Even when the morning finally came in, Chiaki still feels so exhausted. It feels like her body refused to cooperate, even when she tried getting herself out of bed, like it's tempting to sink back in and sleep the rest of the day off. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't consider giving in.
But the thing is, she can't do that, no matter how much she'd want to. Not unless if she wants to end up worrying everyone again.
And so, she does exactly that. Getting up from her bed, getting herself cleaned up, and then getting herself ready for the rest of the day.
At least, as best as she can at this kind of situation.
She can never be too sure about being ready. Especially not right now.
Chiaki steps out from her cottage. She looks around a few more times, and after seeing that nothing is out of place, goes ahead and locks the door. She already has the key with her, so it should be fine.
There's something that's nagging her for some reason, though she isn't sure exactly what that is. While wondering more about it, she absentmindedly glances around her surroundings. As far as she can see, there's nothing that's really different so far—
'Oh, so that's why. It looks like the others haven't woken up yet. It's still just me here.'
That makes it a little bit awkward, kinda. Now that she noticed that, she mulls over her options. 'Hmm, maybe I should go back inside and wait for everyone.'
It'd be the easiest and safest option in that case; she gets to relax by herself some more, and she gets to avoid the slight awkwardness with that at the same time. And yet, she doesn't feel fully committed to going along with that.
A second option makes its way to mind shortly after that.
'Or maybe, I can head to Hotel Mirai right now and play the games there while waiting for everyone. It doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. I think.'
Her eyes shut tight in concentration, getting a little bit too invested with it as she considers and weighs her current options. After probably a while of thinking about it, she's finally come to decide which one she'll go along with.
'Hmm, yeah, I think I'm definitely going to do that now. Besides, there's nothing that can go wrong as long as games are involved.'
Satisfied with her decision, she ends up going along with it, quietly but cheerfully humming to herself.
As she continues on with heading towards Hotel Mirai, she hasn't even walked at least halfway towards her destination. Without any warning at all, the strong scent of something burning up hits her nose. She immediately covers her nose and mouth upon realizing that.
Dread fills up within her rapidly beating heart as she turns around. She can't deny the thing she's seeing in front of her at all.
From the corner of her eye, she can see that there's a large puff of black smoke that's forming. She doesn't hesitate at all in turning around, forcing herself to run as she rushes towards the source.
And from there, she sees it all in front of her. It's exactly as she feared.
There's so much bright, red and orange flames all over her surroundings. They're so much bigger compared to what happened the night before. Because of their sheer size and larger numbers, it's hard to tell exactly how and where the fires started.
'W…Why?'
It's all happening once again. Was it an accident, or another murder attempt? She doesn't know at all.
She has no idea how long she's been frozen in fear, but she manages to snap herself out of it. 'Come on, now's not the time to panic. You've got to do something now. You can worry whether it was done on purpose or not later after that.'
As she looks around, her eyes widening in horror upon realizing something. She doesn't know where the exact source of the fire is, but wherever it might, it's clear that the fire is spreading to the other cottages, and she's the only one who's still awake right now.
'Oh no…oh no…I have to wake everyone up right now and get them out of here!'
Without wasting any more time, Chiaki runs back to where the other cottages are. There's no way she's going to let it all happen a second time again.
As she rushes her steps forward, she suddenly falls and trips over. She instinctively shuts her eyes tight right as she tumbles down, her face landing on something hard. The ground, she assumes.
Right at that moment, she realizes something that's a bit weird. Somehow right now, despite the large fire that's still going on, the surrounding air suddenly goes chillingly cold. For a split second, she thought that was weird, but now, she knows why.
She wishes she didn't.
When she opens her eyes again, her breathing quickens. Her mouth opens to scream, but not even a single sound comes out of it. She's now found herself literally face-to-face with statue of Koizumi, forced to see the cement-encased eyes from her terrified face up close.
She tries to get herself back up and far away from the statue.
But, no matter how much she forces herself to, she couldn't. Even when she knows she should get herself out of there as quickly as she can, it's like every part of her body has locked itself up from sheer fear and tension.
There's nothing else she can do.
Chiaki couldn't even scream, completely frozen and helpless as she watches Koizumi's petrified face begin to crack under her.
Chiaki bolts up with a loud gasp.
Clutching the blanket close to her chest, her chest heaves in and out as she's breathing rather heavily. Those events are still fresh in her mind, and so, her eyes start frantically darting around her surroundings.
A sense of urgency overrides her as she throws her blanket off herself, kicking away the rest as she jumps out of bed.
'Wait, I need to check on everyone!'
But, just as she's halfway up and out of there, so close to the door, she realizes something. There aren't any noises right now. No alarms, no screaming, nothing. Not only that, she can't smell anything burning up either.
Chiaki exhales, palming over the side of her neck; it's warm to the touch. She deeply exhales, and she carefully steadies her breathing. She then wipes off the cold sweat from her forehead, and just to make sure, goes on pinching the skin on her inner elbow.
