We could not have been outside for longer than an hour, and Monokuma was already issuing a motive to us.
I suppose even entities like him could grow impatient.
There was a wave of silence as everyone present in the lodge eyed each other. While no one was saying anything, there was no doubt that the same nervousness which befell us yesterday had returned with a vengeance.
No one would kill again, not after what happened with Lorenzo and Michiru, right? Right?
"Hmm, it seems that not everyone is present..." Monokuma stated, scratching his chin. "Where are Yuki, Guadalupe, Rai, Aiko, Hikooki, Toko, Daquan, Kaemon, Saeko, Tame, Kenji, and Ryo?"
"Perhaps they are busy?" Sen suggested, looking up from his papers to answer Monokuma's question. Oh, I see how it was. He couldn't make time for any of us, but talking to Monokuma was alright. I scowled at him and looked away.
"Pipe down, Doctor Feelgood!" Monokuma snapped at Sen. "I don't care how busy you are, if you don't arrive in time, you're as good as dead!"
As soon as Monokuma finished his sentence, Yuki and Guadalupe rushed into the lodge. Yuki was read in the face and her signature sweater was drenched in her sweat. She was wobbling around, looking dizzy.
"Yuki!" Guadalupe called out, catching her before she could fall over onto the ground.
"Oh... sorry about that," Azizah apologized, giving a sheepish smile. "I... completely forgot, please forgive me,"
Yuki was simply too exhausted to reply to Azizah. "Just give her a sec, she'll probably wake up in a bit," Guadalupe assured us. "She always eventually wakes up,"
Seconds later, Tame, Kenji, and Ryo arrived.
"We here in time?" asked Ryo.
"I would suppose so, seeing as how we are not dead," Kenji replied. "Now that only leaves the group that went to the hill..." he muttered as he and Tame sat together at an empty table, with Ryo right behind them.
Only seconds later, Toko burst into the room, twirling a revolver around in their hand. "Alright, Monokuma, what have ya called us in for now?" They asked, sitting down at an empty table and putting their feet up.
Saeko, Rai, Daquan, Aiko, and Hikooki all entered the lodge. Rai, Hikooki, and Aiko sat our table as Saeko and Daquan sat with Toko.
"That leaves only one of us missing," Shiro noted. "Damn, I was just getting used to him not being around,"
"Who are you talking about?" Hikooki asked him.
"I think they're talking about... ugh, Kaemon," I replied. I scowled as the Ultimate Game Livestreamer came to my head, filling the room with his gross body odor and terrible rudeness. I cringed as I imagined Kaemon entering the room - part of me slightly hoped that he wouldn't show up and then be executed!
Masaki nodded. "Ah, I hate that guy,"
"Same here," Shiro replied.
Rai nodded. "That guy is annoying, he goes on about the same things all the time,"
Masaki chuckled a bit, trying to contain his laughter. Meanwhile, Azizah was looking down with a disapproving look on her face.
"Azizah? What's wrong?" Hikooki asked her.
Azizah shrugged. "I don't know, I guess... I think Kaemon has the potential to be a good person, I just think he needs to learn. He can get better, if he allows his heart to be nicer." She mumbled.
"Ah, yes!" Aiko piped up. "If only he can open up his heart, he can see for himself how much better the world becomes! The Dark Lady must first be accepted before she can come to one's aid,"
In the midst of Aiko's rambling, Kaemon burst through the doors, drenched in sweat like Yuki. He was panting and trying to catch his breath as he slumped over on the floor. "Sorry, I was just saving my game," He apologized. "Am I in time?"
Monokuma gave his signature eerie chuckle. "Upupu! You're just in time! If you had been even a minute late, I would have you executed by now!"
Kaemon cursed under his breath and sat down at a table. He glared at all of us and turned away.
"Now then, I would like you all to meet me in the dining room of the Monokuma Express, and there, you shall receive your next motive!" Monokuma announced. My only question was, why was he giving us a motive after not even having been here for a few hours? Was he eager to push a motive already?
"A motive? S-So early?!" Amy-chan shrieked. "No, I can't! This is definitely not sugoi!" She wailed in an over-exaggerated fashion, even if she was being genuine about not wanting to kill anyone else.
Monokuma growled at Amy-chan and jumped on a table. "Excuse me, but which of us is the headmaster here? If you aren't the headmaster, you don't get a say in how we run the Killing School Tour!" He scolded her. "Ahem. Now, if you would be so kind as to meet me back inside of the Monokuma Express, we can get things underway without me having to kill any of you for breaking rules!" Before anyone could reply, Monokuma exited the lounge. We all looked at each other one last time, though nobody said anything. With nothing else to do, we all followed suit and went back into the train, meeting up in the dining room as Monokuma had ordered us.
When we arrived at the dining room, however, Monokuma was nowhere to be found.
