Beta Read by Lupus Overkill
Shizu blinks the sunlight out of her eyes, wincing a bit as her back muscles tense up against the rocky mattress beneath her. She feels around for her glasses, though it's a bit hard due to her sleepy brain and blurry vision. After what feels like ages, she finally manages to get them on her face.
She doesn't want to get up just yet, but she knows that lying down isn't getting her anywhere. Plus, she's no longer able to ignore the pain of lying down now that she's awake. So, she pushes herself into a sitting position and stares forwards blankly. The wall behind the bars of her cell looks cleaner than normal. Someone might have cleaned it while she was asleep. It can be hard to wake her up before the usual time, after all.
It's going to be another mindlessly boring and frustrating day, and a large part of her wants to lie back down. Still, she rubs her back to ease the pain and decides not to pursue that course of action. Although, now she's reminded herself of how itchy these clothes are. Perfect. Just what she needed today.
That's when she notices something truly bizarre. The door to her cell is open. Not just unlocked but completely swung open.
Surely none of the guards would have made that mistake. Sure, it is very unlikely that she would be able to escape the rest of the prison without being spotted, and she wouldn't try that in the first place, but the point still stands. Did they want her to leave?
Now, she's curious. It is highly unlikely that being caught outside of her cell would get her injured, and she's missed the feeling of stretching her legs and actually walking. Thus, she decides to go exploring. After opening her wardrobe and putting her blazer over her prison uniform, she heads out of her cell and into the larger prison area.
How strange. There isn't a single guard on patrol. Her footsteps echo as she slowly walks down the singular hallway. She's barely trying to be stealthy, yet nobody has come out to see what's going on. Is everyone gone?
At the end of the hallway, she spots a large door with golden handles. It gleams proudly, reflecting the light coming from the lamps lining the walls. Without hesitating, she rushes forward and pulls the door open, ready to embrace freedom.
On the other side of the door, she finds her room. Everything is still in place. The comfortable bed, the box of clocks she kept just in case, and even the towel she left out on her bathroom floor. She flops back down onto her bed, sighing deeply as she snuggles deeper into the soft sheets.
…Wait a second.
Shizu wakes up for real this time, eyes wide and sweat dripping down her face. Her back isn't screaming at her, but, somehow, she feels worse than she did in her dream.
This time, she hesitates slightly when putting her blazer on. She knows that dreams are just things that you don't question, but it makes her think. There have almost certainly been things that have been completely obvious yet have been overlooked by her. It doesn't do her confidence any justice.
"Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"
No one comes out to meet her today. Her journey to the kitchen is unimpeded. While she's grateful that Sawako isn't following her this time, the events of yesterday don't exactly comfort her that much. Being all alone is more unnerving than usual.
It's not all that surprising when she gets to the kitchen and finds it empty. After yesterday, she wasn't exactly expecting Takumi to stick around for breakfast if he even came out of his room at all. This probably means that some of the others who split off won't come out for the morning meeting either.
Michio is the first person to arrive. When he notices her silently chewing on her toast, he sighs. "Morning, Shizu. Anyone else stop by yet, or…"
She shakes her head and takes a particularly vicious bite. "Nope. Just me today."
"Guess that's about what I expected," he groans. "Well, let's see how many people come today before we start freaking out too much."
"Who said I was freaking out?" she asks, a bit of snark present in her tone.
He chuckles. "Not me, that's for sure." Then, he heads into the kitchen.
Not long after this, Sawako and Hachi both walk inside. "Hey Shizu!" Hachi greets with a shocking amount of cheer. "Thanks for all of the help yesterday. I feel like I'm ready to tackle anything today!" Her smile is genuine. The next bite of toast takes just a bit better.
"Oh, did something else happen yesterday?" Sawako asks. "I missed the… well, you know. Was there another which I was not aware of?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just feeling a little down, but then Shizu helped me out," Hachi says as she skips over to the table.
Sawako looks like she wants to say more but blinks and thinks better of it. "I see… Well, in that case, I suppose I must thank you once again for keeping the morale up, Shizu. And, before I forget, good morning."
"Morning," she replies noncommittally.
They, too, go to get something to eat. From that point on, the others start trickling in. Kaixi and Tsubame show up together, discussing some of Kaixi's favorite photographers from the sounds of their discussion. Samia shows up next, looking a little disgruntled with her hijab slightly wrinkled. Perhaps not being present for the great split yesterday put her in a bad mood. Shortly thereafter, Pal appears, his expression as calm as always. He greets everyone at the table individually, as if he's trying to make everyone feel better. Kazuha brings up the rear, her hair frazzled and her eyes surrounded by dark circles. Tsubame rushes over to comfort her, and the two spend a good while in the kitchen. Shizu thinks she can faintly hear tears and tries to block them out by chewing louder.
Eventually, they come back out, and everyone settles into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the clatter of silverware, the squeaking of chairs, and the chewing of their chosen breakfasts. As Shizu starts to wrap up, Joshua comes rushing inside. "Hey, sorry again that I'm always late. You know how it is." He rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "Aw man, is it that late already that people already left?"
"No, this is all we have today," Samia says glumly while stabbing one of her mini waffles with her fork.
He gapes. "Wait, seriously? They were actually serious about going alone?"
"From the looks of things, that seems to be true." Tsubame sighs. "They aren't even willing to grab something to eat when the rest of us are here. I hope that they aren't starving themselves…"
Leaping to her feet, Hachi shakes her head vigorously. "Uh uh! N-no way! They're gonna come out sometime. They're trying to keep themselves safe, right? Then, they're totally going to make sure that they have something to eat."
