It was another brand new day.
I got up and made my way to the dining hall.
"Yeeun is awake. Good." Takashi said.
"Hey there." Yeeun stretched. "I'm guessing I'm up early."
"You are, the announcement hasn't even ringed out." The white-haired boy sighed, taking a bite out of his toast.
"Wait, really?" The songwriter was shocked.
"Yes, really. But some of us are awake already. I checked in with Eunji earlier, and Miyumi was there with her."
"It's good that she's with Eunji."
"It is, but I just hope that Eunji doesn't feel too suffocated."
"After all that, I'm sure she wants as much help as possible."
With that, I took my seat.
"I'm guessing nothing else has changed." Yeeun asked.
"Everyone's still alive, if that's what you mean." Takashi replied. "Which is good. And also, did you notice the workshop that opened up in the third floor?"
"A workshop opened up? I guess I must have missed it when I first went through there." The songwriter said.
"I missed it too, but I noticed it eventually. I wonder if the workshop serves any purpose."
"Probably to make stuff..."
Naomori and Izumi entered the dining hall.
"Heyo." Naomori said.
"Good morning." Izumi said, sitting down next to Yeeun.
DING DONG BING BONG!
"It is now 7 AM! Wake up, and enjoy the beautiful day!" Monokuma announced.
"The dining hall should start filling up now." Takashi said.
…
Yeah, it wasn't long until the rest of us were here.
Masahito showed up for once, but of course we're not suddenly buddy-buddy.
But it is a fair point to be in a tentative alliance with him.
Just to prevent killing from happening again.
"Eunji still isn't here, huh." Seungyeon sighed as Miyumi entered the dining hall alone.
"You need to be patient." Miyumi replied. "It's still been only 2 days."
"I know." The actor sighed.
"Youngjae, do you have something ready for Eunji?" The detective asked the babysitter.
"Of course." The babysitter replied, heading over to the kitchen.
"I understand that she's going through a hard time, but it's still bothers me that she won't even go to the dining hall." Izumi said.
"Especially considering that we still see her around the school." Kazuhiko replied. "But, there's more important manners to attend to."
Don't tell me...
"Recently, I have come up with the idea to create a student council." Kazuhiko said. "We need trustworthy students who can enforce strict rules."
Youngjae came back to the dining hall, and handed a plate to Miyumi. "Huh?"
"Why this all of a sudden, Kazuhiko?" Masahito asked.
"Because all of us split up too much." The racer crossed his arms. "It's because of that carelessness that Jutaro was murdered."
At least he didn't bring up Ichiro.
"I can understand where you're coming from, but wouldn't that be making the place too much of a prison?" Izumi said.
"Would you rather more murders be committed?" Kazuhiko asked.
The class fell silent.
"Don't forget, the rule is that you only kill up to two people." Kazuhiko replied. "With that in mind, we need create groups of 4, and each group can have their own enforcer to keep everything together."
"That feels like it'd be too much." Izumi disagreed once more. "Don't you trust us?"
"I trusted Reika." Kazuhiko said. "I trusted Ichiro. Look how that turned out."
"Then how about we vote?" Miyumi said. "All those in favor of the student council, raise your hand."
Kazuhiko and Naomori were the only ones to raise their hands.
"Hm." Miyumi said. "All those NOT in favor of the student council, raise your hands."
With that, the rest of us raised our hands.
"Outvoted." Miyumi said. "9-2."
"Eunji isn't here." Kazuhiko remarked.
"Then you'd be outvoted 10-2." Miyumi replied.
"Are you all so sure about this?" Kazuhiko said. "Don't be so ridiculous."
"It's a good plan, but something gives me a bad vibe." Izumi said. "Forcing all of us to stick together would grow a toxic environment."
"I'm sure you'll all come to regret this decision." The racer said. "But for now, I'll drop it."
That's out of the way...
…
Eventually, I made my way to Izumi's lab.
"Hey there." Yeeun said. "Bodyguard Kim reporting for duty."
"Ah... you don't have to be so formal." Izumi replied. "It's nice to have company."
"I was just kidding anyways." The songwriter smiled.
But then...
I thought about something.
Izumi...
I didn't bother her during the second motive, but...
Everyone mentioned how off Izumi was during then.
Why?
"Yeeun?" Izumi asked.
"Sorry." Yeeun sighed.
