I pretty much didn't sleep last night, mostly thanks to Ayaka's lab, but I was there first at the dining hall, at around 9 AM.
And I was there first for what felt like forever.
Eventually though, at around 9:30 AM, Miyumi came in.
"O-Oh, Eunji, you're here already?" Miyumi asked.
"Couldn't sleep." Eunji replied.
"Understandable." The detective sat next to the idol. "I wanted to see how you were doing."
"Not fine." The idol sighed, and the detective responded by resting her hand on top of Eunji's.
"Me too."
They just sat there in silence, enjoying each other's company.
"Hey." Miyumi said. "We will get out of here, together, okay?"
"Okay." Eunji replied.
"And maybe once we get out... I'd like to get to know you better. Maybe with some coffee?" The detective asked.
Is she asking me out?
No, I'm pretty sure she isn't. After all, we're just friends.
…Right?
"I'd like that." The idol smiled.
The two just stared into each other's eyes, until...
"Whoawhoa! GL!" Said Monokuma.
"AHH!" Eunji jumped back. "What the FUCK?!"
"You really don't respect anyone's privacy, do you?" Miyumi scolded.
"Puhuhu! Remember that this a wholesome family show! We cannot have two teenagers having each other like that!" Monokuma remarked.
"The fuck are you on about?" The idol scowled. "Get the fuck outta here, you little shit."
"Now now kiddos, hold your horses!" Monokuma said. "Mr Monokuma has an announcement to make!"
"I don't care." Eunji replied. "Now get lost before I make you get lost."
"Ah-ah-ah! Don't forget the regulations!" The bear held a claw out. "Violence against the headmaster will not be tolerated! You wouldn't want this playthrough to end so early, would you?"
"Playthrough?" The idol was confused.
"Nevermind that!" Monokuma said. "I shall now commit... SUMMON STUDENTS!"
Monokuma disappeared, leaving the idol and detective annoyed and confused.
"Sometimes I still don't understand what he's talking about." Miyumi said.
DING DONG BING BONG!
"Everyone! Come to the dining hall! Monokuma has an announcement to make!"
"He's referring to himself in third person?" Eunji groaned. "This is hell."
…
After waiting around for what felt like forever, everyone that was still left had arrived at the dining hall.
"What the hell does that little asshat want?" Masahito remarked.
"I dunno, but I definitely do not like whatever it's gonna be." Kaori replied.
Monokuma reappeared.
"Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed. "Welcome all! I have a very special announcement to make!"
"Yes, we heard that the first time." Takashi snarked.
"Jeez, you're all so sassy with me!" The bear growled. "Nonetheless, I'm sure you'll all like this!"
Suddenly, letters appeared from nowhere.
"Um..." Naomori was confused. "What the heck are these supposed to be, exactly?"
"Open them up!" Monokuma said. "You may react, but do not read it out loud! You'll be punished!"
...This is a motive, isn't it?
The letter marked with Eunji's name was given to her by Miyumi, who had a serious look on her face.
I should open it... I don't want to know what Monokuma would do if I DIDN'T open it...
So I did just that, I opened my letter, and I was shocked at what I read.
"Izumi Yamamoto is indirectly responsible for at least 20 murders that have occurred in prison. All the victims were hackers that she busted and sent to jail. They were murdered by vengeful inmates."
"What the...?" Eunji said, immediately looking at Izumi.
"Eunji?" Izumi said.
"Ah-Ah-Ah!" Monokuma said. "No spilling what you're reading! You'll be punished."
"T-This can't be true." Masahito remarked. "Yeeun, you..."
"Huh?" Yeeun said.
"As you can all figure out, this is your motive for this round!" Monokuma stated. "Now each and every single one of you know one person's darkest secrets!"
"A-Alright, fine..." Miyumi stuttered. "How is this going to get us to kill, though?"
"Some of you people have some VERY dark secrets, I'm sure that's motive enough!" The bear said. "But I guess if I really want to light a fire under your asses, in the next 48 hours, if somebody isn't dead, then I'll publish all of your secrets to the internet!"
