I originally planned for this chapter to include a bunch of small scenes. Instead, we ended up getting three kinda-long scenes. But each scene is jam-packed with interesting circumstances. At least by my standards, I dunno.
Also, we get to see Albert and friends! That hasn't happened in the middle of a "chapter" since "chapter 2." The quotations are for in-game chapters, not my story's chapters. What will he discuss!? What will Maki be doing in the meantime!? Only time will tell!
In any case, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 27
Those We Become
The next morning, everyone seemed to awaken at different times. They were so used to hearing the Monokuma Announcements every morning that their minds weren't used to waking up on their own. Some students woke up too earlier, some slept in too late. In any case, even after awakening, it wasn't very busy within the Funhouse. Everyone avoided moving too much, and moved slowly when they did, so that they could conserve as much energy as possible.
Byakuya was the last to leave his room. He stayed in bed longer than necessary due to his fear of burning excess calories. Still, he was in the best shape out of anyone for a situation like this, so it was his duty to help investigate.
These were his thoughts as he made his way over to Grape House. Upon exiting the contact elevator, he noticed someone with him on the 1st floor.
"Maki. I see you had the same idea as me."
She half-turned. "Hey, Byakuya." With that, she turned back to the statues she was investigating.
"Have you found anything?"
"I assume you mean something regarding an exit?"
"Um, yes."
"I have not."
He crossed his arms. He wanted to ask "Are you okay?" or something to that effect, but the answer was obvious. Everyone could see it. The last case had deteriorated Maki's emotional and mental state severely. It was hard enough to speak with Maki on an even level normally, she was too aloof and usually lead the flow of the conversation herself. Now, though? Her mood was yet another layer in the way.
"So, do you want anything?" Maki asked impatiently. "Or are you just going to stare at me like a piece of meat?" After a moment, she smirked at her own dark humour. "Oh, I guess I shouldn't use that expression in this situation, huh?"
"Don't worry. I'm not that far gone that I would consider cannibalism. Besides, long pig is actually much more detrimental to one's health than you would think."
"Are you speaking from experience, or is that just random trivia?"
"Luckily, just something I read." He sighed, deciding to change the subject. "So... have you learned anything about these... effegies?"
Maki turned back toward them. "Eight statues. They appear to be made of bronze, and don't really fit with the rest of the building. The nameplates also seem tacked-on at the last minute, if you ask me. Going from left to right, we have Esper..."
She pointed to a statue of a girl, no older than high-school age. She wore a sailor uniform, and had long, blue hair. She had a microphone in her hands, and a pleasant smile on her face.
"...11037..." She pointed to a statue of a boy, of similar age. He was dressed with a punk aesthetic, with many piercings, and his hair and goatee were red. In his hand was a baseball and a bat.
"...Bloodlust..." The next statue was another girl. She was dressed in a school uniform with a long skirt and large glasses, and her dark purple hair was tied into two long braids. She timidly held a book to her chest.
"...Brother..." The next was a boy with a long leather jacket and pompadour. He appeared to be some sort of delinquent. He had a fierce look on his face, and he carried a pickaxe.
"...Boy Scout..." Next was a boy with short black hair and red eyes. He was dressed in a student council uniform. He stood with a salute, and had a determined smile.
"...Otaku..." Next was a very rotund boy, wearing a school uniform and small glasses. He was scribbling away at something with a pencil and paper.
"...Clairvoyant..." Next was a boy with wild dreadlocks. He seemed considerably older, wore a uniform with the coat over his shoulders, and held a crystal ball in his hands.
"...And finally, Ogre." Last was a tall, muscular figure wearing a girl's sailor uniform and standing in a victory pose.
"Quite an array." Byakuya said.
She nodded, then turned away from them. "I was planning to check out the Monokuma Archive eventually, but I can't psyche myself up to sit in a room like that for too long."
"Surely it's better than starving to death, though?"
"To death, yes. Just starving though, I can put up with."
"Then you have more willpower than I. I'm already feeling peckish, and it's gnawing at my mind as well as my stomach."
"Heh, I guess a Togami wouldn't know how to deal with hunger." Maki glanced at the nearby staircase to make sure they were alone before playfully smacking her forehead. "Oh, that's right. You're not actually a Togami, are you?"
