The Ultimate Spies (Part 5)
I opened my eyes to the sound of Monokuma's morning announcement. A sound I've grown quite accustomed to, considering I've been on this spaceship for more than two weeks.
Talk about depressing...An entire two weeks without seeing my family and friends (well outside of dreams and virtual reality).
Yesterday was one of my worst days on the ship. I had to witness my parents and younger cousin die in a car accident, and even felt the pain of death alongside them. It was an awful experience, but it's all over now.
Today is a brand new day! As cruel as it sounds, I already had my turn in Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza, so now it's up to my classmates to go through theirs. I'm not usually this selfish, but I'll admit: I'm super thankful I'm not the one who has to go through that today.
After getting ready, I stepped outside the room. As per usual, someone was waiting for me just outside my door. What was unusual, was who it was…
It was the very strange pair of, Nadia and...Kuro?
"Good morning, Seizo." Nadia smiled softly.
I could tell it was Kuro by his lack of response and grumpy expression.
"Um, good morning." I nervously smiled back. "What's going on?"
"Well, um, Kuro heard about how you're helping me to become more confident, and he was wondering if you could help Shiro out too." Nadia answered, glancing at the occultist as she spoke.
Kuro sighed, finally looking me in the eye. "I could care less about you, but I care about Shiro. And if you're really going to start helping people break out of their shells, Shiro has got to be one of them. The little shit's way too fucking sensitive…"
"And why would I ever help you?" I glared. "Last time I checked, not only did you almost get me killed, but you helped kill Satoko and Hiiro."
"Hey, I didn't lay a finger on the little kid or the wannabe Moonbucks employee." Kuro shrugged. "Sure I threatened them but I didn't actually do anything."
"But you constantly antagonize everyone and even caused Jack to beat you up yesterday." Nadia quietly remarked.
Kuro's eyes widened.
Hell, my eyes widened. Nadia! I never would have thought she'd step out to Kuro. I have no idea what Jack beating up Kuro means, but hey, I'm still impressed!
Kuro balled up his fists and squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm really close to punching the fuck out of daddy long legs over here, but I'll resist the urge…" He sighed, un-balling his fists and opening his eyes. "If there's anyone who needs your help, it's Shiro. This isn't for me, it's for him. Help him if you want or don't. It's up to you, Seizo."
And with that, he fell to the ground.
It's up to you, Seizo...He didn't call me D-Lister or another insult for once. What the fuck happened yesterday?!
A few seconds later, his eyes opened again. This time as Shiro.
I sighed, kneeling down to help Shiro up.
"W-what happened?" Shiro asked. "Did Kuro do something again?"
"Nope, not this time." I answered, pulling him to his feet. "Nadia and I were just about to go grab breakfast. We were wondering if you wanted to tag along?"
"Breakfast?" Nadia gasped. "I didn't know you wanted to eat with me!"
"Well, it's less like eating and more like me teaching you how to be more confident." I chuckled. "That is why you were at my door this morning right?"
Nadia blushed. "Well, um, yes, but Mari and I always eat bre-"
"Forget about Mari." I demanded. "I know she's your…'friend' and everything, but she's not doing anything to help you achieve your goal of coming out of your shell."
Nadia narrowed her eyes, contemplating my words. Finally she nodded and looked up at me. "...Ok! I will eat with you instead of Mari."
"Um, I w-want to come too!" Shiro said. "If you're going to help Nadia out of her shell, then I-I'd really like it if you could help me out of mine!"
Huh, so Kuro was right…Shiro really does want to rely on him less.
"Sounds good, Shi Shi." I smiled. "Operation: Break out of Shell, starts now!"
"T-There's so many people…" Shiro gulped.
"There's the same amount of people as always…" I deadpanned.
Shiro, Nadia, and I had made it to the dining room, where all of our classmates were eating breakfast.
Shiro was so nervous he clung to my arm, shaking like a leaf. Nadia was a bit more composed, but stood very close to me, almost like I was her bodyguard or something.
I looked around, canvassing the cafeteria. Who should we bother this morning?
Mari was glaring daggers at me (probably for 'stealing' Nadia), sitting with Takahashi, Sonoda, and Takumi as per usual…
I have no idea why but Takumi is currently eating pancakes without syrup.
Norikazu was sitting by himself for some reason, drawing in his notebook. Isami, who was usually with him, was having a conversation with Evelyn, Fran, Leonia, and Koko. Wonder what that's all about…
Jack, Akumu, and Clara were also having a conversation, probably started by Akumu and Clara.
Hm, ok, ok, I can work with this! There's a perfect 'target' for me to have Nadia and Shiro greet, and one of them is already friends with him!
"Hey, Shiro, Nadia." I said, pointing to a certain boy. "Go and say hi to him."
"Norikazu?" Nadia asked. "What for?"
"Well, just to say hello!" I answered. "Greeting people without a reason is the first step in breaking out of your shell. It can go either two ways: you just say hello and exchange a few pleasantries, or you can start a spontaneous conversation!"
"Or Nori could just ignore us." Shiro sadly frowned.
...Damn it. He's right.
I nervously laughed. "Still, just go ahead and try. You never know until you try, after all."
"Um, alright." Nadia nodded. "If this is how I break out of my shell, I'm willing to try!"