"Y-You can't do that." Hirokazu said.
"This feels familiar." Ayaka remarked.
"Shut up! I ran out of ideas!" Monokuma replied.
"Huh?" Eunji said. "What are you on about?"
"Nevermind that! As I said, in the next 48 hours, if somebody isn't dead, then I'll expose all your secrets! So, get to killing!" Monokuma then disappeared.
"T-This is definitely shocking..." Miyumi said. "B-But, come on, I'm sure it's not worth killing somebody over?"
"You." Masahito pointed at Yeeun. "Stay away from me."
"W-What are you talking about?" Yeeun asked.
"Guys, guys." Takashi said. "Let's all take a breather. Come on, this could all be lies by Monokuma."
"That's true." Eunji sighed. "He's probably just trying to make us paranoid to incite a killing. Let's not play into his game."
"I dunno, Eunji." Masahito said. "What I read was pretty fucked up."
"Look, whatever you read, it's probably fake." Yeeun replied.
"Hm." The CG artist looked at her. "Fine then."
"Let's just get some breakfast..." Eunji sighed.
…
Time passed, and it was a very tense meal.
Eunji was sitting outside at the courtyard, thinking to herself. Until she was interrupted by Kaori, of all people.
"I know Monokuma said not to spill, but..." Kaori sighed. "I don't know if I can see you the same."
"I don't know what you saw, Kaori, but please don't believe it." Eunji said.
What kind of dark secrets do I even have?
"Yeah, maybe so... but it's still gonna be hard to forget what I read." The dancer sighed.
"Just know that it's fake. We can't afford to fall into Monokuma's trap." The idol replied.
The pink-haired girl sat next to the blue-haired girl, and looked into the sky.
"So, what are your thoughts about Hirokazu?" Eunji asked.
"Eh? That's random." Kaori replied. "Why you asking?"
"I mean, you two seem pretty close." The idol replied.
"Yeah, I'd say we're pretty good friends."
Oh. Sorry, man. Getting friendzoned is hard.
"But... there is something else." Kaori said, nervously fiddling with her fingers.
"Huh?" Eunji asked.
"Maybe it's just this whole situation... but I dunno, I may have feelings for him?" The dancer croaked. "I-I dunno..."
"Oh, well... just wait and see how that plays out, yeah?" The idol replied.
"M-Maybe..."
There was some silence between us, until Kaori looked at me.
"Whose secret did you get?" Kaori asked.
"Huh?"
"On the letters..."
"Izumi's." Eunji replied.
"I wonder what kind of dark secret a girl like her could have." Kaori remarked.
"Like Takashi said, it's probably fake anyways." The idol sighed.
I don't want to believe it, even if it is real. I know Izumi couldn't have known the possible consequences of her actions, but that'd be such a horrible thing to know about someone.
"Eunjiiiii!" The voice of Ayaka called out.
"Aya-chan, what's up?" Eunji asked.
"I just wanted to check up on you." Ayaka said. "And... I wanted to talk about something. I-In private."
Kaori nodded. "I get it. Imma head to dining hall and go grab a snack."
"Didn't you just eat?" The idol asked.
"Yeah, but I'm still hungry." The dance replied.
That doesn't really make sense... but ok...
With that Kaori left, and Ayaka sat next to Eunji.
"Who'd you get?" Ayaka asked.
"Izumi." Eunji replied. "You?"
"Ichiro." Ayaka said. "Monokuma said not to spill what it is, but it really isn't even that dark of a secret."
"What else did you execpt from a douchey surfer bro?" The idol remarked. "I'm sure he can't even hurt a fly..."
"Hahaha, maybe." Ayaka replied. "I just don't know what and how much Monokuma knows, but I don't want anyone to know my secret."
"You.. have a dark secret?" The blue-haired girl looked at Ayaka with worried eyes.
"I... uh... I suppose it really isn't that dark of a secret." Ayaka said.
Monokuma appeared.