His eyes widened. "So... you knew. I suspected, after you backed up my cover story. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. You're usually on top of these things."
"Oh, no. I knew long before I saw that picture. You play the part of an Affluent Progeny well, but the Togami's aren't exactly a secret society, you know."
"They aren't exactly public figures, either." He countered.
"True, but it seems they're at least public enough that we each got a look at the real one at some point. So, what's with the disguise, anyway? Who are you?"
"...I have no name." He admitted. "I was born with nothing; No name, no family, no birth certificate, no home. I never had any identity at all. All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, but no matter where I go or who I try to be, I just feel... empty. That's why I had to steal the identities of others, it's the only way I ever feel like I exist. I hate stealing the faces and behaviours of others, and I hate lying to others, but... I don't know what else I can do." He sighed. "I picked up the name of Byakuya Togami because he was everything I couldn't be. He earned his spot in the world, he had a name, a family, a home, and a fortune to inherit. No one could deny his existence."
"...Deny his existence, huh...?" Maki muttered. It seemed like the statement touched a nerve. "What about talent? You're not the Affluent Progeny, but you must have something if Hope's Peak wanted you."
"A couple of months before this, one of their talent scouts caught me. He gave me two choices. 1, he would expose my identity theft and other fraudulent behaviour, or 2, I could get protection from Hope's Peak in exchange for allowing them to study my talent. I had little reason to refuse the offer. After all, it would be nice to have a roof over my head and a steady stream of meals. As for my talent? They dubbed me the "Ultimate Imposter"."
"That's certainly accurate to what I've seen so far."
The Imposter clenched his gut. "I've never shared that much with one person before... It must be this hunger. It's making me dazed..."
"Heh. You know what Nekomaru told me a while ago? He said this game had a way of tearing down my walls. He pointed out how aloof I was at the start of the game, versus how open I was a few days ago. I wonder if he'd say the same now..." She began pacing. "Was it really only a couple of days ago? It feels like another life... But given how many I've had, they do start to blur."
"...What was that? I certainly understand the feeling of having multiple lives, but I didn't think anyone else could relate to it."
She checked once more that they were alone before adding, "Let's just say, I haven't always been Maki Yugami. Pretty much the only constant in my life is that I'm interested in criminology. I wonder... How would you feel if I told you this isn't my first killing game?"
"Y-You've participated in a game like this before!?"
"Well, not exactly like this. The mastermind was definitely someone else, and the rules were slightly different. But all in all, the same premise applied. Motive, murder, trial, execution. Rinse and repeat."
The Imposter shook his head. "What kind of criminal underworld did you...?"
"I beat that game, and got my "happy ending." But it wasn't until later that I came to a harsh realization. This world... isn't beautiful, like I once thought. Humans are ugly, hideous monsters who will kill once they have the weakest of excuses. They aren't worth saving."
She started walking off toward the elevator. The Imposter called after her. "Wait!"
"...What?" She slowed her pace, but didn't stop.
"...A lot of humans are horrible, that's true. As a criminal myself, I've met many cruel and violent monsters who take what they want without concern. But not all humans are like that. There are a select few who are completely selfless, almost entirely devoid of sin. And even the worst monster has something good to offer, has a chance to be redeemed. Surely, as the Ultimate Criminologist, you know all of this is true. Human life is worth protecting. I won't let you say it's not."
Maki stood in front of the elevator, calmly. "I don't know why everyone picked now of all times to get idealistic, but your platitudes are wasted on me. This is a killing game. I'll do whatever I have to in order to survive, and if you don't accept my methods, well..." She pointed a finger-gun at the side of her head. "The solution is the name of the game. I dare you to try."
With that, she pushed the elevator button and walked inside. A moment later, the doors shut and she was moving toward Strawberry House.
The Imposter sighed. "At this rate, another killing is inevitable. Can anyone even control someone like her?"
"That's... a lot to take in."
Chihiro and I found ourselves talking over breakfast. I hadn't taken many bites, however, as I did most of the talking. I finally bit the bullet and decided to talk with him about what's really troubling me.
As it happened, he and his father's alternating shifts managed to line up in a way that Chihiro got off work the same time I woke up this morning. Seeing this coincidental timing as some sort of twisted fate, I decided to invite him to breakfast. Part of me, specifically the socially-awkward procrastinator part, was kinda hoping he would turn it down. Instead, he said he was hungry and would love to eat something before bed. Hooray for mismatched internal clocks, I guess.
