they're useless like this. He goes on to claim she's useless like this. And how badly the world might need some of these now due to an 'event' going on that he refuses to clarify.
"...That's it?" Tenko broke the silence that followed.
"WHATT'YA MEAN THAT'S IT YOU BASTARD?! Those are my babies we're talking about!" Miu exclaimed with pride. "Do you have any idea how many people I could help with those? I mean sure obviously my 'while you sleep' series was my most recent pride and joy, but only because I couldn't get the headway I wanted on any of those other suckers. I promise they are going to definitely blow those measly little 'eyedrop contact' designs I sold way back right outta the fuckin' water!"
"Wow, that's really impressive, Miu! I had no idea you cared about other people this much." Keebo exclaimed, looking pretty proud of her.
This was a surprisingly mature motive for an egotistical and rude girl like her. In a different sort of way than what we were expecting her to be 'mature' at any rate.
"Well duh, why do you think I'm willing to let you fuckers give me requests without charging you out the ass for 'em in this situation?" The inventor questioned.
"But... aren't you even a little concerned there wasn't anyone in it?" Angie pointed out, she had a point all that we saw was her machines. No signs of family, friends, or co-workers anywhere.
"What's that supposed to mean, jailbait?" The strawberry blonde-haired girl asked the artist.
"Yeah, everyone else so far had people they obviously cared a lot about and cared about them, so where's your parents or anything?" Tenko wondered. I wasn't sure if that is the best thing to ask right now.
"Who fucking needs 'em? Barely do jack for me anyways except give me shit because I point out how school's a fuckin' waste of my precious time now."
"Talk about an ungrateful brat." Maki said with a new sharpness in her voice.
I guess someone who never had any parents would be upset hearing someone else complain about being cared about. I thought.
"H-Hey... Th-that's not true, my work more than earned my keep. They're the ones who-!"
Miu cut herself off as her voice cracked and Keebo tried to help calm her down. No one bothered asking why there weren't any of her friends at that point. Given who she is, this should have been obvious, but the idea she was this alone regardless of if it was by her own doing was a sobering reality nobody wanted to address. The only other sounds until the next video started was a quiet sniffling.
Ryoma's video started the same way as those before it, but something clearly went wrong. All that was there when his name and talent were stated was a Monokuma in a yellow hard hat in front of a black screen with yellow 'under construction' tape running along the top and bottom. And when he spoke again-
"Unfortunately, there is no one in the world who is important to you."
It didn't matter what 'sympathies' or 'apologies' Monokuma gave after that sentence, the damage was done.
It doesn't even matter if this is real or a lie this time. I thought to myself.
"...I don't know why I expected anything else." The tennis pro admitted.
"Holy shit. I'm... I am so sorry, Ryoma. I had no idea." Kaede was too stunned to say much else.
"Hey, at least this means if you do have people outside, that means they're completely safe from Monokuma and his cubs!" Tenko exclaimed.
"Atua agrees, and wants to remind you that you aren't as alone as you fear. He says he's still watching over you and everyone's wishing you well from the other side-"
"Tell your god to shut up and mind his own business." Ryoma cut Angie off.
"Well, you do still have your cat right? The Russian blue you talked about before? I'm sure they're waiting for you and Monokuma just overlooked 'em because it's a cat!" Kokichi knew this kind lie wouldn't help but he still said it.
I wonder if it's because he's feeling just as guilty about this? He was more likely to have peeked at these than Kaede and Miyuji were and they all knew it. This was his plan. How could we have known not all of these videos would be 'motives' to get us to commit a murder? I thought to myself.
"Are you bloody sure a familiar doesn't count? Miu's didn't have humans in it either-" Tokuko was going to say before Miu cut her off.
"Come on man, it's a fuckin' cat! That's way harder to find than my glorious resume, of course this sad sack of shit couldn't find 'em. Why'd you think guys have so much trouble finding puss-" It was nice to see the inventor managed to bounce back to normal at any rate. Keebo was still holding her hand but she sure sounded as strong and assured as she always did.
