A Whole New World.
Shibuya, Tokyo, Moments after Shigaraki's confrontation with Monokuma…
Atop the roof of a large building stood a crimson-eyed female figure.
The edification in which she was standing was one of four that together formed an four-way intersection in the very heart of the city, where people ranging from groups of friends to families or single individuals wanting to have a good time relished in the commerce and entertainment this place used to offer.
Keyword: used.
Now? There was nothing but ruins, burning vehicles, and dead bodies littering the streets. It was a similar case in the surrounding architecture. Small, big, no construction was spared from being full of holes, broken windows, debris every now and then, and the occasional spot of dried blood along with a corpse nearby, even the building she was in was on its last legs looking no different than the rest.
However, such sight has been the norm for an entire year for her, 'And even a pair of months before that, the earliest symptoms were there…'. No, her attention was somewhere else, a recent turn of events in this despair-filled city…no, despair-filled world would be more accurate.
First of all, there was the need to make two corrections to her previous assessment.
Besides the bodies, the streets were still bustling with people, not like that was a good thing as she knows that if she were to put a foot down there, the two groups of people standing there would immediately turn hostile against her. Looking down on those aforementioned, she could only watch them with contempt.
For the first group, she could actually feel the tiniest pang of pity 'There's only so much of that you can have left for them after you witness the atrocities they have committed…', though that's only because of the circumstances that made them act like they do in the first place. Everyone belonging to this set of people had a thing in common: Their helmets. Each of them wore a metallic mask which followed the same pattern of a painted black left side while on their right was a contrasting white. Save for that unnaturally big grin and the serrated-like red eye on their black side, those masks had the resemblance of a bear face. The mascot of this living nightmare she had come to despise with a burning passion. Though be that as it may, that was far from being the worst part about those gadgets, rather it was their function that unnerved her to her very core up to this day.
Brainwashing devices.
She's ignorant of the technical details about those heinous inventions, but the gist of it is that while wearing those things, your mind is altered in a way that while you keep part of your original personality, the rest of your brain gets addicted to the desire of inflicting despair, both on other people and yourself. Basically, you become nothing but a husk of your former self that seeks nothing but despair in all its possible forms.
…Despair, that's a word she had come to despise too.
Then there's the other group, ergo, those who do and act in the exact same manner as the previously mentioned.
Only they do it of their own volition.
There's no mind-altering gadget on their heads, no threat against their lives, no anything that forces them to act like the monsters they have become, they just embraced the despair with open arms. There's not much to assess about them other than they are the scum of the worst kind and the only silver lining, if it could actually be considered as such, is that most of the time they fight among themselves and those wearing the metal masks. The reason why? Freaking despair, what else.
…Although, this is not 'most of the time'…
…And it hasn't been either for the past few days.
The red-eyed girl put her gaze on the buildings in her proximity and observed the second correction of her assessment. While it is true that the buildings are in shambles, there's one detail about them each one has completely intact: The screens.
A week ago, she would've still been wondering why those despair-worshiping nutcases have left them without as much as a scratch, but after seeing the first transmission of that five days ago…
"And the despair!?"
"Hey, where's the despair!?"
"I want my despair!"
"Show us the despair!"
…She could sort of understand the reason why, plus also the why they have been acting so peaceful recently 'By their standards, at the very least…'
Mutual Killing Game or Killing School Life, both names just as distasteful.
"It's that fucking brat's fault that there's no despair!"
"What a lame dumbass!"
"I call bullshit about his supposed talent! The shit is that loser doin' there!?"
"What does that piece of shit thinks of himself as to delay the despair!?"
"MY DESPAIR! I NEED DESPAIR!"
"Despair despair despair despair des―"
She really wanted to go down there and shut them up.
Instead, she focused on one of the screens, more specifically, on the reason that has made them so angsty 'Their version of that at the very least' and begin to rant at what the giant monitor was displaying.
Taking most of the focus of the camera recording this series of affairs for himself, an above-average tall boy with messy black hair and golden eyes was holding a 'strawberry blonde' freckled girl in his arms no different than carrying a princess while another fourteen teenagers were surrounding him and giving him all kinds of praises 'Well, most of them were…'. All the while, in the corner of the screens, was the highlight [An Assassin that saves lives instead of taking them!? Are we in presence of the Ultimate Fraud!?] in black and white bold letters in a cursive font.
…
…Sigh.
What the hell is he doing?
Of course, she's talking about Shizuka Shigaraki.
The red-eyed girl can't begin to count the number of times she has been asking that same question in the span of this week. It all began when the regular transmissions all around the world, which admittedly have only been tragic news and despair propaganda for the past months, were suddenly cut off with nothing but static in its stead.
For a moment, minuscule as it was, she held on to the hope that those people were finally making some progress instead of being their usual useless selves, beginning by getting rid of those broadcasts.
She should've known better.
Though she understood that whoever was responsible for this living hell 'Because there had to be a mastermind behind it, she never believed for a moment that no one planned this', was probably the most depraved mind on the planet, which is why, while disappointed and with a certain amount of grimacing, she wasn't caught off guard when the signal came back and that 'Opening Ceremony' happened while the culprit finally made itself know…kind of, the damn coward used that ugly black and white bear as its medium instead.