"Was that the impression you got?" Samia asks. "I wasn't here, so I wouldn't know."
Hachi blushes. "Um… Actually, I kinda wasn't here either…"
"As I gathered… it was a split decision," Pal states. "Some believed that… they would be better off… without us… perhaps for good. Others merely… wished to be alone… for a while."
"Look, I'm sure everything is going to work out. It's not like this is the last time we'll see any of them," Michio says.
Kazuha swallows. "Y-yeah… I really hope so."
"There is nothing more that we can do. More speculation will only make us more paranoid." Sawako slams her fist onto the table. Several people jump as their plates and silverware go flying into the air from the force of the impact. "They may not trust us, but we should trust them to be safe."
Readjusting his breakfast, Kaixi agrees. "If we give up now, then we'd just be the same as them. …Er, not that they're terrible people or anything, that is…"
"Worrying right now is a wasted effort, as thoughtful as it might seem," Shizu says quietly.
"Yeah, you said it. Never care about anyone else ever again!"
Everyone looks around wildly for the source of the voice, and they eventually find it. Monokuma is leaning against the right-hand wall, a vicious smirk plastered on his face.
Joshua blinks several times in quick succession. "Uh… Do you need something, or are you just here to taunt us?"
"Mostly just the taunting thing," Monokuma casually admits.
"Just get on with it so we can eat in peace," Samia groans.
Tsubame tugs on her braid. "Better yet, please just leave without the taunting."
He just laughs. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though. You really gave it your all trying to convince me. You might want to put your efforts into something more productive."
"We are not going… to kill anyone," asserts Pal.
"Oh really? Do I need to remind you of the deadline?" Monokuma's robotic face darkens. "Or do you need to be reminded again how everyone you know and love, along with everything in their general vicinity, will be poisoned to death?"
Sawako scowls. "There is no proof that you have that kind of power."
He sighs. "Hmmph… Well, don't blame me when thousands of people turn up dead. You could have totally prevented this by just believing in me."
"You literally would be the cause of it," Michio growls.
"Oh, is that right? Well, I suppose you would know a lot about dead people, wouldn't you?" Laughing as Michio flinches back, Monokuma says, "Well, whatever. Just remember that I'm going to unleash that poison tomorrow night if a corpse doesn't show up soon. That's all. Have a nice breakfast!" He's gone in an instant after saying his parting words.
The mood at the table has been dampened a considerable amount. Kazuha looks paler than ever, Michio's hands are trembling as he barely holds onto his fork, Hachi is breathing so fast that she might pass out, and Samia looks like she's going to kill her waffles.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm thinking about getting some pancakes. Nothing works up an appetite like being threatened." Joshua pats his stomach in an over exaggerated manner, seemingly oblivious to how everyone else is staring at him.
"…Whatever makes you feel better, Joshua," Shizu finally says.
He grins. "Oh good, I have permission now. Sweet. Pancakes, away!"
A few seconds after Joshua disappears into the kitchen, Michio yells out after him, "Wait, the rest of us need to give you permission too!"
"But what kind of monster would deny someone pancakes?" Hachi giggles.
Pal answers her question seriously. "Logically… a monster… who does not like pancakes…"
"I mean, I guess you're technically not wrong…" Kazuha mumbles, though she still looks a little down.
"Is this a part of Greek mythology that I didn't study?" Tsubame wonders. "Although, I'm not entirely certain that pancakes existed during that period of time."
Michio chuckles. "Not with that attitude, they didn't."
However, from that point onwards, the earlier hesitation and fear have mostly vanished. Joshua's willingness to make himself a fool definitely helped, though Shizu wonders if the fact that the most abrasive people have declined to show up has also improved everyone's mood. As bad as it may sound, some good could have come from the split.
Eventually, though, they all decide to split for the day. Shizu has no real plan today. She could technically go looking for the people who choose to be on their own, but there is no guarantee that they would leave their rooms at this time of day. Besides, attempting to draw them out may only make them more uncomfortable.
Thus, she first heads for the lounge, as she finds that it's a nice place to think. Her room is usually her go to place to do some brainstorming, but physically isolating herself at this junction may not do the group any favors.
It turns out to be a good decision anyways. Nobody disturbs her at all, so she gets a decent amount of ideas written out as well as going back and reevaluating her notes of the previous days. She could probably stay here forever, but she chooses to stop for now. All of that thinking has started to make her hungry.
On her way to the second floor, she runs into Pal, who's looking slightly downcast, as he's walking away from the third floor dorms. He doesn't appear to notice her at first, which means that there might be a bit of a problem on her hands.
Shizu forgoes a greeting and gets straight into the thick of things. "Is something wrong?"
Giving her a sad wave, Pal says, "Greetings Shizu. All things considered… I suppose I could be doing… much worse. However, there has been… a problem vexing me… for quite some time now."
"If you have time to explain, I have time to listen," she offers.
"In that case… I shall make use… of your abilities." Smiling at her gratefully, he starts to explain. "It concerns our friends… who have chosen to remove themselves… from our group. We did not see any of them… during breakfast… and this started to concern me. Perhaps… they are only now starting… to feel the pangs… of hunger. However, what if… they never emerge from their caves?"
Shizu raises an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but didn't we discuss this earlier this morning?"
