Entering the gym, I saw that everyone else was already there. They turned to look at me and Rantaro as we entered before continuing their discussion. Once again, I noticed Kaede quickly looked away from me when I saw her.
"We all here? Good! Then let us bow our heads and pray to Atua to thank him for bringing us together." Angie said while motioning us to pray.
"Fuck that! I got better things to do!" Miu spat out.
"Why did Monokuma want us to gather here anyway Rin?" Ryoma asked me.
"He didn't explain?" I asked.
"He just said to gather in the gym and ask you if we had any questions." Maki said.
"I see. Well to explain, I beat Monokuma in a game."
"Game?" Kaede asked.
"You shoulda seen him! He was amazing at the casino!" Kaito explained. "As expected of my sidekick!"
"Anyway, I beat him and my reward is that Monokuma is going to explain what this thing is." I said as I took out the flashlight.
"Is that a flashlight?" Kiyo asked.
"Yeah. We found it in a chest. We didn't want to turn it on when it could be dangerous, but then Monokuma challenged me in the casino. He said if I won he would tell us what the flashlight does."
"What was the challenge anyway?" Himiko asked.
"Monokuma wanted Rin to get 10 jackpots in a row on the slot machines." Keebo answered.
"10 jackpots!?" Tenko exclaimed.
"Kehehe… and you won the bet, leading to us being gathered
. That is quite the skill and luck you have." Kiyo chuckled to himself.
"If it was a bet, what would have happened if you lost?" Kokichi asked.
"Monokuma said that he would give me a handicap until someone died, but he didn't specify what it was going to be. Not like it matters now." I said.
"Geez! That was risky of you." Kaede sighed.
"But thanks to his efforts, we'll find out about this thing." Kaito said.
"Speaking of which, where is Monokuma anyway?" Rantaro asked. As soon as he asked, I felt something jump onto my back. Looking at my shoulder, I see Monokuma's evil grin staring back at me.
"Speak my name and I shall appear!" Monokuma exclaimed as he jumped from my shoulder onto the others, making his way to the stage.
"Alright. So Monokuma, time to uphold your part of the deal. What is this thing?" I asked.
"That's a Flashback Light." He responded.
"A flashback...light?" Rantaro questioned.
"That light doesn't shed light on the darkness, but it sheds light on your lost memories!"
"Lost memories…?" Ryoma repeated.
"Tsumugi did mention something about how we had some of our memories removed." Shuichi said as he thought.
"That's right!" Monokuma giggled. "You all were so concerned that you couldn't remember how you got to this school, but if you use that flashback light, you'll remember everything!"
"Remember...with the light?" I questioned. That's what happened with the 'first memory' stuff too. Everyone but me seemed to remember being Ultimates, but it feels like Monokuma isn't mentioning something important…
"So it's your fault we don't remember when we were kidnapped, huh?" Kaito accused the bear.
"But for what purpose would you remove some of our memories? I do not see how that would benefit you." Kiyo questioned.
"And how did you even remove our memories in the first place?" Rantaro asked with a scrutinizing look.
"Hmm… maybe if you use the flashback light, you'll be able to remember that too."
"...I don't believe it. No way this flashlight will recover our memories." Maki said with an annoyed look.
"I bet there were a lot of naysayers and skeptics when the telephone was invented too." Monokuma shot back. "For your information, the flashback light can help treat various symptoms of memory loss. It would take too long and many hard-to-understand words to explain it, but I don't have to do that. One of you here has already seen the flashback light in action!"
"What?" Shuichi asked.
"Mister Rin here has seen the flashback light be used, isn't that right?" Monokuma said while looking at me. Shit… Everyone else except for Rantaro gave me a confused look.
"You've seen this thing in action?" Kaito asked.
"Did you already use it?" Tenko asked.
"But wasn't he with Shuichi the entire time they were exploring the new areas?" Angie asked.
"No. There was a period of time where he went on his own for a bit. He could have used it then." Shuichi said. "Rin, did you use the flashback light without us?"
"N-No!" I defended myself. "I didn't want to use it when I wasn't completely sure what it was!"
"Completely sure?" Maki questioned. Crap baskets. "You already had an idea of what that thing was before this?"
"That he did!" Monokuma said loudly. "Unfortunately for Rin, when the first flashback light was used, it didn't work on him, so he didn't remember anything!"