"What's wrong?"
"Everyone mentioned that you were acting strange during the secrets motive."
"..."
And of course Izumi's mood is immediately spoilt.
"Are you going to be doing this all the time?" Izumi asked.
"Look, I'm just asking because I'm concerned."
"It's in the past, let's not talk about it." The hacker replied.
I'm sure that's the most I'm going to get out of her...
…
Anyways, after a couple hours of what felt like endless tension, Izumi had dismissed me so she could go the bathroom.
So I just made my way to the courtyard, and found Youngjae there.
"Hey." Youngjae waved.
"Hi."
"You seem a bit down. What's wrong?"
"I can't get too much into detail, but I was spending time with Izumi earlier." The songwriter replied. "And I asked her about her attitude a couple days ago, and she pretty much showed me hostility."
"Oh." The babysitter said. "That's awkward."
"I get it, since she's a hacker and everything, but I just wish she would be more willing to open up to others."
"Whatever she might be involved in is probably serious business." Youngjae replied. "It makes sense she would want to keep others away from it."
"I think she's still upset, so I'm hoping she calms down."
"Yeah."
…
I went to check up on Eunji, and like clockwork, it was Miyumi who opened the door.
"How's Eunji been doing?" Yeeun asked.
"She's been fine." Miyumi said.
"That's good to know."
"You seem troubled." The detective observed. "Is something wrong?"
"It's just Izumi."
"Ah, I see."
After explaing the situation to Miyumi, she just gave me some friendly advice about Izumi.
…
Before I even realized it, the day was already over, and I didn't even get to talk to Izumi again.
Tomorrow is another day, as they say.
…
It was a new day.
First thing I did when woke up was head to the dining hall.
"Hey th- whoa." Yeeun was taken aback by the dining hall being filled with the remaining students, and like always, Eunji wasn't there.
"You slept through the morning announcement." Izumi said.
"Ah, is that so?" The songwriter replied awkwardly.
"I wish I could master your ability to ignore Monokuma." Hirokazu sighed. "I hate waking up to his damned voice."
Kazuhiko was looking at the T.V screen, as if he was expecting something.
I'm sensing he's still upset about the whole student council thing.
But... that whole situation just seemed bad.
His heart is in the right place, but forcing everyone into one place is just a bad idea.
I didn't even notice, but as I looked away from Kazuhiko, I was greeted with Izumi, who had moved closer to me, and...
She was just staring.
"Um, hey." Yeeun said.
"I'm sorry for my outburst yesterday." Izumi apologized.
"O-Oh, hey, you don't have to apologize, it was my fault anyways."
"Nonetheless of whose fault it is, we need to be on mutual terms for things between us to work out."
Of course, Izumi was whispering to me to ensure that nobody else could eavesdrop.
"I agree."
"Watcha whispering about over there?" Kaori asked.
"Um, nothing." Yeeun replied.
"Anyways, it's good to see that everyone is still alive." Takashi said.
"Hopefully Monokuma doesn't have anything to say to that." Miyumi replied.
"Don't jinx us." Hirokazu replied.
As if on cue, Monokuma appeared.
"You've got to be FUCKING kidding me." Kaori remarked.
"Get to the chase already, bear." Miyumi said. "What's the motive this time around?"
"Motive? Wuzzat?" Monokuma replied.
He's so annoying.
"You rarely show up unless it's to annoy us, or you're going to announce something." Miyumi said. "It's quite early to annoy us, wouldn't you think?"
"You underestimate my power!" The bear remarked.
"Seriously, tell us what the fuck it is before I kick you." Masahito said.
"If you'd like to get punished, go for it!" Monokuma replied. "I dare you! I double bear dare you!"
Masahito just sideeyed Monokuma.
"What is it?" Yeeun asked.
"Considering that idol isn't here, I'll save it!" Monokuma remarked, then disappeared.
"Seriously?" Kaori groaned.
"That was annoying." Miyumi replied.
"Are we really surprised though..." Takashi sighed. "I guess we should go along our business."
"Hopefully next time, Monokuma will actually have something useful to say." Seungyeon said.
"Don't hold your breath, though." Kaori replied.
With that, we split off.
…
I was once again with Izumi at her lab, and she was doing some hacker stuff on her laptop, I guess.
"I probably should have asked you this earlier, but... how do you know that Monokuma isn't watching you?"