However, Pal appears to think otherwise. "I am not talking… about starvation. Rather, I am concerned… about their discomfort. You see… while I am certain they will not… allow themselves to perish… that does not mean… they will not inconvenience themselves… out of fear."
"I suppose that is true. It sounds as though you wanted to do something about it," Shizu guesses.
"I attempted to draw them out… using my siren song… but it was to no avail." Pal clenches his fist. "My innate abilities… as a siren… have failed me. I cannot help but feel… powerless."
Right… Siren stuff. She chooses to latch on to a particular part of his issue. "You mentioned your siren song. You weren't actually singing out loud, were you?"
"Normally, I do not need… to sing in order… to get people to come to me. However…" Trailing off for a moment, Pal bites his lip. "It appears that my power… had no effect… so I eventually attempted… to sing. Even then, there was… no response at all."
"…Have you maybe considered the fact that the dorm rooms are soundproofed? They would not have been able to hear anything going on outside," Shizu attempts to reason. She's a bit surprised that she managed to find a counterargument to something this nonsensical.
Pal hesitates for a second. "Perhaps that… had something to do with it. However, I had hoped… that my powers would transcend… simple obstacles like… the walls that trap us here."
"That is…" Shizu scrambles to take this conversation back to reason, though she's beginning to realize that they may not have even started there. "How powerful do you think your… abilities are?"
After blinking for a few seconds, he fixes his gaze on her, and it seems a bit more intense than usual. "I hope that you… are not doubting… my powers… as a siren. Did we not discuss… this when we first met? Or have you been… attempting to hold back… your suspicions?"
"… I will admit that I am completely skeptical about your claims of being a siren," she eventually admits. "However, I would at least like to know how much you invest in your abilities. I have no frame of reference when it comes to sirens and what they can do other than get sailors to crash into rocks. If it is not too much hassle, I would like an explanation."
Pal scratches his chin as he thinks this over. For the first time, Shizu notices that his fingernails are incredibly long and sharp, almost claw-like. Did he let them grow out to further his delusions? Finally, he nods. "I normally do not like… when people question my… heritage. However, in a place… such as this… there are far more… chilling concerns than this."
Shizu sure hopes so. She takes out her notepad and taps her pen against the page experimentally. "I'm listening whenever you're ready."
"My siren powers allow me… to make myself… well known to others," he begins. "Even those… who are aggressive… or do not wish… to be around others… find themselves entranced… by my presence. The opposite… is also true. When there is trouble… to be found, I… find myself drawn… to those areas."
"…I see." Thinking back to the past few days, Pal has popped up out of nowhere during some of the more tense moments. Linking that back to superstition is a bit of a stretch. "Is there something physical that draws you to these places, or do you just find yourself there without really noticing anything?"
"There is… a bit of a feeling… that I get. I am not usually… sure what awaits me… but I rarely find it to lead me astray," he says, with only a little hesitation in his voice despite his pauses.
"In that case, was this same feeling the one telling you to try to draw out the others?" she asks.
"Yes. I got the sense… that something was amiss. Perhaps… someone had left… their room… or they were about to," Pal muses. "However, I did not even… hear a door open… in my time spent… singing. I am forced to wonder… if it is a problem… with me."
There are a good many ways that Shizu could answer his query, but she decides to go the polite route. "It could be that your nerves have gotten the better of you, and you are mixing up signals. This is a situation unlike any we've experienced before. At least, I sincerely hope that is the case. Don't doubt yourself too much."
"I am trying my best… but there are some things… which I cannot ignore…" He clenches his fist again, and she winces when she sees his nails dig into his skin. He seems more bothered by his helplessness than any possible pain, however.
She clicks her tongue. "What will you do then?"
He sighs. "The only thing that I can… I must keep trying… perhaps on the second floor."
Tapping her pen against the paper, she says, "In that case, I wish you luck."
"Farewell… Shizu…" Pal waves goodbye and slowly walks away, his odd gait audible thanks to the echoes.
Shizu looks down at the mess that is her notes on Pal and groans. No matter how long she spends around him, she can never quite get a good read on what he's thinking.
Conversation with Palaemon Katsaros (1)
- Delusions of being a siren are still as strong as ever
- Claims to be able both to attract people to him and to be drawn to conflict
- Seemingly believes that he can stop fights, which is perhaps why he relies on his instincts to seek out issues
- Insulted when people question his siren "heritage"
How is he actually able to appear whenever something is going down? Is it all just coincidences? Or am I fooling myself into seeing a pattern that isn't there? Possibility of other conflicts that I am not aware of
She spends longer going over these findings than she meant to. Her stomach growls in protest, yet she keeps on going. She only stops once the growling ceases, giving her a sign that she really needs to get something to eat. Thus, she packs things up and heads for the dining hall.
As she approaches, she hears the sounds of someone cooking inside the kitchen. Shizu's never stopped by for lunch on previous days, so maybe one of the others usually eats at this time. Well, company is usually welcome.
…Oh. It's Soraru.
The tiny baker is humming to xemself while xe drums xer fingers on the kitchen counter. Xe's staring at the oven, where a cake is almost finished. When the doors open, xe turns xer head to look upside and see the intruder. "Oh hey, it's you. Hope you weren't planning on oven-ing anything today, because I've got this place booked!"
"…What are you doing here?" Seeing xer gleeful expression, Shizu hastily adds, "I don't mean your activity. I can clearly see that you're baking, and you know it. Why aren't you in your room?"
Xe puffs out xer cheeks. "Hmph. I didn't realize you all claimed a monopoly on the kitchen."
