There were many things that the students expected to be greeted by when Monokuma called an early morning meeting.
All of which were horrible.
They expected to be traumatized by some horrible machination designed to torment them. They feared that they would be locked in a room with a murderous psychopath where they would have to fight to survive, gladiator style. They thought their souls would be sacrificed to some eldritch abomination of a demon.
Okay, only Hiro thought the last one.
But whatever they had expected when they stepped foot in the gymnasium…
"Now stretch those arms high into the air! Come on! Work it! One, two. One, two!"
…This certainly wasn't it.
"What am I even watching here?" asked Leon in disbelief, easily summarizing the thoughts of the others as they stared blankly at the Monokuma on stage as it performed an aerobic exercise routine. What made it even more uncomfortable though, was the bright blue leotard and sweatband combo set it was wearing. It was clear from the way it was talking that he expected them to join in, but no one with any sense of modesty was willing to follow along.
"ONE, TWO! ONE TWO!" well, except for Kiyotaka who was putting his all into following along and causing more than a few of them to stare in disbelief. The only thing that preserved what little dignity he had left in their eyes was that he was still in his normal uniform, having forgone the leotard entirely. However, they still didn't know if it was out of his own self-image, or if it was simply because he couldn't find one. It was hard to tell with him sometimes.
Regardless, it was ultimately unimportant compared to the other thing in the room. Not that far from the stage looking as stern as usual stood Byakuya with his arms crossed as he glared at the bear with unfiltered contempt. Not that far from him was Toko, looking far more agitated than normal. Though, it wasn't hard to see why, as you only had to follow her gaze to find that she was glaring at none other than their missing cohort.
"Sayaka!" Called out Makoto when he had caught sight of her, rushing past the others the second he had. If given a chance, he might have continued until he could just about wrap his arms around her. Unfortunately, that was not to be as he was stopped in his tracks when she turned her head to look at him and he caught a look at her eyes.
They were barely alive. The light that he had once seen so vividly was now a mere shadow of its former self. Her once heartwarming smile had been completely wiped from her face, leaving a blank, empty expression that chilled him to the bone even worst then any of her actions the night before. If she didn't occasionally blink, he would have thought she was dead where she sat.
"Sa-Sayaka…?" He asked as he hesitantly took a step closer, but he was practically pushed aside by Leon when the baseball star rushed over to her looking a mix between relieved and exasperated.
"There you are! Where were you? I was looking all over for you! When I didn't see you in your room this morning, I thought that…" he trailed off, his fists clenching at his sides. It was clear to anyone that cared to look at him that he was troubled by her sudden disappearance after being put in charge of her safety.
However, in his mind there was more to it than that. It wasn't just the fact that he was responsible for keeping her from trying to kill someone again, there was also the fact that he would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. Forget the fact that he would be a prime suspect as the one responsible for her, if she died now it would be his fault for not being with her when he was supposed to be there for her.
Makoto, though bit put off by the sudden interruption, was quick to recover. "Sayaka, can you tell us what happened?"
For a moment, she was silent, as if she hadn't even heard them speak. Then, her eyes slowly dragged over to them as she murmured, "…Sorry, but I didn't have any say in the matter. If you want to know, ask him."
The group followed her finger as it rose to point directly at the stage where their most hated headmaster was now doing a handstand. "Gyahahaha! Sorry for the little scare there, but I just couldn't wait to inform you all of the terrific news!"
"News…?" questioned Hina, a worried look full of suspicion decorating her face.
"Yeperoni!" Monokuma replied as it cartwheeled back upright. "Good news my friends! Your reward for surviving the trial has been unlocked. See, I know it's so hard for you kids these days to pay attention, what with your ADDs and ADFDs and all, and being stuck in the same ol' boring few rooms all the time can end up boring you all to tears; I know it does for me. So, in the interest of stimulating your brains, as of this moment, a whole new world has been opened up for you all to explore!"
While the barely vailed insult was far from unnoticed, it was ultimately ignored for the information given alongside it. "A whole new world?"
"That's right!" Monokuma answered Makoto's question with a twirl. "So be free my wondrous students! Explore, learn, and make a plan for the future. I know I will. Later!"
"Just a second." Interjected Kyoko, her expression firm as the bear stopped midleap to regard her with a questioning gaze. "I still have some questions before you go."
Monokuma stood stock still at that, still prepped and ready to leap off the stage to where ever it was it went when it wasn't bothering them. For a while, it looked like it would leave anyway. Eventually, it straightened up and looked right at the purple eyed girl. "Alright, I guess I have time for a couple of questions. But just a few. I have some…matters I must take care of. Fire away."
If she was as bothered by that cryptic statement as the others were, she didn't let it show on her face. "That's fine. I would just like to know what was going on with Junko and the new rule placed on the infirmary."
"Yeah, what gives!?" Mondo interjected instantly afterward. "Why the fuck has that been locked up now?"
"T-That's right…" Toko stutteringly followed up, pointing accusingly at the bear with a shaking finger. "U-Until the trial ended, y-you let us in and out all day. Y-Yet, when we were all g-going back to our dorms, y-you locked us out. W-Was it so that you c-could t-take her out without us interfering!?"
There was sudden panic amongst the group at the writer's remark. Was that his true plan? To get them away from the fashion model that had dared to stand against his rules so that he could take her out without their intervention? The thought was despicable, yet far from the worst thing they had seen the bear do thus far. But before they could do more than humor the idea, Byakuya's scoff cut them off.
"Don't be so dramatic." He said condescendingly, his glare running down his nose to look at Toko as if she were nothing more than a hindrance. "He clearly had no trouble with attempting to kill her in front of us to begin with, so why would he waste the effort to do it when we aren't around to witness it?"
To Toko's credit, she barely even acknowledged his tone or his words, though that was more because she was busy being lost in her own world at being noticed by the rich pretty-boy to care about anything else.
"He's got a point." Monokuma commented, smug as a cat in a tree as it glared at the dog below it. "If I really wanted her dead now, I would make sure as many people as possible got to witness the moment that the life left her eyes. If I did it where no one could see it, well, then no one would be able to learn from her mistakes. I mean after all, the best lessons in life are the ones learned through others example."
"I don't think that's what it means."
"Regardless," Monokuma purposefully ignored Hifumi's remark as in turned back to Kyoko. "There is a reason for the new rule. Think of it like a 'tit for tat' situation. See, whenever you successfully find out who the blackened is during the class trial, you will be granted unlimited access to a few new areas. However, the supplementary trials have a much more…shall we say, limited reward.
"In what way?" Questioned Celeste.
"Some of the previous areas access will be exchanged for new ones allowing you to continue on, but at the cost of some previous places being cut off. Furthermore, the infirmary wasn't supposed to be accessible till at least the second trial. The fact that it was is a grave oversight. You should be thankful I'm even allowing you to even continue accessing it at all."