It just wasn't enough for Kiyo to let her finish her sentence.
"Do not forget, we all promised to remain friends when we leave this place did we not? Regardless of those who are gone you do still have us here for you should you find yourself in need of our support." His words here were rather unexpected, normally it's Kaede to be the first to push the value of this promise.
"Aren't there some prisons that let you have pet cats too? For therapeutic purposes as I recall. If you must return to prison when this is over we can all try to give a good word for you to have you transferred to one if you'd like." Kirumi offered.
An awkward silence came before us after the maid said those words. The uncomfortable truth hung in the air, souring any positive notions for what's 'outside'.
"Oh fuck. Right, prison's a thing, ain't it? We'll be sure to visit you too, as much as we can, okay man?" As well-intentioned as Kaito's words were it didn't seem like anything being said was helping Ryoma that much.
But the tennis pro's eyes weren't as hopelessly empty and blank as they had been when the film first ended, hearing how many people here tried to speak up for his sake, so I considered it a small victory for Kaede.
That awkward silence stayed until Kiyo's video started up. There was something already a bit off about this one, as Monokuma started off talking as if he found this, rather than make it himself, and is making it sound like he's doing the long-haired boy some sort of favor by showing it to him.
This video is an actual video for a change, not the static images with basic animations and voice over of the previous. Ironic the anthropologist's motive is technically the most high-tech, as low as the quality the film may be, as he might have appreciated the more Kamishibai-esque natures of the others.
That's what it's called, right? The thing with the traveling picture based storytellers who'd give candies to children to get them to listen. Maybe not the best comparison, not exactly my field here. I off-handly thought.
A young woman I seemed to recognize appeared in some sort of hospital bed, and this time she's the one doing the talking rather than Monokuma. She's clearly addressing her little brother, but something feels very off here. It starts normally enough, she's repeating some of what the doctors told her, how it isn't looking good, and that she doesn't want him to feel guilty over anything since he can't be there right now. Sounds like they might even be the only family they have right now too, as she doesn't breathe a word about any parents or other relatives.
But then while it's like she's trying to give him advice to stay calm despite how bad her situation is, it almost feels like she's coaching him on what to do to. "You mustn't" this, "You mustn't" that, all in order to hide how he's feeling from others. And it takes no time at all for him to try and start doing what she says too, though all it really does is keep him quiet at the moment.
Right as it seemed like she was just about done with what she wanted to say, finishing with telling him how much she loves him and how no matter what she'll always be looking out for him best she can, she's interrupted by her own coughing.
Her fits' nearly as violent as Kiyo's own shaking, which only gets worse at the sight on the screen. The sight of blood on her hands. Her blood on white sheets.
It's as doctors start to rush in to try and help, alerted by the machines going off, that the visuals of the video finally cut off. But it isn't a Monokuma avatar with a vague warning that appears at the end here, just his sister's voice one last time over the black empty space.
"But remember Korekiyo. Most of all... You mustn't forget your promise to me."
There was almost a chill in the air at those words, regardless of what this 'promise' may be. Even so, despite everything Kiyo's still clearly trying to maintain his posture and keep quiet like she told him to, even if it isn't working that well. It even sounds like he may be on the verge of hyperventilating under his mask as I tried nudging his arm to get his attention. It's not clear if he notices thanks to the layers he's wearing as he just keeps hugging himself tightly.
"I'm so sorry, Kiyo. I had no idea your sister was doing this poorly. No wonder you wanted to get back home to her as soon as you could." Kaede said.
The others got caught up in the conversation about Kiyo's sister that I kept thinking to myself.
Kiyo's sister... I remember her name at least... Miyadera Shinguji... I remember her but never have I heard that she had a serious illness like this! Maybe my motive video can make sense out of all this.
