*Ding dong, bing bong*
A monitor comes down from the ceiling showing Monotokage lounging in a leather chair with her feet on a table. She was holding a martini in her right hand.
"Get up you lazy hoes! It's 7:00 A.M. I will see some killing this time around because yesterday was boooooring."
It was much easier to get up today, most likely because of how lighthearted yesterday was. I don't expect to have another one of those days again, and judging from what Monotokage said, she must have something planned.
I left my room and headed down to the designated meeting place, the cafeteria. On my way I encountered Nene just before the stairs.
"Good morning Nene…" I said with a wary look, making sure to keep my distance.
"You're not here to chastise me as well are you?" she questioned venom in her tone.
"Uh… no…" I said nervously, holding up my hands defensively. "Did someone...do that to you?"
"Sukey, Sozen, and Norito did," The fencer responded, crossing her arms indifferently. "For being distant and cold they said. They tried to get me to stay in the cafeteria for at least a minute."
"That doesn't seem like it'd be that difficult…" I commented, running my hand through my dark blue hair. "It's only 60 seconds."
"10 seconds is too much time to be around you weaklings, 60 is like a year," Nene said, wiping her face before deadpanning. "I didn't come here to hold hands with everyone and dance in a circle, I came here to survive, and I cannot trust that anyone here won't cave in."
"Well… um… I think that even if that happened you'd be able to defend yourself just fine," I offered a nervous smile.
"But I will have to kill them if I win the fight," She responded with a grunt, brushing the handle of her rapier for a moment. I noticed her eyes softened for a second before she gazed at me with fire in her eyes. "Then I'd have to hide my 'crime' like a pathetic fool."
"No you don't have to end their life, that's never a requirement," I dissuaded, shaking my head.
"It is when it's a duel to the death. And when someone wishes to murder me, I take that as that type of challenge," she huffed, placing a hand on her rapier. "It would be dishonorable of me to not execute the loser."
She did not even give me a chance to say another word before she stomped off to her room.
She has some serious rules when it comes to anything ever.
-Ultimate dorms 1st floor-
Outside of the door, Erena was standing there with her eyes closed.
"What are you doing?" I asked, staring at her awkwardly. "Is there a purpose to you standing there like a kid waiting eagerly for a present?"
"I'm waiting for a surprise!" Erena answered with excitement, then she pointed nowhere near me with a serious expression. I assumed she meant to aim her finger toward me. "Don't ruin it!"
"Ok then…" I responded with a puzzled look.
I'm assuming the surprise she's talking about is in the cafeteria, but I don't understand why she felt it was necessary to close her eyes when she isn't in the cafeteria. If anything, it's more dangerous to be out here by herself like this.
I decided to leave her be and entered the cafeteria.
-Cafeteria-
This time around I was up earlier than some others seeing that only Isoyo, Sukey, Norito, Juro, Heikichi, Sozen, and Kaiya were in here.
That or I am extremely late somehow and mostly everyone left, or the others are… nevermind…
"Nice to see you awake earlier this time," Sukey commented with an infectious smile.
"Must've rested better like the rest of us," Kaiya added, resting a hand on her hip casually with a serene smile. "Yesterday was quite pleasant all things considered."
"I am perplexed by what this sheet is covering," Sozen said, pushing his forefinger to his forehead in thought. "I never even noticed anyone bringing this here… it reigns with suspicion."
"It's a surprise for Erena," Isoyo finally answered, removing all confusion in the room. She patted the figure under the sheet. "I was waiting for Omezo to arrive to reveal it."
"Heh… I don't know why you'd want to wait for me…" I said.
"Stop being such a bummer man," Heikichi said. "You should be happy as shit that a girl wanted your presence!"
Forgive me, but I never expect anyone to pay half a mind to me. I guess I should change my view of the world seeing as there are people who do care… No, it'd be unrealistic to do such a thing only because of one person.
"You no longer have anything to wait for now," Norito commented, spinning his hat around with a quick flick. "Let's see what's underneath the dry, pearly, sheet!"
Isoyo grabbed the sheet and yanked it off showing a statue of Erena. It was a perfect replica of the real person, to the point where you couldn't tell if it was actually her or not.
"What the shit was Erena doing under there?" Juro questioned with a dumbfounded look. "Pretending to be a ghost?"
"Ugh…" Kaiya let out a grunt of disappointment while shaking her head with a grin. "You really are as dense as a rock."
"This isn't actually Erena, but a statue of her in all her beauty and glory," Isoyo explained, holding her arms out towards the statue as if to say 'ta-da!'. "It's actually part of the art project I've decided to work on, however I am not showing the rest until I'm completely finished."
"Why create clones like this?" Heikichi asked, rubbing his chin, then his eyes widened like the answer just hit him. "Are you trying to rebel with an army of Erena clones?"
"...This is the only one of its kind, that way it is a truly special gift for Erena," Isoyo answered, twiddling her fingers.
"If I'm being honest, it's creepin' me the hell out…" Juro commented, rubbing the back of his neck with an uncomfortable expression before looking confused. "How would Erena like this?"
"Juro!" Sukey scolded with an annoyed look as she jabbed a finger at Jurobei. "Don't be so rude. It probably took her a lot of work to make such a heartwarming gift to a friend. Please don't ruin it with such remarks."
"Why are you trying to sound like my momster!?" Juro exclaimed with surprise and confusion. It seemed like he did not know how exactly to feel about it.
Momster? Is he being serious? That's what he calls his mother?
"Can someone inform Erena that she can come in now," Isoyo requested.
"I'll get her attention," Sozen volunteered, he then cleared his throat and turned to face the doors to the dorms. "ERENA! YOU MAY ENTER THE ROOM!"
Soon enough, Erena bursted into the cafeteria looking all excited. Her eyes fell upon the statue of her and her smile grew wide. It was the kind of smile you couldn't help but return back to her.
"Woooooowwwww!" Erena gasped in awe as her eyes sparkled. "For a second there I thought I was looking into the world's largest mirror! This must've been made by you Isoyo! Because you are the only person who is this wonderfully talented!"
"Thanks, it took me 2 hours to finish," Isoyo said.
"Two!?" Norito gawked in surprise. "Dang, that's more impressive than my cleaning speed average."
"I absolutely adore it!" Erena exclaimed with absolute glee. "It means a lot to me that you made this for me."
Erena rushed over to Isoyo and gave her a tight, loving embrace.
"Thank you so much Isoyo!" Erena exclaimed, tears of happiness forming in her eyes.
I didn't expect to see anything so wholesome so soon, I can't help but find it… endearing in a way.
"I'm losing my breath…" Isoyo wheezed as she was helpless, stranded in Erena's tight embrace.
"Whoops," Erena said in a quirky tone, releasing Isoyo. "Got too excited there didn't I?"
"Yeah you did, but it's fine, I enjoy seeing you in high spirits." Isoyo assured, adjusting her hat. "But I think the crying part is unnecessary…"
"Yep! Definitely my yuri ship!" Leiko announced as she eyed the two girls after having entered the room. She then noticed the statue. "Whoah! Is that some sort of demon disguising themselves as Erena? Who's who?"
"I think it's obvious who's who," Heikichi scoffed with an indignant expression.
"Statues do not smile that wide after all, nor are they capable of being hyperactive," I added as an amused smirk pried at my lips.
