Heaven With You (Part 4)
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Well shit.
D-Lister's dead.
Seeing the motionless body of the Ultimate Actor was pretty damn surreal. Just a little while ago he was going on and on about "Choose spare guys!" and "None of us will be eliminated!" and now he's the first one out of the Traitor/Truce game.
I didn't care that much for the guy, but I cared more for him than I did the TV host and spy. It was honestly kinda sad to see him go. He was certainly more useful in investigations and trials than most of the dumbasses here; plus it was fun to pick on him.
"You...asshole!" The barista guy yelled, angrily turning towards the Ultimate Occultist dickhead.
"I told you not to give me that bullshit," Kuro scoffed. "I'm not the only one who voted eliminate. You did too, remember?" Hiiro said nothing in response, instead narrowing his eyes and turning away from him.
Taking a look at the results screen, I realized the asshole was unfortunately right. A number of us voted to eliminate our partner.
Hell, even I was thinking of doing so, until I realized that bitchass Takumi was probably too much of a good boy to vote eliminate, so I decided to spare him this time around.
No promises for next time, though.
"H-he's dead…" Koko quietly said in a wavering tone. Her face was as pale as a ghost and her shaky hands were covering her mouth.
"...He didn't deserve to die." The card dealer guy remarked, taking off his vest and approaching Seizo's body, respectfully covering Seizo's face with it.
The prodigy girl looked depressed and wasn't saying anything. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and her eyes were closed, probably to stop any tears from falling.
Takumi had his fists clenched at his sides as he glared at Monokuma. He and Seizo probably bonded a little when I sent Seizo to go get him from Monokuma, so he must be taking it pretty hard.
The cryptid enthusiast was sadly staring at Seizo's body, but his eyes were free of tears. His positive ass self is probably trying to find the good in Seizo's death...if there is any.
Evelyn and Francesca were comforting a sobbing Nadia. Geez, that girl is way too sensitive, I can't even remember her having one conversation with Seizo.
The girl who tried to kill me was silently sobbing, covering her face with her hands and standing away from everyone else.
The group of those who looked indifferent to D-Lister's death consisted of Leonia, Isami, Sonoda, Mari, and Norikazu.
"It's a shame someone as promising as him is gone." Leonia remarked. "He certainly had the potential to lead a great life."
"...He wasn't as annoying as some of the people here." Isami said while writing something down in that journal of hers. "...I'll miss him."
"Aw man," Sonoda frowned, shaking his head in disappointment. "I was thinking of recruiting him to be a part of the HFH Enterprise official bank…He had just the hot-headed yet friendly personality I was looking for."
"Ugh, why did he have to be out first?" Mari whined, putting her hands on her hips. "He was so much more interesting and enjoyable than most of you losers...by the way, can I have his jacket?" She added. Everyone ignored her.
"Such an insensitive girl," Norikazu chastised. "Still, Seizo left me alone most of the time, so I'll miss that from him."
Monokuma watched all of this happen with the biggest shit eating grin on his highly punchable face. "Upupu, I can't believe he's the first one out! I knew that selfless personality of his was going to be his downfall! Ahaha, now there's no one around to give annoying speeches about hope and friendship, so kill away, ya bastards!"
"Don't be an idiot." I sneered. "I may not be as drunk on hope as D-Lister was, but I don't condone killing or any of that shit."
I turned to look at everyone. "Things won't change around here just because Seizo's dead. Like I said before, vote however you want in the Traitor/Truce game, but kill someone, and I swear that I'll find out who you are and beat the shit out of you."
"Ooo, so scary," Kuro quipped, rolling his eyes. "I'm sure some threat from a discount Wright brother isn't scaring anybody."
FUCK, this dude's annoying as hell. But I took a deep breath, kept my composure, and brushed him off; still trying out that being a better person thing…
"What are you going to do to him?" Akumu quietly asked, looking up at Monokuma.
"Upupu, don't worry, I'll personally bring him to Heaven or Hell myself!" Monokuma answered, jumping down from his podium and carelessly picking Seizo's body up.
"I'll see you guys bright and early tomorrow, for the next round of Traitor/Truce!" Monokuma announced. "I'm sure it'll be a fun one, so get readyyy!"
The little shit then did that weird spinny thing, and he disappeared, along with the body of the Ultimate Actor.
The silence in the announcement room was insane. As corny as it sounds: I'm sure that if you dropped a pin, you'd be able to hear it drop…
I get that most people are pretty sad, but there's something I gotta do.
"All right, listen up," I shouted, drawing the attention of everyone. "I'm going to need to talk to everyone here; one on one. You're going to tell me who was on the card that you got."
The previous silence was immediately disrupted with loud protests.
"No way, Takahashi!" Evelyn frowned. "You have no right to know our personal business!"
"As if I'd tell you anything." Norikazu glared.
"I-I, um, was planning on keeping it to myself, if that's ok…" Nadia whispered.
"You can't do that!" Fran claimed. "We don't have to tell you anything."