The same can't be told about what that thing said following that execution though.
"Upupupupu! Nothing beats kicking off a despairful inauguration like a good public execution! Makes my bones go cold, as my friend over there certainly needed a few moments ago. Who knew re-entering the atmosphere could be so hot to get rid of your skin? Well, I did…Anyhow, 'Inauguration of what?' some of you might ask, and I reply…Of what else if not the next big TV hit for all families to see! For the following weeks from 7 A.M up to 10 P.M, those pesky and repetitive transmissions you people are surely getting bored of are gonna be replaced with a new and exciting reality TV show known as the 'Killing School Life'! And that's not all, to add more spiciness into it, the participants of this are going to be none other than…the last students of Hope's Peak Academy!"
When she heard that, the word 'Killing' and the mention of 'Hope's Peak Academy' in a single sentence, it sent warning bells that made her hair stand on end.
"Yes, as you heard it! The last vestiges of hope this world has left are going to be our protagonists! Say wha!? How could I!? Since when!? What happened to them!? Are they okay!? Upupupu, more details about it will be brought up tomorrow first hour in the morning, you guys mustn't miss it! It's going to be…a killing experience…"
She did as such, with the period in-between plaguing her with similar questions that damn walking pile of scraps made. Just as promised, as she stood in this same spot back then, she was there when the transmission began, with not even ten seconds passing before her eyes widened in alarm.
The broadcast began with Shizuka lying unconscious in a classroom, she wasn't naïve to believe as otherwise like resting or sleeping. Then there was a second in which he stirred up awake and the next he jumped out of his seat looking at his surroundings while trying and failing to find something in his pockets, his personalized daggers no doubt.
Following that and some other shenanigans, the camera followed him in his travel in this 'new' environment. Because yes, apparently whoever was machinating this thought it was a good idea to put Shizuka as the central figure of this 'Reality TV Show', something that made her scoff at.
When he found himself with the rest of the group, she could almost hear the 'Are these people dumb?' inside his head when they acknowledged him with a bunch of Gatling guns and a vault door behind them as if they were completely ordinary. She's self-aware enough to know she would've been more vocal about it.
For real, she couldn't help but appreciate Shizuka's patience to deal with these bunch of irrational and loud people he calls classmates throughout the broadcast in a new light. She knows she wouldn't last one-tenth of what he has without snapping at someone and asking them if they wanted to die, and taking the context into consideration…yeah, that would've been the wrong thing to do.
Putting aside that though, the thing is…they greeted him as if it was the first time they had met him, and that wasn't normal, not at all, even less so when they began to introduce each other and Shizuka followed along with that. Eventually, it finally hit her what the hell was happening.
Amnesia.
She didn't how it was possible, but some way, somehow, someone managed to wipe out Shizuka's memories, of at least a pair of years if what she saw was any proof. Because of course that piece of crap would play dirty for his pathetic TV show to work.
If someone told her that she was more violent than usual during her missions that day, she would've broken their fingers and told them they were imagining things.
Regardless, there were two things worth remembering about that first day.
First, it was the explanation of what the Killing School Life was about.
Kill someone to escape without getting caught.
She's no stranger to that term, heck, she's a professional at it…
…But when you take the entire concept into consideration, including those aspects the 'participants' were unaware of, like the reason why they are in that place in the first place or that they already knew each other for quite some time, then you had something that it was sick, it was twisted, and even someone like her would use a concept like evil to describe the whole idea behind it.
And the second point of interest was Shizuka's interactions with the freckled girl.
Say what you will about her and her capacity of emphasizing with other people, when it comes to Shizuka, there's no one else in the entire world who knows him better than her, not even himself in some cases. Because of that, it only took that single day for her to come to an indisputable conclusion.
He fell for that girl, hard.
At first, it confused her to no end what the heck was with that, what did he see in that loud and obnoxious model which made him strike a chord with her even when she had nothing of what that strange and dangerous kink of his makes him seek on a girl.
Eventually, she came to an understanding of what was his deal with that girl.
Light-violet and narrow eyes, freckles, and it admittedly took her more than she would've liked to admit for the last one, but she was also wearing a wig.
It was that girl.
Before the entire world went downhill into disaster, She and Shizuka used to communicate from time to time during his stay in Hope's Peak 'Not much, but it was more frequently than what they used to after…that incident', and it was during that period that for the first time in…well, forever, it didn't involve one-sided talks of her bringing up the orphanage while he only added some comment every so often while dedicating to intently listening most of the time, not only that but there was also this eagerness that even she could admit was unusual, not bad but strange, on him every time he opened his mouth to talk about…her.
Did some memories of her remained with him? Perhaps his mind instinctively recognizes her to some degree?
It was obvious from the way he described her that she was the girl of his dreams. Every single thing he finds attractive in a person, she had it, hell, there were some things he discovered he liked about her that he didn't know he had a thing for. The problem is that…putting aside the latter, she had mixed feelings 'She always has had…' about what Shizuka finds for 'ideal'.