"Ehhh… I'm still confused," Leiko said, then she gave a careless wave. "No matter! I'm just here to get my noms on!"
Erena stood directly next to her statue. "I wonder if it's really that hard to determine…" She tried mimicking the statue to a successful degree.
Now it's actually not easy to tell the difference.
"Hmhmhmhmhm~ we are supposed to be the only twins down here…" The twins commented as they walked in.
"Can't have anyone else stealing our thunder," Shuuyo said, twirling her hair around with a sneer. "We might need to end this competition."
"I don't know sis, they are quite good at it too…" Rikako admitted in a meek tone while clasping her hands together. "Why not let them play around for a bit?"
"Huh!?" Anzai gasped as he was taken aback by the statue upon opening the cafeteria doors. "When did Erena have another half?!"
"Tell them to make a guess…" Erena whispered to Isoyo while keeping dead still.
"Can you guys figure out which is the real Erena," Isoyo asked, putting a brush up to her lips.
"Clearly the one on the left is the real Erena and the other is the statue," Anzai immediately answered with confidence. "My genius mind cannot possibly be fooled by mere art!"
Erena couldn't keep a straight face and bursted out into laughter.
Looks like brain power doesn't constitute sight, Anzai was wrong for once.
"W-what the blazes!" Anzai exclaimed, his face turning to that of dismay.
"Hehehehehhehe~ I can't believe you got it completely wrong!" Erena said in a mocking tone as she clutched at her stomach in laughter. "And you were so confident!"
"Hrgh... " Anzai growled, even showing some teeth as he traded his glasses for sunglasses. A look of denial formed on his face. "This doesn't prove anything anyways... I'm still hella smart and y'all aren't!"
"Learn better rhymes, aren't isn't technically a word," Heikichi countered with a scoff.
Anzai scowled and sneered at him, stomping over to the kitchen.
"I must admit, this statue is truly a beautiful recreation of the human body, all it needs is cosmetics and we'd have a new ultimate almost!" Arishige criticized with admiration in his voice.
"Sadly, it'll never have a soul," Kado spoke up in a lullaby tone after sitting quietly for a bit. "Unless you want me to transfer one of yours into it."
"You can do that?" Sukey asked with intrigue.
"Cult leader," Kado responded flatly, raising a finger. "Remember it well."
"That can mean two things though," I pointed out, furrowing my brows. "That you're lying or that it's a skill you gained as a cult leader."
"Choose which rings true to your mortal heart," Kado spoke in a dramatic tone. "I will pay no heed to your choice."
"Well, it seems this is everyone, other than Nene, who we've tried to get to stay here with no success," Sozen said as his eyes flitted around the room.
"That girl is cold-blooded to the core, figures she'd keep her heart locked in the freezer," Norito said, rolling his eyes as he looked to the side. "I ought to scrub out the stains in her life, maybe that's what she needs."
I'm not sure what to think about Nene, on one hand, she is dangerous to leave alone and may be a ticking time bomb for all of us, on the other, I don't actually see her as the type of person to murder anyone and attempt to escape. Whatever the case may be, hopefully the problem will handle itself.
"What is there to discuss today, Sozen?" Kaiya asked, turning to the statuesque sheriff.
"So far, there has been no suspicious activity from anyone," Sozen explained. "No one has attempted any sort of violent acts or manipulative ones."
"Guess that means Monotokage needs to kick it up a notch," Juro said mockingly as he laced his hands behind his head.
*Ding dong, bing bong*
"I have decided to no longer be patient! A.k.a I'm tired of this lovey dovey bullshit! I request that you all join me in the meeting room before I lose my sanity to boredom!" Monotokage announced on the monitor.
"Great, you just had to jinx it," Erena accused. "And we were having a good time and everything."
"Way to go dickwad!" Anzai scolded with his horn-rimmed glasses on. "You should know that as an idiot, anything you say is a calculated 100% chance meaningless statement that does more harm than good."
"Geez, it's not like I wanted this to fucking happen!" Juro defended, clenching his teeth in anger at being blamed.
This is it, this must be a motive. What else would it be?
Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the meeting room with everyone else.
-Announcement room-
"My bets are that this is going to be nothing but bad news," Sukey mused with gloom.
"The probability of that is 99.9% I'd wager," Heikichi calculated, fidgeting with his device. "So yes, the chances of good news is slim."
"I'll happily take the .1% chance of the gift of sugar cookies!" Leiko exclaimed, giddy with energy.
"Why sugar cookies?" Kaiya questioned, showing her displeasure. "Brownies would be better, especially peppermint brownies."
"NO!" The demonologist denied with great vehemence. "Sugar cookies are our supreme demon lords of food!"
With every passing day, that girl gets more and more ridiculous. At the very least, she's not becoming more insane, just nonsensical, if it were the other way around, it will only be a matter of time till we lock her up.
"I wish that someone like you never existed," Nene commented as she joined the others in the room with a look of annoyance. "Let's just get this charade over with."
"So nice of you to join us Nene," Sukey said with a pleasant smile, it's clear that she was glad that she arrived.
"..." The blonde followed with silence and she simply turned her head away from the musician coldly.
Eventually, Monotokage jumped down from the ceiling onto the stage.
"What nonsense will she announce this time I wonder…" Sozen mused, crossing his arms with his eyes shut.
"As long as it's entertaining, I won't be disappointed," Masakado commented with a malicious grin. "Let's hear it our demonic lizard host, what fun awaits us?"
"Believe me, I have something great for all of you!" Monotokage exclaimed with excitement and malice. "I'd never disappoint my dear contestants! Yahehehehe~"
"It has to be the cookies!" Leiko demanded in a serious tone as she stared down the lizard as if she was attempting to scare her.
"It is cookies!" Monotokage announced as she shot out a bunch of cookies at all of us. Everyone except Leiko, who was eagerly jumping up and down like a child, was bewildered by this development.
"A-are you serious?" I stammered in disbelief. "This can't be right… It's just nonsensical."
I'm not ready to let my guard down, I know that in a few moments, the damned lizard will reveal the true intent behind this announcement she has.
"Wait… this is stale…" Erena said as she bit into the cookie with a grossed out expression.
"This proves that robots should never cook for humans ever," Heikichi commented as he threw down the sugar cookie.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Leiko exasperated as she slumped to her knees in pure anguish. "The demon lied, I should have seen it coming…"
"So this was a waste of time for a meaningless joke," Kado shook his head as he stabbed the cookie with his knife, probably out of resentment.
"Hmhmhmhmhm~ It should have been a motive like we were expecting, not a petty prank," the twins insulted. "Where's the suspense? or the cruelty? or despair? We could have done better than this."
"Hold your horses buckaroos! Crack open those bad boys and read the contents!" Monotokage exclaimed. "This isn't over yet!"
Is this her idea of cleverness or something? Putting the motives inside of the cookies… I suppose it's more creative than just flat out saying it...
Sure enough, there was a note that said "Lol, why'd you actually listen, I bet you thought they'd be secrets or somethin' right."
So all seriousness was thrown out the window I see...how funny...
"That's it, I'm leaving," Nene said, clearly fed up with everything as she threw her cookie at the lizard. "Here's your damn cookie back you pathetic excuse for a host, all you turned out to be was all talk. No one here has any strength or power."