"Oh yeah you do," I said. "I mentioned this earlier today, remember? I'm the leader, you have to do what I say."
That shut them up pretty quickly. Most of them still looked upset and were glaring daggers at me, but I didn't care.
If I knew who everyone's most important person was, and just how much they cared about them, it'd make it easier to suss out the killer if it comes to that…
"We'll do it in private." I continued. "And I won't tell anyone; you have my word on that."
"Fine." Evelyn sighed. "If you really want to know, I'll tell you. I'll go first."
Everyone but Evelyn and I walked into the dining room, awaiting their turn.
I went to go sit on the stage, with a reluctant Evelyn following and taking a seat next to me.
"Hey." I greeted, trying to lighten the mood and decrease the obvious tension between us.
"Hello…" She dryly responded, not meeting my gaze.
I sighed, deciding to just cut to the chase. "Your most important person. Who is it?"
Evelyn thought for a moment before replying. "...My mother. I love both of my parents equally, but I suppose I've always favored my mother a bit more."
I nodded, making a mental note in my head. "Alright, thanks. Bring in someone else."
She nodded, stepping up from the stage and leaving the announcement room.
Hiiro came in about a minute after she left.
The barista didn't even bother to sit down next to me or look me in the eye.
He simply answered my question: "My father, the man responsible for my talent. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."
"Tha-" I started to say, but Hiiro ignored me and left.
Asshole…
One by one, each of my classmates entered the announcement room and told me who their most important person was.
After that was finally done (it took a lot longer than I had anticipated…), I thought over what everyone told me.
Most Important People
Evelyn - "...My mother. I love both of my parents equally, but I suppose I've always favored my mother a bit more."
Hiiro - "My father, the man responsible for my talent. Without him, I wouldn't be who I am today."
Nadia - "Um, my big s-sister. She's a pyrotechnician who helps make my stunts more thrilling."
Sonoda - "A-ha, that is the question, isn't it? Well, my most important person just so happens to be my father! The old man's a banker who taught me everything there is to know about the art of selling."
Mari - "Heyyy, Taka! You already know, don't you? It's my agent. The woman's totally annoying sometimes, but she's one of the best in the biz, so I can't lose her."
Kuro - "Tch, why should I tell you? ...Ugh, fine. Me and Shiro both have different people. Mine is Shiro...and Shiro's is me." (This one I found pretty damn interesting. Shiro and Kuro's most important person is each other?)
Francesca - "It's my father. He actually went missing, and I've been looking for him for quite a while...Also, she wasn't in the picture, but if anything happened to my cat, Isis, I think I'd lose it..."
Satoko - "U-um, I guess mine is more like most important people. Both my mother and father were pictured on the card that I got."
Akumu - "It's my grandpa. We used to do everything together; he and my grandma are the ones who encouraged me to go exploring to investigate cryptids."
Jack - "My mother. One of the few women in this world that I can partially let my guard down around."
Isami - "...It's my childhood caretaker." (She didn't even bother to come into the announcement room; she had Clara relay her answer to me…)
Clara - "Um, it's my dad. He's the only family I have left...By the way, I wanted to apologize for what I did...I know no words can fix the damage that was done, but I'm really sorry. I acted like an irrational fool, who only thought about the negative things you've done and said. You've done a lot for us as leader, and I should've appreciated that more…Just like you're working on bettering yourself, so am I."
Koko - "M-my mom. I can't do anything without her…"
Takumi - "My brother, Junpei. I wouldn't be able to function without him, haha…" (Ouch, the little shit sounds super depressed…)
Norikazu - "My friend, Karina."
Leonia - "My fiance, Albert. And yes, for the hundredth time: I know I'm 'too young to be married'..."
Goddamn, that took forever. I collapsed onto the stage, taking a second to close my eyes.
This leader shit is exhausting as hell, but I kinda signed up for it...
I slowly stood back off, shaking off the tiredness. D-Lister didn't die just for me to act like a little bitch.
I had to step up my game!
…
…
…
Eventually. For now, I think I'll finish the next chapter of the Vintage Aeroplanes book I found in the library.
I left the announcement room, heading straight for the comfort of my bedroom.
Unfortunately, just as I was about to leave the dining room, I was stopped by Dumbass 1 and Dumbass 2.
"Taka," Evelyn called, holding me back as I gripped the handle of the door leading to the hallway.
I resisted the urge to tell her to fuck off and just keep going.
"...Yes?" I questioned, turning around to see Evelyn and Fran both staring at me.
"We were wondering if you would like to do some looking around with us." Fran asked. "Eva and I were were curious about the second floor, so Eva asked Monokuma if there was any more to the second floor and he replied with the very vague response of: Maybeeeee."
"So, we're both planning on doing some looking around." Evelyn finished. "I can't sit still knowing there's something Monokuma might be hiding. We'll need to investigate every room thoroughly, searching for anything suspicious."