"Ow." She grits, wincing from the slight pain she felt.
With that confirming that she's truly awake now, she then turns around, walking back before finally sitting herself back on top of her bed. 'Okay, calm yourself down now…' She reminds herself, slowly breathing in and out, all while trying to remember what she saw as best as she can. 'It…it was all just a nightmare. Everyone should be safe right now.'
Yeah, that's right. None of the things she saw back there actually happened.
She didn't see any smoke.
There wasn't any huge fire that broke out from nowhere and started burning everyone's cottages down.
She didn't trip and fall on…the statue…
'That statue…'
'T…That was Koizumi…'
Suddenly, everything that's happened last night, the burning of Pekoyama's cottage, her dying in front of everyone, the investigation that followed, the class trial they all had to participate in, the execution of Koizumi; it all becomes a lot fresher in her mind. It's like they're constantly rewinding over and over again.
Chiaki nearly lurches forward. Heavy waves of nausea washes over her, forcing her to cover her mouth, just barely keeping herself from retching on the spot. Now that no one's life is in immediate danger, the harsh realization of it all comes crashing down on her.
'No, no, no. Everything that happened before that…it was all real…' She heaves, feeling her throat clog up. She shakily covers her face with both hands. 'Oh god, Pekoyama and Koizumi. T…They're both dead.'
She falls over back to her bed, her entire body feeling too weak at that moment. As she feels her chest grow heavier, she turns over and buries her face into her pillow. It's getting so much harder to breathe without feeling her chest ache so much.
Instinctively, she begins to curl up, clutching the pillow even closer to herself.
Chiaki has no idea how much time has passed since then. But, even though she really doesn't want to, she forces herself to get up from there anyway. She tries not to wince from how damp her pillow has become.
She then gets up on unsteady feet, goes on to check the time, and she frowns. 'Huh, it's already this late?' From what she can see, it's already around eleven-thirty in the morning.
'Well, I guess in any case, I should get myself up now.' She thinks to herself as she goes to the bathroom, officially getting herself up for the day. She isn't in the mood for a bubble bath at the moment, not after everything that happened yesterday. And especially not after how…certain events are still shaking her up even up until now.
So after a quick bath and other necessary stuff got taken care with, Chiaki opens the door. She looks over her surroundings a few more times, and after seeing that it's fully clear, she steps out and makes her way to where everyone might be.
But, as she goes on her way, she can't help but look back now and then.
Even if that was all a nightmare, she still can't get rid of that uneasy feeling.
It took Chiaki a bit longer than expected to get to Hotel Mirai. Even though she knew it's all just a nightmare, she still couldn't help but turn back whenever she can. Every time she did that, there's always a sudden spike from her heartbeat. At least, until she's sees, and is completely sure, there are no large puffs of smoke coming up from the cottages.
She also keeps her eyes on the ground, even more so than she does. It might sound a bit silly, but, it wouldn't hurt to be a bit more careful, right? Even if there's nothing…scary on the ground, it still wouldn't be good if she were to trip and fall on her face. It'd still hurt a lot, actually.
Though, she'd still lift her head up now and then to check her surroundings; it wouldn't be good if she got herself lost. And also, from what it looks so far, there's no statue nearby either. She's hoping it'd stay that way for a long, long time.
And now, here she is. It's just her, standing right in front of Hotel Mirai. Chiaki takes a deep breath, bracing herself for whatever would await her there, and she gets inside.
Her heart stops for a split second.
Even after blinking, what she's seeing in front of her still stays the same. The entire dining area is empty.
'Where is everyone?'
She rushes all over the place, rapidly looking around for any kind of sign, in case if there's a chance anyone might be around. When she doesn't, she then tries, and is slowly failing to, quell the panic that's starting to rise in her.
"Nanami?" A familiar voice calls out to her.
Chiaki turns around, surprised to hear that. "Oh, it's just you." She notes with a short exhale, feeling completely relieved once she sees it's just Komaeda.
Komaeda smiles so warmly at her. "I didn't expect to see you here. Were you waiting for everyone?"
She nods. "Yeah, I think I was. Oh, also, do you know where's everyone?" She asks, while looking around to see if anyone else is there.
"I think they're passing time off right now, though it feels like no one's really in the mood to do much." Komaeda replies, before quickly adding, "Oh, and also, Hinata actually wanted to check on you when you didn't show up for breakfast, but some of us convinced him not to. They all thought that you'd be able to show up when you need to."
"Oh, I see." She replies, and then thinks, 'Yeah, that sounds about right.'
Komaeda speaks up again. "But, now that you're awake, you should be able to gather everyone and head back to Hotel Mirai." He then pauses, and then says, "Ah, but of course, I'm more than happy to help with that. I could just tell them we're going to have an early lunch for today. And you can stay here while waiting, if you want to."
Chiaki shakes her head, putting her hands up. "No, it's fine, really. I can't trouble you with that." She inwardly adds, 'At least, any more than I already did.'
