AN: Sorry for not updating lately, guys. I planned to do daily updates during winter break but I was busy these past couple of days.
Last time, Monokuma had opened up new areas for the students to explore...what will they find? Also I realized I forgot to reply to your reviews last chapter so I'm doing a joint reply today that will cover both reviews you guys made.
King Okami: Thanks for the review! 28 days is a bit little isn't it? Hopefully the gang can pull through.
MiserableFairy13: Thanks for the review! If you don't want to know I won't tell you xD. Also I'm sorry for posting your review twice. I approved your guest review before I could see you added one on your user account.
Ode30: Oh all characters are important! No I get what you mean, :P. Is it Komaeda? Is it Kokopuffs? Who knows, who knows...maybe it's not. Next chapter wasn't dangerous though, lol. Thanks for the free-time nominations and the review!
MizunashiFuyuko: Sorry if it offended you, it was not my intention and was supposed to be more comedy than a weapon. Thanks for the Free-Time nominations! Also, the diner is on an island. When a class trial starts, they board a submarine and head to a themed island to hold their class trials. So basically it looks exactly like a normal courtroom, except it is outdoors and the backgrounds of course are much more extravagant.
Gingericus19: Thanks for the review! I did in fact try to make it close to the game. Trying something new.
Reven228: I stated in an author's note before that I will continue the other story, but it will no longer be tied in with this one. This is because the other story that was supposed to tie in with this one is just bad. I realize it, and I don't like how I wrote it in the first place, so I'd rather not combine them and I'd rather focus on Alpha only.
Wmsm5ever: Your troll fics by the way are golden, lol. Love what you did with Rhyssa and Micky there. Thanks for the review!
Celes Ludenberg: Glad you like football, lol. I'm no good at it at all so I stay way away from it. I replied to you in a PM and I hope I didn't spoil much even though I didn't tell you anything really important. Thanks for the review!
TheRoseShadow21: The executions are always strange though lol. And yes, time is very sensitive, isn't it? Thanks for the review!
LeTantris: Glad you like it! I'm happy to see someone else enjoy and follow my story, so thanks for your review, and I hope I continue to deliver!
Soundtrack: Beautiful Ruin [Summer Salt Version]
Just a few moments before, we were told by Meowykins that we had only 28 days left to resume our investigation, as we apparently had too much time. But in compensation for that, we were given access to a brand new "glass dome," which was how Meowykins described it. Even if it would give us new leads, all I had were bad feelings.
To get to the other dome, Meowykins was there to greet us at the entrance hall. We walked into the submarine that we'd take to the class trials, and Meowykins took us to the second dome. I could see it from afar; it was huge. Definitely something that I would have noticed on the way to the islands. So why couldn't we notice it before..? As we docked to the entrance, we were greeted by an astonishingly similar hall compared to our first dome. However, when we walked towards the crossroads near the middle of it, it was all completely different.
This dome didn't have a second floor unlike the first one. Instead it had a long walkway of different rooms and facilities, sort of similar to a classroom hall. It was a bit unsettling to be completely honest, so instead of exploring the different rooms at random, I decided to go left to right. Walking towards the left of the building, something tugged at the end of my shirt. It was Mirai, who was forced to come along by Meowykins.
"U-um, Master," Mirai started. "May I explore with you..?"
I nodded and gave Mirai a smile. The last thing he needed was a rejection. Mirai nodded and stood close to me, though it was in more of a fearful way, rather than an attracted way. We set off, ready to explore the second dorm. Luckily the timer was still paused, so we'd have enough time to process the information when we got back...
Location: The AV Room | Time: 9:14 AM | Chapter Three | TIMER PAUSED
Opening the door to the AV Room, Mirai and I were blasted by a cold wind. The air conditioning in this place was on extremely high... it was freezing in the room. Mirai cuddled close to himself to stay warm as I explored the room.
The first thing that immediately came to my attention was a large cluster of computers. Unfortunately, they were all disconnected and there were no wires or anything to start them up. In short, they were completely useless. There was a large bin of clustered wires in the back of the room, except it would be impossible to tell which computers they belonged to. Pondering that, the door opened behind me, and Kirei walked in.
"O-oh! Hello, Keiko," Kirei said. "Are you exploring this room too..?"
"Yup," I said, sighing. "If we could get just one of those computers to boot up, that would be great, but they're missing their wires. I found a bin over here, but there's so many different wires, it's impossible to tell which they belong to."
"I-I may be of assistance," Kirei offered. "I'm a maid, so tedious tasks like these are my specialty..!"
"A-are you sure?" I asked. "I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want."
"Don't be silly," Kirei smiled. "This is the one thing I'm good at, so I'd be happy to do it."