After a moment, I finally responded. "Well, you said you wanted to help me. I needed someone to listen to me who isn't Miaya. So our interests aligned, in a way."
"...Is there anything else I can do to help?" He asked.
I took a sip of ice water as I tried to think of a response to that. This wasn't how I expected him to react, but in hindsight, any other reaction would be out of character. Chihiro has suffered from, and probably still suffers from, an inferiority complex just as bad as mine, and even if he didn't... he's Chihiro. The dude literally wouldn't hurt a fly, because he wouldn't want its family to grieve its loss. With that level of sickeningly sweet kindness, I'm pretty sure it would be impossible for him to hold a grudge against me unless I did something drastic, like kill his dad or something.
Which just made me feel like an even bigger asshole, because I'm holding a grudge against him over something stupid and petty. What's wrong with me?
"I dunno." I said helpfully. "I mean, you've had an inferiority complex longer than I have. You know what it's like."
"You also like to remind me that I wasn't dealing with it in a healthy way." He pointed out.
"Well, yeah, but that's more of a casual observation on my part. It doesn't mean I know what a healthy way is. It's like... I don't know how to drive a car, but if I see a car accident, I still know someone did something wrong. You get it?"
"I... think so?" He thought for a moment. "Is the accident supposed to be the complex, or my way of dealing with it?"
I facepalmed. "I don't... The point is, I don't know how to deal with this properly. Miaya said something about "reframing negative thoughts" or something like that."
"Oh, I think I know what she means. When I pretended to be a girl, that was basically me trying to justify my own weakness. When people called me "weak" or "small," I just told myself it was okay, because I was trying to be a girl. Well, maybe that's not really what she means, but..."
"Uh, right... So, when I start to think about how I can't save everyone, I should instead try to reframe it as "hey, it doesn't matter, because I can still save some people!" Like that way of thinking isn't inhumane or anything..." I sighed. "Sorry, I got a little bitter at the end, there."
He gave an awkward smile. "It's fine. That's why you came to talk to me, right? I don't want you to feel like you have to hide how you feel around me."
"Okay... If you're sure." I took a bite of my sandwich. I know he probably doesn't care, but I wanted some way to return the sentiment. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure he already doesn't hide his feelings from me, so repeating that statement wouldn't make sense. Damn, why was it so hard to have such awesome friends?
I found myself thinking about his earlier statement, and I decided to ask what was on my mind. "This might be an odd question, but... Why did you jump straight to dressing like a girl? I mean, there had to be other options, right?"
"It's not like it's the first thing I decided or anything." He explained. "It's just, no matter what I tried, I couldn't get as strong as the other boys. Or even some of the girls. I was so frail, I spent a lot of time indoors. That's how I found my talent for programming, so I guess it wasn't all bad... Anyway, I thought maybe I could hold out until I grew up, and then people would leave me alone. But it seemed like everyday, I'd hear the same thing over and over again. That I was weak, or I should man up. But girls aren't expected to be strong, so when I entered junior-high, I decided to try being one..."
"I know it's off-topic from what we were talking about, but I have always been curious." I said. "Did you ever... like dressing as a girl?"
"Well, no. Deep down, I knew it wouldn't actually fix my problem, it was just a way for me to avoid it. And that made me feel... ashamed. Also, it was kind of a chore to keep it up." He squinted at me slightly. "Why do you ask?"
"I guess it's just always bothered me a little how you say things that are kinda sexist, like how women are "weak" and men have to be "strong," but then you also, as I like to point out, chose to live as a girl as an easy out from toxic masculinity, and it just... I know it's definitely culture shock, but I feel like this is the one thing where you and I are never on the same wavelength."
"I mean, that kind of thinking isn't wrong, right? Guys are just naturally stronger than girls. That's not sexist, that's biology."
"Maybe on average, but statistical averages hardly matter when it comes to the individual. Look at Sakura, for example. In fact, I'm pretty sure half of our female friends could easily kick my ass, and I'm the strongest guy in our group."
"Yeah, but... How do you know they wouldn't be stronger if they were male?"