"It's okay. It's not even trouble for me at all, actually." Komaeda reassures, smiling at her while slightly shaking his head. "Besides, it's the least someone like me can do, especially after everything you've done for everyone."
Chiaki bites the inner part of her cheek. As she's thinking about it some more, she sneaks a glance at him. From there, she can see that he's looking at her with a very expectant, hopeful look. She breathes out, realizing that there's no way she can turn him down without feeling guilty about it in some way. She shyly turns around to face him, finally replying with, "Yeah, I think that'd be good."
"I promise it shouldn't take too long." Komaeda tells her, before heading off to gather everyone like he promised.
And so, that just leaves Chiaki here. Since there's nothing else she can do, she takes a seat on one of the chairs, still waiting for Komaeda to come back with the others.
She isn't sure how long she's been waiting, but soon, she hears the door open. She turns around, seeing Komaeda accompanied by just about everyone in the class.
'Almost everyone. You have two dead classmates, remember? Pekoyama and Koizumi aren't going to dine in with everyone else anymore.'
Chiaki nearly slumps on her seat from that bitter reminder. As she thinks back on the last times they were here, her chest only ached more and more. She may not have known either of them for that long, but it still hurts.
None of this was fair to them.
Everyone else are also very quiet as they all take their respective seats. Though it remains unsaid for now, there's also a lot of tension going on between Kuzuryu and Saionji. Neither of the girls acknowledged each other at all. And when it comes to their seats, they both ended up staying at the furthest, opposite ends as much as they can.
Chiaki then sees Nidai break off from the group, probably to go and prepare everyone's lunch. His movements are a bit more…hurried, in a way. It's not the same high energy he usually has, but he isn't slumped and sluggish about it either.
It took quite some time, but eventually, Nidai comes out, having finished cooking enough for everyone.
The meals are lot simpler compared to how the usual meals are, and they don't feel as intense either. As everyone gets up and takes their respective portions, the two empty seats become so much clearer to them all.
There aren't any small talks going in while everyone's eating, not like how it usually is. What happened yesterday is far too heavy for anyone to take in.
Once they're all done with their lunches, Owari's the first one the break the silence. "I still can't believe someone like Koizumi would ever do somethin' like that." She grits her teeth, before slumping back with a sigh.
Ibuki puts her hands up. "Woah, woah, wait. Isn't it, you know, a little too soon to talk about this kind of thing?"
"We can't exactly keep quiet and ignore everything like it didn't happen, either." Mitarai says while still keeping his eyes on his sketchbook.
Saionji shifts in her seat, clearly uncomfortable by how this conversation is heading.
Suddenly, the speakers begin buzzing, immediately interrupting that heavy topic before it can go any further. And as they all came to expect by now, Monokuma's stupidly annoying voice comes out from there.
"Ahem, ahem, attention, everyone! Now, this might be rather sudden from your dearly beloved headmaster, but please come to the Central Island as soon as you can. Though, you're not going to gather at the park this time around."
Chiaki can't help but raise a brow at that. 'What exactly does that bear want now? And why not at the park?'
Monokuma continues to ramble on. "Not that there's anything wrong with the park, it's pretty fine! It's just that, let's just say…it's not the right place for what I'm going to show you. So! Instead, we're all going to gather around the outskirts. To be more specific, the area that's close where the Second Island's bridge is."
'The outskirts? Is he talking about the shores there?'
"You kiddos don't have to worry about getting lost, because you'll definitely know it when you see it. Well then, I'll be seeing you there, and you better not be late! Failure to attend will make me very angry, and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry! Then again, it's not like you guys already like me at all in the first place, upupupu!" Monokuma finishes it off with a laugh as the feedback cuts off, and the speakers stop buzzing.
Hinata gets up from his seat. "Well, you all heard that damned bear." He mutters as he heads off to the door.
Everyone else follows with that, though a few are a bit more hesitant with that. It's understandable why they'd be like.
Though surprisingly, even Kuzuryu and Saionji join in without saying even a word, though it's obvious that they're not happy with that at all. And just like when everyone got lunch, they're both still staying away from each other with a heavily wide distance. Not a single word or even a glance is exchanged between them.
Chiaki gets up from her seat as well, before going on along with the others. She stays close to everyone as much as she can.
She thinks back on the other times Monokuma gathered them up, there's obviously a clear pattern there. Her stomach twists on how this one might end. 'Whatever that bear's planning now, it definitely isn't anything good.'
It's probably just her, but it feels like there's a heavy, tense air around them as they all head off to the outskirts at the Central Island. The one that's closest to the bridge of the Second Island, just as Monokuma had instructed.
There are a lot of thoughts running around Chiaki's mind right now, and none of them are anything optimistic. Her fingers fidget around the straps of her bag.
'There's no way that bear's going to give us another motive, right? If he really treats this all like a game, then it'd be way too early for that, even for a sadistic bastard like him.'