I nodded, and smiled. "Well, if you're up to the challenge...maybe I should help though?"
"With this many wires, you might just get in the way," Kirei said. Her brutal honesty offended me just a little bit, but it didn't bother me much. She was probably right anyways.
Nothing else in the room exactly caught my eye, so I decided to leave the wires to Kirei and come back later. Perhaps she'd be able to connect the computers together and boot them up..? The computers themselves looked to be in good condition, but the connection cords (the wires) were completely gone.
"Come on, Mirai," I said. "You're coming with me, right?"
"...M-maybe I should stay," Mirai said in a monotone voice. "I-I can help Kirei, right?"
"She said that we'd just get in the way," I sighed. "You should probably leave the hard stuff to her...it's in her talent after all."
"O-oh, right," Mirai said. "Her talent...her talent... Her talent, huh..?"
Crap. I hit a sour note.
"S-sorry!" I said immediately. "Did that offend you?"
"I'm alright," Mirai responded, smiling. I let out a sigh of relief. Maybe I should let Mirai stay...
"You want to help Kirei because you want to search for your talent, is that it?" I asked. "If that's what you really want, then you could stay."
Mirai nodded slightly, but hesitated. "I don't know...if I'm not good at it, I'd just be in Kirei's way..." Noticing how Mirai didn't call Kirei "master" this time around, I raised an eyebrow. Mirai didn't notice by reaction to what he said, and shuffled his feet.
"Well, maybe when we get back to the first dome, I can help look for your talent with you," I offered.
"...You will?" Mirai asked me, looking up. His eyes had a familiar look to it. He showed me the face of a kicked puppy before.
"Of course," I said nodding. "We're friends, right?"
"...Friends?" Mirai asked, tilting his head. "I always saw you as my Master..."
"W-well, that's going a bit far, don't you think?" I asked awkwardly.
"I guess so," Mirai said. He seemed to be lost in thought.
Mirai got up, and I led him out the door to explore the other sections of the dome. We weren't done yet, and I decided to let Kirei explore the magical world of wires on her own.
Location: The Daycare Center | Time: 9:33 AM | Chapter Three | TIMER PAUSED
Well...this was a bit different. I never expected Monokuma to have set up an actual daycare room. Walking in it was a bit surreal. There was a big furry carpet on the ground with buildings blocks. There was also a large crate of toys in the back of the room. There was even a mini slide for toddlers.
"Hey, hey, hey, Keiko and Mirai!" Takayashi exclaimed. She was standing in the middle of the room, and seemed excited for some reason.
"Hi," I greeted. "Why are you so excited..?"
"It's a daycare room!" Takayashi said with happiness. "Toys, toys, and more toys! I love playing with toys!"
"We're not here to play with toys though, unfortunately. Besides, haven't you sort of grown out of the stage of Legos and My Little Pony dolls?"
"You're never to old to dedicate your life to a bit of pony roleplay!" Takayashi said happily. "Hmm...I wonder of Rhyssa would have liked this place."
"Rhyssa..? Why her?"
"Well, I know she was sort of a star since she was a kid," Takayashi said, a twinge of sympathy in her voice. "Maybe she never got to play with this kind of stuff?"
Takayashi could've been right, though I didn't want to think about that. It was a little depressing to think about that, and we had more pressing matters on hand.
I walked to the back of the room to investigate the large crate filled with toys. I could sense Mirai scanning the toys to check if he knew what they were. He reached down and picked up a Lego piece, and held it to his face.
"What is this?" he asked, very interested. "It looks like candy."
"They're not edible," I responded. "They're sort of like building blocks."
"Huh? You don't know what Legos are, Mirai?" Takayashi asked, stunned. "I didn't know that memory loss extended to toy usage."
"Building blocks..?" Mirai asked himself. "But they don't look like blocks..."
"Want me to teach you how to use them?" Takayashi asked playfully. "I'm an expert at the knowledge of Lego-jitsu!"
"That's not a thing," I sighed. "You can stay with Takayashi if you want though."
Mirai took another look at the Lego, and nodded towards me, smiling. He acted like a small child. While it would be rather strange in the case of a normal highschooler, it was a bit cute for Mirai. Also, it wasn't something strange in the case of Mirai. He lost all of his memories, and somehow most of his common sense. It's probably best if he kept learning. I left Takayashi to teach Mirai about the toys, and I headed out, heading to another room.
Location: Drama Room | Time: 9:50 AM | Chapter Three | TIMER PAUSED
So this is a drama room, huh..?