"I don't really get it…" Isoyo said, biting her brush. "Didn't you say you'd outdo Junko…"
"Yeah, enough of these damn games!" Juro angrily demanded through clenching teeth. "Get the fuck on with it or let us get the hell out of here!"
"There has to be something more to this meeting right?" Heikichi questioned scratching underneath his beanie. "I doubt that this was all for that one thing."
"I'm happy to hear that you all are begging for a real gift of virtue!" Monotokage said with glee, clutching her sides. "Yahehehehe~ That's what I like to hear."
It is quite ironic how mostly everyone started wanting serious news, when we all know that it's not going to be anything we want.
"Well, if you have something more important to say, just say it already," Anzai requested, rubbing his face in annoyance. "Enough time has been thrown away for your ridiculous prank."
"Gotcha!" Monotokage complied, finger gunning the genius. "For realsies this time! I will be giving all you bozos a motive!"
She definitely shares Monokuma's sheer annoying attitude, that's for sure. Time to start fearing this motive.
"Exactly as me and my sis thought," Shuuyo commented, plucking her eyebrows. "This is how it should've started though."
"Oh, but it fills us with so much dread…" Rikako added with a grim look on her face as she grasped at her heart.
"M-motive?" Erena muttered in fear, the color draining from her face.
"Motive!" Monotokage answered menacingly, throwing her arms up.
"M-motive?" Leiko echoed Erena with a puzzled expression rather than a fearful one.
"Mo-" Monotokage stopped before finishing, shaking her head. "I'll stop there, here's the lowdown. If yall don't kill someone, give your talent a good kiss goodbye!"
"The h-hell!?" Juro gasped in shock and dismay. "Where the shit are you going with this, bastard!?"
"I think she means to say that we will lose our talent," Nene answered, rolling her eyes as if she didn't care about the situation.
"Bitchtits is right!" Monotokage confirmed in a sinister tone. "I will forcibly purge you of the talent you all worked so hard to achieve such a name for!"
"How's that even possible?" Heikichi questioned with a puzzled look. "It's not like we are robots you can reprogram..."
"If Monokuma can remove memories, I can remove your talents by taking out anything involving it from your memory! I could even go farther and make sure that you can never retain it," Monotokage reasoned, picking at her teeth with a claw. "You'd go back to being a normal person."
I can see the possibility and she's not lying. Monokuma did remove memories in the past from what I learned, is this a bluff or is she not messing around? That's the overlaying question.
"N-no fuckin' way!" Juro clenched his fist. "That's like forgetting my whole life!"
"Sure is, that's why you should stop being such lazy assholes and make this game actually exciting and kill someone!" Monotokage exclaimed angrily with a claw outstretched. "I need bloodshed dammit!"
"Heh… Clever one you are, holding our own talents hostage, what makes us… us, our only way to live a fulfilling life." Masakado remarked with admiration. "Impressive indeed. Seems you made up for your mistake."
"You really like to kiss up to her don't you," Kaiya pointed out with a frown.
"Hey, I enjoy it when people kiss my toes!" Monotokage exclaimed, stroking her tail. "Keep at it edgelord!"
"Don't make it out to be like I'm your slave," the cult leader offered an offended expression. "I lead not follow… it's just admiration."
"Whatever… I'll leave you all to contemplate while I take a satisfying sip of a martini," the lizard then vanished into thin air as usual.
"The absolute madwoman!" Arishige exasperated, spraying himself with caramel cherry smelling perfume. "Does she really think she can just steal our talent like that?"
"I don't know, she seemed quite confident," Isoyo said, pulling her hat down over her face.
"I'm certainly convinced!" Norito exclaimed, before slamming his mop down on the floor with a firm head shake. "But I will not let it bring me down!"
"Right!" Sukey agreed firmly with a confident smile. "This shouldn't stop us from working together, with or without our talents."
"I kinda need my talent, you know?" Heikichi commented with a unsure expression. "I don't want to become a fast food worker or something."
"Tis of no concern for us," The twins mentioned, before sweetly smiling. "Our talent is our relationship, it's impossible to strip bloodlines away from us."
"Nononononononononononononoonononononononononononono!" Anzai sputtered as he began to pull at his medal and sweat profusely.. "No one can take my genius brain away from me, it's my precious, the only thing I have!"
"Hah, look at him panicking, it's about time he loses that smug look," Kaiya piped up with a mocking grin. "Although, if I can't be a secret agent, my life would be soooo boring… maybe I care as much as he does…"
This motive does cut deep, that's for sure. Luckily, I'm not that attached to my talent so I don't feel too pressured by it. Can't say the same for the others, especially Anzai judging from his reaction. Hopefully, he won't try anything.
"CALM DOWN EVERYONE!" Sozen demanded in a commanding voice while also stomping his foot down hard. "The motive is nothing but a lie to get us to panic like we are. If we just keep calm and deny that this motive is true, we'll get through this easily."
"I agree, there's no way she can actually remove our talents," Sukey added, stroking her colorful ponytails.
"I wouldn't recommend doubting the possibility," Kado warned, spinning his knife around, his lips pulling into a thin line.
"Would you please shut the fuck up!" Juro shouted in pure anger, raising his fists up.
"Just ignore Kado, he might as well be working in tandem with Monotokage," Sozen commanded, spitting on the floor. "He's just here to push us into murdering someone."
"I already said I'm no slave," Kado re-voiced, showing a bit of his teeth, his brows angling inward ever so slightly. "I only seek amusement in this situation. It's rare I get to have this type of fun nowadays."
"Hush, Sozen has something more to say," Erena said, putting a finger up to her mouth.
Is she really trying to shush a cult leader? Someone who may have taken many souls in his lifetime…
Despite my doubts, Kado did in fact keep quiet.
"Now that there's a real motive in play that seems to have a detrimental effect on most of you I will issue some ground rules." Sozen began, folding his arms across his bulky chest.
"I'd prefer there not be any rules," Heikichi said, placing his hands on his hips with a displeased look.
Now that I think about it, the rules icon on the handbook has remained grayed out and inaccessible. Monotokage really did not issue a single rule…I wonder why...
"These rules will keep you safer and I expect that you'd not want to be an easy kill," Sozen reasoned. "I will personally be keeping track of everyone from here on out. Every Time from 7:00 PM I will be patrolling the hallway of the dorms and I require that everyone remain in the ultimate dorms on the 2nd floor. Everyone will stay in their rooms past 10."
"Sounds splendastious to me!" Arishige exclaimed as he cooled himself off with a small fan. "So long as it never gets in the way of my desire for fashion."
"Shit dude, you're taking away our nighttime freedom?" Juro asked, running his hands through his short blonde hair. "I'd rather not lose that."
"Yeah! What if I want a snack or something!" Leiko added in complaint with a pouting face.
"Fine, the cafeteria is allowed; additionally, I will make sure to remember exactly who leaves the dorms and only allow two to leave at a time. That way I will know who to suspect if a murder happens. That would discourage anyone from murdering the other," Sozen compromised, rolling his eyes.
"Why not just let one leave?" I asked. "Wouldn't it be riskier to have two at a time go?
"It's so no one can leave a trap easily, you see, with another person in the cafeteria, it would be quite difficult I'd say," The sheriff responded.
That makes sense, but what's stopping them from creating a trap together. Monotokage didn't give us any rules at all, so what if you can escape with an accomplice? I know that was never a thing before, at least in the first killing game it wasn't, but anything could happen with a new host like this.
