A Bunch of Happy (And Not So Happy…) Coincidences.
*Ding dong bing bong*
"Good morning, everyone! It is now 7 a.m. and nighttime is officially over! Time to rise and shine! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day!"
…
"…I've changed my mind, I prefer Taka as an alarm clock, at least he's not THAT obnoxious…" I said while rising from my bed.
Once I got out of the bed, I began to do some light stretches to get the blood flowing. While I was doing that, I allowed myself to do some light pondering.
The truth is, I woke up since an hour ago. Not because I couldn't get any sleep, oh, quite the opposite, in fact, it's been so long since I've slept so well and that much. But because of that same thing, I couldn't get any more sleep.
Old habits die hard, I guess.
In any case, the extra time allowed me to reflect on yesterday's events.
…
…
…Well, there wasn't that much to reflect on, if I am honest. Someone has made me and another 15 teenagers his prisoners inside a false school with no way out and wants us to kill each other with the objective of getting some twisted form of entertainment and for us to get the big price: our freedom.
Just like the ancient arenas of the past. 'Huh, I wonder if that's intentional…'
And it has to be for entertainment. Our captor seems to have quite the eccentric and sadistic personality 'Which I have no doubt we haven't seen the worst of it…' while at the same time, he seems willing to put Byakuya Togami, heir of the Togami Corporation, into such a dangerous environment, and that is something you want to avoid if you are interested in getting any ransom out of him. So, money doesn't seem to be on the list of things our captor cares about.
…That's about it with the 'Killing Game' issue.
…About the other one…
Good news, I don't feel like I could have a mental crisis by just thinking about it anymore.
Bad news, I haven't resolved any of it.
Of course, I am talking about Enoshima.
So, basically, all that stress from yesterday is gone, which allowed me to have a clearer mind about it…but even with that, I don't know what to do.
I thought of taking the most direct route of just cutting off any future interactions with her. If I cut off the root of the issue, then there's no problem, right?
Right.
…
…
…But…
…Well…
…We only have the first floor available, correct? It would be inevitable to bump into her at some point.
…And interacting with someone will get the rest of the group off my back, isn't that true? It's just a bonus if the company is of someone I can tolerate and vice versa.
…Add the fact about that possible 'other side' of hers, leaving that unchecked would be problematic, right?
Right.
Even if… I am comfortable with her company, I just have to make sure that I don't become truly attached to her, so I don't get compromised, easy to do.
…
…
…Ugh.
Moving on…
With all of those points resolved 'Yeah, right…' and feeling like I'm done with the light exercises, I decided on focusing on my next move.
Maybe I should give the place another look around? It is true that I didn't investigated every corner available, with even a few places that I haven't set foot at all. It is also possible that the other groups from yesterday could've missed something, and meanwhile, I could also go check those places with the yellow tapes too on the way.
A shiver raw through my spine when I remembered my first experience with those things.
Either way.
It is possible that some of them may be gone now, it's not something out of the realm of possibility. I remember that yesterday, before meeting Monokuma, almost every door was locked, and after our 'Entrance Ceremony' ended, they got unlocked, it doesn't hurt to give it a try and see if something similar happened.
I made the necessary preparations before leaving my room with that plan in mind.
After taking a shower, using one of the changes of clothes available in the wardrobe 'It is actually worrying that they are the correct size…', taking my weapons, e-handbook and room key with me and seeing that I won't need the hammer anymore, storing it in the toolkit, I left the room.
With all that done, I began to move in search of those rooms with the yellow tape.
The first one I checked was the one close to the gate that would lead to the second floor in the dorm area. Same as yesterday, it was completely blocked. Then I moved to the one close to the dining hall, the one labeled as 'BATH' and…no changes.
Disappointing, but I hadn't big hopes on this so…meh.
If I remember correctly there are two more places like these in the school area, one was a nurse's office 'Maybe? It has a label which says that…in any case, a place like that could be useful…which means that most probably is still blocked'
And the other one was an orange door with a sign above it which said 'STORE', said door is also the closest one of the two. The choice is obvious, it seems.
I should go there, and after being done, head to the dining hall. Even if I am capable of keep going for prolonged periods of time without sustain, it is not something I should abuse of.
The walk around the school area was as uninteresting as the living area save for one thing.
While walking in search of this 'Store', I found the unusual combination of Ogami, Hina, and Fukawa walking and talking together around the halls, well, it was more like Ogami and Hina were doing the talking and walking together while the writer was trailing behind them mumbling something.
Or at least she was doing that until she caught sight of me, yelped, and hid behind Ogami, which made the two athletes turn their attention out of their talk to turn at the person who made Fukawa react that way.
Me.
I suppose they have gotten kind of used to my sight, seeing that instead of the flinching or the readiness to retaliate against anything I might try against someone 'In no small amount thanks to Enoshima's actions yesterday…', they just opted to look at me warily.
The staring continued for a few seconds until I decided that I didn't have the time to deal with this 'Well, I probably had, but definitely didn't want to spend it like this…' and began to move again.
Until Hina called me out.
"Um, Shigaraki, wait!"
And so I did. I stopped in my tracks and turned around to face her. Then I waited for her to continue whatever it is she wants.
