Time for review replies!
The SENDER and the TRAVELER: I really am glad you find my portrayal of Kiyoshi good enough! The ships growing in this second act... will they grow to fruition, or will they all get cut down before they finally set sail? You'll find out eventually, I'm guessing. It's great to have you back on the reviews, thanks!
TheRoseShadow21: I do have to agree with you regarding Kiyoshi's past. After getting so much crap from his dad and coworkers, he would turn out to be an unpleasant little bastard, huh? The kissing game and the closet FTE were both a blast to write, although I was unsure of how it'd be recieved. I'm glad you liked it! (Also, don't worry, I don't drink either so you're not alone!). Indeed, indeed, the motive will be presented soon... what'll it be, I wonder? Thank you so much for your review!
Katastic Writer: I have to disagree with you on that one as well. While it's completely possible for Kiyoshi to grow and be a tolerable character in the future, I can't stand Togami for the life of me, probably because I can't look past what he did Chihiro. Messing with a corpse is just a bit too much, although, again, it's good to see different opinions and I obviously respect yours! I'm glad you enjoyed the party, too, as well as Monokuma's surprise appearance. Thanks for the review!
Crimson Spider Lily: I must say I enjoy your reviews immensely! They're always just so brimming with personality and emotion, I can't help but laugh a bit. Chigusa and Maruko's conversation will come to light eventually, don't worry, and I'm glad you enjoyed the spin the bottle awkwardness and overall game. It was a blast to write, really! You've got some nice guesses for motives, and quite a lengthy list of potential victim suspects... all of which will be confirmed or denied soon enough, so I can only hope you'll stay around to find out. Thanks so much for your review!
Guest: I definitely would have if I had prior knowledge. Haven't seen that movie in ages, after all! Thanks for your review.
ACT 2: No Hope Allowed
CHAPTER 5: A Villain Among Us
LATE AFTERNOON
Location: Anghern Art Gallery
"Why the silent treatment, everyone!?" Monokuma cackled. "I thought you'd be excited to have me in the celebration! O-Oh, wait... what are we celebrating even?" he paced around, back and forth, patting his forehead with his stubby black paw. "Oh! Is it the death and execution of your friends? Or perhaps the imminent next murder? Please tell me if I'm getting warmer, upupu!"
Monokuma's attempts at jokes were received by near absolute silence. Riou growled at the robotic bear, not unlike a wild animal and glared at him, approaching me as he did. "Get outta here, Monokuma."
"Come on, guys, don't give me the cold shoulder..." he implored, his sadness clearly faked. "Or I might..." he sobbed and sniffed a few times before streams of tears started rushing from his eyes, soaking the wooden floor below him. In a fraction of a second, the tears stopped and the puddle on the ground vanished soon before, seeping into the wooden planks below. "Aaaanyway, time for y'all to shut the hell up."
"W-We weren't talking though..." Yuzuru commented truthfully.
"You shut up." the bear targeted the Assassin with three metal claws protruding from his paw and a glowing red eye. "I'll bury you six feet underground if you don't. What kind of Assassin isn't the first murderer, anyway!? Boooriiiing." he mocked the strawberry blond girl and she seemed to shrink a bit. "Now then..."
"Now, nothing." Akahana interrupted, stepping forward with a stern look. "Why are you here?"
"I was getting to that." Monokuma sighed, annoyed. "It's been a couple days already and no one's dead yet!"
I flinch after hearing the mention of death, the memories of days past flooding my nerves rapidly. "N-No one else is gonna die." I was unsure of what I just said. For some reason or another, my resolve to leave the city with everyone alive, catching the mastermind in the process had disappeared into thin air.
"You don't really believe that, huh?" he shrugged, hands up in a 'whatever' position. "I don't have time to waste. I'm a busy bear, you know!? Had to mess with my schedule a whole lot to make this cool entrance."
"C-Cool?" Maruko asked rethorically.
"Yes, Miss Worldwide. Now can you shut up for a sec?" he insisted. "I'm trying to tell you a murder needs to happen soon or I'm gonna die from boredom. So... you know what it means!" he cackled maniacally and paused for a reaction. "C'mon... ask me what it means! Y'all are way too stupid to know."
