Hajime walked away from the scene in a daze. Even now the words uttered by Monokuma didn't seem real.
'If you want to leave, kill a student, pass the class trial, and you're home free!'
Nobody had questioned what 'home free' meant. Kill a student, and you will be allowed to leave the island. Until then, they were trapped in this hellish scenario.
Eventually Hajime made his way back the hotel on the first island. He collapsed by the pool, staring up at the stars.
"Beautiful…"
The stars above him glittered like scattered diamonds, embedded into the void. They were breathtaking, if not soul-achingly incredible. But they were unfamiliar. Being a city boy, Hajime was used to viewing a sky tainted by light pollution, where only the brightest of stars managed to shine their light. And in their unfamiliarity, the stars felt cold and threatening.
"This…this can't be happening." Hajime murmured to the silence. The waves crashed in the distance, murmuring mockingly at his plea.
Your reaction is boring.
Hajime jerked and inhaled sharply. He gritted his teeth in the silence.
"This can't be happening. This scenario is too unreal. There's no way someone would actually give in and kill someone, is there?" You're thinking something like that, aren't you? Denial is like trying to paint over an oil portrait with watercolours. It does little to change reality, and it fools nobody; it is a fake solution to the problem at hand. It's best if you let go of these thoughts as soon as possible.
He sat in sullen silence for a couple of minutes before speaking.
"Can I trust anyone?" he finally replied. "I don't know these people; even someone like Chiaki, who seems so familiar, is a stranger. I don't know what kind of motives Monokuma will provide." He sighed lightly, leaning back to stare at the stars. Unshed tears burned.
"I can't trust anyone but myself. …No, that's not quite right. I don't even know if I can trust myself in this situation either."
…That is the most uncertain resolve I've yet seen.
Hajime laughed. "I never was one for self-confidence." Swiping at his face with one hand, he encountered tears he didn't realise he had shed. He rubbed at his face, breath catching with each inhale. But he bit his lip stubbornly, determined to keep the sobs inside.
He wouldn't cry while Izuru was watching.
That was just something too personal after all, and hadn't he been warned about all this in advance, if vaguely? He couldn't just go ahead and be that weak.
He pulled himself to his feet as a chime went off on his tablet. Bringing it up, he listened to Monokuma's spiel about night-time and murders with an indecipherable expression.
Even he went to leave and make his way to the cottage allocated to him only to find his legs wouldn't move. His knees shook and his hands trembled.
God dammit…I can't even keep my legs from shaking long enough to get to my cabin. How pathetic is that?
Izuru kept quiet as Hajime cursed himself. He eventually pushed himself forward, lurching forward as he walked.
Unlocking the door, Hajime staggered into his cabin, closing the door softly behind him. It was small and bare, decorated with minimal furniture and white walls. A door he assumedly to his bathroom lay to his right. His bed, he noted with some relief, was directly at hand on his left, and he collapsed onto the covers with a sigh. He kicked off his shoes with little thought to where they landed and focused on steadying his breathing. His whole body felt cold, and he could feel his hands continue to tremble despite the tropical warmth. He decided he wasn't going to accept Teruteru's offer of food anytime soon, at least not with the way his stomach tossed and turned like a ship at sea, or how his arms and legs felt like jelly. He wanted nothing to do but sleep; after all, hadn't his mind been through enough? But still new thoughts continued to plague his mind.
Hajime.
Mmm?
You should get some rest. This may be the last good night's rest you receive for some time.
…Fine. I was going to anyway. Though…hey…do you…even…sleep? If not,…keep watch…m'kay…?...
Sleep.
Hajime soon slipped into darkness, and slept a deep, dreamless sleep.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
He woke with a start, and automatically reached out a hand to switch off his early phone alarm, only for his hand to meet nothing but air. He yelped as he all but tumbled out the narrow bed, tightly tucked sheets the only thing holding him in place.
"Where?" he mumbled, squinting in the sunlight, before yesterday's memories tumbled down. Hope's Peak. Izuru. Classmates. Killing game. He sat up slowly and stared at the blankets tucked around his body, still neatly pressed, and wondered when he'd gotten into bed.
I think…I need something to eat first before my brain starts firing properly. Maybe some coffee? Or some orange juice. I'll take either right about now.
