Investigation 1-1: If Only I Knew Before
Beta Read by: Prince PokePersona and Lupus Overkill
Saitou Diary Entry #1:
Everybody here is so nice. I guess. There are some people off the wall, but, you know, there are people like that in every group situation. People like Shiro and Choumi try to act like they're tough and an ass, but they're really usually the sweetest ones. Nobody right now has the spirit it takes to actually kill somebody. Even with the threat of death. I like everybody here. I'm not naive though, somebody has to die. Sure, we can like a party for six months straight before exploding but I suppose the people in charge wouldn't like that. They have a job to do after all. To entertain.
It must be exhausting.
That means that I gotta make sure everybody is happy before all the death starts! Seina and some of the others are planning a party. I'm pretty sure I can convince Emilynn to do something crazy with me. Maybe I can even bring her to the Secret Room in the Labyrinth. She'll probably think it's cool.
If everything goes smoothly, I can show her my true self! That'll be a sight to behold. Sometimes I regret the talent I have, but there's no time thinking about what ifs. This is how my life is. Before this, it's been awfully dull. This'll finally add some much-needed adventure. Who knows, I might even save the world! Wait, that's stupid. Let's not think about that. I'd much rather just sit on the sidelines anyway.
Whenever somebody's life gets taken from them, the only things that remain are their body and the memories of others. But, like everything else in this world, those erode over time. Everything fades into nothingness. Death is not something you can simply escape. No matter what happens, death comes. Even those who are considered Gods have to give into the wonder of the afterlife. Death will whisk you off with promises of wonder, only to bring you to a land of nothingness.
"...H-he's...dead..." Sachiko's body is shaking even more than before. The blood on her dress proves that she probably tried to help him before Ayumu did. Tears fall down from the miko's eyes as she sits in a puddle of red. Even if she tries to stand, she would most likely just fall down once again.
Ayumu doesn't look much better now that the adrenaline from attempting to save Saitou has left his system. He is completely pale and does not say a word, with his barely blinking eyes staring intensely at the blood on his hands. Emilynn is still the same as before, still mumbling nonsense about the Future Foundation.
The body is not even in bad shape. Even if Saitou could be considered a good person, perhaps they should be grateful that he does not have to deal with this shit anymore. Like I always say, the nice ones always go first. I have to get used to this feeling, anyway, since I will be the only one getting out of here. Maybe I should try to do something with the key now that everybody is distracted.
"What the fuck?...This is gonna be confusing to deal with. Please tell me that they know what they're doing." Mononeko once again teleports onto my shoulder.
...Or maybe she jumped on there. With all of the sources of light in the room now gone except for the weak light of my student handbook, with the door being closed sometime during the murder, it is hard to tell where everything is.
"What do you mean?" I ask the goddamn cat.
Mononeko is not usually like this, so maybe this could help all of us during the investigation. Some idiots might try to turn her against her 'producers', but, if the cat had any sense of morals, she wouldn't be doing this in the first place.
"Urgh, I already told you too much...it's so tiring keeping all these secrets. They better pay me more for this. Maybe, if they stop doing such bullshit, then everything about this would be more successful!" Mononeko continues to vent.
It would be wise to let her continue. Her taking more time for her frustrations might give us more time to investigate, get the naive people out of the traumatized states, and get everybody to this area.
"What do you want to do?"
"Such a loaded question!...I'm too exhausted to think of an answer...I'm gonna get everybody else here. I don't want a repeat of last time." Mononeko yawns as she hops down from my shoulder. When she does so, my student handbook dings.
Truth Bullet #1:
Monokuma File #1
Victim-Saitou Kurokoma, Ultimate Substitute
Height-Five feet, eleven inches
Weight-One-hundred and forty-five pounds
Age-Seventeen
Blood Type-O
Birthday-June Nineteenth
Cause of Death
The victim of this case is the substitute.
The body was discovered in the Labyrinth, room Undisclosed. A map will not be provided.
The cause of death was blood loss, caused by a singular bullet wound to the stomach. There are no other injuries on the body. It took the substitute two minutes to succumb to his wounds.
I may have never done anything like this before, but the wording is...off, although that could be intentional. It could just be the people in charge being lazy in their attempts to scare us. Mononeko seems like the type of person cat that does not put too much thought into anything but sleeping. Especially considering she has the bad habit of telling us too much information for somebody in her position.
If somebody in our group had more practice in investigation or psychology, then a lot more can be revealed. We have Etsuko, technically, but given how she is...maybe I should continue researching those subjects.
Also, why are the age, blood type, and birthday important to a murder investigation? If those are truly important, I know less about detective work than I thought. Everybody in the Committee makes this look easier than it actually is. Or maybe I am once again thinking too much into everything. But that is nonsense, I rarely think too much into something. My amount of introspection is perfectly normal and would make nobody complain or question my mental health-
"We need to investigate. Right now," I tell the three other living captives with me. Of course, they do not listen, still disturbed by the blood on their hands. Useless.
Having no time for games, I begin to shine my light around the room, trying to find anything suspicious. In my narrow view of vision, however, nothing can be seen. The killer must have known what they were doing picking a place like this. Not only is there little amount of light, but the confusing layout will make us waste time trying to find clues.
There's no other option. It is futile doing this by myself in the dark. Maybe I should investigate outside the room until help arrives. I could try to use the devices on the other participants, by the less than savory experience of stealing them, but I know that would not get a positive reaction. Plus I can only carry so much in my hands, especially considering how annoyingly big these handbooks are.
Reaching the outside of the secret passageway (I leave the door open, so nobody could get even more lost), I hear the stupid device go off once again. The least Mononeko could have done was make the dinging sound pleasant to the ears. However, I am not satisfied. That is too little information.
"Uh, Shiro." Ichiko stops herself right before she bumps into me. She has a mess of papers in her hands that threaten to fall at any second. Somehow Ichiko's hair is more disheveled than it was roughly thirty minutes ago. "...Somebody else died, huh?..." The historian cannot look me in the eyes.
"Yes. Do you want to know more?" I ask her. Instead of her answering, Ichiko organizes her papers a little and starts jotting down notes on one of the sheets. Maybe that is one of her ways to express for me to continue?
There is no use lying in this situation. If I leave out anything, it could very much lead to our deaths. Ichiko may have some interesting personality quirks, but an investigative historian would know more about how to properly analyze a crime. It would not shock me if Ichiko has knowledge of previous death games and will use that to her advantage (that makes her a threat later though, so that is a double-edged sword).