The room was filled with half-finished set pieces and costumes spread all over the floor. There were also dirty lockers that were spread across the room. Opening them, they were also filled with strange costumes, but that's to be expected in a room dedicated to acting. You're probably going to see some strange things.
But other than the clothes and set pieces, nothing else seemed out of place. I decided to leave, since there wasn't particularly anything I was interested in. Well, to be more accurate, everything in there was interesting. It really was a strange room.
I decided to go somewhere else after finishing up. Though it was a bit strange. There was only one more room after this and everyone seemed to be somewhere else. Only Kirei and Takayashi were in different rooms...I wonder where everyone else is?
Location: Pet Pound | Time: 10:01 AM | Chapter Three | TIMER PAUSED
By the time I got to the fourth and final room for the dome, I was a little flabbergasted. Mantled onto the door leading to this room was a piece of paper with the words "Pet Pound" scribbled over it. Yet even though I should have expected the worst, I didn't expect this at all.
Soundtrack: Re DISTRUST
"W-what is this?" Noah stammered.
"Kyaaa! This shouldn't happen to anybody!" Unmei screamed.
"U-Um! How exactly did they even get here?" Yoshinori asked in shock.
I walked over to take a look, and everyone was crowded around rows and rows of cages. Inside these cages were animals. I saw a German Shepard (that seemed to have rabies), an alligator restrained inside a cage, and at the end of the room was little pool that had a goddamn Great White shark in it. And that wasn't the end of it. Around the room were tons of sick and hostile animals.
"What the hell is this?!"
"Upupupu!" Monokuma laughed as he popped up. "So? How do you guys like my little petting zoo over here? Go on, they won't bite! Well, they probably will. But they're still very cute!"
"M-Monokuma, how did you get a Great White shark in here?" Noah asked, still shocked.
"Hmm? Oh, that thing? Me and that shark are tight friends, yo. There's no need to act shocked. It's not like I'm mistreating these animals or anything."
"That german shepard clearly has rabies!" Yoshinori cried.
"Does he?" Monokuma asked. "Did he forget to take medication?"
"They can't take medication on their own," Kaito sighed.
I walked over to one of the cages. Indeed, the germand shepard was foaming at the mouth, and he was spazzing around in his tight cage. He was sick, at the very least.
"W-well, we need to treat them, right?" I asked.
"Why would we treat a hostile animal like that..?" Ryoko asked.
"They are dangerous," Shougo sighed. "In our current situation, I'm not sure it's best to have them around."
I could hear the dog whimper a little bit, and I walked over. Kneeling down, it seemed like the germand shepard wasn't completely hostile. Though of course, that could be because he or she was sick, and weak.
"Well, if you want to treat them, you can consult the Meowykins Vet. Just call 1-800-588-2853-3928-2910-8592-9109."
"What kind of phone number is that..?" Furo asked in exhaustion. "Jesus Christ..."
"May I please point your attention to something else?" Monokuma asked politely. "If you ever wish to unlock one of these cages..."
"Why in hell would we do that?" Ryoko asked angrily, interrupting Monokuma.
"Ahem... Like I said, if you would like to unlock one of these cages, these locks are very simple. They work a little like bathroom locks...there is a handle, and if you pull on it, the door will be unlocked. In conclusion, that would also mean the animals will be wild enough to eat everyone inside!"
"So that's the reason why you're telling us this?" Noah asked. "Because you expect us to use these animals as weapons?"
"Well it's unique," Monokuma offered. "And it sets up the perfect crime."
"...No, that should be near impossible," Shougo said. "If you open up one of the cages, the animal inside will immediately jump at you, right? So how can you open the cages without killing yourself?"
Monokuma didn't answer for a second, and then he sighed. "Aw, shucks. You just had to ruin the fun, didn't you?" Monokuma stuffed his paws into his forehead and shook his head, sighing.
"You wanted one of us to die by accident?!" Yoshinori asked, mortified.
"Well it wouldn't have been my fault, would it?!" Monokuma yelled. "Sheesh."
I looked at the wild animals once more. They were all shaking in their cages, ravaging inside. One of the cages stacked up fell inside the pool where the shark was. I think you can imagine what happened from there. We all looked away, mortified.
"I-I think I had enough of this room," Yoshinori said. As she spoke, the door slid open.
"Why's everyone gathered in here..?" Kirei asked.
Takayashi and Mirai followed inside, and they all stared around. Mirai walked up to the animal cages, and looked at the german shepard.
"Ooh," Mirai said. "You're a cute doggy!"
"That is the scariest kind of dog!" Takayashi yelled. "Get back too, Mirai! That dog will bite you."
"Aw, come on," Mirai said.
"W-w-what is this?!" Kirei asked. "What are with all of these wild animals?!"
