"All right. Let's get started with the meeting." I said as we all entered Angie's lab.
"Yep yep. We will be discussing the details of the resurrection ritual, right?" Angie asked me.
"Yes, along with other things." I nodded as I took out the Necronomicon. "However, I want to tell you all something before we actually make the decision to use this. There...actually is a risk involved in using this."
"There is a risk?" Keebo repeated.
"But you told us that there was nothing dangerous inside the book." Tenko said.
"Yeah, and there isn't." I responded. "The Necronomicon's resurrection ritual is just making an effigy, buring the book, and spreading its ashes onto the effigy."
"That's...actually really simple." Himiko muttered.
"Yeah. So there's nothing dangerous about it. But...I can think of one possible danger when it comes to this." I sighed. "I didn't mention it to the others since they're already worried about this, and I didn't want to make it worse, but since you guys are agreeing to work with me and want to use it, I figured I had to let you guys know about this possible risk."
"And what risk?" Gonta asked.
"Well…" I began. "I have nothing to confirm it, but it's just a thought I'm having since, despite what Monodam said, this is still a motive, and we're still in a killing game. While I believe that the real motive behind all of this is creating discord among us by having us fight over the ritual due to our fears, there is a possibility that using the ritual might create an additional motive or the like."
"Additional motive?" Angie asked, now putting on a serious expression I hadn't seen on her yet.
"...I mentioned how I thought that Tsumugi was being controlled into thinking that she was the mastermind, right?" I told them. "I still don't have proof of that, but because I believe that's a possibility, then the same thing could happen with this. Whether we're really bringing the dead back to life, or whether we're regaining someone who we thought had died, there's a possibility that whoever we bring back will be under the same influence that Tsumugi was. They might...become a murderous fiend that wants to play the killing game."
"Y-You think that could actually happen?!" Keebo asked me in a horrified voice.
"It's a possibility, nothing more, but since it's a possibility, we have to discuss it." I sighed. "I don't know if it really will happen. Nothing might happen and we'll have our friend come back completely fine, or maybe they'll become a completely different person. Either way, I still think we should use the ritual, but with caution." I then gave them all a serious and determined look. "You all wanted me to be your president, so here's the promise I'll make to you. If something bad does happen with the ritual, I'll take full responsibility. No one else will get hurt. I'll make sure that everything comes out okay. So trust me. I still believe we should do the ritual, just so we can have that knowledge that will come afterwards. In this situation, we need to know as much as we can, so…" I trailed off as I waited for their response. They all thought about it for a bit before they gave me an answer.
"If you think we should still perform the ritual, then I'll follow your decision." Keebo said. "That's what I believe is best."
"Nyeh...same here. I trust you. Atua's on our side, though, so I doubt anything bad will happen." Himiko added.
"Of course! Atua is with all of us. He will protect us all!" Angie nodded enthusiastically. "Rin is the president of the student council, so if this is what he thinks we should do, then we should follow him."
"Yes. Gonta agree. Gonta trust friend Rin." Gonta nodded happily.
"..." Tenko was the only one who didn't say anything. She still seemed to be thinking about it, a worried look on her face.
"Tenko?" Himiko asked, snapping Tenko out of her trance.
"H-Huh? O-Oh. I...I think we should still do the ritual, obviously." Tenko replied. She's lying. I knew it the moment I heard it come out of her mouth. Perhaps I'm not as good at calling out lies like Kokichi is, but I can still see obvious ones. But why would she lie?
"Then it's decided. We still perform the ritual." I said. "Thank you all for trusting me with this. I won't let you down."
"So how will we go about the ritual? You mentioned needing an effigy?" Keebo asked.
"Yes. We'll need an effigy." I said as I took the book out and read it. "The Necronomicon Resurrection Ritual. Prepare an effigy of the dead soul you wish to contact. Everyone may participate. The size and shape of the effigy is irrelevant. Make it out of whatever materials you wish. If it's not obvious who the effigy is supposed to be, label it with the name of the deceased. After preparing the effigy, burn this Necronomicon to ashes. Use caution! Be mindful of carbon monoxide poisoning! Sprinkle the ashes on the effigy and repeat the name of the deceased three close your eyes and wait. After a while...you should feel a light tap on your back. If so, that means the ritual was a success! The ashes are only good for one use. The ritual can only be performed once, so use it wisely."
"That's it? That doesn't sound like a real resurrection ritual at all." Himiko pointed out.
"Yeah. It just adds to my own personal doubt to all of this. Still, it doesn't matter how realistic this ritual is since we're still doing it. So, what are we going to do with the effigy?" I asked.