"You literally just did that with the oven," she points out.
"Well duh! You can't put more than one thing in this oven. What, have you never baked anything before in your life?" Soraru rolls xer eyes. "Sounds like your knowledge is… half-baked." Then, xe hi-fives xemself.
She narrows her eyes. "I can't help but notice that you've avoided my question. Why are you in here baking something? Just the other day, you claimed that you didn't want to be around the rest of us. Are you so fickle that you've changed your mind this quickly?"
"Huh? Do you really want me gone that badly?" Soraru sniffles and puts on a pair of weepy doe-eyes.
"I want an answer," Shizu growls.
Bending xer head back up to a normal position and swiveling around to face her direction, xe says, "Fine, fine. Just give me a second. I need to let all of the blood rush back to my head."
She feels her eye twitch. "I have given you several seconds. Answer. Now."
Xe takes a few more moments to roll xer head around xer shoulders before answering. "Pushy, pushy. See, this is why I didn't want to be around you all. You're all a bunch of jerkfaces. Well, most of you are. Enough that I didn't see a point in sticking around. So, I didn't. And, technically, I'm still not. Do you think I really expected someone to show up right now?"
Shizu shakes her head. "That wasn't what I had an issue with. I suspected that, at some point, the people who left would show up in some capacity, especially when they needed to eat. However, I did not expect anyone to come out of hiding just to start baking. That's time consuming and raises the chances of being found. So, why take that risk?"
"Well…" Soraru draws out the single syllable and starts drumming on the table. "I was… stress baking!" e throws flour out of xer apron pocket and smiles proudly as it showers around xem like confetti.
She just stares ahead flatly.
Xe coughs. "Okay, yeah, I guess you wouldn't believe it, huh? Man, you really like to ruin everyone's fun, don't you?" For a split second, it looks like xe's embarrassed, but that moment is gone before she can blink. "Fine… I kind of sort of might be maybe making a cake or two for someone."
…Huh. "May I ask who that someone is?" she asks.
"You just did." Xe sticks out xer tongue but actually flinches back when she snaps. "Alright, fine, I'll tell you. I'm making them for Takumi. Geez, happy now?"
"Takumi…" Shizu mutters. It's not an unreasonable idea for most people, but Soraru is very different from the norm. "Could it be…"
Shaking xer fist playfully, xe answers, "Hey! Don't speculate when I'm right here to give you the answer. I just wanted to maybe kind of apologize for whacking him right in his dumb face with a pie. I mean, sure it was hilarious when it splattered everywhere and when he shrieked, but he kind of took it way too seriously."
"The way that you're talking makes it sound like you're blaming him rather than trying to apologize," Shizu states.
"Hey, it's not like I could have know that he'd be the person walking in here. If it was anyone else, then nothing would have been wrong." Xe pauses to scratch xer chin. "Well, okay, maybe Chouki might have freaked. Morgan too, kind of. Don't want to be the person who messes up her getup. But my point still stands. Mostly. Despite the fact that I just undermined it."
Pinching her forehead, she groans, "What point? You just ramble on inanely, forgetting the topic at hand entirely. It's almost as if you expect me to forget as well."
Soraru laughs. "Aw, I wouldn't do that to you." Fluttering xer eyelashes, xe continues, "I'm not apologizing for the prank itself. Nuh uh. No way. I'm apologizing for getting him caught up in things. I maybe messed up a little when I didn't consider him at all, but that's not gonna happen again. So, that's why I'm making him some super special apology cakes. Because nothing says sorry better than cake!"
"Or actually saying sorry," mutters Shizu.
"What? No." Xe brushes her off with a wave of xer hand. "Who needs talking when you can have not talking? Besides, it's not like he's gonna stick around to listen to me say anything. Cake speaks louder than words! And cake with words written on it shouts louder than cake!"
She closes her eyes and scratches her chin. "In that case, are you planning on sticking it in the fridge and hoping that he'll stumble across it?"
"Well, let's just say that I have a special delivery method in mind." Xer smile is innocent, but that means nothing.
Shizu states flatly, "Do not throw it at him again."
Holding up xer hands, xe responds, "What? Man, you're really being mean today. Big Brother doesn't like mean people… How could I throw it at him if I have two cakes? I don't have two muscles. Or two beefy arms with which to throw at him simultaneously. And here I was thinking that you were able to plan things out."
She ignores the insult. "Just be careful not to make things any worse than they are right now."
"Hey, we're all still alive, so what's the big deal?" Without waiting for an answer, Soraru then says, "Now get out of my kitchen. Your bad attitude is making all of my food taste worse."
Shizu considers telling xem that the cake isn't even done, so there's no way to tell how it tastes, but such joke-ruining clarification statements are pointless on xem. Instead, she adjusts her glasses and acquiesces. "If you insist. I'm going to grab something to eat first."
"Okay, take your time. Just remember that every moment you spend in here is another moment that you make my apology worse, and, yes, I am going to blame you," xe states cheerfully.
In the end, she grabs a whole box of cereal and walks out of the dining hall with it in tow. Not wanting to get crumbs everywhere in a public space, she takes it back up to her room, where she can eat and ruminate on the conversation she just had.
Conversation with Soraru Kishinuma (1)
- Still an annoying gremlin child
- Appears reluctant to admit faults even when said faults are obvious (perhaps backfire effect?)