"A motive." Eita said, and the monotony in his voice was severely unfitting for the situation Monokuma was building up - so much so, in fact, it was almost funny. Were we not in such hot water, I'd consider laughing. "What is it now?"
Monokuma sighed and looked down, depressed. "Well then... you guys can't let me have fun, huh?" he sulked, but quickly perked up and did a somersault, just for the fun of it, I'd wager. "But yeah! Thaaaat's right! Time for a new motive!"
Those words really hit me harder than I expected, as I felt did the rest of us, with a - likely - duo noticeably absent from the tension. I could understand Eita being unable to express his stress and anxiety, but why would Shizuka not remove his serene mask when another motive was being distributed? Last time this happened, we found a dead body the next morning...
I looked around me and saw everyone frozen. Shizuka had a clean, calm expression and his arms crossed nonchalantly, as normally as if he was window shopping. Akahana mimicked the gesture, but the stress on her lips was clear. "Speak, Monokuma." the Prosecuting Attorney pushed the bear forward in his speech.
"Oh, let's see... how do I make this dramatic reveal even more despairfully exciting!?" he paced, faking thoughtfulness.
"Out with it already." Shizuka insisted. "Don't waste our time needlessly."
Monokuma eyed the Street Magician evilly. "Waste your time? This is most certainly not a waste of time, you murderer! It's an important build-up to achieve my goals! You guys sure are dense sometimes, you know...? Hard to believe there's so many couples around. Like seriously, how do you keep up with each other's ignorance."
"Can you just shut up and tell us already?" Kikyo glared at the bear, a bit frightened.
"Wait, should I shut up, or tell you?" the mastermind mocked from beyond the plushy in front of us. "Dumbass!" he added before erupting into a malicious laughter.
Blackjack was the one to step forward. "Please, Monokuma, before you progress... I have a question."
"Whaddya want?" he stopped his cackling to respond.
"I noticed you called Shizuka a 'murderer'?" she picked up a detail that I, in my panic, neglected to pay attention to. M-Murderer?
All eyes were on the Street Magician as his serenity remained unfazed. He had drowsy eyes and a slight smile on his face, completely ignorant to the distrustful stares around him. "Oh, did I, now?" Monokuma thought aloud. "That's exactly why I'm coming here for you, this wonderful evening!"
"Out with it!" Riou pushed the bear over the edge, and the second motive of Anghern's Mutual Killing Game was laid bare for us. Chills traveled down my spine and I got goosebumps all over and I noticed every stare in the room zipping quickly from one person to the next.
"M-M-Mole?" I stutter.
"Yes!" he cheered enthusiastically, greatly differing from our silent surprise. "A mole! A spy! A traitor! One of you is not to be trusted... after all, they are not who they say they are!"
Frances stomped forward and covered Blackjack, protecting her. "I'm not buying it! You say one of us is a traitor!?"
"Did I say one of you?" Monokuma paused and thought over his words. "I shouldn't have said 'one'... after all, there might be two! Or three! Maybe the whole group is conspiring against you! Maybe the traitor is your girlfriend, or boyfriend, or best friend... Maybe you know who the traitor is but you clichéd amnesiacs can't remember who - even if it means getting killed by him or her! Oh, cruel world!"
"Wait, wait, wait..." Kiyoshi sighed and, for once, I could sense him thinking hard about something - although, if you think hard enough, he ended up taking the easiest route to the criminal's identity. "I know who it is! It's that fucking creepy ass Shizuka! Monokuma called him a murderer, and said the motive was about him."
All eyes were back on Shizuka. "Oh?" he simply said, tilting his head. "For a party designed to rebuild bonds of trust among us, I sure seem to be in dire straits, isn't that the case?" he sighed in defeat. "Well, it seems like our get-together was a failure... I'll be leaving now." And with that, he left, leaving no trace of him behind. The moment I noticed, Monokuma had disappeared as well, not to be seen anywhere.
