CHAPTER 4: NEVER FALTER, NEVER HINDER, NEVER GIVE UP
DAILY LIFE
Another day stuck in this hellhole.
But hey, at least you're back with me, Park Eunji!
So... what'd you miss when I was out of comission?
Um... well... I did get closer with Miyumi.
A lot closer.
It's a little embarrassing, but it's not like you'll tell anyone so...
I'm pretty sure I have romantic feelings towards her.
Ah... that's so embarrassing!
Feeling like a schoolgirl while trapped in this school... but Miyumi's different. I know she won't turn on us, or on me for that matter.
So, anyways... as part of my daily routine, I went to check in on her.
The idol made her way to the detective's room, knocking on her door. After a bit of a wait, Miyumi opened it, and she quickly smiled at the sight of Eunji.
"You're doing a lot better." Miyumi said. "I'm glad."
"It's all thanks to you, of course." Eunji replied. "May I come in?"
"Gladly." The detective made way for the idol, and then quickly closed the door.
Miyumi's room was pretty sophisicated, well put together. As to be expected of the Ultimate Detective. The idol quickly sat on Miyumi's bed, as the detective sat next to her.
"So... can you catch me up on what I missed during the class trial?" Eunji asked.
"I'm not sure you'd really want to know. It was quite disturbing, honestly." Miyumi said.
Eunji just frowned at her, which caused the detective to simply sigh in defeat.
"Well, Kazuhiko showed us his true colors." The red haired girl said.
"Yeah, no shit, he did try to kill me, after all." The blue haired girl replied.
"It's worse than that, Eunji. He was absolutely insane."
"How so?"
"He wanted to join Monokuma's organization."
"No shit?"
"I wouldn't lie to you."
"Damn... I always knew he was a bit shady, but I didn't think he would stoop this low."
Monokuma appeared.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?" Monokuma said, holding up a claw.
"It means exactly what I said. He stooped so low as to attempt to join your shitty organization." Eunji remarked.
"You're really getting on my nerves!" The bear scowled.
"You can't do anything to her unless she breaks the rules." Miyumi stated. "After all, you want to uphold the genuinity of this game."
"Grr..." Monokuma disappeared.
Monokuma... such a fucking headache...
"I think the morning announcement should ring any second." The detective said. "We should probably head to the dining hall."
"Yeah, of course." Eunji said. "I'd like to stay here with you for a bit longer, though."
Miyumi just blushed, and slowly reached for Eunji's hand. The idol reached for hers too, and the two sat together holding hands for a bit.
Miyumi...
I want to protect you, so badly.
I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you...
"H-Hey... Eunji..." Miyumi said. "I've uh... I want to tell you something..."
Why is my heartrate suddenly increasing?
I can hear my heart pounding in my ears...
"Y-Yeah?" Eunji asked.
"Um..." The detective started to blush madly, getting flustered. "W-Well... I-I was wondering if... y-you'd maybe um... m-meet me tonight at the courtyard...? I-I've noticed that the fake sky looks a bit pretty a-at a certain place..."
Oh my god.
She's asking me out.
Right?
She's totally asking me out!
Keep cool, keep cool, keep cool, keep cool, keep cool, keep cool-
"E-Eunji...?" Miyumi said.
"U-Uh, of course! You know I love to spend time with you!"
The detective smiles a bit. "R-Really? You promise?"
"Of course!"
"T-Thank you!" She said, pulling Eunji in for a hug.
It's so cute seeing Miyumi act like a love sick puppy.
"It is now 7 AM! Wake up, and enjoy the beautiful day!" Monokuma announced.
And of course he ruined it...
"Ahem..." Miyumi said, covering her face with her sleeve as she regained her composure. "I suppose that means we should head to the dining hall..."
"Yeah." Eunji said.
…
The two made their way inside, and everyone that was still alive were inside, waiting.
"Good morning!" Kaori said, stretching.
"Yeah." Hirokazu said.