"Oh! Let me make it! I have plenty of wax here that's perfect for making an effigy!" Angie told me excitedly. "Though, it will take me a day to make it. We'll have to perform the ritual tomorrow."
"Then I'll leave it to you." I told her with a nod.
"Then that just leaves us with one more question." Keebo began.
"Who we bring back? We only get one chance." Gonta said. It was true. Out of four people, we only had one chance to bring one of them back. So who should it be?
"I believe we should avoid Tsumugi and Korekiyo." Angie then said.
"Huh? How come?" Gonta asked.
"Cuz they were killers. We want peace in this academy, and bringing back convicted murderers would directly hinder that." Angie explained.
"I guess that's true. Even if I'm wrong about that risk I brought up, bringing one of those two back would still have that risk with them specifically. They might be brought back along with their previous desires to kill." I sighed.
"Then that leaves us with two options." Himiko said.
"Miu and Kirumi." Tenko said with a soft voice. One of those two. The person who's going to be brought back...is going to be one of those two? I shook my head. No! Stop it! Don't do that! Don't start having hope right now! The ritual is impossible, so there's no way either of them are coming back. They're both dead. I...failed to protect either of them. No wishful thinking or rituals will fix those mistakes of mine. Still, we have to choose one of them to perform the ritual on, even if it's just a hoax.
"Hmmm… Both candidates are good." Angie mumbled. "Kirumi is so nice and helped everyone here. She was a lovely friend, and her return would make everyone happy. And Miu was so smart! She wanted to help stop murders from happening before she died, and her inventions could help us live happily here."
"It is a tough choice…" Keebo muttered before he turned to me. "Rin, as our president, who do you think we should attempt to bring back?"
"Don't ask me." I spat out as I clutched my arms. "I...don't want that burden on me. I can't...be the one to choose. Because...if this ritual actually does work...then...the amount of guilt I would feel for the people we didn't revive… I know I should take the responsibility for this, but I just can't bear that pain. I don't...want to feel that guilt." I softly cried out. "Even if it's all fake, and there's no chance for it to happen, I can't...make that choice."
"Rin…" Tenko said softly before Angie nodded.
"Then we should leave it to a vote." She suggested. "That way, none of us feel that guilt for picking one person over the other. That's probably for the best."
"But what happens if the vote is tied? There's six of us now." Keebo mentioned.
"Then I won't vote." I said. "I'm the president, so I think it's fair if I didn't vote in this. You guys and vote on it, but you should do it later. There's some other things we should discuss now."
"Right right. We started talking about it last night, but we should start enforcing rules to help eliminate the killing game." Angie nodded.
"Yes. Let's begin discussing that." I nodded. "First thing's first, we were discussing wandering around at nighttime, right?"
"That is correct." Himiko nodded. "Angie suggested that no one should be allowed to walk around at night other than council members."
"But that's too controlling, and council members can still commit crimes as well. We shouldn't be above our own rules and standards. There's nothing inherently wrong with walking around at night, even if Kiyo did most of his crime during the night as well." I said. "What's problematic is if someone is walking around by themselves. As long as they're with someone, it should be fine since they can be the other's alibi. A group can keep themselves accountable."
"Hmm...that is true." Angie hummed. "But what if the group starts working together to do bad things?"
"If it's part of the killing game, Monokuma told us before. There's no incentive for working together in a murder." Keebo mentioned.
"Well, it's still possible that if two people go out at night that one of them might kill the other, though." Tenko said.
"That is true." I mumbled as I thought about the dilemma.
"What if student council make note of who out at night and with who?" Gonta suggested.
"That's...actually a really good idea, Gonta!" I exclaimed happily. "That's a perfect plan. We can have two council members stand guard near the entrance of the dormitories and make note of who goes out at night and who they're with, along with preventing anyone from going out by themselves. That way, if anyone does kill the person they're out with, we'll know immediately who the culprit is if something does happen. It's not a perfect solution, but it's the best we can do. There's nothing we can do to completely eliminate the risks of the killing game, but as long as we make it next to impossible for anyone to get a good chance at making a move towards murder, then that's a win for us."
"But who will be the two on guard? Those two will have to stay up all night if that's the case." Angie said.
"Then I can be one person who stands guard." Keebo said. "As a robot, I do not require sleep. My battery can last several days without needing to charge it, and when I do need to charge, I can do it during the day."
"Then Keebo can be one of our guards. What about the other person?" Himiko asked.
"Gonta can be other guard. Gonta don't mind. It Gonta's idea, so Gonta should be guard." Gonta told us.