"Speaking of which," Kyoko interjected, "I wanted to ask you about that. In your new rule, you stated that only the nurse has unlimited access to the infirmary. I'm assuming that it is a duty that will be posted on the job board, correct?"
"Just so." The twisted bear replied, "I've recently posted it on the board, so whomever among you wants to be waiting on the others, feel free to bring it up with me later and I'll give you the key. Just remember, just like the trash duty, nurse duty will be reset at the end of the week and I will be taking the key back then.
"And Junko?" Sakura added in, "What is her situation?"
"She's fine." Monokuma stated immediately, far too quickly for many of them. "She woke up shortly after the trial finished, so I relocated her back to her room for now. If she needs anything from you guys, I'm sure she'll holler."
Before anything else could be asked, Monokuma pulled a one-eighty spin and started waddling away. "Now then, if you don't mind, I'll be going now. If there are any concerns about the new locations, feel free to bring them up then, otherwise, I have an important matter to attend to. See you all later!" and with that, the bear disappeared behind the podium, leaving them more confused than before. For a brief moment, they were all silent as they gathered their thoughts and internalized the new rule. But more importantly, there was something that needed addressed.
"So…" Leon dragged out as he looked at the others with a look of confusion. "Anyone else notice something wrong with all of that?"
"He seemed to be acting quite peculiarly all of the sudden." Celeste commented with a deep-set look of curiosity in her features as she gazed at where Monokuma had disappeared. "If I had to say anything about it, I would say that he seemed rather flustered near the end there."
"He said something about an, "important matter", right? What do you think he meant by that?" Hiro asked as he scratched at his bandages, internally reminding himself that he needed to get them changed at some point. The other teens didn't have any ideas either, and merely glanced at each other in shared confusion and concern as if they were trying to read each other's minds through sight alone. The concern though wasn't for their tormentor's sake, not really. They could honestly care less for the fate of the mastermind by this point. But, if something has the person responsible for your continued living suddenly starts acting shifty, you know you should be at least a little concerned.
"Whatever it was, I doubt we'll be able to find out anything standing around here." Byakuya pointed out irritably, arms forever crossed as he internally groaned at having to figure out another quirk of their captor. It was bad enough that they were always going back and forth with their rules, making it feel like they wanted the teens and one adult dead while also wanting them to stay alive. Any other distraction to that mystery was just plain unwelcome at this point.
Still, if there was one thing that the rich teen could say, it was that the mastermind was at the very least, interesting. How long had it been since he had to work his mind so much to find out the innerworkings of someone of equal or at least somewhat similar standing? How long since he was forced to work around the plans and manipulations of others to come to the correct decisions? Not long enough in his own opinion, but at least this could be an interesting distraction from his mundane livelihood.
"He did mention something about more areas being unlocked, right?" question Hifumi as he nervously glanced from the stage to the doors leading back to the school. The gazes of the others followed, glimpsing back briefly to look at each other warily. So many questions now plagued their minds. What was with Monokuma all of a sudden? What areas were now open to them? Would those areas provide them the tools they needed to escape this school turned prison?
Well, whatever the case, they knew Byakuya was correct. They would never find their answers staying there. So, with eager steps they headed out the door, the two crippled members being escorted by Leon and Taka. Hopefully, there would be some good to be found.
"So, this is the second floor?"
The Ultimate luckster muttered to himself as he finished climbing the stairs, glancing around at the new environment with wondering eyes. Admittedly, there was not much to see at first glance. Straight ahead was a blue lit hallway with a pair of restrooms separated by gender, but immediately to the left was something of much more immediate interest. A set of purple colored doors with an anchor proudly displayed on the left one and bolted just overhead was a silver plate that claimed the location as simply, "POOL".
'A pool?' he wondered to himself, absolutely confused at the sign, even going so far as to rub his eyes to see if some dust hadn't gotten in them to disrupt his vision. Yet, no matter how much he rubbed, he couldn't get the sight to disappear or change in the slightest.
"Why is there a pool on the second floor?" He wondered idly, trying and failing to rationalize the existence of such a feature. Not the pool itself, with a school as prestigious as Hope's Peak Academy that boasted loving all talents, it was no challenge to imagine them accommodating for those that were more aquatic and sporty in their teachings.
Rather, it was the location of such a thing. It should go without saying, but there was a reason pools traditionally tend to be located on the first floor of a building, if not outside completely. The amount of prep work that would need to be done to hold up the several hundred gallons of water and however more weight the several other people using said pool would add, it was astonishing. They would have needed so many kinds of extremely high tier support to accommodate for the sheer number of pounds, if not tons, that would be held up however many feet high it was. Plus, the risk of the entire thing just falling through to the floor below and crushing some poor unsuspecting victim was staggering.
And that was only if this was for that one floor, if what Monokuma was implying was correct, then there were even more floors beyond this. There needed to be some seriously crazy structural integrity in place to carry it all.
Granted, this is a government-funded school after all, so it wasn't too far from the realm of possibility. Even with Monokuma around, that wasn't the most unbelievable thing he'd seen. Still though…
"No, never mind." He muttered, shaking the thought from his head. As much as he would like to focus on the bewildering structure of the school, the more pressing concern was actually exploring those areas first.
He could question the logistics of those rooms later.
Deciding that he'd spent more than enough time on that subject, he pushed past that for the moment and headed into the room. Immediately, he caught sight of three other fellow classmates examining the room, and the smell of chlorine wafting in the air. Any further investigation however was cut off when he was practically assaulted by one overexcited swimming enthusiast.
"Makoto! Guess what!? Guess what I just found!? They have a pool here! A pool! Pool, pool, pool!" Hina was practically vibrating on the spot like a Chihuahua hyped on caffeine, her eyes lighting up and full of stars as she invaded Makoto's personal space. Her excitement was flowing so powerfully, it was like she had suddenly gained an aura that radiated out of her skin and caused her to glow.
In all honesty, he would have found it adorable if she wasn't invading his personal bubble so much.
"Y-You don't have to keep repeating it, I got it." He stuttered as she continued to hover, somewhat hoping that would be enough to placate her excitement or at least get her to move back a bit.
Sadly, she only got closer, practically pressing against him as she breathed out, "And! And there's a ton of exercise equipment in the locker rooms! Sakura's going to go nuts when she finds out!"
"Yeah, your right about that." Was all he could say before she finally pulled away as suddenly as she had invaded, looking like she was ready to bolt for the body of water and say screw the rest of the investigation. The only thing holding her back seemed to be one very glaring object hanging from the ceiling.
"I-Is that a…Gatling gun?" He nervously questioned as he stared at the massive weapon mounted on a swivel and aimed between the two changing rooms of blue and pink. Whatever the reason it was up there, it was clear that it was no decoration considering the belt of bullets locked and loaded in the chamber.