"I feel like you've been thinking of this for longer than just now," Kaiya said, quirking a brow with her hands on her hips.
"I will admit, I have been, but I felt no need to enforce it until now," Sozen responded, folding her arms.
"I suppose I can commend you for staying true to your ideals for our safety…" Anzai remarked with a bit of reluctance.
Anzai decided to acknowledge someone? Why do I feel like he's about to make it a backhanded compliment though.
"It's the most I've seen from you muddle headed officers of the law. You are one level above them, sharing the floor with inbred rats that is," The genius said, wiping his glasses off with a pretentious smile.
"..." Sozen's eyes darkened for a brief moment as he stood there with his arms crossed.
"Well, I appreciate that you are making the effort to increase our safety, Motozawa sir," Sukey thanked, bowing her head nicely.
"I don't," Heikichi deadpanned, grasping his left arm. "I'd rather not have safety tape everywhere during the night."
"You're only complaining because you want to kill someone!" Leiko accused, putting her forefinger to her temples. "I can see the thoughts in your mind!"
"That's incorrect, I just enjoy walking around at night by myself, to gather my thoughts you know?" The hacker defended with a dry laugh.
"Sounds pretty damn suspicious to me," Juro blurted out, scratching his goatee.
"Ugh… we are back to suspecting one another again!" Erena whined as she slumped her shoulders. "Why is it so hard for humans to get along! Nature does it so much better…"
Even with those rules in place, I still see a murder coming, maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but can you blame me?
Everyone soon parted ways, I for one, headed back to my room.
-Omezo's room-
I decided to write in that journal, to collect my thoughts I guess. *scribble scribble* With that recorded, it's time to find something to do.
I left my room to be greeted by Arishige messing around with his makeup kit.
Oh how pleasant, now he's a door to door salesman, because I know where this will go. Looks like I'll have to do the old classic maneuver of 'slamming the door in front of annoying salesmen and things alike.
"Why are you waiting outside of my room?" I questioned, voicing my displeasure of his presence.
"Awaiting your arrival my good sir," Arishige replied, closing the kit not before giving me a good look at it's contents. "Because we have an appointment, remember?"
"I know what you're referring to, but I never agreed to it," I denied, shaking my head as I began to close the door.
"Don't deny your desire for true fabulousness!" He quickly said, stopping me from shutting the door completely with his shoe.
"I've said it many times before, I don't like cosmetics," I repeated in an annoyed manner.
"At least give them a chance," He pleaded with puppy dog eyes. "Come to my room, there is much to look at!"
This guy just doesn't budge! How stubborn can you possibly be?!
"I don-" I attempted to close the door again, but he grabbed hold of me and dragged me to his room.
Looks like I never had a choice to begin with, oh well. I guess I can play along for now, just to get him off my back...
-Arishige's room-
His room looked a lot more extravagant than the rest, with a colorful floor and colorful walls. Every color in this room was bright. Not only that, there were also cosmetics being presented on many tables along the walls.
This room has been way overdone.
"You really don't like having anything look boring," I observed, furrowing my brow.
"Oh, I could never!" The cosmetologist answered in an overly dramatic tone. "My life's meant to be filled to the brim with all things fantabulous and nothing less."
"Yeah… if there's one thing I um… want to know…" I began with a bit of reluctance. "It's why you love cosmetics so much."
"I won't shower you with backstory, unless requested," He said, holding a finger up. "But I can answer your question."
"Please stick to the question," I requested with a sigh of relief.
Thank god he gave me an option this time. I can hardly listen to him normally, I'd hate to be stuck hearing a lifetime story from him.
"Very well…" He said with a hint of disappointment in his voice before clearing his throat. "Before I came into contact with the wonders of cosmetics, I was about as ugly as the troll under the bridge."
"Really now?" I questioned, my curiosity piquing.
"I felt bad for every mirror I shattered looking into. Then one day I saw a magazine of some cosmetics," He explained in a story-like manner. "Seeing just how beautiful they made people look, I just had to get my hands on some considering that I was disgusted with my appearance just like everyone else who looked at me and judged me for being so putrid."
It was that horrible huh? Honestly, this world just needs to cut the crap when it comes to appearances. Then again, I'm not a fan of looking terrible either so I can understand.
"With all the money I saved up I got some cosmetics, but it wasn't enough and a total makeover is quite pricey," he continued, brushing his face with a smirk. "So I decided to make my own, which then sprung forth the life of my company, 'Luminescent'."
"I can see that you succeeded," I commented, my gaze shifting to all the cosmetics around the room.
"Naturally," He replied in a cocky tone, whipping his fluffy luminescent white cowlick back. "I did a complete makeover of my face and worked on losing the excess weight as well. I became what you see today, the epitome of human gorgeousness, the tip of the iceberg as they say. That is the wonders of cosmetics."
"I must admit, cosmetics can change lives in a positive way," I said, before raising my hand in denial. "Except, I still don't want any."
"You're just thinking about the appearance altering ones, there's always perfumes and colognes you know." Arishige explained convincingly. "Smelling spectabulous is just as important as looking beautastic."
"I mean yeah, sure, I guess I'm okay with cologne."
Not smelling like you crawled out of a sewer is more important to me than my appearance at the moment. So long as he isn't about to trick me into using a cologne that doubles as skin altering lotion...
"Pick one then!" Exclaimed the effeminate cosmetologist, gesturing to the table of cologne and perfume with his hand on my back. "If you need help choosing just ask me, I know what would be perfect for you."
"Uh… how about you choose," I requested with an unsure smile.
This might be a bad idea, but there's just too many bottles on this table for me to even begin to decide.
He smiled and picked up a bottle of cologne labeled as "golden flames"
"Here you go, give it a whiff," He said, handing me the bottle of the golden brown liquid.
I sprayed it in the air and sniffed.
"It smells like honey and a campfire," I examined, rubbing my chin. "That seems like an… odd combination."
Odd yes, but a very nice scent actually. I would have never thought to combine those two scents.
"I make sure to have every possible smell," Arishige remarked, standing proud. "I felt that'd be good for you since you are calm and relaxed like campfires, but sweet like honey. That's how I think of you anyways."
"You find me sweet?" I questioned, taken aback by the sudden compliment.
"You did indulge in this activity with me even though you showed displeasure, so yes, you are a pretty sweet guy."
I can't tell if he's just trying to earn my friendship so that he can sell me his stuff easier or that he's being legitimate. I will say one thing, I do hate him less than before.
"Thanks… I suppose."
"That'll be two-hundred by the way."
"Wh-what!"
It's just a single bottle, why that much? I know cosmetics are expensive, but jeez. It's not even permanent.
"Ehhh, I will give it to you for free if you can impress me," He said after thinking for a second. "Tell me, do you know the ingredient that creates a smoky scent to perfumes?"
"Uhhh…" I struggled to imagine what that could possibly be.
"I'll give you a list," He said, lending me a piece of paper. "Consider it thanks for partaking here today."
I looked at the list of ingredients. There were a lot of strange ones like amber, musk, something involving sperm whale secretions, etc. Some of it was kind of strange. I still could not really tell so I just decided to guess based on context clues.
"Is it Oud?" I answered, not sounding confident at all.
"Congratulations! You earned yourself a free bottle of 'Golden Flames'!" He exclaimed in a way that made me believe he was about as confident in me as I was.