Like seriously, who the hell develops an attraction for intimidating and dangerous women when one of the most important aspects of your profession includes threading carefully with intimidating and dangerous people?
Is he stupid?
Does he want to die?
…Still, speaking of intimidating and dangerous women…
That girl is a mixed bag in itself, and that's not even talking about what she's capable of, which is a lot if what Shizuka told her is anything to go by.
While the red-eyed girl can't deny that the 'Fashionista' seemed to reciprocate his feelings if how she began to fidget while looking at his drying clothes as soon as Shizuka left the laundry room back on the third day of this broadcast is any indication. Much to her dismay, she got the gist of what that girl was debating on doing, and was grateful that in the end, she decided against it. Plus, how they interacted day by day and all those highlights like [An Assassin and a Fashionista together!?] or [Oh? Are we in presence of a blossoming romance!?] didn't make things subtle.
However, the fact that she presented herself as another person instead of using her actual name all the while being in a disguise didn't painted good things about her, no, it only presented terrible possibilities that if it weren't because she was the reason the group didn't 'Attempted' to lynch Shizuka and there was zero concrete proof of what she thinks it's her involvement in this 'game', she would've already discarded the benefit of the doubt in its totality…actually, she was planning to do as such today…when, well, today happened.
And what a day it was.
She doesn't hold any illusion about being a good person, far from it, she understands that the things she has done for more than half of her life would rightfully label her as a terrible human being…but it is because of that same reason that no matter how fond she is of Shizuka 'She couldn't think of anyone who cares more about her than him', she knows he is…the less sympathetic of the two.
You can label him as a smart cookie at best, and a borderline sociopath at worst.
Which is why it was an actual unexpected turn of events 'Both inside and outside that school' when it was revealed that he prevented a murder from happening. Some people might think that he had a change of heart, others that even though he was the Ultimate Assassin he wouldn't mess with students because of the standards he has. The most cynical would believe that it was only part of a greater ploy he has prepared for the future.
While the last ones would probably be the closest ones to being right, she knew the truth.
He did it out of spite.
Considering what that motive the previous day was about, and having a very good guess of what his motive was specifically, combined with all that over-the-top intel gathering he did…
...She can see that their captor severely underestimated both him and his capacity to hold a grudge.
…Having said that though…
…It is also true that the person in charge of that demented 'game' really was insistent on getting rid of her, there was no doubt about that, so loathe as she was to admit it, that worked as leverage to make her fall back about her suspicions regarding whether she's truly an accomplice or not of the imbecile who controls the monochrome bear. '…For now'
Though the fact that she survived and how she did it, brings her back to what's happening right now.
"I hope you understand that your actions today will have retaliation from the hands of our captor. It is true that we haven't seen that much yet, but I couldn't help but wonder how truly powerful he is" A gothic lolita said on the screen.
She tuned out what that glasses guy she really wanted to punch in the face ever since he brought up that cursed code name 'And admittedly a bit earlier than that' was saying in favor of musing about what that other red-eyed girl said.
It's not that she necessarily dislikes the fact that Shizuka saved two lives 'Maybe three, as it was next to impossible for that Idol to win the class trial with Shizuka and that silver-haired girl around…alright perhaps four, but she doesn't count the pompadour guy incident because it's obvious that was a side-effect of Shizuka saving his own skin' so far…but she would've rather preferred that he didn't. It's less her wishing them dead 'She truly doesn't' and more that she's worried about how much he exposed himself and the implications of that.
Can anyone blame her for not wanting anything bad to happen to her only family?
The gothic girl was right, whether it was on purpose or not, Shizuka has become an obstacle to the ringleader's plans, and it doesn't help at all that everything points towards this person having already defeated Shizuka once, who's to say they can't do it again?
"…*sigh* What the hell is he doing?" She couldn't help asking that again, only this time aloud, even if she doubted it could be heard with those rants down the street.
Any more internal reflection she could have was interrupted by that sporty-looking girl on the screen as she spoke "B-But whatever it is…it can't be that bad, right?"
! ! !
That idiot!
Not a second after that girl said that, a ringing sound was heard along with…that cursed voice.
"Upupupu! It certainly isn't a bad thing for her, after all, it has been unjust to pit her and her fellow classmates against the Ultimate Assassin in a game of kill or be killed while not giving them the proper reward for that, don't you think so, my bastard of an audience!?"
That certainly caught the attention of the people down the street, considering they stopped shouting profanities at Shizuka to listen to what the voice of the monochrome bear was going to say.
"To correct that, I present to you…the Slayer of Assassins bounty! Uwah! Just hearing that title gets me pumped up! Good hunt on that noisy fellow!"
Along with the gasps of the students, no doubt because of what they were seeing on those devices they had, a bunch of text was plastered on the screens saying the following:
[If someone becomes the 'BLACKENED' by killing Shizuka Shigaraki, this person will gain the perk 'Slayer of Assassins' which allows him to graduate along with HALF of the surviving students without the need for a class trial.]