"W-Wait! When was the first flashback light used?" Kaede asked.
"Oh I don't know. I'll let your friend answer that!" Monokuma said as he disappeared from the gym. Every head turned to me for an answer.
"Well Rin, I believe you have the answers to our questions." Kiyo stated.
"C'mon bro! You can tell us." Kaito reassured me. Should I tell them? They already know that I know now, so does it matter? But what if the light is a motive? What if they start killing because of it? Should I risk it? Should I destroy the light right now? It's tempting. I don't want to risk the killing game to start again, nor do I want to risk everyone forgetting about me again. But then there's that possibility. The possibility that I might remember something. Is the risk worth it?
"...It's true. I did see this thing in action." I said. "Truth is… We've all met before."
"What do you mean by that?" Ryoma asked.
"When I first woke up here, I was wearing a normal school uniform, and you all were too when I first saw you. The Monokubs then started talking about how we 'didn't remember being Ultimates', as none of us admitted to having a talent. They then brought out a flashback light I think and gave us what they called our 'first memory'. I blacked out, and when I came to, I was back in the classroom I woke up in before, but I didn't remember anything new. The Monokubs came by and said it 'didn't work' for me. After that, is what you all seem to remember." I explained.
"We didn't remember being Ultimates?" Shuichi questioned.
"And we woke up before all this?" Maki repeated.
"Why did you not say anything about this?" Keebo asked me.
"I was worried something might happen if I revealed it. I was a little scared that they would erase our memories or do something for me. I didn't want to risk it." I said. "I only told one person about it."
"That was me." Rantaro confessed.
"Rantaro asked me about the Ultimate Hunt. None of you remember, not even Rantaro, but before the Monokubs gave us our 'first memory', they said something about the Ultimate Hunt, but that's all I know about it."
"So that's where you know that phrase from." Shuichi pondered.
"I suppose we can't really blame you for being cautious with that information." Ryoma sighed.
"Gonta agree. Would rather Rin not say anything if mean Rin safe." Gonta agreed.
"Nyahaha! It doesn't matter that Rin didn't say anything. We have the information now, so it's fine." Angie said cheerfully.
"So white-haired-fucker, what do you think we should do about this thing?" Miu asked me.
"I would like to know as well." Kiyo said. "As the only one who's seen one work before, I want to know Rin's opinion on it."
"Well, if I'm being honest, I don't think we should trust the flashback lights at all." I admitted. "The way the first one erased your memories of our first awakening might happen again, and that's too risky. Not to mention we don't know if the information is reliable."
"Are you talking about what you said about Tsumugi last night after the trial?" Kaede asked.
"Yeah. This thing definitely gives you 'memories', but who knows if they're real memories. For all we know, this could completely change us into different people." I said while looking at the light. "...but I would be lying if I said I wasn't hoping that this thing might have my memories in it. So I want to know what you guys think. I'm fine with using it if we all agree to take the information with a grain of salt. This is something Monokuma gave us and is tempting us too, after all."
"Rin's right. The device is too strange to take it at face value, but it still offers information that we desperately need at the moment." Rantaro agreed. "My vote goes to using it."
"I refuse!" Tenko cried out. "Rin's definitely right about it being WAY too fishy!"
"Yeah. Gonta no agree too. Too dangerous to trust." Gonta said while eyeing the device with a nervous look.
"I...don't think we should use it… I'm scared it might cause some weird side effects… like Rinny said." Kokichi said with a nervous look, sweat dripping from him.
"Nyeeeh...I'm worried how it will affect my magic." Himiko moaned.
"What about you Shuichi? What do you think?" Kaede asked the detective.
"What? Ah, I-"
"Alright! Then it's decided! Let's use it!" Kaito interrupted Shuichi.
"Who said that you decide that!?" Miu yelled.
"Wasn't the majority for not using it?" I asked.
"Geez, you guys are way too cautious." Kaito said while scratching the back of his head. "I mean, I understand why. We're in such a weird situation, after all. But...we can't win by just running away all the time! If you want to win, you've gotta be a little reckless sometimes. If we can't face this danger, there's no way we'll be able to defeat Monokuma."
"Kehehe… Well, aren't you confident? But you've no idea how we're supposed to win, do you?" Kiyo questioned the astronaut.
"Yeah, I've got no clue." Kaito admitted. "But still, if you wanna win, you gotta make a stand somewhere or you'll never move forward. If we run away, our kids will grow up to be the kinda people who run away from things like this!"