"Okay, good, everyone is here!" Youngjae said. "I'll get to breakfast then!"
The babysitter went inside the kitchen, while Eunji and Miyumi took their spots on the dining table. The idol could see Yeeun and Izumi whispering to each other about something, while Kaori and Hirokazu were being lovebirds together. Naomori followed Youngjae into the kitchen, while Seungyeon and Takashi were kind of... having a stare off.
"Look at those two." Eunji said, refering to Yeeun and Izumi. "They look like they're gossiping."
"Well, I'm just glad that there's been bonds made." Miyumi said. "And with you back, it's like I have the strength of a hundred warriors!"
"Oh, um... I'm flattered." Eunji said, blushing.
Wait... I'm blushing... IN FRONT OF EVERYONE.
Seungyeon let out a little snicker.
Oh godammit...
"What's funny?" Takashi asked.
"Eunji looks like a tomato." Seungyeon replied.
"Knock it off." Eunji remarked.
"Whoa, no need to be so defensive." The actress said.
"Anyways, Seungyeon, what even happened to you?" Eunji said. "The others told me all about your antics during the class trial."
The actress fell silent.
"I mean, you were so scared before, but now it just seems like you don't care." The idol replied.
The dining hall just went quiet. Eunji was a bit unaware she was airing out their dirty laundry in public.
"A-Ahem... Miss Park..." Seungyeon said. "I'd rather talk to you in private about that..."
"R-Right..."
"Oh, I just assumed you lost your cool." Hirokazu said. "After all, this place is a pressure cooker!"
"I don't recall asking for your input, astrologist." The actress snarked.
And she's back to that attitude...
Is this some sort of defense mechanism?
I get that in this place... things are hellish...
But she shouldn't be pushing others away.
Seungyeon shoots Eunji a quick glance, a much more sympathic look apparent on her face, before quickly turning away. The idol really couldn't help but wonder what exactly was going on in the actress's mind.
"You know... now that we're all here, that bear should be showing up any minute." Miyumi said.
"Ugh, you're totally right." Hirokazu said.
As if on cue, Monokuma appeared.
"Heyo kiddos!" Monokuma said.
"Oh for fuck's sake." Seungyeon said.
"Missed me?" Monokuma said.
"No, nobody fucking did." The actress replied.
"Well too bad!" The bear laughed. "Anyways, I got a huge announcement to make! And thanks to this lady-" he points at Eunji. "-I've been holding it off for a while!"
"Lemme guess, the fourth floor is open?" Eunji said, in an extremely monotone voice.
"Hey! You just ruined my moment!" Monokuma remarked. "Darn kids these days don't pay any respects to their elders!"
"Elders? So, you're an old fart then?" The idol remarked.
"Tch!" Monokuma just disappeared.
"So, the fourth floor is open." Miyumi said.
"Yeah." Takashi said. "Guess we should investigate it, as usual."
The detective immediately takes a quick look at Eunji, a wink as she approaches her.
"Guess we'll split up like we normally do, I'll be with Eunji." Miyumi said.
"Oohhh, somebody's making moves." Seungyeon remarked.
"Seems like we are a smaller group now... how about we just split in groups of five?" Takashi said.
"Eh? But I think we can split into groups of two, Eunji and Miyumi seems like a pretty safe bet." Kaori said.
"And also, that way if someone dies, we'll know their partner killed them!" Seungyeon added.
There was just some silence as the students stared at Seungyeon, the actress being full aware she made them uncomfortable. She just didn't care.
"Um... okay..." Hirokazu said.
"Actually, I wanted to talk to Eunji." Naomori said. "So, Miyumi, if you don't mind, may I have her for the time being?"
"Careful there pal, Eunji's taken." Seungyeon winked.
Good lord... Seungyeon... what are you even saying...?
"E-Eh?! What do you mean by that?" Miyumi said, blushing as intensely as ever.
Now Miyumi's blushing!
"Hehehe." Seungyeon just smirks.
"Well, Naomori, I don't exactly mind, but why...?" Eunji asked.