Kaito's was the next video to come. A photo of him in his astronaut gear standing between an elderly couple appears that Monokuma identifies as his grandparents. It changes to the couple sitting on a couch looking concerned, and like Miyuji's and Kiyo's this is actually real footage of them, though it's less grainy than his video was.
They talk about how all they want is for him to never give up and keep on living, not just for himself but for them too. Monokuma's voiceover then cuts in and claims the two got into some kind of accident right after this interview, but as is typical he refuses to go into any more detail than that.
"Oh, wow, Kaede I'm sorry. Really I am! Kaito's is waaay more boring than your video was." Kokichi mocked.
"HEY! SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BRAT-" The astronaut shouted as he moved in to punch the supreme leader.
"Calm down, Kaito, you're fine and I'm sure they are too. They certainly looked safer than some of the others, right?" I put a hand on his shoulder and helped push him back into his seat, saving Kokichi from a punch to the jaw for at least a few minutes longer. For someone with such an innocent face, the supreme leader doesn't seem to care about keeping it that way.
"If they don't know about the killing game, why would they be so concerned about you 'surviving'?" Maki's voice cut in like a knife. "Is there something you aren't telling us?"
"Jeez Maki Roll, you worry too much. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it and it's pretty cute for you, but it's not like that. It's just astronaut training's very stressful and the job itself is dangerous ya'know? They've always been a coupla worry warts, no biggie." The astronaut told her.
"What have I told you about calling me that?" The caregiver asked as she blushed.
"Oh gawd, please take this weird flirting elsewhere so we can move along already, OK?" Kokichi pleaded.
Kokichi, why does it feel like I'm putting more work into keeping you alive than you are?! I thought.
One strongly restrained but furious Maki and a securely duct taped Kokichi later, all of us were ready for the next video. Time to see if Shuichi can win out in the contest for 'least interesting motive video' or if it can describe what really happened in his first case as the Ultimate Detective.
It started out with a photo of him with his uncle who Monokuma says is a great detective. He then explained Shuichi's first case was a murder of someone who was a bad person, he never forgot the look on the culprit's face. Monokuma then says the culprit committed suicide in prison after the taping of the motive video.
I saw that Shuichi was shaking and asked "Do you regret siding with the victim?"
"So you noticed that I was shaking, huh?" The detective responded. "Yeah... I kidda did."
"At least the party can let you move on, right?" I pointed out.
"You're right..." The blue-haired boy agreed.
As the videos had hit an almost pleasant lull in their severity, all of us decided to take an intermission, to stretch our legs and all that. Despite earlier concerns though no one decided to stop watching with the others though, even Miu claimed she wanted to stick around to at least see Keebo's since her workload wasn't that bad now that she thought about it.
I wonder if that means she's nearly finished already? I thought.
I couldn't focus on the other students though as I tried finding where Kiyo's gone off to. I didn't need to go very far as it turns out as he was muttering to himself in the library across the hallway.
"Are you OK, Kiyo?" I asked
The answer was obvious as he nearly jumped and seemed to wipe away some tears before he turned to face me.
"A-ah, hello! I hadn't heard you come in, my apologies. I'm doing better I believe, nothing to be overly worried about I assure you." He franticly said.
Nope, he stuttered and I was the one able to sneak up on him for a change. That's enough to be at least a little worried, even if he didn't look like he's been crying. I thought.
I walked up to him and pulled him into a comforting hug like I did with Kaede despite our major height difference.
"Well, if you're sure about that. I just wanted to let you know that if you need someone to talk to or anything you can always come to me about it, OK?" I told him.
"Thank you, that is very kind of you to offer. But I'll be alright... I was just getting a book to read later, in case the films to come make sleep difficult to reach tonight." The anthropologist said as he pulled away from me.
"That sounds like a good idea. What do they have here?"
The ten-minute break passed quickly like that, since there were a lot of books to look through and I wasn't interested in most of them. I did find a cute-looking fantasy novel though. The mood in the A/V room certainly felt better now than it did before our intermission, as everyone began coming back to see what else Monokuma and his cubs had in store for us.