"I don't even want to know how Monokuma got them all down here," Takayashi sighed.
"A-anyways, let's all get out," Yoshinori said. "I don't know if I can..."
"Ow!"
Soundtrack: Re Monokuma's Extracurricular Lesson
Mirai held his hand in pain as the german shepard inside the cage began to bark wildly. Blood seeped down into his shirt, and he rubbed it gingerly.
"That hurt..." Mirai whined. "Bad dog!"
"D-did the dog just bite Mirai?" Unmei asked, taken aback.
"Ahh!" Kirei screamed. "Quick! Someone has to treat him! That dog is infested with rabies, isn't it?!"
"Oh? Did Mirai get bitten?" Monokuma asked. "Upupupu, that's funny! And here I thought we wouldn't get any free entertainment!"
I ran over and took his hand. It was bleeding, and there were teeth marks spread across. He wasn't bitten just once...it had to have been at least three times. There was no way Mirai wouldn't have gotten sick.
"W-wait a minute," I said. "Can someone not treat Mirai?!"
I took a look at Mirai's face, but he seemed completely calm...irrationally calm.
"None of us is a doctor..!" Yoshinori said sullenly. "Monokuma! You can save him, right?!"
"Why me?" Monokuma asked. "I've gone through this before! None of my calories is worth that airhead trash!"
"But the rules!" Yoshinori pointed out. "No one can...no, no one should die here unless it's by someone else! You have an obligation to save Mirai!"
"We've done this before in the big islands," Monokuma said. "There's no way I'm falling for it this time! I already had to give this kid like a million stitches, and turn this heavyweight into a big robot with soda spilling out of his eyes! Why would I save him?"
"I don't even know what you're talking about, but you have too!" Yoshinori protested. "You need to follow the rules too, right?! So do it! Save Mirai!"
"...Oh for heaven's sake," Monokuma sighed. "Alright, I guess I have to do it again."
Meowykins popped up out of nowhere as he waved his hands around Monokuma's face.
"Meow! Monokuma-sama! What are you doing?!" Meowykins asked yelling. "You cannot! You musn't!"
"And why not?" Monokuma asked, tilting his head. "I am a one track mind bear. Even though I don't want to, I have to follow the rules, don't I?"
"M-Meow!" Meowykins screamed. "Grr!"
"Oh well, Meowykins, please prepare the ambulance."
"Ambulance..?" Meowykins asked. "A-Alright, meow...I'll go get it."
We waited for a few moments. Mirai's eyes were turning slightly red, but he still seemed to be fine. With three bites from a rabid dog though, the symptoms that should be popping up were coming quite slowly. That of course was a good thing. Mirai looked around and shuddered. He was clearly scared.
"Uhh, what's happening, master?" Mirai asked me. "Why is everyone so worried..?"
His hand continued to bleed as I stared at him. Did he not know what a rabid dog could do to him? There are limits to lack of common knowledge!
"Just forget it!" I said. "Wait here...you're getting help."
"I-Is Mirai going to be okay?!" Kirei asked nervously.
"He's going to be fine," Shougo said. "Monokuma will save him...right?"
"But can we really trust him?" Ryoko asked, worried.
We waited a few more moments, and then the blaring of sirens came. Meowykins was wearing a police siren on top of his head, and he was carrying a stretcher.
"Meowyins! Where is the ambulance?!" Monokuma asked angrily.
"We can't drive an ambulance here!" Meowykins growled. "Meow! It's too small of an area to!"
"Oh...you're right," Monokuma noticed. "Anyways, you bastards don't have to worry! I'm also known by my second name! Doctor Murder!"
"I guess that's sort of like a double negative..." Kaito said silently.
Monokuma picked Mirai up and forced him onto the stretcher, struggling through Mirai's resistance.
"S-stop it!" Mirai protested. "I want to stay next to master!"
"Emergency! Emergency! Dispatching patient to the 24-hour Monokuma care center!"
Monokuma and Meowykins took both ends of the stretcher, and ran out of the room, leaving everyone else speechless.
"Um, is rabies deadly..?" Takayashi asked hopefully.
"I don't think we have to worry," Noah sighed. "Rabies usually show symptoms within days, and Mirai is getting treated now... And of course rabies is deadly!"
I looked at the doorway with wide eyes.
Will Mirai be okay..?
...Of course he will.
He has to be.
Continued in Chapter 3: Section 3
AN: Not too late to vote for your Free-Time characters! The scripted Free-Time events will definitely happen tomorrow, so vote! I noticed that this chapter had some spelling and gramatical errors...but unfortunately I didn't have time to run it by an editor. Sorry about that, hopefully it didn't bother you guys too much.