"M-me too!" Shiro agreed. "Plus Nori and I are already pretty close."
"Then go ahead and say hello. Remember, make sure to sound confident." I nodded.
I took a seat at a nearby table while Nadia and Shiro made their way towards the illustrator.
"Good morning." Nadia said in her soft voice. She didn't look Norikazu in the eye and stared at the ground.
"U-uh, good m-morning!" Shiro greeted, in an unusually loud voice (probably in an attempt to sound more confident like I requested).
In response to their greetings, Norikazu waved at them, then continued to draw in his book. Shiro and Nadia were standing there helplessly, so I sighed and stood up from my chair to show them how to properly get a word out of him.
"Hey, Norikazu. What are you up to?" I asked. I leaned over the table to get a look at his notebook. "That's a nice drawing."
Norikazu quickly closed his book and looked up at me. "...Good morning. I'm just getting some drawing done."
"Just like always!" I laughed. "You really should share your drawings more. I'm sure everyone would love to see them."
"...Maybe one day. Right now I'm busy." Norikazu answered.
I nodded. "Fair enough, fair enough. Well, I'll see you around, Nori."
"See you." He said, going back to drawing immediately as I finished talking.
I looked at Shiro and Nadia with a smile, returning to my chair.
They followed in shame.
"See? That wasn't so bad! Just a few quick words." I said triumphantly. "One day, the two of you will be able to do that with ease!"
"You make it looks so easy…" Nadia sniffed.
"So effortless…" Shiro added, his eyes watering.
…
…
…
The two of them started to cry.
"Guys," I deadpanned. "Please stop crying, there's no need to cry! We can try with someone else, maybe someone like Ko-"
"AHEM! Are you bastards all up? Yeah? Good! It's time for the next round of...MONOKUMA'S FACE YOUR FEAR CHALLENGE EXTRAVAGANZA! Who's excited? I'm excited! Please gather in the announcement room IMMEDIATELY!"
Fuck.
"W-what?!" Shiro gasped. "The next round already?"
"I-I haven't even eaten breakfast yet!" Nadia gulped.
Around the dining room, everyone expressed their shock.
"I wonder who's going today…" Fran said. "God, I really wish we didn't have to go through this…"
"This is worse than Traitor/Truce in my opinion." Leonia claimed. "We have no idea what's going to happen until Monokuma says so."
"Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll be ok." Akumu reassuringly smiled. "Seizo made it through his event just fine!"
"...Yeah! Seizo was A-ok after his event, besides being tired!" Koko added. "So we should all be ok too!"
More and more people began to cite my 'being ok' after my event yesterday as a reason to remain calm. Even the more cynical students joined in.
"Tch, if D-Lister can do it, then so can I." Takahashi smirked.
"I don't really have any fears, and clearly the device Monokuma uses doesn't have an effect on celebrities, so I'll be fine just like him." Mari haughtily remarked, flipping her hair into Takahashi's face.
"Vamanos! Let's go! The sooner we can get through Monokuma's fear challenge thing, the sooner we can go back to having fun." Evelyn urged, standing up from her chair.
"Ah, I can't wait for that scavenger hunt later on." Sonoda smiled. "That will surely ease all of our anxiety after this whole thing."
Scavenger hunt? Huh, I'll have to check that out…
"No matter whose turn it is today, just remember," Clara started. "This whole motive isn't worth ending someone's life over. Please don't give in, no matter how hard it may seem."
"Says the attempted murderer…" Mari mumbled. Clara rolled her eyes and ignored her.
One by one, everyone got out their seats and made their way into the announcement room. I stayed behind for a moment, trying to calm myself down.
Sei, you'll be fine...you already went yesterday. You've got nothing to worry about.
I took a deep breath, and entered the announcement room.
Everyone was already seated with Monokuma waiting for us on stage. I quickly took my seat.
"Well, hello, hello, hello, everyone! How are we all doing tonight?" Monokuma asked, holding a microphone like some sort of MC.
…
…
…
Crickets.
"It's not even nighttime." Isami brought up.
"Yes, it's literally the morning." Jack frowned. "Don't you make the announcements? Shouldn't you know this?"
"Hey, don't get smart with me!" Monokuma angrily yelled. "I do so many announcements I lose track once in a while. Plus, 'how are we all doing tonight' sounds a million times cooler than 'how are we all doing this morning'!""
"Hm, he's right!" Takumi nodded. "Tonight just invokes that classic MC feel that Sir Monokuma is going for."
"True, but maybe you should have your fear challenge be at night then, so it's more factual." Leonia suggested.
"Maybe you should shut your whore mouth so it's more factual!" Monokuma shot back.
"That doesn't even make any sense." Fran facepalmed.
Monokuma crossed his arms. "Well you know what does make sense? The people who I picked to have their event today!"
That shut everyone up real quick.
"Uh oh…" Akumu nervously smiled, turning towards me. "I'm actually kind of getting nervous."
Akumu…
"Don't worry, bud." I beamed, trying to imitate his positive energy. "You'll be fine!"
I narrowed my eyes, thinking about how painful the whole experience was. I wanted them to all be ok, but I couldn't guarantee it. The only thing I could do for them was ease their worries by lying about my feelings after my event. Was that really the right thing to do?