"The details of this case are as follows. You remember what happened before we entered the Labyrinth, correct?" I questioned. Ichiko nods her head while chewing on a piece of hair that has fallen into her mouth. "Nothing really happened until Saitou pointed out he found this secret passageway before. He and Emilynn went in first while Ayumu, Sachiko, and I stayed behind. Nobody else came, and the next thing we knew there was a gunshot and Saitou was dead."
Ichiko is too focused on her notebook to make conversation. "Oh, um, bye." Without breaking her attention, Ichiko heads into the passageway. Good luck to her seeing her notebook with that little light.
Needing more of a hint of what to do next, and knowing that Ichiko would most likely not help me in the secret passageway, I decide to examine the new information we have on the case.
Truth Bullet #2: Ichiko's Testimony
Ichiko testified that she was with Sachiko and Ayumu during the party. It should be noted that Seina was with them for some time but left. Shortly before the murder, Ichiko's group met with Shiro, Emilynn, and Saitou. Ichiko decided to stay behind while the five of them investigated the Labyrinth.
She stayed by herself the entire time. Nobody else entered. Once Ichiko heard the gunshot, she went running into the Labyrinth to check up on the group.
Truth Bullet #3: Gunshot
There was a gunshot that could be heard throughout the Labyrinth and nowhere else. Only one gunshot was heard.
Truth Bullet #4: Secret Passageway
The murder happened in a secret passageway none of the participants knew about beforehand. Or that is how it should have been. The secret passageway connects to an empty room with no light.
The way to get into the secret passageway is to pull a specific book out from a bookshelf. It is Alice in Wonderland.
Truth Bullet #5: Shiro's Testimony
Shiro testifies that he went with Emilynn, Saitou, Sachiko, and Ayumu to the Labyrinth for exploring. It should be noted that it was Emilynn and Saitou's idea.
Saitou stopped and claimed he found a secret passageway from one of his trips before. He showed it to the four other classmates with him. When he decided to explore it, only Emilynn came with him. Shiro, Sachiko, and Ayumu decided to stay outside. The three of them only went inside when they heard the gunshot.
This is nothing I already knew, but perhaps examining it more will expose further details. There is still the question of how and when Saitou found the secret passageway. With Saitou being dead, there is no way to confirm any information we have about his mindset or actions. Mononeko might have footage or might not, though that brings up the question of why Mononeko allowed Saitou to not only remember the location but bring others to it. Was it because she knew the murderer was there? But that does not make sense, since the murderer can only kill up to two people and there were five there.
Maybe the murderer was targeting Saitou for some reason? Yet there is no motive, except if they have a grudge against people named Saitou. I highly doubt Ryusuke was also involved in this murder.
How did the murderer get there anyway? Even if there was a trap set up, they would have needed to find the room, be certain somebody would go in and set off everything perfectly, and somehow have no evidence left behind. If the murderer was there themselves, they would have to be waiting since Ichiko did not see anybody. They could not use the vents either, unless there is one that we do not know about.
My mind will hurt too much thinking about this without much evidence. Perhaps it will be better to theorize later on. After all, most of this was information I already knew.
"This better not be a prank," Rokuro appears. "Only I'm allowed to do that! And it's super not cool to go this far! Jokes are supposed to make people laugh, not make them uncomfortable! At this point, you're just one of those Joker wannabes on Twitter that are only super cringe!"
"Why are you saying this to me?" I ask him. Rokuro has Mononeko on his right shoulder, and he is being followed by Himura, Yuu, and Yuki.
"Needed somebody to vent to that is way too stressed. I don't want to start getting wrinkles now! If you constantly have your face in a scowl, Shiro, it's gonna stick that way. Ain't nobody gonna want to hire you after that." Rokuro starts petting Mononeko, causing the strange robot to purr.
"Mononeko broke the karaoke machine..." Himura sighs. "We were having fun with that."
"I didn't break the karaoke machine...on purpose. It's your fault for playing the thing too loud! Why can't I be with people that understand my pain? I just want slow relaxing music to droop my eyes and drift into the land of sleep-"
"We shall avenge you karaoke machine! We declare that Mononeko is a villain of the state and shall be executed for all of her crimes! How dare you interrupt us during our session of Rather Be!" Yuki runs over to Rokuro and Mononeko and shoves her finger into the robot's face.
"This is why Akita trusted me with the important shit-"
"Nobody asked you, Yuu!" Yuki fumes.
"Please somebody just give me a raise. Free me from this capitalist hell. Just go into the secret passageway. And please no more singing Call Me Maybe. I thought I escaped that song but it continues to haunt me. It's so old but everywhere at the same time." Mononeko only perks up again once Rokuro pets the creature a second time.
"Hey now~, if you keep stressing out, your hair will grow grey and you'll start to wrinkle. As soon as one wrinkle or grey hair appears, Disney is going to come at you with a baseball bat. You don't want that, do you?" Rokuro makes a point to look at Mononeko, Yuu, and myself.
"Not the Disney overlords! Anybody but their copyright claims! That's the only thing that can stop us now!"
"Hey, I just met you!" Of course, Yuki starts it. Directly right after Mononeko's cries of pure agony. If this is a strategy to stop the game, then it might be the most stupid brilliant thing I have ever experienced.
"And this is crazy!" Rokuro joins in. He tries to pet Mononeko again, but she pulls away from his touch.
"But here's my number!" Himura, why must you do this as well?
"So call me, maybe!" Yuki, Rokuro, and Himura join in together. Yuu and Mononeko's faces of disappointment match perfectly together.
People...there is a dead body in the next room. This is no time for jokes. Something like this is supposed to be taken seriously!
"Just go," Mononeko sulked as she jumped onto the ground. With Mononeko's continued persistence, Rokuro, Himura, Yuu, and Yuki finally enter. I decide to follow after them. Not only could they accidentally destroy evidence with their hyperactivity, but they also are idiots. Idiots with light sources.
Entering the hallway with the merry band of dumbasses, they are at least smart enough to use their devices like lights. Nothing much has changed other than Ichiko has made herself at home on the floor again. Ayumu, Sachiko, and Emilynn's mental states are still in tatters. And, of course, Saitou is still dead.
"Holy shit, there's actually a dead body! Ew, its blood is going to get all over me!" Yuki screams. She tries to jump into Yuu's arms, but, as he is too focused on staring at the dead body himself, she only manages to knock into him and cause the two of them to knock on the floor.
"..." Not even Rokuro can manage to get a joke out during a time like this. Some sweat can be seen dripping off of his forehead. "That's a lot more...real..."