She exhales, forcing those thoughts away as far as she can. It might be best to keep herself calm, at least for now. There's no point in worrying herself to near death about it; she can wait for that later once that stupid bear tells them what his stupid announcement was for.
When they finally get there, Chiaki looks around to see if that bear's already around. There are no signs of that bear yet, but she can see that Alter Ego's right there. He looks rather mortified for some reason—
A breath hitches in her throat. She knows exactly what she's seeing. It's impossible to mistake that vehicle for anything else, and now, she can understand why his reaction like that.
From the corner of her eye, she can see a helicopter. The whole body is a greenish gray color, and there's a gaping shark mouth painted on the front. But, it isn't just any kind of helicopter. Even from here, she can see that it's actually an AH-1 Cobra.
After staring at it some more, she then squints, now realizing something about that.
'Wait a minute, what's a Cobra doing here anyway? Not to mention, where and how did someone like Monokuma even get a hold of them? Those kinds of helicopters are rather old, so it'd be even harder to find one.' She thinks about it more, and then inwardly groans. 'Then again, it's not exactly easy getting a helicopter in the first place.'
And just like that, Monokuma pops out in front of them. "About time you kiddos got here!"
"Let's just get to the point." Hinata snaps, stepping ahead of the others while glaring at the bear. "What do you want with us now?"
"Geez. For someone who's supposed to be the Ultimate Counselor, you sure don't act like one. But okie-dokie, if you say so." Monokuma takes a deep, blissful breath, before proceeding to rant and stomp around. "Those damned Monobeasts are all so unbearably ungrateful! Did they just forget who helped bring them here in the first place?! I swear, they're going to try to pull a strike on me someday!"
Hinata blinks, definitely not expecting that at all. He stares at the bear with a blank look on his face. "Excuse me, what?"
"Ohh, wait, hold on, so you're saying that those Monobeasts are actually alive?!" A heavily shocked look makes its way towards Ibuki's face as she asks that.
Monokuma waves a paw off. "Pfft! Just because they don't talk all that much, it doesn't they don't have any feelings." He makes a sound that's a bit like clearing his throat, since he doesn't really have one. "Anyways, enough about that kind of topic. It isn't super important in the long run anyway, so let's get back to the reason I got you kiddos here."
Chiaki stares at the helicopter that's out in the open, and then back to Monokuma. "It's about the Cobra, isn't it?"
Monokuma sarcastically claps his paws. "Bingo! Never thought I'd see a video game nerd like you actually know these kinds of things, and you even know what it's called too. But yep, this bad boy's something else entirely." He taps a paw on the helicopter. "You could even say that it's something that's got to do with the reason I've called you kiddos here for."
"W-What do y-you mean by t-that?" Tsumiki fearfully steps back, hiding behind Nidai for cover.
Monokuma snickers. "Upupupu. Let's just say, I just need to demonstrate a teeny, tiny, little example on why I'm the headmaster here. And unlike that fluke with Big Brother waaaaay back then, this one's going to have some more…permanent status quo changes." His grin widens, showing off his sharp, triangular teeth. "Because when you're in charge, it never hurts to show off as much force as you need to, and get everyone falling back in line by any means necessary!"
"That's absolutely preposterous!" Sonia cuts in, stepping forward and staring down at him. "You don't get to simply abuse power as much as you want just because those under you are expressing dissent."
Monokuma tuts, sounding like he's clicking his tongue even if he probably didn't even have one in the first place. "And what do you know about that? Aren't you supposed to be just some foreign transfer student who knows a lot about playing around with those slabs of metal?"
Sonia sputters at the bear's sheer audacity, before narrowing her eyes at him. Her fists clench at her side. "Why, I'll have you know that—!"
"Alright, I think that's enough lecturing from you, little missy," Monokuma immediately cuts back, not even giving her a chance to finish what she's saying. "Now it's time to get to the BEARY EXCITING PART! Godspeed to you all for now, because you're all going to need it!" He mockingly salutes them all, before going ahead and hopping into the Cobra's door.
Everyone can see him continue to holler from inside the Cobra's windows. Next thing they all knew, the Cobra's blades start spinning and whirring, all while being as hellishly loud as they can be. In the next moments, the Cobra starts lifting itself off the ground.
Chiaki stumbles back, eyes widening in horror as she watches the bear actually pilot the Cobra. 'Don't tell me, he's seriously going to fly that?! What is he even trying to do with it?'
Sonia seems to have thought the same thing. "HOLY FUCK!"
"M-Miss Sonia?!" Souda screams, scandalized at hearing someone like her cuss out loud.
Sonia didn't seem to notice that reaction at all. Her face contorts into pure rage as she screams, "That evil bear has ABSOLUTELY LOST HIS SHIT! Does he even know exactly what he's doing with that thing and the ramifications from it?! I already knew he's twisted beyond reason, but I never thought he'd be such a self-destructive DUMBASS!"