"Why are you so sure there's something suspicious or hidden about the second floor?" I asked. "Seems to me that it's just a normal floor…"
"Think about it," Evelyn said. "There's one room on the second floor we're completely unable to access."
"There's also one on the first floor," I shrugged. "And no matter how hard we've tried, we've been unable to open it."
"Well, technically, we were able to open the room on the first floor." Fran sheepishly responded. "It was just the door inside of it that was locked."
"C'mon, Takahashi," Evelyn sighed, growing impatient. "Come help us!"
I raised a brow. "Why do you need me to go look with you? Sounds like the two of you are both already determined to go investigate no matter what I answer."
"Since you're the leader and all, we were hoping you'd step up to the plate..." Fran explained with an 'innocent' smile."
"Yes," Evelyn nodded. "It is the leader-type thing to do, after all."
I sighed. These two are going to drive me crazy.
"...Fine." I answered. "But only for a little while. I have some important business to attend to that you guys are keeping me from."
"Okey dokey!" Francesca smiled. "Not a problem."
"We'll have you back home by curfew, I promise." Evelyn joked with a wry smile.
The two of them lead me to the announcement room door, but just as we were about to leave, yet another dumb ass interrupted us.
"Now hold on just a moment," A masculine voice demanded.
I turned around to see Hiiro standing next to Koko, who was starting to look a little better.
"We want in on this investigation too!" Koko eagerly said, a determined expression on her face.
"Yes," Hiiro nodded. "Seizo would want all of us to continue investigating the ship."
"The more the merrier," Francesca smiled. "After all, it'd make our investigation easier to have more sets of eyes."
"And it'll be more fun, too." Evelyn added with a chuckle.
"...Fine." I grumbled. "But that's i-"
"W-wait!"
"Yes, wait for us, Taka darling!"
Oh hell no.
I turned around to see the most unlikely pair.
Mari, whose heels made her tower over Nadia, looked like an evil enchantress standing next to Nadia, who had the same scared expression as always. What the fuck did Mari do to Nadia in order to get her to stand within six feet of her?
"Me and Nadia here would also like to investigate with you guys." Mari smirked. "We're all on the same team, after all, right?"
"U-um, yeah!" Nadia nodded. "I want to help investigate rather than just sitting around...I-I promise I won't be a nuisance to anybody!"
"Mari, you literally voted to eliminate me." Evelyn frowned, crossing her arms and glaring at the Ultimate Runway Model. "The only reason I'm still here is because I luckily also voted to eliminate, but only because I knew you'd do so…"
"Oh please, plenty of us voted to eliminate our partner!" Mari scoffed, rolling her eyes. "And besides, the Traitor/Truce game is something totally separate from the Killing Game and our daily lives here. So, I suggest that when we're not in the middle of a round, we shouldn't discuss it. It'll only do more harm."
"You're just trying to avoid getting called out for picking eliminate every round…" Fran mumbled.
"Uh, Mari's right, I guess." I sighed, scratching my head. "What happens in the Traitor/Truce game stays in the Traitor/Truce game. But anyways, Mari, why the hell do you and Nadia randomly want to investigate with us? And while I'm at it: when the hell did you and Nadia even become friends? You're like a wolf and she's like a lamb, or something."
"We're two girls with amazing fashion sense, so we naturally get along." Mari answered with a grin, pulling a clearly uncomfortable Nadia closer to her. "And like I said before, we can't just sit around not helping! We should all be doing our part to investigate more of this ship."
"Um, y-yes." Nadia nodded. "Mari reminds me of my older sister in a way…"
"I didn't know your older sister was the devil incarnate." Hiiro sarcastically quipped, earning him a playful smack on the shoulder by Koko.
"Anyways," Evelyn sighed. "I suppose I see no problem with Nadia and Mari wanting to investigate with us. As long as Mari behaves, we should be fine."
"I promise." Mari claimed with a sneaky smile on her face.
"I'll behave!" Nadia quickly added.
"Ok then, let's go." Fran nodded.
She opened the door to the announcement room, and we made our way to the second floor.
Akumu
I can't believe Seizo's gone…
He was the first person I met, and the one who I felt the closest to.
I felt a tap, and turned to see a sad Satoko taking a seat next to me.
"Hello, Akumu..." She said quietly. "How're you holding up?"
"It's definitely hard, but I'm trying my best to stay optimistic and positive," I answered with the biggest smile I could muster. "I know Seizo wouldn't want us to be sad over his death, especially because it happened due to him doing what he believed in."
Satoko slowly nodded. "Yes, I suppose you're right...though, I still find it strange knowing that we'll never see him talk or smile again. It makes it hard to try and be positive when you're surrounded by negativity."
I nodded with a sigh. "I know...but, you gotta take a look around!" I encouraged.
I pointed out Jack and Clara, the former of which was comforting the latter. "Look at them! They may be sad, but they're sticking by each other."
I then pointed to Takumi holding up a paper to a reluctant Sonoda, who read it with suspicion. "Even Takumi and Sonoda are bonding! I have no idea what they're talking about, but it doesn't matter."