"But you'll still need some rest. I'd feel bad if you were constantly staying up all night for us." I said before coming up with something. "So how about we take turns with the second guard? One night can be one person, and then the next night can be one of us to give the previous person a break. We can keep alternating until we each have been standing guard once, then we do it over again."
"That sounds like a good idea." Tenko nodded. "We should make a schedule for guard positions then." And that's exactly what we did. We took some of Angie's paint brushes and essentially drew straws using them. With that, we came up with a rotation. Keebo said he was fine always being a guard since his battery would allow it, and the one who drew the shortest stick was Tenko, so she's first on guard duty. After Tenko would be Gonta, then Himiko, then me, and then Angie. I was tempted to call out that Angie was cheating, but it's our fault for using her own paint brushes that she knows like the back of her hand when doing this.
"Alright, now that we have a plan for nighttime, let's discuss the other issue that was brought up last night: the underground tunnel." I said.
"Yes. That tunnel is a constant reminder of escape." Angie said. "If we leave it be, it might cause bad emotions to fester in the others."
"Gonta can block manhole with heavy rocks. That way no one can enter tunnel." Gonta suggested. I thought about it before giving him an answer.
"That sounds like a plan. No one has even attempted the tunnel after that first day, so it really shouldn't matter if it's blocked or not, but can you do that after I try attempting the tunnel one more time?" I asked him.
"You want to give it another try?" Tenko asked me.
"Yeah. Who knows? If I manage to get to the end, maybe I'll see if there really is an exit or if that was just a lie." I said. "I can bring a camera too in case I do get to the end so I can take a picture of what's there as proof."
"Well if that's the case, then I can come with you!" Tenko told me.
"There's no need for that." I told her.
"B-But that tunnel is extremely dangerous! You shouldn't be attempting it alone!" She argued.
"I'll only be making one attempt, and I won't get too injured from just that. I also want to try something to see if it works, and it requires me to be alone." I explained. "Don't worry, I won't just escape without you all. I don't even want to escape if it's not with you guys."
"Hmm… I don't like it, but I trust you." Angie said. "You and Gonta will go to the tunnel so you can make the final attempt, and once that's done, Gonta will cover it with heavy rocks if we really cannot escape."
"Thank you." I said.
"So we have everything settled?" Keebo asked.
"Yes. I believe that is everything for now." I nodded. "Thank you again, everyone. Let's continue to work together so we can end this killing game."
"Yeah!" They shouted happily. With that, the meeting was over, and we all began to go our separate ways, leaving Angie alone in her lab so she could begin work on the effigy. I was just about to head down to my room to grab something before I headed to the underground tunnel, but I was stopped by Tenko.
"H-Hey! Rin. Do you...want to spar a bit with me before you head over to the tunnel?" She asked me.
"Train? You and me?" I asked, quite shocked that she wanted to spend time with me of all people.
"Y-Yeah. I-I feel bad for throwing you around the last few days, so I wanted to make it up to you by teaching you some Neo Aikido. Trust me when I say that it can help you!" I thought about her offer for a bit before I nodded. It would be useful to know how to properly defend myself in case I get attacked by someone.
"Sure. I'll train with you as long as you don't hurt me too much." I replied with a chuckle.
"Great! Then let's head over to my lab!" Tenko said with excitement. With Tenko practically dragging me away, we headed to her lab to train. Once we got there, Tenko brought me to the middle of the dojo and got into a fighting stance. "Okay Rin! Let's begin! Don't hold back, since I won't be holding back against you!" Tenko shouted.
"Wh-What!? But I don't even know how to do any aikido yet!" I shouted.
"The best way to learn is through actual battle experience!" Tenko shouted back. I couldn't help but suddenly regret my decision. I hope I don't get hurt too much. Well, we certainly fought. And I am proud to say...I lasted more than 3 minutes against Tenko. Before I knew it, I was lying on my back once again, feeling a familiar sense of pain and disappointment in myself for letting myself get into this situation again.
"Ooooow…" I moaned.
"Hmm. You certainly did well. For a degenerate." Tenko said.
"I couldn't even touch you." I grumbled. "I thought you said you wanted to train me as an apology for throwing me around the last few days, but you've just gone ahead and thrown me again…"
"S-Sorry…" Tenko while poking her fingers together nervously.
"It's fine." I sighed as I got up. "Maybe this time you can actually teach me how to move like that. Seriously, I couldn't even begin to predict your movements, and that's something I'm good at in games and competitions."
"Well of course! I have far more experience in combat, so I know how to make my moves less predictable while still keeping the style of Neo Aikido!" Tenko told me in a proud voice.
"So lunging at me like a wild animal is part of Neo Aikido?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Anything a person can do to win the fight is part of Neo Aikido!" Tenko answered me.