He stumbled from his bed, leaving the sheets messily crumpled from where he'd pulled himself from their embrace. He ran his hand through his hair, once, twice, and straightened his tie. He'd slept in his clothes, he noticed. He gave his arm a give sniff just to make sure he smelt fine before he left. Surprisingly, he smelt fine, even though he'd been out making sandcastles and lying in the ocean spray the day before. His arms itched however, a slight sunburn making itself known.
"Note to self," he muttered, striding through his cottage door. He heard it click shut, and presumably lock behind him. "Buy sunscreen from the market before I go anyway near the ocean again."
He began to make his way to the restaurant for some much-need food when he spotted something that could be counted as suspicious at the end of the walkway. Or rather, someone. Kazuichi, the pink haired mechanic stood in the middle of the path. His hands twitched and his shoulders were hunched. He seemed determined to glance behind him every few seconds before he took another step. Hajime stood aghast at the absolutely ridiculous display, before making a snap decision.
"Kazuichi!" he called casually, making his way over. "Hey, what's up?"
Hajime was rewarded by a strangled squawk escaping the mechanic's lips as the startled boy leapt a foot in the air in fright.
"H-Hajime!" Kazuichi let out an indignant cry. "Don't sneak up on a man like that!"
"Sorry." He was not sorry. "And I wasn't really sneaking?" Looking at the twisted and worried look on Kazuichi's face, however, he decided to try and smooth things over. "Are you okay? You're looking kind of pale."
"Pale?" Kazuichi repeated. "Pale?! Of course I'm pale! How are you not freaking out? W-W-We're trapped in a killing game, for crying out loud! And that stupid bear," he sniffed. "I swear, it hunts me in my dreams, doing stupid comedy skits!"
"…I see," Hajime said slowly. "Have you had breakfast?" he asked, changing the topic. "I was just heading over to the restaurant myself." he added.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no." Kazuichi stuttered, backing away. "B-Breakfast? In a room of potential killers? I don't think so! No way man, I…I'm gonna go. Y-Yeah, I'm gonna go look for a way off this stupid island! There has to be one! I can't die here! I won't let anyone kill me! I have…I have…AHHH!" Kazuichi took off with a short scream, eyes wide and breath short and quick.
"Hey, wait!" Hajime spluttered, reaching out after him. But it was no use, the mechanic had already disappeared out the gates of the hotel, well out of sight. "Damn it."
He's quite foolish, though I'm not surprised.
"It is way too early in the morning for this. Any of this." Hajime mumbled bitterly. He turned and made his way to the restaurant steps.
Which? To participate in killing game? To talk to disembodied voices?
Both, Hajime snarled back.
Oh, do forgive me for my poor timing.
"It's too early to be listening to an arsehole like you!" Hajime snapped aloud. He shut his jaw with a click, pausing on the second step as he realised he spoke aloud.
It's not like your commentary is useful anyway!
I see. You still see me as a burden, rather than an advantage. Let me clarify, in case it is not clear: I am not interested in manipulating this game, nor placing you at a disadvantage. I am, however, interested in the results it may yield, and to observe them, I require you to remain alive for as long as possible. Understand so far?
I-
As such, my observations nearly always provide valuable insight, maximising your chances at surviving the game. Of course, if you wish to participate, I will not stop you. An analysis of your personality and physical build suggest you are not prone to acting on violent impulses, nor are you a weak and obvious target. As such, extreme circumstances permitting, you may last well enough on your own. You may not want to know this, but in a game such as this, the very weak and the very strong are taken out first; your averageness is an advantage to itself.
Fine. Whatever. At least let me have breakfast before you go off on your cryptic bullshit.
Hajime's jaw ground silently, as he took deep breaths, before pushing open the restaurant doors, revealing a group of students already situated inside. A grand breakfast feast sat temptingly to his left, lining the wall underneath the window opening into the kitchen. Byakuya sat nearby, already a plate piled high with an assortment of different foods sitting in front of him, while Teruteru hovered, eyeing the spread with assessing eyes.
Akane also had a mouth full of food, as well as several plates filled with nothing but eggs, sausages, bacon and steak. She wolfed down food with reckless abandon, distinctly contrasting with the delicate princess sat daintily beside her, consuming an omelette with precise cuts and small bites. Fuyuhiko and Peko were also in the room, though sat at completely opposite sides, Fuyuhiko to the left and Peko to the right. Having had Izuru spoil the nature of their relationship already, it almost made him cringe how blatantly obvious their cover up was.