"That makes him extra suspicious!" Frances cried, tugging to Blackjack's clothing with a furrowed brow. She shouted obscenities at the door from which Shizuka left, as if he could hear her insults. "I can't believe it... we're in deep trouble!"
"G-Guys, calm down..." Yatarou tried to bring the peace and order back to the gallery but to no avail. Voices were overlapping one another, as Shizuka's name was being tarnished by being called all sorts of names my friends could think of.
"There might be a misunderstanding." "Yes, in fact, that'd be the most mathematically sound conclusion." Yori and Eita joined the efforts but alas, no one managed to calm the wrath of the few of us that were blinded by the conviction that Shizuka was a traitor. But something didn't feel right.
Why would he be a traitor? What does the traitor even do here? Is he the traitor? Why would Monokuma give his identity away so easily?
But regardless of everything... do I suspect he's the traitor? Maybe. I've had my fair share of guilty clients and I know them when I see them, but when Shizuka is such an emotionally reserved guy, hiding away his true thoughts behind a locked motel room door and a neutral mask... it makes my job that much harder.
"I don't care about math!" Maruko protested.
"Yeah, Shizuka's the traitor!" Frances added, allying her argument to the Translator's.
Yuzuru was dead silent, looking everywhere but in the eyes of her friends. "Yuzuru!" Blackjack called. "You are in grave danger. I suggest you find a safer quarters."
"I... I..." she couldn't speak. "I... I trust him..."
Kiyoshi sighed. "Makes sense. An Assassin'll feel right at home sleeping under a frickin' murderer. No big deal to her, huh."
"D-Don't call me that. I'm not a killing machine, okay...? I'm just... I'm just a girl! And Shizuka's my friend! So knock it off!" she shouted, before sprinting away from the gallery with tears in her eyes, calling for the Street Magician at the top of her lungs.
"Smells like a dead body'll be coming up soon." Kiyoshi said tastelessly.
"Like hell it is!" Riou stomped his foot on the ground, and slammed his clenched fist against the nearest wall, knocking a Monokuma painting off balance. "No one else is gonna die here!" the Boxer asserted, staying true to the promise we made earlier that day.
We're not letting anyone else get killed. Not a single person.
"I'm going after them and knocking some sense into those two. Now if y'all can just pipe down, that'd be great!" Yatarou threw a sly smile and went off after Yuzuru and Shizuka, Kikyo quickly following suit.
"As for all of us," Akahana said. "it seems like we're dismissed. The party had quite an abrupt ending, yes, but an ending nonetheless." she added, stern, like a true leader. "I'll see you all tomorrow. Have a good night." she exited, leaving me, Riou and Kiyoshi behind after the 'couples' left, to their rooms, I presume.
"What?" the Custodian spat dryly. "Don't look at me like that, dumbass. I told you I'm not gonna suck your dick."
"A-And I told you I wouldn't tell you to do that..." I reply, uncomfortable and tense. "I'll be leaving. S-See you."
Riou glared at the jumpsuit-clad boy and crossed his arms. "Hey, don't talk to him like that, jackass." he sounded threatening, a tone of voice I didn't find comfort in hearing after what just happened.
We both went to our room.
NIGHT TIME
Location: Motel Room #1 (Tsukushi and Riou's Hut)
I don't think I'd been that mad ever since finding the ruins behind the library. What I felt then was this twisted mixture of disgust, frustration, sadness, fear and fury that I simply couldn't put into a single word. "I can't freaking believe this!" I slam my body down onto Riou's mattress and lay face down on his pillow. "Everything was going so well! Why did Monokuma have to do this!?"
Riou comforted my muffled voice by sitting down next to my tense body, his weight making the bed drop in level noticeably, and he patted my shoulder to reassure me. "Tsukushi, breathe, please." his voice was worried and softer than usual, although the regular ruggedness of it hadn't been completely lost. "You don't believe that stupid bear, do you?! He's trying to fuck with us, make us hate each other."