"Alright, ya bastards! It's time to announce the next victims of Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza! Remember what I said yesterday? I'll be picking on a few of you instead of just one! To be more exact, three of you will be experiencing my fear challenge!" Monokuma announced, looking at all of us with a gleefully evil expression.
"Three?" Evelyn gulped. "So we have a 3/15 chance of being picked."
"That's not terrible odds…" Norikazu said. "...Still, it's not good odds either."
"And the odds will grow slimmer and slimmer each day…" Clara sighed. "Everyone will have gone through their event by the end of the week."
"And then what happens?" Fran asked. "The face your fear challenge is over?"
"Nope!" Monokuma replied. "I'll just go right back through my list!"
"Wait, so we'll have to go through it again?" I questioned.
"Yup," Monokuma nodded. "Until someone kills someone else, the Monokuma Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza will happen everyday from now on!"
Well shit. So I'm only in the clear until everyone else goes. And then it's back to me again. Hm, that wording though...I should be sure to remember that just in case.
"Just tell us who the fuck is going already." Takahashi demanded, a smug expression on his face. "Let's get this over with."
"I'm glad you think that way!" Monokuma cackled. "Considering you'll be going first today!"
Takahashi's smug expression quickly faded away. "...W-whatever. Fine. I could care less."
"Taka!" Mari cried. "Don't die!"
"I'm not going to fucking die you stupid bitch." Takahashi sneered, standing from his chair and walking onto the stage.
"So I try to be worried for you and you call me a stupid bitch? Go to hell." Mari glared.
"If it'll get me away from you, I'd be more than happy to." Takahashi smiled, taking a seat in the chair.
"I can't believe they're seriously arguing when Taka is about to go through the fear challenge." Koko said.
"That's Mari and Takahashi for you." Leonia sighed, adjusting her eyeglasses.
"Enough chit chat!" Monokuma said. "Let's start this thing so I can get home early to the missus. She always makes me dinner after a long day of work."
"Again," Jack said. "It's the morning."
"Again, it's the morning," Monokuma mocked. "Um, chile, anyways, so…"
"OOGA BOOGA, shut the fuck up and start this thing already." Takahashi glared. "I'm getting tired of waiting."
"So impatient," Monokuma huffed. He took the headset and harshly put it on Takahashi.
"Alrighty then, time for the second event of Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza! Mr. Ultimate fucking Pilot, ARE YOU READY?" Monokuma announced.
"Sure." Takahashi shrugged.
"Well then, without further ado: LET'S GET OUR SCARE FREAK ON! In 3..."
"2…"
"...1."
It was a completely different experience watching someone go through their event than actually going through it.
Like the others said yesterday, we saw the entire thing go down through Takahashi's eyes...
When the event started, he appeared to be in some sort of barn house. Instead of his usual pilot's uniform, he was wearing a farmer's outfit instead.
He looks stupid as hell, I'll have to make fun of him for that after this whole thing is over.
So this is Takahashi's life in Texas, huh? A rootin' tootin' cowboy? I wonder what he's afraid of.
He was sitting on a stack of hay, staring in awe at his surroundings. It must be surreal to be back in his childhood home.
After a few seconds, I noticed something crawling up to Taka.
It was unusually large, almost like a robot or something...and it was shaped like a spider.
Taka noticed it and his eyes instantly widened. "Ichirou! You dick! I know this is you!"
Ichirou? I guess Taka knows someone named that too…
The spider continued to crawl towards Taka, however, with Taka getting visibly more and more angry.
"I swear to God you fucker, I'm going to beat the shit out of you." Taka yelled. He quickly grabbed some hay out from under him and threw it at the spider.
I guess the spider really was some sort of robot, because it got caught in it, making a mechanical whirring noise as it tried to escape.
Taka sighed in relief.
"Haha, JT! When did you get all vulgar?" A voice said from outside the farmhouse.
Moments later, a tall, older version of Takahashi entered. He had a grin on his face as he waved around a remote control. "Pretty cool, huh?"
Taka's expression shifted almost immediately as this 'Ichirou' guy entered the room. It was the most vulnerable I've ever seen our fearless leader. "Ichirou…"
Ichirou tilted his head to the side. "What's wrong, little bro? You look sad or something."
Takahashi quickly shook his head and put his regular expression back on. "N-Nothing. I'm fine. Stop messing around with those remote control spiders you dick, you know I hate that shit."
"Oh yeah?" Ichirou chuckled. He reached into his pocket. "Maybe you like real ones better instead?"
Sure enough, he pulled out a real spider, throwing it at Takahashi.
"AYO STOP FUCKING PLAYING SO MUCH DICKHEAD!" Taka screamed, dodging the spider by running away.
"Haha, c'mon, when I die in a plane crash you'll grow to miss my pranks." Ichirou said.
Taka stared. "...When you what?"
"Die in a plane crash." Ichirou answered. "When I die, you'll miss my spider pranks, and the sound of my voice, and our late night conversations, and when I take you out flying, and-"
"Shut up." Takahashi demanded. "SHUT UP! I don't want to hear this shit! This isn't real!"
"What's wrong, JT?" Ichirou frowned. "When I die, you'll inherit my title as the Ultimate Pilot and be invited to Hope's Peak. Of course, then you'll end up trapped in a killing game, but I'm sure you'll make it out alive."