"Oh um… didn't think I actually guessed right," I scratched the back of my neck as he gave me the cologne.
"For a bit of a history lesson, let me tell you that oud is an extremely rich and resinous substance derived from the fungus that grows on the wood from aquilaria and gyrinops trees," He explained in a sing-song voice. "I used some in that cologne you're holding, and the ingredient itself has a price tag of about fifteen thousand."
So he was actually being pretty generous with the price in the first place, yet he still gave it to me for free for a lucky guess.
"I think I should conclude our business for today, maybe we'll speak again tomorrow!"
That'll be unlikely, sorry to say, but I can say that I didn't hate that as much as I thought I would.
We both left the room and I returned to mine to place the cologne on the bedside table.
I guess Arishige is a lot more generous than I thought, not only that but it's crazy to think that he was less than pleasant looking at one point in his life. Cosmetics can be truly wondrous I suppose. Time to look for someone else.
-Kitchen-
I noticed Juro raiding the fridge once I walked into the kitchen. At first I was confused, but then I remembered that this was Juro.
"Looking to hide out in your room are we?" I asked in a teasing manner, placing my hands on my hips.
"Got to stay safe somehow right?" The soccer player responded with a dopey grin.
"Sure…" I replied in a 'whatever' kind of tone.
He truly is a coward, but I can't blame him for wanting to avoid any and all possible dangerous encounters at times like this.
"Care to lend me a hand bro?"
"I guess I could…"
Juro and I spent some time scouring the kitchen for food.
I don't know why I bothered to do that, I guess I can say that we got closer somehow.
"Yo dude? So... " He scratched the back of his neck. "You have any advice for swooning Nene?"
"Why would I know how to do that?" I questioned, sounding confused.
"Because, she did not fucking try to kill you when you first met her!" The blonde pursued, crossing his arms. "You've got to have some goddamn secret to her heart."
"I-I um…. Uh…" I muttered into my golden scarf. "I don't really have any secrets like that."
I didn't even know what type of person she was, I just got lucky that being myself in the situation worked out. I don't get how that could be considered the key to anyone's heart. Juro is just desperate.
"Come on bro! She stuck around you for a reason!"
"All I did was not run and she decided that was a brave decision," I answered with a shrug and a nervous look. "I guess she just respected me at that moment."
"So she has the hots for bravery!" Juro realized, twisting his goatee for a moment before snapping his fingers with a defeated expression. "tsssss…shoot!…"
"If I'm being honest, maybe you should go for someone else that wouldn't rather rip your face off with their bare hands than to be in the same room with you for a second," I recommended in a semi-friendly tone.
"Fuck that! No other girls here are as badass as her!" He vehemently disagreed, looking at me like I'm the stupid one. "She's totes my dream girl."
"You like people that want to kill you that much?"
"I don't believe that she will kill me," Juro denied with a huff of indifference. "Even then, the threats just add to the sexy factor you know?!"
He has to be a masochist or something, there's just no way around it.
"Still though, she clearly doesn't like you at all," I pointed out. "There are much nicer girls down here."
"Like who?" He asked in a way that made it seem like he believed that there was no other answer while crossing his arms.
"Literally every other girl."
"I mean sure, some of them are hot, even the twins got it down below if you know what I mean," He clicked his tongue and rubbed his chin. "But none of them compare to the rapier wielding babe."
"Trust me, it's for your own good to let her go."
"Bullshit!" He yelled in between his teeth. Then he rubbed his hand across his left arm, across his arm bands. "But, I guess I'll try somethin' with the other girls, because I need some real love before I go to fuckin' hell in this shithole!"
Juro has strange tastes in women, that's for sure. He also seems to really want to have true love as if this is a fairy tale, but that's just not how the world works. But what do I know? I'm no love guru… I could be in the wrong for all I know and they are a perfect match.
I decided to search for another person to talk to, but before I was able to leave the cafeteria, Sukey stopped me in my tracks.
"Hey Omezo, can I have you for a moment?" She requested with a pleasant smile.
"Yeah… uh… sure you can," I responded, giving her my undivided attention.
"Would you be willing to participate in a bonding session I have planned at 7:00 P.M. tonight?" The band director asked, biting her thumbnail nervously. "I wanted to see if I could bring people together, since I believe it's the most I can do to help us in our current predicament."
"Of course I will, I wouldn't turn down such an offer you know?" I answered with a soft expression.
I honestly don't think I can ever deny a request from Sukey, as I couldn't bear to witness her when she's saddened.
"Thank you Omezo!" She said, showing her gratitude in full happiness. "I can't wait to see you there!"
She then walked towards the kitchen, presumingly to ask Jurobei a similar question.
It's nice to see that she's making an effort to get us to bond, much like I expected from her in the first place.
-Botanical garden-
As expected, Erena was here. She was petting the flowers as if they were cats.
"Hello Erena," I greeted in a friendly tone, leaning slightly closer to her.
"Huh… um…" Erena looked around the room until she saw that Sozen was also in the garden writing on some piece of paper. "Hi Omezo, it's nice to see you."
Why did she get all nervous like that? Is she afraid…? It's best I don't question her about it.
"I bet you're glad there's some nature down here," I mused, my eyes flitting around all the rather beautiful plantlife.
"Oh, yeah of course!" The biologist exclaimed with a warm smile. "Except I wish that there were actual animals…"
"I wouldn't expect them to have live animals in an underground facility," I said, my brows furrowing. "Probably better for their health."
"You're not wrong, most animals require fresh air and sunlight, not artificial sunlight."
"The plants seem to be faring well though," I observed, my gaze shifting to the healthy plants.
"These ones were born into this environment, so they have adapted," she informed, her eyes focusing on the plants with a comforting expression "However, some of them like the tomatoes are artificial and not natural."
"How could you tell that?" I questioned, a bit surprised.
"I dissected some of them, as there are things humans cannot reproduce that of which nature creates," She explained as she picked a tomato and twirled it in her hand.
That is impressive I will admit, to be able to point out a discreet detail like that in a plant, vegetable, or fruit.
"Is it necessary for you to study all these plants?" I asked, my brow furrowing. "I saw that you had a ton in your room."
"Well, I just like being around nature, so I keep those plants in my room to keep me company," the forest green haired girl answered, placing a hand close to her heart. "In fact, I'm used to being around nature twenty-four seven, ever since I was born."
"You were born in nature? Like not in a hospital?" I said, arching a brow.
"Mm-hm, In a log cabin in the middle of a jungle."
Okay… so she was conceived unprofessionally in a jungle in who knows where.
"A jungle...?" I said, bobbing my head back and forth, showing a bit of disbelief. "And how did that manage to happen?"
"Is it a crime to live in the jungle?!" Erena countered with a huff of annoyance, then her expression softened. "My parents never liked living in cities around other people. So the only living beings other than them that I've ever been around are animals and plants."
She was conceived unprofessionally in a jungle in who knows where, by people who've never lived with human society for that long. I don't know if I can buy this or not… I hope this isn't a case where a human was raised by some random animal. I see that all the time in books and movies.
"Your parents are human right?"
I swear, if she says that she was raised by goldfish or something I will be done with life. You know what, I hope she does, I need a good laugh at this point.