"It would seem that they take the sanctity of the school rather seriously." Celeste commented as she and the others gazed up at the thing as well, though she was noticeably calmer then the others. No, if anything she was intrigued by the weapon's presence. There was a strange glint in her eyes that honestly unnerved the luckster.
But, that thought was quickly tossed to the side by yet another interruption by a certain individual saying, "Oh, we do indeed!"
The four teens jumped at the sound, turning swiftly to see their loathsome headmaster standing amongst them. Without any hesitation, they took a step back from the bear while he continued unconcerned for their shock. "We here at this academy pride ourselves for maintaining a level of standards within these walls. Any and all illicit activity in these halls are a grave violation."
"Interesting." Stated Celeste, "And what pray tell do you qualify as "illicit activity"?"
The bear guffawed at her question, even going so far as to clutch his sides in merriment. "Oh, like you need to guess miss Lolita. The hanky panky, the horizontal mambo, the doughnut banana routine? Simply put, if you decide to "get down and dirty" with someone in the locker rooms, then you would be best be prepared to receive a few dozen pounds of lead in your guts."
"Like anyone would be doing…that sort of thing in a changing room." Hina was quick to deny with a ruby blush coating her cheeks. A similar coloration burned over Makoto and Chihiro's face as well as their minds inevitably went south from the mental image. Even Celeste had a light dusting on her cheeks. For all of her ability to maintain a poker-face, she was still a healthy teenager.
"Oh?" He asked, before he bizarrely started to glow a red tint himself as thick beads of what appeared to be sweat started to pour down his head. "is our sweet little swimmer into that sort of thing? How lewd. Why, I can only imagine what the rest of your class would think if they heard that little bit of juicy info. Hughhuhuhuhu."
"Don't you dare!" she demanded in return, her once small blush now spreading like a wild fire to her neck and ears as she held up her fist in a threatening manner. "And besides that, how would you even know if someone tried?"
"Simple! Both of the locker rooms here are equipped with an electronic lock that can only be opened by your E-handbooks. It goes without saying, but only a guy's E-handbook will open the boy's lockers, and vise versa for the girl's." the bear placed his paws on his hips at that and raised his head in smug pride, "Quite the cutting edge, isn't it?"
Makoto had to admit, begrudging or otherwise, that it was rather incredible. The ability to simply tap an electronic book containing your gender profile to a pad did make the risk of any indecency much lower than the standard locks of any other locker rooms he had ever been in. Yet, it did raise one question that Hina would end up being the one to ask. "But, what if someone just holds the door open and someone else sneaks in?"
"Then I will personally confront the indecent scoundrel myself!" the bear declared menacingly, "That kind of sexual depravity is not welcome in these halls and will be punished without mercy!"
"But what happens if another student loans their handbook to someone else?" Celeste inquired. "A boy could borrow a girl's handbook, and that would get them into the girl's locker room, would it not?"
"…" Monokuma stood silent at that, his expression blank as he contemplated the gambler's question. Then, a rather disturbed laugh erupted from his mouth. "Heh, and here I thought Hina was the perverted one in this conversation, yet here you are coming up with something so low, so…devilish. It almost brings a tear to my eye."
To Celeste's credit, she barely flinched at the slight against her, choosing instead to glare at the bear for his remark. "It was merely an observation, there is no need to be so crass."
"Yeah, yeah. You say tomato, I say "Shut the fluff up"." With the gambler's glare deepening all the more, Monokuma continued. "Anyway, to be honest, if you're willing to risk losing your only key to most of the school, then that's entirely your decision. After all, if anything happens to someone, it would be pretty incriminating if your handbook was found at the scene of the crime, now wouldn't it?"
"Yes, that would be quite the inconvenience." Celeste had to admit, and Makoto fully agreed. As much as he had faith in the others, even he couldn't deny that there was a huge risk that someone could be framed for murder should they loan their handbook out at the wrong time or to the wrong person.
"But ya' know, you seem to be awfully concerned with all of this 'locker security' stuff." Hina mentioned with a raised brow. Though, she had a good reason for wondering. It was rather strange that whoever was controlling Monokuma was so immoral that they would tell them all to kill each other, yet they were surprisingly uptight when it came to things like carnal actions in the school. There was a strange dissonance with that.
Could it be that the mastermind found the very idea uncomfortable and wanted to limit them to spare themselves, or was there a more significant reasoning for it? Whatever the case was, Monokuma did share one thing. "Hehehe. Not really. Personally, I could care less about what you get up too. Unfortunately, you teenagers are such sex-crazed maniacs by nature that you'd try humping a plastic bottle! So, to keep anything unseemly from happening, I have to maintain a constant watch."
That description certainly wasn't the most flattering image to imagine, lest of all considering that there possibly were such people out there.
"Then in that case, I would ask that you keep the same close eye on our dorms." Celeste requested, a hand absentmindedly rising up to fiddle with a lock of her hair. "If some man and women were to share a room, there would be nothing to stop them."
While she had made a good point, Makoto couldn't help but flinch at the remark. After all, the first time there had been an attack in the school was because he himself had let Sayaka into his room. In a way, if he hadn't agreed to the switching of their rooms for the night and instead stayed to help comfort her in her time of need, the whole night might have turned out quite differently. It didn't matter that the outcome had come from the pop-idol's belief in the mastermind's video and words, he still felt partially at fault for letting it happen, for not realizing her plan to frame him.
"I only care about protecting the holy image of the school itself!" Monokuma retorted, his paw waving in clear dismissal to her claim. "I couldn't care less about what you do in your private dorms. By force or by cunning, so whatever you want."
"I hate you so much." Was all Hina had to say on the matter.
"But, um…" Chihiro started to say, but cut herself off with, "N-No, never mind."
Unfortunately, for as quite as she was, Monokuma still heard her. "Hmm? What is it?"
"Um…well it's just…if you're so concerned with us loaning our handbooks out, why not just make a rule telling us not to?" the other three's eyes widened in realization at the programmer's line of reasoning. It did make no sense that he was so uptight about them possibly preforming acts of debauchery without making a rule against something he found depraved.
Sadly, he had an answer against that as well. "Well, I was going to make it a rule that loaning your handbook was prohibited, but I figure I've implemented enough rules against you guys so far that if I did add another rule I would have to make it more substantial. So, think of it more as a healthy suggestion then a rule. There's also the fact that, we've already had one incident where someone forgot a rule and nearly got executed. Not really much reason to scare you with a new regulation when you already have a fear of the consequences of defying the others. Besides, if I keep pouring on more and more rules, then you'll never have an opportunity to become the blackened."
That one word at the end caused a collective shiver to run down their spines. Of course, he would care more about one of them murdering one another over common decency. After all they'd seen of him, the twisted bear still stood as a testament of everything wrong with the world. And as if he heard their thoughts, he decided to make himself even worst in their eyes.