I then put my hand on Satoko's shoulder. "I know times are tough now that we're three men down, but we gotta try and stick together and be positive. It'll do us no good if we just sit around moping and sulking, after all."
"Hm, I guess you're right." Satoko nodded with a small smile. "I think Seizo once said something similar, so that motivates me even more!"
"That's the spirit!" I grinned. "Find the motivation to stay positive anyway you can; if it helps you, it helps you."
"Got it!" Satoko said. "Today marks a new era of positivity for me. Thank you, Akumu. You really know how to cheer me up!"
"That's my job," I laughed. "And just know I'm always here for you. You and Seizo were the first two people I met after waking up here, so we're pretty much always going to be stuck together."
"You got it," Rose giggled. "I'll look after you and you'll look after me! Together, we'll make it out of here alive and well."
"That's a promise!"
Isami
"You've exhausted all other options?" Leonia asked us, a skeptical expression on her face.
"Yes, believe me." Norikazu sighed. "No matter what we do, Kuro still remains in control of Shiro's body."
"It is quite frustrating…" I frowned. "We haven't seen Shiro in days…"
"Yes," Norikazu nodded. "Kuro's been stealing the spotlight from him; not letting him have control of his own body. According to that comment Kuro made earlier, it's apparently because he doesn't want Shiro to experience the stress and anxiety of the Traitor/Truce game, but I suspect he has some kind of ulterior motive in mind…"
"Hm, that could very well be true…" Leonia agreed, rubbing her chin in thought. "What do you think, Isami?"
I looked up from my writing. "...According to my notebook, we thought of an idea the other day that we haven't tried yet." I answered.
"And what might that be?" Leonia questioned, her voice dripping in skepticism.
"Well, simply whacking Kuro over the head to knock him out." I answered. "It may seem harsh, but it could very well be the thing that does the trick…"
"Possibly, but we risk hurting Shiro's body in the process." Norikazu sighed, shaking his head. "I wouldn't risk it."
I frowned. "Hm, I guess you're right...well, I suppose we'll just have to deal with Kuro having control of Shiro's body for the time being."
"As long as he doesn't do anything idiotic, we should be fine." Norikazu nodded.
"We can only hope…" Leonia sighed, shaking her head as she glanced at Kuro's bedroom door.
Do not worry, Shiro, we'll see you soon...
Once on the second floor, I immediately regretted going along with Evelyn and Fran's investigation...
Mari and Evelyn were arguing about who knows what, Koko and Hiiro were making lovey-dovey eyes at each other, and Nadia and Fran were giggling about something Fran said.
"Oh, for fuck's sakes, an you guys please shut up?" I asked in the nicest way possible, which came out harsh and abrasive. "All this talking isn't going to do anything to help our investigation."
"Oh, right…" Evelyn reluctantly nodded. "My apologies. It's just whenever Mari's around, I can feel my blood pressure rise and my heart growing cold."
"And whenever Evelyn's around, I can feel my depression kicking in." Mari quipped, twirling a lock of her hair and giving the Ultimate Translator a disapproving look.
"Hiiro, thank you for always taking care of me," Koko smiled. "I really appreciate it!"
"Oh, it is, um, no problem." Hiiro nervously chuckled, blushing.
"Hehe, and then she decided to move to Long Island because they made her favorite drink there!" Fran giggled.
"Oh my goodness!" Nadia blushed.
"Ok, yeah, we're not doing this shit…" I sighed, shaking my head at my classmates.
All seven of us investigating together was bound to end in chaos, so I made the decision to split us up.
"Mari, go with Nadia to investigate the VR room." I instructed her.
"What?!" Mari gasped. "But I thought you and I would make the perfect pair! This is a perfect opportunity for us to be around each other, after all."
"Yeah well, not today, princess." I frowned. "I have a headache that's about to burst my skull open, and that high pitched voice of yours isn't going to help it."
"Why you smug little b-" Mari's words were quickly cut short as she was pulled away by a frantic Nadia.
"U-um, come on Mari!" Nadia urged, pulling her into the direction of the VR room. "Let's not say something we'll regret!"
I breathed a sigh of relief once the two were finally gone.
"Ok...Koko, Hiiro, and Evelyn, investigate the game room." I demanded. "Evelyn, make sure Romeo and Juliet keep their hands off of each other for the duration of the investigation…"
"H-hey!" Koko said, her face a deep shade of red. "We weren't going to put our h-hands on each other!"
"That is correct," Hiiro agreed in an unconvincing tone. "O-our relationship is strictly friendly."
Evelyn sighed, ignoring the duo. "Yes, Takahashi, I know…"
The trio entered the game room, with Koko and Hiiro staying far apart from each other…
"Alright, Fran." I said, turning towards the Ultimate Archaeologist. "You're with me."
"Alrighty," Fran said, not looking phased or uncomfortable. "Not a problem."
"We'll be investigating the swimming pool area and the infirmary." I revealed.