"…Erm, where are you going?" The swimmer asked warily.
I just shrugged while I gave my answer "…Just investigating the places that I hadn't the chance to see yesterday"
"…I see…um, you're not trying anything bad, right?"
…Does she really expect me to answer that?
"A-Are you dumb!? Do you really th-think that he's going to tell you if he's up to anything!? Ugh…why I am with these pair of muscle heads…" Fukawa exclaimed in exasperation.
"Hey! That was super mean! Yesterday you were complaining about how nobody invited you! That's the only reason I asked you to come with us!" The swimmer commented while pouting.
"I never a-asked you to invite me in the first place! I-I would protest a-against you dragging me into your meat dimension…but it is either you o-or getting myself exposed to him!" The writer replied while pointing a finger at me.
…
…I really don't want to keep being part of this.
"In any case, I am just trying to explore that which I didn't had the chance to, and as I said before, it's still too early to submit to the desperation of trying something like becoming the blackened. We can't discard the chances of a rescue effort coming anytime soon" or later…or not happening.
Either way, that last part seemed to work to get them off my back.
"Ah, that's right! We can't forget about that! Okay, that got me pumped up! Fukawa, Sakura, let's go get some donuts to renew our energy!" Hina stated.
"…Indeed, that and a healthy meal would do us well to redouble our efforts in finding an escape" Ogami added with a smile.
"…Ugh, if that gets m-me further away from h-him, then let's go already…" Fukawa added with resignation.
And with that, the three of them left…to the dining hall if their little conversation was any indication.
I didn't want to put my chances of finding someone else to interrupt my search to luck, so I decided to get going too, just in the opposite direction of the trio.
After walking for a few minutes, I found myself standing in front of the orange door with the 'Store' sign…and to my surprise, it actually was completely free of any tape.
Huh, lucky me.
Not wanting to waste any time, I got inside the room.
The insides of the 'school store' were…interesting to say the least. As I've pointed out before, I don't have much experience with schools, but I am sure that a school store doesn't look like an antique shop.
Because that's how this place looked. Everything around seemed to be some kind of relic or had either a historical or artistic value, all of it as scampered as you would expect in a place like that. There were paints, ancient ornaments and toys, ceramic products like pots, cups, and plates, and all other kinds of items that wouldn't be strange to find in a museum.
But what caught my attention the most, is the other person that was already here before me.
"Hm? Oh, Heey Shigaraki~! How's it goin'?" Enoshima said with a grin and a peace sign.
…
…Of course, why not, my second interaction in the day it's her…
"…Good morning, Enoshima…about your question, I was just looking around the 'school', searching for any changes, and seeing that the both of us are here, it seems there were some…"
"Yep, I was too, like, super bored, so I decided to have a tour around to kill time, not like there's that much to see…but then I found this place! There's lots of stuff here, though most of it seems to be some historical stuff and kind of pretty useless to help us escape…well there's that armor over there, maybe it could be of some use, but…" Enoshima commented while developing a thoughtful look at the end.
…I mean, it is true that an armor might look like something really useful in a situation like the one we the one we find ourselves, but…
"I don't really think that's the case, looking at it, I feel like it would be more problematic than useful to whoever wears it" And I was being honest. Covering your entire body that much with an armor like that, in an ironic sort of way, it will endanger you more than actually protecting you because―
"I get what you mean, anyone who wears this junk would be better off without using it in the first place. Like, sure, that much defense would look convenient and all that, but it would end up killin' your maneuverability, which in turn, would end up making yourself vulnerable of blind spots others can exploit. If you stop yourself to look at it carefully, I don't think this thing is designed to be worn" Enoshima commented casually.
"…"
"…"
"…Yes, I was thinking something like that…"
…If it were anyone else, the alarm bells in my head would've been ringing at full volume, but…for some reason I feel like it's just a common thing with her and that it's fine.
I mean, this is not the first time she had a slip up like that one '…I am being too lax about this?'
Anyway.
Another thing I have managed to notice is the fact that while the catalog of items is quite extensive…nothing here seems particularly dangerous. It is true that in the right hands, even something like a spoon can be lethal, but discarding those 'right hands', nothing here is truly murdering material…curious.
Even more curious is one last item I took notice of; it was quite eye-catching considering that it's probably the only thing that looks 'modern' in comparison to the rest of the things here.
"…Is that a vending machine?"
"Ah…that, yeah, if I remember, Monokuma called it the 'MonoMono Machine', ugh, that thing really sucks with names…" Enoshima commented.
That caught my attention "…Monokuma? You talked with him?"
"Well, it was more like the bear talked with Naegi when he came here a few moments ago with Maizono. That boy may look like an herbivore, but just one day here, and he was on a date with the Pop Idol herself! Such a player~!"
"…"
"…Either way, he too got curious about that junk over there and that's when Monokuma appeared and told him that he could use it to get all kinds of stuff with some stuff called 'Monocoins'"
"Monocoins?"
"I know, as if the ego of that piece of scrap wasn't big enough…in any case, he told Naegi that he could get those things by searching for them all around the school. If you ask me, I believe he was just messing with him to watch him run around the school searching for them while lookin' like a weirdo"
…Huh, wouldn't that be a sight?