"So much for an honorable, fair fight…" I sighed.
"Hahaha! No need to hide it! I can already tell that you've taken a huge interest in Neo Aikido, Rin!" Tenko said with a big smile.
"...I'm interested in learning more about it as a martial art. I don't know about actually learning it myself, especially after seeing it in action like that." I responded.
"Don't worry! Neo Aikido accepts degenerate males, too!" She told me before her face became slightly downcast. "Our goal is to become the national sport. Necessity knows no law!"
"I can tell you're really excited at the prospect of helping men get into it." I gave a dry laugh.
"Well, at least you're a decent degenerate." Tenko sighed.
"That sounds like an oxymoron." I replied, but she ignored my comment.
"Still, you have potential. Let's spar again and see if we can get you to tap into that potential!"
"How about we actually go over the basics? I'll never learn anything until I get the fundamentals of the art." I told her.
"Whaaat? There's no such thing as "basics" in Neo-Aikido!" She told me angrily. "Would swinging a bamboo sword in the air help you win in Kendo? Likewise, would swinging a bat in the air help you hit a homerun in baseball?"
"I...guess you do have a point." I admitted. "Learning how to speak wouldn't help you sing or win debates, after all."
"Exactly! It doesn't matter how much you train or study for something! The only true way to improve is with experience! To win fights, you need to experience real combat! That's the true form of practice!" Tenko said with passion.
"Yeah. You're right." I nodded. "But you could at least let me start at a slow pace. I haven't really sparred at all yet, so I don't think throwing me in the deep end would give me much practical experience other than experience being a ragdoll."
"I-I guess, but you'll never get far if you keep having an attitude like that!" Tenko shot back. She then gave me a smile. "It seems like you're taking more of an interest in Neo Aikido, though. So I'll tell you a special secret of the art."
"Special secret?" I repeated. I may have just made a terrible mistake.
"As practitioners of Neo Aikido, Master and I...are also heroes of justice!" Tenko shouted excitedly. "Master and I wear masks to disguise ourselves! We serve to save, whether it is day or night!"
"..." I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. "So...you're like a superhero or something?"
"Hahaha, are you surprised? Heroes of justice are real!" Tenko exclaimed."Oh! But you're the only one I told this to, so don't go around telling other people, okay? If people find out Neo-Aikido practitioners are superheroes, too many males will wanna join!"
"I thought that was the point…" I gave a dry chuckle. "So what do you 'superheroes' do?"
"We do everything! Help an old woman carry her belongings... Help a child cross the street… Oh, yeah! I caught a thief a few days ago before we were brought here!"
"That's...actually really admirable. It sounds like you work hard to help people." I said with slight admiration.
"We also punish degenerates who cheat, bring divine justice to gropers on trains… And even help girls who just had tough break-ups!" Tenko added.
"That...sounds less like hero work." I noted. "Does that really count as something superheroes should do?"
"Of course! Nothing is more wretched than seeing a girl cry over a male! Sometimes, we teach the girls Neo-Aikido to help them exact their revenge on males!" Tenko answered.
"Revenge?" I said with slight horror in my voice.
"I know that look. You think that's a bad thing." Tenko growled. "But it's those degenerates' fault for making those girls cry!" Why did I think I can expect anything else from Tenko? How many of my fellow male brothers have fallen due to Tenko's Aikido? That's when I noticed that Tenko was giving me a strange look.
"Umm… You okay, Tenko?" I asked her.
"...I can't help but keep wondering," She began. "Are you sure about this student council stuff?" I raised an eyebrow at her question.
"Yes. I believe working together with everyone in the council will prevent any more casualties." I answered her. "So let me ask you, as the president of our little group, why did you join? You clearly don't like it."
"H-Huh? O-Of course I enjoy being a part of the council!" Tenko told me.
"No, you don't. Everytime we make a decision about something, you grimace a bit. Especially when it comes to Angie and Atua. Like when she asked everyone if they wanted to do the ritual, you hesitated and responded with a nervous voice. You...don't actually think we should do the ritual, do you." I asked. Tenko stuttered in her attempt to give a response, but was failing miserably. I sighed. "This just proves my suspicions. So why are you a part of this? You don't have to be if you don't agree with what we're doing."
"U-Umm… W-Well…" Tenko tried to tell me, but words were failing her. I thought about it for a second before it hit me.
"It's because of Himiko, isn't it?" I asked her. Tenko immediately recoiled from the question, almost like she was being blown away by the suddenness and accuracy of the question.
"U-UH!? Wh-What makes you think that!?"
