The Fool and Her Groom (Part 5)
So far, Day 6 has been annoyingly uneventful. I had the honor of being the first bodyguard, alongside Lava.
It was half way through the day, and I was getting tired of being quiet, so I decided to bother my bodyguard partner.
I know talking isn't her favorite activity, but I figure that talking about things she was interested in might help.
"Lava, it's been a week since we've been here." I brought up. "How are you doing?"
She looked up at me from her journal and tilted her head. "...What do you mean?"
"Um, like, how are you doing? Are you feeling happy, sad?" I explained.
"Oh...I don't particularly care." She answered. "Although, I do feel slight anger."
"Anger?" I repeated in surprise. "Towards who?"
Lava thought for a moment before setting down her journal and frowning. "Sunrise."
"Sunrise?" I repeated. "I mean yeah, he's a dick, but everyone knows that. Why are you so angry at him?"
Lava sighed. "He's making me go to that party..."
Ah, I remember now. King Sunrise made a royal decree that 'every classmate shall be present at Cotton's party, or they will be injected with a healthy dose of Despiscocide'.
The normally quiet and anti-social Lava and Sage were the two most affected since they weren't planning on attending.
"Hey, I'm sure it won't be that bad." I chuckled. "Who knows, maybe you'll have some fun."
Lava shook her head slowly. "Not likely. I do not enjoy social gatherings..."
"Well, you don't really enjoy social anything." I muttered. "But maybe Sunrise will let you off the hook once he gets a few drinks in him."
Lava nodded. "Ah, yes. I almost forgot that he also made alcohol a compulsory attendant of Cotton's party. With luck, he'll get too drunk to be able to tell that I'm not there."
"Hopefully." I chuckled. "But, we also have to be careful around Royal, Sunrise's de facto second-in-command."
"Yes, I imagine that she'll be quite the thorn in the side if she notices me leaving the party early." Lava frowned.
Sunrise is our official leader, chosen by Monokuma as the one he deems 'most fit' to lead the group. Sunrise himself chose Royal as his second-in-command, which means we also have to listen to her demands and requests, though violating them won't result in an automatic injection of Despicocide until she alerts Sunrise of our defiance.
I groaned. The party was the day after tomorrow, and I already wasn't looking forward to being Sunrise and Royal's slave.
Me and Lava had spent the rest of last night in silence, with me occasionally trying to get a few words out of her.
Unfortunately, our conversation about Sunrise and Royal was the only conversation that lasted longer than a minute.
No worries, though. Today marks the seventh day of our captivity on board the HFH Enterprise. And more importantly, tomorrow, Cotton returns to our group, and we're throwing a party for him.
I was honestly pretty damn excited. It was going to be nice to have Cotton back with us, and having a party was just the thing I needed to take my mind off the stress that this situation has caused. I mean, shit...A week without seeing my family...
I quickly shook off my negative thoughts and got ready for the day.
Stepping out into the hallway, I was immediately greeted with a sight that I've grown quite accustomed to: Shadow arguing with my classmates.
Whenever Shadow is in control of Cloud, he brings nothing but trouble. Between his childish insults, rude comments, and mischevious tricks, we've all grown tired of him and have yelled at him every chance we get in an attempt to put him in his place. Unfortunately, he never seems to take the hint and continues to be an annoying asshole.
Today, it was Silver and Scarlet who Shadow pissed off.
"No, I told you before that we should all be in the dining room by 8:00. It makes everything go a lot faster when we're all there." Scarlet frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at Shadow.
"Well, the thing is, I don't care." Shadow harshly quipped. "Just do whatever the hell you need to do without me. I'll get breakfast when I'm ready to, not when some dancing fairy princess tells me to."
"Mr. Shadow, it is not just you that you're affecting." Silver sighed. "We all need to be present in the dining room for when Cherry picks the names of the servers and bodyguards for the day. If someone is not present and their name is called, then it's not fair to any of us."
"Sounds like a you problem." Shadow shrugged. "I never agreed to any rules besides the one in the e-Handbook."
"It's not in the e-Handbook, but Sunrise has ordered us to make sure everyone is in the dining room by 8:00. And disobeying his rules will get you killed. Plus, he lent us his room key, and said we could use force if necessary..." Scarlet replied, twirling said room key in her hands. I could tell it was killing her to refer to Sunrise as an authority figure, but I could also tell that she just wanted Shadow to shut the fuck up so Sunrise wouldn't bitch at her later.
Shadow rolled his eyes but looked at his ankle bracelet. He shook his head in annoyance and made his way towards the dining room.
Silver breathed a sigh of relief. "I am glad that is over with..."
"Looks like you guys were having a little trouble there." I chuckled, walking up to the two.
"Just Shadow being his usual roach self." Scarlet sighed. "Sunrise apparently wants everyone to start being in the dining room by 8:00." She explained.
"So I heard," I nodded. "Makes sense, I guess. That way we can get the server and bodyguard picking done quickly."
"Yes, it is a good idea in theory." Silver agreed. "However, it is most troubling when a select few do not listen to him. I don't think they realize that the consequences of disobeying him is not a simple slap on the wrist, it's a permanent sentence of death...Mr. Sunrise has even had to give us his room key to threaten them with force."
"Select few?" I repeated. "Shadow wasn't the only one giving you guys trouble?"
Scarlet shook her head. "Sage, Lava, and Noir did not enjoy having to get out of their rooms early, but they listened to us a lot quicker than Shadow did."
"Yes, Mr. Shadow is not the friendliest." Silver chuckled. "It is almost 8:00. Shall we head back to the dining room?" He inquired.
Scarlet nodded. "Let's go. I guess Sunrise also has an announcement he wants to make."
"Another announcement, huh..." I muttered. I wondered what our Ultimate Pilot has up his sleeve this time around...
The dining room was pretty lively today. People were chatting amongst themselves, party preparation was happening, and things were starting to be moved around in order to accommodate having everyone in the dining room tomorrow, including Cotton, who has yet to have the opportunity to spend time with any of us.
A few minutes after I came in, Cherry announced that breakfast was ready, and it was time to pick the servers and bodyguards for the day.
I held my breath and crossed my fingers in anticipation. Those who were picked to be servers today wouldn't have to be servers tomorrow.
I definitely didn't want to have to be a server tomorrow! I wanted to focus on setting up the fun stuff for the party, not having to deal with the food!
I also didn't want to be a bodyguard tomorrow, but there was no way to guarantee that. I was a bodyguard yesterday, so my name was already out of that cup for today, and it'd go back in tomorrow.
"Merigold," Cherry read.
"Pas de problème." Merigold smiled.
"Mauve." Cherry continued.
Mauve chuckled. "Sure, I pretty know much everything about being a server now anyways."