"...Huh? What are you talking about?" Maki asked with a raised eyebrow.
"If you still wanna run away, then go ahead. I won't stop you or blame you."
"Okaaaay, fine. Then c'mon! Let's go-" Kokichi began to say but stopped when he saw no one else move to leave. "...Huh? What's wrong, everyone? Aren't we going?"
"I'm...staying." Tenko said. "After hearing that degenerate's speech, running away would just frustrate me!"
"Gonta also stay…" Gonta said. "Is what true gentleman would prolly do."
"I also agree with Kaito. Our defeat is 100% assured unless we stand up to this." Keebo said proudly. "That's… how I feel, deep inside. Just a whisper-"
"You hear it in your ghost? I'm pretty sure robots don't have ghosts, though." Kokichi cut him off.
"...Leave me alone." Keebo said with an annoyed tone.
"I shall stay as well. I suspect I will be able to observe something most interesting…" Kiyo said softly as he smiled.
"If anything happens to me, y'all better beg my fans, the world, and humanity for forgiveness!" Miu threatened.
"It's good to see we all have come to an agreement." Rantaro said with a smile. "Shuchi, what about you?"
"I-I...I'll stay behind too." Shuichi said.
"Me too! I want to help everyone, so I'll stay too!" Kaede said, confidence coming back to her.
"I'll stay, too! So what if it might cause some weird side effects? That's no big deal!" Kokichi cheered as stars shone in his eyes.
"So everyone wants to use it. Alright. Let's see what this does then." I said. "I'll turn it on. Ready?" Everyone nodded. I flicked on the light, and as soon as I did, the world...warped. The entire room went white as the flashback light engulfed everything. My eyes were burning, and my head began to throb. It felt like time had stopped as pain engulfed my senses. As the light died down, the pain in my head was the only thing I could really focus on. I grasped my head as I tried my best not to fall over. My vision was incredibly blurry. I couldn't really see anything in front of me, and now I was starting to feel nauseated. Blinded in pain, and about to throw up or pass out. It's always something involving pain with me, isn't it…?
"I...remember…" I hear Shuichi say. "Yes, I remember everything now! In order to escape the Ultimate Hunt, I erased my own memory-" He began to say, but Kaito interrupted him again.
"W-Wait! Did you say 'Ultimate Hunt'?"
"...Huh?"
"You guys, too!?" Miu shouted. "So it wasn't just me getting chased down in this Ultimate Hunt…"
"I get it… We all were being chased by the Ultimate Hunt. We each erased our memories of our talents to escape." I heard Rantaro say.
"All of us here were being chased by the Ultimate Hunt…" Ryoma said hesitantly. "What on earth does that mean?"
"Oh, wait… Can someone tell me what that is? I...can't seem to remember." Tenko said nervously. "What is the Ultimate Hunt?"
"Geez, how could you forget something so important? Alright guys, the Ultimate Hunt is…" Kaito began but he trailed off. "...Huh? What was it? Why can't I remember?"
"I can't either…" Kaede said sadly.
"It's no use, I can't remember either. I can only remember being chased…" Keebo said. "I can't remember anything else at all."
"Yeah, no matter how hard I try, I can't seem to remember…" Shuichi trailed off.
"Ugh, this feels gross. Like a shit that won't fully squeeze out." Miu commented.
"Even if we can't remember, we should still be able to figure something out…" Ryoma said.
"...Hm? What you mean?" Gonta asked.
"If we were all running from the Ultimate Hunt, then why are we imprisoned here?" Ryoma asked.
"Huh? Why?" Himiko questioned.
"Could the reason be that...we were caught by the Ultimate Hunt?"
"You mean, we tried to escape by erasing our memories, but they found us anyway…" Keebo elaborated. "And subsequently, we were captured as part of this Ultimate Hunt?"
"Then, this killing game is…" Kaito began.
"Yeah… it might be the work of the Ultimate Hunt." Ryoma said darkly.
"If that is so… then I am all the more concerned about this Ultimate Hunt." Kiyo said.
"But how disappointing! No one can remember anything!" Angie said, still happy and cheerful. "Nyahahahahaha! What a disappointing disappointment!"
"Quit laughing about this, you little shit!" Miu yelled at Angie.