"…Yes, that seems like something Monokuma would do…though just in case, I will keep an eye to see if I find one of those 'Monocoins'…it will probably be a waste of time, but it doesn't hurt to know what can be found inside…that thing"
It seemed that Enoshima wanted to say something else, though before doing that, her expression changed to a very serious one.
"Yeah…Hey, listen, I just wanna make this clear right up front"
It must be important if she's putting aside the playful tone she usually uses…
"What is it?"
"It's about yesterday…don't get the wrong idea about any of that, okay?"
…Huh?
"…What are you talking about?"
"I mean, I hope you're not expecting anything from me. Gotta keep my virtue safe, ya know?"
…
…Virtue…?
…
…Ah, shit…
She is talking about that incident with the public bathhouse, isn't she?
"…Listen, whatever it is that you are imagining, it's not like that, I would never try anything of that kind"
Even with all the things I've done…I would never reduce myself to committing something like THAT…
For some reason, that answer made Enoshima smile at me, not the grinning exaggerated one, but a small and sincere smile.
…
"I figured. You're not that kinda guy, right? Looking at you, even with that talent of yours, I get a total 'Omega Male' vibe. But still, they say even the tamest guy can turn into a wild animal. So I figured I'd say it anyway"
…
…
…Okay, I guess.
I didn't understood half of what she said if I am honest. But I think she got that I hadn't perverse intentions with her, so that's good.
"Don't ask me why, but I seem to attract guys like that. They call me up super late at night all like, 'Hey, let's hang!' Like I don't know what that means!" The fashionista exclaimed with a frown on her face.
I…suppose that makes sense, she is a very attractive and famous person, and scum like the one she is describing wouldn't waste an opportunity to try something on someone of that status.
"Anyway, so we all get together, but the whole group's full of dumbasses! Keeping creepos like that away is like a full-time job, ya know?"
Actually…
"…I see what you mean, as the Ultimate Fashionista, you must have a bigger set of skills than one might see at first glance, being more than just a model who takes photos for magazines…I guess, in that sense, as the Ultimate Assassin I can understand that, there are so much more things to take into consideration in an Ultimate than what the name of its talent could lead most people to believe" I commented.
And that was a fact, when people think of an assassin, most of the time, they just think of someone who's just good at being sneaky and stabbing people. That would've been the case…like two thousand years ago.
I have no doubt that there are other exceptions among the Ultimates…like Enoshima in this case.
"You…you actually get it, don't you, Shigaraki?" She said that with a smile no different from the one just a few moments ago, but just as fast, it changed to her grin with a peace sign one "You DO get it, right? You totally get me!"
"Maybe…Maybe not" I've only known her for little more than a day, it would be pretentious of me to claim that I have an understanding of her or her life just because I've talked to her a few times, it's not that simple.
That would also imply that I am connecting with her and getting truly attached, which I am not, I am simply―
"Listen, maybe I can introduce you to some of my friends sometime!"
…
…
…Introduce me to what?
"…Eh? Enoshima, I…I don't think―"
"I don't want to hear excuses~! I can see what you're thinking, ya know? But you are underestimating the people I know as the most popular fashionista in the world! I bet I can find you the right person. You clearly need an aggressive girl, who doesn't fear anything and can be just as dangerous if you don't tread carefully to keep up with you! Yeah, I think that'd be good for you! Someone who'll go after you and not give up!" Enoshima exclaimed with a grin.
…
…
…I underestimated her…
…How…
…How does she know!?
Am…am I that obvious about it?
Or It's…It's part of her talent as the Ultimate Fashionista?
If my face showed any of the shock I was having internally, Enoshima didn't comment on it, as she continued.
"I'll find the perfect girl for you as soon as we get outta here! Hehehe! I hope you're as excited as I am! I can already see how―"
*Grrrrrrrrrr*
…
…Huh, for a moment I thought that was me. It seems I am not the only one who hasn't eaten anything this morning if the red face of embarrassment from Enoshima is any indication.
"E-Eh? Erm, um, y-you see, th-the thing is…" She trailed off.
"…*sigh* Don't worry, I believe none of us has have consumed anything in more than 24 hours, it is a normal reaction, which is why that was actually my next destination, I suppose you should come too"
That seemed to make her forget about that incident immediately.
"O-Oh?...Alright, yeah, that sounds awesome! I'm totally looking forward to a homemade lunch! You are gonna make it for me, right?" The fashionista commented with a cheeky smile.
"…Excuse me?"
"What? You already inviting me to the dining hall, that's what you intended, no? Or…you were just saying I should come only to cook something for ya?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
I didn't mean neither of those, though…
"…If you are okay with eating what someone who only knows how to make pretty basic stuff can do, then I guess it is fine"
Although I don't know what does it says about her the fact that she is fine with an assassin making food for her…
"Oh, that's not a problem, I don't really have any preferences or dislikes for anything, so you just pack whatever you feel like! But…I guess I can help a little bit if you promise to eat what I make…" Enoshima commented while playing with a strand of her 'hair'.
Huh, so now she does wants to make something…she's so confusing at times.
But…
"…Sure, I can do that" I said with the corner of my lips stretched upwards.
…
…Sigh, I did that again.