"I... I know!" I flail around, two moist spots forming on the thin pillow below my eyes. "I don't want to believe it either, but I don't think Monokuma would lie! He hasn't up until now..."
"You... You actually think one of us is a traitor?" he asked, just to make sure, to which I nodded, burying my nose deeper. "I see. Well, you're the brains here, and if you think there's someone, then there might be someone." he conceded a bit more easily than I'd anticipated, but I wasn't in the mood to think about the reason why. "But don't you worry!"
I was startled by his calm demeanor, although when I turned to face him, his jaw was clenched and he was noticeably tense, his serenity present only in his voice. "Wh-What do you mean?" I asked. "You saw what happened last time... Asuyo... and Yuki too. Th-They're dead now!"
I hadn't remembered it for a while. It was something I kept in the back of my head, and the information popped up in my brain every once in a while... but now it had, once again, sunk in fully. Two of my friends had taken their last breaths, and I would never see them again... and by the looks of things, more of my friends might bite the bullet and be sacrificed in this massacre of a game.
"I'll do it..." he whispered, his voice and his face lit up with a deep resolve. "No matter who this traitor is... I'll protect you from them... I swear it to you. I won't let them harm you, Tsukushi... I won't let anyone die!" he gripped my shoulder tighter and bent his neck, so his chin was resting on his pectoral muscles. "I... I promise you."
"Riou...?" I was confused by his sudden promise, but smiled sadly. "Don't be stupid... You can't trust me... What if I'm the traitor?"
His eyes shot open for a second and he looked at me with surprise, but he quickly shook his head and took a deep breath. "I know you're not."
"How?"
"I just do." he simply replied. "I trust you, Tsukushi. I trust you more than I trust anyone else in this city... and I care about you more than I care for all the others. I'm not gonna fail again. I'll protect you, I swear!" he kept repeating things of this nature for a solid minute, making me blush both because I was honored to have him care so deeply for me - a person he'd known for no longer than two weeks by now - and because I simply didn't know how to react.
With every word he said, I could feel a warm smile coming over me, and a warm feeling of trust in my chest arose. Riou might look like another brainless bodybuilder, but truth is... he's really caring and sweet when he wants to. It's a side I'd never noticed in him, or at the very least never on this big of a scale.
"Th-Thanks." I thank him, a bit flustered. Suddenly, I felt something hard in front of me, and quickly that feeling spread throughout my entire upper body. "R-Riou?" I reluctantly hugged him back, being left in his arms for a while longer.
This feels nice.
It feels... warm. And cozy.
It feels... familiar.
It feels like coming home.
"U-U-Uh... D-Don't you want to walk around? You didn't get your afternoon jog today because of the party!" I remember him, and he loosens his grip on me before letting go fully. "I can come with you, of course."
"That sounds more like it!" Riou cheered. "Maybe a good sweat is all we need to get our mind off of things! Get dressed!" And with a big Riou-esque smile, the Boxer got up and stretched before walking over to the bathroom and throwing me a pair of shorts.
"I have mine, you know?" I reminded him, to which he simply shrugged and shook it off.
"Yeah, but you use it to sleep, don't you? Can't get sweat all over them, huh?" he grinned. "Take these, now. And if you ever feel like wearing my shorts, go for it."
I chuckle and thank him, clutching the gray shorts in my hand while glancing at the other pair of them I held on the railing of my bed.
"How do our waists even have the same size?" I thought to myself. It almost seemed like that was my biggest issue.
MORNING
Location: Anghern Art Gallery
I arrived at the party site early in the morning to help with cleaning the mess we made the afternoon before, although I was clearly not the first to get that same idea. "Akahana?" my voice spoke for itself, almost as it wasn't usual to find her around town - which it really wasn't. Normally, I wouldn't see her around.
"Yes, that is my name. Good morning." she greeted me, even though I couldn't quite put my finger on whether she was polite or rudely dismissive. Truth be told, I'd rather keep my eyes on the first option - the second one was more probable, given her stern and leaderly posture, but after Riou took so much time in making me feel happy again, I didn't want to throw it all to waste.
"Morning." I reply simply. "You're here to clean?"