As Sonia continues to rant more and more, somehow, it feels like Souda's jaw just keep dropping lower and lower. It's clear that whatever perceptions he might've had of her has completely shattered beyond belief.
Chiaki keeps her eye on the Cobra; from the looks of it, it's at least several hundreds of feet in the air by now. She watches as Monokuma steers it further and further away from the Central Island, before proceeding to fly towards one of the connected islands. She bites back a gasp when she sees the Monobeast guarding that island begins moving.
The Gorilla Monobeast rumbles, flexing its neck and limbs as it moves away from the base it stood on. It still has the piece from the original statue over half of its face, which might've obscured its vision, since even from here, anyone can see it tilting its head now and then. Despite that handicap, it still rears its head up, staring down at the Cobra with its single red eye, almost like it's locking eye contact at its creator.
It feels like it knew what Monokuma is up to, as in the next second, the Gorilla Monobeast stands up to its full height and pounds its metallic chest. And then, it goes down on all fours, dragging and pounding its knuckles on the ground as it roars at him. That intimidation tactic might've worked if it was literally anyone aside from Monokuma confronting it. Especially since from the looks of it, the Cobra above didn't look deterred at all.
The next thing that happened was a given in hindsight, but it still happened too fast for anyone to be ready for what they'd see next.
A pair of rockets shoots out from the Cobra. Within a blink, those rockets hit the Gorilla Monobeast right at the shoulder before it can even properly react. It stumbles back with a trembling bellow, clutching at its shoulder as pieces of scrap metal slowly fall from it. It looks like that got badly damaged by those rockets, to the point that the arm is barely hanging on by a thin piece of metal joints.
Monokuma didn't give the Gorilla Monobeast a chance to take even one step forward, taking advantage of it staggering to launch another pair of rockets. Those rockets speed out, still faster than anyone could comprehend.
The Gorilla Monobeast roars again as it gets hit at the same area one more time. The force from that is enough to finally fully sever its left arm; it then drops onto the ground below with a loud crash, making a lot of dust and other debris go flying all over the place. Thankfully, the resulting debris are all too far from their area. But, it's still a rather terrifying sight. Chiaki can already imagine what might've happened if any of them were somewhat closer within the Gorilla Monobeast's range, and…it's not a pretty picture at all.
In any case, it isn't looking good for the Gorilla Monobeast at all; since it's supposed to move on all fours, the loss of one of its arms makes stumble over as it loses more of its balance. Even so, it stays undeterred, its single red eye glaring even brighter than before.
Then, it charges forward with as much force and speed as it can. While it might've been a bit slowed down and weakened because it's lacking an arm right now, everyone can still see the ground beneath it tremble from its weight.
As the Gorilla Monobeast runs to the shore, that's when even more rockets come zipping towards it, with one pair getting fired after the other. This time, they all hit it right on its knees. The sheer force and numbers is more than enough to sever the joints. Because it was in the middle of running while that happened, it stumbles forward once again. That, along with combining the force both from its run and its entire body weight, it couldn't stop itself from falling right into the ocean.
A deep, disturbing silence falls onto everyone as they watch the Gorilla Monobeast slowly sink into the depths. Even if it was a robot that would've threatened everyone, it's still grisly watching it get destroyed by the same person who might've created it without any hesitation or remorse.
"Wait a minute…" Alter Ego murmurs, his eyes staring at where the Gorilla Monobeast used to be. Those waters are starting to ripple every other second or so. "It…It's coming back up!"
And just like what he said, the Gorilla Monobeast comes back up again, startling everyone from how sudden it was. No one's sure how, but it managed to get itself floating up in the waters, while still remaining active somehow. It continues to kick and thrash around, even though it's already lost an arm and a leg by that point.
Not even a few seconds later, the Cobra fires something at the struggling Gorilla Monobeast. It's so loud and rapid, they could all hear it even from this ground.
Those rounds rapidly hit the Gorilla Monobeast right in the chest like it's a roided-up machine gun; the noises that came with each rapid shot gave it some kind of twisted, rhythmic beat. The Gorilla Monobeast didn't even have any time to properly react at all. And with that, heavy smoke and big explosions come sparking out from the target.
It's too far up for Chiaki to see exactly what it was, but she has a sinking feeling on what it might've been. From how fast those projectiles were, she knows it isn't the same as those rockets Monokuma fired before. It's impossible for her to mistake it for anything else.
'Did that stupid bear seriously put up a twenty millimeter cannon on a Cobra?! What the hell is wrong with him?!'
It took a long while before the smoke starts clearing. But, once it started doing so, everyone can now see the sheer damage that's been done to it.
And honestly, it's…rather morbid to see.
The pieces of the now inactive Gorilla Monobeast are scattering around the ocean. Its remaining arm and leg are now fully severed from its body by the socket. There's a huge hole on its chest, with so much cracks and dents on top of it. Damaged wires and joints are also sticking out from where its limbs used to be.