"Where is he?" asked Tame, scooping some sushi onto a plate.
"Now's not the time to be eating, I don't think," Masaki told her. "But it's still strange that Monokuma hasn't shown up yet..."
"Show yourself, fucker!" Kaemon shouted out. There was more silence.
"Come on!" Yuki shouted. She slammed a pair of fists onto a table, a vein showing on her forehead. She certainly wasn't very happy about this...
"Yuki, I don't think you need to react like that..." I reminded her. She turned back to me, and opened her mouth as if to say something to me. Before she could do that, however, Monokuma suddenly burst through the door, entering the room.
"Upupu~!" Monokuma laughed. "Sorry to keep you waiting, it took a long time to get today's motive all ready!"
Tomoe lowered her sunglasses at Monokuma. "Did ya really have to keep us that long? Some of us were starting to get impatient."
Monokuma laughed again. "Ah ha ha! You're all so funny! I wonder, why would you wait for a robotic bear like me? Is there really something so special about me? I'm touched,"
"I am under the impression that you at least have an inkling of the reason we decided to hold out for you," Kenji told him. "It is simply because our lives are on the line,"
Monokuma sighed. "Ah, why you gotta be a killjoy?" Monokuma asked Kenji. I trembled before Monokuma's lighthearted tone - he was just about to give us some reason to kill each other! Why was he so cool with this?!
"Kenji, it is probably best if you do not provoke him," Asa advised the Ultimate Swordplayer. "If anything, it will make you one of his biggest targets,"
"Upupu, right on the nose!" Monokuma replied to Asa. "Just for that remark, Kenji, you get to go first!"
First?
We were being presented the motive in a certain order?
What was going on?
"No more funny business, what's the motive?" asked Hideki.
Monokuma giggled again. "You'll just have to wait and see, Chief Wiggum!" He called to Hideki. "Anyway, today your motive is this!" Monokuma announced before pulling from thin air a black box with a pink splatter pattern over the sides. "In here are envelopes with your names on them, and they each have a secret that you have kept hidden from the rest of the world for your whole lives! It's bound to fill you with such despair, knowing that I know your deepest, and darkest secrets!"
I gasped. I quickly thought about each of my embarrassing or dark secrets. Honestly, I never really had many moments that instantly came to mind. I lived my entire life as nothing more than a regular schoolgirl who sometimes took pictures and did editorials, but that was about it. I wasn't particularly worried about what anyone would find out about me, I was more worried about the fact that Monokuma seemed to know our pasts.
He had the power to affect us on a psychological level. I quivered as I imagined someone with a secret they would do anything to protect. Anything.
"Anyway, to begin," Monokuma stated. "We will be taking turns, that way there is no confusion! Because he decided to make an example of himself, let us begin with you, Kenji Yang! Remember, if you do not do as I say, you will be executed!"
Kenji gave a huff as he walked up to the box, and Monokuma handed him an envelope which read "Kenji" on the front. He opened up the envelope and eyed the slip of paper he got, then gasped. "No..." He whispered.
"Oop, not letting that happen! Don't you dare say what you're thinking until everybody gets their secrets!" Monokuma instructed him. "Hmm... a boy went first, so a girl can go next. How about you, Guadalupe?"
Guadalupe went up and received her envelope. Then Masaki, then Asa, then Daquan, then Yuki, then Utamuro, and I lost track of it until he eventually got to me.
"Kanon, you're next!" Monokuma called me up. I gulped as I approached the box - I knew that I wouldn't be receiving a secret that I would particularly mind if anybody else got, I just knew that it was bad that Monokuma knew it. I reached my shaking hand into the box and pulled my envelope, and then took a deep breath as I opened it up.
I gasped as I read what was written on the paper. I would have never expected something like this.
It read,
"Masaki Domoto almost pulled the trigger after being released from jail. Sometimes, he wishes he did it."
Nothing could have prepared me for this. I dropped the paper onto the ground as I stood there, completely frozen.
"Kanon? You okay?" Ryo asked me. "Was it... that bad?"
I couldn't answer him. Not after learning this.
Finding out that we weren't getting our own secrets was bad enough. Knowing that Masaki had tried to kill himself was positively terrible. Learning that he sometimes wishes he succeeded broke my heart into millions of microscopic pieces.
Masaki... I whispered to myself as tears began to well up in my eyes.
I thought it would end at trying to prevent another murder, trying to make sure we all lived.
Now I had to do my best to protect Masaki. I turned around and looked back at him. He was wearing an expression of concern on his face.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Masaki asked me.
"I don't think she's answering right now," Ryo replied. "I think she needs to rest, poor girl's been through a lot,"
I couldn't say anything. I couldn't tell them.
Monokuma... really was a heartless, soulless being. He sure did his best to remind us of that fact at every turn...