- Trying to apologize to Takumi via cakes, though can't help but be suspicious somehow (though Takumi is definitely careful enough to not eat anything made by Soraru, let alone anyone here)
- Seems to put on persona of not caring, though probably still feels some kind of guilt
- How does Joshua put up with xem for more than five minutes?
Shizu is embarrassed to discover that she ate through the entire box. To be fair, it had already been opened, but it also was still about three quarters full. She must have been hungrier than she thought. Either that, or she had been too distracted to stop grabbing handfuls of sugary sustenance. Such is the peril of junk food…
It's gotten late already, past the time that she would normally eat dinner. Thanks to her cereal binging, however, she's not too concerned with missing out on that. Still, she should probably check in with the others before turning in for the night. The last thing they need is to think that she's going off the radar as well, even despite the late hour.
She chooses to head to the third floor, as there are a few things that she would like to check out. She hears voices coming from the lounge, but she moves past the room in order to take a quick peek into the storage room.
"Who goes there?"
Shizu barely has any time to react when Sawako suddenly appears in the storage room doorway, pointing at her. "Shizu? What are you doing here?"
"I'm checking to see if anyone's been using this room since I left it. If that was the case, there might have been evidence left behind," she responds, her voice shaking a little after the surprise. "How long have you been waiting here?"
"That's none of your concern." Ignoring the harsh rebuttal, Shizu focuses on Sawako's eyes. There are more bags than there were yesterday.
Shizu fixes her with a flat stare. "No, but I'd say it's definitely some of your concern. You look ready to collapse at any minute."
Shaking her head, Sawako doesn't notice the stray strands of hair sticking out of her ponytail. "I'll be fine. After what happened yesterday, I need to make sure that nobody uses this room for nefarious purposes. I know that blocking it off entirely is a terrible idea, but refusing to keep track of who uses this room is even worse."
"Tell me, how many people have stopped by at all during the time you've been keeping watch?" Shizu inquires. "This includes the footsteps you heard that went past the lounge."
Sawako looks at the floor. "…Only you have."
Shizu makes her point. "In that case, either people are going to use this room when you're not around to keep watch, or there is literally nothing to fear. You're exhausting yourself by forcing yourself to stay alert for long periods of time. Get some rest."
"I cannot-" Sawako begins.
Shizu jabs her finger towards Sawako, forcing her to step back in surprise. "You're not helping anyone, least of all yourself. Rest. Now."
A look flashes over Sawako's face, one that Shizu can't read. Perhaps it was one of defeat, as, for the first time since Shizu's met her, she slouches. "…I suppose you have a point. Once again, I've let my own determination get in the way."
"…Come on. I'm making sure that you actually leave."
The slowly walk down the hallway together, neither of them willing to talk. As they pass by the lounge again, they hear Tsubame call out to them. "Hello! I thought I heard someone walk past earlier. Would you like to join us tonight?"
"I will," Shizu answers, "But Sawako needs to get some shut-eye. Isn't that right?"
Slowly nodding, Sawako affirms her statement. "I've been getting a little careless recently. I want to help everyone, but I can't do that when I'm ready to fall over."
"No worries," Tsubame calls back. "Please get some rest, Sawako, and take care."
"I will see you both in the morning. Goodnight." Sawako trudges off towards the elevator, and Shizu steps into the lounge.
"Welcome to the party," Joshua greets from his position on the floor. It looks as though he used to be sitting in the one of the chairs yet slowly slid off and was too lazy to do anything about it.
Kazuha, sitting on the couch next to Tsubame, waves at her. "Oh, hey Shizu! I haven't seen you since breakfast. Has your day been going err… I don't want to say well, but maybe not horribly?"
"Not horribly is certainly a description for it," Shizu confirms. Glancing around the room, she sees that Kazuha, Tsubame, Hachi, and Kaixi are all sharing the couch, Michio has taken one of the chairs, and Joshua has claimed the rug. "Was there some meeting that I forgot about?"
"Nah, nothing like that," Michio says lazily. "We all ate dinner together and decided to keep talking to each other. We might have stayed in the dining hall, but we didn't wanna make it so that the others couldn't come out to eat. Large groups might have freaked some of them out."
"Freaking out is super bad!" Hachi pitches in.
"I can't help but feel bad for them, even now…" Tsubame muses. "I may not be the most social person, but I cannot imagine having no one around me at all."
Michio groans. "I'm still annoyed that it happened over something so dumb. I figured the motive would have been the catalyst, but, nope, it's pie. Guess the whole pie versus cake argument is more serious than I thought."
"Yeah, I'm glad that you all decided to stick around. It'd suck if you left," Kaixi states before blushing and hurriedly saying, "Uh, oh but I'm also really sad too that we don't have everyone."
Joshua snorts. "To be fair, some of those guys were kind of jerks. Not that I wish them any harm, but they're not the kind of people I'd really want to hang around. Or the kind of people who'd want to hang around me."
Kazuha mumbles, "You really should be a little nicer when talking about them…"
"Some of them may be rude, but it's even more rude to be rude about them behind their backs," Hachi agrees.
Nodding, Kaixi adds. "Nobody likes people who do that. …Oh wait, but I like you, sorry, I didn't mean to imply otherwise!"
"I guess…" Joshua whines. "Kinda sucks that we've got no idea how they're doing. I mean, has anyone even seen any of them today?"
Shoving his hands in his pockets, Michio apologizes. "Nah, sorry man."
"No…" Kazuha says quietly.
"I thought I felt someone watching me, but I didn't see who it was. Maybe it was one of them?" Hachi shrugs. "That's all I have, sorry."