"Rantaro, do you know anything about this? How do you know about the Ultimate Hunt, and what do you know about it?" Kaede asked.
"Can't say I have anything useful. The only thing I know about the Ultimate Hunt was the name. Don't even know where I got the term from. Very strange…" Rantaro said that last bit quietly. I could tell his tone was a bit less tense, as if he isn't as worried.
"What about Rin? Did you hear the Monokubs say anything about-" Shuichi stopped mid sentence. I tried my best to look at him, but all I got was a black and blue blur. "R-Rin! Are you ok!?"
"You're really pale!" Kaede exclaimed.
"Oh...you know...just have a mild headache. And I'm feeling like I might throw up. Or pass out… or maybe both… also my vision is super blurry right now." I say as I feel myself start to fall over, only to be caught by the Avocado next to me.
"Easy there." Rantaro said as he helped me stand up right. "Did the flashback light do this to you?"
"I think so…" I said as I rub my eyes once again. "By the way, can I ask something?"
"What is it?" I heard Kaito ask.
"What exactly are you all talking about? You all remembered the Ultimate Hunt? Is that right?" I asked. I heard a few gasps after I said that.
"You didn't remember?" I heard Maki ask me.
"Nope. For a second I thought this was a dud. Then you all started talking about the Ultimate Hunt. I can't really say I follow completely." I admitted. My vision is coming back, albeit slowly. "I'm...I can't even get a single memory back, can I?" I sighed as I put my hand on my face. "Sorry. I won't be much help with this either. I can't even say if this new info you all have is fake or not since I didn't get it." I hissed the last part out. "This is...so...frustrating…"
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault. You can't really control whether or not these things work on you." Rantaro reassured me.
"But why aren't they working on me? It worked on everyone else, even Keebo!" I asked in a loud and angry tone.
"That's robophobic! Of course it worked on me!" Keebo yelled back. Rantaro gave a look of realization at me and Keebo before putting his hand on his chin.
"This is...unfortunate to say the least." Kiyo stated.
"So none of us know anything about this Ultimate Hunt?" Himiko asked.
"I wonder if Tsumugi knew about this." Maki said.
"Even if she did, we can't ask her anymore. She's dead." Ryoma said matter-of-factly.
"Well, if you wish, I could perform a seance." Kiyo said with an eager expression.
"S-Stop it! Don't bring up weird stuff like that!" Kaito exclaimed with a nervous look.
"I doubt Tsumugi would want to help us anyway if we did do a seance." I sighed.
"Yep, death can be real heartless!" Monokuma said as he reappeared before us.
"Says the root of all evil..." Himiko remarked.
"Puhuhu… Looks like everyone except Mister Rin safely got their memories back." Monokuma said, ignoring Himiko's sassy remark.
"What the hell's goin' on, you stupid-ass bear!? This Ultimate Hunt makes no goddamn sense!" Miu yelled.
"Looks like your sealed memories are more stubborn than I thought…" Monokuma said, once again ignoring what was said. "Just one use of the Flashback Light wasn't enough to restore all your memories, and Mister Rin appears to have an immunity to the Flashback Light."
"You're such a terrible liar. You totally did that on purpose." Kokichi said cheekily.
"What connection do you have with the Ultimate Hunt?" Maki interrogated.
"Puhuhu… I can't reveal that. Regardless of my true identity, my goal is crystal clear." Monokuma said before giving us a chilling laugh. "And that is to make you guys participate in the killing game! That is my only desire!" With that, the monochromatic bear left us in the gym with those final words. The killing game… It's always about this cursed game. So many mysteries surround it, and I barely have any leads as to it's true purpose.
"Wh-What!? Killing game!? I will never do that again!" Tenko declared.
"We just gotta work together. If we cooperate, we'll make it out of here alive. Just like Kaede said before." Kaito said confidently. I couldn't help but look away at his words. That wasn't true. I'm sure someone else is going to kill another. Tsumugi killing Kirumi proved that the people running this game will even play dirty to get us to kill. It was inevitable. Can we...really trust each other so readily?
"Should we really do as the want-a-be murderer says?" Kokichi then brought up.
"What are you saying?" Tenko asked angrily.