"Oh, um, ok." She slowly nodded, a hint of skepticism in her voice. "But, may I ask you a question? Will any of us be investigating the store? Oh, and the gym? It's such a big area so I figur-"
"No." I interrupted. "When we were prepping for the kickball game, Evelyn and I thoroughly searched the gym and equipment room. The only thing of interest besides some of the equipment was the fact there's an air vent near the floor of the equipment room for some reason. And as for the store, Sonoda, Takumi, and Clara have ripped that place to shreds, and they haven't found anything of importance. So, let's go."
"Alrighty then," Fran exclaimed. "Let's get to it!"
I decided for the two of us to enter the swimming pool area first.
Looking around, I couldn't help but get a strange sense of déjà vu.
Just the other day, 18 of us were gathered here, talking, relaxing, or playing around.
Then we got the news about how we were going to play Traitor/Truce and everything changed.
Now there's only 17 of us left standing.
What's more, there should've been 20 of us at the pool that day…
But both Silver and Ritsu have been gone for awhile now.
I may be a dick and douchebag, but I'm not some heartless monster. Not having the two of them here felt weird and unnatural. It almost felt like some kind of dream (or nightmare…).
I was almost expecting to wake up one day and just see Ritsu and Silver at the dining table with the rest of us.
But deep down, I knew it wasn't true.
Because the harsh reality of this killing game is the fact that it's all too real.
Silver,
Ritsu,
And Seizo are all gone forever. Nothing in this unforgiving world can ever bring them back.
"Hey, are you ok?" Fran snapped me out of my thoughts, and I quickly nodded.
"Uh, yeah, I'm fine." I answered. "Let's begin the search."
The pool room was the second biggest out of the second floor rooms, behind the gym, so Fran and I had our work cut out for us if we were going to investigate every nook and cranny.
(Not a Murder) Investigation Start
Looking around the pool room, I saw that there was nothing immediately obviously suspicious.
So whatever might be hidden in here wasn't noticeable upon first glance.
The pool room, like every other room in this place, was made up of four walls. The two on the sides contained the typical blue bleachers you see in every indoor pool, the one in the back was plain and bare, exposing the painted white brick that it was made of, and the one in the front just contained the door that Fran and I just used to enter.
Since they were the biggest, most suspicious things in the room, I decided to focus on the bleachers.
I told Fran to investigate the bleachers on the right side of the room, and I took the left.
I ran my hand over every single seat, twice.
I looked under every seat, in each aisle, and behind the bleachers.
I even tugged on every seat, trying to see if I could trigger a secret mechanism or something.
And I found…
…
…
…
Absolutely nothing.
Feeling slightly disgruntled and annoyed with myself, I decided to check in with Fran, who was still in the middle of investigating her side of the room.
"Sorry, but, I'm not finding anything…" She sighed. "It seems that the bleachers are exactly what they look like: normal bleachers.
I frowned. "There's not really much else in this room...let's go."
If the bleachers held no secrets, then I doubted anything else in the room would.
Among the objects of interest in the pool room, besides the bleachers, were the pool, diving board, and lifeguard chair. Because we had all used them the other day, I doubted the fact that they were hiding something.
Oh yeah, there's also the anti-gravity generator things, but I'm not messing with that shit. They're probably what's keeping the water in the pool in the pool. And besides, the photo shoot choreographer girl took a look at them when the second floor first opened up.
"Ok!" Fran nodded. "Even though we didn't have any luck here, I'm sure we'll be luckier next time around!"
The two of us exited the room.
Tch, I was so damn stupid…
There was something obvious I didn't bother to investigate…
Something you saw as soon as you walked into the room, but didn't necessarily suspect; making it perfect to hide Monokuma's secret.
On our way to the infirmary, Fran and I ran into Koko, Hiiro, and Evelyn.
"You guys are done too?" Evelyn asked. "We just finished up."
"Just a normal game room," Hiiro sighed. "It did have an air vent, but that's just for air conditioning."
"To go with the flow!" Koko giggled.
"Where's Mari and Nadia?" Fran questioned. "If you guys are done, they should be too."
"Oh, we ran into Mari." Evelyn nodded. "Apparently, there's nothing at all interesting in the VR room. Nadia is still there now, playing some kind of racing game."
"And Mari?" I asked.
"She went back to her room for some 'beauty rest'." Hiiro replied, rolling his eyes.
"I didn't bother trying to stop her." Evelyn shrugged. "She doesn't contribute anything to the group besides whining and callous insults."
I ignored Evelyn's display of hatred for Mari and sighed. "Well, we still have the infirmary to search, so if you guys want to make yourselves useful for once, come and help Fran and I investigate."
"Of course!" Koko nodded. "Like you guys said before: the more people investigating the faster it'll go!"
The small group of us headed to the infirmary, where we hoped we'd find something interesting.
Like fuck, this whole things been a useless waste of my time! I could've been finished with the chapter in Vintage Aeroplanes about the Cessna Cardinal by now...I mean, I already know everything there is to know about it, but hey, relearning information about planes is way more interesting than spending time with these shit-for-brains.