"Unfortunately, it is the same for me," Tsubame mutters as she tugs on her braid. "The only person who might have would be Pal. He mentioned trying to get in touch with them during dinner, but he looked so downcast when he left that I don't think he was very successful."
"…I had a conversation with Soraru early today," Shizu admits.
That gets Joshua up on his feet. "Wait, really? Awesome, I knew that xe couldn't stay away for that long. I wonder why xe didn't show up for dinner though…"
She shrugs. "Xe was baking cakes, so maybe xe had something to eat then. I can't get a good grasp on xer motivations, honestly."
"Well, whatever. I'm gonna go bug xem." He starts to leave the room.
"I seriously doubt that xe's still in the kitchen," she calls after him.
He laughs. "Yeah, I know. That's why I'm going to incessantly ring xer doorbell. Truly, a flawless plan. Catch you all later!"
"I don't really get why he likes hanging around with xem," Michio admits once Joshua is out of earshot. "I think I'd be pretty mad if someone pranked me by having me slip and crash into a wall."
Hachi purses her lips. "Hmmm… Maybe he got brain damage from the collision? Ooh, ooh! No, maybe his sleeping powers give him the ability to be super forgiving!"
"Hey, as long as both of them are happy, I think that's what matters most." Kazuha smiles and looks around at everyone else, as if hoping to get them happy as well.
"I think what matters most," Shizu says, "is that I can finally sit down now that Joshua isn't blocking the chair."
Tsubame stifles a giggle. "We could have made some room on the couch if you wanted."
"It's all in the past now, so it's no bother." After taking a moment to get comfortable, she asks, "So, you mentioned that you all came here after dinner. Was this everyone who was there?"
Kaixi answers first. "Nope. Pal was there, but, like Tsubame said earlier, he seemed upset about something, so I think he turned in for the night."
"We haven't seen Samia at all since this morning either," Michio adds. "No idea what's up with her… Maybe she's been staying in the infirmary now that it's opened up. I haven't really checked, if I'm gonna be honest."
"What would you say if you weren't being honest?" Hachi ponders.
Kazuha replies cheerfully. "Probably that he has checked out the infirmary."
"Oh…"
"Ask a stupid question…" Michio laughs but then waves one of his hands. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Now that I think about it, I don't know anyone who would ever admit to being dishonest immediately after saying something."
Thinking for a moment, Tsubame says, "Soraru might, as a joke."
"In that case, wouldn't xe be dishonest about being dishonest?" Kaixi lifts his cap and scratches his head. "I think? Is that what that would be?"
"Uh… I think you kind of confused me too," Kazuha chuckles.
Shizu interjects, hoping to put an end to the cycle of confusion. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you all talking about before I showed up? I didn't mean to get you off topic, if that happened in the first place."
"It's no bother," Tsubame quickly says. "We weren't talking about anything in particular."
"Just some casual, small talk," Michio agrees.
She scratches her chin. "…I see."
Giggling, Hachi looks at her playfully. "Huh? Don't tell me you're disappointed that we're not talking about something more serious? Or are you confused about small talk or something?"
"What? No, I know what small talk is." The look on her face must be pretty funny, since a few people start chuckling.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but we're not really going into our life philosophies today," Kazuha consoles her through her giggles.
"You can still take notes on this if you want. Just so you don't forget." Kaixi tries to help, but he really shouldn't have bothered.
Tsubame's eyes widen. "Oh… Are you the sort of person that does not like to repeat topics ever? I hope I have not been too repetitive."
"I'm the type of person that really hates all of you right now," Shizu deadpans.
They continue playfully mocking her habits for a while before descending back into more meaningless small talk. For a while, they attempt to get Kazuha to identify the fish in the tank, but she doesn't know all of them. When called out, she claims that Chouki would probably know and that being an Ultimate is not the same thing as having an encyclopedic knowledge of every animal species ever. This then transitions to pestering Hachi about bees for a bit, but she quickly stops because she gets tired and has to leave for the night. The rest of the time is spent looking through the photos that Kaixi has taken of them over the past few days. Some of them are amusing, like when he caught Joshua lying down on the kitchen floor with a bowl on his head. Eventually, as the clock strikes 11 PM, Shizu feels herself starting to drift off.
"It's been fun… mostly… talking to you all, but I need to turn in for the night," she says after she yawns.
Michio flashes a grin in her direction. "No worries. Catch you tomorrow. Don't want to be late for being the first one to breakfast."
"Night Shizu!" Kazuha waves her off.
"I hope you have pleasant dreams," states Tsubame as she too bids her farewell.
Kaixi looks a little ashamed to be the last one to speak up. "Um… Take care! Don't let the bedbugs bite! …Wait, I hope there aren't any bed bugs here…" She briefly hears them start discussing the conditions of their rooms before their voices fade out.
When she gets to the elevator lobby, the doors to the elevator open, and Kogi steps out, carrying his laundry hamper with one hand. Shizu freezes instantly. However, Kogi doesn't seem all that bothered by her presence. Instead, he stares at her before saying, "Hey."
She swallows. "…What are you doing here?"
"Laundry." He taps the hamper with the hand holding it and gives her a flat look.
"That's not what I meant," she mutters. "It's past 11 PM, and, from what I remember, you claimed you wanted nothing to do with the rest of us."
Kogi rolls his eyes. "As it turns out, people need to do laundry. The best time to not run into anyone is late at night. You do the math. Or did you think that this is a college dorm, where everyone stays up until 2 AM doing homework?"