…
…
…
…That son of a―
"…Slayer of Assassins…?"
Before she had time to vent, she could hear how that bear proclamation worked like a charm for all those psychos.
"…Slayer…of that bastard who ruined the despair…?"
"Slayer…slay…hehe…HAHAHAHAHA!"
"Fuck yeah! Kill that piece of shit! Slay the Assassin!"
"YES! SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
As if working like a chain reaction, her entire surroundings, probably the entire city…maybe even the entire world, became filled with that chant.
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
"SLAY THE ASSASSIN!"
And like the cherry on top of a cake.
*Ding*
Her hands-free communication device rang.
…Sigh.
Of course, those people would call at a moment like this.
Knowing by now to reply to the call sooner rather than later, she left the edge of the roof and quickly moved towards the door leading to the insides of the building so she could properly talk.
Once the only thing she could hear from the outside were muffled shouts, she accepted the call.
"…You didn't replied immediately" A male voice said in a matter-of-factly way.
Though she rolled her eyes, she abstained from making an unnecessary comment "I had to change the location to properly hear you…sir"
There was a pause "…I see, then I take it that you are already a witness of the most recent developments regarding what's happening inside Hope's Peak Academy, correct?"
Not without a not-so-small amount of grimacing, she replied "I am"
She could almost imagine the professional nod on the other side of the line "Good, then you should also understand that we need you to report back to the main headquarters at once. Those very 'recent developments' have brought up certain…topics that we have been delaying for quite some time and we need to discuss as soon as possible. Again, for reasons you already know, your insight on them is of utmost importance, which is to say, your attendance is obligatory"
…
"…Understood"
Apparently, her pause wasn't well received "Agent Demon Princess, do I have to remind you what's at stake for you in case of not attending to your superiors' orders? What those kids―"
"Sir" She fought the urge to call him with other names that were running inside her head "With due respect, I am well aware of how unbeneficial it would be for me if I were to fall out of line. Rest assured that I will be there as soon as physically possible"
"…"
"…"
"…You are dismissed" Was the last thing the man on the other side of the line said before ending the call.
…Tch.
…
…
…For an organization dedicated to fighting despair, they surely must be desperate if they are willing to have someone like her into their ranks, huh?
Whatever.
If it weren't because they truly have been held to their end of the deal for the past year and two months, she's certain she would've reacted a hundred times worse. It also helped that the call was a short one, that's for sure. 'That doesn't quit how bothersome it is that that code-name followed her up to now…'
…Though those topics her 'Boss' was talking about…
Sigh.
She does indeed have a clue of what this is going to be about…which makes it truly a shame that she has never been a particularly good liar, at least not like Shizuka. It surely would've come in handy for what is to come.
Speaking of him…
…The crimson-eyed girl with abnormally long twintails could only hope that he stops acting too weird, as she can't see that not blowing up on his face…again.
Hope's Peak Academy, Dorms Area, present…
I am acting too weird?
I couldn't help asking myself that while my gaze bore on the door in front of me.
Enoshima's dorm door specifically.
Way before nighttime ended, I was already waiting right in front of her room with my presence erased to stand guard. Even though I finally got proper rest, I wasn't messing around when I guaranteed Enoshima that she could call to my door at any hour, so I forced myself to keep the bare minimum of consciousness. I wasn't going to let any oversight stand in my way of keeping her safe.
…And that's precisely why I couldn't avoid questioning if I am being strange.
I have never done anything close to this in my entire life. That is not to say that I neglected Maki. During the first year of training involving living on the streets of course I did everything in my power to safeguard her…or at least made the attempt. The thing is though that Maki is far from fragile, her entire life she has proved to be a powerhouse in its own right that if I weren't here, I have zero doubts that she would be the holder of the Ultimate Assassin title, that combined with the fact that she didn't wanted to be pampered under the argument of that making her spoiled and unfit to what was coming for us under the lifestyle of Assassins, forced me to give her space…to a certain degree…much to her annoyance.
As if I wasn't going to dot on her at any chance I got.
…That's the thing though.
I know I've been mulling over this dozens of times already, but some corner of my mind still goes back to the fact that I became friendly to Enoshima way too quickly, isn't…
…Isn't that weird? And what makes it weirder is that I'm basically putting her at the same level of priority as…as Maki, I mean, that's precisely why yesterday I did what I did, but no matter how you look at it, I―
To me, godly spear of Gungnir!
―Stop.
I need to stop with that train of thought.
I regret nothing of what I did yesterday, not back then, not now and I will never feel even an ounce of regret over my choice of saving Enoshima and deciding to stay in this place at her side. Yeah, it may not be normal how quickly I developed feel―a friendship with her, but so what? My bond with Maki was an immediate thing too, who's to say it can't happen again? I've already moved past having trepidation towards getting attached to her, and forcing any doubt about my decisions towards her to resurface is beating a dead horse by this point.
…
…Putting that aside.
It's already time for the daily meeting at the dining hall. From what I've gathered from the first one, she's the kind to go a bit later than what some classmates would attend at said meetings, not like I was any different, but…having said that, it doesn't hurt to check on her a bit early, right? Just to be on the safe side.