"Of course they are! If I'm human they're human," She said, giving me the wildest of looks, to the point where she was even crouching down as if she was about to pounce. She must be getting tired of my prying. "Did you think I was some kind of hybrid or something?"
I wasn't prepared to see the angry side of Erena, I didn't even think it'd be this frightening to see.
"N-no um… it's just strange is all," I stammered, my hand encircling my scarf while looking away with my bottom lip curled. "I mean, I don't like being around other people that much, but I know that secluding yourself from society really eats away at your sanity."
"But the ecosystem of the jungle was my society. I even had a pet bear and crocodile!" She exclaimed, her eyes shining brightly. "Their names were Georgie and Marilyn. It was my idea though, but it was easy befriending them."
I cannot begin to imagine how she and her parents managed to have those animals be their pets. I guess that's what makes her the ultimate biologist, but then again, what biologist needs to be able to tame dangerous animals? They just study life itself.
"It's too bad I won't see them again for a long time," She looked down in a fit of remorse. "At least I have plants, and they are just as nice to pet as a dog or cat."
"I don't see how, aren't they rubbery?"
"Some are fuzzy!" She exclaimed, guiding my eyes to a fuzzy looking plant. "Here pet this one."
"Ouch!" I rubbed the palm of my right hand after getting poked by the needles of the plant.
"Hahahahaha~" She cackled wildy. "Whoo~ you need to stop being so fun to prank."
"You need to stop pranking in general," I commented, crossing my arms with a wry smile.
"Never!" She shouted in denial, swiping her hand to the right. "But, I bet you cannot guess what kind of plant you just petted."
Another trivia, what's up with this happening a lot? Did I stumble into a game show? Fortunately, I know a good bit about plants because I took a course on it before.
"Galium aparine right?" I answered with a hint of confidence.
"Ding ding ding!" The upbeat girl imitated a bell. "That's correct, additionally, its type of thorns is called trichomes. There are a whole lot of terms for plant species and their biology, so I am surprised you got that right. Except, if you knew what it was, why did you still pet it?"
"I did not recognize it right away, that's just the difference between you and me."
"Anyways, I enjoyed this, and I hope we can talk more later," She said, propping her chin on both of her hands with an infectious smile. "Maybe you, me, and Isoyo can get together some time?"
"That would be nice I suppose."
Erena has had more of a wild life than I thought, no pun intended.
-Ultimate dorms 2nd floor-
I went over to Kaiya's room and knocked. She opened the door and gave me a warm smile.
"Are you bored and have no idea what to do?" The agent said as if this were the beginning of a commercial.
"Yep…" I simply stated with a straight face.
"Then come on in, I have a fun idea!" She exclaimed, gesturing to me to enter her room, to which I followed.
-Kaiya's room-
Much to my surprise, her room looked normal, nothing was out of the ordinary.
I have a feeling that everything is not as they seem in here. Like, I could turn a painting 80 degrees clockwise and turn this whole room into the ultimate weapon. That's just ridiculous though, the Future Foundation would never implement such a thing when this place is meant for our survival.
"So, what is this so-called fun idea you have?"
"Alright, here's the rundown," Kaiya began, adjusting her bow-tie. "I want to see if you can find five unnamed, undescribed secrets in this room."
"I feel like I should be afraid of this…" I muttered, rubbing my jaw in thought.
"No it's fiiiinnne, nothing in here will kill you," Kaiya assured, patting me on the back. "That is, unless you're just unlucky."
"Excuse me? You can't just assure me safety and then say that it depends on my luck," I blinked a couple of times in quick succession.
"Don't worry, I'll warn you if you get unlucky," She assured once more, motioning me to calm down.
"Whatever, I guess I'll trust you," I said in compliance, contemplating if this was a good idea or not. "I came here to kill time after all, who am I to reject your little game."
And so begins my perilous search in a secret agent's room. I swear to all hell if I actually die doing this crap…the things I do for friendship.
I decided to begin the strange scavenger hunt at the bedside table. On top of it lay two black pens. I picked up the one on the left and preemptively clicked it. What came out was unexpected, instead of an ink tip, it fired a red laser that burned a hole into the floor. Luckily, it narrowly missed my foot.
"Jesus!" I yelped in surprise, quickly deactivating the laser pen and placing it back on the table. "Why do you have a dangerous weapon like that?"
"Beats me compadre, that was already there to begin with," Kaiya replied with a casual shrug. "I assumed that the Future Foundation must trust me enough to allow me access to weaponized gadgets like that one, but that's my only guess."
"Then is the other one the same?"
"I'm not giving you hints," The turquoise haired girl said with a shake of her head, before giving a playful smirk. "I can't test your perception that way."
That's what this is about then, she's just seeing if I can spot all the hidden gadgets in here. What for is beyond me.
I took the other pen and clicked it, this time it worked as normal. However, I had a feeling that it may not be exactly the same in use, so I tried to find something to write on. Looking in the drawer, I found a notebook and a book inside. I opened the notebook to a blank page and wrote in it with the pen. As I thought, nothing was shown.
"It's invisible ink isn't it?"
"Correct, and what an age-old classic it is!"
I checked the notebook just to see if it had some other use, and it didn't. Putting it back in its place, I picked up the book that was in the drawer. I tried flipping it open to the first page but it did not work at all. Upon closer inspection, there were no real pages to flip to, it was all just an illusion. The only thing I could do was open it up in the middle to reveal an electronic display screen. Once I turned it on, I was able to see through it as if it were a camera. Plus, It could record and take pictures.
"Huh... I can see how this would be very nifty when undercover," I commented with interest, as I looked through the book-camera's options.
"That's 100 percent what it's designed for," The agent confirmed, her lips pulling into a delicate line. "You can easily get away with recording conversations or taking pictures of important things and moments. Perfect for gaining blackmail over someone you have a grudge with."
I put the book camera thing back and closed the drawer. Just to check, I tried a multitude of things on the lamp on the table. After loosening a screw on it, the lampshade retracted.
"Look away!" Kaiya shouted at me as she turned around immediately.
I listened and quickly turned away, noticing a really bright flash of light that filled the room for a second, much like a flash-bang, except somehow even brighter.
"Uh… even the lamp…?" I asked, feeling perplexed by the reasoning for such a tool.
"Yeah, just think, if someone breaks into your room, all you need to do is activate the lamp's flash-bang effect and render them blind," Kaiya explained, clapping her hands together as she finished the sentence. "Or you can set up an area in advance with one of them bad boys and have it be a trap for a target."
"Secret agents have no limits to what can be a gadget don't they?"
"Oh, you don't even know half of it, I've seen peanut butter constitute as explosive gel before," She mentioned, with a goofy smile as she rested a hand on her shapely hip. "Guess you can say it adds an explosive flavor to your meals."
"Please don't start with the bad jokes," I kindly requested, my brow scrunching up.
"Sorry, but I have to seize all the opportunities!" She admitted with a wide grin.
Going over to the closet, I peered inside seeing multiple clone outfits for Kaiya, and a basketball on the ground. I picked it up and tried finding something to twist, push, or pull on it.
Eventually, I managed to flick something forwards on the ball, turning it into a literal baseball. It was the last thing I expected from this.
Why did it have to be a baseball? The world seems to never let me move on from him. Whatever, I wonder if I can change it again...