Once inside the infirmary, we quickly realized that our efforts were more than likely in vain.
It was such a plain room, with nothing interesting or out of the ordinary at all…
But, nonetheless, we decided to investigate every single cabinet in the medicine and file cabinet, under each bed, and in every corner.
…
…
…
"Just like I thought." I frowned. "There's nothing here."
"I mean, we found another air vent!" Koko nervously giggled. "Um, that's probably important somehow, right?"
"I doubt it…" Evelyn sighed.
She was looking in the medicine cabinet, and pulled out some sort of clear bottle. "Huh. Well, this is good to have."
"What is that?" Hiiro questioned. "Rubbing alcohol?"
Evelyn shook her head. "No. This is Senza-Sangue, a safe mixture of ammonia and bleach that makes it easy to clean up blood. It's considered safer than just mixing ammonia and bleach by themselves because Senza-Sanque is made up of the perfect ratio of ammonia and bleach, so it doesn't produce as much chloramines, causing a more mild affect when exposed to the smell of it. Hm, now that I think about it, this is probably what Monokuma used to clean up Silver's crime scene."
…
…
…
"How the fuck do you know all this?!" I asked with a stunned expression. Was this bitch secretly a serial killer or something?
Evelyn laughed. "It's made in Italy, and I read it in a book while studying Italian. Funnily enough, Senza-Sangue is actual-"
"Nobody cares." I interrupted, to which Evelyn shot me a glare. "Anyways, is that all that's in here? I think we've been investigating for long enough."
"Uh oh," Fran gulped, pulling a bottle out of the medicine cabinet. "Look at this, guys..."
She showed it to all of us. It was a clear, brown bottle made of glass, with 'Zzz' written on the front in a very familiar red handwriting…
Luckily, or unluckily, we didn't have to wonder what it was, because Teddy Roosevelt himself came out of nowhere, appearing in front of us.
"Wow, Koko Puffs!" Monokuma gasped. "You found my super secret Sleepy Time poison!"
"Huh?" Koko questioned, tilting her head to the side. "Uh, no I didn't..."
"Oh…" Monokuma said, scratching his head. "Then you must be...Eviolin! Right, right?"
"Do you mean Evelyn?" Fran sighed with a frown. "And no, I'm Francesca."
"Oh!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Geez, all of you look so similar; it gets confusing when trying to remember all of your names!"
"Can you just explain why you're here?" I said, rolling my eyes at the idiotic mechanical abomination. "What is 'Sleepy Time' poison?"
"It's eggactly what it sounds like, Bakahashi!" Monokuma answered. "Sleepy Time poison is injected into the bloodstream, making its victim fall into a deep sleep!"
"So they die?" Hiiro inquired.
"Of course not!" Monokuma claimed. "I know it's called poison and all, but trust me, it's just a sedative."
"Well, I'm not letting anybody get their hands on this." I frowned, snatching the bottle from Fran and putting it in my pocket. "I'll put in my room with the rest of the dangerous things."
"Oh no you don't!" To my surprise, Monokuma ran over to me, dug in my pocket, and stole the Sleepy Time poison!
"H-hey, you asshole!" I yelled. "Give that back!"
"Nope, no can do." Monokuma protested. "I should've mentioned this earlier, but nothing is to be taken outside of the infirmary! Any bottle or piece of first aid equipment must be used inside the infirmary!"
"Oh…" I slowly nodded. "Then I guess it's not that big of a deal if this poison is in here."
"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. "If no one can take the bottle of Sleepy Time poison, then they can't use it unless they somehow lure someone in here."
"Which is highly unlikely." Fran concluded.
"Correct," Monokuma said. "And y'know what, since it's technically not an official rule, I'll have one of you enforce it…"
"Enforce?" Koko repeated.
"Enforce!" Monokuma said again. He pulled a key out of nowhere, and handed it to Takahashi. "I'll let you decide, Bakahashi! Choose one of your classmates to keep this key, which leads to the infirmary. From now on, it will be permanently locked. Make sure to choose so-"
"Hiiro." I decided, tossing the barista the key.
"What?!" Hiiro gasped. "Why me? I'm already the lifeguard and have to stop whatever I'm doing to supervise whoever goes swimming so I just find it completely unfair to have me take care of the infi-"
"Oh, relax…" I sighed, crossing my arms. "It's not that big of a job. We rarely will need to go to the infirmary so you won't have that much work to do."
Hiiro frowned, but stuffed the key into his pocket and didn't object anymore.
"Well, ya bastards, I gotta go." Monokuma announced. "But you'll hear from me again in just a few seconds."
He did that spinny thing, and disappeared.
"A few seconds?" Fran repeated. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"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!"
"Ah, that explains it." Hiiro nodded.
"Phew, today was a long one…" Koko commented with a yawn.
"Kickball, the Traitor/Truce game, and investigating the second floor." Fran said. "I'm glad it's finally over."