"And..." Cherry started.
Please, please, please!
"Crimson!" She said.
I breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Got it."
I had never been a server before onboard the ship or back home. I've mostly just had the family butler take care of all that stuff.
But now, I was ready and willing to learn the mysterious art of serving food! Maybe I could go back home and surprise my parents by serving the food in the style of Food Serving Technique Number 69!
I followed Mauve and Merigold to the kitchen.
Me and Merigold were the two newbies, so Mauve took charge.
"As you can see, today Cherry has made pancakes and bacon for all of us." He started, gesturing to the tall pile of pancakes and the big pan of bacon that Cherry had left.
"This is going to be a dish that requires plates and forks, so Merigold, could you get that for us?" He asked.
Merigold nodded. "Yes, of course." She made her way over to the cabinet that housed all of the plates and grabbed the 19 that we needed. She set the plates down and grabbed 19 forks from the utensil drawer.
"Next, we want to make sure that everyone gets an equal amount of food. Cherry does this part for us, we just have to count everything and distribute it correctly." Mauve continued. "Crimson, could you count for us?"
"Sure." I nodded. I looked at the stack of pancakes and counted out 57 of them, which meant we'd all get 3 pancakes each. I then looked at the pan of bacon and counted out 38 strips, which equated to us each getting 2 strips of bacon. I relayed the info to Mauve.
He nodded. "Good. Now that we have the supplies to serve and know exactly what to serve, we just have to bring it out to everyone." He showed me and Merigold where the serving trays were and then had us set out the plates individually to make it easier to serve the food.
He placed the 3 pancakes on each plate, and then the 2 slices of bacon. When he was done, I loaded the dishes that Cherry used to make the food into something called a 'dishwasher' (I thought that a dishwasher was an actual person who washed the dishes for you, but I guess not), while Merigold and Mauve placed the plates on 3 serving trays.
When they were done, two trays held 6 plates while one tray held 7, along with a container of syrup. Mauve took the tray with 7 plates without complaint, while Merigold and I took the trays with 6 plates.
That was easy enough.
We all made our way back into the dining room.
Actually serving the food was the hardest part. Mauve was a pro and carried the tray in one hand while serving out the plates to everyone with his other hand. Me and Merigold, however, were much more careful and cautious, so we just placed the tray on the table and let everyone take a plate. Merigold volunteered to bring the trays back to the kitchen, and we all started eating.
I don't know if it was just cause I was super hungry or Cherry was getting better, but the food tasted better than usual today. The pancakes were buttery and soft, like the ones you get from the hotel room service, and the bacon had just the right crunch factor, while not being burnt.
Halfway through eating, however, Sunrise ruined my tranquil eating experience by clearing his throat.
"I have an announcement." He said.
"What?" Royal raised a brow. "You didn't consult me about this."
"I don't need to consult with you on anything, I'm the leader, not you." Sunrise snapped.
Royal shut her mouth but didn't look too pleased with her apparent co-leader.
"Anyways, I've decided that Team Escape is going to help out with the party." He revealed.
"Really?" Azure asked in surprise. "I thought you wanted everyone involved with the team-building exercises to deal with that."
"What, you don't want our help?" Sunrise glared.
"No, it's not that." Azure shook his head. "I'm just surprised that you want to help."
"Yeah, well, like I said: I'm not going to a lame-ass party." Sunrise replied.
"What exactly will you be helping with?" Emerald questioned. "We already have all of the planning done already.
"I'm going to spice up the party," Sunrise answered. "Monokuma said that he'd give me some more supplies."
"Monokuma? Supplies?" Rose repeated. "Doesn't sound like a very good idea.."
"Relax, flower girl." Sunrise rolled his eyes. "It's just shit like a music player and a disco ball, not knives and shit. Have you already forgotten all the work I did to board up the equipment room?"
"N-no, I didn't..." Rose said, glancing at the floor.
"Good." Sunrise sneered. "Anyways, Team Escape will set up with you guys tomorrow, so just don't get in our way."
OK, cool, I guess. It was nice that Sunrise was making an effort to make the party better, even if it was a little insulting that he thought our ideas and plans weren't good enough.
With Team Escape now volunteering to be in the dining room, that meant that a good majority of us would be setting up tomorrow. The only ones who weren't going to help set up are Lava, Sage, and Cloud (if he's in control). Of course, Lava, Sage, and Cloud might not have a choice if they're selected as servers or bodyguards.
Tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.
After breakfast, Rose and Azure announced that the warm and cool tone color groups would come together today to start the set up for the party.
Today we'd do all of the brute work. Mauve, Silver, and I pushed all of the tables to the sides of the room, two on the right and two on the left.
We then removed all of the dining room chairs and put them into the announcement room, to open up space.
After we were finished with that, Indigo and Emerald placed some table cloths on the table that we found in the kitchen. They were purple, which was apparently Cotton's favorite color.
The next step was to clean. We swept the floors, vacuumed, and even mopped. Not only for Cotton's party but also because the floor in the dining room was getting stained with various dropped foods.
"I made us some coffee to power through this." Frost announced, bringing out a tray of coffee for all of us.
"You're a lifesaver, man!" I smiled, quickly taking a cup. This work was exhausting!
"T-thank you." Indigo said, also taking a cup.
Shortly after Frost brought us coffee, Cherry brought us some Dango that she prepared the day before.
"Just like home." Frost warmly smiled after he took his first bite.
"Yes, it tastes like the place I go to in my home town." Rose remarked.
"It's delicious, Cherry!" Azure beamed.
"Thank you, everyone." Cherry blushed.
We continued cleaning and setting up for a few hours. Most of what we did was placing a lot of the stuff we needed for tomorrow in the announcement room, including the decorations we found in the rec center, some chairs from the computer lab for sitting (look, I know we have the dining room chairs, but the computer lab chairs are comfy as hell!), and a few board games we planned on playing.
Another thing that needed to be done was preparing the drinks for tomorrow. His Royal Highness instructed that alcohol must be served at the party.
Poor, innocent, Azure and Rose didn't know what to do. I, having attended many premiere parties and events, had a pretty good idea of what alcohol tasted like...but had no idea how to prepare it or serve it or any of that shit.
Fortunately, Mauve volunteered to make some drinks for us.
"How come you know so much about alcohol, Mauve?" I questioned with a sly smile.
"I'm no expert, but I've picked up a few things from my family's casino business." He explained. "Unfortunately, that means all the drinks I know how to make are American, which kind of conflicts with the Japanese theme of the party."
"No worries." Azure reassured. "I'm sure Cotton won't even be able to have any alcohol in his condition."