"UP-UP-UP-UP!" Monokuma interrupted. "NO! SPILLING!"
"I wasn't going to tell her anything!" Ayaka whimpered. "Please..."
"Go away, you're scaring her, you dick." Eunji replied.
"I am very much serious about to the no spilling rule!" The bear replied. "No spilling! Seriously!"
With that, he disappeared.
"Ugh..." Eunji groaned. "I fucking hate that bear."
"W-Who doesn't.." Ayaka sighed. "For a second there, I thought he was going to k-kill me."
"I'm not sure how serious that bear is about these type of things, but since he's all about "entertainment", I doubt he'd kill one of us." The idol replied.
"Maybe so..." The horror writer stretched. "I wanted to organize another party, but after the whole Jutaro thing..."
"Yeah..."
"I... honestly thought nobody was going to kill." Ayaka sighed. "It's all so horrible."
"I know." Eunji replied. "But, don't worry, it won't happen again."
"I hope so."
"I know so." The idol stated. "I won't let it happen."
"I appreciate that, Eunji."
Almost so suddenly, Ayaka bounced off where she was sitting, all energetic.
"I know! How about we head to the casino!?" Ayaka replied.
"Eh?" Eunji was confused. "Oh, right, hahaha, the casino."
"Did you forget about it or something?" The horror writer asked.
"I guess I did."
…
With that, Ayaka and I made our way to the casino, and to our surprise, Kaori and Hirokazu were there.
"Oh hey, wasn't expecting to see ya here." Hirokazu stated.
"Me neither." Eunji replied. "So what does bring you here?"
"I mean, it's a casino..." Hirokazu replied.
"Right, sorry, brainfart." The idol responded. "Same here, then."
"We were just about to head downstairs." Kaori replied. "Good to know you two are here, safety in numbers and all that."
"Hey, you saying you don't trust me?" The astrologist was hurt.
The dancer just smirked. "You're a man, after all. Men are beasts!"
"T-That's so mean!" Hirokazu remarked.
"Heya, Kaori, stop bullying Hirokazu." Eunji replied. "Real tsundere vibes here."
"Eh?" Kaori said. "You did not just call me a tsundere!"
Tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere tsundere
"Stop looking at me like you're constantly thinking tsundere!" Kaori stated.
"Are you an esper? How did you know what I was thinking?" Euni replied.
"Grrr..." The dancer growled.
"Did you just growl?" Ayaka asked.
"Wow, Kaori, I didn't know you were a furry!" Eunji remarked.
"Waahh! You're going to make me cry!" Kaori remarked, she grabbed Hirokazu's hand and ran down to the arcade. "Let's go, Hirokazu!"
Eunji was just snickering to herself, while Ayaka kinda just shrugged.
"Come on, don't act like that wasn't funny." Eunji said in a teasing way.
"Maybe it was a little funny..." Ayaka replied. "Let's go, shall we?"
"Ah, hold up a minute." The idol said. "You can go right on ahead, I'll catch up!"
The horror writer went down the stairs, while Eunji ran over to the prize exchange.
...
After doing my business, I walked down to the arcade. Ayaka had already made her way to a game, and was playing some salmon fishing thing.
Hirokazu and Kaori were racing each other in a game called Outlaw's Run, so I just made my way to a slot machine.
"MonoMono slots?" Eunji said out loud. "This bear has the fucking ego the size of the goddamn galaxy."
Monokuma appeared.
"You're so damn rude!" Monokuma held a claw out. "Especially after I went my way to make a whole casino for you kids to have fun in!"
"What? You expect a thank you after you killed our friend?" Eunji snarled.
"Ugh... idols really are ungrateful!" The bear remarked. "I'm going to kick you out from the casino!"
"Me? When I'm the only one buying from your prize exchange?" The idol replied.
"Grrr!" Monokuma said. "You win this round! But I won't let you go this easy next time!"
With that, the bear disappeared.
He's so annoying.