"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!" Takahashi screamed, covering his ears. "You're not real!"
"But doesn't this feel real, little bro?" Ichirou asked.
Moments later, dozens of tarantulas crawled out from behind Ichirou, going towards Takahasi.
Takahashi's eyes widened in fear. "What the fuck…"
"I'll miss you, JT. Take care of mom and dad for me, ok?" Ichirou smiled, waving. He turned to leave.
"No, don't!" Taka called out, trying to follow his older brother.
It was no use though, the spiders blocked his path.
"Shit! Shitshitshitshitshitshit!" Taka cursed, backing away.
The spiders continued towards Taka, as if they were drawn to him. Taka could do nothing but helplessly back away, until…
He ended up in a corner. "Oh fuck. FUCK!"
There were at least dozens of tarantulas, and pretty soon, they ended up on Taka. Their furry bodies crawling up his legs.
"GET OFF, GET OFF, GET OFF!" Takahashi screamed, flailing around to get the spiders off of him.
Some of them did in fact fly off, but most of them remained. They crawled into his shirt, under his pant legs, onto his face.
Pretty soon there were so many, his whole face was covered in them, and he couldn't even scream.
And then, they started the biting. Injecting their venom into Taka's blood stream. He slowly started to flail around less and less…
Until he finally fell to the ground, his body pumped full of venom.
…
…
…
What.
The.
FUCK.
Almost everyone was green in the face.
"T-That was so disgusting." Koko remarked, covering her mouth.
"And traumatizing." I added, resisting the urge to throw up. Dying from spider bites...that's so fucking gross.
A few seconds later, Takahashi's eyes blinked open.
They were wide, and watery. I don't think I've ever seen him so uncomposed.
Still, he kept on moving. Without a word, he took the headset off and handed it to Monokuma, who was smiling next to him. He slowly walked off stage and took his seat.
Mari looked shocked, completely at a loss of words for what to do. She just watched him stare at the ground.
No one else had any words. I think we're all in shock.
"Alright, alright, alright! Well that was fun!" Monokuma giggled.
No one laughed.
"Anyways, let's move onto the next participant!" Monokuma said. "Well, involuntary participant, but potato potatoe. Next up is the Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel...JACK MASAKIII!"
"Me?" Jack frowned. "What on earth do you think I'm afraid of?"
"Well I dunno, but the headset will definitely pick up on it!" Monokuma laughed. "Step right up."
Jack sighed, straightening his tie and standing up from his chair.
"Good luck Jack." I whispered. After seeing what Taka went through, Monokuma really is ruthless. Jack's already vulnerable, and I can only guess what Monokuma has in store for him.
Monokuma put the headset on Jack. "Without further ado, allow me to conduct the first round of Jack Masaki's event in Monokuma's Face Your Fear Challenge Extravaganza!" Monokuma announced, fiddling with some controls on the device on top of his head.
Don't do what I think you're going to do, Monokuma…
"In 3…"
"2…"
"...1."
Damn it.
DAMN IT!
Nothing happened yet, but I can already tell what sick thing Monokuma is about to do.
Jack wasn't in his usual outfit. Instead, he was wearing a pair of swimming trunks, sitting on one of the bleachers inside the pool room.
Jack could immediately tell what was about to happen. He sighed, crossing his arms and staring at the ground.
"Are you done?" A voice said from outside the pool room door.
"...Yes. I'm finished changing." Jack answered.
"Finally!"
The door opened, and sure enough, she walked through it. "Took you long enough! I thought you'd never finish."
"I'm sorry." Jack said. "But I'm done now. Ready to go swimming?"
"Don't be silly," Satoko laughed. "We have to wait for Hiiro to get here. Remember, we need a lifeguard to supervise us when we swim?"
"Hiiro...yes, that's right." Jack nodded. "I almost forgot."
Satoko frowned. "Jack. You're acting weird today. Weirder than usual. Is everything alright?"
Jack hadn't looked at Satoko the entire time she was in the room. He finally lifted his head up. "...Everything is fine. It's just hot in here."
"Oh well, that figures." Satoko nodded. She took a seat next to Jack, which made him flinch. "The temperature of indoor pools is usually kept pretty warm to prevent any bacteria that might form from the pool being in an indoor environment. That's why during the winter months, outdoor pools require even more chemicals to stay clean, since the temperature of the water isn't as high as it is in the spring and summer months."
"Of course you'd know that." Jack sighed. "You know everything, Satoko."
Satoko blushed. "W-Well, I am the Ultimate Prodigy for a reason."
"...Satoko, why didn't you tell me?" Jack asked.
"Hm? Tell you what?" Satoko questioned, looking rather concerned.
"Why didn't you tell me you were going to rescue the Traitor/Truce captives?" Jack continued, looking her in the eyes. "I could have helped you! Then...then you wouldn't have…"
"Jack, what are you talking about?" Satoko frowned. "What's this about Traitor/Truce? Captives?"
Jack shook his head. "...You're not the real Satoko. So you wouldn't have the answers I seek...As such, I have no business with you."
Jack stood up.
"Jack, what are you saying?" Satoko asked. "What's going on with you?"
"What's going on is I'm done moping around." He said, climbing up the bleachers. "The real Satoko wouldn't want me to feel bad for her. I won't let anyone get to me. Not Kuro, Hiiro, Monokuma, or even you, Satoko. I'm tired of being sad."