"Ouch, that's probably true." I sighed. After a treatment like the one Cotton is going through, alcohol is definitely not the best option for the Ultimate Escapist.
So, it was decided: our Ultimate Dealer was to prepare the drinks for tomorrow. I was looking forward to seeing how Americans drinks were. In Japan, a lot of alcoholic drinks have beer in them, which I'm not a particular fan of. From what I've seen on TV, American drinks are more colorful and sweet, and I'm sure Mauve knew what to do from working in a casino.
Our two bodyguards of the day were Noir and Merigold.
To pass the time, the two were helping out with some things in the kitchen.
"Wow, Cherry prepared a ton of stuff for the party!" Noir remarked, looking in the fridge.
"True," Merigold nodded. "And she still has to make even more things tomorrow!"
We were currently unloading the dishes from the dishwasher and putting them away. Thinking about all of the dishes that Cherry had to make tomorrow made me shudder. I can't imagine what the clean up was going to be like...
After I was finished with the dishes, I decided that I'd have a little talk with Monokuma. I wanted to make sure of something.
I went into the announcement room and called for the devil.
"Monokuma!" I yelled into the abyss.
He appeared almost immediately.
"Yesss, my dear Crimson?" Monokuma tilted his head to the side.
"I wanted to make sure that tomorrow night, we'd be OK to extend the party after Night Time." I said.
"Hmmm," Monokuma thought, tapping his foot in thought. "Welllll, I don't recommend it, but there is no rule against it, so you can if you want!"
"Why don't you recommend it?" I asked.
"Because Night Time brings out the worst in people!" Monokuma answered. "70% of crimes happen at night, y'know."
"Well, yeah, but that's because it's dark..." I sighed. "Here it's always dark."
"It's not just the dark." Monokuma insisted. "It's the atmosphere of Night Time itself!"
"Yeah, well, I have faith no one will give in to your 'motive'." I glared.
"Upupupu, whatever you say..." Monokuma snickered. "Annyyywayyss, I have to start the discharge paperwork on Cotton! Toodles!"
And with that, the stuffed anomaly was gone.
I rolled my eyes. 70% of crimes happen at night, huh?
It was dinner time, and everyone was sitting on the floor due to the lack of dining chairs.
Dinner tonight was Italian inspired: Pizza.
Mauve, Merigold, and I finished serving the food and sat down with everyone else.
"What're we talking about?" I asked.
"Just how excited we are for tomorrow!" Emerald smiled.
"Yes, it will be nice to have Cotton back..." Indigo commented.
"Maybe he'll be helpful towards our escape mission," Onyx suggested. "He is the Ultimate Escapist, after all."
"I'm excited about the party!" Noir cheered. "All of the sweets and treats that Cherry made are going to be sooo good!"
Cherry blushed. "They're just some things I picked up on from some of the foods I've critiqued!"
"Don't underestimate yourself, Cherry, I'm sure everyone will love what you've cooked up." Frost said, patting the Ultimate Food Critic on the shoulder.
"I wonder about the design of every dish..." Sage muttered. "Japanese cuisine is beautiful."
"I just hope the party ends early..." Lava commented. "I'm already tired of it and it's not even the day of..."
"Aw, c'mon, it's going to be fun!" Merigold laughed.
"I'm hoping it'll last all night." Azure beamed. "I think this is the perfect distraction to take our minds off this situation."
"Yes, that was the intention." Rose agreed. "If all goes well, maybe we can even throw another."
"We'll see about that.." Sunrise mumbled. "This party has been a whole lot of work, it better be good."
"Exactly, I didn't make curlers out of aluminum foil for nothing!" Royal huffed, holding up one of her makeshift curlers. I was honestly impressed with Royal. I guess being the Ultimate Runway Model has its perks when it comes to coming up with ways to look good on the fly.
"Very good, Royal, finding ways to adjust to life on this ship." Silver applauded. "We need to keep ourselves occupied while we're here or we'll go insane!"
"I'm still not sold on the whole 'life on this ship' thing." Mauve frowned. "There's not even a good collection of games here. Where's the roulette table, for example?"
"At least there is a fair amount of magazines in here." Diamond commented. "The photos help inspire me for when we leave this place. I have so many new ideas I can't wait to execute."
"I-I like spending time with you guys..." Cloud (who seemed to take control sometime after the morning meeting) blushed. "I feel like I'm getting c-closer to you all."
"I've also found myself growing closer to you all." Scarlet smiled. "I haven't felt this close to a group of people in a while."
Ah, yes. This is why I can't imagine us not leaving this place together. However questionable some of these people may be from time to time, I still have faith that none of us will kill another human being just to help themselves...
Well, thanks to Monokuma's motive, themselves, and someone else...
Still, that leaves 18 people that the killer would be leaving behind on the ship, and I just don't see anyone being that cruel. I looked at the faces of my classmates and saw hope. Hope that we'd get out of this situation, hope that we'd make it through, together. It was unusual for me to be so buddy buddy with random strangers who I just met, but in this situation, we're all the only people that we have contact with, so we better buddy up or bad things are sure to happen.
I know Monokuma's motive was made to mess with us. He sees how we're getting closer, and is using that to his advantage. But he forgets that we're not all getting close to just one person. We're getting close to each other. We're having late-night conversations that extend into the day, we're playing charades (in which I totally dominate the competition), solving mysteries, cleaning, and cooking, together.
Monokuma can't do anything to break our friendships!
Little did I know however, that it wasn't Monokuma who was going to be the disruptor of the peace...
"Day 8, hell yeah!" I yelled as soon as Monokuma's morning announcement woke me up.
It was a long night last night. A lot of us stayed in the dining room, just talking about nonsense. I went to sleep around 11 PM, a whole hour after the Night Time announcement.
I was a little tired this morning, but my adrenaline quickly kicked in once I remembered what day it was:
"Party day!" I grinned.
I have been waiting for this day ever since Azure and Rose announced their plans. I was ready to have some fun and let loose for once. Plus, not gonna lie, I was looking forward to some drunken party gaming.
I took my time getting ready this morning, wanting to look good. I know that there's no camera for us to use, but it made me feel better about the fact that I've worn the same thing since I've been here.
I made my way out of the room and immediately headed towards the dining room.
"Right on time, Crimson!" Cherry smiled. "I was just about to pick the servers and bodyguards for the day."
Everyone was standing around, leaning against the tables or the wall. I could tell people were a little anxious about the server/bodyguard picking today. Those who were servers would have to deal with setting up the food and drinks for the party instead of getting to decorate and do some of the 'funner' setting up. Those stuck on bodyguard duty were confined to the kitchen until the party started.
"Sage," Cherry read, for the servers.
Sage didn't seem to care and simply nodded.
"Scarlet," Cherry continued.