"Although, if you were dumb enough to go against my strongly worded suggestion, then I would have no choice but to show the entire world your shame as your punishment. So, think about that before you go getting frisky in the lockers. See ya later!" and with that rather horrifying thought left in their minds, the bear was gone again.
After waiting for a moment to make sure he wasn't coming back to further torment them, Hina let loose a massive sigh as she slumped over. "Maaaan, that damn bear really killed my good mood. Maybe I'll go take a dip to cheer myself up. Hey Celeste, Chihiro, you wanna come with me?"
"There is nothing I hate more then to get water on my face." Celeste was quick to shoot down the invitation as she started to walk away. "In any case, I have seen all that I need to here. I will be taking my leave now. Good day."
"Sorry…I'll pass, thank you." Chihiro also denied, before flinching back when Hina suddenly got up in her face.
"Wha- oh come on! There's nothing like a good swim to get you out of a funk." The swimmer stated, firm belief backing her every word. There wasn't a single shred of doubt in her mind even once that swimming was the best way to calm the nerves.
Sadly, the meeker girl was not swayed by her conviction. "I-I'm sorry. I just don't like wearing swimsuits…I'm not even brave enough to go into the locker room."
That was something the other two didn't expect. "Huh? You don't even want to go in to the locker room?"
"No, it's not that," Chihiro quickly denied Makoto's misconception. "I mean, I'd like to try out some of the exercise equipment in there if I can find someone to help me but…"
It was suddenly clear to the luckster that he really didn't know that much about the young Fujisaki as he thought he did. It had never even occurred to him that the mousy programmer might not like her diminutive body size and have a desire to change it. And there was also that strange fear she seemed to have of the locker room. Was it because of some kind of past trauma in the past, or was it because of that Gatling gun hanging above their heads?
As he pondered, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering up to the weapon in question. It wasn't that surprising if that was the case. Most people would be concerned about a ton in live ammunition being aimed in their general direction. But, then why didn't she just say the gun scared her too much instead of the locker room?
Whatever the case, she was cut off once more by the now cheerily smiling swimmer placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "D'aww, you can join me and Sakura when we go. We'd love to help you!"
For a brief moment, it seemed that Chihiro was about to accept the excitable girl's offer, but then a look that Makoto could only describe as absolute horror flashed across her face and she dashed off with a hurried apology tossed over her shoulder, leaving the stunned swimmer and confused luckster behind.
"She didn't have to run away." Was all Hina was able to say as the door shut behind the retreating programmer. All Makoto could say in response was a bemused, "Maybe she thought you both would crush her."
Whether she heard him or not, Hina didn't respond to the jib, choosing instead to adopt a thinking pose. "But y'know, it's strange. Have you noticed that she seems all standoffish with the girls, yet when she's with the guys she turns on the charm?"
At first, Mokoto didn't see what she meant, but when he thought about it, that did seem to be the case in some moments. Barring the times when Byakuya or Mondo were around, Chihiro did seem to be a lot more comfortable when she was talking to one of the guys. Hell, barring himself, she was the only one here that was not only able, but was willing to converse with Hifumi on the regular without being prompted beyond a glance. It was rather strange that the same couldn't be said for the rest of the girls as Chihiro would get rather flustered and quick to retreat whenever she was left with the girls for longer than a few minutes, less if they touched her like Hina had done.
Of course, there could be a good reason for that. Makoto wondered if maybe she just had confidence issues when talking with girls from some kind of event in her past. Maybe she was picked on by some girls in her old school and she grew more comfortable with guys instead as a result. Or maybe…
"Is it just that she likes it when men fawn over her!?" Hina interrupted his thoughts quite loudly. "I bet Chihiro's actually a seductress!"
For a moment, Makoto's mind pondered over that idea, the image of his classmate Fujisaki, seductively pulling on the edge of her collar with is soft little giggle. Her breath coming out in soft pants in anticipation for the things they would be doing together. Her eyes shimmering with mischief as she gazed into his eyes, lost in the attention he was pouring on her as she did everything in her power to keep his gaze on her visage. It was a look that truly…
"…Yeah, that doesn't match my image of her at all." Makoto said in a deadpan. Chihiro, shy little Chihiro, acting like that? Even in his own imagination that was far too out there for him. Honestly, he sooner saw antisocial Toko acting like that then the meek programmer.
With that thought now in his mind, he decided that in would be best to follow the others lead and continue to explore the new floor some more so that when they met up again for the meeting he could give a more detailed report for those that missed out. So, with a parting word to the pouting swimmer, Makoto wandered out of the pool room and headed for his next destination, determination in his heart that they would find something worthwhile in this new world that had been opened for them.
"So, you're one hundred percent sure on this?"
Normally, I don't like to question people on something they had assured me about. If I felt concerned about something, I ask about what that something was and trusted that they knew what they were talking about. Until now, I have never had reason to believe otherwise when I was told that everything would be fine when it came to medical professionals.
That is why I felt justified in my concern considering that the trained and licensed professional I was currently speaking to had hair cut choppily, glowing red eyes, and was wearing a nurse outfit that was splattered with a disturbing amount of blood!
But that was only the tip of the iceberg. If it weren't for the fact that I needed her help, I wouldn't be currently talking to one of the biggest supporters in Junko's despair army. The second I had called her up, I knew that she would be difficult to handle. I knew that, and was prepared to listen to a rant of some sort about despair and how great I was and other such nonsense.
Sadly, Mikan took those expectations of mine and did to them what the Ultimate Musician tends to do to amps.
Cranked it up to eleven.
I'll spare you the gritty details of her practically worshiping me, but suffice to say, I was more than glad that her training surpassed her lust and that she was more then up to the task I needed of her.
"Y-Yes, without any doubt," she stated with a bit of a stutter, but the ruby red blush on her cheeks was more than a bit concerning. "A-After a preliminary diagnostic, I was able to identify his disease. I can say without any hesitation that it's treatable, t-though not without some major side effects or risks. I-It's possible that he'll be able to-to recover most of his muscles and dexterity in a few years."
I refused to let out a sigh of relief at the news. I absolutely refused to get my hopes up just yet. "And the risks and side effects are…?"
"W-Well, the risks of his body rejecting the medicine and possibly dying are quite high. With how much his immune system has strained itself to keep him alive thus far, he's already incredibly lucky to have managed to last this long. He's already surpassed his previous life expectancy by a full year. If we go through with the operation, w-we might overwhelm what's left."
I wanted to cry. If I wasn't sure that she would react very badly to it, I would probably do that very thing. Instead, I merely put my hand to my chin and closed my eyes while doing my best not to scream.