"That's not... Okay, yeah, testosterone does have that effect, but that's not really my point. My point is that there are plenty of strong girls and weak guys. And the fact that I'm the only one in our group who doesn't find that odd is often in the back of my mind, especially when I'm talking to you. And that's not even getting into things like transgender people, and...Y'know, that would be a much better conversation to have with my psychology textbooks. Would you mind if I shelved this for later?"
"That's fine. This doesn't sound like something to talk about right before bed, anyway." He said.
"Or after just waking up." I added. "So, what were we talking about before? My self-loathing which is, in part, caused by being envious of you, who is also someone who is self-loathing? Yeah, that's less complicated."
"When has anything ever been simple in our group?" He asked.
I laughed. "Y'know, we should do this more. Just talk about whatever. It's probably not a coincidence that my stress levels started skyrocketing the same time I separated myself from this group."
"So, you're not mad at me or anything?" He asked.
"No. I'm jealous, but I've been jealous of people before. You also know what that's like, right? You know... with Mondo."
His face turned sad. "It might be a weird thing to say but... I think his trial was one of the scariest."
"I don't think that's weird at all. Your darkest secret got exposed, and you had to watch your idol slowly break down over a murder."
"...A murder he committed to save my life..."
I tried, and failed, to think of something reassuring to say. For this situation, I would usually say something like "He knew the risks," but the problem is that doesn't really apply to Mondo's crime. He committed it while in a fit of rage. It wasn't premeditated. He wasn't in a state of mind to weigh his options and decide what was the best course of action.
Finally, I said, "It was Junko's fault. She drove him crazy, and put him in that situation. You can't blame yourself."
"I know. I just... sometimes wonder what I could have done differently..."
"We all do. Just the other day, Kyoko confessed to me that even she thinks like that."
"Even Kyoko...?"
"And I can guarantee you even Byakuya and Celeste are the same way, too. This is something that'll affect all of us, probably for the rest of our lives. That's the price of being a survivor. That's why... we have to make sure nobody ever has to go through the same things we did." I glanced at the corner of my table, where my case file against Alice Kizuki was sitting.
Chihiro nodded. "Have you made any progress?"
"I'm getting there. Just a little more, and my theory will be confirmed." I sighed. "I don't want to talk about work right now. Let's change the subject."
"Um... I did have something I want to ask, but you don't have to answer it if you don't want to." He said.
"Shoot."
"What... What about me are you jealous of, exactly?"
"That's... hard to put into words, on the spot, but I'll try. Let's see... You're very smart. While I might beat you in the investigation department, you're just generally more intelligent than me. You're kind, and you don't even have to try to be, it's just who you are. But I think what gets me the most is your strength. When Monokuma had your secret, you didn't give up. Contrast that with me, who literally let Sayaka and Leon die because I was too scared to stop them. You're just... everything I wish I was."
"...I don't know what to say... I'm just... not as amazing as you always tell me I am."
"You think that. Everyone thinks that. Doesn't mean it's true. That's the trick to inferiority, I think. Your mind ends up hyperfocusing on your flaws, or just straight-up lies to you. That's why friends are important, especially to people like you and me. They can see through our illusions, and show us the truth of how powerful we really are."
"Al, that... was really cool."
I scratched my head. "You think so? I was just thinking aloud, basically."
"You sounded like a poet or something." He insisted.
I am now becoming Gundham. A step in the right direction, I guess. "I have to admit, parts of that were paraphrased from something an old friend of mine used to say."
"An old friend? From your home world?"
"Yeah, a childhood friend. His name was Light. I miss that bastard..."
"What was he like?"
I thought about that. "Uh... He's kinda like you, except more of a dick. Not in an insufferable way, he just liked to talk smack. I suppose he was also more confident, in a way. Also, he was about as bad with computers as I am."
"Um... how is he like me, exactly?"
"...Good question. Not sure why I said that."
I heard footsteps approach, and a few moments later we weren't alone.
"There you are, Al. What are you two talking about?" Byakuya asked, entering the room.
"Oh, we were just talking about you." I said.
"Um, no, we weren't." Chihiro clarified.
"I lied." I admitted. "I just wanted to stroke your ego first thing in the morning. It usually makes you easier to deal with."