She stopped in her tracks, an empty tray with the cups we brought from the huts orderly maintained and raised an eyebrow. "Take a guess." she sassed. "And while you're at it, take a guess on what you should be doing. Standing around and letting a girl do all the hard work is hardly unbecoming of a man like you."
"Ah, the sweet scent of sarcasm in the morning." I retorted. "Beats any breakfast, doesn't it?"
The Prosecutorial Attorney smiled slightly and went back to her self-assigned duties, counting on my aid. "I'd say so."
"You're all alone?" I ask, trying to make small talk.
"Are you suggesting Frances is hiding in the closet?" she sassed back once again, shooting down any attempt of mine to converse. "If you aren't, then please elucidate me on where you think all the others are."
"No need to be so passive-agressive, jeez." I chuckle, my cheeriness relatively unfazed. She shook her head and gestured to the mess with her hand, making me shake my head and get to work alongside her.
Hang out with Akahana?
[Yeah, sure] [Oh, heeeeeell no]
Tsukushi: Are you always this sarcastically bitchy and I didn't notice?
Akahana: Who knows, really.
Tsukushi: I think we should really talk to Kiyoshi or something...
Tsukushi: He's the SHSL Custodian, you know? He'll be instrumental to us if you plan on cleaning up.
Akahana: How dependable you are, huh, Hananari?
Akahana: If only you spoke less and scrubbed a bit more, maybe there won't be a need for help.
Akahana: You should really start becoming more independent.
Tsukushi: Let me guess... just like you?
Akahana: I am, by no means, telling you to be like me.
Akahana: Every person is different. We, in fact, are polar opposites.
Akahana: I am a cold, stern, analytical girl who imprisons criminals.
Tsukushi: And I am a more laid-back, warm, friendly boy who defends innocent people.
Akahana: Innocent, is it?
Tsukushi: Believing your client is at the heart of any lawyer worth their badge. That's my agency's motto.
Akahana: The Hananari Law Offices. Run by your mother, Natane Hananari, am I wrong?
Tsukushi: You know her?
Akahana: I'm a prosecutor, and as such I like to know my opponents well.
Akahana: I crossed swords in court with your mother during a theft trial last year.
Akahana: Of course, I came out on top. Your mother was one of the fiercest competition I'd been given in ages, though.
Tsukushi: So you know my mother.
Akahana: Which also lets me infer you are depending on her to do things you can't...
Akahana: ...instead of learning them on your own and growing as an attorney.
Tsukushi: H-Hey, when did this become an evaluation? I didn't ask for your opinion on how I do my job.
Tsukushi: I've been going through trials with very few hardships and I've been given the title of SHSL Defense Attorney.
Tsukushi: So... just knock it off. There's no shame in having people to count on.
Akahana: Maybe so. But one day, all people you count on might turn on you and you'll be alone.
Akahana: My mother and father aren't around to babysit me anymore, Tsukushi. Wrap your head around that.
Tsukushi: I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back old wounds.
Akahana: Typical, coming from a foolish, soft lawyer... You're a disgrace to your profession.
Tsukushi: Woah there, what's all this about!? Why're you attacking me all of a sudden?
Akahana: Did I hit a soft spot? Heh, pathetic. I hope no one at my lawfirm has the displeasure of facing you in court.
Tsukushi: W-Why's she being so mean? It came out of nowhere... she wasn't like this yesterday at the party.
Tsukushi: Is this... the real Akahana Nakajima?
Tsukushi: If I'm as useless as you say I am then, I don't think you'll need me around. See you later, have fun.
Akahana: Later.
Tsukushi: Tch... not even an apology or anything. This girl really is cold-hearted, deep down.
Akahana Nakajima
Despair Shard obtained!
Contrary to what I thought after how calm and leaderly she's been for the past few days, helping us cope with all the recent happenings, spending actual one-on-one time with Akahana, the Prosecutor, seemed to be unpleasant at best and disgracefully obnoxious at worst. She seemed like a fully different person when my talent and job are involved in the conversation, although she doesn't seem to mind my personality on a normal individual. I noticed she has her own lawfirm, making her a prosecutor independent from the district's prosecutorial offices. She's also apparently an orphan.