"When it comes to you, Himiko seems to be the motivation most of the time." I replied. "So are you still worried about Himiko?" Tenko sighed before she nodded.
"Yes. She's still being controlled by Angie and Atua." Tenko then gave a sad expression and she put her hands together. "No… It's more like...she's letting Atua control her. She's just letting Angie and Atua call all the shots for her, all while she hides from reality and from her own emotions. It's not healthy!"
"Yes...I have to agree with that point." I nodded. "I don't think believing in Atua is the bad thing there. Keebo and Gonta seem to believe right now, and they're fine. Himiko though...that's pure escapism."
"Yes! It's incredibly worrying!" Tenko told me. "That's why I decided to join the student council. So I can help protect Himiko and get her to start opening up with her emotions." I couldn't help but give a small smile at that.
"Ever the kind friend, even when Himiko doesn't treat you the same. You're really sweet." I told her.
"O-Oh, it's nothing. Really." Tenko tried to deflect, but I just gave a small chuckle in response.
"Still, while I find that admirable and support you in trying to get Himiko to open up, if it means you're going to hinder the student council, I'll have to ask you to leave the council." I told her with a stern look. "You might not agree with us performing the ritual or creating more rules for the others to follow, but please understand that it's a necessary precaution. If you can't agree with us and actively try to stop us, then you can't stay on the council. You understand that, right?"
"Y-Yes." Tenko gave a slight nod. "B-But everything the council wants to do...do you really think it's for the best."
"Yes, I do." I answered immediately. "We need to be kept accountable for our actions. There need to be restrictions on all of us if we want to get out of this together. It'll be hard, but it'll be worth it in the end."
"Even with the risk you brought up about the resurrection ritual?"
"Absolutely."
"Even when you don't believe it will work at all."
"We need to know exactly what Monokuma and the kubs are capable of. Performing the ritual will show us just how they plan to fool us and what tricks they might try later."
"And the tunnel?"
"Like I said, I don't think any of us have even attempted it after that first day. If my little trick can get past it, nothing will."
"And what is that trick of yours? You seem extremely confident about it. It must be quite the trick if it's making you so confident in taking on that passageway again, despite not being able to handle a girl in a fight. And it just takes a glance for anyone to know you look really tired. Have you slept lately?"
"Hey! You're an Ultimate specialized in martial arts! You can't compare us! And yes, I have been sleeping! Just...not that much." I shot back, the latter part in a weaker voice than the rest. "And that trick...it's just something I realized recently that might...work out in the tunnel. Can't really mention more than that, since I'm not even sure if it will do anything. If it does work out, I'll let you all know, and we'll be outta here in a few hours. And please don't worry about the ritual. I make sure nothing happens to any of you. I'll take full responsibility and handle things accordingly." Tenko just stared at me before she seemed to relax a bit.
"I'll hold you to that. If you're lying, I won't ever forgive you! You'll be a degenerate among degenerates!"
"Yep. I would totally be horrible." I nodded with a laugh. "Soooo… Are we both good?"
"Yeah." Tenko replied before giving me a serious look. "But while I can understand your reasoning, I still don't approve of you wanting to use the motive!"
"Fair. But still, while I understand you're worried, I hope you won't get in our way." I shot back while crossing my arms. "At this point, I just want to protect you all. I won't let anything get in the way of that."
"You really care for us. That much is obvious. But there are right and wrong ways to go about protecting us." Tenko told me.
"Yes. And the Student Council is one of those right ways, I'm sure. What I've been doing so far has been wrong, so...this has to be right. If it isn't...I…" I trailed off, not wanting to think about finishing that sentence. "If that's all, I'll be going. I hope you have a good rest of the day." I told Tenko as I began to leave.
"Hey, Rin. I...I still trust you, even if I don't fully think what you're doing is right." Tenko told me before I left. "When I threw you just now, I could tell that you're feeling better now. You seem more relaxed now, like the pain isn't as bad anymore. And you seem more confident in yourself more, or perhaps you're feeling like you have to become more confident in yourself. I hope...you can become more confident in yourself. You're a good person, and you're doing so much for all of us. Everyone really appreciates you, so don't do something that will get you hurt." I let a small smile crack as she spoke.
"Thanks. I'll try my best. I don't want to let any of you down, after all." I told her. "Let's do this again sometime. It's fun learning about Neo Aikido from you, and maybe I'll get better at fighting if we keep doing this." With a wave, I then left the dojo. Phew… Just another reminder I've got a lot of expectations on me right now. I can't let them down. So...I pray this works. Those were my thoughts as I went to my dorm room to grab my Electro Hammer for the underground tunnel run.