Maybe I should think of it as some kind of tic.
…That only happens when I'm with her.
Whatever, I am not going to ruin my own mood before eating, that will have to be something else to download when I hit the bed, again.
It turned out that the first murder attempt in this school happened on just the second day of living in this place.
Such an attempt was made by no other than Enoshima and me.
And worst of all…
…It was against ourselves in an effort to make something beyond the 'basic stuff'.
At first, we were intended to make something simple as we agreed in the school store. At least that was the plan until we caught sight of the kitchen itself.
Just like Maizono pointed out yesterday, the place was overflowing with food. On the right corner, there was a huge pile of stacked vegetables of all kinds like cabbages, carrots, eggplants, lettuces, and bell peppers, among others. On the opposite corner, we could see a few fridges and a display counter. The display counter was full of all types of steak, chicken, and fish, while the fridges contained drinks and other mixed products like eggs, butter, cheese, sausages, etc. In the middle of the room was the main part of the kitchen.
Said part included a microwave, a pair of ovens, a sink, cabinets, and drawers, some of which were full of condiments and spices while others contained cookware like pans, bowls, spoons, and the like. But most notorious of all…
Knives.
Six of them. Hanging on the wall, each of them different in size.
Enoshima couldn't hide the wince when she saw them.
"I mean…this is a freakin' kitchen, of course there would be all kinds of cooking-related stuff, and that includes the knives, but still…"
"Yes, those are probably the first real weapons" 'With the exception of my daggers…' "found inside this place…and there are six of them, it will be important for people to keep an eye on them, so they don't get 'lost'…"
"It's not something I wanna think about, but I guess you're right, we can't be too careful in here…"
Leaving aside that grim moment.
All in all, if we had an Ultimate Cook with us, he would probably feel in paradise with this place. 'Save for the killing game part, of course…'
At least I believe that would be the case, I've never seen so much food together in my life.
It wasn't like I suffered from a lack of food during my years in the orphanage, but it was just enough to go through by day by day. Though it's not like I'm complaining, on the contrary, I am quite grateful that at least I had something to eat back then, because when They came, well…
While it is true that some missions I've had involved infiltration, where some of them I attended parties of rich people, with all kinds of plates full of food at my disposal, I could count with my fingers the times in which I actually had any chances to try any of it, and in all of them, it was only just enough to keep the facade.
So yeah, this is kind of a foreign experience to me, having all this food and actually getting a chance to try it.
I looked to Enoshima and she…seemed deep in thought about something while looking around the kitchen, she then put her sight on me, nodded at herself, and gained a look of absolute determination.
…Huh.
"Hey, Shigaraki…what if we forget about making some simple junk, and we try somethin' else?"
"Something else?" I said with a quirked eyebrow.
"Yeah! Like, we have all this stuff, it would be, like, a total waste if don't make use of it, right?"
…
"…Enoshima, I already told you, cooking is not something I have practice with"
And it's true, for all the different types of skill-sets I've developed over the years, cooking was just simply not one of them, there was always more important things I needed to spend my time with.
"C'mon, don't be like that! It could work for gaining experience or somethin' like that, and it would be fun! Didn' ya said back at the school store that we can do more than what our talents imply by just the name? Are ya really chickenin' out of doin' some cooking, Shigaraki?" Enoshima commented with a cheeky grin.
…I guess she has a point, not because of the fun part, but…I'm not going to be using most of the skills I have anytime soon, or at the very least, not at their full potential. Using this free time I have to get experience in something new, like cooking, could probably be of use for something else in the future.
That, and seeing that our captor is offering an 'everything you can eat' that replenishes every day, then might as well take on his offer, making use of the most expensive things he has. 'That actually sounds kind of petty…meh'
"…I suppose you have a point" I conceded.
"'Course I do! Let's get down to business! And don't worry! It's just some cooking, it can't be that hard, right?" The fashionista commented with her usual grin and peace sign gesture.
"…Right…"
And that's when things began to go south…
After getting what we thought would work as good ingredients to make a decent meal, we opted for making one dish each, as a competition of sorts. I thought that Enoshima must have some kind of experience in the area to make that declaration with the confidence she did, but I didn't really had a problem with that, I am aware that working things at a disadvantage and learning from it, can be the best kind of learning experience 'The fact that this doesn't have a risk of death is just a bonus…'
In any case, with everything ready, we got into it.
The results?
A complete disaster.
"…"
"…"
"…C'mon it doesn' look that bad…"
"Is it supposed to be of that color…?"
"What? Now you're some kind of Ultimate Chef to point things like that? How it looks changes from each person, y'know?...I'm sure that's all what there's to it with what I did!... I think…" She muttered that last part, but I heard it "And! And! You have no right to say anything! Just look at…whatever it is that you did!"
That's exactly why I'm pointing it out…
Because, sure, looking at what I TRIED to do…well, it seems I can't be good at everything I try.
"…We should throw this and try something simpler…" Like a sandwich, that's something I can do…
"…"
"…"
"…"
Why she hasn't said anything…?
"…What is it?"
"…Aren't you going to even try what I did?" Enoshima said…with a tone of voice no different than the one from yesterday back in the classroom.