"A little bit after I found this laptop, I hacked the cameras in my lab." Izumi replied.
"But wouldn't he notice?"
"Trust me on this."
I don't think she'll let me push any further.
"Well.. okay..."
We sat there in silence as Izumi did some more work, but then she looked up from her screen at me.
"Yeeun, please don't think that I'm trying to shut you out."
"Huh?"
"It's just..." Izumi sighed. "I've been through a lot, so it's hard to be open with others."
Izumi looked at her laptop, but then looked at me once more.
"I guess I should elaborate more." Izumi said.
"You don't have to if you don't want to." Yeeun replied.
"No, we need to work based on trust. Especially with how critical this situation is."
It's strange seeing Izumi so serious. She's only 14, but with how she's been as of lately, it's almost as if she's gone through so much.
I still remember how she was when we first woke up here.
It's like night and day comparing the Izumi from then to Izumi now.
"I took up hacking because of my family." Izumi said. "I'm the youngest out of 5 kids, originally 6 kids."
Originally 6?
"The oldest of us was my brother, Akitoshi." Izumi said. "I was 5 years old, I'm pretty sure. Akitoshi took me out to get ice cream, and..."
"My father was a former member of a yakuza, so that yakuza kidnapped Akitoshi and I. They wanted my father, they wanted to get their revenge on him." Izumi said. "And you know what he did? Nothing. The man who called himself our father, did FUCKING NOTHING for his kids."
I could see Izumi tensing up in anger.
"Of course, the yakuza knew he wasn't going to do anything... so they killed Akitoshi. Put his corpse out in display at the office space that my father always worked at. I was next, but this man named Tanaka saved me." Izumi said. "He was a spy for a hacking agency. They were working to take down that Yakuza. Tanaka noted how too far deep I was in this whole thing, and he also noted how mature and intelligent I was, especially for my age. So he took me in."
"When I was 6, they took down the yakuza. But the higher ups of the agency saw lots of potetional in me, so they kept me around, and my family presumed me dead." Izumi said. "It wasn't until I was 11 that I could finally show my face to my family. My mother cried tears of happiness, and my father looked at me with so much regret in his eyes. But of course, they noticed I had changed. I wasn't their innocent little girl anymore."
"Of course I changed, you know what I had to see, what I had to DO growing up in that agency?" Izumi said. "Tanaka took good care of me, he was probably the closest thing I had to a true father. But even that wasn't enough to protect my innocence."
"My mother cried so many times, oh where did her precious little girl go? If only she knew that bastard who she laid with every night was responsible for how I was now." Izumi said. "Oh, sorry... I spoke for too long."
"Izumi... I didn't know you had gone through all that." Yeeun said.
"Of course you didn't. Nobody knew. Only Tanaka knew, and he's dead now."
"He... died?"
"Last year, the day of my 13th birthday, the leftovers of that yakuza found Tanaka. Tortured him, beat him like he was nothing. I found him when he was on the verge of death. Last thing he told me was how sorry he was for things ending this way, that he wishes I could have turned out different. He wanted me to get out of that life, like he should have." Izumi said.
"Izumi..."
"I tried to leave, you know?" Izumi said. "I told them "I'm just a kid!", but it never mattered to them. They saw me like all the other hackers there. So... if I were to leave, being as much of a "valuable asset" as I am... they'd make sure I was taken out."
This is all so horrible...
Izumi...
"I'm so sorry." Yeeun said. "What ever happened with your family...?"
"I lived with them, you know? But I also locked myself up in my room. To protect them. They couldn't know what I was doing, it'd be too dangerous. To my siblings, I was like a stranger to them. Mother would always knock on the door, ask to come in... I never let her in." Izumi said. "And Father... I let him know how much I hated him. How I never wanted to see his face again. He accepted it, because as much as a fucking coward he was, he realized he made a mistake."
"Izumi..."
"I guess I rambled on too long, huh?" Izumi said. "You could probably make a movie of my fucked up life."
"I'm just so sorry." Yeeun said. "When I first saw you, you seemed so happy and upbeat, even with this whole situation going on."
"Facades can only last so long, Yeeun." Izumi said. "I've seen a lifetime's worth of things in just 14 years. It truly, truly, takes a toll."
"I wish things were different for you."
"Me too." Izumi said. "Even if I do get out of this school, I'm just going to go from one prison, to another."