"Don't worry about it!" Mononeko cannot be seen in the overwhelming dark. Even with the new students, only Rokuro, Ichiko, and Himura are providing light right now. Yuu was doing it before he was knocked down. "All of this stress isn't good for my heart! I need more caffeine to deal with this! I don't care if the caffeine budget goes over! I'll spend a billion yen if I have to!"
"...Mononeko is back to her own self? That's gotta be a good sign, right?" Rokuro awkwardly laughs. "Hey, Mononeko, you won't have to deal with us singing anymore tonight...and no more rickrolling..."
After that, though, nobody dares to speak. Maybe perhaps because it's a little awkward to make small talk with a dead body in the same room. The only sound that can be heard is our breathing and Ichiko's pen. In this world, most are all too aware of death, but the lucky few that usually end in these schools have not truly witnessed the reality.
"All of you other than Ichiko realize you have to investigate, right?...I'm just going to get the other students before I'm yelled at by my supervisors again." I may not know where Mononeko is, but I can tell that she is sulking. And then I hear her footsteps waddle out of the room. Except for using her very useful teleportation powers.
"Investigate!? How do you investigate a dead body!?" Yuki screams. "This isn't Stand by Me! I don't know what to do with a dead body-"
"I don't remember the point in Stand by Me when the boys have a murder investigation," Yuu sighs.
"You look for clues and we work together in the class trial. It's really simple. Just make sure that you do the trial and don't accidentally vote for yourself," Himura answers. Although Himura's calm nature is better than the ones of anxiety, Ichiko and Himura are both too relaxed for this situation. Maybe they are the students who have had harder lives before? It is rare for a student of a poorer background to get to Hope's Peak, but it is not unheard of. Perhaps they even knew Yoshi and Eimu.
"Guess this really is no laughing matter. I'll help in my own way." Rokuro goes up to Ayumu. He whispers something into the graveyard shift worker's ear, causing Ayumu to nod his head. Then he starts...massaging Ayumu. With his talent, I really should have not expected anything else.
"I agree," Ayumu states. Finally out of his trance, Ayumu stands up. Sachiko and Emilynn, however, are still in their horrible mental states. And it is clear that nobody here can help them except for themselves. When you are like that, even the nicest words can send you deeper into your mind.
Before I suggest that we investigate today (a rarity for me, I know) everybody but Ayumu, Emilynn, and Sachiko are doing their own thing. Yuu and Yuki have left the room, most likely to find the others in the hallway. Himura is nowhere to be seen as well, though I would guess he is investigating. Because, unlike the twins, he is actually useful. Rokuro is trying to help out Sachiko and Emilynn but gets no responses.
"That's all I can do. I've to admit I'm not the best with book smarts. And somebody has to guard the body." Rokuro sits down on the floor in between Emilynn and Sachiko and stares intensely at Saitou.
"Guess it's you and me, Shiro. We truly are friends and doing this will bring us closer together." For such a happy statement, you would think that Ayumu would manage anything but a monotone. But that is simply not how Ayumu works.
"Yeah, no."
"Shiro, lemme have this." Looking down, I see Ayumu's slight trembles.
"Fine."
"You're the best, man." Ayumu slaps my back lightly. Or his version of lightly. Ow. Or maybe I am truly in need of some more muscle mass. After everything I have gone through, I thought I would be better with pain. "Sorry about that. I forgot my own strength."
This is a lie. I have no friends. This is because Ayumu is useful. That's it! Totally! Ayumu may have his...moments, but, as long as I don't bring up Norse mythology or bananas, everything should be fine. Plus, I just need somebody else for the light. Not because I am lonely or anything.
Without any more words, the two of us begin searching the rest of the hallway. From what I can tellt, Saitou died in the middle of the mysterious room. It takes about two minutes to walk throughout the room, with there being nothing inside. Nothing but where Ayumu and I are at right now. A wall. A plain wall like the rest of the room in which the people in charge have not bothered to even paint it anything different.
"Is there anything here?" Ayumu says more to himself. He begins to examine the wall, so I join him. We start from the far left and make our way to the right. But, when we reach the middle, we find what we are searching for.
"It's two holes..."
"One of these is from a gunshot and the other is a keyhole. But there isn't any door..." Ayumu wonders. He begins feeling around for the outline of the door, but cannot find anything.
More dings. This is important to the case after all. And the people in charge are clearly not trying to hide it, so it does not lead to any clues to their identities. Otherwise, they truly are worthless at their jobs.
"How do you know it's a gunshot?"
"When you work night shifts, you have to learn about guns. How to deal with them, use them, how they sound and look," Ayumu explains. That does make sense. Since the last couple of years, crimes have also risen in the world but especially in Japan. The Committee mostly blames this spike on the True Despairs.
"But where does this lead?" Listening to my question, Ayumu knocks on the wall, testing the softness. The sound is hard, so it is not a fake wall. So all Ayumu can do is shrug.
With nothing else currently on my mind, I decided to see what new evidence we have to work with. This still does not tell us that much about the mystery. Just how much did the killer think ahead about their plan?
Truth Bullet #6: Yuki's Testimony
During the murder, Yuki was with Yuu, Himura, Rokuro, and Aimi in the karaoke room. She admits that she does not know where Aimi has gone off to. Before anybody says something stupid, the killer cannot be Aimi, otherwise, there would be no investigation.
Wait, Aimi? No, Aito! Who makes these stupid mistakes!? First, it was Natsuo. Now it's this shit!
Ahem, Yuki, Yuu, Himura, Rokuro, and Aito have been in the karaoke room on the higher level of the restaurant all night. Before then, there were Leonie, Shiro, Emilynn, and Saitou. Leonie is still in the restaurant. Somebody should get her. Seriously, how good are those headphones? Shiro, Emilynn, and Saitou all left.
In the karaoke room, the gunshot could not be heard.
Truth Bullet #7: The Gunshot Hole
In one of the walls, there is a gunshot hole. No shit, Sherlock.
Truth Bullet #8: The Keyhole
Right underneath the gunshot hole, there is a keyhole with no door or purpose. It is unharmed despite the closeness of the shot.
This is...strange but actually, this could be helpful. The question is whether or not there is another room connected or not. There has to be something from the other side, considering the bullet very clearly came from that direction. Even if the people running this have a larger than usual budget, they would not make them able to defy physics.
So the question is: does that lead to more of the Labyrinth or to another secret room? If it does lead to more of the Labyrinth, how would somebody get there? There is a chance that if it is the Labyrinth, the killer is still trying to get out. But, even though they are clearly smart, I will not allow them to get away with their life.