…
…Dammit.
…Maybe…
…Maybe she has a point and that is just a visual change that varies from person to person, right?
…I will probably regret this.
"Alright, I will give it a try…"
That seemed to give her a 180° change in her mood "Here! Once you're done with it, get ready to apologize!"
I took the plate she offered me and used a spoon to get a taste of…this.
I took a bite and…
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Aha! You aren't making any grossed-out faces! I knew it wasn't that bad! You must be in stunned silence because of how good it is!" Enoshima commented with a smirk.
"…Enoshima"
"Yes? Just so you know, I won't give you seconds!"
"…I have experience practicing Mithridatism…"
"…Mithri-What? What are you talking about?"
"…It's an exercise…used to develop poison immunity…"
"Eh? Poison immuni-Hey, you're being a real jerk joking about that stuff! You better apologize, like, right now!" She exclaimed while pouting.
It wasn't a joke, though…
"Taste it"
"…Excuse me?"
"Try it yourself and tell me I am wrong"
"…"
"…"
"…Don't wanna"
"…*sigh* Let's just make some sandwiches and get this over with it…"
"W-Wait! What if…I got it! What if we make something together? Y'know, like a combined effort or something like that?"
Oh no.
"Enoshima―"
"If we do it that way, we will compensate for our…not so good cooking skills, right?"
'Not so good…I guess that's a way to put it…' And the part of compensating for each other mistakes…maybe things turned out this bad because each of us made mistakes without noticing them. We are complete novices at this, both of us, so it makes sense. If we keep an eye on what each one does and we communicate about it, correcting said errors is a possibility…it has some merit.
Though that didn't stop my alarm bells from ringing.
"…If it doesn't work, we will have those sandwiches, alright?"
"Hey, don't be so pessimistic, we are helping each other to prevent making errors this time, y'know? There's no way it can turn out to be worse!"
…
…I'm definitely being too lax when it comes to her…
And so, we got to work in our combined effort to make a decent meal.
The result of that?
A biological hazard.
"…"
"…"
"…Enoshima, we REALLY need to get rid of this"
"H-Hey…it's not that horrible, like, yeah, it may not be 5-star cuisine…or 3…or any star, and the smell may be kind of dangerous if breathing in prolonged periods of time…but at least-W-Wait! Did it just move!?"
…It did.
…
…Well…
…It may not be in the way I thought of at first, but I can see some uses I can give to cooking in the future.
Lethal ones, sure, but they will be uses nonetheless.
In the end, we didn't had any sandwiches either. While cleaning up…whatever that was, Naegi and Maizono entered the kitchen while we were in the middle of getting rid of our 'creation', that, plus the smell, was all the two of them needed to understand what happened.
Maizono took pity of it and offered to make something for us. Both Enoshima and I tried to refuse, explaining we were going to have something basic we could make by ourselves. But the idol took none of it, arguing that she was already making something extra for the lucky student and that cooking is something of a hobby for her, so it was far from a problem.
Seeing no point in pushing it, we accepted her offer and the four of us sat together to eat.
"So…erm, what were you guys trying to make back in the kitchen?" Naegi asked.
"Yeah, I am curious too…it seemed kind of…exotic?" Maizono added with a tilted head and her index finger on her chin.
Exotic…that's a way to put it, I guess…
"A-Ah, that?... Well, it was…wait, what we were trying to make back there?" Enoshima asked while turning to me.
…
"…Well, we just picked the things that looked more expensive, and in my case, I tried to put them together" I explained.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…Wait, that's it!?" Naegi asked wide-eyed.
"That's it" I said with a straight face.
"…I-I see, um, and what about you Enoshima? It looked like the two of you were working together on it"
"Now that I think about it, yeah…the two of you together since this early…Mmm, that's curious~" Maizono said while looking at me with a knowing smile.
I'm not liking that smile.
Thankfully, Naegi didn't seem like he noticed it and Enoshima was distracted by that fiasco from earlier.
"Erm, well, I kind of suck at that stuff too, so yeah, I was, like, on board with that idea of using the things that looked the best, thinking we could make something out of it…but it just resulted in junk, huh?"
For some reason, the eyes of Maizono began sparkling while getting excited at that declaration.
"Oh! Maybe I can teach some things I know about cooking in the future!" She exclaimed.
"E-Eh? N-No I don't think that's―" The fashionista tried to protest, but it was in vain as Maizono continued.
"Nonsense! I bet you can learn lots of things with me, and it would be fun! We could become cooking sisters…or something like that! Plus, it might be of use for you in the future, don't you think?"
At that, Enoshima gained a thoughtful look.
…Wait, didn't Enoshima told me something similar to what Maizono just said? 'Except for the cooking sisters thing'
Weird.
"…I…I will think about it…"
"You will not regret this, Junko! But, for now, we don't want our food to get cold, so let's eat!" The idol said.
And that was as good a signal as anything to begin the consumption of our food.
…
…
…Eating with other people with such colorful personalities…this is another novel experience for me…
…Not a bad one, though.
Although, when I began to eat, for some reason Enoshima began to pout, and then, she looked at her plate and nodded at herself while once again a look of determination no different from the one back at the beginning of all of this formed in her face.