Eunji just made her way and started playing with the slots machine. I mean, hey, with infinite coins, you're never going to lose much, eh?
…
Time had passed, and I didn't even realize it was night time.
"It's getting dark." Hirokazu said. "We should head back."
"Yeah." Kaori said.
"Well, I had fun!" Ayaka said.
I forgot to mention that Ayaka and I had started to play a lot of games together.
"Yeah, let's head back."
DING DONG BING BONG!
"Ahem, this is a school announcement." Monokuma said through the speakers. "It is now 10 pm, everyone should report to their dorms and get some rest, and prepare for another beautiful day!"
"I guess I'll walk you back to your dorm." Hirokazu offered, outstetching his hand for her to take.
"Aww, thank you, such a gentleman." Kaori replied, taking his hand. "Lead the way."
Cute.
The two left, leaving Ayaka and Eunji behind.
"Well, we should probably head back." Eunji yawned.
"Yeah." Ayaka said.
So we made our back to the dorms, but not before being stopped by Izumi.
"Hey." Izumi said.
"What's up?" Eunji asked.
"Eunji... was your letter about me?" Izumi asked. "You looked at me weird when you opened it.."
I suppose I did...
"Yeah, I did." The idol replied.
"How bad was it, Eunji?" The hacker asked, serious.
"Whoa, never seen you like this, Izumi." Ayaka remarked.
"I'm a hacker, I get involved in some serious stuff." Izumi replied. "A civilian shouldn't know anything about what I've done."
You're just making yourself look more suspicious... is that letter true? Did you really send those people to their deaths, Izumi?
"It's probably false anyways." Eunji said. "And you heard Monokuma, I can't tell you, even if I wanted to. I'd die."
"Hmph." Izumi just crossed her arms. "Just know, it isn't me I'm worried about, it's you. You're a high profile celebrity, and knowing something about the underworld isn't exactly beneficial."
I didn't realize how deep your "Ultimate Hacker" talent was...
"Underworld?" Ayaka asked. "That's real?"
"Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't." The hacker replied, and then she left into her room.
We just stood there in stunned silence. I wasn't expecting to see this side of Izumi, hell, I didn't even know it existed... I don't think I like it, to be honest.
"I never realize that being a hacker was so... dark." Ayaka replied.
"I haven't read all your books, but I'd assume a hacker character would appear in one, no?" Eunji asked.
"Well, yeah... but you can never be completely accurate with fiction." The horror writer sighed. "Now she's worrying me. I hope she doesn't do anything to you."
...Yeah, that's true, huh? With this whole motive, not only would the person whose secret is revealed would be in danger, but also the person who knows the secret.
"I'm sure nothing will happen." Eunji replied. "Go to sleep, Aya-chan. We'll meet up in the dining hall tomorrow."
"Yeah, okay." Ayaka nodded. "See you, Eunji."
With that, Ayaka went into her room, leaving Eunji all by herself.
I'm going to head into my room.
...
DING DONG BING BONG!
"It is now 7 AM! Wake up, and enjoy the beautiful day!" Monokuma announced.
Eunji got up, and made her way to the dining hall.
"Hey there." Miyumi said.
"Everyone's here already?" Eunji yawned.
"Well, yeah." Hirokazu replied. "Some stuff happened last night. You must be a deep sleeper."
"Huh?" Eunji asked. "What happened last night?"
"This dude." Yeeun pointed at Masahito. "Started a huge argument."
"I mean, come on, with what I read, did you really expect me to trust you?" Masahito yelled.
"Pretty much everyone stayed awake guarding Yeeun and Masahito to make sure nothing happened." Takashi replied. "What a headache this whole motive is..."
"Oh." Eunji replied. "I must be a deep sleeper then to have missed all that."
The idol walked to the kitchen, and saw Miyumi there.
"Oh, hey." Eunji replied. "I didn't even notice you weren't at the dining hall."
"Yeah, sorry." Miyumi put on oven mitts, and took out a cake pan from the oven. "I was baking."