"Jack, what are you doing?!" Satoko frantically asked as Jack climbed onto the railing all the way on the top of the bleachers.
Jack smiled. A real, genuine smile. "Taking charge for a change. Taking things into my own hands. Goodbye Satoko. I really will miss you, but it's time for you to go."
Satoko sighed. "...I see. Well, do what you must. You cheater."
Jack chuckled. "I told you before, Satoko. I never cheat. Sometimes I just happen to find loopholes."
And with that, he waved one last time at Satoko, before falling backwards, tumbling down the bleachers stairs…
Until he hit his head on the ground, splitting it open.
…
…
…
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"
Monokuma was in a state of shock. Disbelief. Absolutely flabbergasted as to what he just witnessed.
Hell, all of us were.
"Did he just…" I nervously smiled.
"Kill himself?" Isami finished, her usually calm eyes now wide and frantic.
Seconds later, Jack's eyes blinked open. He smiled at all of us. "Hello everyone. It's good to see you again."
"Jack, why the hell did you throw yourself off the bleachers?!" Evelyn asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Jack asked. "With Seizo and Takahashi, their simulations ended the moment they 'died'. So, I figured if I died from falling off the bleachers, the simulation would end before I had to experience whatever my fear was going to be."
"Probably watching Satoko die." Leonia theorized. "You ended it before she even started to act strange, too."
Jack nodded. "That was my goal. I don't remember Satoko as anything but kind and annoying. Just how I want to remember her."
Jack took off the headset, handed it to the still frozen in shock Monokuma, and walked off the stage.
So Jack found a loophole...die before you experience your fear, and the simulation ends. It worked for him, but I'm not sure if it'd work for everybody. I was in a car in mine, so I would've had to open the door and jump out if I wanted to die. And then Taka was in a barn, with not many things you could kill yourself with.
Still, this is helpful information to anyone who has yet to go. Speaking of…
"...The third and final person to go today will be Takumi. Please step right up." Monokuma said gloomily.
Takumi nervously smiled. "Ok, ok, alright...let's do this thing! Let's go! Let's do it! I'm ready! Ready Freddy! Ready steady! Surfs up!" He ran out of his chair and onto the stage.
What the fuck is wrong with him?!
"This one will be short." Monokuma said in a hollow voice, putting the headset onto Takumi.
"3, 2, 1…"
Takumi was in what looked to be a burning building, on a high floor with the view of the city below..
Three kids were with him, freaking out. Ah, this must be Asuka, Aichi, and Haruhi, his three friends that he went on adventures with.
Takumi smiled, opening a window. "Asuka! Aichi! Haruhi! It's really good to see you! But I gotta go my own way!"
"Huh?" Asuka asked. "What're you talking about?"
"I'm talking about this!" Takumi answered. He jumped out of the window.
…
…
…
"We should start to see who can complete their event the fastest!" Takumi said excitedly. "So far I'm in the lead! Is there anyone who can beat me? I bet not! I'm the fastest kid in the tri-state area, I always win!"
"You got lucky!" Koko said. "When it's my turn, I'll find something that'll kill me even faster!"
"I'm afraid of snakes, so all I have to do is get bitten by one." Clara smirked. "Easy."
"There are many ways to kill yourself that most likely none of you are thinking of." Leonia remarked matter-of-factly. "I'm sure I can use that to my advantage when I go."
"...I'm not interested in a competition, but I am curious to see who will eventually come out on top." Isami admitted.
I looked around. These people…
Are fucking PSYCHO!
"So, Monokuma," I sighed. "Looks like your motive is backfiring on you."
"Using my motive for some competition?!" Monokuma angrily yelled. "Ridiculous! Preposterous! BLASPHEMY! I should punish you all right now!"
"That is so against the rules." Fran reminded him.
"Grr!" Monokuma growled, taking his claws out. "You brats! I give you this motive out of the kindness of my heart and you ruin it!"
"Don't be so upset your motive didn't work." Sonoda chuckled. "You should be in good spirits when you conduct the scavenger hunt soon."
"Oh! That's right!" Koko beamed. "I can't wait for it! C'mon, c'mon, let's go!"
"Ooo, I need to go get ready too." Takumi said, taking off the headset and hurrying off the stage. "Come on, Soda! Come on Wack! We got some work to do!"
Soda? Wack? What the fuck?
"Sir yes sir." Sonoda chuckled, getting out of his chair.
"Where the HELL are you bastards going?!" Monokuma asked. "I didn't dismiss you!"
"But everyone's gotten their turn today." Jack said. "Takahashi, Takumi, and I all went already. That's three for the day, so we're done here."
"Phew, glad that's over!" Akumu smiled. "Come on Seizo! Let's go get ready for the scavenger hunt!"
"Huh?" I raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"
"I signed Clara, you, and I up to participate! C'mon it'll be fun." Akumu replied, holding a hand out.
I sighed. "Of course you did." I took his hand and stood up from my chair.
One by one, we all began to leave the announcement room, ignoring Monkuma's angry insults. He was furious we figured out a loophole, and wouldn't be succumbing to this motive. I couldn't help but smile. It may have taken Takahashi and I being traumatized to figure it out, but hey, we did it! Now no one has any reason to kill to escape their event in fear. To get rid of the fear, all you have to do is die!