With everything that Izumi has gone through... it makes sense that she's the way she is now.
"I actually wanted to apologize for talking for so long." Izumi said. "I meant to make it long story short, but I guess I just said the whole story, huh?"
"It's okay. I understand you better now." Yeeun said.
"I just hope I'm not making a mistake telling you all this." Izumi said. "I don't want to shut you out, but I also want to protect you from my life, you know?"
"Let's not think about all that, okay?" Yeeun said. "Let's just think about getting out of here first, and we can cross that bridge when we get there."
"Yeah, I suppose so."
Izumi...
To think you have gone through all that...
It must feel like the world is against you.
But don't worry.
I'll protect you.
I'll protect you with my life, if I have to.
I won't fail you.
…
After spending time with Izumi as she worked on our escape machine thing, I went to the dining hall.
To my surprise, I found Eunji there. But like always, she was accompanied by Miyumi.
"Hey." Yeeun said.
"Hello, Yeeun." Miyumi said. "We weren't really expecting anyone to come here."
"Is that why Eunji is out?"
Eunji just nodded in response to my question. I guess she doesn't feel like talking to me, either.
I just hope Miyumi is taking good care of her.
"Things are so tense lately." Miyumi said.
"They are." Yeeun replied.
"I wish that we'd all work together as a group, because distrust will create more openings for despair to come in."
Despair?
"miyumi's right." Eunji said. "kazuhiko is starting to scare me. at the rate we're going, who knows what monokuma will do."
Hearing Eunji speak..
She sounds even more broken than the last time she spoke.
"I dunno about Kazuhiko, but I definitely can believe that Monokuma will take advantage of this situation." Yeeun said. "We need to stay strong, though."
"I've see that you've been spending a lot of time with Izumi lately." Miyumi said. "Why's that?"
I can't exactly tell them what we've been doing.
Izumi's lab is the safest place to discuss all this...
I guess I'll have to let them down easy for now.
"I can't say." Yeeun said.
"Yeeun.." Miyumi said. "We have to be honest with each other if we want to stick together as a group."
"Look, just forget about that for now, okay?" The songwriter said. "It's really none of your business."
I didn't mean to go too far like that.
But I know that Miyumi would have pressed further.
So much for letting them down easy...
"..I see." The detective said. "Just know it yourself, always be careful of the path you're taking. When Izumi is ready to talk, I'm sure she'll let me know what's going on."
…
So, that was that.
I was just lied there on my bed, tired.
I'm glad Izumi told me more about herself.
I didn't even notice it, but I dozed off to sleep.
…
DING DONG BING BONG!
"It is now 7 AM! Wake up, and enjoy the beautiful day!" Monokuma announced.
Ugh...
Just as I started to shift in my bed, there was a sudden knock on my door.
It sounded pretty urgent, so I quickly got up and opened it.
"Izumi...?" Yeeun said. "You're up early."
"There's no time to waste, it's a brand new day, as you say." Izumi said, then she got close to Yeeun's ear. "There's something I need to show you. In my lab."
…
Usually, I'd go to the dining hall.
But Izumi told me she had something to show me.
What was it?
As I entered Izumi's lab, she quickly ran over to her laptop.
"What is it, Izumi?" Yeeun said.
"I have a name." Izumi said.
"A... name?" The songwriter was confused.
"The name of the organization holding us hostage." The hacker said.
"W-What!?"
"Their name... is the Ultimate Despair."
...The Ultimate Despair...?
The group that's been putting us through this hell...
I'll never forgive them.
I'll never forgive... the Ultimate Despair!
…
In order to make sure Monokuma wouldn't catch on to us, Izumi had everyone gather at her lab instead of the usual dining hall.
It took a while to get Eunji to come, but after some convincing from Miyumi, Eunji was ready to go.
And with that...
Izumi told everyone.
"The Ultimate Despair?" Miyumi said. "I've heard of that group."
"You have!?" Masahito said.
"They were nothing but just a myth at the time." The detective replied. "Of course, for a myth, their story was very specific."
"Turns out they're not such a myth after all." Kazuhiko replied.
"So, what do we do with this info?" Naomori asked.
"For right now, nothing." Izumi said.
"Hey, where'd you even get this info?" Masahito said. "It's kinda suspicious."
"That's really none of your business." The hacker said.