Unsurprisingly, Kazuichi is nowhere to be found.
Nekomaru sat in the very back of the restaurant, his plate a lot more evenly portioned and healthy – fried eggplant and a small salad even sat on one plate. Nagito sat nearby with nothing but a couple of pieces of toast and two small jam packets. Jeez, at least have a glass of milk!
The final student in the room was Gundham, sitting on the far right, scarf pulled up high and a plate full of salad, fried eggplant and a couple of eggs sitting untouched to his side. He appeared focused on feeding his hamsters – sorry, Dark Devas of Destruction – watching them eat seeds from what appeared to be bottle caps. Hajime watched as the man placed a small bag on the desk and removed a handful of sunflower seeds. He lovingly and carefully placed three sunflower seeds in each cap, tutting when Cham-P made to grab the seed before it was set down. Hajime smiled a little at the scene; maybe Gundham was nicer than he first thought.
"Excuse me?" An exasperated voice asked. "Are you gonna just stand there and block the door all day? Are you retarded or something?" Hajime jumped and quickly moved back and out the way as a girl in a kimono, Hiyoko, he remembered, walked past, nose scrunched, and tongue stuck out. Hajime caught the door as it swung back so it wouldn't clip him on the shoulder.
I know I was standing in the way, but rude.
Just as he was about to close it, however, the red-haired girl, Mahiru, appeared at the top of the steps and stepped through the doorway. Crossing the threshold, she paused and glanced around at the open doorway, first to her right, then to the left, her eyes catching first on Hajime, and then the door held wide open in his grasp. She blinked, a surprised expression flickering into existence across her face. Then her cold gaze relaxed somewhat, and she gave him a warm smile and a small nod, before chasing after the small dancer.
Hajime let out a sigh, closing the door carefully behind him and taking a step towards the buffet table. He may as well take the time until the rest of the students arrived to grab a bite to eat. He was only able to take a couple of steps, however, before the door opened with a loud bang behind him.
"Hey, hey, it's Saturday!" A loud voice announced, and he instinctively flinched at the volume. The source of said noise was of course, none other than the Ultimate Musician, Ibuki Mioda, who was apparently still full of energy and cheer despite yesterday's gruelling revelations. Hajime wasn't the only one who cringed at the noise, with Peko's hand flicking instinctively for her sword and the Dark Devas sent scurrying for safety. Shortly behind her similarly scurried Mikan, the Ultimate Nurse. Her hair was in even more of a disarray than yesterday, and the expression she wore was a halfway between terror and resignation. The reason for that, he quickly realised, was her sleeve caught in the grasp of the Ultimate Musician.
She couldn't escape even if she wanted to, huh?
Hajime gave the nurse a pitying smile as she was tugged unceremoniously into the room. Finally having the opportunity to inspect the table himself, he observed the massive spread, snatching a plate from the corner.
"Mmmff," Akane struggled to speak with her mouth full. "He', Haj'me, ya gotta try s'me of tha b'con! It's d'lic'us!"
"I-I'm sure I could have done better," Teruteru tittered, side-eying the food suspiciously, chubby fingers poking at the pile of eggs on his plate.
Hajime paused in his collection of breakfast foods. "You didn't make this, Teruteru?" Now that he thought about it, eating food he hadn't made himself…well it wasn't exactly wise, considering the circumstances.
You're finally catching on.
"Me, make this?! Preposterous! R'diculous! I say I – ahem. There's no way I could have ever made this food! It's much too low quality! My dishes are nothing less than world-class!"
"R'lly? I th't it w's y'mmy!"
"Just yummy, right? Compared to my dishes, this is shit! If this were my food, you wouldn't be able to control yourself! Just a bite, and more then just your jaw would drop, if you know what I mean!"
"N'pe."
Ignoring the banter acting out behind him, Hajime hesitated. Everyone else had already taken food from the table, so it was probably okay, right? Nobody could be that desperate already that they'd try to kill literally everybody on the island just yet, right?
He wanted Izuru's voice to pipe up with some sort of derogatory comment, maybe calling him an idiot, and waiving away his paranoia, but instead he received nothing but silence from the boy inside his head.