"…I just figured that you wouldn't leave your room unless it was something important. I didn't figure that laundry would be one of those things, especially at this juncture," Shizu admits.
"What a pain…" Rubbing his temples, Kogi sets down his hamper and crosses his arms. "I said that I didn't feel safe hanging out in a group that was ready to tear out each others' throats over a prank, not that I would become a complete shut-in. Just because I don't want to interact with people doesn't mean that I never leave my room."
"Then why make such a big fuss about leaving?" Shizu asks. "If you wanted to be left alone, there was little need for such a grand speech about how unity was a failed effort."
Kogi gives her a flat look. "If I walked away without explaining anything, do you really think that would go unquestioned? I got that out of the way as quickly as I could."
"Then your reasoning was passionate enough for you to sway the others?"
"I never intended to make anyone else follow me. I wasn't even aware that any of the others even agreed with what I said." She's not entirely sure she believes his claims, but he continues regardless of her skepticism. "The only thing that I wanted to do was stand up for what I believed in. Nothing more, nothing less."
"Taking a stand?" she repeats, somewhat dumbfounded.
He rubs his temples again. "Look, if I hadn't said anything, maybe everyone else would still be together. But then what? I'm sure that another dumb argument would have popped up, and we'd go through this whole process again because nobody wants to be the person who calls things into question. You had this idea of safety in numbers, but nobody actually felt safe at all. That's why things collapsed so quickly. I thought that was stupid, so I said something."
Something in his speech spoke to her. For the first time, she's able to look him directly in the eyes. "Then let me ask you this. Do you believe that everyone is currently safer now than they were previously?"
"Dunno." Kogi shrugs. "I'm not the strategist here. But, if you really want my opinion, I don't think we're in any more danger than we were before."
She prepares her argument. "How can you come to that conclusion? Before, we were able to keep tabs on everyone, even those who were less thrilled to be part of the group. However, several people have gone off on their own, hiding away from the rest of us. How can we guarantee that they will be safe? How will we know that they aren't planning anything?"
"Right back at you. How can you be so sure that nobody was planning any of that stuff when we were all together?" He counters. "It's all well and good to pretend that things were nicer when we were unified, but be reasonable. Unity out of fear isn't unity at all. If you really want people to stand together, you need some kind of positive reinforcement. All you had was negative stuff, and look where that got everyone."
"So, you're saying that this was inevitable." Deep down, she had a feeling that this might have been true. Perhaps Kogi spelling it out for her so blatantly made it impossible for her to ignore.
He nods. Then, he looks her over. "I took my stand. So, what about you? When are you taking yours?"
Jolting back a bit from his odd question, she frowns. "What exactly are you implying?"
"From what I can tell, you've been trying to get details about people and how they think ever since we've been brought here. You're clearly trying to stop anyone from getting hurt or dying, but you haven't even asked them anything about their pasts. Almost like you're learning about them without trying to make them remember anything. I think I've finally figured out why that is." His gaze never wavers from hers.
"Of course I'm trying to stop that." The intensity of his gaze makes her freeze up again, but she perseveres. "I sincerely hope that you aren't implying that I want people to die."
"That's definitely part of it, but there's more. I can see it in your eyes." He points towards her, and says, "You don't actually want to leave this place, do you?"
…What?
"How on Earth did you come to that conclusion?"
Crossing his arms, he admits, "Guess I could be wrong. But the way that you've been acting is pretty suspect. You start gussying up the place with clocks, you make sure that everyone else isn't causing any trouble, and you've already got your own daily routine. If you're not planning on causing trouble yourself, then you're trying to settle in."
She pauses for a second. "…Have you ever considered the fact that I'm just very thorough?"
"You're the only person that I've seen not mention the fact that they want to get out of here." Kogi waits for her to say something else, but she never does. Thus, he picks his hamper back up and says, "I guess it doesn't matter that much. Long as you aren't killing anyone, I don't care what you want. But just remember that, eventually, someone else is going to take their stand too. Maybe they'll be motivated by the thought of people dying. Maybe they really hate someone here. Maybe they just really want to get out of this place. Whatever the case, things aren't going to stay the same forever. I wonder who's going to make the first move.
Shizu is still frozen in place by the time he disappears from the lobby.
Conversation with Kogi Bodo (1)
- Stands up for things he believes in, seemingly regardless of possible fallout or consequences of his actions
- Claims to not know about his influence on others or, at least, not caring about said influence
- Unable to get good read on his character, perhaps both because he hides stuff well and for… personal… reasons
- Believes that I do not want to escape
Shizu's not actually aware if she's gotten any sleep or not. Every time that she closes her eyes, Kogi's words keep coming back to her. Maybe that's just her dreams. Just an endless parade of self-doubt, misery, and sweat. Her blanket is simultaneously the most comfortable thing she has around and the thing that is causing her temperature to skyrocket. But she can't let go.
Turning over to glance at the clock, she isn't even surprised to see that it's already 7:30 AM. Because of course it is. Curse her sleep schedule. Curse this stupid not-dreams. Curse Kogi. Not really that last one because Kogi is completely fine. She's the one with a problem.
Shizu takes the time to shower this morning. Normally, she prefers nighttime showers much more than any other kinds, but her body is aching and sweating still, and she needs some kind of relief. It's worth messing up her schedule over in the end. If she hadn't taken this time out of her day, she knows that she would be much more miserable.