She really wanted to make something by herself, huh?
In any case, once we finished eating, each one of us parted different ways. In my case, I explored the 'school' for a bit more, especially the classrooms that I hadn't the time to see yesterday.
And as expected, there were no results.
Once I was done with today's search, I spent the rest of the day in my room, and as much as I wanted to actually use the target for some training with my daggers, I am aware that in the worst-case scenario in which someone actually gets inside my room, one of the first questions would be why there are blade marks in the target, and that would only lead to more problems.
So, instead, I just opted for some muscle training.
I keep at it for a few hours, until…
*Ding dong bing bong*
"Ahem, Ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then…sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite…"
Taking that as a signal to stop, I repeated the last night's ritual and got in the bed. With nothing else to do, I got ready to sleep until the next announcement from Monokuma, tomorrow morning.
…
…
…
…Or not.
I feigned to be sleeping for about five hours 'It is a VERY boring thing to do, but doing that and keeping an internal check on the time is not something I have a problem doing if I put the focus into it', when that amount of time passed, I 'woke up' and once I confirmed on the clock that indeed it was 03:04 A.M, I got up, put on my jacket and shoes and left my room.
Why I did do that? You could say that I got some epiphany of sorts, now, it wasn't anything supernatural or something of that nature, it was more…both yesterday and today, I had a few moments in which I had thoughts about 'Home', well, I call it that, but I just spent my time there for just the necessary and nothing more.
The point is, that place had multiple installations a 'member' of its organization could make use of: Records of previous missions, both my own and that of other members, each one with high political, historical, and even sometimes, military value, forges that produce state of the art equipment and rooms specialized for 'Information Gathering', among others.
But above all of that, there was an even more important place: The communion rooms. Though they are called that, their real function is to work as gathering points where the inner circle 'and the most 'valuable' members…' of the organization discusses matters like negotiations with the most important clients, arrangement of high-priority missions, management of 'assets'…and establishing dates for the 'recruitment' of new 'members'.
In any case, the important thing is, those rooms aren't in plain sight. Considering the most important intel is talked inside those walls, They don't take any risks with them, as they are placed in hidden passageways that only those who need to know about them, are aware of them.
Basically, they are Secret Rooms. And that was the epiphany I had.
I may be overthinking this, but I lose absolutely nothing by giving it a try. Of course, just as a precaution, I don't want to do this 'in the middle of the day', and neither I'm planning to overextend myself, as tonight I will only see two places, said two places that even with all the exploring I've done, I haven't set a single foot in them.
Am if I am lucky, tonight will be the only time I will have to visit them.
Moving through the halls during 'nighttime' is not that different than the rest of the day, visually speaking…but for some reason, it actually feels much more silent.
Though that must be because at this hour there aren't another fifteen teenagers walking around and making noises, yeah, that must be it.
Anyway, I didn't had to walk too much to find my destination, as in front of me is the first place I wanted to investigate.
…
…I said that I do this during nighttime to avoid prying eyes, and that is the case…but more than that, the main reason is that the door in front of me leads to…
The girl's restroom.
….
…Even if it's the middle of the night, I need to do this quickly, in more ways than one, it would be a disaster if someone finds me doing this.
Deciding to avoid wasting any time, I got inside.
Inspecting the room, I could see that it's not that different from the boy's restroom, the only difference is basically that the walls are of a lighter grey and that it lacked urinals, for obvious reasons.
Once I was done with the general area of the room, I put my focus on each cubicle, looking for any irregularity that I could find. Whether it was something out of place, of a different color, or a break in the pattern of the tiles. Basically, anything that is different when in comparison to the other cubicles.
For the first two ones, there wasn't anything I could find that classified as an irregularity. On the third one, though…
I actually found one thing.
I was a small circular and metallic object, a coin. Said coin had the figure of a teddy bear that looked like each half of his face was different from the other.
…
"…Is this the 'Monocoin' Enoshima talked about…?" I mused aloud while looking at it.
…And she had a point, just how much ego does that thing needs?
Deciding that I don't care enough to ponder more about it, I put the coin in the pocket of my pants. 'Might as well give it a try at that vending machine in the school store tomorrow…or more like later, I suppose'
And finally, I checked the fourth and last cubicle.
While it is true that it was different from the previous three, it was exactly the same as the other fourth cubicle in the boy's restroom. A storage closet.
It had some basic cleaning supplies, like mobs, toilet cleaners, mold removers, a drain plunger, and some cleaning cloths.
But beyond that, I couldn't find anything that stood out.
No luck, it seems.
I had nothing else to check on this place, so I decided not to spend more time than necessary and leave immediately.
...I already feel uncomfortable enough, and considering what is the next place I need to investigate, well…
I really need to hurry up out of here.
Walking through the school area in absolute silence, gave me enough time and peace of mind to ponder about random things.
Like the dining hall restriction.
I have zero solid evidence to confirm or deny anything, but thinking about that restriction made me curious, said curiosity put my mind to work on different questions about the topic.
Like, why restrict the dining hall of all places?
What benefits does our captor gain from blocking us from that place at nighttime?