I glanced at the ground, thinking about how some of us would never get to experience another day…
Fuck…
"Well, good night everyone." Hiiro waved, beginning to walk out of the infirmary. "I will see you all tomorrow…"
"Night, everyone." Koko smiled, following after him. "Sweet dreams…"
Koko and Hiiro left, leaving just Evelyn, Fran, and I in the infirmary.
"Phew, today was hard…" Fran sighed. "I can't believe we lost Seizo…"
I said nothing, but nodded. I understood where the archaeologist girl was coming from. Losing anybody was shitty, but D-Lister especially. He left an impact on all of-
Eh, actually, nevermind. The guy was kinda annoying at times.
"Tomorrow will be better!" Evelyn exclaimed in response to Fran's woes. "We'll make sure of it!"
Day 13 aboard the HFH Enterprise...
Yeah, 'tomorrow' was not better.
Almost immediately after waking up and gathering in the dining hall, we were all called to the announcement room for round 4 of the Traitor/Truce game.
We all gathered in the announcement room as directed, awaiting Monokuma's arrival.
"Are you kidding me right now?" Sonoda groaned. "I haven't even eaten breakfast."
"The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can." Jack said in response. "If only everyone was already here; we would've probably already begun by now."
I looked around, and Card Dealer was right. Neither of the Ultimate Occultist's split personalities were here…
"What the fuck?" I frowned. "This is unacceptable."
"I agree," Mari huffed. "Whoever gets paired with Kuro, eliminate his ass…"
"Unprofessional and unethical," Norikazu commented. "Not surprising given his behavior lately."
"He is certainly being quite the annoyance." Leonia agreed, shaking her head.
"I hope I'm never paired with K-Kuro…" Nadia whispered, shifting uncomfortably.
"Maybe it would be better if someone voted him off the island." Takumi suggested with a shrug.
"...Don't be a fool." Isami chastised. "If Kuro is punished, so is Shiro."
"Y-yeah, and I really don't want to be…"
We all looked up, to see Shiro standing in front of the door.
"I'm sorry, I'm l-late, everyone." He apologized, nervously laughing. "Kuro was explaining the rules to me…"
"So he finally let you have control?" Satoko beamed. "Glad to hear it."
"I'm sorry you're walking into a circumstance such as this," Akumu sighed. "But don't worry, we'll make it through together!"
"Y-yes." Shiro nodded with a blush, looking Akumu in the eyes. "I promise to do my best!"
"How touching," A certain someone's irritating voice sarcastically said. "17 of you, all getting along and ignoring the fact that there's one less person here than there was yesterday!"
"We're not ignoring it." Fran frowned. "We're just choosing to not focus on it 24/7. It'll do us no good, after all."
"Exactly." Evelyn agreed. "It's just like what happened with Silver and Ritsu. We haven't forgotten them; we all grieve and honor their memories in different ways, that you have no right to know anything about."
"Geez!" Monokuma said, putting a hand on his forehead. "No need to be so rude! I'm just trying to make conversation...anyways, since none of you are in the talking mood, then how about we get this party started?"
Here it goes…
"Let the 4th round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone-"
"Wait!"
It was Clara, who was curiously looking at each and every booth. "I, um, have a question."
Monokuma did not look pleased to be interrupted. "...Yes, Ms. Odette?" He asked in an annoyed tone.
"There's an odd number of us." Clara remarked. "How are partners going to work now?"
Oh shit, she's right. With Seizo gone, only 17 of us remain in the Traitor/Truce game.
Is Monokuma going to make three of us be in a threeway now, or something?
"The pairs will work exactly as they did before." Monokuma frowned. "The only difference is: Seizo's vote will automatically default to being spare."
"Ah, that makes sense." Takumi nodded. "But then again: doesn't that mean no one will benefit from voting to eliminate him?"
Monokuma shrugged. "It's up to you! Eliminate him all over again, or spare him! It doesn't make a difference since he's already gone."
"Now," He glared in Clara's direction. "Can I begin without being interrupted by murderous little girls?"
Clara rolled her eyes but nodded.
"Alrighty then!" Monokuma said. "Let the 3rd round of Traitor/Truce begin! Everyone, go find your booths, now!"
We all headed to go find our booths.
It was almost like a routine now…
Mine was towards the beginning.
After entering, I immediately looked at the screen.
Takahashi Jirou vs. Seizo Morine (E)
Takahashi,
SPARE
ELIMINATE
Tch, really, Monokuma? Pairing me up with the dead guy?
I sighed, choosing spare. I didn't want any sort of dead guy karma affecting me if I voted to eliminate him…
"You've chosen spare. Please do not leave until instructed to do so."
I yawned. This was boring and annoying as hell…
After a few minutes, the announcement we all were probably waiting for sounded:
"Please exit the room. Please go in front of the stage, where voting results will be displayed, for all participants of the Traitor/Truce game. Thank you."
Finally.
I left my booth, and headed to the front of the stage. All of us were quiet, awaiting the results of this round.