The announcement room got emptier and emptier, and eventually even Monokuma left, completely defeated.
However, there was still two people who were still seated when I was getting ready to leave...
"Uh, Akumu, give me a sec." I said. "I'll be right up."
"Sure thing!" Akumu nodded. "See ya!"
He quickly ran up the stairs on his way to the zoo.
I know he must be hurting...but he doesn't want to reach out to anyone.
I slowly approached the pair, making sure to tread lightly.
"Taka...Mari...Is everything ok?" I asked in a soft tone.
Taka didn't bother to look at me, while Mari sighed shaking her head. "He hasn't said a word since his event. I've tried to get him to but he just won't budge."
"Well, it's no surprise." I sadly frowned. "That must have been traumatizing. I understand how you feel, Taka."
That got his attention. He looked up at me, an angry look in his eye. "...You know how I feel? Seriously? Is that some fucked up joke? Yesterday you were on cloud fucking nine after your event, but you know how I feel?"
"Don't be so rude, Taka," Mari scoffed. "You're speaking to a celeb-"
"No, he's right." I sighed. "I did act like I was ok after my event. But to tell you the truth, I actually wasn't."
"Tch, what's that supposed to mean?" Taka scoffed. "Were you acting...or…" That's when he realized, his expression faltering.
"Yup. I used my talent to my advantage." I smirked. "I acted like I was fine when in reality, after I was away from you all, I cried my eyes out for hours."
"...You cried?" Taka asked.
"Yeah, I cried." I nodded. "Like I've never cried before in my life."
"...I'm not a bitch like you, so I'm not going to cry." Takahashi said with a very small smile. "But...I guess it's kind of reassuring to know you weren't actually ok…"
"Well, I'm honestly surprised." Mari admitted. "Two strong men like yourselves are this hurt after going through a virtual simulation? Neither of you are bachelor material after all."
"Oh, Mari." I laughed. I pulled her into a hug. "Never change."
"What are you doing?!" Mari asked, frantically trying to pull away. "Get off me!"
"You're such a fucking weirdo." Takahashi cringed. "I'm going to go to the scavenger hunt now. Once Seizo's done harassing you, Mari, I expect to see you there."
"Go on ahead, Taka," I smiled, squeezing the runway model tight. "I want to get some bonding time in with my fellow D-Lister."
"I'M AN A-LISTER!" Mari screamed.
Taka chuckled, walking away and going up to the second floor.
After I harassed Mari for a few more minutes, the two of us made our way to the zoo.
When we got there, there were several groups standing around, with Monokuma standing in front of them, wearing a safari tour guide outfit.
"Nice of you to join us!" Monokuma said through a megaphone. "Go and find your respective groups so the scavenger hunt can begin!"
We quickly did so, not wanting to feel Monokuma's wrath, especially after what happened earlier.
I went to stand with Clara and Akumu. "What's up you guys! I didn't even know this was happening."
"Clara and I signed up while you were in your room yesterday," Akumu explained, handing me a map. "We figured you'd want to join."
"This was more Akumu's idea, though." Clara added. "I was perfectly fine just walking around the zoo, but then he insisted we do the scavenger hunt…"
"What?" Akumu laughed. "It's going to be fun! Like looking for cryptids. Plus, we get prizes!"
"If we do good." I deadpanned. I looked around at the groups, trying to size up my competition.
From what I see, there's three other groups besides the one I'm in.
Fran, Evelyn, and Leonia are huddled together, looking at the map intently. Probably making up a strategy.
Takumi, Sonoda, and Jack are off to the side, with Takumi staring at the map as if in a trance (seriously he's staring at the exact same spot on the map, not moving his eyes at all) while Sonoda and Jack chit chat.
And lastly is Takahashi, Nadia, and Mari. Mari appears to be yelling at Nadia while Takahashi watches, annoyed.
Hm. Some interesting groups we have here.
Not participating is Koko, Shiro, Norikazu, and Isami. I wonder what the four of them are up to…
"ARE YA READY KIDS?!" Monokuma yelled through his megaphone. "I'M ABOUT TO EXPLAIN THE RULES SO MAKE SURE TO LISTEN UP."
We all stopped talking, turning our attention to Monokuma.
"THERE IS ONE PRIZE BOX IN EACH OF THE FOUR EXHIBITS. YOU WILL FIND CLUES IN THE EXHIBITS THAT WILL HELP YOU FIGURE OUT THE PASSWORD TO THE PRIZE BOXES. THE TEAM TO SOLVE THE PASSWORD GAINS OWNERSHIP OVER THE PRIZE BOX, NO EXCEPTIONS! ADDITIONALLY, IF THE PRIZE IS VIRTUAL, THE ONE TO INPUT THE PASSWORD INTO THE PRIZE BOX IS THE ONLY ONE WHO GETS THE PRIZE!"
Virtual prize? What's that mean?
"YOU MAY SEARCH FOR CLUES IN ANY EXHIBIT YOU WANT, AT ANY TIME. NOW, GET READY TO BEGIN. ON YOUR MARKS...GET SET...GO!"
Oh shit, we're starting!
Akumu, Clara and I immediately took off, the other teams quickly following.