"It's better if we discuss that in private, hah..." Naomori said.
"Can we just go already?" Yeeun asked. "I'm sure we're all just "dying" to investigate that fourth floor, ugh..."
"I almost feel bad for Monokuma, what with him putting in all this effort on the floors, but we never even go up there anyways." Youngjae said. "Almost being keyword, since he did kill our friends, after all."
With that, we all split up and went into the fourth floor.
…
Naomori and I were up on the fourth floor.
Honestly, I was curious as to why Naomori wanted to chat with me.
I wouldn't exactly say we're distant, but we're not exactly close either...
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Eunji asked.
"Uh, well... so, it's a little awkward to say..." Naomori said. "I feel rather useless, you know? Everyone is here, actually contributing to school life, and there's just me, a herbalist."
"Well... herbalism can be useful." Eunji said. "You can do medical stuff with those plants."
"Yes, yes... but still..." Naomori said. "How did an idol like you get so good at investigating crime scenes anyways?
"Uh..." Eunji said. "It's mostly with Miyumi's help, hah... she is a detective, after all."
"Right, right... but you're still able to figure out things yourself, like sure Miyumi helped, but you still figured out Reika all by yourself, right?"
"Yeah... yeah... I suppose that's right."
"I just find it really impressive. I don't think I can do any of that."
"Eh... well, you won't have to worry about any of that, since there won't be any more class trials."
"Of course..."
The two then continued along the hallway, until they found a door with a plant symbol.
"Huh, this must be my lab." Naomori said.
"Well, it could also be a garden or something." Eunji remarked.
"Haha, very funny." The herbalist said, he then opened his door and walked inside his lab.
…
We entered the lab, and as to be expected, it was just a room full of plants and other stuff that Naomori could use to make teas.
A kinda boring lab but it was whatever.
"Still can't really shake the weird feeling of how well made these labs are." Naomori said. "I mean we already know this whole... situation was personalized or whatever, but it still feels so chilling."
"Yeah, I get that. That's how I felt when I went in my lab for the first time." Eunji said.
Naomori then approached the plants.
"These are certainly some high quality plants. If you'd ever like some tea, just come to me and I can make it!" Naomori said.
"Yeah, I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Then, Kaori and Hirokazu walked in the labs, holding hands.
Huh, looks like Miyumi and I weren't the only ones to find love in here.
And it's about time, these two were just dying to get together...
"Hello, lovebirds." Naomori teased.
Kaori just blushes bright red, but Hirokazu was quick to speak.
"Yeah, we're not afraid anymore, no more hiding it." Hirokazu said. "Kaori and I, we're together."
"How cute." Eunji said. "Took you long enough."
"W-Well, we were just taking it slow, y-you know!" Kaori replied. "We only just made it official yesterday!"
"And I am glad, babe." Hirokazu winked.
"Kazu..." Kaori blushes a bit more.
Ugh, I almost feel a little sick just watching these two...
"So, Naomori, this is your lab, huh?" Hirokazu said. "I like it."
"So do I." Naomori said. "I see myself being in here quite a lot, haha."
"Well, if we ever need you, we'll know where to go, then!" Kaori said.
Youngjae entered.
"Ah, nice lab, Naomori." Youngjae replied.
"Do you know who else had their lab open up?" Eunji asked.
"Miyumi and Kaori, actually." The babysitter answered.
"So, not Takashi's, then..." The idol crossed her arms, pondering.
"Monokuma is really dragging this along." Kaori said.
"Well, not just Monokuma." Naomori said.
"What do you mean?" Eunji asked.
"I mean, don't you just find it really suspicious how Takashi doesn't know his talent? I'm not saying he's in kahoots with Monokuma, but the mystery of his talent goes a whole lot deeper." The herbalist stated.
Hmm...
I wouldn't want to go around grilling Takashi, though..
But it's definitely a little odd, we've been here for a month now and Takashi still hasn't remembered his talent.