Scarlet smiled. "No problem, I'm not that good at decorating anyways."
"And..."
We all waited in anticipation.
I know I was safe, but I still felt a little anxious as to who the last server was going to be.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
"Azure!" Cherry finished.
The Cryptid Enthusiast shrugged and laughed. "No biggie, I was prepared to help with anything as long as it involved setting up!"
So, Sage, Scarlet, and Azure were our 'unlucky' servers for the night.
Honestly, they didn't have it all that bad, they still got to enjoy the party.
"Next, the bodyguards," Cherry said, pulling out the separate cup.
"Diamond," Cherry read.
Diamond nodded. "It is alright with me."
"And Cloud/Shadow!" Cherry finished.
Unfortunately, it seems like Shadow is in control this morning. "Fuck me..." He muttered, but didn't visibly protest.
With all the boring stuff out of the way, we commenced breakfast. Today, due to all the food we were going to consume tonight, Cherry made a simple breakfast of...cereal.
After the food was served, we ate. So far, it was the worst breakfast I'd had here, but it still wasn't terrible.
Besides, the food we were going to feast on tonight made this subpar breakfast worth it.
We finished eating, and those who wanted to stayed behind and started the preparation of the party.
Just as I was going to join in, Sunrise approached me.
"Crimson." He called, beckoning me over to join him in a corner of the room.
I sighed, but did as I was told. "Yes?"
"Monokuma left me a note on my desk." He said, pulling out a piece of paper from his jacket. He handed it to me.
Cotton will be released into your custody at 10 AM. Please come collect him from the stairway in the announcement room.
It was already almost 10 AM.
"OK...why are you telling me?" I asked. I knew why Monokuma gave Sunrise the note, considering he was the leader and all, but why do I need to know?
Sunrise crossed his arms. "Because, I want you to watch over him."
What?!
"What?!" I asked in surprise. "Why me?"
Sunrise shrugged. "You were the first one to take care of him when he was injected with Despisocide, so I figured you'd be the best choice to take care of him after the treatment he's gone through."
"Um, as I was saying," Cotton continued, projecting his voice louder. "My name is Takum-"
BEEEEEP
There was one final beep before Cotton's voice stopped. He looked at us with wide eyes.
"C-Cotton?" I called, honestly a little scared. "Are you OK, man?"
He said nothing but slowly fell to the ground. Then, his mouth fell open and dark, crimson red blood started to pour out like some kind of waterfall from hell.
"AHHHH!" Someone screamed. Then more of us started to scream, yell, and even cry at the bloody sight. Overall, it was pretty clear that everyone was shocked and in disbelief at what just happened.
Being in the first row, I felt obligated to check on him. I quickly rushed to his side and knelt down. "Cotton! Tell me what's wrong?!"
Ah, shit, that's right. Who knew being a good samaritan would come back to bite me in the ass later?
It's not that I hated the idea of taking care of Cotton, it was just the fact that I wanted to do other stuff.
But, Sunrise gave me an order and thanks to good old rule number eight, I was forced to obey him.
"Rule number eight," Sunrise read from his e-Handbook. "Any student who Pilot Monokuma deems fit to be 'leader of the kidnapees' may order the students around to do as he/she pleases, as long as their request is nothing too extreme (any dispute by a student will be decided by Pilot Monokuma)."
"Fine." I nodded. "I'll do it."
Sunrise smirked and patted me on the shoulder, a little too roughly. "I knew I could count on you." He said in a sarcastic tone.
I rolled my eyes and made my way over to the announcement room.
It only took a few minutes for Monokuma to meet me. He had raised the gate to the staircase just enough so that he could fit, and once he passed it, it immediately closed.
I jumped in surprise when I saw Cotton.
He was unconscious, being carried in Monokuma's arms. He looked paler, skinnier, and a little less bright. He was also wearing a hospital gown, rather than his usual outfit.
Monokuma did not look too happy upon seeing me. "What are you doing here?!" He asked in an angry tone.
"Sunrise sent me." I explained, flashing the note.
"Grr, I told him to come to pick up Cotton candy himself!" Monokuma growled. He then sighed. "Oh well, not my problem anymore!"
The bear then walked over to me and shoved Cotton into my arms. "There ya go, buddy ol pal. He just needs to rest for a little while more, and then he'll be A-ok to party."
"He doesn't need any medications or anything?" I asked.
Monokuma shook his head. "Nope! Simply put him to bed and make sure he doesn't do anything crazy."
I sighed, looking at Cotton's sleeping face. I wonder how much pain he had to endure during his treatment...
"Anyyyways, since I am now free of Cotton ball, I'm going to rest!" Monokuma announced. "The stress of taking care of another human being's life is wayyy to much. I was this close to just injecting him with more Despiscocide and calling it a day!"
I glared. "Did I ask?"
Monokuma pouted and he turned his back to me. "I don't need your attitude, Crimson! I'm running away and never coming back!"
And with that, he was gone.
I sighed in relief. The announcement room was quiet once more, sans the sound of Cotton's breathing.
I sadly frowned as I looked at him. He might've been stupidly impulsive for trying to say his name, but he didn't deserve what happened to him.
I took a deep breath before walking through the dining room door.
"Cotton!" Noir gasped when I entered. She was apart of Team Escape, and was currently picking songs to play during the party.
I put a finger up to my lips. "Shhh, he needs to rest."
Noir nodded. "Sure!"
"I can't believe he's finally back," Emerald remarked. "It's been forever."
"He looks terrible," Royal said. "Are we sure Monokuma actually helped him and didn't just give more Despisocide...?"
"All twenty of us back together again." Azure beamed. "I can't wait for Cotton to see the party we've planned for him."
"I hope he'll like it." Rose blushed.
"I'm sure he will." I nodded. "But for now, I have to put him to bed. He needs rest before we do any kind of partying."
I looked at Sunrise from the corner of my eye, and saw him nod.
Cotton's room was the same as mine and everyone else's, but with sheets and decor colored an off white color rather than my grey. I guess it was because Cotton's room was themed around 'the Moon'.
I set Cotton down on his bed, and looked around his room. There was a bag on top of his desk.
Inside was his bloodied clothes. I almost dropped them in disgust but then took a look at his sorrowful sleeping expression.
I had to do something...
Not gonna lie, I haven't used the laundry room yet. With three pairs of clothes, so far I've just been rotating them.
"Hmm, now how the hell does this work..." I muttered, turning the knobs of the washing machine.
I knew what a washer and dryer was...
And what they could do...
Buuttt, I don't really know how to use them.
I helplessly fiddled with the knobs and controls for a depressing few minutes, until I heard the door open. I turned my head and spotted a familiar ginger entering the room.