"I already tasted the food for poison, if you're wondering," Byakuya said slowly, snapping Hajime out of his reverie. He jumped, realising he had been staring at the food on his plate for a while.
"Besides, that I find it unlikely that anyone would have access to a poison that could both be safely added to food that would not be detected when eaten. The supermarket had nothing of the sort, and anything poisonous such as rat poison would have a bitterant as a safety." The heir added, nudging his glasses up with one finger as he spoke.
Hajime relaxed, and smiled warmly. "Ah, thanks Byakuya," He rubbed the back of his head with one hand and chuckled sheepishly. "I guess I woke up paranoid," he admitted.
"Hmphf. I suppose it's not a bad trait to have in a situation such as this." He paused. "Though for most of us, the situation hasn't quite set in yet. Your adaption has been rather swift. It is quite admirable."
"I wouldn't call it that," Hajime muttered. He finally gathered the last of his breakfast and sat at a solitary table. He ate slowly, ignoring the last of the students as they filed in.
The truth of the matter was that he had a head start on everyone else. With his own suspicions and Izuru's ominous confirmation, last night had been the final nail in the coffin. While all the other students were attempting to accept the new scenario, Hajime was already sprinting ahead. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, he had already moved straight to acceptance. And it had left him paranoid and weary.
Eventually, everyone was munching on breakfast with the exception of Kazuichi, who had apparently not yet calmed down from the panicked state he had been in earlier that morning.
"Hmph. It looks like nearly everyone is here. All we're waiting for is that mechanic." Byakuya observed.
"Where is he, anyway?" Mahiru asked, pausing from filling her plate.
"I caught him wandering around near the cottages this morning," Hajime volunteered. "He was pretty spooked. I tried talking to him, but he just freaked out and ran off."
"Ran off? Ran off where? We're on an island. There's nowhere to run to. What a moron." Hiyoko sniggered.
"I can't believe him. That's so irresponsible." Mahiru frowned.
"I can somewhat understand his reaction, however." Peko looked troubled. "This situation is…unpleasant. I don't blame him for having trouble managing his emotions."
"Situation? What situation?" Teruteru babbled. He started to sweat. "I don't recall any situation. Nothing bad happened yesterday at all! We're on a lovely summer vacation! Nothing more! Yes, that's it!" As Teruteru muttered to himself, Hajime winced.
I almost wish I could escape reality so easily.
Mahiru sighed, hands on her hips. "Maybe I should go get him?" she muttered.
Before she could act, however, the restaurant door flew open with a bang. Kazuichi stood there panting.
"Monsters!" he choked out. "M-Monsters at the bridges!"
What.
"We're aware," Byakuya replied dryly.
No, no, no, we are not.
"W-W-What's this about m-monsters?" Tsumiki asked, panicked.
"I'm with Tsumiki on this; monsters?" Hajime prodded the topic forward nervously.
"Indeed, what it is that the sharp-toothed one speaks?" Gundham rumbled.
"I believe he is talking about the creatures we saw yesterday. They seem to be positioned at the entrances to the different islands." Sonia contributed softly.
"You mean those massive robots?!" Nekomaru clenched his trembling fist.
"Do we really have to through this again?!" A voice no one wanted to hear snarled over the panicked chatter. "They're Monobeasts! M-O-N-O-B-E-A-S-T-S! They're not robots, god damn it!" Monokuma had appeared from thin air, and now stood by the doorway of the restaurant. Kazuichi screamed, leaping away from the bear next to him, and throwing himself in Hajime's arms. Unprepared for the new weight, Hajime grunted and toppled backwards, Kazuichi falling with him. Hiyoko laughed hysterically in the background, while Monokuma continued, unimpeded as Hajime tried desperately to untangle the weeping mechanic's limbs from his own.
"So these…monobeasts are guarding the entrance to each of the islands?" Pekoyama asked slowly.
"Yuuup! We wouldn't want you progressing too quickly now! Pupupupu!"
"Progressing?" Sonia cocked her head. "That implies there is progress that can be made. Will the islands in the future?"
Monokuma began sweating nervously, and tapping his paws. "W-Well, if you put it like that, maybe, uh. Maybe the combat systems will be comprised a little on an occasion. Maybe just enough for someone or something to force their way past. After a murder, of course. Maybe. Whatever! It's n-not like I like you. Baka."