He rolled his eyes. "Right... In any case, Makoto and Kyoko are waiting for us. It's time for a broadcast."
"Ah, right. Almost forgot about that." I got up, stuffed the remainder of my sandwich in my face, picked up my documents, and nodded to Chihiro. "We'll do this some other time. Sweet dreams for now. Seeya."
He waved me off as I went with Byakuya. Our destination was the top floor of the administration building. That's where Makoto and Kyoko would be waiting with the laptop. We stayed quiet for a while as we walked, before Byakuya broke the silence.
"I'm assuming Chihiro mentioned Maki- er, Alice Kizuki's status, right?" He said.
"Uh, no..." I didn't quite like the word "status." Was she dead or something? That wasn't good. "He probably planned to bring it up at some point, but I kinda took control of the conversation."
"Of course..." He sighed. "Well, last night, Chihiro managed to make some progress in his counter-hacking. It wasn't long before his access was restricted again, but we managed to download a copy of some of the code that makes up Alice Kizuki's files. Most of the information was regarding things we already know, but there was one interesting tidbit.
He gave a pause for dramatic effect. I stared. "Well?"
"...According to the files, her status has been set to "immortal" this whole time."
"Oh. Oh. Ohhhhhh... That explains some things."
"Then you have a better clue than I. All I can think of is that it explains some of her nonchalance at participating in a killing game. After all, if her body can't be damaged, any attempt on her life would be fruitless. This whole time I assumed that was part of her confession to Hiyoko, that she was part of another killing game in the past."
"Well, those are all very good points, but not quite what I had in mind." I clarified. "After the first trial, there was a conversation between Monokuma and Alice. I was alone in the observations room, aside from Taichi, but he was preoccupied with the computer and probably didn't pick up on it. But Monokuma delivered a weird warning. "I'm fine with the fact you're protecting yourself from the other students. But if you are ever voted as the blackened and executed, just know that I can override that sort of thing." It seems Junko has access to Alice's files."
Byakuya nodded. "That makes sense, given that both viruses are working to protect each other. And what Monokuma said is true, the observer in the "teacher" position is the only thing in the system that can delete immortal objects."
"What exactly does it mean to be immortal, in the program's context?" I asked.
"Apparently, it simply makes her immune to injury. Contrary to the name of the setting, she can still die. Since she's still an avatar, she can experience starvation or illness, so Monokuma's motives would still affect her. She can also feel pain, but the main point is that her avatar cannot be damaged by external means."
"Like explosions or fires..." I recalled her reckless behaviour during the party. "...But what does this mean for the overall mystery?"
Byakuya shrugged. "That's the question, isn't it? It's like a puzzle. We have the pieces, we just need to figure out how they fit together."
"...Yeah. I just get the feeling we're missing something. Something important."
Maki inserted the key and twisted it, finishing the escape room.
"Too easy." She turned to the exit. The iron bars covering the door lifted, but the door remained locked. In the centre of the room, a pedestal rose from the ground, with a simple revolver resting on it.
She picked up the revolver, inspecting it closely. She seemed confused what she was supposed to do. Then, she pulled out the letter she received when she entered the room.
Solve the mystery of the Final Dead Room and you will obtain The Right to Play the Life-Threatening Game. About the Life-Threatening Game... It's Life-Threatening Roulette.
P.S. You are held liable for setting the roulette's difficulty! Depending on the difficulty, I've prepared special prizes, but make sure you don't overdo yourself!
"Difficulty..." She stared at the revolver. Hesitantly, she opened the chamber, revealing all six bullets still inside. She stared for an agonizingly long time. Eventually, she sighed. "Fuck it. All or nothing."
She closed the chamber, without removing a single bullet. She spun it, mostly for show, before pressing the tip of the gun to her temple. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger.
BANG!
The sound of the gunshot echoed off the walls of the small room. She slowly pulled the gun away from her head, and the dented bullet fell from her temple to the floor below.
As she let out the breath she was holding, the door clicked, unlocking itself.
"Child's play." She claimed, stepping through to the Octagon. It resembled an armoury that one would find in a military base. It was filled with countless tools and weaponry, ranging from medieval to contemporary.
"Congratulations Maki!" Monokuma growled as she entered. He seemed a mix of seriously angry and begrudgingly proud. "Congratulations on clearing the Final Dead Room. And... you even broke the rules using your special characteristic..."