With those thoughts in mind, I rang the doorbell and waited.
There were a few minutes of doing nothing but staying on stand-by that I began to grow worried, so as much as I didn't wanted to disturb her I rang again. When another pair of minutes passed by, and the slightest signs of panic began to form inside me, I touched the doorbell one more time.
Fortunately, the third was the charm…kind of.
A grumpy Enoshima came out of her room "Hey! Didn't I already warned you to not bother―E-Eep!?" Only to panic when she caught sight of me "S-Shigaraki!?"
"…Hi" I awkwardly greeted her.
Rather than immediately returning the salute or asking me what I was doing in front of her door, her face morphed into a conflicted one, as if…guilty? Besides that, there was something else…it was hidden beneath some makeup, but…were her eyes swollen?
…
"…Is something wrong?" I don't think being direct about this would be a good idea.
At least that brought her out of her stupor "H-Huh? Ah, y-yes everything is superb, nothing wrong!"
…
"…Enoshima"
"…What is it?" There was something about how she said that, but I just couldn't pick up on what it was.
Nevertheless, that didn't stop me from saying what I had to say "I…I know we haven't known for that much time, but…but…" Damnit, I'm not used to this "…Um, if something is bothering you, no matter how minuscule you might think of it or how big…please don't hesitate to tell me about it, I'm probably one of the worst people inside this place…" And most surely outside of it too "…When it comes to comforting people, but I will do everything I can to make up for that in case you need it"
I had fewer pauses than what I expected to have, that's some progress in something at least.
Regardless of that, Enoshima's features had a transition from the previous conflicted one, to a look of slight surprise, then to a small smile, and finally settled on a more relaxed expression.
Those were quite a lot of changes in the span of a few seconds.
But at least they weren't for nothing "…Thank you, just saying that means a lot"
I nodded with a small smile.
I'm aware that she ultimately dodged my inquiries, but I can't force her out of it. What she went through yesterday was no small thing, plus combined with her tendency to bottle up things, even I can't magically figure out what's inside her head. I have some theories sure, but making assumptions and taking them at face value will only lead to disaster.
…It feels bad that she's not willing to confide whatever it is that's nagging her, but it is what it is…
…Unless she doesn't get better soon, in that case, I will pester her until she tells me what's wrong. I have experience dealing with Maki under my belt, I can take what Enoshima throws at me.
For now, I will take those usual 'If a bit forced in my personal opinion' valley girl moments of hers "Anyhow…geez Shigaraki, going over the top for my well-being this early in the morning, ya really are fond of me, don't ya?"
"I am" I replied without a second of hesitation.
"…Eh?"
"You are my friend, I don't know how it is for other people, but to me, that means a lot…you mean a lot to me"
"…"
"…"
"…"
What's with the silence?
"…Did I say something wrong?" I couldn't help asking.
"Eep! N-No! I-I was…erm, uh…Ah! I was just thinking that we should get going, we don't wanna worry the others, right?"
I quirked an eyebrow at that, but l left it be with nothing more than a nod. That last reaction was…strange, but right now I won't pressure her about anything. Besides, she's right, the sooner we get into the dinner hall, the better. After all, I don't want to repeat yesterday's incident with the bath―
Gah!
It seems I underestimated how soon we left for the dining hall.
"Ah! Shigaraki! Enoshima! I see that both of you are early! Marvelous! It's good to see that you guys are making amends for being late these past days!" Taka…who was the only one present greeted us.
Leaving that comment aside, I didn't put much thought into being greeted by the Ultimate Moral Compass. Ever since the initial shock of my talent passed, he's always been a mixed bag between not minding my presence and doing it.
I opted to just give him a nod in acknowledgment while Enoshima said a relatedly neutral "Mornin'" and once done with that, we took our respective seats.
Not even a minute after we did that, Fujisaki came into the hall too.
"Good morning, Taka, Enoshima, and Shigaraki!" The programmer greeted with a cheerful mood.
It was…unusual for 'her' to include me in that greeting in such a way, but I remember that last time she made the effort to do so as well 'Though way more nervous', which is why I waved it off as nothing out of the ordinary.
…Until what happened next occurred.
"Morning everyone!" Hina greeted.
"Greetings" Ogami did so as well.
That followed them taking their seats…while not sending me wary looks in the slightest.
…Strange, but those have always been more leaning towards neutrality.
That's what I would've liked to say, but then…
"Salutations, ladies and gentlemen!"
"Yo"
When those two took a seat and my presence didn't disturbed them at all, with the gang leader even going as far as giving me a nod, I could only ask to myself…
…What the hell?
Heck, even Togami acknowledge me when he eventually entered the room.
"Oh? Are you really fine with being here, even when there's a bounty on your head?" In his own way of course.
"Hey! Stop that!" The swimmer pro snapped before turning to me "Don't worry Shigaraki! No one's going to try anything against you, even with that new rule in place"
"Indeed, you can rest assured that no one will complot against you!" Taka added.