I had been hoping that she would be able to do more than this, that she would be able to whip up some kind of miracle cure for that terminal illness like they tend to do in all anime. Don't mock, for as little as I believe in miracles, Mikan is still the ultimate nurse. If anyone could figure out a way to save someone from an unspecified terminal illness, it would be either her or whoever got the title of "Ultimate Doctor"; and I never heard of them here so I'm just gonna stick to the crazy that I knew.
And to her credit, she was able to supposedly figure out what exact obscure virus had caused him to be bed ridden; even though she refused to tell me exactly what the name of it was. I don't know why, and while I was a bit concerned, I had more important things to deal with and little time to prep, so I regrettably had to leave it.
Just as I was about to speak, Mikan interrupted. "I'm sorry. I-I'm so sorry! Pease don't hate me! I'll do anything, j-just please…"
I felt a bit sad for her as she panicked, apparently misinterpreting my thinking pose for some kind of disappointment in her. Sadly, even when drowning in despair, it seems that her immense fear of being hated stood strong.
Or maybe that's a good thing. That means there is something that can be saved.
"No, it's okay," I tried to reassure her, throwing a wide grin on my face to help sell it home. "If you say it can be done, then damn the risks. I trust you to get him up and going again."
"…" Okay, on the plus side, that got her to calm down. Problem, it was a little bit…too calm, if you catch my drift. It was ringing all kinds of alarms in my head.
"…You trust me…?" She questioned, her voice far too calm for her. "…Yes, that's right. My beloved always forgives me…Always. How silly of me to forget that…"
I barely suppressed the violent shudder that rushed down my spine. It wasn't easy because it was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water on me. There was something inherently wrong with that look in her eyes, and her tone even more so. There was just this dark undertone of malicious intent to it, like a threat that if she doesn't hear what she wanted, there would be dire consequences. It was so unnerving because that wasn't the kind of person she was.
Mikan, while clumsy and extremely shy, was a kind soul who looked out for everyone with an open heart and unwavering care. While she did have self-confidence issues that were such in the highest extremes that I wondered how she managed to leave the house without having an existential breakdown, and was constantly worrying about bothering, boring, or offending others, to the point that she feels the need to ask if it was okay if she does something as simple as remembering a person's name, she would put that all aside to help people when there were down or hurt.
This Mikan though, was absolutely unstable. A member of Ultimate Despair who uses her medical knowledge to keep people alive while out right torturing them with various shots and abrasions. Where the normal one would contemplate the idea of making someone she loved an invalid so that they would stay with her forever, this twisted nurse would act on it with a gusto, uncaring about who she hurts in the process.
Suddenly, I'm glad to be locked in this heavily fortified school.
Regardless, I decided that it would be in my best interest to get her calm. So, I repressed the desire to hurl and put on the most loving grin in my arsenal. "Of course I'll forgive you, sweetie. You haven't done anything wrong. You know that. Just do your best. I'm counting on you…Love you!"
I blatantly ignored the perverse giggling that she gave and the heavy shudder that racked her body and cut the connection. Once the screen returned to the standard control for the Monokuma bots, I stopped repressing my shivers.
Well, I say 'shivers' but what it might look like to an outside viewer would be more along the lines of, 'had an ant farm dumped on my back'. It was that violent. I never felt so much revulsion at once before in my life from just the look on someone's face before. It was like she had stripped me down with her eyes and laid all of the worst parts of my soul bare. Was this what Junko had to deal with on the regular? If so, then I might end up feeling glad for the worlds end, it was just that unpleasant.
"Ugh…" trying to get my mind away from the mental trauma, I got out of the chair to look at the camera's in the viewing center to see where the others were in their search. Most of them were where I expected them to be by now as they were in the library, having now found both the letter that would tell them about the schools closing from a year ago, the unresponsive laptop full of the answers they needed, and a small storage room filled with all kinds of confidential national secrets, copies of unreleased police reports, and other illuminati things that could get someone killed if they read them out loud.
Of course, the last one wasn't going to be a concern at the moment. A cheeky grin crossed my face as I watched Byakuya attempt to open the door and fail miserably, the lock still in place. Shows him right for not taking me seriously.
As I had told them, they don't get as much new things opened for the supplementary trial system, and I decided that this would be as good a time to follow through with that promise. I had considered leaving either the library as a whole, the baths section, or even the pool closed off, but I ended up deciding to lock away that door for now instead.
Best part? That would also help out my "friend" Genocide Jack keep herself hidden for just a bit longer.
Yes, I am well aware of how bad that sounds.
Sadly, as much as I am aware of how beneficial she is to me and the group as a whole, but the longer she went unknown, the higher the chances of keeping her from screwing herself over with her murderous tendencies. Plus, it would give the others more time to get accustomed to the normal Toko more before their minds get blown away by her other half's reveal.
Taking my mind back to focus on the cameras, I decided to tune in on what the only people I did not quite know what they were doing during this investigation.
Sayaka and Leon.
Since they had survived being killed and executed respectively, I now had the pleasure of being able to see how things were going to change with their inclusion. I expected there to be something significant at least.
Unfortunately, it seemed that with Sayaka being under the equivalent of house arrest, and Leon being her guide who could only bring her to the dining hall and her room, that seriously reduced the places they could help with. It didn't help that the pop idol seemed to be under a cloud of misery, and was barely responsive to the all-star's attempts to get her to eat some of the flapjacks that I'd left in the kitchen. Yeah, you would think they would have stopped to question the suspicious fact that there was a massive pile of the things when no one had been in the kitchen at the time. Yet nope, not a word about it.
Not even Mondo stopped to question it that morning, and he was one of the first people in there.
Fortunate shined in one other way though, and I'm certain that it caused my eyes to twinkle with intrigue.
Makoto had entered the scene.
"You sure you don't want anything else?"
Sayaka internally sighed at the question as she turned to give another polite smile to Leon who was holding a plate of reheated pancakes in one hand and a fork in the other as he looked at her with concern. It had been a question that he had been asking her several times thus far, and while it was a bit endearing, it was starting to really get on her nerves. Yet, despite this irritation she felt, she wasn't looking forward to risking her continued time under his watchful eye becoming anymore unpleasant then it already was, so she took a breath and gave him her calm reply.
"I'm fine, thank you." There was still a look of uncertainty in his eyes though, so she tacked on a bit of a rebuttal. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. If I need anything, I'll make sure to tell you. Alright?"
Leon was clearly not convinced, she could tell as much without even looking at him, yet he finally got the hint and moved the stack of cakes away from her. "Alright, if you say so. Just don't forget that I'm here if you need anything."
She smiled her practiced stage smile as he sat down at the table, not to far that he couldn't help her if she needed him, but enough so that she could have her space. She was thankful for that, it meant that she could think without any more interruptions.