An idea pops into my head. While Ayumu is still searching through the new Truth Bullets, I power down my student handbook. With no light on me, I reach down my blinder and pull out the key. The key fits perfectly into the keyhole. But this is no time to figure that out. Ayumu is here, and I still do not know if I am able to trust him. He could easily be the mastermind pretending to be my friend because of a delusion about me being a protagonist.
Quickly, I stash the key once again in my blinder. Even if I trusted Ayumu, opening the door will also just make a suspect, which would be stupid of me to do.
"We will head back, Ayumu," I tell him. Ayumu is still not the most talkative person in the world, so he just nods his head. I put on my student handbook again and went back to Saitou's body with him.
When we go back, everybody is still in their original spots. Well, that is a given, considering it has only been around three minutes. There must be something with the key, otherwise, this room would not be hidden. Or maybe this room is a sort of red herring, but I highly doubt that. If the room was not important, they would have given us the information on the Truth Bullets. Even now they are keen to manipulate evidence.
"...Shiro..." Looking closer, Sachiko is actually doing much better, with Rokuro still by her side. "The evil is still here. It's m-messing with me! There's just so much...n-negative energy. I didn't know the yokai reacted this strongly to death."
"Is this finally a sign that somebody up there cares about us?" Rokuro tilts his head towards the sky.
"The Gods do care about you! It's hard to realize sometimes...but they're always there," Sachiko says weakly. It is clear that her words reach no one. If there is such a thing as a higher power, how could they wait around while such tragedies occur?
"There's no God." Emilynn manages to break herself out of her trance. Well, that is awfully blunt.
"All over history, people have been trying to solve the mystery of what happens after we die. There's no evidence leading to any theory. But that doesn't stop people from creating stories to comfort themselves about their own mortality." Ichiko starts chewing on her pen while she is in thought. "Having an opinion on the matter wouldn't make me a very good historian. All I care about is the truth."
"Do we really have to talk about religion right now?" I question all of them. Not only is this not the time, but it could also very much lead to another murder. I have seen too many similar arguments turn violent.
"Wait, do you know about Norse mythology?" Ayumu asks Ichiko, seemingly teleporting to her in his excitement.
"Yes?"
"Tell me all about it!" Ayumu is very...passionate about this. I have never seen his eyes sparkle before or his voice have this much enthusiasm. Maybe because he cannot currently see the dead body in the room. Or maybe it is just some weird coping mechanism.
"Later." Ichiko returns to writing in her many books. She should really be more focused on this investigation than what happened in the past. Once again, I see the drawing of a girl hanging upside down.
"Sorry about being like that." Ayumu awkwardly laughs. And then it is back to his usual somewhat bored expression. Emilynn only glares at him. Well then. I thought the queen of memes herself would have more of a sense of humor during all of this.
"I'm so sorry for causing this! The yokai are telling me there's something over here..." Raising up with shaky legs, Sachiko searches the right side of the room. Rokuro follows after her. Then Ayumu and I decide to join the two. "I-if only I was able to sense things when I actually needed to..."
Sachiko picks up something clear. It takes Rokuro, Ayumu, and I a second to figure out that it is an extremely transparent string. The only way that it can be seen right now is the light from our devices reflecting off it.
Just like that, there is another ding.
Truth Bullet #9: Sachiko's Senses
Sachiko sensed evil right before Saitou was killed.
During the entire investigation, her senses have not gone away.
Truth Bullet #10: The Wire
Using her senses, Sachiko found a wire (not a string, you idiots!) with Rokuro, Ayumu, and Shiro. It is transparent and extremely hard to see with the naked eye. Also, the string (no, wire!) appears to be broken.
"None of this makes sense," Ayumu points out. "How did this all happen in seconds? There's a lot." With how far Saitou's body is, I begin to wonder that as well. It is not only him, but Emilynn as well. It is unlikely for Emilynn to be responsible since she does not have any blood on her.
"Everything is wrong with this place. The power of the yokai is stronger than usual," Sachiko states. "Usually they're just an added presence. It's like I can hear their voices now-"
"And that's still a sign that you need therapy!" Etsuko appears out of nowhere. "Damn, how did somebody mess this up so much? That doesn't seem possible. Unless...they're messing with us again..."
"This isn't messing with people. Pranks are supposed to be fun, not like this," Rokuro points out. Makes sense that one of the most annoying students would know something like that.
"Hey, Shiro? Do you think that it is possible for somebody to kill somebody and decorate their body in like a couple of minutes without a whole group of people noticing? And that's not even mentioning all the brutalizing!"
"...No?"
"Of course they've got the same tricks. Come with me!" Etsuko grabs onto my arm and pulls me along. Rokuro and Sachiko stay behind to continue examining the string while Ayumu runs after the two of us.
Etsuko actually leads Ayumu and I outside of the secret room. Also waiting outside are Tahlia, Hanane, Osamu, and Emilynn. Though I notice that Emilynn is back to her shell-like state. Mononeko must have gotten the three in the hallway before heading to the gymnasium. Except Etsuko. I have learned at this point to not question anything about Etsuko.
"We're going now, Etsuko!" Tahlia waves. Osamu is jumping up and down, once again not shutting up about how much he adores Sachiko. Hanane does not say anything while she enters the secret room. The personal assistant is second, with Tahlia being last.
"We should get going too," Ayumu says. He begins to head down the Labyrinth, but I do not want to follow him, at least not yet. There is something that I need to know from Etsuko.
"I thought Emilynn was doing better."
"You think somebody with trauma is doing better because they stop their dissociative state to talk about how there's no God?" Etsuko raises one of her eyebrows. "I can't believe I have to say this, but discussing something like that with somebody in that state is kinda fucked."
"In my defense, I tried to stop them."
"Yeah, sure." Etsuko rolls her eyes. I thought Etsuko would thrive in a reaction like this, but even the psychologist has her limits. Or maybe she only has limits about people she has formed a close bond with. "If you did, it was only to feed into one of your many complexes."
"Future Foundation...Future Foundation...Future Foundation..."
"Why is she going on about the Future Foundation?"
"Shiro, that's breaking my contract! I may be a unique psychologist, but I still have a code of ethics to abide by! I don't want to lose my job! And breaking client-therapist confidentiality is a big no-no. I don't care if I'm technically not a therapist! I'm a quack with a bigger code than any of them!" Etsuko crosses her arms. "You gotta pay me with all of the Committee's secrets!"
...Good to know all of Etsuko's morals go out of the window once she is able to find blackmail on her enemies.