"…Mhm" Not that I believed that for a second. That rule offered to at least eight people to leave this place with no extra compromises attached if they were to go for what it asks of them…which is to kill me. I do not doubt that even with that loophole the rule has, there will be attempts against my life.
Joy.
Regardless, the remaining members of the group came in.
Celeste.
"Hello there, everyone"
Hiro.
"…M-Morning dudes…h-hey Yamada-chi, can we swap places, I-I would feel better if I had ogre at my side, y'know, j-just in case…" The clairvoyant stuttered while glancing at me.
Besides getting a rightfully disapproving stare from the swimmer pro for calling Ogami by that name, everyone just ignored him.
Following that, Kirigiri made act of presence.
"Good morning" She didn't sent me any suspicious stares, just of the neutral kind, so it seems she too was acting the same way as the rest of the group. 'Besides Hiro'
Did yesterday truly had that much of an impact on them about their perception of me?...huh, curious.
After the mysterious girl, Fukawa came in next.
"W-What are you all looking at!? I am t-that ugly of an existence!? Is that it!?" I suppose that's normal with her.
And before the group could get comfortable, the last remaining people set foot inside the dining hall.
Naegi.
"Hey, everyone…"
Leon
"…Sup, dudes…"
"…Good morning" and Maizono. All three of them with a relatedly subdue tone of voice while refusing to look at each other.
Uncomfortable was definitely a word to describe the situation. Although it can't be helped, when one takes yesterday's last important event into consideration, no one could blame them for acting like that.
Once the group was done fretting over that last rule added into our E-Handbooks and were getting ready to return to do…whatever it is they wanted to, Togami called everyone out of leaving 'In his usual friendly manner' to address the pending issue we had. That is to say, how to deal with Maizono.
For all the Lucky Student declaration of not forgiving the Idol yet, he was among those who vouched that there was nothing else to be done, under the premise that the segregation she was going to get out of her actions was punishment enough, something people like Hina and Fujisaki agreed.
But no one else.
On the other side of the spectrum were those who thought it unacceptable for the Idol to leave with no retaliation against her actions. Among them were Togami, Fukawa, Celeste along with Taka. If I had to take a guess, the moral compass was in that group out of his sense of duty towards proper discipline rather than feeling any need for personal retribution.
The majority was in a more neutral position of either not knowing what to do or not caring about it. Said people included Owada, which no doubt his bias towards women played a hand in there; Hiro, Yamada, Leon, Ogami, Kirigiri, Enoshima, and myself. My priorities then and now were to Enoshima, which combined with the fact that I didn't held any grudges towards Maizono or her actions, made me have zero interest in participating in the discussion.
Maizono as was to be expected wasn't allowed to hold any opinion on this matter.
Long story short, no one was in the mood for more internal bickering, so all parties came to an agreement: There was going to be a penalty…but a reasonable one.
More or less.
She was forbidden from wandering outside of her room alone, and her room key was now the responsibility of that same someone keeping an eye on her, that way there was no chance for the Idol to once again make an attempt against someone's life during the nighttime hours. Naegi immediately volunteered to be the 'Fortunate' one…and just as fast his request was denied by Togami for more than obvious reasons, something that, for once, the entire group heavily agreed with, myself included.
Before things got heated up, Kirigiri of all people suggested that Leon should be the one to have them, something that caught off guard a lot of people, the Baseball Star more than anyone.
But as it is expected of her, the silver-haired girl gave her a convincing enough argument which consisted of reminding him that Maizono had to redeem in his eyes, something that couldn't happen if the opportunity for that never arises in the first place. There were protests of course, to the surprise of no one, from Togami. Though just as well, Kirigiri was ready for that as well, as she placated the heir with the reasoning that if something were to happen to Leon, Maizono immediately would be found guilty, as such, the baseball star was the most ideal to restrict her movements, and as an extra, because Leon was the intended victim, he will be considerably cautious of the Idol actions.
The red-head saw the logic behind the mysterious girl's suggestion, so even if he wasn't the biggest fan of the idea, he reluctantly accepted. Meanwhile, Naegi volunteered to keep watch of the Idol along with him, as extra security of sorts…or so he proclaimed. In the end, because the Idol also had to make amends with the lucky student, everyone agreed 'Some more begrudgingly than others' to his proposal, though Leon was forbidden from lending the Idol's keys to Naegi, once again, for more than obvious reasons.
All of that takes up back to this very moment, with so much awkwardness 'And wariness…' filling the room that even I was feeling the effects of it, and that's someone who has dealt with gatherings between members of the Salvation Society, I knew first-hand what was dealing with these kinds of situations.
And even after the still standing trio did everyone a favor and moved to their chairs 'Luckily for her, the Idol had hers beside someone as forgiving as Fujisaki', it didn't do much to improve the situation. Seriously, even someone so lacking of self-awareness like Taka, our de facto 'leader', didn't know how to proceed.
Not that I blame him, though. After all, even putting aside the Maizono-Naegi-Leon situation, which mind you was not a small thing, what there was to discuss as a group? Nothing. Any topic that could be brought up has already been brought up.
…So, yeah.