And then, there's how its head is floating away from its body. Compared to the rest of its parts, everyone can see it at a much closer view.
The Gorilla Monobeast's single red eye rapidly flickers on and off for a few more seconds or so, almost like it's forcing itself to keep holding on to its light. But in the end, that light slows down until finally, it fades away to a dull, lifeless gray.
Chiaki finds herself staring back at the fallen mecha's floating head. While she doesn't exactly feel sorry for it, she still fully realizes exactly what it means.
The Gorilla Monobeast just got completely obliterated, and despite its massive size and weaponry, it couldn't even fight back properly. Not to mention, Monokuma didn't have to get anywhere near close to its range at all. At most, their distance must've been at least a mile or less; considering how far the Cobra's range could be, it's so grim to think about.
Monokuma's definitely done with that, as the Cobra's flying back to the Central Island right now. With how louder and louder its spinning blades are becoming, it's only a matter of time before that bear comes landing back in there.
Everyone quickly steps back, away from that helicopter's distance as much as they can. No one's taking any chances on either catching dust or coming into close contact with it.
The Cobra moves forward a bit more before finally landing onto the island grounds. It's a good distance away from everyone, and after seeing exactly what it did to the Gorilla Monobeast, Chiaki's sure that no one feels like getting any closer to it at all.
Monokuma jumps out from the Cobra's door. He stretches his arms and arches his back, looking a lot more blissful for someone who just destroyed a giant mecha. "Well, well, well, would you look at that. Looks like it was bear killed the beast this time around!" He remarks with a chuckle.
Chiaki doesn't feel like saying anything against him at the moment, not with how she saw him utterly destroy the Gorilla Monobeast with a Cobra. She keeps staring at him, only slightly aware of how heavy her breathing feels.
No one else wants to talk back to him either. Most of them are giving the bear the silent treatment as well, either glaring at him with anger or with fear. The only ones talking in some way right now would be people like Tsumiki, and that's only because she's crying out from fear and anxiety.
A red vein pops up from the side of Monokuma's head. "Geez, not even some cheering or even a 'thank you'? Just be glad I'm letting you kiddos access the Second Island right now!" He stomps on the ground. "Is it too much to feel grateful these days? Can't even see the good deed I'm doing for them right now." Turning his back from them, he huffs as he pops out from their sight once again.
The Cobra stays where it is, but no one's making any moves to get any closer to it. It's hard to blame any of them in that case, since they've all seen exactly what that helicopter did to a giant mecha.
"Woah, hahaha. Funny, this wasn't anything like how movies showed it." Ibuki awkwardly laughs, probably to try to keep herself calm somehow.
"You'd be surprised at how stranger, and far more terrifying, reality can be compared to fiction." Sonia murmurs, staring off at the Cobra with an unreadable expression.
Komaeda didn't look as disturbed as the others did, though. Instead, he thoughtfully rubs a finger across his, looking ahead at the bridge, the one that connects the Central Island and the Second Island. And then, without any warning at all, he goes on and walks ahead of everyone, nearly heading towards that bridge.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing, Komaeda?!" Hinata yells.
Komaeda immediately stops himself from going any further. He turns around, sheepishly smiling at him. "Ah, sorry for trying to go ahead without you. But, he did say that we can go to the Second Island right now, didn't he?"
"And how do we know that isn't a trap?" Saionji rudely interjects.
Kuzuryu scoffs. "Oh, that's rich coming from you."
"As if you're any better." Saoinji glares back at her. "You literally tried to kill us all back there!"
Kuzuryu grits her teeth while clenching her fists. "Oh shut it, you little piece of shit. You tried doing the same fucking thing too!" She bitterly laughs at the end of that.
That makes Saionji go quiet. She lowers her head, making it a lot harder to read her exact expression.
But Kuzuryu doesn't stop there. If anything, she taunts her even further. "You know, if you hadn't gone along with that dumb bitch's plan, then maybe she'd still be here with you instead of rotting away under that layer of cement like she deserves—"
In the next second, Saionji quietly rushes forward. For her small size, she's surprisingly quick and nimble. Because of that, no one is able to step in time as she jumps forward and punches Kuzuryu right at the jaw.
Kuzuryu stumbles back, managing to stop herself from falling onto the ground. Her eyes are wide with shock as she feels over her jaw for less than a second or so, before facing back against Saionji with pure hatred in her eyes. "That's it, you're fucking dead!" She roars while running towards her, aiming to punch Saionji from the top of her head.
Both girls tumble forward, landing onto the ground. This time, however, Kuzuryu has the upper hand, since she's taking advantage of her taller height. Her hands have wrapped around the shorter girl's neck, squeezing it as tightly as she can.
Though Saionji keeps choking and gasping for air, she isn't letting herself go down easily just like that. She thrashes and kicks around, and then she grabs at Kuzuryu's wrist, digging her nails deep into the skin as hard as she can.