"If you wanted their secrets so bad, you should've accepted their job," I responded. Etsuko takes a big step back. "You could've stopped so much of this, but your selfishness of not wanting to be brought down by the-"
"I fucking know, you dick!" Turning sharply away from me, Etsuko returns to helping her friend. She squats down to Emilynn's level and gives her a warm hug. A few seconds later, Emilynn returns with one.
"There's no Future Foundation here."
Sensing that this is no longer my place, and this had nothing to do with the investigation, I made the decision to leave. If I go fast enough, I should be able to catch up to Ayumu. That would at least make Etsuko be a little less on edge.
Catching up to Ayumu does not take a long time. Maybe because this is way too much running for me. My lungs burn. How do people do this for a living? Not only do you have to do a lot of training, but there also is not even a large amount of time when your body is perfect for running.
"I...caught up...with you..."
"Are you okay? That wasn't that long..." Ayumu scratches the back of his head. "You know what, we can save that for later. Just make sure that you have some water, please? You're sweating. That mustn't be good for the outfit...not to mention we weren't given any deodorant."
"They better give us some soon," I say. I really do not like the feeling of not meeting with my personal hygiene. At least there are showers and toilets, so we can survive with those for some time. "Or maybe that's going to be the next motive. I would not be pleased if I died for somebody else's gain."
"I highly doubt somebody will murder over deodorant. You gotta have more faith in humanity, ya know? It's hard to do sometimes with the shit people in charge, but there's always hope to be found."
"That's what I like to hear!" Fubuki tries to jump on Ayumu, but Jun grabs onto her shoulders before she can invade more people's boundaries.
"Please don't go jumping on people..." Jun sweat-drops. How has Jun not given up on trying to fix Fubuki's manners? I still cannot figure out if the siblings love or hate each other. Knowing my relationship with my siblings, it might be best to just call it complicated.
"I may not be super against people touching me, but you should really check what people are comfortable with." Ayumu groans. "I get that we're much more affectionate now, but it doesn't give people a right to do this to whoever they want. You, Rokuro, and Kaimaru really need to learn that."
"Only if you swear it'll help the world!" Fubuki poses with her arms stretched wide. The mask once again hides a smile. Ayumu somehow keeps a straight face when he does his signature nod. "Then deal! I'll make sure those two stop being so open with their sexuality as well! People can be uncomfortable and fall into despair!"
"Can we please change the subject now?" Jun asks.
"If the two of you are here, does that mean the others in the gymnasium are coming?" I quickly say, playing into Jun's idea. Let's forget for the moment that Jun is actually just as suspicious, if not more so, than Fubuki.
"I'm an adult! I can handle my liquor! It's not my fault everybody else is such a lightweight." Fubuki laughs.
"Fubuki and I left the room shortly after you did when we recovered. There were these strange drinks that we could not get out of our heads that we needed to drink them," Jun informs us. Could it be that they were under some kind of hypnosis? That would mean that Kaneshiro is somehow involved most likely.
"They always want a drunk scene now. They really should know better with the majority of the cast still being minors," Fubuki clenches her fists. "Those bastards deserve to go to Hell-"
"Well, uh, nice talking to you! We gotta go now! Bye-bye! Time for another change of conversation!" Jun is quicker than anything I have ever seen. He first takes Fubuki's mask off, hands it to me once again (which he should know is a horrible idea), and then runs off with his sister.
"I never want to do that again. Dealing with Karens is a much better time." Ayumu almost breaks his calm and collective demeanor once again. "We should continue investigating. Maybe go to the gym again? Everybody else should still be there."
"No, it could be possible that Mononeko is getting them now."
"There probably isn't much more evidence at the scene of the crime...wait, weren't you investigating something when we met before the party?... Yeah, we were going through the vent system." Ayumu lightly bites his lower lip. "Could it be that the vent system is related to this murder? I have seen a lot of horror movies where murders happen there or escape from kidnappers during the apocalypse."
"That does seem likely. Though wouldn't Ichiko realize they came?"
"Not to be rude, but Ichiko seems to be in her own world. Anytime when she has those papers out, she doesn't pay attention to her surroundings at all." Ayumu hides some of his face with his hair. I do not know if that is entirely true, but it is best to investigate all different theories. Plus, there could be another opening to the vent that leads to somewhere more convenient for the killer.
"Alright, we should investigate this then. We should go after any lead we got." With that, Ayumu leads me out of the maze. When this is over, I should ask Ayumu how to get this good sense of direction.
Reaching the vent once again, there is an overwhelming urge to remember something, but whatever the lost memory is never comes. This will be problematic if the trend continues.
"Do you want to go in? Or should I?" Ayumu asks. "I'm used to cleaning these things during some of my jobs. They can get very messy." He wipes off the little amount of dust already on his clothes. "It's a pain in the ass. But, then again, most of my jobs are a pain in the ass."
"I know where it leads. Plus, you should help people if they get lost," I tell him. There's the extra information that I do not want anybody else to know about that writing on the wall. Even if it means nothing, I will make sure nobody else figures out the secrets of this vent.
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes."
"If anything bad happens, it's your fault." Ayumu places himself near the wall. I should be able to still get into the vent, considering that Ayumu is the exact same height as Tahlia. I climb onto his shoulders and then once again climb into the depths of the vent.
Maybe it would have been smarter to let Ayumu do all the hard work, but I also have to find a way to make myself useful to the rest of the group. But not too useful that they would target me. If I am known to be willing to climb into small spaces, then nobody would eliminate me for being a burden to others. Although it would be more strategic to take out threats, the majority of people will stick to what's easiest and eliminate sheep.
"Shiro, are you doing alright? It's too quiet."
"Oh, yes. I'm okay."
"Are you having one of your super poetic inner monologues again?" Ignoring the tinge of red on my face, I continue on. I do not pay attention to anything else Ayumu says. "At this point, you're more like the Ultimate Poet than anything else."
"Shut up!" Okay, maybe I lied about not paying attention. But for the rest of my journey, I did ignore him!
I did not think this through. That is odd since I usually do too much thinking. But here I am, not remembering what direction to go. Maybe I really should have left Ayumu to do this job. It is too late, however, and I do not want to give him the satisfaction of winning this argument.
So I do the next best thing: Wandering. This is a horrible idea, but there is literally nothing else. Right? Right. Totally not.
How big can the vent system be? Then again, I have not been in vents that much, so maybe this is actually normal. Or perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me, convincing me that I am in a world of my own imagination. There is no way I will ever let the white rabbit take hold, so that is simply impossible. White horse has already caused too many issues in my life.
Stuck in my own mind again, I also do not realize when I once again appear at the mysterious writing. Having a closer look, I see that the message is made by finger scratches which probably explain the hints of red.