"Where are we starting Akumu?" I asked as I ran.
"Here!" Akumu said, pointing to the penguin exhibit icon on the map.
"Fuck me…" I whimpered.
"No one's going to want to go there, so it's a smart game plan!" Clara explained. "Look at what the other participants are wearing!"
I looked.
Ah…
Ah!
I see.
Out of everyone, Akumu and I are the most bundled up. Not only are we wearing jackets, we also have long pants on!
Even though we'll still be miserable, we'll be the least miserable out of everyone!
Clara though...baby girl's wearing a tank top and shorts.
One by one, the groups started to veer off path and went into an exhibit. I didn't bother to check out which exhibits, I need to focus on the task at hand.
At last, we made it to the far end of the zoo and entered the penguin exhibit.
"So we just follow the map and go to the clues." Akumu deduced. "Should be easy enough."
"O-O-Ok…" I nodded. "L-Let's do this."
FUCK, it's cold in here! Seriously, it's like I entered Kuro's heart if it were a room. I looked next to me. Clara was shivering…
Damn it. I'm too nice for my own good. "H-Here…"
I took off my jacket and handed it to her.
"H-H-Huh? No, I can't take this-" She started to say.
"I-I insist." I said, putting it on her when she didn't take it.
She blushed. Or maybe her face is just red from the cold. "T-thanks…"
"Alright, already found the first clue!" Akumu announced from in front of us.
Damn! He works fast!
I jogged on over to him. "W-what is it?"
He was looking at a piece of paper with some writing.
[3] The number of codenames in the RED category.
"I get it!" Akumu said. "The number at the beginning is the third digit in the password, and the question is how we figure out what that digit is."
"N-number of codenames in the r-red category..it's t-three. Scarlet, Cherry, and C-Crimson…" I answered.
"Bingo!" Akumu nodded. He pulled a pencil from his hoodie pocket and wrote a three on the bottom of the map. "Now, onwards to the second clue!"
Hey, this is way easier than I thought! We can solve this in no time.
The second clue was pretty close by. It was another piece of paper with writing.
[10] How many countries begin with the letter 'D'?
…
…
…
"T-this is going to take awhile." I deadpanned.
After what seemed like hours, we finally answered all the clues and got our code.
"Read it to me Seizo…" Akumu said dejectedly. Poor Akumu did a majority of the work, so he was pretty beat.
I cleared my throat. "4339156025."
Akumu nodded, inputting the code into the prize box.
…
…
…
Whirrr…
It opened!
"Y-yay!" Clara cheered. "Now we can take our prize and g-get out of here."
"Yay indeed." Akumu sighed in relief. He slowly opened the prize box to reveal…
…
…
…
Huh?
What…
There's…
Absolutely nothing.
"WHAT?!" Akumu gasped. "But we solved the code first! How is there NOTHING?"
"I-I'm going to lose my s-shit...I'm going to l-lose my shit…" I mumbled, the anger I was beginning to feel warming me up.
"Guys, g-guys, wait!" Clara said. "Remember, Monokuma said there w-were virtual prizes?"
"Yeah, but w-what does that mean?" I asked.
…
…
…
BUZZZZ
"Hm? My e-Handbook just buzzed." Akumu said. He pulled it out of his pocket. Clara and I both leaned over his shoulder to check it out.
The "PRIZE" icon was bouncing, and confetti flew around the screen.
"O-Oh wow, I almost forgot about t-that." Clara admitted.
"I-I uh t-totally didn't…" I nervously laughed.
Akumu clicked the icon. The [069] icon was lit up. He clicked it
Task: Solve the [PENGUIN EXHIBIT] puzzle.
Reward: Skip turn in [MONOKUMA'S FACE YOUR FEAR CHALLENGE EXTRAVAGANZA]. [Redeem?]
…
…
…
"I-it's not the worst prize ever…" Clara said unconvincingly.
"Yes, C-Clara. It is." I frowned. "We literally j-just found out a loophole that makes the f-fear challenge not scary at all."
"...Let's go guys." Akumu sighed. "Maybe we can solve one of the puzzles in the other exhibits."
Oh that's right! Yeah! I'm sure we can just get another prize that's a million times better than this!
"THE SCAVENGER HUNT IS NOW COMPLETE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION."
The other groups stood in front of Monokuma, who disappeared as soon as we exited the penguin exhibit.
"You're kidding me, right?" I said through clenched teeth. "It's already over?"
"But we didn't even take that long!" Clara frowned. "How can it already be over?"
Fran overheard us, looking at us with a frown. Her, Evelyn, and Leonia did not look happy at all. "Because. Of him."
Him?
I looked over to see what Fran was talking about. And immediately understood.
Takumi was being held up in the air by Sonoda and Jack. "HAHAHA! I AM THE KING! I DID IT, I DID IT, I DID IT!"
Equally pissed was Takahashi's group.
"The fucker solved three of the puzzles. Three!" Taka sneered. "FUCK YOU TAKUMI!"
"I-I just wanted to win one…" Nadia sniffed. "Just one prize…"
I sighed. "So, what were the prizes."
Mari rolled her eyes. "Totally lame. One was 10 thousand Monocoins, another was this weird box, and another was this weird paper with more information on our code names."