Nobody spoke, instead choosing to stare silently in anger.
"Jeez," Monokuma sighed dejectedly. "Tough crowd. Anyway!" He suddenly snarled. "Get out there and enjoy the sunshine, you bastards! Aaaalsoo, there's a super special event tonight at the centre of Jabberwock park! Don't be late! Bye-onara!"
He disappeared in a blink of an eye, leaving the group once again feeling uneasy and quiet.
"Well, now that that's over," Byakuya said dryly, "we can get on to the real reason I called everyone here."
"Wait, you called everyone here?" Hiyoko asked innocently. A mischievous smirk crept its way onto her face. "Don't you think you're getting ahead of yourself, fatty? You do know this is a restaurant, right? Where people eat? It's hard to imagine you'd forget something like that."
"Maybe we should move onto the reason behind us gathering? A meeting, right?" Chiaki's voice piped up sleepily from behind Hajime and he kept himself from jumping.
I didn't even see her arrive…
"Hmph. Correct." Byakuya scoffed. "Now - "
"Hiiiiiyyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" A loud crash, followed by a heavy thud and a piercing scream had Hajime whirring to face it, taking a step back fist curled, thumb untucked, now lower his centre of gravity so he can – he blinked, the thoughts scattering like dust.
"What the heck? How do you even fall like that?" He blurted instead. Mikan whimpered. Ankles tied with electrical cords, she had fallen backwards, legs lifted and food scattered on the floor.
"I tripped!" she wailed.
"How?!"
"Ah! Look at her blush! She's so embarrassed! The moe is too much!"
"Oh my~ Quite the view!"
"Shut up!" Mahiru snapped. "Let's help her up!" She reached out a hand tugged the nurse into a sitting position. Hajime hastily knelt down and loosened the cords at her ankles, slipping her feet free.
I'm not looking, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not
"Are you quite done?" Byakuya snapped. Hajime felt his eye twitch as he tried to block out the indignant nagging.
I wonder if him and Izuru would get along. They're certainly both arrogant enough for it.
Unlikely. My superiority is simply legitimate, not attached to an act meant to intimidate and bolster my self-worth.
From my point of view, you just made my point.
"Yeah, yeah, we're good. Let's get on with it!" Akane yelled. "I got meat to eat!"
"Indeed. I'm pretty interested myself to see what Byakuya has to say," hummed Nagito.
"Good," the fat heir sighed. "Finally, we can get to the main reason we're all gathered here. Now, in a situation like this, what's the most important thing to have?"
"Who the fuck knows?" Fuyuhiko snarled. "Get to the point!"
"Hmph, you're certainly impatient. If you would answer my question, however, you'd see what I mean."
"Well, I mean," Akane scratched her cheek. "You just need food and sleep, right?"
"Maybe he means metaphorically?" Nagito wondered. "If that's the case… I'd have to say a bond, right? A close bond we can use to fight off despair, no matter what! If you all band together, I'm sure there's nothing a group of Ultimates like you guys couldn't do."
"Hehehe, I can't believe you actually managed to say all that mushy stuff with a straight face! How embarrassing!" Hiyoko snickered.
"I agree," Sonia said firmly. She lifted her hand to her heart, and stared at it, watching it tremble, before she formed a tight fist and pressed it to her chest. "In this situation, I believe our best action is to work together as a group. Letting suspicion and paranoia get between us is surely the fastest route to our downfall."
"I see," Peko murmured. She glanced at Sonia, before meeting Hajime's, followed by Byakuya's eyes. "Monokuma intends to plant doubt and turn us against each other. Unless we band together, we'll simply be dancing to his tune."
"Hmm. Those are all good responses. Better than I was expecting, honestly. But while that is the right track, it is nothing as insubstantial and optimistic as a bond. No, what we need is a clear and defined leader!"
"A l-leader?"
"Fortunately for all of you, I graciously accept the role."
"H-Hey, you can't just do that!" Mahiru emerged from the crowd, enraged. "Who do you think you are? What, you just start saying things about a leader, and install yourself into the position? That's totally unfair!"
"And I suppose you have a better candidate? I am Byakuya Togami, I've been training for a role like this my entire life." Byakuya pushed up his glasses, and stared disdainfully down at Mahiru.