From what I've seen so far, the kitchen is the most dangerous place on the first floor, with knives and other tools that can be just as deadly if used correctly. It seems counterproductive for our captor's desires to negate entrance during the night, which is where anyone who dares to break the curfew 'Like I did…' and wander around is the most vulnerable, at the place which has the highest chances of producing a murder.
It doesn't make sense to me, and neither I buy that this is just a random choice made in the spur of the moment.
The only theory that I could think of and made sense, is that the dining hall is the only place inside this school with any food source, and restricting us from that place when we are supposed to be sleeping, or at the very least, don't have any need to be there, is when our captor makes use of it to eat or at the very least, resupply to whatever it is that he's using as a base of operations to monitor us and control Monokuma.
If this were to be true, it just solidifies, that indeed, the mastermind of all this, is living with us somewhere in this 'school'.
And what can I do with such information?
Nothing. At least for now, it's just some useless trivia that I have no use for.
As I said, it's just me having random thoughts.
At the very least, that distracted me enough to get at the second and last place I will check tonight.
The girl's restroom in the school area.
…
…Ugh.
Again, let's get this over with, and fast.
I opened the door and once I got inside, I saw―
!
A figure about to open the first cubicle inside the restroom.
Shit.
"Who's ther―Shigaraki!?" A feminine voice exclaimed.
…A voice.
…A feminine voice.
…A girl found me coming into the girl's restroom in the middle of the night.
Shit!
Because of freaking course I encountered someone else, a girl no less, at the same place I intended to go at 3 A.M, just my luck.
And that someone was…
"…Kirigiri"
…
…I guess the small blessing is that out of everyone in this place, she's the most level-headed member of our group, I hope she can understand what I am doing from a logical point of view.
"…"
"…"
"…What…What are you doing here?" The mysterious girl said with absolute wariness…and the slightest tiny bit of fear in her voice.
…I guess that can't be helped. She must know that nighttime is the most dangerous period of time inside this 'school', it's basically a death wish to walk through the halls at this hour, everyone else is in their soundproof rooms, calling for help is useless, and she is face to face with someone, a male, who has professional experience killing people, inside the girl's restroom where he has no business, and she is completely aware of all of that.
It is a miracle if I am honest, any other person would've begun screaming or crying.
Deciding that not wasting any time in answering her, and without any kind of exaltation, to be the best course of action, I spoke.
"…Considering that this is a restroom, and it is nighttime, which makes said restroom useless because of the water getting cut off…I believe it is for the same reasons as you"
…Okay, that wording will probably not give me any favors.
"…And that reason would be?"
She seems willing to listen. Good.
"I am investigating"
"…Investigating? The girl's restroom? In the middle of the night?" She asked with narrowed eyes.
She also seems willing to interrogate me. Not so good.
"Yes"
"…Why?"
"…Well, this place is the only one I haven't explored yet, I just simply thought that the possible information on this place from any source other than me wouldn't be the most trustworthy, so I wanted to verify it myself"
"And why doing it during nighttime, why not before, you had the time, did you not?"
…
…
…Is she serious?
"…Visiting the girl's restroom in any other moment that it wasn't nighttime…would be problematic for me"
"Problematic? Why?"
…
"…I think the answer to that it's pretty obvious"
"No, it's not, I will ask again, why?" She asked with a glare that it was not that different from the one back at the dining hall meeting.
But putting that aside…
…Just my luck that I'm the one with more common knowledge of the social norms of the two…or is she doing it on purpose to get something out of me?
"…I have reason to believe that nighttime, this advanced without being close to the morning announcement, has the fewer chances of anyone else pestering me, so if I found something, I would have more liberty to do a more throughout inspection of it"
And that was absolutely true, it just so happened I keep to myself another part of the truth. Because like hell I'm going to talk about those other reasons with her, not when I'm suspicious she's doing all of this to mess with me.
"…I see" The glare dissipated and was replaced with a pensive look 'Is she always going to that when it's me?'
Either way, it seems that was a good answer. If I had to take a guess, because she has similar reasons to be here this late.
"So…can I continue what I was planning to do?" If she refuses, I will have to respect that…at least until the next nighttime, at a different hour, most probably. I don't trust that my classmates have searched everywhere or that they would share something important in the case they find anything that would benefit them more individually than if they shared it with the rest of the group.
Because neither would I.
"…"
"…"
"…You don't need my permission to do that" Kirigiri replied.
Right, as if I didn't notice that she was debating whether to give me permission or not, but whatever, I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.
I just nodded at her and seeing that she intended to check the first cubicle, I went past her and began on the fourth one.
The search in the restroom of the school area produced even fewer results than the one in the living area. 'Not that a coin with the face of Monokuma is anything worth mentioning, though'
Once I left the last cubicle I needed to check, I saw that Kirigiri was already outside with her trademark pensive look.
"Did you find anything?" I asked the mysterious girl.
"…"
"…"
"…Why should I tell you?"
"You don't have to" I don't think she's going to give me any answers.
"No, I don't have to tell you. So I won't"
Eh, it was worth giving it a try. I wasn't really expecting to get anything from her.
"…Okay, in any case, this was all I was planning to do tonight, so―"
"Why?" Kirigiri called me out.
…
"…Why…What?"
"…"
"…"
"…Why did you share that much information back at the dining hall?"