"Anyways, I'll keep shop here." Naomori said. "Eunji, you can go off. I'll check out the other labs later."
"Alright, see you." Eunji waved bye.
…
Of course, I immediately went to Miyumi's lab.
And to no surprise, Miyumi was also in there.
The lab definitely gave a Sherlock Holmes vibe, with there being bookshelves and even a fireplace with a chair next to it, presumebaly for Miyumi to read cases in.
"Ahh... it's actually quite nice in here." Eunji said.
"A little offsetting, honestly." Miyumi replied.
"Ah, it is a little creepy, then."
The detective lets out a little giggle.
"You don't have to win my approval, Eunji." Miyumi said. "You already have it~"
Ah... she's getting more flirty now...
And our date tonight...
My heart is starting to race again...
Seungyeon walked in.
"Heeeyyyy!" Seungyeon said. "Gee, I'm surprised you two haven't gotten sick of each other yet. You're partically attached at the hip."
A little humorless laugh escaped Miyumi's lips. "What do you want?"
"Whoa, chill with the hostilities, Detective." The actress replied. "What, am I not allowed to check out the labs or something?"
Eunji just put a hand on Miyumi's shoulder. The idol gave the detective a concerned look, but the detective just closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Look, I just came here for Eunji, really." Seungyeon said. "In case you don't remember, we still have something to talk about."
"Right." Eunji said. "I'll be back, Miyumi."
…
So, I followed Seungyeon outside Miyumi's lab.
I still kinda don't like her sudden change of character.
"So, what is it you want to talk about?" Eunji asked.
"I won't get too into it, but remember what we talked about when we first got here? I wasn't deceiving you then." Seungyeon said. "Just... keep that in mind these next couple of days, okay?"
What we talked about...
"I trust you because we've bonded quite a lot... Eunji, I'm so scared." Seungyeon said. "I-I've been trying to keep my cool.. but I'm terrified."
Seungyeon...
So... I was right...
You are putting up walls as to defend yourself...
To hide how scared you truly are...
You're putting an act...
"Seungyeon-" Eunji said.
The actress just gave her a rather somber look, signifying to Eunji that she really didn't want to talk about it.
I get it...
It was probably already hard for you to just bring it up in the first place.
"Just... return back to your girlfriend." Seungyeon said, walking away.
Eunji looked at the door, just to see that Miyumi was peeking in on their conversation, blushing brightly.
"W-Where you eavesdropping!?" Eunji said.
"E-Eh? H-Hey, I just wanted to see if she was gonna do anything suspicious!" Miyumi remarked.
"Gee... I sure appreciate you snooping on what's supposed to be a personal conversation." The idol stated.
"Ugh... out of respect, I won't ask about what exactly Seungyeon told you earlier."
"Thank you." Eunji said. "I guess we should go check out Kaori's lab next, right?"
"Oh, right." Miyumi said. "Speaking of, did you know that her and Hirokazu are dating now?"
"Yeah, they told me a while ago."
"It's kinda cute, right?"
"Eh, I can give or take with hetero couples."
"R-Really...?"
Eunji just smirks and laughs.
"I'm kidding, Miyumi. It's quite cute, but also cute to a point that it's sickening."
"Yeah... I was never really one for mushy stuff..."
"Of course, you were raised a detective. You had to have learned to put personal feelings aside for stuff sometimes."
"Yeah... exactly..."
With that, the two then made their way inside Kaori's lab.
…
Going inside Kaori's lab was definitely an experience.
There were smoke machines and a stage for Kaori to dance on.
Along with that, there was some boomboxes, for music to play.
"I have the feeling that Kaori hates this lab." Eunji said.
"Yeah, this lab is most certainly set up in a way to mock her." Miyumi replied.
"So, Miyumi, what else opened up on this floor?" The idol asked.
"Just more classrooms, as usual. Also a chemistry lab and a library." The detective answered.
"Chemistry lab?"
"To make concoctions in."