"You all do remember how Kaeyayday tried to kill Rin, riiiight? Also, if it weren't for Rin, it's highly likely that Avotaro would have been killed with Tsumugi framing Kaeyayday for his death, riiiight? So why are we trying to work together with someone like her? In fact, we don't need to work together. We just need to ask how we can get out." Kaede stiffened at Kokichi's words and seemed to clutch herself a bit more, while the others were all wearing pained expressions at remembering what had occurred.
"Kaede may have almost killed Rin, but that doesn't mean we should forsake her entirely." I hear Ryoma say.
"While it may be hard to put my full trust in Kaede like before, I do not believe it would be good to forget her goodwill towards us." Kiyo also added.
"Kaede was trying to stop the mastermind. Killing isn't right...but Kaede didn't end up killing anyone…" Himiko stated.
"If we truly are concerned with Kaede, we can have someone keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't do something like this again." Keebo said as well. Kaede looked at everyone and gave a weak smile. She knows now. They don't hate her. Sure, she broke the trust everyone gave her as the leader figure and that would take a long time to fully get back, but that's not going to stop everyone from reaching towards that promise she made back on the first day.
"Besides, if we ask Monokuma about a way out, he'll say the only way is to win the killing game." Maki said with an annoyed tone.
"Oh, we're not gonna ask Monokuma. We're going to ask the real mastermind." Kokichi then said with an evil grin.
"Huh?" Shuichi tilted his head in confusion.
"A-Are you already goin' senile!? I thought Tsu-bitch was the mastermind?" Miu questioned.
"Hm, oh yeah. We did, didn't we?" Kokichi put his arms behind his head with a smile. "But didn't Rinny also say that it was possible that Tsumugi wasn't the real mastermind?"
"...That's true." I said, causing the others to look at me with concern. "The point still stands. The killing game hasn't stopped despite Tsumugi's execution. That must mean someone else is controlling this game."
"Then are you suggesting one of us was working with Tsumugi?" Kaede asked.
"That's a possibility. Rinny also said that the real mastermind could be watching from somewhere since Tsumugi was already among us. Either way, now that I think about it, it's probably best if we don't try and find the real mastermind. Don't wanna repeat Kaeyayday's potential screwup. It also would be best if to not sacrifice someone to find the real mastermind either, like Rinny did with Kirumi." Both me and Kaede froze at that. Guilt. The feeling was suffocating.
"You better stop messing around!" Kaito growled at Kokichi.
"Eh? You think I'm messing around right now?" Kokichi asked. "Aw man, you really don't get it. I'm trying to get through to everyone. If you keep saying all this stuff about working together and cooperating, then you can expect to receive some painful retaliation. Get it?"
"What are you suggesting, Kokichi?" Shuichi asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you...perhaps referring to-"
"Argh, that's enough! I'm gonna slug him!" Kaito shouted, cutting me off and causing Kokichi to give a nervous expression to us.
"Aaahh! He's gonna punch me! I gotta make a break for it!" With that, Kokichi bolted out of the gym, fleeing Kaito's grasp and the potential punch to the face.
"Tch...damn. He's fast." Kaito sighed as he rubbed his hand through his hair.
"Geez… what a strange guy." Ryoma added as he watched everything unfold. "He just provokes people and never says anything from the heart. He's always messing around and making fun of those around him."
"Is that really the case? He makes some good points at times." I said, causing some people to send me strange glaces.
"Even if that's true, how can he say such insensitive things so casually when we're trying so hard to survive!" Tenko said. I sighed. Kokichi does have the problem of saying things in a bad way when they could have been said at a better time in a better way.
"He's just painting a target on his back. It's like he doesn't want to survive." Ryoma added. "Though, I guess I'm no different. I don't plan to survive this either." With that, Ryoma left the gym.
"You not plan to survive? What that mean?" Gonta asked innocently.
"He's mentioned it before. Ryoma says he doesn't have a reason to live anymore." Rantaro said with a solemn look. "Seriously, that guy…"
"He doesn't have a reason to live…?" Himiko repeated with a confused look.
"Ryoma…" Kaede muttered with a sad expression.
"Hmph… the Ultimate Tennis Pro shouldn't be saying something as cowardly as that." Kaito mumbled under his breath in a sad and disappointed tone.
"You should calm down, Kaito. Forget about what Kokichi and Ryoma said. Violence won't solve anything." Keebo said.
"...Fine. That won't stop me if Kokichi does anything like that again." Kaito responded. I can't help but sigh as we begin to leave the gym. With all that's happened, I can't help but be worried about what comes next.