AFTERNOON
Location: Liternature
"Helloooo...?" my voice bounced back to me in the seemingly empty halls of the library, a thin layer of dust hovering over the floor and quickly spreading to higher grounds, making me fret for my own allergies. "Blackjaaaaack..." I called, entering the musty room and looking around for the Information Broker. A stray table was in the middle of the hallway, between two bookshelves, and two chairs stood on each side of it, almost like a meeting was supposed to occur.
Suddenly a chill went up my spine and I felt frozen. Looking around for the source of the breeze, I noticed the library door, closed behind me.
"B-Blackjack, is th-that you?" I stutter nervously, my previous positivity shaken by my encounter with the Prosecutorial Attorney that morning. "Come out, come out, wherever you are..." I joke, trying to lighten the mood for my sake.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
A new sound made me snap back and look at the table, where there was now a sitting girl, sunglasses hanging from the front of her collar. "Welcome, Mister Hananari."
"Wh-What was all this SHSL Ninja crap?" I ask, visibly surprised at Blackjack's spying and stealth maneuver skills.
"As an Information Broker, it is only natural I know how to silently get around. It's all in the job description." she explained camly and gestured to the seat in front of her with her right hand. "Have a seat. We must talk."
"O-Ok?" I reply hesitantly and take a seat. In front of me, the green-eyed girl intertwined her fingers, resting her elbows on the table.
Hang out with Blackjack?
[Yeah, sure] [Oh, heeeeeell no]
Blackjack:As an Information Broker, it is my duty to discover what shady dealings are occuring around me.
Blackjack: And as such, I don't think I need to specify why I called you here, Mister Hananari.
Tsukushi: Y-Yesterday's motive?
Blackjack: Indeed. That is the case. Now then... why do you suppose I called you here?
Tsukushi: Maybe you wanted my lawyer's insights...? To help you gather evidence as to who is the mole?
Blackjack: Interesting... so you do believe there is a mole. A traitor among us, yes?
Blackjack: However, your talent is not why I messaged you to meet me here in the library.
Blackjack: Have another guess.
Tsukushi: N-No... It can't be.
Tsukushi: You've found out who it is!?
Blackjack: I have a guess. You are that guess.
Blackjack: I suspect you of being the villain among our group.
Tsukushi: Wait... what...!? What the hell, why!?
Blackjack: Evidence A, your calm demeanor and sociability to everyone.
Blackjack: What other reason would you have to gain people's trust, other than to use it to murder someone later and evoke the sympathy of others to escape the class trial unscathed?
Tsukushi: I... I just want to make friends, Blackjack... and I've been anything but calm the past few days! I just don't want to show it too much.
Blackjack: Unlikely. Evidence B, that same social status and trust would make you an ideal way of making a bridge between Monokuma and us. A perfect way to feed information to the mastermind.
Tsukushi: J-Just friends, Blackjack! What is it with people and bothering me today!? I'm not the mole!
Blackjack: Very unlikely. Evidence C, your current stress. What do you have to hide that will make you as stressed as you are now?
Tsukushi: Oh, I don't know, maybe being falsely accused! Knock it off with this interrogation.
Blackjack: Ridiculous. Evidence D, my invitation. You had no qualms in meeting me, although I might be the traitor and end up killing you.
Tsukushi: You know what!? Good point! If anything, the SHSL Information Broker would be the best way to give Monokuma any intel!
Tsukushi: So why don't you suspect yourself?
Blackjack: Preposterous. I am merely an observer. In fact, ever since I started training my skills, I simply sold my neighbourhood's observable secrets.
Blackjack: Any information I could feed to Monokuma would be strictly what he could see through his omniscient powers.
Blackjack: My lack of social interaction would mean that I would be useless to him. That makes me an unlikely subject.
Tsukushi: You could be lying for all I know! Cough up some proof that you're not the traitor.