"I was banking on the fact that you'd likely get more enjoyment watching me continuously suffer than you would lose by letting me break your little Final Dead Room."
"Puhuhu... As expected of the Ultimate Criminologist, you sure do understand my motivations, huh?"
"Less talking, more giving out prizes."
"Right, right..." Monokuma produced a Future Foundation file, and a binder with the Hope's Peak crest on it. "Hmm... Of course, these are the prizes for what I thought was the highest difficulty, a one-six chance. But you took it even farther and beat the game with a 0% chance, so I feel like this is a little lacking."
"Yeah. Especially considering I'm already well aware of any information in those files." She walked around the Octagon for a few minutes while Monokuma stood there watching her.
She inspected the various weaponry and tools she now had access to. Blades, bludgeons, ropes and wires, explosives, poisons, guns. Some ideas started to form in her mind.
"How about this...? I'll trade in those files and combine their prize points with the bonus points I earned from my ramped up difficulty. That should be enough for what I have in mind."
"Prize points? What do you think this is, a Funhouse? Oh, wait..." Monokuma put the files away before turning to her expectantly. "So? What did you have in mind?"
"From any time between now and the end of the next trial, I have a free pass from any rule violation. How about that?"
The bear seemed to consider it. He did like making things more interesting, and this would certainly spice things up. But Maki was already an odd circumstance on her own. "...One."
"One?"
"You can ignore one rule, between now and the end of the next trial. That's my compromise."
"If you can let me break one, why not all?" She pressed.
"Sorry, no can do. You know how this system works. Those anti-virus softwares are giving me enough trouble as it is! I don't need the game itself trying to delete me for breaking a bunch of rules! You should be lucky I'm letting you break one. I'm totally gonna get a headache over it, but I'm feeling super generous right now!"
"...Could that be because I caused you despair by foiling your Final Dead Room?"
"N-No, stupid...! Jeez, stop teasing me like that! It's not like I like it or anything...!"
"Uh-huh." She rolled her eyes. "In any case, you don't have to worry about the system giving you a hard time. I don't plan on really "breaking" any rules, I just like the idea of having some breathing room to bend them."
"So? Any idea which rule you're gonna bend?"
She grabbed a coil of wire, testing it's durability. Then, her eyes fell on a crate of C4. "I have a couple of ideas."
"Puhuhu... I knew there was a reason I liked you so much. Well, other than all that internalized despair, of course. It's like I said before... Though it might be weird to say since you two are so different, you definitely remind me of him."
Maki said nothing, still taking inventory of the room.
"That reminds me... You said something to that effect back then, didn't you? "If this game goes on for too long, even I might be tempted to sacrifice the others to save myself." Has the time come already? Puhuhu..."
She grabbed a revolver from a nearby gun rack. "...I can't die. If the only way to avoid starvation is to take matters into my own hands, so be it. I'll kill everyone here if I have to..."
"Puhu... Puhuhuhu... In that case, don't disappoint me!" With that, he disappeared.
She tucked the revolver in her pants and made her way to the door.
The statues were a thing I had to think about a bit. I heard a theory somewhere that the Funhouse was some sort of beta area for the Neo World Program, and that the Sakura statue was added as a tribute from Hina to her friend, and the only reason Monokuma didn't trash it like the rest of the place was because he held some form of respect for her. I liked this theory. In my mind, if Hina made a suggestion like that, Albert would probably suggest doing the same for the others. He'd probably also want to do the same for Mukuro, and maybe even do a little something for Junko, but probably wouldn't bring that up to the others.
Albert finally starts to finish up his arc with Chihiro. I didn't expect it to take this long, but you know what they say when you have multiple storylines going on. They say "damn, that's a lot of storylines." Also, what's this "broadcast" Byakuya's talking about? Hmm...
MAKI IS INVINCIBLE! Okay, not really, but it's a dangerous advantage for someone in a killing game to have. This does explain some of her behaviour throughout the game, and also provides some insight into just how much control over her presence in the program she has. Also, she now has free reign of the Final Dead Room. That's not good.
In the next chapter, we'll spend some more time starving, and maybe see what Al's up to. Wait, I said that last time, didn't I? Damn.