…I guess it is to be expected from someone as cautious as her to become skeptical of my 'good will'.
"…During the meeting, we were supposed to bring every bit of information we found, and that was what I did"
"Do you really have that much trust in everyone in the group to share it just like that? Or is there something more? Perhaps by doing that there was something to gain from your part?" The skepticism in her voice couldn't be more obvious.
…She really does pay attention to details, doesn't she?
"You are overthinking things, what I did had nothing to do with trust but neither with ulterior motives. It was just that I didn't saw any risk for me with sharing the information and neither I gained anything by withholding it, simply as that…isn't that the same thing you did?"
It is true that I shared it with the intentions of actually gaining something out of that… but she doesn't need to know that…that and I really don't feel like the information I gave the group was that important if you ignore how extensive it was.
It basically just reduces to confirm that yes, we have been kidnapped and that, yes, we are indeed incapable of getting out of here through the vault-door. It is true that it adds the fact that now we know how does it open 'Probably…', but it changes nothing, because the chances of getting the escape button for the vault-door, is the same as getting to the mastermind behind all of this as of now.
None.
"…"
"…"
"What about Enoshima?" Avoiding my question, huh?
But…as for her own question…
"…What about her?" I fought the urge to narrow my eyes and leak any edge in the tone of my voice, someone like her will get suspicious if I gave that strong of a negative reaction to that question, especially coming from me.
"She was your investigation partner, am I wrong?"
…Kirigiri wasn't there when Enoshima volunteered and neither when the two of us walked together inside the dining hall…that and I never saw her during our search…so how?
No, I shouldn't overthink it, people like Naegi or Taka wouldn't see any problem with responding to anything she asked them in relation to me and with who I was with…and they would be right, there isn't any problem, anything they know and could share is already public information…even so…
"…Yes, she was" I simply said.
"Why?"
She really asks a lot of questions…
"…Because unlike you, traveling alone was not up to negotiation for me, so it was necessary for me to travel with someone, and that someone ended up being the fashionista"
"But why? Among all other options? Why―"
"What is your talent?" I suddenly asked.
That made her stop dead in her tracks.
"…Excuse me?"
"As you heard me…what is your talent, Kirigiri?"
In a way, it was an honest question, her talent is a factor that I have zero information of 'Oh, I have some theories, sure, but I also have a complete lack of solid evidence, so they are just that, theories…', she has been careful to not reveal anything about it…and it is kind of interesting that, unlike me, Monokuma seems willing to let this piece of intel to remain unknown for the entire group, that is something to keep in mind.
Of course, I know that she won't give me an answer, but that is completely fine, after all, that wasn't my objective with such question…
"…"
"…"
"…I don't have to tell you" She stated with narrowed eyes and some edge in her voice.
"You're right, you don't have to tell me…the same way I don't have to tell you everything I do and even less why I do what I do, am I wrong?"
She narrowed her eyes even more at that, but at least that was enough for her to drop the questions.
I will probably won't gain any favors with her today, scratch that, she will become more rabid in getting tracks of everything I do, but I had to put a stop at her interrogation against me.
"If that is all, then…" I trailed off as I prepared to be on my way.
I was already heading to the door the leave this place '…And hopefully never come back', when I got called out by Kirigiri, again.
"Wait"
I stopped dead in my tracks and fought the urge to sigh "What is it?" Really, what could she want now?
"You said this was the last place you needed to visit, does that mean you have already checked the other restroom that is by the dorms?"
"…Yes, I have" I said while turning to face her.
"…"
"…"
"…Did you find anything in there?"
Straight to the point, huh?
"Why should I tell you?"
"…"
"…"
"…I can tell everyone that I saw you wandering around inside the girl's restrooms" I swear I could almost hear some amusement in her voice in that sentence.
…Tch, I knew she was messing with me, acting as if she didn't know what I was talking about.
For someone who was trembling with fear just a few moments ago, she sure as heck recovered fast enough to pull some crap like that.
Well, it's not like it really matters, considering what were my findings.
"…Fine" I pulled that thing out of my pocket 'It didn't go unnoticed by me how she tensed up at that action, though' and showed it to her "This is all I found"
"…A coin?"
"A Monocoin, apparently that's how is it called"
"I see…does it have any use?"
I shrugged at that "It seems it can be used as some kind of currency for a vending machine in the school store, said vending machine seems to work as a gift shop of sorts. I have no idea if it will have anything useful, but I highly doubt that is the case…that's all I have"
"…How can I know that you aren't hiding anything else?"
"You can't, in the same way I can't know if you are hiding something. Either way, I will take my leave now" That's all I said before leaving the room, this time for real, not waiting to hear any protest at that.
While it is true that I have plenty of reasons to don't even begin to think about making a move anytime soon, she doesn't know that. If she's as smart as I believe she is, then she won't push the matter more and see herself as lucky that I was cooperative enough with her and avoided a grimmer fate this night.
On my walk back to my room I couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed with today's results. While it is true that starting to look through this 'school' with a new perspective will figurately open new horizons, I don't have much hope of actually finding something.
But hey, who knows? I won't have the answer to that until giving it a try.
For now, I will just get some sleep.
Because what else can I do?