Kuzuryu grunts, clearly feeling how much those nails are stinging her, but that only makes her tighten her hold even more.
Neither of them refuse to let go of the other, and with how brutal their fight is becoming, nearly everyone wastes no time running towards them. They all knew if they just stood by and watched, it'd only be a matter of time before they see another murder happen in front of them.
Thankfully, it didn't take long to separate the two, with Nidai and Owari holding onto Kuzuryu and Saionji, respectively. It's all to keep them from lunging back at each other, and with how they're both screaming and thrashing against them, that's exactly what they're trying to do.
"I don't care what that bear said, that little shit killed Peko too!" Kuzuryu screeches, slamming her fists on Nidai's arms as hard as she can. "It isn't fucking fair she gets to live even after that!"
Nidai didn't seem to be fazed by any of that at all. "Hey, I think that's enough now."
At the other end, Saoinji tries to push Owari's arms off herself, but couldn't make them budge even a bit. "You better let me go right now! That pigshit has to pay for it!"
"Yeah, that's exactly I'm not gonna let you go." Owari grunts, keeping a firm grip on the struggling girl. At the same time, her arms are nowhere near close to the face, probably in case if Saionji thought it'd be a good idea to bite her to escape.
Both Nidai and Owari then decide to stand at the opposite ends of the group, keeping the two girls as far from each other, at least for now. Hopefully that way, it'd keep things from escalating any further and maybe, they'll even slowly simmer down until it's safe.
As that conflict slowly dies down, Mitarai suddenly speaks up. "You know, Komaeda does bring up a good point. Monokuma did clear up the Second Island, even if it was by doing…that." He slightly shivers at the end of that.
"If we're going to explore the Second Island, then we should all do it as a single group." Sonia points out, and then she solemnly adds, "Who knows what might await us when we get there."
Hinata interjects. "And what about Kuzuryu and Saionji? No offense, but is it really, you know, safe to explore the Second Island right now like that? We all saw what almost happened back there?"
Komaeda cheerfully chuckles. "Well, as long as Owari and Nidai can keep holding onto them, then it should be no problem at all. Everyone here knows that they're both much stronger than either of those, even when combined." He then turns to him, his relaxed expression turning somewhat serious. "Are you saying that you're doubting them, Hinata?"
"What, no, of course not! It's just that…" He sighs, slowly shaking his head. "I'd rather not get complacent with this. Especially not with our current situation."
"The old man and I should be okay with this, actually. Those two aren't gonna try anythin' on our watch." Owari confidently cuts in, still holding onto the still angry, but quiet Saionji. "Besides, the sooner we get this done with, the better."
It took some more time to for them to discuss the whole thing, but in the end, nearly everyone decides to go along with exploring the Second Island.
With that decision officially done with, everyone starts moving towards Second Island's bridge, while also keeping Kuzuryu and Saionji closely monitored, of course. The majority thought it'd be better to get it done with as quickly as possible. And so, here they are, crossing the bridge that connects the Central Island and the Second Island.
Though, of course, it didn't take long before everyone starts passing by the remains of the Gorilla Monobeast. It's hard to avoid it, not with how big it is and how dangerously close it is to the bridge.
Alter Ego freezes up at the sight. Both of his hands reach up to cover his mouth. His entire body trembles as he keeps staring at the remains with a heavily horrified look.
Chiaki isn't sure what compelled her to do so, but she isn't exactly thinking much about it. All she knew is that she can't just stand by and pretend she didn't see any of that. And so, she slowly and carefully approaches behind him. "Hey, are you okay?"
Alter Ego nearly jumps back with a yelp, startled for a moment right there. He then turns around. "A-Ah, Nanami." He breathes in and out, before forcing a shaky, uneasy smile on himself. "It's nothing, really. It's just that, you know…" With a shake of his head, he trails off and then sighs at the end of that.
Chiaki solemnly nods, somehow understanding exactly where he's going with that. "Yeah, it's really horrifying, isn't it?" She leaves her exact thoughts unsaid, internally grimacing. 'If Monokuma can do this much, what else could he be capable of, if he really wanted to?'
She turns to check on the others, and from what she's seeing, most of them are just as pale and horrified upon seeing those remains. Most of them are keeping a reasonable distance while observing. Then there's some, like Tsumiki, who've gone off to stay away from it as far as possible, which is quite understandable.
A small handful of them, including Souda, Tanaka, and even Sonia seems to have gotten rather curious, even with how horrifying the whole thing was. And so, compared to the rest, they're a bit closer with the remains of the fallen Gorilla Monobeast, just slightly. Though there are some signs of hesitation and caution when they did that.
Chiaki couldn't help but be a bit curious as well, so she follows slightly behind them. From what they can all see, there's really no signs of life or even a bit of activity left in it. Not even sparks flying out from its wires. Even until now, its only eye remains grayed out.