IwanttoliveiwantoliveIWAnTtoLiviwantotolieiwannaliveplease
IM SORRY DEAD END PLEASE FORGIVE ME THIS MUST BE DONE
youllrotinhell
This is...all wrong. Wait, why did I try to come here from the Labyrinth side? Now that I think about it, I passed out. Though, if that is true, how did I get out of here? Even Wonderland makes more sense than a place like this. Which is an accomplishment considering this is actually real and not a fragment of a tortured girl's imagination.
This has been a waste of time and has only proven to give me a headache. Perhaps I should just come back the way I came. This most likely has nothing to do with the case, considering there have been no more Truth Bullets. That must mean that the killer must have used the Labyrinth or somehow found another way.
Once again making my way out of the vent system, I realize that Ayumu is not where I left him. He must have left because I was ignoring him or taking forever. You know what, it was probably both.
Most likely some of the people from the gymnasium came and needed guidance through the maze. If I remember correctly, Ayumu should be one of the only students that know its layout somewhat. That could mean that he is the killer, but it would be hard to perform with him having a clear alibi. Unfortunately, the only people without a clear alibi are Etsuko, Tahlia, Osamu, and Hanane (although they were together at some points during the night, they were not always with another person from what I personally remember). The only person out of those four that would be stupid enough to do murder with that little suspects is Osamu, and I highly doubt he can make something this complicated.
There could be evidence and people in the gymnasium, so perhaps it is best that I go there. Hopefully, by now, somebody has made sure that Leonie knows a murder happened. I do not want to be in the room when she finds out.
The moment I walk out of the room and into the hallway, I am forced to deal with the loveliness known as Choumi Sokudo. Now that there is not a large group of other people present, this is going to get a lot more unpleasant. Keiji is right after her, but without some of his usual spark. Even Kobi matches his owner's down attitude, which simply cannot continue.
"What do you know about this, Amari?" Choumi grabs onto my shirt and shoves me against one of the walls.
"Amari? Why are you using my last name...?"
"I really should've realized sooner! You're one of Einosuke's billion kids, aren't you? Before you ask and try to make me suspicious, my parents know him through work! You should really know about Einosuke's candy business and all the success it has because of Bornezon." Choumi rolls her eyes. I decide that it is not a good idea to admit that I actually do not know much about Einosuke's business associates.
"What does this have to do with anything?" I ask her. I wish Keiji would do something, but he just stands there. Like an empty shell. Even with me not liking the strange man, I know something is off.
"It has everything! The only person crazy enough to do all of this and have the money is Einosuke Amari! And, look at that, one of his bastard children is here! And clearly one of the favorites considering you're allowed outside." Choumi presses me harder against the wall. "Look I don't like starting fights, but you've got something to do with this. You're the reason this is happening, aren't you? Considering you were also there, but you can pretend all you want you forgot everything. I don't."
"What...?"
"Not only are you the so-called protagonist, and have a perk with a super suspicious name, but you've too much information. Don't think I forgot you knew Kobi's name when not even Mononeko should have had that. Kobi hasn't been involved in any of these sick games before," Choumi says. "And that horrible forced drugging session only happened after you were gone."
"I don't have any say in this," I tell Choumi. I should know such words are futile, but those who know about the Amari secrets rightfully are suspicious of the children attached to that name. Most of my siblings are not what I would consider good people. Then again, I am a horrible person myself.
"Let me guess," Choumi whispers into my ear. "You're somehow involved with Kagehisa too."
"Wait, how do you know about that?"
"You're even more of a piece of shit than I realized."
"If you know that name, you're not an angel yourself, Choumi."
"What!? How does knowing that name not make me a good person!? What do you know, Amari?...You do realize other people can also have the name, right? We could be talking about two different things, but I'm pretty sure we aren't."
"Choumi, you should stop..." Keiji whimpers. Upon hearing the voice of her friend, Choumi gives me a death glare but releases me from her grasp. She goes over to Keiji again.
"Just know this, Amari. I'm against this neverending death game. And, for that, I'm against Osamu. You really should've known there was more of a reason for our shared dislike of him." With Keiji still being kind of out of it, Choumi leads him to the Labyrinth room. Compared to any other conversation on this cursed spaceship, this has been the most alarming. Choumi knows too much. How does she have this much information on Einosuke and still have her freedom? Must be her family connections.
Whatever. This is not the time to think over what any of that means. I need to make my way to the gymnasium. Whoever the killer is, there is a high chance that they had a say on whatever happened there.
Luckily, there have not been many more distractions in the hallway. Unluckily, whatever the other groups are doing, it is not leading to any more hints. With this amount of evidence, even a mind as brilliant as mine can not certainly save us all from our demise.
Please do not tell me all of the smart people also wasted their time investigating other vent systems.
Now is not time for worries, however. I open the door to the gymnasium, and, as I expected, it is a total mess. Somehow streamers and balloons cover the entire floor in a sea of white, red, and black. I do not remember any of this happening. These must have been introduced by Mononeko after I left the room.
There are only three people that I can notice in the room. The people are Asuka, Seina, and Suzunami. Seina and Suzunami always have a tendency to be off the wall, so it is good that somebody like Asuka is there to balance them out. She is without Kaimaru's influence so that also adds points for Asuka.
Asuka and Seina are both standing with Suzunami sitting on one of the bleachers. Somebody must have removed all of the party supplies from xyr spot.
"Shiro! You must be the traveler that can solve this problem!" Seina runs over to me, almost running over many of the decorations, and then grasps for breath. "I almost forgot...how hard it is to run...in this..."
"Are you alright?"
"Yep! Indeed I am!" Seina instantly perks up. "I want to help deal with the murder, but I can't leave Suzunami...uh, doing very not good. Keiji and Suzunami by far have the worst reactions to the whole party fiasco...if only I was as good at planning parties as I was at games..."
"It's not your fault. It's Mononeko for being a bitch and drugging us all. She's only pretending with that sweet little appearance of hers." Asuka must have arrived while I was distracted with Seina. "Backstabbers like her have no problems doing whatever they can to assert power over others. The only difference between her and the other Despairs is that she has the audacity to pretend to care about you."
"Asuka isn't doing too great either. I swear she hasn't seen any story about how this type of thinking isn't good for you," Seina responds.
"This type of behavior isn't out of character for her too. Ryusuke has been acting weird since the very start of this game. I wouldn't be surprised if she's manipulating him because of the prejudice most people have towards those who study demons. All of his actions could be explained by drugging. She could've very much caused the original Saitou's death to get the position of the mascot from Monokuma."