Once she's finally ready and pushing open her door, she hears a chime, signaling the announcement. "Good morning everyone! It's officially 8 AM, so let's greet the morning with a smile, shall we? That's all!"
The elevator is empty once again, and she is once more grateful for this fact. Thank goodness nobody else wakes up this early. She's given time to think about important things, like what she wants for breakfast or what she's even trying to do here. The elevator dings open, interrupting her thoughts, and she steps outside.
…And immediately trips over something and lands face first on the ground. As she groans, adjusts her glasses, and tries to push herself up, something crashes into the back of her head, sending her back to the floor. It's something mushy…
A low growl echoes throughout the lobby, and Shizu is surprised to hear that it's coming from herself. She wasn't even aware she could make that kind of noise. These thoughts were pushed to the side as burning rage seers through her brain. She pushes herself up once more, and, thankfully, nothing else forces her back.
As she stands up, whatever was on top of her falls off with a clatter. There's flecks of something stuck on her glasses, and more of it is stuck in her hair. Upon closer inspection, it's cake. Looking behind her, she sees a plate lying on the ground.
She takes a deep breath and marches back into the elevator, cake flecks dripping off of her as she walks. She crosses her arms and taps her foot impatiently, as the elevator slowly makes its way back up to the fourth floor. Once it gets there, she storms back towards her room, not caring about whatever mess she could possibly be making.
Another shower is in order, though this one is a hundred times less soothing. A few times, the drain nearly clogs, so she has to individually break up the chunks of food so they can fit through the drain. Truly, this is the perfect way to spend her morning.
Shizu simultaneously dries herself off and throws her clothes into the hamper. She just did laundry two days ago, and now she has to do a smaller load because of this shit. What a fantastic start to the day. At least this means she has a fresh change of clothes. Thank goodness she had two blazers in total. She's still not enjoying the prison stripes of her shirt.
Glaring at the cake and the plate it was on with contempt, she storms towards the laundry room. She's actually lucky that she didn't slip and fall again, because, while carrying her hamper, she nearly stepped on a particularly large piece. That would have ruined her day for certain.
You know what else would ruin her day? The washing machines both being taken. Shizu drops her hamper, her arms physically unable to hold it up as she stares blankly towards both of the machines. They both have about twenty minutes left, so it's not that long of a wait. That's what she tells herself. She also tells herself, "God fucking damnit!", except she replaces "tells" with "yells". "Of course. Of course someone was actually up early enough to do laundry. Just perfect. What else can go wrong today?"
A high pitched scream rings out from far away.
A chime follows immediately, signaling a Monokuma announcement.
"A body has been discovered. Everyone, please gather in the dining hall for further instructions."
Without even thinking about anything, without realizing she's discarded her anger so quickly, Shizu guns it towards the dining hall faster than she's ever moved in her life before. She doesn't take the time to consider that she's broken her top speed, she doesn't acknowledge that she could slip on the cake mess, she doesn't even notice if she's passed anyone else. All that matters is getting to the dining hall.
She flings the doors wide open. Hachi, probably the source of the scream, is hyperventilating in the corner of the room, tears streaming down her face. Sawako and Michio are hunched over at the table, looking down at something. From this angle, Sawako looks both enraged and horrified. Michio's face betrays no expression, all traces of his humor completely gone.
Shizu hurries to see what they're looking at, positioning herself on Michio's side.
A box of cereal is standing completely upright. A bowl filled with milk and said cereal is also present. There's a spoon that's fallen to the ground. In the middle of all of this...
Face down on the table as blood drips from the back of their head…
…is someone that Shizu doesn't recognize. Their facial features don't ring any bells. But then, it hits her. There's only one possibility…
Takumi Haruko is dead.
Shizu's Notes
The Remaining Group
- Everyone seems in mostly good spirits despite the events of yesterday, could be a façade but calling that out sounds like an awful idea
- Conversations are certainly friendly, which is one plus side, so it's unlikely that tensions will rise when it's just us
- Possibility of more people silently excusing themselves from the group, need to watch out for that
The Isolated
- None of them came to breakfast or to hang out with the rest of the group at any other time
- Soraru emerged, as Joshua expected, though not to socialize
- Morgan is nowhere to be found, despite her claims yesterday (maybe needs more time to think of something mystical to wow us with?)
- Hachi thinks she was being watched by someone, so maybe one of the isolated was around but too shy to socialize or maybe eavesdropping on conversations
- Not a surprise that no one went back on their words
- Kogi came outside to do laundry, but that's it
Thoughts on Monokuma
- Appearances are sporadic
- Usually only comes out to inform us of a new development, threaten us, or make an announcement
- Seems to enjoy toying with us, so is there a reason he doesn't do it more?
- Impossible to forget about him due to announcements and because his face is plastered everywhere, so that might be enough to satisfy his ego
takumi is dead
A/N: The first death. Judging from the victim poll, this wasn't all that unexpected, but I hope that it was still enjoyable nonetheless. There's more to life than just being surprised. Basically, you'd all better appreciate this, or I'm suing you all. ...Where was I? Oh yes, character stuff. I actually managed to give every single character a free time event, and, though some were longer than others, I hope that they gave you some good insights to who these people are and what makes them tick. Especially now that the death clock is ticking once more...
In any case, the investigation is coming up next, and that might take a while. As it turns out, I've uh... never written an investigation before? So let's hope that goes well. Same for a class trial, now that I think about it. Oh well, no fear! Only regrets! With that being said, I hope you have a fantastic day.