'It really is…dead.' Chiaki thinks to herself, unknowingly getting herself in direct eye contact with it. Still, even if it can't do anything anymore, she can't shake off the uneasy feeling she's getting from it. There's something about it that just makes her feel so…small and insignificant, even, or rather, especially now that it's inactive.
"Damn, he really did a big number on that thing." Souda mutters with a shake of his head.
For a split moment, something shakes in his pocket, and then, it goes still, like it never happened. Chiaki wonders if that was real, or if she's just seeing things. Whatever it might be, it probably isn't something she should think about too much.
On the other end, Tanaka looks like he's in deep thoughts about it. From how he looks around and even paces back and forth while staring at it, it's like he's intently studying the remains. "To think that a far more sophisticated metal beast was able to simply obliterate this…mockery of a god, into oblivion. I suppose such outcome was to be expected. Its design was simply flawed and impractical from the beginning. This is exactly the reason why real battles will never employ such thing within their ranks."
Sonia's been eerily quiet for some time now. There's a haunting look in her eyes as she's staring off into space, possibly somewhere further away from where the Gorilla Monobeast's remains are laying in front of her. She hasn't moved an inch either, and the only signs of movements from her is her chest slowly but shakily rising and falling, as well as the occasional blinking.
Souda's face crinkles from concern, and he wastes no time walking to her side. "Um, Miss Sonia?"
Not a single word comes out from Sonia. Actually, she doesn't even seem to acknowledge him in any way at all and instead, she keeps staring off into that unknown distance. It's like he isn't even there beside her.
"Sonia?" Chiaki calls out, approaching her as well.
Sonia blinks, finally snapping out from whatever trance she might've been. She turns to face her and she awkwardly laughs. "Oh my, I apologize for…er, well, spacing out, as you might call it. Please excuse me for a moment." She then hurriedly walks away from there, not even letting any of them get a word in.
"Wait, Miss Sonia!" Souda desperately calls back at her, his hand outstretched as he briefly runs. He then immediately stops after Sonia isn't within their surroundings anymore. So now, he stays in place, looking so torn on whether he should continue running after her or not. After a moment or so, he then turns to her instead. "Hey, Nanami. Do you think there was something bothering her?"
Chiaki isn't sure what else she should make of that. She lowers her head, staring onto the ground as she admits, "I…I don't know either, sorry. I don't think I can help much there."
Souda palms over his beanie, and then he breathes out. "That's okay. It's okay, really." From how shaky he sounds and looks, it feels like he's trying to reassure himself just as much as he's trying to do the same for her. "But, you know, I wonder if it had something to do with what that bear did earlier."
"I guess it might be." Chiaki quietly replies.
"Damn that bear." Souda curses under his breath. "I swear, if I could, I'd make him pay for scaring her like that."
There's nothing else Chiaki can do, other than to quietly agree with a short nod.
Since there's no point in talking about it further, that topic gets quietly dropped from then on. Whatever might've been bothering Sonia, it's definitely something too sensitive to bring up, especially in front of nearly everyone. It'd be best to wait for Sonia to come out with it first, but it's also fine even if she never brings it up again. The most important thing is for it to happen on her own terms.
Still, Chiaki can't forget the haunted, distant look in Sonia's eyes from earlier, and she doesn't think she ever will. Not as long as this sick killing game continues on.
As they all continue to walk towards the Second Island, finally getting to its entrance, Chiaki turns her head around, just a little bit. She stares at the Gorilla Monobeast's remains one last time. Even from this distance, it's still so very visible. She grimaces as those scenes play over in her mind once again, getting reminded of how merciless that can be.
Not to mention, if there's one thing that Monokuma proved to them with his demonstration just now, it's that they're all at his complete mercy, and even the Monobeasts aren't exempted from that. Even though they were summoned, or maybe even created, by him, it didn't seem to matter to him at all.
And that's without putting the fact that he knows how to pilot a Cobra into consideration. In a way, they're all very lucky that he didn't decide to unleash the full force of that helicopter onto them.
Chiaki internally shudders at the thought of it.
To say that it's terrifying would be a disgustingly huge understatement.
She decides she doesn't want to look at the Gorilla Monobeast's remains any longer than she has to, so she turns herself back, joining back and catching up with the others.
A/N: Fun fact, that bit in the nightmare sequence with statue Mahiru is actually inspired by a certain scene from Monster House. And yes, it involves a body buried under cement too. Its surprisingly disturbing for a kids movie.
Also, big shoutout to my friend LooseGazpacho for giving a lot of insights about Cobra (which is the same helicopter that Monokuma used during a certain execution in the actual game). It was a really big help with the helicopter scene there. I wanted to make it feel close to the real thing as much as possible, and hopefully it came through. Though I'll still admit I'm not well-versed in aircraft in any way at all, so yeah haha.
That said, you should all check out his stuff too, especially Dangan-Pinguino. They're hella fun (and could actually give one hell of a gutpunch when you least expect it), so I highly recommend them.