"As lovely as this conversation is, we gotta help our teammate and...wait, original Saitou's death-"
"Don't question it," I interrupted Seina. I do not know what is going on with the memories, but this is hardly the time.
"Wait, aren't you the one always going on about questioning everything and being paranoid? That's certainly strange for your character." Seina raises one of her eyebrows.
"Suzunami is another victim to this cruelty, so let's help xem," Asuka demands. Honestly, it is a little disheartening to see Asuka give into her emotions so easily. I thought she was better than that. Though, in a normal society, I guess reacting this way would be considered the norm. It should be, but this is a world where there is no such thing as a golden road.
Asuka still has a sharp mind, smarter than I would have guessed. I might have come up with the theory at the time but have forgotten it. It is rather suspicious that Mononeko just happened to be there to replace Monokuma. There is no way that Monokuma should have made such a huge error, and something else must have happened considering it would take a lot to throw away a beloved despair icon like that.
"Um, I might've dealt with a lot of dissociation episodes before but nothing like this." Seina purses her lips. "Maybe we can convince Mononeko to allow xem to skip this trial and take some time off."
"I highly doubt that'll work," Asuka replies. Those two seem to have this situation covered, and I highly doubt I can ever lift anybody's spirits up. If there is something I know how to do, it is to tear other people down. "We could see if xe reacts to our attempts to ground xem again."
With Asuka and Seina both not paying attention this time, I make sure to be as quiet as possible. It would be awkward to explain why I am walking away just because I stepped on a balloon. That might wake Suzunami out of xyr trance, but not for the better. Emotions are not my strong suit, but even I know not to make overly loud noises around people that are obviously traumatized.
"Hey, Shiro, do you know what Suzunami likes? That could help...Shiro!" Seina keeps shouting my name. It is not hard for me to tune out her cries. If those two want to be heroes, they can waste their time doing that.
Out in this hallway again. At this point, this hallway is going to be more like my home than where I actually live. Maybe because everything is nicer because of the budget. Choumi might have a point to theorize that my sperm donor is involved, but I have to make it clear that I would never willingly interact with him. I can't hold a single conversation with him, let alone plan a killing game.
Time to run into yet another face I do not want to interact with.
Aito. Of course. With Ayumu running after him. I guess that is where Ayumu went.
"Shiro, you'll help somebody that's like a son to you, right? Right!? Please say so!" Aito does not give me any time to respond before jumping into my arms and, of course, knocking me over. People have a real bad habit of doing that. Aito and Yuki should team up together sometime.
"I barely know you, Aito."
"Don't say such horrible things! The betrayal! It's gonna make me even more like a son to you!"
"I'm so sorry, Shiro. Aito is hard to deal with." Ayumu catches up with the both of us and tries to get Aito off me. Even with Ayumu's strength, Aito refuses to get off. This prankster is stronger than I would have thought too. "Yet another person I put above Karens for being annoying."
"Why are you even chasing after Aito?" I ask. Everybody should know that doing such a task is nothing more than a waste of time. Aito is not even technically involved in this part of the game.
"Aito stole evidence." Ayumu groans. "He also tried to stab the body."
"And since I'm not part of the game, it doesn't count yet! Plus, stabbing the body wouldn't even change a thing since the evidence for the cause of death is already all there." Aito smiles wide. "Being the jury rocks! Only if the jury in real life was this way! And there's no way you can find the thing~"
"It's in his hand," Ayumu informs me. That gives me something to do rather than just lay down on the ground with Aito sitting uncomfortably on my chest. I may not like my fellow participants that much, but I refuse to let them all die for something as small as Aito's peculiar behavior.
"You're no fun." Aito turns around to stick his tongue out at Ayumu.
"And you're a child." Ayumu tries to pull Aito off again but to the same results. But, during those two's small fight, I might have just subtly opened Aito's hand and got what was inside.
"It's a...charm?" I examine the item further and it must have broken off of something. It is a silver star charm. Right after I fully understood what was happening, I heard a familiar ding.
"There's no point of doing this any further then." Aito hops off of me finally and allows me to breathe once again. I might have been used to children jumping on me but children are far more different than Aito. The three of us are now all standing.
"Why are you acting this way?" I question the prankster.
"Do I need a reason? But yes, there is. Everybody has a motive, you know, otherwise, we won't be human, and we wouldn't be able to love or hate. Having no motive is actually a motive of itself if you think about it!" Aito does a little twirl.
I should pay less attention to Aito and more to the information we have just found. So, with that, I decided to check on the new Truth Bullet. It has been some time since we have found new evidence after all.
Truth Bullet #11: Silver Star Charm
There is a silver star charm that must have broken off of something. It was found by Aito but hidden. Both Ayumu and Shiro worked at getting it back.
The star charm itself is in bad shape and old but still looks to be well-loved.
"I don't understand. Why would you hide this?" Ayumu joins me in the interrogation of Aito. Knowing Aito, this will only make us more confused than before. Then again, everything in this game is somewhat like him. The more answers you get, the more questions you have.
"I want all of you to die, of course!" Aito laughs. Ayumu takes a giant step back. "I'm joking. I don't want people to die. That'll be stupid. I'm not stupid, you know? Just because I go on and on about my love, doesn't mean I don't care about you."
"Sure..." Ayumu painfully giggles. "I'm so glad it's so late." He starts to inch his way towards me.
"If I wanted all of you dead, I would've done so. You're so lucky I'm so against the very concept of death! Actually, it wouldn't be that hard mass executing you all considering how much this happens. Like I would've thought there would be a different ending now." Aito keeps going on and on about his own little world. "No, no, no! It's not your fault but the people in charge! They're nothing like Junko Enoshima. They want so badly to be her that they mess everything up. This is why Kotori was so much better at causing despair than these fools. I should teach them a thing or two about true love!"
"I'm so confused," Ayumu whispers in my ear.
"Don't question it...just don't..." I do the same to the graveyard shift worker.
"I know you're watching, producers! Also, I love that little typo, Aimi. I want all of you dead and you've given me a great opportunity! This is revenge for Reichiru and Utsuwa! Sent directly by BUN themselves!" Aito does a bow.
"Seriously, what is he talking about?" Ayumu, I cannot comprehend any of this. I might be the only adult right now, but that does not give me the experience to understand any of this.
"I'll be taking my leave! Have fun, gentlemen." With yet another bow, Aito then runs off into the Labyrinth room once again. Maybe we will be lucky and Aito will get lost in the maze for the rest of the investigation.
"You know what, let's just continue our investigation now," Ayumu says.
"That is a good idea."