A while after the students had listened to Monokuma's little announcement, everyone had gone their separate ways. Taka had gone back to the first floor to see what new areas had opened up while most of the others had gone to check out the second floor. Hiro and herself, seeing as they were still wheelchair bound, had stayed on the first floor as well, and the clairvoyant ended up being drafted by the moral compass into reluctantly helping in his search.
Unfortunately, she was still under punishment and neither she nor Leon had eaten that morning, so the all-star had decided to take her to the dining hall for a quick bite. Sadly, with the way her stomach had been turning over the past several hours, she wasn't able to handle more than a few bites of her breakfast before becoming queasy; though she was unsure if it was because she was still recovering or just because of the guilt. Which was a shame she had to admit as she looked at the mostly intact pancake sitting in front of her coated in a bit of butter and syrup, these had been some of the best tasting buttermilk pancakes she'd eaten in years.
Granted, with her career she wasn't able to partake in these kinds of luxuries often, far too many sugars and calories to be a consistent meal. But these were still some of best she'd had.
In some small part of her mind, she knew she shouldn't be focusing so much on her unfinished meal, but it kept her from focusing on her guilt and the situation for the moment. She had to focus on other matters, lest the guilt of her actions drag her down.
She gave a minute shake of her head to clear her head. No time to think on that, there were more important things to think about. For a moment, she thought back to something she had been wondering about, something that had been bothering her for a while.
"Um, Leon. I…" She started, but was cut off in the one way she didn't want. Leon looked to the entrance and said something that made what little she'd managed to eat feel like a rock in her gut.
"Yo Makoto, what's up?" Her eyes widened as the luckster in question walked in, his eyes wandering from Leon's to her own where they widened. He breathed her name, and she felt no small amount of trepidation when he started walking towards her.
Instantly, her mind went to dark places that she had been trying to avoid since the night before. She could see it now, the luckster yelling at her for betraying him. Accusing her of using him since the beginning, that their friendship had meant nothing to her. She could just here him accuse her of having been a lousy assistant, that she had just been leading him on the whole time, that she was nothing more than a two-timing backstabbing…
"Sayaka? Are you okay?"
Just like that, she was taken from her depressing thoughts to reality where she saw that Makoto had moved much, much closer to her. So much so that he had placed one of his hands on her shoulders without her knowledge, and was now reaching with her other hand towards her face. Was he going to slap her? Grab her head and shake it like a maraca to the beat of some song in his head? Was he going to claw at her skin, tearing the flesh and leaving a gruesome scar behind to serve as a reminder of her weakness? Was he…?
Her thoughts derailed when his thumb gently pressed just under her eye and lightly swiped to the side. Then, as if he were reading her mind, he answered her unspoken question. "You're crying."
Almost unconsciously, she reached up to confirm the luckster's claim, and when she pulled her hand back she was stunned to find that her cheeks were moist and that her eyes had started to sting slightly. She had just been so focused on her own depressing thoughts that it had gone unnoticed until now. Yet, now that she was aware of it, it seemed the floodgates had been knocked wide open as her vision started to blur as more liquid trickled down from her eyes.
"Makoto…I…I-I'm so sorry." She sobbed at last, her walls that she had spent all night building up and her numerous scenarios that she had been planning for came crumbling down with that small act of concern. She had spent so long just trying to build up the nerve to speak with him, to explain what had been going through her mind when she had betrayed his trust and why she had given in, and it had all come crumbling down the moment he had expressed even the slightest concern. She felt so pathetic, unworthy of his kindness.
"I…It's alright Sayaka." Makoto said as he pulled back slightly as she buried her face in her hands, his concern overwriting any feeling of mistrust or trepidation he might have felt. It was so hard for him to stay mad at her.
However, she was adamant shaking her head as she continued to cry. "N-No it's not. What I did was u-unforgiveable, inhumane. I should have never even thought of that stupid plan. I was just so lost in what I was about to lose that I didn't even stop to think about what I would give up to get it back. I tried to frame you, I t-tried to kill Leon and pin in on you. I treated your friendship like something that could be given away, instead of something that should be treasured. I'm s-sorry."
Her sins had been laid bare to him and she continued to cry. There was no chance that he would forgive her, she acknowledged that, she excepted that, but that didn't stop her from hoping that he would at the very least find it in his heart to talk to her again and possibly give her a chance to redeem herself if even a little bit.
Unbeknownst to her, her would-be victim hadn't quite left yet, so lost in her own world that she had completely forgotten about Leon still being in the room. The baseball player could only awkwardly rub at the back of his head in the background as she broke down. He wasn't quite sure how to feel about all of this.
On the one hand, a small part of him felt a bit of vindication at seeing her so remorseful. She had tried to kill him after all, it would have been bazar if he didn't feel that much, but right now it was lessened by the sight in front of him right now. It was clear that she was feeling as destroyed emotionally as she was the night she'd made her attempt on his life. On the other hand, did he want to forgive her just because she was feeling apologetic to Makoto?
While it did sound like she meant for both of the two boys she'd slighted in her attempts to leave this school, it could just as likely be that she was only talking to the luckster for getting him involved. It could very well be that she wasn't even sorry for trying to murder him in cold blood and just wanted some kind of validation for her action. That thought caused a scowl to form on his face. Well if that was what she was wanting, then he would stop her with a few choice words of his own.
But before he could say anything, Makoto finally gave her his two cents on the matter. "I…I've been thinking for a while now, since…you know, the trial. And, I was really upset be everything that happened. I still am kinda. I realized that there likely wasn't anything I could have said that would have stopped you, not without some other…worst situation happening. I can't say that I can ignore what happened and pretend everything is alright."
She pressed her head deeper into her hands, trying to suppress the sob that was welling in the back of her throat. This was it then. He didn't except her apology, and was going to sever all ties with her. He was going to break off and never look at her again. She didn't blame him though, she would have done the same if she was in his place. The only solace she felt was that he was going to tell her to her face instead of leading her on.
"But despite everything that has happened, I can't say that I condemn you for it." He continued softly. "This…This whole messed up situation only happened because of Monokuma and the Mastermind. They were the one who pushed you into a corner and made you so desperate to get out in the first place. I…I can't ignore what you did, but I also can't forget the fact that you didn't feel like you had a choice. And…beyond that, I can't forget that we are friends."
Her head slowly rose up from her hands to stare at the boy in front of her, caught off guard and full of disbelief. Was he actually saying…? "So, I'm going to continue believing in you, even after all of this. I'm going to continue to work hard so that we can all get out of here. I'm not going to give up, not on you, or anyone else."
Sayaka stared at him in shock, completely thrown off by his admission. He still trusted her, after everything she'd done so far? He…forgave her for what she'd done? Slowly, tears began to build back up in her reddened eyes and began to spill over. With a mighty lunge, she pushed herself from her chair and latched onto the startled boy as he let out a yelp. She started to cry anew, her face buried in his shoulder as she let lose all of the pent-up sorrow, guilt and frustration along with as onslaught of stuttered "thank you"s.