"Right, I forgot that you actually know how to bake." Eunji sighed. "That story you told me about your mother...?"
"It wasn't a lie." Miyumi replied. "My mother did pass, and she did motivate me to bake more. That's why it all came out well at the party. It made lying about being the ultimate baker easier."
"Right..." The idol fell silent.
"Hey." The detective put the cake pan to rest on the counter, and then took her oven mitts off, approaching Eunji. "Eunji... I won't ever lie to you again, okay?"
Miyumi put a hand on Eunji's cheek.
Oh god, my heart is starting to beat out of my chest.
Miyumi...
"You trust me, right?" Miyumi asked. "Because I trust you."
"I do." Eunji replied. "I'll always trust you, Miyumi."
Miyumi just smiled. "Thank you, Eunji."
They held that position for a moment, until Miyumi pulled away.
Okay... just take a breather, Eunji. You're good.
"I have to wait for the cake to cool down, but you go on ahead and get some food." Miyumi replied. "It is important to eat, after all."
"Yeah, of course."
…
Some time had passed, and Miyumi arrived with her cake.
"Nice, bruh!" Ichiro said.
"Seems delicious, Yumi." Ayaka smiled.
"Enjoy, everyone." Miyumi replied, heading back to the kitchen.
"I need to speak with her." Takashi said, getting up. "The rest of you, go on ahead."
Seungyeon sat next to Eunji.
"How are you, Eunji?" Seungyeon asked.
"Good, I suppose." Eunji replied. "You?"
"Well, I barely saw you at all yesterday." Seungyeon sighed. "But besides that, I'm fine."
"Yeah, sorry, I was spending time with Aya-chan."
"Ayaka..." Seungyeon fell silent. "Hey, can I tell you a secret?"
"Go for it." Eunji replied.
"My letter was about Ayaka." Seungyeon replied. "Monokuma said not to spill, but... it's not so bad, her secret."
"That's good to know. I never thought she would have something so dark anyways."
"Watcha talking?" Said Youngjae, who along with Yeeun, sat next to the duo.
"Just stuff." Eunji replied. "How's it been for you two?"
"Minus that douchebag coming after me last night, pretty solid." Yeeun replied.
"You did get some sleep, right?" The idol asked.
"Yes, of course." The songwriter replied. "I woke up at 4, and I went to do some laundry, and that's when Masahito came after me."
"I wish he wouldn't fall for Monokuma's game." Seungyeon sighed. "I don't even believe the shit I was reading, anyways."
"Me neither." Youngjae replied.
"Same here." Yeeun confirmed.
"Whose secret did you two get, anyways?" Seungyeon asked.
"Naomori." The babysitter replied.
"Miyumi." The songwriter stated.
"You got Miyumi's secret?" Eunji replied. "How bad was it?"
"Meh."
"Meh?"
"I was expecting darker from a detective, but it was whatever."
"Oh..."
Monokuma appeared.
"Well, time is running out, kiddos!" Monokuma announced. "You now have 24 hours until I expose all your secrets!"
"Okay." Takashi said blandly.
"What? You don't care?" Monokuma said.
"It's all just a bunch of lies, anyways." The white-haired boy snarked.
"Why you! Trust me, they're not lies! They're all legit!" The bear held a claw out.
"Keep on telling yourself that."
"Grrr...!"
Monokuma disappeared.
"24 hours..." Izumi said nervously.
"Eh? What's wrong, Yamamoto?" Kaori asked.
"It's nothing." Izumi got up. "I'm going to head to my room."
With that, Izumi got up and left.
"Well, if cha don't mind, I'm going to head to my lab and get my surf's up!" Ichiro cheered. "Anyone wanna watch?"
"Trust me, nobody wants to watch." Eunji remarked.
"Ignoring you!" The surfer replied. "Any takers?"
"Guess I'll go." Kaori said. "I need some entertainment."
"Coming with, then." Hirokazu replied.
Everyone made plans to go their own ways, so I made my way back to my room.
…
I have some free time, what should I do now?
-Free Time!-