"Ah, my dear, sweet, privileged Crimson." Royal smirked, walking up to me. "Having a little trouble?"
I groaned. "What do you want, Royal? You're not going to be of any help, anyway."
Royal scoffed. "How very presumptuous." She then sauntered over to the laundry machine, and did something I never thought I'd see in a million years: laundry.
First, she took the white powder that me and Azure were weirded out about when we first investigated the laundry room, and poured it into the washer. "This is laundry detergent. It's definitely a poor quality, is probably lethal upon ingestion and not the type my family uses, but it's the only thing the vile Monokuma provided us with."
Next, she turned a knob on the washer that caused water to start pouring in. "Wow." I said.
Finally, she closed the washer door'. "There, you're welcome."
"Thanks..." I muttered. "...Tell me, Royal, how do you of all people know how to do laundry?"
Royal shrugged her shoulders. "It's a basic human skill, Crimson. I'm surprised your parents never bothered to teach you."
"T-that's..." I said, blushing. "They just never had the opportunity to before they started hiring people to do it for us..."
"O-oh, of course." Royal quickly nodded, sounding slightly flustered. "Yes, my family also has servants who do our laundry for us, I just took it upon my self to learn how to do laundry to expand upon my many skills and talents."
"OK, sure..." I replied, raising a brow. "Anyways, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be helping set up for the party?"
"And shouldn't you be watching over Cotton?" Royal answered with a smirk.
"He's resting in his room, I'm just doing his laundry for him so he doesn't wake up to a bloody mess." I frowned.
"And I'm just taking a break from setting up," Royal sneered. "I've been doing so much work that I deserve it."
I rolled my eyes. "...Tell me, Royal. You're a bitc-...bit on the rude side towards everyone else, so why do you treat me differently?"
Royal thought for a moment before turning her back to me. "Because, you're a somebody. Not a nobody like the rest of the good-for-nothing idiots here. Besides, we celebrities should stick together, some of these commoners might try to take advantage of you."
And with that, she sassily sauntered away.
I narrowed my eyes.
What a bitch.
The dryer was much easier to handle than the washer, so I dried Cotton's clothes in record time.
Bringing them back with me to the bedroom hallway, I grasped the doorknob of Cotton's room door, and turned.
And what awaited me was a sight I thought I'd never see.
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
(Remember, actors can't resist a good dramatic pause!)
Cotton was standing in front of his dresser, smoothing over his shirt.
He had apparently taken a shower by himself and gotten dressed in one of the extra pairs of outfits we were all provided with.
I almost dropped his clothes in shock. "C-Cotton, you're-"
"Alive?" He asked, turning towards me with a smile.
"Well, obviously." I laughed. "I'm just surprised you're standing. Monokuma told me you needed rest."
"Psh, who needs rest!" Cotton waved his hand in front of him while laughing. "I'm fine! I've been couped up in a room for what feels like forever, I didn't want to spend even more time resting."
As he spoke, I noticed dark bags under his eyes and the fact that the veins on his neck seemed to be more prominent than usual, a sign of weight loss.
Poor guy.
"OK, if that's what you want." I nodded. "Though I have specific instructions to keep you out of the dining room."
Cotton raised a brow. "Really? Why?"
I thought for a moment before conjuring up a few tears. "It's stupid Monokuma, man..." I sniffed. "He destroyed the place in a fit of rage...There's debris everywhere., a-and I don't want you to get hurt."
Cotton's eyes widened and he quickly shook his head. "OK, OK, no problem! We can do something else, then!"
I sniffed again, wiping away my tears. "Thanks, man. Sorry for the crying, it's just been a stressful couple of days and we're glad to have you back."
Cotton smiled. "I'm glad to back."
Cotton decided on taking a walk around the rec center.
We entered, and thankfully no one was there to bother us.
"Hm, it looks a little different than I remember." Cotton noted, running his hands along the books on the bookshelf.
"Yeah, we did a little rearranging," I said. "We were just bored and figured it'd take our minds off things."
Cotton nodded. "I see. I wish I could've helped..." He sighed.
I looked at him and sadly frowned. I could tell that missing a week of bonding time with us definitely affected him.
"Well don't worry, there's plenty of stuff to do once we fix up the dining room." I claimed. "We can play games with everyone, or I dunno, maybe even start a book club?"
Cotton's face lit up. "Yeah...Yeah, I'd like that!"
I showed him around the rec center a little more, before deciding to ask him the question that's been plauging my mind since Day 1.
"Cotton..." I started. "If you don't mind me asking, why'd you want to tell us your name so bad?"
I just couldn't see why someone as smart and logical as Cotton would think that blatantly defying the one rule we were given at the time was a good idea. Of course, I doubted that he knew he'd almost die, but still, the word punishment definitely didn't suggest anything positive.
Cotton narrowed his eyes and smiled. "Y'know, people think I'm super smart and stuff just because I know how to solve a Rubik's cube in 6 seconds, but I'm just like everyone else. And just like everyone else, I hate being told what to do, especially if it's not allowing me to be myself."
"I can be a little impulsive when I panic." He continued with a laugh. "I wasn't totally thinking things through when I blurted out my name..."
"I understand." I nodded. "This situation totally blows, and having weird, dumb rules to follow definitely doesn't help. But I just think it's better to be safe than sorry, y'know? And now that you know what Monokuma's 'punishment' is, I hope you won't try breaking a rule again."
Cotton nodded. "Yeah, I definitely don't want to wind up back in the infirmary again. Monokuma did nothing but talk nonsense and yell at me..."
"The infirmary?" I repeated. "So if we get injured we can get taken care of there?"
"Yeah." Cotton said. "My memory of being brought up there is a little hazy, but I'm pretty sure we only had to go up one flight of stairs, which means it's on the second floor."
"Well, not like we can go see it." I sighed. "There's the huge gate in the way, after all."
Cotton bit his lip. "Hm, I wonder if there's a way to get it open..."
"Cotton..." I sighed, giving him my best 'disappointed father' expression. "Don't think of trying anything!"
Cotton sheepishly smiled. "Never, I promise!"
Cotton said he was getting hungry, so I volunteered to get him food from the kitchen.
Inside the dining room, things were looking pretty good. The servers even started to bring the food out.
"Crimson, could you do me a favor?" Scarlet asked as soon as I walked in. She looked pretty tired, which was understandable. It looks like Sunrise was working the servers and the others who were setting up the party to the bone. Meanwhile, he was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed.
"Of course, what do you need?" I nodded.
"I've been trying to find time to use the bathroom for a while now, but Sunrise keeps telling me to wait every time I ask him..." Scarlet frowned.
I gulped. "Scarlet...I would definitely help you out if I could, but if Sunrise told you that you couldn't use the bathroom yet, there's nothing you and I can do, because of rule number eight..."