I flicked the same tiny switch again and the baseball morphed into a soccer ball. Then I did it again, this time a tennis ball. I continued to turn this ball into a multitude of sports balls until it for some reason became a disco ball, and it even played some generic club music.
Of course, I should have known, what logical minded person would not expect something so obvious? I mean, a disco ball? Really?
"I'm really confused on how and why an interchanging ball is necessary for any agent, let alone a disco ball of all things," I voiced my thoughts, rubbing my neck.
"Not all gadgets need practical uses, we like to have fun too you know?" Kaiya said. "I think it's quite cool to have a ball that can be any kind of ball, that way you'd never have to carry around so many things, and always be ready for any sort of sport. As for the disco ball, well, I don't really know, but the prospect of a portable disco party is sweet enough for me to not mind."
"Sure, um… whatever you say," I muttered, brushing my dark blue hair back. "Well, I did your game and I suppose it was fun in a way. I've always been interested in hidden secrets like that."
"And it's a learning experience for you as well," Kaiya added. "As you found out, there's many variations of gadgets us secret agents have access to. Whether useful in a mission, for killing time, or not at all, we have one for just about everything. One thing's for sure, they are a must have for us, and it's one of the reasons why I enjoy being a secret agent so much in the first place."
"I can certainly see that," I admitted. "Although, I find all that overwhelming and I'd probably get myself killed with so many gadgets like that. Anyways, I have to go to a bonding session with Sukey now."
"What a coincidence!" She exclaimed. "I was about to say something similar, since I'm also going there."
"Well then, I guess we uh… are going together then."
-Sukey's room-
I thought there'd be more people here, but I only saw three others, Sukey, Arishige, and Norito.
Why is Arishige here? I thought he'd be less than inclined to participate in a bonding session. Then again, he most likely has some other motive for being here.
"Look at you coming here with a lady," Norito commented with a devious smirk.
"My my, you two must have such rambunctious hormones to be already getting fancy in bed," Arishige said while fanning himself.
"W-what?" I stammered, hiding the redding of my face with my golden scarf. "T-there were no such actions, we were just uh… talking with each other before this."
"Don't sell yourself so short corporal, put in a little more effort and you'll give yourself the best moment in your lifetime," Kaiya teased, tousling my hair in the process.
"As cute as this is, we should move on from the subject considering that everyone has arrived," Sukey said.
"So this is really it then?" Kaiya asked with an ever so slightly bemused expression. "Five people?"
"Well, I did ask everyone," Sukey informed, biting her thumbnail. "But mostly everyone had some excuse to avoid this or would not even acknowledge my existence."
"I would have thought that Erena and Isoyo would partake in something like this," I asked, my lips pursing.
"That's what I thought too," Sukey said, her head drooping a little. "But Isoyo told me that she wanted to devote her time to some project in the art room, and Erena… I'm not even sure exactly why she rejected my invitation. When I came to her room, she seemed… fearful and just said that she wasn't feeling it."
"The motive is most likely the cause of her fear," I figured, propping my chin on my fist. "Before then, we had no reason to expect any murders since escaping now is pointless, but taking away our talent is much more of a pressure inducing motive for most of us."
"So you actually believe that someone here is selfish enough to kill someone to keep their talent..." Sukey said in a sorrowful manner while looking down with a saddened gaze.
"All I know is that even without my glorious talent, I'd still have ownership over my fabulous kingdom," Arishige arrogantly stated. "Rest assured I have no interest in spilling even a little blood."
"Well, not everyone has that luxury," Norito mentioned before gasping in realization. "How could I be the hero we need if I forget my herioc identity!"
"Guys please! We're supposed to be bonding not creating more reasons to distrust each other," Sukey pleaded like she was in distress.
"It is a cause for worry, but we shouldn't stress over it all the time," Kaiya said, rubbing her arms with a half frown. "Taking this time to form a relationship with one another will help ease the stress."
"I agree, we may not get many chances to do stuff like this," I added, with a small smile. "Can't stay broken apart from everyone forever, such seclusion could drive one mad."
"Right, so let us begin then!" Arishige exclaimed dramatically as if he was opening a show.
"Sadly, there's not a whole lot we can do together," Sukey lamented at the absence of available activities. "Regardless, we need to start small, so how about we create nicknames for each other. Generally, that works quite well in beginning bands."
"I go by many titles, such as 'The hero whom cleanses the land' and 'Cleanliness Hero' of course," Norito informed, putting a fist to his chest with his chin up, before giving a quirky smile. "For now, I'd say just call me 'Scrubby'"
"I shall be dubbed as Mr. Fantasmiculousfulshionablometty!" Arishige exclaimed proudly, flooding his cowlick.
"E-excuse me…?" I stammered, purely flabbergasted by the overly complicated nickname.
It's like he combined every word that he could imagine that was related to fabulous or whatever and put them together like a twisted hybrid, in fact, that's exactly what he did I'm pretty sure. The English language is not safe around this guy, and yet, he somehow pronounced the crazy title.
"While it's quite the unique name, I think it'd be best if you chose an easier to pronounce one," Sukey suggested with an amused smile.
"Lumiose it is then!" Arishige proclaimed in a quirky manner. "But feel free to use the first one if you want my grandest respect!"
"I'll just go by my code name 'Peppermint'," Kaiya said, twisting her sleeve.
"Peppermint? That's the Ultimate Secret Agent's code name?" The cherry locked janitor questioned, arching a brow. "I expected a cooler name… like Nightowl...
"Well, I love peppermint and I used to always smell like it," Kaiya explained in detail with a carefree shrug. "At first it was just a casual nickname that then became my code name."
"Those are all lovely nicknames," Sukey remarked with a pleasant smile. "What about you, Omezo? Any ideas for yours?"
"Uh… not really, no." I replied, shaking my head, feeling somewhat ashamed. "I've never given much thought to things like that in the past nor has anyone else around me."
"No worries, I believe 'Ace' could fit you," Sukey offered. "You know, after your main protagonist in your most famous novel."
"I'm nothing like him," I denied, frowning while looking away. "I'm no ace detective nor am I as selfless, intelligent, or desirable."
"I wouldn't say that, I'd think it'd take a genius to write such grand novels like yours," Sukey assessed in a warm tone. "And you go out of your way to please others, such as now. You could have done the same as the others, but instead you went along with it even though you were reluctant."
"I still don't see it, but whatever, I'll accept it," I said in a careless manner with a one-armed shrug of indifference.
I wish I was like him, but instead this is who I am, a lamenting, pessimistic author who only a few people care about as a person… But for Sukey's sake, I won't fight against her like that.
"I assume you have some name that people in your band refer to you as," Kaiya guessed, turning to the band director.
"Of course, the most common one is 'Sunny' because it's always sunny in the band room," Sukey mused, she seemed to trail off for a moment with a grin.
"You are like a ray of sunshine when you're happy from what I know," Norito remarked. "So I'd say the name fits real well."
"Yeah… except I have not made that impression since I've come here," Sukey said in remorse, sounding disappointed in herself.
"I don't think anyone could be that way in this situation unless you are just naive," I commented, hoping that it'd help her feel more confident.
"Now that we've gotten that done with." Sukey started, sounding a little more upbeat. "Let's figure out an activity we could do."
"I have the perfect idea!" Arishige exclaimed with excitement in his voice. "I can have you all try out my fantastic cosmetics, maybe even have a complete makeover, and we could even turn it into a beauty contest even."