Blackjack: The traitor is the most likely to kill, in fear of having his or her identity revealed... if I was the traitor, I'd have made my plan beforehand and killed you already. By now, I'd be proceeding with evidence forgery and elimination.
Tsukushi: D-Don't talk about killing me that nonchalantly... please.
Blackjack: You did ask for it, Mister Hananari. Now, confess, or I'll have you face dire consequences.
Tsukushi: I'm not confessing to things I didn't do! I am not the traitor. Get me through a lie detector.
Blackjack: Impossible. There is no such equipment in Verdant Views as far as our searches tell us.
Blackjack: Or do you know of a secret room filled with such technology?!
Tsukushi: S-Stop it with the paranoia! I'm not... I'm not the mole, jeez.
Blackjack: Hm... even after all the evidence and arguments I presented, you still deny my allegations.
Blackjack: This is enough to shake my theory... you do not seem to be lying.
Blackjack: Very well... you're dismissed.
Tsukushi: Th-That's it...? You're just gonna leave now?
Blackjack: I must resume my investigation at once... my next suspect seems to be a fan-favourite.
Tsukushi: Shizuka?
Blackjack: Don't mention Mister Matsuoka's first name, if possible. It is the name of my late mother.
Tsukushi: Nice going, Tsukushi. Two girls with dead parents and you managed to piss both off in the same day!
Tsukushi: Ack! Insensitive, much...
Tsukushi: I had no idea. Forgive me.
Tsukushi: I'll be leaving now... if you need anything, ask.
Blackjack: Mister Hananari?
Tsukushi: Hm? What is it?
Blackjack: I apologize for how intrusive I was during this questioning.
Tsukushi: Don't mention it, I guess.
Blackjack 21?
Despair Shard obtained!
She texted me so I'd come to Liternature and meet her so she could tell me a few details about a new party that we'd host eventually, to make up for Monokuma's interruption yesterday afternoon, but it was all a ruse to accuse me of being the mole. For all it was, she did a pretty thorough investigation, but was quick to back down on her theories after a couple of minutes of my rebuttals, and eventually passed onto Shizuka. She slipped in a couple personal details about her too: her mother passed away some time ago, and she got her jumpstart in information broking by selling neighbourhood secrets and gossips locally. She considers herself more of an observer than a speaker or listener.
"Helloooooo!?" a female voice echoed in the room. "Baabe, are you around here?"
Babe? I thought immediately, remembering what Frances had confided in a couple days earlier.
You interested in her? Romantically speaking.
I-Is it that obvious!? Oh, god, I hope not... I thought you'd only see us as good friends...
I don't know if she feels the same!
Sounds like someone hit the jackpot.
"O-Oh!" she gasped when she found me and the Information Broker, the former of which was already leaving. "Tsukushi! Hello there!" she chirped.
"Hey Frances" I smiled slyly. "Did you just call me 'babe'?" I add a question cheekily, flustering her.
She scratched the back of her head and Blackjack hit the table in a sudden panic. "You must have misheard!" she blurted out, her normally clean composure broken. "I, for one, heard nothing of the sort!"
"Is that so?" I smirked and winked at Frances, to which she simply nodded with a great grin on her face - the likes of which I had yet to see inside these blasted walls. "Well then, I'll leave you two to your 'friends' stuff." I emphasize and air-quote the 'friends', giving a clear air of sarcasm to it. "Congratulations, you two." I added, earning a thank you from the Tapdancer, and left the room.
Now if only I was that lucky.
No, no, no. This isn't the time to be thinking about getting a boyfriend.
Siiigh... I'm pooped. Time to go back to the motel.
A/N: Another chapter! Next chapter will be quite special, if I do say so myself. Any guesses as to why? I hope you're enjoying the few ships that are peeking their heads out... let's just hope they live happily ever after (or not).
QOTC: If you're not avoiding spoilers for the New Danganronpa V3 game, which character has you most interested? Mine are Tsumugi, Tenko and Ryoma!
See you next chapter! Don't forget to review so I know what you think about this second act so far and until next time... Yamazaki out!