Scarlet's eyes widened and her face turned red with anger. "That roach!" She said. Then, she quickly stomped over to Sunrise and hit his shoulder. "Wake up!"
Everyone in the dining room started to quiet down when they noticed the scene.
Sunrise opened his eyes and he instantly glared at Scarlet. "What do you want? You should be working, not fooling around."
"I have been working," Scarlet yelled. "We all have. Meanwhile, you've been sitting down doing nothing but barking orders!"
Sunrise rolled his eyes. "I've been doing nothing but barking orders, huh? I guess personally getting all these supplies doesn't count as something..." He said, gesturing to all the supplies Monokuma had given him.
"Oh, please," Scarlet scoffed. "That took five seconds. We've been setting up for hours. We deserve a break!"
Sunrise stood up and faced Scarlet, his face inches from hers. "If you want a break, then fine. Be my guest."
Scarlet glared at Sunrise for a few seconds more before she turned away and stormed out of the dining room.
I frowned as Sunrise smirked. "That girl's feisty, huh?" He asked me.
"That girl's gonna kick your ass if you keep acting like a dick." I said.
"Tch, fuck you." Sunrise scoffed.
Mauve then appeared from the kitchen, and started walking towards the door leading out of the dining room.
"Where do you think you're going?" Sunrise asked.
"I also need a break." Mauve answered plainly. "Is there a problem?"
"Do whatever the hell you want." Sunrise said, closing his eyes again.
Mauve left, doing just that.
I had already wasted enough time dealing with Sunrise, so I quickly made my way into the kitchen.
You'll imagine my surprise when I saw Diamond standing next to Cloud/Shadow, who was currently laying on the floor with his eyes closed.
"Uhhh, what happened here?" I asked.
Diamond shook her head. "I don't know exactly. He's done this two times already, and both times he's awoken as the personality that he wasn't before. It only lasts a minute or two."
"Ah, so I guess that's how he switches." I nodded.
"Yes, it seems that way." Diamond agreed. "It is a bit distressing for me, considering Shadow and Cloud aren't exactly ideal bodyguards."
I chuckled. "Sounds about right. Shadow's annoying and Cloud's a little on the meeker side of things."
Just then, Cloud/Shadow's eyes blinked opened. "S-sorry, Diamond...I did it again didn't I..."
It looks like Cloud's in control. I helped him up.
"It's not a problem, Cloud..." Diamond sighed. "I'd just prefer if you could try and keep Shadow suppressed for the rest of our shift today."
"I-I'll try my best." The occultist nodded.
I left Diamond and Cloud to do their job, and grabbed Cotton a sandwich from the fridge.
"Sorry it took a while." I apologized, taking a seat across from Cotton in the rec center.
"No worries." Cotton reassured, setting down the book he was reading. "I'm not that hungry, anyway."
I watched Cotton as he took his sandwich and started eating.
While he did so, I thought back to a certain memory, that Cotton reminded me of.
"Mr. Morine, you need to learn how to eat with more dignity." My butler, Hachiro, chastised.
"Dignity?" I repeated, my mouth still full of food. "What's that?"
"The act of being composed and serious, my boy." Hachiro sighed. "An example would include not talking with your mouth full..."
I grinned. "Mama and papa never seem to mind!"
"That is because they are also not used to behaving in a dignified manner." Hachiro claimed. "Mr. Morine, you have to realize, your family is coming into a great deal of money with the work you are now doing. More money then they've ever had before. There are certain...changes you may need to make in order to become accustomed to this new lifestyle."
"Changes?" I said. "Like what?"
"Well, my boy, you'll need to promote a better image of yourself." Hachiro explained. "You should always be dressed neatly and cleanly, in case your fans may see you in public. You'll also need to do good in school, so you can continue your work with little problems."
I frowned. "That sounds like a lot of work...I just want to play games and hang out with my friends..."
Hachiro chuckled. "Do not worry, my boy. We've hired many people to help you with these new changes. Plus, you'll still have time to do all the things you love after you've completed your duties for the day."
"Do I still have to wash dishes?" I asked.
Hachiro shook his head. "Never again. You'll have dishwashers who do that for you."
"Um, is something wrong, Crimson?" Cotton said, looking at me looking at him.
I chuckled, narrowing my eyes. "Nothing...maybe just eat with a little more dignity, my friend..."
"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 10 PM. As such, it is officially nighttime. Certain locations will now be locked for the remainder of the night. Sweet dreams my passengers, let the sparkle of the stars and the roar of the spaceships's engine lull you into a deeeepppp sleep. Gooood niighhttt!"
I couldn't believe it was finally time. I was currently sitting with Cotton in his room, watching him as he took a nap.
I smiled. Little did he know, he was about to have the time of his life.
I felt a little bad waking him up, especially since he was supposed to be getting rest, but it must be done. We've planned this party for him, after all!
"Cotton." I called, shaking him a little.
"Cotton." I said again. He still didn't stir.
I sighed, resorting to my last resort, the absolute worst resort. I went over to the sink in the bathroom, formed a puddle of liquid in my hands, and slowly poured it onto Cotton's face.
"W-wha..." He murmured, slowly blinking his eyes open. "Crimson...what's going on?"
"I need to show you something." I said.
"Can it wait until morning...?" Cotton groaned.
"No, sorry, buddy." I smiled. "It's happening right now."
Cotton slowly stood up from his bed. I took the liberty of freshening him up a little bit (with the claim that I wanted him to look and feel good when he saw 'the thing'), and led him out the door.
We walked through the hallway, into the next one, and finally in front of the dining room door.
"I thought I wasn't supposed to go inside." Cotton said, raising a brow.
"I decided it was OK for you to enter." I grinned. "Besides, you'll want to see this."
I slowly opened the door of the dining room. Yes! They remembered to turn the lights off.
"Um, it's a little dark." Cotton nervously laughed.
"Don't worry." I said. "Everything's OK."
3...
2...
1...
"Surprise!" The lights came on, and everyone jumped out from their hiding spaces.
Cotton's eyes instantly widened in awe as he looked around. "W-what's all this?!"
"It's for you." Rose smiled, approaching Cotton and I. "Your welcome back party!"
Cotton looked at her in disbelief. "You guys did all of this...for me?"
"Yup!" Azure beamed. "We wanted to celebrate your return!"
"And to the fact that you're alive and well!" Noir cheered.
"Thank you!" Cotton smiled, looking at everyone. "Thank you all so much!"
"You're more than welcome." I said, patting him on the back. "Now, let's party!"
I spent the beginning of the party catching Cotton up on everything that's been going on since he's been in treatment.