"W-well," she looked around, eyes falling on Sonia. "What about Sonia?" she said defensively. "She's the Ultimate Princess! I'm sure she'd be even better suited to the role."
"Um, I do apologise," Sonia interrupted sweetly. "But I'm afraid, in the country I come from, the royal family is little more than a figurehead. I don't believe I would be suited for any actual leadership roles, as I don't have any experience. Please forgive me."
"Ah, no. No, it's okay." Mahiru deflated.
"Hmph. Now that that's settled, are there any other challenges?"
No one answered.
"Wonderful. Now, as my first order as leader, I'm summoning everyone to Jabberwock park in twenty minutes. I'm not entirely ruthless, so I'll allow everyone to finish eating breakfast first."
That's just because you haven't finished eating yourself yet!
Hmm. I was hoping for something different, but so far this is all very typical.
You know, I'm getting the really bad feeling that this is not the first killing game you've seen. Who even are you?
I believe I've already answered that question, and this is the first 'true' killing game I've witnessed personally. This peace won't last, you are aware?
No one has died yet, so I'm just taking it as a win for now. And what would a fake killing game even be? Hajime loaded some food - what looked like potato salad, onto his plate sloppily, and sat down and began to finish off his food.
Let me just say that it didn't last this long.
But it's only been one day though?
Exactly.
Why is it I'm always more stressed than I was before after talking to you?
Knowledge is a burden.
Whatever.
After cleaning his plate and dumping it on the pile of dirty dishes, he followed the slow-moving crowd of students to Jabberwock Park.
The first thing he noticed, of course, was the giant, black statue made of turning gears and a bright red countdown right in the middle of the park, where the former monobeasts had once stood.
"What the hell is that!?" Akane yelled.
"Oh dear," Sonia whispered.
"Interesting," Nagito murmured. He looked mildly concerned, but not nearly as panciked as Hajime would like.
Izuru. What is that. Is that a-
"-a bomb?" someone finished asking.
"I can't be sure," Byakuya frowned, staring up at it. "Whatever it is, we apparently have approximately two weeks before the countdown finishes."
"Oh god, we're going to die!" Kazuichi wailed.
"Infernal machine," Gundam muttered to himself.
Hajime was a little concerned with how often his classmates seemed to mutter to no one in particular, but supposed he probably couldn't talk without being hypocritical. Speaking of which...
Izuru. Izuru. Are you still there? What is that thing?
...I don't know.
...Huh?
I don't know. It could be nothing at all; a device to instill a sense of urgency and nervousness. However, if they're anything like the original, it could quite possibly be exactly as it seems, and be a bomb. I can't be sure.
Aren't you Ultimate Ultimate or something? You can't tell a bomb when you see it?
Those rules don't apply here.
"Of course he doesn't make any sense." Hajime grumbled aloud.
Eventually, the clamour all quieted down and the students began to disperse one by one, when it became clear that was nothing to be done. Hajime slammed the door shut behind him the moment he entered his cottage, and let himself fall onto the mattress face first. He let out a groan, noting the time on his clock. Not even eleven yet.
I want to marry this bed.
Shouldn't you be out socialising with your classmates?
What? Since when are you a social butterfly? I thought everyone was boring and you hated them.
That's an exaggeration borne from your own mind. I don't particularly care whether you actually go out or not; however, socialising will build trust and familiarity between you and your classmates which you can leverage later on. And people who lock themselves away don't actually have that much of a better survival rate than those who don't.
All logic, huh?
Of course.
All right. Let's go out and meet with some classmates. I've got daylight to kill anyway.
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Free time events are now open
Please note that the following Free Time events are not available:
-Fuyuhiko
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Authors Note:
So, an apology to everyone who has been waiting for this update. I know it's been nearly 6 months since the last update. I'm in my last year of university, and while I still love SDR2, I've fallen out of the fandom for a bit. In addition, writing 18 characters accurately and following the story after falling out the fandom means I have to do some research every time I sit down to write. Thank you for your patience, everyone, and thank you very, very much for your support so far! As mentioned above, Free Time events are now open. Please note, however, most of them probably won't change much from the in-game events until they're specific characters relevant to this AU, even as we progress through the story. Regardless, I'll include them anyway, but they might seem a little stiff.
Thank you so much, I'll see you next time!
-Luna