"Yeah, that sounds pretty la-WAIT WHAT?!" My eyes widened. "More information on our code names?!"
"Don't get your hopes up." Leonia sighed. "Takumi is refusing to let anyone see it."
"What?" I gasped. He won't let us see it? What is going on with him today?
"HEY, I WON IT FAIR AND SQUARE LOSERRR! HERE, YOU CAN HAVE THIS THING." Takumi threw the 'weird' box thing Mari was talking about. Taka caught it.
"He's being such an asshole." Taka frowned. "That's supposed to be my thing."
"I don't like this new Takumi." Evelyn sadly frowned. "It actually makes me kind of sad…"
Me too...what's going on with him?
"Can we let you down, Takumi?" Sonoda asked in a strained voice. "You're not as light as you think…"
"Y-Yeah, seriously…" Jack mumbled.
"NO, YOU PLEBIANS!" Takumi cackled. "HOLD UP YOUR KING HIGH IN THE AIR!"
This is getting annoying.
"Come on guys. Let's go before we boost his ego any further." I said.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Clara nodded, following me out of the zoo.
"WAIT, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Takumi gasped. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BOW! BOW!"
"I'm going to fucking kill you later on." Takahashi threatened.
That shut Takumi up.
We left the zoo.
Defeated.
Humiliated.
And pissed off.
The scavenger hunt was tiring, so I decided to take a nap.
Unfortunately for me, the nap ended up running a little over and I woke up to…
"Ahem, this is a HFH Enterprise official announcement! It is now 7 AM, which means that nighttime is officially over! Time to get up out of bed. Let's all welcome this new day with an open heart and mind!"
Holy shit, I guess I was super tired…
Hm…
I don't feel good.
I feel...weird.
Strange.
I'm not sure why…
Whatever, I'm sure everything is fine.
I should probably get ready quickly so no one is worried about me being missing.
"THEY'RE MISSING!"
As soon as I stepped out of my room, a frantic Mari was banging on the doors of everyone's dorms.
She spotted me.
"Seizo!" Mari said, running over. "You have to help me! So many of us are missing!"
"Huh? What do you mean missing?" I questioned.
"I mean, we can't find them! Shiro, Nadia, Isami, Norikazu, Koko, Leonia, Evelyn, Clara, Takumi, and Taka!" Mari explained.
"Holy shit," I said. "That is a lot of people missing. So only you, Akumu, Jack, Sonoda, Fran, and I are accounted for?"
Mari nodded. "I wouldn't be this worried for a bunch of losers, but that's way too many people missing. Something's going on here."
"Ok, ok...Well where are Akumu, Jack, Sonoda, and Fran" I asked.
"Akumu and Jack are investigating the first floor." Mari answered. "Sonoda and Fran the second. I was knocking on people's doors to see if there was at least one person still in their room, and thankfully you were. We thought you were missing too!"
"Well I'm not," I said. "Come on, there's only one more floor for us to investigate!"
Mari nodded. "The third."
Mari and I ran up the stairs to the third floor. We immediately started looking in every room.
The park? No dice.
Server room? Nope!
Garden? No one in here…
Aquarium?
…
"It's locked!" Mari yelled from across the hall.
"Locked?" I asked, running over to her.
She nodded. "See for yourself."
I wiggled the knob as hard as I could, but it refused to budge. "Damn it! Well they might be in here, but let's check one more room just in case."
"The zoo, right?" Mari asked.
"The zoo." I repeated. The big ass zoo…
Mari and I entered, immediately splitting up to look at the various exhibits.
The giraffe and lion exhibits were completely empty.
But the monkey exhibit…
"What the hell?" I mumbled. There's muddy footprints leading from the watering hole to outside the exhibit.
I decided to follow them.
Mari appeared to have spotted them too. "Where the hell do these lead to?"
"No idea." I frowned.
Something's going on.
And I have a feeling I'm not going to like where these footprints lead.
My heart beat started to quicken…
Shit.
What I'm thinking right now can't be true. The motive wasn't bad at all. There's no way someone murdered because of it…
Right?
"Here!" Mari's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.
She was in front of me, standing in front of the penguin exhibit.
The temperature control panel was making a quiet beeping noise.
"What the…" I frowned. The temperature was set at…
Negative thirty degrees.
"Holy shit!" My eyes widened. "At that temperature, someone could…"
No…
Don't say it…
There's no way!
Shiro…
Nadia…
Isami…
Norikazu…
Koko…
Leonia..
Evelyn…
Clara…
Takumi…
Even you Takahashi.
Please. Don't be…
I opened the door to the exhibit and walked in.
…
…
…
What…
What is this?
…
What's going on?
I don't even know…
What I'm looking at…
…
Shiro, the Ultimate Occultist…
…
Isami, the Ultimate Tinkerer…
…
Norikazu, the Ultimate Illustrator…
…
And all but two of the missing people.
Were laying down in a circle. Eyes closed.
Sitting around…
…
An unclothed…
Nadia Levitsky, the Ultimate Daredevil.
Her skin pale, and the only thing covering her body being a sheet.
…
"A body has been discovered! Please gather in the penguin exhibit of the zoo ASAP!" Monokuma's voice sounded over the loud speaker.
What…
The…
Fuck is going on?
A/N: And I oop-
Another one bites the dust.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!