I had no reason to worry about me being eliminated, so I just stood and relaxed.
Hm, I wonder which chapter of Vintage Aeroplanes I should read next. I think there's one on the Ford Trimotor, which should be pretty interesting since it's pretty damn old.
Oh, and there's also the Fokker F27 Friendship, one of the fi-
"Round 4 of the Traitor/Truce game is now over!" Monokuma suddenly announced, snapping me out of my daydream. "Let's see what choices everyone made this time around, hm?"
Oh shit, I guess it's time.
I turned my attention to the screen.
The screen powered on, and one by one, our voting results were displayed…
Hiiro Sayoama vs. Jack Masaki
Hiiro: SPARE
Jack: SPARE
Isami Kanagi vs. Norikazu Kanno
Isami: SPARE
Norikazu: SPARE
Leonia Taylor vs. Sonoda Eisen
Leonia: ELIMINATE
Sondoa: ELIMINATE
Nadia Levitsky vs. Koko Kagawa
Nadia: SPARE
Koko: SPARE
Evelyn Bryant vs. Satoko Kiyomizu
Evelyn: SPARE
Satoko: SPARE
Takahashi Jirou vs. Seizo Morine (E)
Takahashi: SPARE
Seizo: SPARE
Takumi Kyoshi vs. Clara Odette
Takumi: SPARE
Clara: SPARE
Mari Tamatsuki vs. Akumu Tsubasa
Mari: ELIMINATE
Akumu: SPARE
Francesca Croft vs. Shiro/Kuro
Francesca: SPARE
Shiro/Kuro: ELIMINATE
ELIMINATED
Seizo Morine (Round 3)
Akumu Tsubasa (Round 4)
Francesca Croft (Round 4)
…
…
…
WHAT THE FUCK?!
"Two people…" Koko said in shock.
"No way!" Takumi gasped. "Akumu and Francesca?!"
"Well…" Akumu nervously laughed, his normally tan face now pale as a ghost. "This is a most unfortunate development…"
"Shiro…" Francesca whispered, staring at the Ultimate Occultist in surprise.
Shiro said nothing, glancing at the ground with a smirk…
"Hey, don't say I didn't warn you." Mari shrugged. "My agent is far too important to die, as am I."
"Akumu…" Satoko said with tears in her eyes. "You said that-"
"We'd all make it out together." Akumu nodded with a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Satoko…"
"FRANCESCA!" Evelyn screamed, running up to the archaeologist and embracing her in a hug. "No, no, no! Why did you vote spare?! Please, you can't leave me!"
"...I'm sorry, Evelyn…" Francesca sniffed, tears falling down her face. "I never thought this would happen."
"Shiro." Isami frowned. "Or should I say, Kuro."
"What?" Norikazu questioned. "What are you talking about?"
"I've written down observations about how Shiro and Kuro speak and act…" Isami revealed. "And the moment 'Shiro' entered the announcement room, I could easily spot the difference. Shiro stutters more, and he also doesn't like eye contact."
"Both things that Kuro did." Norikazu realized with a frown.
"No way…" Fran gasped. "So that's why-"
"I voted to eliminate you." Kuro finished for her, his signature, evil grin back on his face. "I already told you guys. I'm not letting Shiro play this game. So no matter how many theories or plans you come up with to get rid of me; I'll still be here. And I'll knock you off one by one. I'm going to win the Traitor/Truce game!"
All of us were stunned at Kuro's deceit. Hell, even I couldn't speak.
Was he really that much of an asshole to do something so...fucked up?!
"A brilliant plan, Mr. Kuro!" Monokuma applauded. "Keep it up and you just might be the winner!"
"I don't need any praise." Kuro sneered.
"Ok, ok!" Monokuma said. "Now then, let us commence Francesca Croft and Akumu Tsubasa's punishment for getting eliminated!"
"No, NO!" Evelyn shouted, holding on tight to Fran.
"Please, don't do this!" Satoko begged, rushing to Akumu's side.
"I'm sorry, guys." Akumu frowned. "I guess I had a little too much blind faith." He joked, gesturing to his eye.
Mari narrowed her eyes and didn't say a word.
"Don't worry about me, Eva." Fran smiled, holding back tears. "You'll be fine, I promise!"
Satoko and Evelyn said nothing in response to their friend's words, and simply collapsed beside them, sobbing.
"Let's give it everything we've got!" Monokuma announced. "Time to say goodbye to your classmates! Don't worry, though, I'm sure you'll see them again one day..."
Then, the same thing that happened to Seizo started to occur in the bodies of Akumu and Fran.
The twitching…
The screaming…
The pain they must be in…
Until…
…
…
…
They were gone.
"...Huh?"
A/N: And that's the end of 2.4! This served as the filler chapter like 1.4 did, with Takahashi taking the reigns from Seizo!
Did you guys like it? What are your thoughts on the ending? Any theories as to what will happen now?
Thank you guys for reading, see you in the next one!