Instantly, Makoto's kindly nature took hold and he embraced her in turn, his hand that wasn't supporting her going to her back and rubbing small circles in her back to calm her down. This was all he could do for her right now, but in the moment, it was all that she needed. Whatever hesitation he had remaining for accepting her apology was swept away and left him feeling like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he had a feeling that she felt much the same way. If they were to get through this, then they needed to do it together, not against each other. Otherwise, it would be the same as giving in to the mastermind of this killing game.
In that moment, Sayaka learned a new lesson, one she had thought she'd known all this time, but instead had backwards from the beginning. Friendships, bonds, companionship. They were irreplaceable, and nothing should be above them. Not even her career. She had thought she had known this feeling with her band with their friendly rivalries and passive-aggressive jibs at each other and the like, but it was clear to her in this moment that it had been something else entirely, and even if she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly it was by name what she had shared with them, she knew it was nothing like the friendship she had with Makoto. In her mind, she swore that no matter what, she would never put her friends below anything again, and would do whatever she could to prove her loyalty.
But first, she had another friend to apologize to.
Pulling away from Makoto ever so slightly, she gestured with her head back to her chair. "Makoto, could you…?"
It took him a moment to realize what she needed from him, but after a second he moved to help her back into her chair. It took a bit of maneuvering to avoid agitating her side, but in practically no time she was back in her seat. Thanking Makoto, she turned to a stern-faced Leon. For a second, she hesitated. Then it all started to tumble.
"Leon…" She started to say, but was cut off when he raised his hand.
"Don't…Don't start. I know what you're gonna say, and I don't want to hear it." Leon's words were spoken calmly, there wasn't even a hint of anger in his voice, yet it still felt like a punch in the gut to Sayaka. "I've had even more time to think about all of this then Makoto, but I can't say that I can forgive you so easily. You tried to kill me, girl. That's not something I can just sweep under the rug and pretend it didn't happen. I'm gonna need a lot of time to think about all of this."
She didn't feel surprised, it wasn't unexpected. She knew it would be quite a stretch to think that Leon would be as willing to forgive as Makoto had been. No, the fact that the luckster would forgive her had been a stretch, thinking Leon would do the same was like asking him to send a ball into orbit with just his bat. He could try all he wanted, but there was no chance he would succeed.
"But…" the all-star continued, "I'm still responsible for watching over you. That means I'm gonna have to spend a lot of time with you anyway. So, you'll have plenty of time to convince me to forgive you."
Huston, we have reached orbit.
Sayaka and Makoto stared at the all-star in shock, his sudden grin and turn around in opinion having caught them both off guard. Makoto was the one to fill the silence. "So, you'll give her a chance?"
"Hey now, don't look at this the wrong way." Leon interjected. "I'm still really pissed off by what she did. Hell, I'm probably gonna have nightmares of that night for a few years at least. But hey, I figure if I can handle risking my life to save hers, I can handle a few bad dreams. All I really want right now is a promise that, once we get out of here Sayaka, you're paying my psychiatry bill."
For a brief instant, the other two were silent as the heard Leon's demands. Then, as if the dam had burst, the two teens found themselves chuckling. Then it devolved into outright laughing when he joined in. They had been so worried there for a moment that he wouldn't even try to see her side in this and cling to his hatred, that he had only taken responsibility for her just to torment her. Makoto felt especially foolish since he had been there and had seen Leon's expression and heard his speech. He knew the baseball pro had helped insure Sayaka's survival in the final trial and saved her life the night before even after she tried to stab him, so it wouldn't make sense that he would suddenly have a change of heart now after all of that.
For Sayaka, it was even more of a relief. Like the guilt that had been plaguing her had lessened from an all-consuming force to a more manageable beast. It hadn't faded completely, she doubted it ever would, but for now she could be content with what she could. A small smile stayed on her face as their laughter faded, and she realized that she hadn't given him an answer.
"It's psychotherapy, but sure Leon, I don't think that'll be a problem." He sighed in response, and if it wasn't for the massive grin on his face, she might have taken him seriously.
"Great, because I can't get any attention from the ladies if they heard I had some kind of stupid phobia of pretty ladies, now could I?" as if to emphasize this, he gave the Sayaka an overexaggerated wink that caused her to roll her eyes in amusement. That only seemed to make Makoto chuckle again and smile.
It was strange, after all that had happened, he had been worried that they would never recover from the horrible encounter. Yet, here they were laughing and carrying on like it had never happened. Maybe it was the environment, but in that moment, it felt like they were old friends getting back together after a rough patch, their bonds tested and strained, but becoming even stronger than ever from overcoming their hardships. It didn't even matter that they were still in this school, held hostage by a deranged maniac, in this moment they were content in each other's presence.
So, naturally it didn't take long before someone interrupted their moment with a loud bang of the doors being thrown open.
"Greetings classmates!" came the loud cry of Taka as he pushed a very disgruntled Yasuhiro through the door, but the pitiable look on the seer's face made their team up seem more hilarious then anything. "It's good to see such happy faces! Tell me, what were you talking about?"
The three exchanged a brief look, but after a small smile worked its way onto their faces, Makoto replied, "Nothing much. Just clearing the air between us."
The Moral said something in response, something about teamwork and what good this will be for them in the future, but it was mostly ignored by the others as the three teens of luck, baseball, and idol fame mentally pondered over what will happen next while the clairvoyant looked at them with confusion.
Yes, their trust in each other had taken a big hit, and they all knew that the scars of their actions could cause moments of hesitation to help each other in the future and they might backpedal into distrusting each other from time to time, but they had made a solid step into the right direction and with any luck, they would be able overcome anything that would come their way in the future.
It was only a matter of time.
"I would like to call this meeting to a start!"
The fourteen students barely even flinched at the loud voice of Kiyotaka as he stood up from his chair, though they did give him their undivided attention as they turned away from their thoughts to regard him. It had been only a few minutes since all of the others had finished their investigations, and as they had all agreed, they had all returned to give their own reports as to what they had all found. Though there had been a few stragglers, it hadn't taken them too long to catch up.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen! How did it go? Did anyone discover anything interesting new anything?" Taka continued when he wasn't given a response, though he was unlikely to have refused to carry on if anyone had given him one. Though a few of the students did raise an eyebrow at his choice of wording at the end, that didn't stop them from reporting their findings.
"Well, there's a library." Hifumi reported excitedly, purposefully ignoring the silently fuming Toko glaring at his back. The two of them had gotten into a heated debate over the validation of their craft shortly after the otaku had learn that there wasn't any form of the works he liked among the shelves, with her outright insulting the culture and artistry of Manga and fanfiction while he didn't believe her own works as anything much worthwhile either. That debate had held them up for quite a while, to the point that they actually had to be separated by Sakura and escorted downstairs to keep them from falling back into it. In the end, the only bit of satisfaction Hifumi got out of the whole thing was that he at the very least got the last word in before they were dragged away; something Toko was quite steamed about.