"Sunrise?" Cotton raised a brow. "He's the leader?"
I chuckled. "Yeah, I know..."
Then, Mauve started walking around, handing drinks to everyone.
"God damn, this peach bellini is good!" Sunrise smirked.
"This one's also quite delicious." Diamond nodded. "A bloody mary, correct?"
"I've always wanted to try a margarita!" Noir admitted. "It looks so sweet!"
"Ooo, a cherry bomb!" Cherry said in awe. "I've seen these on TV before!"
"Don't drink too much." Frost advised, while he ironically gulped down an espresso martini.
"I made this one a virgin." Mauve said, handing Cotton a pink-colored drink in a wine glass.
"Thanks!" Cotton nodded.
I took a red-colored drink with a strawberry in it. I took a sip...
And loved every second that it was in my mouth. "Damn, Mauve! This tastes like heaven!"
Mauve ever so slightly smiled. "It's nothing special, just a strawberry daiquiri."
"Well whatever it is, I'll take another one later." I laughed.
We all drunk a little bit, and then decided to start eating.
Our servers prepared everything in a buffet style so they could enjoy the party.
"It was kind of a lot of work," Azure laughed. "But it was worth it. Now, we get to enjoy the party rather than having to spend it serving."
"Yes, it was a good idea, Azure." Scarlet nodded with a smile.
Sage said nothing. He was currently sipping on a drink while drawing in his notebook. I squinted my eyes to see the drawing better. It appeared that he had started to color it.
I took a plate of all of the classics Cherry had prepared. Makizushi, onigiri, soba, sashimi, and tonkatsu.
My eyes watered as soon as I took a bite. "Cherry...this is so good!" It was like tasting the food of the Gods. If I closed my eyes, I could picture myself eating this in a five-star restaurant, or at a fancy gala.
"Yes, I could definitely market a frozen dinner version of these!" Onyx quickly nodded. "Yes! With the rise of divorce in countries like the U.S., this is going to be a hit!"
"Thank you, everyone." Cherry smiled. "I couldn't have done it without, Frost's help, though!"
Frost blushed for the 100th time since Cherry started complimenting him. "N-no, it was all you, Cherry! I didn't do anything but make you coffee to fuel your work ethic!"
Cherry shook her head. "Not true! If it wasn't for you, I would've been bored out of my mind while making the food, which definitely would've affected the quality of the food, so-"
The two then continued to ramble on and on, complimenting each other.
"Wow, Royal, you look good tonight," I turned to see Sunrise gawking at Royal. As far as I could tell, she looked the same as usual, just with her hair slightly more curled.
"Haha, of course!" Royal smirked, whipping her hair back. "I'm the one and only M-...Royal! No other girl, boy, or plane can come close to looking as ~fabulous~ as me."
"I wouldn't go that far." Sunrise said, his smiling dropping. "After all, I exist."
"You? Are more fabulous than me?" Royal laughed. "That's the biggest lie I've ever heard! And I once heard Sayaka Maizono say that her hair was a natural color."
Their argument continued on for quite some time.
"Wow!" Indigo exclaimed. "I feel like I can do anything!"
"Like this?" Noir asked, doing a cartwheel. "Or like this?" She asked again, doing a backflip.
"No, like this!" Indigo beamed, jumping from one chair to the next. The chair that she jumped on then started to roll towards the door, so she jumped into the air. Once it hit the door, it started to roll the other way. Once it went under her again, she managed to land on it!
"Woo-hoo!" Merigold cheered, clapping excitedly. "Gute Arbeit gut gemacht!"
"So beautiful," Emerald sniffed, wiping a tear from her eye. "I've never seen a performance full of so much emotion!"
"Me neither..." Lava nodded. "But I don't know why you guys are making such a big deal out of it..."
"For the LAST time, Rose, I don't cheat at cards!" Mauve yelled, crossing his arms as he glared at the Ultimate Prodigy.
"Yes. You. Do!" Rose insisted, stomping her foot around as if she was having a tantrum. "There's no way I'd lose! Which means, you cheated!"
"I'm the Ultimate Dealer, I know anything and everything there is to know about every card game!" Mauve groaned.
"Well I'm the Ultimate Prodigy, which means I know anything and everything there is to know about everything!" Rose yelled back.
"Mauvey, his ~royal highness~ wants an extra drink..." Scarlet grumbled, glaring at Sunrise who was still arguing with Royal.
"Why can't he make it himself?" Mauve huffed, taking a break from serving to prepare more drinks.
"Because he's a lazy asshole!" Scarlet answered, helping Mauve out.
"No kidding!" Merigold laughed, walking by. "That guy's so lazy!"
"Merigold, you're supposed to be helping us serve." Scarlet sighed.
"Gotta run!" Merigold continued to laugh, going in the direction of our mini dance floor.
"I can help..." Azure announced, slowly trudging towards the two.
Scarlet and Mauve looked at each other before shaking their heads.
"You seem a little bit out if it, young boy." Mauve frowned.
"Yeah, we are too, but you're like, really hammered." Scarlet nodded. "Go see what Crimson's up to, he always seems to cheer you up like he does with me!"
"I don't want to, that guys a meanie!" Azure claimed.
Mauve sighed, stepping out from behind the 'bar making' table and pulling Azure by the hand towards me.
"Here, talk to him and resolve your issues." Mauve said, going back to the table.
"Crimson..." Azure called, tugging at my shirt. I turned around to see him with a sad face, his hand holding a drink. "I don't know how much more I can take..."
"Uhhhhhhhhhh, how much more of what?" I questioned.
"You!" Azure sniffed. "You remind me of the first cryptid that I discovered, but who ran away from me..."
I scoffed. "I don't look like a cryptid! I'm a real boy!"
"Are you sure?" Azure frowned. "Your hairs kinda crazy...Plus you have red eyes! Are you sure that you're not just a cryptid acting like a human?"
"You have red eyes, too!" I argued.
"And now, for the long-awaited, trivia contest!" Silver smiled. We were all split up into teams of four, three with five people and one team with four people.
Team 1 (Celebrities Plus Rose)
Captain: Royal
Sunrise
Crimson
Diamond
Rose
Team 2 (Cool Guys)
Captain: Onyx
Mauve
Cloud
Sage
Frost
Team 3 (Smarties)
Captain: Merigold
Emerald
Cherry
Azure
Lava
Team 4 (The Underdogs)
Captain: Noir
Scarlet
Indigo
Cotton
We were to each have a turn to answer the question and represent our team. The captains were originally responsible for picking the teams, and are also in charge of answering the first question.
"Firsssttt question!" Silver announced.
"Ooo, ooo, I know this one!" Rose insisted with a smile.
"He didn't even read it yet..." Sage muttered.