"Well, that feels a little redundant, with Naomori's lab and all."
"They're quite different, Eunji. After all, he deals with plants, while this lab has chemicals."
"Oh, right, duh. What about the library?"
"Quite a lot of books in there."
"Then I'm sure you would enjoy it a lot, huh?"
Miyumi blushes.
"W-What are you saying..." Miyumi said.
Izumi entered.
"Oh, hello." Izumi said.
"Izumi?" Miyumi asked.
"I was just checking out this room on my own time." The hacker replied.
"But what about Yeeun? Isn't she normally with you?"
"It's just a lab, what danger could I possibly be in?"
Well... I guess Izumi's right...
"Besides, I was hoping for there to be something useful here." Izumi replied. "But quite obviously not."
The hacker looked at Eunji.
"Hey, Eunji... would you like to meet up later today? Before night. I need to gather some stuff before then." Izumi said.
"Eh? Sure." Eunji said.
A lot of people want my attention...
I almost feel like I'm the protagonist, in a way..
Well, I guess technically I am, since I am telling this story to you, after all...
With that, the hacker left.
"Have you seen Takashi today?" Miyumi asked.
"Yeah, at the dining hall." Eunji replied.
"I mean, after that."
"Oh, then no."
Miyumi sighed.
"What's wrong, Miyumi?"
"I don't know, I guess it's just something has been feeling off about him lately."
"Do you want to talk to him?"
"I would, but he might just get annoyed."
"I can talk to him."
The detective looked up at Eunji, eyes shining with excitement.
"You would!?" Miyumi said, then realizing how excited she sounded, slowly regained her composure. "Ahem... I would appreciate it if you could."
"Of course." Eunji said.
Damn, do I got quite the checklist today...
I gotta check in with Takashi, then chat with Izumi, then speak to Miyumi tonight...
Guess I should get started with Takashi.
…
Eunji exited the lab, just to be greeted with Naomori.
"Naomori?" Eunji asked.
"Ah, just hanging out the hallway, you know how it is." Naomori said.
"Did you still want to talk?" The idol questioned.
"Well... I just have to say, you're so strong, you know?" Naomori replied.
"Hey, you're strong yourself, still alive and kicking, you know?"
"Y-Yeah... but all this tragedy and you're still holding yourself well, meanwhile I feel like I'm a total mess."
"Trust me, I feel like a mess inside too. But I have to keep hope inside, for Ayaka, and for all those who've died here."
"Hope... yes..."
Naomori just nodded.
"Thank you, Eunji. I needed this pep talk." With that, Naomori made his departure.
Naomori...
I feel bad for him, honestly.
He feels really inadequate, and I understand how much that hurts.
But anyways... I gotta go talk to Takashi.
…
I entered the library, and found Takashi in there.
"Hey, Takashi." Eunji said.
"Oh, Eunji, I wasn't expect to see you here." Takashi said.
"Well, I wanted to see you."
"Oh? What for?"
"Miyumi has said you've been feeling rather off lately... so I wanted to see if you're okay."
Takashi just went silent.
Yeah... probably shouldn't have brought up Miyumi...
"I mean... I'm as well as you expect me to be after watching six of my friends die." Takashi said.
"Yeah... I guess so."
"But it's also... I don't know... I feel like I'm starting to finally get an idea on what my talent is."
"What, really?"
"Yeah, but just the slightest idea... The more I think about it, the more my head hurts, but the more I start to actually grasp it."
"And with your lab not even being on this floor, either..."
"Whatever my talent is, Monokuma doesn't want us to find out." Takashi said. "I'm starting to believe that he intentionally made me forget it in the first place.
"I-Is that even possible?"
"Brainwashing technology is something nowadays."
"I suppose..."
But Takashi does make a point...
Whatever his talent is, it has to be game changing.
Otherwise, why else would Monokuma be so adamant in hiding it?
…
Anyways, I've now returned back to my room.
I still have some free time before I have to meet up with Izumi, what shall I do?
-Free Time!-