Let us just hope that this case will become clearer with more information. Because, with the current evidence, this could be leading to a very difficult trial. There has to be something that ties everything in this case together.
Saitou Diary Entry #2:
Well, it hasn't been a very long time, has it? Perhaps I just have a lot on my mind. I mean, who wouldn't after being forced into a death game on a spaceship? Actually a lot of people apparently. Really, they need to improve on that. There's only so much I can do.
I wonder how mom and dad are thinking about all of this. They're usually not on my mind considering they've just been like. Hm, how to explain. It's not like they don't love me or anything, but they're just not there there. All my life has been a bunch of nothing until now. It's like not even living, only going through the motions of being a person. One of the only things that can give me positive emotions is cloud watching. And, well, helping people is pretty cool. People would think I'm a saint for thinking like that, but really that's just being a person, I think.
Who am I? Does a substitute filling in for a person really qualify as one? I have no will of my own. Right? I shouldn't have a will. Everything I do is for the job. Just like the typical person. People will understand. All I'm good at is substituting. It's the only way I can make it in this world.
Maybe death can finally make me feel real.
This chapter is finally over. I'm so sorry that this took so long, but, yep, my life has been chaos once again. I also may have accidentally caused a political movement against my city. Oops. But don't worry, we will save all the Mochis! (If you're wondering, yes, I accidentally caused a political movement because of rabbits)
Anyway, I hope this chapter is good. To be honest, it is kinda rushed. But this is the only time I will have free for some time, and I just wanted to do something with CS. So here you go.
Thank you so much for continuing to support this series. :D Now time for long author's notes~
Reviews~
RoseShadow21-These outfits are very...unique. These characters are all special in their own ways. Thanks, I worked hard on it. Poor Saitou did not deserve this fate. He just wanted to rickroll everybody.
AnonChan1-That's alright. I hope you're alright. Maybe Emilynn was secretly with you. Saitou is doing Saitou things. Like dying. HERE IS HINTS OF NICE SHIRO. Saitou did not bring it up earlier, but yes he did get hired. MASTER BE HELPING THE ECONOMY BY SENDING HER EMPLOYEES TO THEIR DEATH. Ayumu is adorable and I stan him. Our GNC king! KAZUHIKO'S HAT ALSO BE MAKING AN APPEARANCE FOR THE ANGST. Kazuhiko just can never win but, to be fair, he does dress like he's from like the 1920s or something (IDK fashion). Kazuhiko, it's been like over a hundred years since that has been considered fashionable. Writing Ayano before her character arc for this and the audiobook makes me feel so weird. KAZUHIKO NEEDS THERAPY AND TO BE AWAY FROM ALL BASEBALL BATS. Poor Renkou means well but he just doesn't understand. I still feel bad for Kazuhiko and I did that to him. Shiro looks at Suzunami and is like "I totally do not understand this feeling." Shiro: I don't have trauma I AM FINE. And then Choumi comes in and is like SUS SHIRO.
Surprisingly the only thing bad that happened during the party was Mononeko drugging a lot of them and giving Keiji, Asuka, and Suzunami a lot of trauma. I'm making everybody pretty for people to SUFFER. Yeah, that does make sense, since that's how Asuka is normally like. Mononeko fucked up. Asuka's anger does come from her kindness after all. ;) KAIMARU STOP BEING A PROBLEM. That's not the right reference for Mei but that has realized how similar the two dresses are. Mei, want another dress? I'm not a fashion person either so Pinterest and my sis saved me a lot. And references. Sachiko's preferred dress is Japanese traditional clothing so she's very not used to being in Chinese clothing. Choumi is like: why did you put me in this. Jun is wearing Kaede's outfit just with pants. Kitsu is just like that. Sora's outfit is based on Kaito's prom outfit. Fubuki and Jun have a notebook that tallies whether or not Jun is able to take off her mask or not. SUZU IS SO ADORABLE TIME TO TRAUMATIZE XEM. Shiro trying to find Kobi adorable but Keiji and Choumi can't stop finding him sus. Suzunami, Keiji, and Mei win by using the power of friendship! Mei will get you to all like her. ;) Choumi, Kitsu, and Renkou try to act friendly but of course, they're still bitter. Osamu being worried while Choumi and Keiji once again be like HE'S SUS. If anybody gets lost, Ayumu will save them because Ayumu is a good person. Stan Ayumu. Osamu needs all the hugs. I MISS MOCHI TOO SO MUCH. HANANE GIVE MOCHI. Leonie is indeed a pokeball. Shiro may be "logical" but the moment a violin is in trouble SCREW LOGIC
Himura you better not hurt our boy. Think of those really bad prom dresses and combine them together and you only get a fraction of the terror. Shiro needs something good in his life and that is instruments. I love him. Yuu is just suffering (and yes it did extra hurt falling on those wings). Shiro be trying to not act like he's in his twenties and then he suddenly uses snazzy gentlemen. Yoshi and the Master were buddies. ;) Emilynn is never okay. Emilynn is still not over the phone incident and she'll forever hold it against him. SAITOU NO EIMU IS NOT A BIRD. Yes, I just rickrolled everybody. I like hurting my audience by making my characters happy. Don't worry, chapter 2 is worse. ;) Thanks Seina for chapter 2 pain. Leonie just wakes up one day after falling asleep with her headphones and everybody is just fucking dead. TURNS OUT MONONEKO DID SOME DRUGGING. ASUKA IS LIKE MONONEKO WE TRUSTED YOU. Tahlia may be a weirdo but she isn't that much of a weirdo. I mean if KH can do what it did, then I can find a way. :3 If you ask me to not kill somebody, they're already dead. Seina has some secrets~ Even in a dystopia, you can always get rickrolled. Shiro, you need some character development and therapy. Badly. Shiro is so accidentally funny and I love him for it. *CS fans see anything secret* Oh no. SACHIKO NEEDS SOME HUGS. SAITOU NEEDS SOME MILK. ALL THE TRAUMA. Saitou said in his FTEs one of his favorite hobbies was cloud-watching so ANGSt. Good thing, there won't be anymore 20k chapters...I think. Maybe. Actually, I can make no promises. Saitou was a good guy but then ANGST.
I can't believe I actually made rickrolling important to the plot. Make sure you get enough rest. :D ADHD sucks I know that all too well. MONONEKO WILL NEVER STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL. NEVER. Tahlia and Yasu aren't allowed to meet since they would just solve the entire plot. Alright, people, time to make a hurricane grappling hook. Shiro will never ask NEVER. Ayumu is like "am I your friend yet?" and Shiro is still like no. That's alright. Thanks for responding and here's a long-ass response RIP.