Of course, that hadn't been the only thing found there. Along with a rather old yet obviously powerful laptop that wouldn't turn on, likely from a lack of power from sitting there too long judging from the amount of dust everywhere, there had been a very interesting letter that had held a very important piece of information. According to the letter that was addressed from the school's Executive Office, Hope's Peak had been shut down, and though they didn't know for how long, it clearly had to have been far longer than they knew of since Kyoko guessed the dust on the envelope to have been at least a year's worth.
Even now, the idea made no sense to them, as they all remembered quite well that the school they had walked up on sure as hell didn't look shut down when they first arrived. There had also been mentions of some kind of serious issue that had forced the school to make this decision, but no one had any memory of anything that it could have been. While this did answer some questions, like why they had been the only ones here, it did nothing to tell them of the mastermind's identity or goal in this, nor how they were even able to go about organizing this whole afair.
"There's also a pool. A freaking pool!" Hina excitedly stated, practically vibrating in her seat as she fought the desire to rush back up the stairs to continue her swim that she'd cut short for the meeting. "And! And there's a whole bunch of exercise equipment in the locker rooms. There was even this big truck tire in the girl's side with a sledgehammer and rope next to it for some reason."
No one noticed the slight blush that rose on Sakura's face at that, as she was the reason for those items existence. Her exercise regimen required rather unorthodox tools to keep every asset of her body as strong as possible, but it was the necessity of something as mundane as a tire and a hammer that she needed more for exercising her core muscles. At first, she hadn't felt the need that much, she knew plenty of core exercises that would help her maintain her fitness level, but it was not quite the same. When Makoto had reported the school store and the rules regarding it, she had been skeptical that the bear would even offer the tools she needed. But as time passed she found herself asking the bear anyway.
It cost her several hundred coins and at least a dozen or so hours of feelings of shame, but she had been able to earn her equipment the day before the first motive. She had been told it would be delivered after a few days, but the events of the past two had caused her to forget all about the whole thing, and it was only her feelings of shame that prevented her from reporting it for what it was. Instead, she merely stated, "But there was not, however, anything resembling way out."
"Yeah…She's right" Makoto confirmed with slightly slumped shoulders, a move mirrored by several others.
"Well hey, there's no reason to get all sulky!" Taka interjected, no longer willing to wait to report what he had found. "Hiro and I have made a remarkable discovery! The warehouse and the bathhouse on the first floor have been opened! And the warehouse is chock full of all kinds of food, clothes, whatever you want. There's so much that it's insane. So, feel free to stuff yourself to the gills!"
"Yeah, only problem with it is that it's only open during daytime." Hiro complained as he clutched at his head, having to deal with Taka's boisterous voice all day had not been good for his headache. "There's a sign on the warehouse door that says that. Least the baths are open twenty-two hours a day."
"Twenty-two?" questioned Celeste, to which Taka interjected. "I'm afraid so. Apparently, from four a.m. to six a.m. our captor has it reserved for cleaning should no one volunteer to clean it that day. A minor price to pay in the grand scheme of things."
"Well, that shouldn't be a problem anyway as long as we all keep in mind that going out at night is prohibited." Celeste pointed out sternly, "Please do not forget."
"Yeah, that's great and all, but what about a fuckin' way out of here? Find anything like that?" Mondo questioned Taka, though it was clearly also meant for anyone to answer.
Regardless, it still took the wind out of the hall monitor's sails. "U-Umm…Unfortunately no, not that I saw."
That caused the Biker to growl in frustration as he briefly palmed his face, "You fuckin' people. Who gives a shit if we've got a goddamn pool now? Or a warehouse or whatever! We're still trapped in this damn school! We need to find a way OUT!"
He emphasized this by slamming his fist on the table, the loud noise startling many of the others into scooching away. Celeste, one of the few not noticeably bothered by the sudden act of violence committed against the poor table, spoke up in a chiding voice. "Now, now. There is no point in taking your anger out on us or that poor piece of furniture. Adaptation is the key here, yes? For now, we must find a way to enjoy our current situation."
Mondo scoffed off to the side, but didn't raise any objections, merely muttering, "Whatever you say, you fuckin' loon."
There was a slight twitch in her left eye and her smile became just a little more forced, but the gambler said nothing else. With that matter settled, Taka took back control over the conversation though he still looked a bit down. "W-Well, for now, let's continue our investigations."
"So, are we done for today?" Kyoko asked. For a moment, it looked like he would agree and let them all go to do their own thing, but he was cut off when Leon cut in with something.
"Wait a minute, guys. We're all forgetting something. Something we never checked up on." He said, but it didn't look like anyone was picking up on what he meant, or if they were they weren't saying anything, so he explained. "What about Junko?"
The sudden realization that came to their eyes made those of them that figured out what he had been talking about want to deadpan at the others for being so forgetful. Really, she had been out of commission all day and they had already forgotten about her? Even with the new realizations, it should not be that easy to forget about someone. But before they could comment or someone could say anything in edgewise, a voice they did not expect could be heard from the open doors of the dining hall.
"What about Junko?" instantly, all eyes snapped over to the door where they then widened at the sight of the person standing there. Well, standing was a lose term as they were leaning heavily on an aluminum crutch while their right leg was, for all intent and purpose, dragged behind them. Their face was completely red, and had a thin gloss of sweat coating it and matting down their bangs and one of their eyes was closed tightly, both to prevent the salty liquid from getting in and from the clear strain of keeping upright. There was a slight bit of steam coming out of their mouth as she huffed and puffed like she had been running a marathon and even that felt like an understatement. There was also a concerning amount of blood on the thick wrappings on her right leg, but there were not any trails dripping to the floor thankfully. But even with all of this, there was no mistaking just who this was.
Junko Enoshima.
Hello, everyone. It's been a while, hasn't it?
Sorry about the long wait for this one, I was stuck in a bit of a funk, trying to decide how I wanted to go through with the next section of this story, and then work became a problem. When school started back up, that means that sales skyrocket and all-hands must be on deck. To add to the problem, we had a new associate who needed training and as her senior, I got lumped with the task. This meant I had to take on more collective hours to help out which burned me out drastically during the first month, and I barely wanted to leave my bed, much less work on my writing. However, that never stopped me from thinking about it, so whenever I could manage it, I continued to plan this all out.
Things have finally settled down again, so I'll be getting back in the groove soon. Hopefully, I'll be able to get the next one out within a few weeks.
Also, to the person who keeps trying to post V3 spoilers in my comments section. Please stop. I want to play it myself and learn about it's contents on my own. Thank you.