"Now, now, let's all be calm." Miyumi said. "Don't ask her about stuff like that, okay?"
"I don't understand why she has to get so pissy, but fine." The CG artist said.
"Once we learn more, we'll tell you something." Izumi said.
"Who's we?" Kazuhiko asked.
"Let's just go to the dining hall, shall we?" Youngjae said. "Otherwise, Monokuma will get suspicious."
"Yeah, that's right." Takashi said.
…
We all made our way to the dining hall, even Eunji, who of course seperated herself from the rest of the group.
"One thing that's starting to worry me is Monokuma." Takashi said. "He showed up yesterday, and it seemed like he was going to announce something."
"Yeah, that worried me too." Miyumi said.
"We all know what he's going to announce, though." Seungyeon said. "A motive."
As if on cue, Monokuma appeared.
"Hey hey, looks like everyone is here!" Monokuma said.
"just as I started to feel somewhat better..." Eunji quietly said.
"Oi, you still got sass even after all that?" The bear held a claw out. "And here I thought killing Ayaka would completely mindbreak you!"
"Hey, asshole." Masahito said. "Tell us what you're here for."
I could see in the corner of my eyes, Miyumi, comforting Eunji, who got upset from Monokuma's comment about Ayaka.
"Well, of course, it's what everyone has been waiting for!" Monokuma said. "It's time for the motive!"
Oh great..
"I'm sure this motive will inspire even the most innocent to kill!" Monokuma said. "So, here's my offer to the future blackened. Kill somebody, get away with it in the class trial, and I'll grant one wish of your liking!"
"Huh?" Seungyeon said.
"Hey, bear, I dunno if you notice, but none of us have a fucking lamp, and you sure as shit ain't a genie." Kaori remarked.
"Puhuhu! You seem to forget that I'm part of this huge organization! We can get anything done! Isn't this killing game proof enough?" Monokuma said. "And I'll hold up my part of the deal! For real! Kill somebody, and I'll grant you one wish! You want 105663500000 yen? Granted! Want your biggest enemy dead? Granted! Want a successful life? Granted! All of you know we have the resources to get it done!"
We all just stood there, looking at Monokuma.
"You've lied to us plenty times, why should we believe you?" Miyumi said. "Don't forget that you struck a deal with Reika, then executed her anyways."
"That deal should have never been made public anyways!" Monokuma said. "But since you kiddos are so untrusting, I'll do a freebie! You, Yeeun, gimme a wish!"
"Eh?" Yeeun said.
Monokuma is throwing me under the bus!
"C'mon girlie, it's a freebie! Now, it can't be too extreme, but effective enough for everyone to know I'm telling the truth!"
"How about end the killing game?" Yeeun said.
"Ahahahaha! Nice try!" Monokuma laughed.
"It was worth a shot..." Yeeun replied.
"Since Yeeun is a bust, I'll try somebody else!"
"Just cut it out." Miyumi said. "We get the point."
"Nope!" The bear laughed. "I can tell you kids don't believe me!"
"Ugh, fine, I'll do it." Kaori said. "I wish for a red velvet cake. Think you can do that, fucking bear?"
"Done!"
Almost immediately, four Monokumas holding a plate showed up. They set the plate on the table, and disappeared.
"A... red velvet cake.." Kaori said.
"It appears that Monokuma is indeed telling the truth..." Takashi said.
"See!? Now get to killing!" With that, the bear disappeared.
"Eh..?" Kaori said.
"S-So, Monokuma might be telling the truth, but that doesn't mean we should play along with his game." Miyumi said. "We can't afford to lose anymore of us."
Silence rang across the dining hall as everyone took in the motive.
This might be the most compelling motive yet.
But I won't do it.
Ayaka wouldn't want me to.
"It's just a cake, anyways." Masahito said. "Like hell he could actually give us yen or hire a hitman!"
"Ya know what? I think I actually agree with Masahito." Seungyeon said. "Now that's a surprise!"
"It's scary either way." Kaori said.
"We should go to our ways, catch our breath." Miyumi said.
Sounds like a plan to me...
…
I went into my room, and threw myself onto my bed.
I'm worried.
Worried for Izumi, worried for Eunji.
I know I won't take Monokuma's offer...
But what if somebody else does?
You never truly know who you can trust...
…...
Um...
I should go hang out with someone to get my mind off this motive.
-Free Time!-