"And it's not your turn..." Lava added.
"What is the solution to the equation: 13 x 97?" Silver asked.
The team captains instantly started working it out on a piece of paper.
"No, Royal, you have to carry the 1!" I yelled.
"He said 13, not 14, Onyx!" Frost groaned.
"Is math the same in other languages?" Cherry wondered aloud.
"It's multiplication, not addition, Noir..." Cotton sighed.
"Times up!" Silver announced. "Please hold up your papers in three...two...one!"
Royal: 261
Onyx: 1,358
Merigold: 1,261
Noir: 110
"Merigold wins!" Silver announced.
"Damn it!" Onyx complained. "I was sure I had it in the bag..."
"Next question!" Silver said. "What is the capital of Australia?"
"Piece of cake," Sunrise grinned. "I've flown there a million times!"
"You flew a plane to Australia?" I asked in surprise.
Sunrise glared at me. "No, on a plane..."
"This is child's play." Mauve smirked. "We learn about all the capitals back home in the USA."
"Way too easy!" Emerald claimed.
"I think this is right?" Scarlet said, sounding unsure of herself.
"Time's up!" Silver announced. "Answers please!"
Sunrise: Canberra
Mauve: Sydney
Emerald: Canberra
Scarlet: Melbourne
"Sunrise and Emerald win!" Silver said.
"What the hell is a Canberra?!" Onyx yelled in frustration.
"W-what?!" Mauve exclaimed. "It's Sydney! I know it's Sydney!"
"Nnneexxttt question!" Silver announced. "Fill in the blank: _ the Great. Hint: This former ruler was born in Pella and died in Babylon."
"I actually know this one!" I smiled. "I auditioned to play him in an American movie! But they went with an American instead..."
"W-what is Pella and Babylon?" Cloud sniffed. "S-sorry guys, but I don't know..."
"Um, funny story guys, but I didn't really pay attention in history class..." Cherry nervously laughed.
"They never teach us anything but Russian rulers in Russia..." Indigo frowned. "Ne chestno..."
"Time!" Silver yelled.
Crimson: Alexander
Cloud: Satan
Cherry: Gordan Ramsay
Indigo: Vladimir
"Crimson wins!" Silver cheered.
"Haha, of course I do." I smirked.
"Don't get cocky!" Azure huffed. "I'm up next, and I've learned a lot of random information in my lifetime!"
"Next question," Silver said. "What is unique about the sentence: Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow?"
Diamond looked at us with shock. "I...don't know this!"
"Hmph, easy." Sage said, ever so slightly smiling.
Azure was crying. "Why...why did I get this question?"
"Uh, maybe it's this?" Cotton said, writing on the paper with uncertainty.
Diamond: Quartz is not usually black.
Sage: Contains all the letters in the English alphabet.
Azure: :(
Cotton: Has every letter in the English alphabet.
"Sage and Cotton win!" Silver said.
"Diamond, you're the only one who speaks English fluently, how did you get this wrong?!" Royal yelled.
"I have put shame on my family name..." Diamond sniffed. "Don't worry, I'll leave in the morning and you'll never have to see me again..."
"Last question, folks!" Silver smiled. "What is the third sign of the Zodiac?"
"Yay, an easy one!" Rose beamed.
"Oh Coffee Gods, I pray that this is right." Frost said, kissing his paper for good luck.
"I can't remember..." Lava mumbled.
"Somehow I know this one!" Noir smiled.
"Answers please!" Silver yelled.
Rose: Leo
Frost: Gemini
Lava: Aquarius
Noir: Gemini
"Oops!" Rose giggled. "I thought he said 5!"
"Sorry, I don't really care about any of that stuff..." Lava sighed.
"Wait, no!" Royal said in horror. "That means-"
"All four teams are tied! We're all winners!" Silver announced, taking a drink from one of the table and toasting it.
"NO!" Onyx protested. "We're all losers!"
"This blows..." Emerald sniffed. "I wanted our team to win..."
"Do we still get a prize?" Noir asked Silver, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
Silver chuckled. "Yes, yes. of course. I just need to get it from the announcement room."
Silver went towards the announcement room to fetch our prize, and we were left to converse amongst ourselves. All of our conversation was normal and light hearted like it had been for the duration of the night, until I heard a yell.
"You reckless imbecile!" I heard Sage scream. He was looking at Sunrise with rage.
"What's your problem?" Sunrise scoffed. "You tryna start something with me?"
"You got your filthy peach bellini on my book." Sage glared. I noticed his fist was clenched and his face was red with fury. "Watch where you're going, you fool!"
"You don't tell me what to do!" Sunrise screamed back. "I'm the leader, not you!"
"Then maybe you shouldn't be the leader, anymore." Sage yelled. "It's almost a week since you've made yourself leader. I think it's almost time for impeachment!"
Sunrise rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, I'll just get to Monokuma before you do and make myself leader for another week. And then a week after that. And a week after that. A week afte-"
Sage pushed Sunrise, to which everyone stopped talking, watching the scene with wide eyes. "...If you refuse to be impeached, then perhaps assassination is a better route."
Sunrise's eyes widened. You could tell he was seething with anger and rage.
Sunrise raised his fist, and he quickly moved it towards Sage's face until...
"AHHHHHH!" Someone screamed.
Sunrise quickly dropped his fist as everyone turned their attention to the announcement room door, which is where the scream came from.
"What's going on?" Scarlet frowned.
"Let's go." Sunrise ordered, walking away from Sage and moving towards the door. We all followed him.
He gripped the handle of the door, and quickly opened it.
I wish he had been slower...
It wouldn't have changed much, but maybe I could've been more prepared...
For the sight that awaited me.
Royal, the Ultimate Runway Model.
She was...standing.
Standing over something I recognized...
Someone I recognized.
That I wished I didn't...
Because...
B-because...
It was the Ultimate TV Host, Silver.
The man who had just entertained us all with his trivia game.
And from the blank expression on his face...
The pool of blood dripping out of his mouth...
And the shards of glass next to him...
I could tell he was dead.
Kill if you want to leave. That's the only way out of here.
I thought we were all on the same page.
I thought none of us would resort to murder.
Clearly, I was wrong...
A/N: Rest in peace, Silver! Thank you to his creator, Deathtobuttersauce, for contributing his character! I loved the mystery he brought to the story due to how his attitude about the killing game was a little different than everyone else's, and I enjoyed every time he interacted with a character.
So, the Ultimate TV Host bites the dust! Who is to blame?
I think I did a decent job on making sure the killer wasn't obvious, but maybe some of you can deduce who it is. If so, please definitely let me know your theory!
Thank you guys for reading! Next time, we'll learn more about Silver's death and start the investigation!