Though I admit that this was much better than―
"M-Man this is so awkward, if this keeps up, even something like Monokuma wouldn't be so bad…"
*Ding dong, bing bong*
I want to punch him in the face so badly.
"Ahem! To all the still-alive students, which lamentably is still all of you, please report to the gymnasium at once, I have an important announcement to make! Remember, a punishment awaits for those who make me wait…and before someone tries to act as a smartass like a certain someone I refuse to call by name out loud from now on, yes, that means one hundred percent death…that about covers it! I'll be waiting~"
Owada didn't wasted any time voicing what everyone was thinking "You had to open yer fuckin' mouth, didn't ya!?"
Of course, he was talking about Hiro "W-Wait! How was I supposed to know he would follow with what I said!?"
"While I certainly don't believe it, aren't you supposed to be the Ultimate Clairvoyant? That should've allowed you to see such an outcome, yes?" Commented the gambler.
For some reason, Hiro looked genuinely offended at that "Hey, that's not how it works! Besides, my accuracy rate is of 20%, maybe 30% on a good day, so there's always a margin, y'know?"
Such a statement only caused Celeste to look at him with mocking pity "Only 20%? What a deplorable creature you are…"
"O-Oi! I will have you know that―"
"You can have this discussion for later, didn't any of you heard what Monokuma just said? Prolonging our stay here will only have dire consequences for all of us. We need to leave, now" The silver-haired girl declared.
"…I don't want to go, I-I mean what if it's another of those horrible motives? It's just way too soon for that, I don't think I'm ready for more…"
There were some nods of agreement with Hina's statement.
"While I understand everyone's trepidation towards this, our classmate is right! We can't afford to slack off when we have come this far! Even less when our lives are at stake! Everyone, let us depart at once!" The Ultimate Moral Compass commanded.
Once the more direct mention of our lives at risk by disobeying our captor, the group became motivated enough to begrudgingly leave their seats and begin to move out of the hall.
Meanwhile, I couldn't restrain myself from grimacing, remembering what happened yesterday, and looking in Enoshima's direction I could see that she too looked wary because of that sudden announcement.
Making sure no one was looking; I suppressed any hesitation I could have about this and gave a quick squeeze at her hand. The effect was instant, as she snapped her head in my direction with a surprised look on her face and a yelp. I replied to any possible inquiries she could have with my attempt of a reassuring smile and a firm nod.
A no small amount of relief came to me when she returned the gesture.
…
…It doesn't matter…
…It doesn't matter what that bastard tries, I will be ready for it.
I wasn't ready for it.
"Alrighty! I wanna see those arms up and down! One! Two! Three! Four!"
I really wasn't.
"One! Two! Three! Four!" Of course, Taka followed along with what that thing was doing.
"Now reeeeeach up! And beeeend down!"
I expected a lot of things from the monochrome bear to call us out for. A new motive, a form of payback for what I did yesterday, and in a worst-case scenario to give up on the Killing Game and decide to kill us then and there.
A morning cardio workout was not among them.
"I want those muscles to tighten up! And for you guys to make use of those young bodies of yours to add more speed and strength into it!"
The only silver lining of this fiasco was that nobody was following along with this crap. Taka doesn't count.
After a pair of minutes of the bear keeping at it, he finally put an end to this visual torture "Ahh, we needed that, right!? To let loose of our bones every now and then is a must to stay in shape! More so when you are stuck inside like this"
"I mean, if it really is that much of a problem…you could just let us go, y'know?" The baseball star commented.
"Details, details, life is too short to care about things like that! That's what I always say" Then he continued with a look of fake realization "Oh? That was so cool of me just there, don'tcha guys think so as well? Perhaps cool enough to even make you fall in love with me? Am I just to die for!? Am I just to die in agonizing agony for!?"
He gets weirder with every day that passes…
Though Ogami wasn't in the mood to keep with this charade "…Why did you summoned us? I refuse to believe that it was just to exercise…"
Not for the first time, his fickle personality turned to a furious one "'Just' to make you exercise!? How dare you!? If exercise makes you laugh, exercise will make you cry!" What? "Now, you must know that if you were to master my teachings, you will uncover the secret of the Assassin's Fist! Passed down from generation to generation in the cult of darkness…the power can be yours!"
…
…
…Tch.
What kind of nonsense is he talking about? The Salvation Society indeed holds some interesting secrets of their own convenience…but a secret Assassin fist by just doing some cardio? You must be a fool to even conceive the idea that any of that is―Why is everyone looking at me?
…
"…What?"
"Ah, I-It's nothing man, it's just that the bear called it the 'Assassin's Fist' and I was wondering…y'know…" Leon trailed off while scratching the back of his head.
"I-Is it true what he says Master Shigaraki? Can I learn a technique like that by doing what he says!?" The fanfic creator asked with enthusiasm.
And just like that, everyone turned again to me with inquisitive looks, heck, Fujisaki looked as if I was about to impart some ancient knowledge that no human has ever heard before.