I knew it! The only reason he came here, just to promote his cosmetics like the greedy prick he is. Here I thought that my conversation with him earlier showed me otherwise…
"That's all you ever care about isn't it?" I groused, crossing my arms with a displeased frown. "You and your cosmetics."
"Why wouldn't I?" Arishige asked as if I was crazy. "I have a business to uphold, and I certainly could never miss an opportunity to show off my products."
"I can give you one big reason why selling your crap should be the last thing on your mind, the killing game." I explained, beginning to become flustered. "You must not realize our situation right now, despite how obvious it is."
"I know full well what's going on," Arishige corrected in a firm manner, straightening his magenta jacket.
"Then treat it like you actually care then," I countered, covering half my face with the palm of my hand in agitation.
"Is it that much of an issue?" Kaiya genuinely asked, attempting to quell the situation. "He just enjoys his fashion, maybe it's how he wishes to cope with the killing game."
"Sukey did not invite him here to advertise his dang products, none of his cosmetics will help in this," I chided with a scowl. "We're here to develop trust in each other, and instead, he's taking advantage of it by using it as a way to sell his crap. It's just disrespectful to Suk- Sunny."
"Where else can I do my job?! It's not like I had any chance to bring my cosmetics to people's lives out there where there's just a bunch of crazies!" Arishige defended with full force. "This is the first time in this tragedy that I've had to talk with normal people who've yet to be exposed to my wondrous products. At least I'm not harming anyone."
"You two please! Let's not start arguing like this..." Sukey pleaded, placing her hands to her head with a distraught expression. "I understand your frustrations Omezo but it's not needed right now. I, for one, thought that Arishige's idea was nice, even if he truly just wants to sell his stuff. Additionally, he has been patient, and seems to care about the purpose of this meeting as he has not left yet."
"And I never planned on it," Arishige said, fanning himself with a hand. "I do enjoy a bit of commune here and there. However, I did not expect to be harrassed."
"We can do your beauty contest idea next time," Sukey compromised, then she turned to me with an understanding look. "I'm sure you know how detrimental your attitude was. So please, for the sake of this bonding session, keep it to yourself… for me…"
"I… *sigh* You're right, I got out of hand…" I admitted in defeat, shaking my head. "I apologize…"
How can I resist complying, she's too innocent for me to just ruin this moment for her… Jeez, I can't believe how much I began to sound like my father in his early days just then. I got worked up way too easily there...
"Since that didn't work out, allow me to suggest a dance party," Kaiya piped up as if nothing happened.
"How is that possible?" Norito asked, as his expression became puzzled. "I don't remember seeing any musical devices around here."
"That'd be where you're wrong Scrubby!" Kaiya corrected with a smirk as she whipped out a disco ball that I recognized. "Luckily, I was given a disco ball that also doubles as any sports ball! It even plays music."
"Aha! Now I can show off my floor cleaning dance moves!" Norito exclaimed happily, he then began spinning his mop around on the floor and finished by leaning in with the mop, planting a kiss on the handle. "But first, I want to go grab a bite to eat, and I'll probably bring some snacks back with me for everyone as well."
"That sounds good to me," Sukey agreed wholeheartedly..
"I'll be back in a jiffy!" Norito mentioned with a grin as he sped on out of the room.
"I don't think I'll be doing any dancing though," I said, leaning against the wall, running my hand through my dark blue hair. "Since I'd rather not look like a fool."
"Well, I could teach you," Sukey offered with an infectious smile. "Just join me and I can show you some simple dance moves or you can just stick with me and I'll do the work for you."
"Um… n-no thanks," I stammered, once again hiding my now cherry red cheeks with my scarf. "I'll probably just cause you to trip or something."
I'm convinced that every girl is just trying to make me blush like this… it's like their main goal in life at this point...
"Well, we cannot start without Scrubby, so in the meantime, we could set up the room for a proper dance floor where we won't break everything," Kaiya suggested.
We spent the next 45 minutes moving furniture around and making idle conversation.
"You would think that he'd be back by now…" Sukey commented, rubbing the side of her neck with a frown. "He did say 'in a jiffy' right?"
"He sure did, maybe his definition of 'jiffy' is different than ours," I mused, rubbing my hand along my jawline. "But all he was doing was grabbing snacks, it cannot be that hard."
"What, are they running away from him or something?" Kaiya joked with a playful smirk, before shrugging. "Or maybe Sozen just decided to not let him go"
"If that were the case he'd be back by now," I pointed out, stuffing my hands into my pockets.
Is this it then, the moment where we find out that someone cracked under the pressure of the motive… but why Norito? He doesn't deserve death like that… crap, I'm jumping to conclusions again...
"This is beginning to become worrying," Sukey said with a worried glance at the door to the hallway.
"Did he truly get killed then?" Arishige asked, flicking away invisible tears before clutching his chest. "Oh woe is me! This world just gets darker and darker as time moves on…"
"...I don't believe that's the case though," Sukey said with a nervous chuckle, following up with an unsure smile. "He probably just got distracted somehow, maybe the people that went with him to the cafeteria wanted to speak with him."
"For 45 minutes? That's a bit too long of a conversation for near strangers to have, especially at this time," I said, the doubt evident in my voice.
"If he is dead, then we would have heard something about it by now," Kaiya brought up with a thoughtful expression as she began to approach the door to the hallway. "Maybe we should just chec-"
*Ding dong, bing bong*
My heart skipped a beat as I heard the monitor in the room flick on, revealing a sneering Monotokage.
She chortled, lashing her tail about. "A body has been discovered! About damn time one of you idiots realized how dull this shit was, thanks for stirring the pot unnamed Blackened!" She thanked us, with a snort. "Now here's the lowdown, y'all take this time to search for any clues and then we begin the trial. Gahahahaha! I've been waiting for this feeling of excitement for too long!"
Review Responses:
ThePLOThand: I have noticed that this story is successful when compared to other stories featuring only OCs from the author, and I don't know why exactly. Although, it's still not a whole lot. This story only has 202 views total, which is very low. Timeless, my other SYOC story has 2,000 more views than this one, and it only has one fourth of a prologue done and posted. When it comes down to it, I think exposure is the only way this story will get as much fame as SYOC and canon character based stories, and I'm not the type of guy to start promoting my story like it's the most important thing in the world, I'll let the exposure come naturally from the fans and such.
Katastic Writer: Don't start being ashamed to be unable to review soon or at all, it's really not that big of a deal. I mean, I love reading reviews, and I don't think I'd be writing this story without them bringing in the encouragement, but I understand if you just can't or have nothing to say. You know, I just looked up if there was a disorder that didn't allow someone to feel emotion, and when I saw that it was a thing I was like "There's my reason for Isoyo's emotionless personality" because originally I was just going to have her reason for it be because she only wanted to express her emotion through her art and only her art, and she just forgot how to properly react to certain things. Luckily, I did not take that route, as I thought it wasn't that good of a reason for not showing emotion.
Pokemansuperallstar: I did intend for Juro to be the pocket "idiot" of the group, because you always need em! It would be too boring if everyone knew what they were doing. In no means did I give Norito a relation to your OC in that way, considering that I created him way before Horizon existed, but yeah man, he'd clean your room ten times over free of charge even, if you're nice enough anyways. Oh yeah, Omezo's got that nasty skeleton in his closet for sure.