…
…These people can't be serious…
"…*sigh* No, you can't, because there's nothing like an 'Assassin's Fist' in the first place" And even if such a secret was real, I wouldn't confirm their existence to them. It's already bad enough how many high schoolers know of the Holy Salvation Society; they don't need to know more than what they already do about them.
Ignoring the disappointed looks, Monokuma snapped at me "Bah! Who do you think you are to say that, the Ultimate Assassin?"
…
"…I am" I deadpanned.
"Hmph, I will believe that when you finally decide to snuff somebody out of existence, bonus points if it's a certain―"
"Will you get to the point of you calling us here?" I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of getting a reaction out of me "Or are you suggesting that this was only to do some cardio?"
"What!? Do you think I have that much free time on my hands to do something like that?" Yes, I firmly believe he does "No, I do not. I will have you know that, as I said through the broadcast system, I called you guys here to make an announcement!"
"And announcement? About what?" Naegi warily asked.
"Upupupu…I am far from being a sore loser" That last rule he added says otherwise "Which is why, for those gallant heroes who have conquered the challenge, a fit reward awaits them!" No doubt he saw the confused looks of some members of the group as he decided to elaborate "As an award for overcoming the last motive with no deaths, I have decided to open a whole new world for you guys to enjoy!"
What?
"Huh? A whole new world…?" Surprisingly, it was Hiro who asked what no doubt everyone had on their mind.
"Living your dull lives here forever with nothing to stimulate you would really suck! Besides, I gotta keep you motivated! I'm aware how much pain in the ass you guys can be these days with your ADD and ADHD!" I mean, he's not wrong about that last part "Go ahead, my dear students! Enjoy this brand-new world till your heads explode out of gratefulness towards me!"
And just like that, he was gone.
"…Um, what…" When everyone turned towards the Idol, a few of them with suspicious stares, she slightly flinched, nevertheless, she continued "…What do you guys think he meant by all of that?"
"I don't know, but…Ah! Maybe he is talking about a way to get outside?" Hina asked with a noticeable amount of hope in her voice.
"Eh, I wouldn't bet on that if I were you, girl" Leon commented.
No, neither would I.
…Even so…
…A new world, huh? I don't believe for a moment that he would let us go just because we survived a single motive, that would be way too easy, and I highly doubt that anything is like that when it comes to Monokuma.
On the other hand, though…
…Could it be?
I gain absolutely nothing by keeping this for myself, so might as well say it "…Perhaps he is talking about making a new floor available to us"
That gained their attention.
"Huh? A new floor…you think he was talking about that?" Fujisaki asked.
"I have no proof, but it sounds more realistic than letting us go, plus, it fits this whole 'new world' ordeal he talked about when you take into consideration that the first floor has been our 'world' for the past week" I suggested.
Ogami mused over my words for a moment before giving me a nod "That sounds like a solid lead, having said that, it seems we'll have to investigate the school one more time"
That also got Taka pumped up "Alright! Besides a new floor, there's a chance that something else might've opened up, so let's split up and begin with our search! When you're done, everyone should reconvene at the dining hall then we will share what we found!"
"You truly are a one-trick pony, aren't you?" Togami mocked.
Not like it did any damage to the Moral Compass vigor though "More like a staple food source! Now let's get into it!"
Taking that as a signal, everyone separated to form their own groups before leaving the gym, as for myself―
"Hey, Shigaraki! Let's go check this new floor you talked about together, yeah?"
…You know, in retrospect, if someone of such personality or anyone in general if I were to be honest, would've asked me something like that a few days ago with such enthusiasm, I would've looked at them weirdly and made up an excuse, anything, to not bother me while I went on my own, in a more comfortable solitude looking for anything that could help me and only me.
Now?
"Sure, I was about to ask you the same the same thing" I replied to Enoshima with my mouth turned upwards into a small smile.
"Hehe, I bet we gonna find lotsa interestin' things!"
Now I can only hope that this new search brings me any leads that could help me protect the person in front of me and get her out of this place.
A/N: A wild author notes appears!
How's it going, everyone? Really wish the answer is good, if not, I hope things get better for you. Anyhow, I'm making use of this to make some announcements.
First, some might've already realized, but I changed the summary of this fic, nothing much, if anything, it was more about adding a bit more flavor text that would give a better context of what this story is about as the previous one didn't tell much.
That brings me to the next point.
By the time between I upload this chapter and the next one, I will change the rate of this fic from T to M (Maybe to E in ao3, just in case)
It's not like I'm gonna turn this story into an angst festival, I don't think I have it in me for that. No, the reason why is that this following arc (Chapter 2 in canon) is going to have a few dark turns here and there (though admittedly most of it it's going to be near the end of the arc, so we are still a few chapters away), nothing the original series hadn't done before, but I want to be more safe than sorry on this.
It was bound to happen when the OC and protagonist of this fic is the Ultimate Assassin I guess, oops.
And finally, I'm taking a break.
Nothing major, just one, maybe two weeks at most I promise! Only the required to tone down my pace a little and avoid a burnout from the two stories I've been writing for the past months.
In any case, hope you guys like this chapter, and as always, reviews and constructive feedback are always welcomed! See ya!