SZ: Time to get a little spooky…and call on the elephant in the room.
Funkfreed: Paon?
SZ: No no. Different elephant
GT: *gives Funkfreed a cart of fruits* But we do appreciate you giving a good accidental joke. The elephant we refer to is actually a certain…individual we haven't really gone over and unintentionally avoided speaking of or using.
Z0: We're talking about the unfortunate dark secret of someone from the Danganronpa cast. That is if you don't know the deeper lore of them…*looks at a certain four-eyed psychopath* Bitch please she isn't even evil by the end of the game lore…she's hardly a problem.
SZ: Nope…it's a certain someone else…but we won't say who though. You'll have to read as the chapter goes along to see.
Z0: If you know the games as deeply as we do…you probably can guess who we mean this time around…maybe…hopefully. Banking on those that know pick up on clues.
SZ: Yeh…ahem! Anyways…we do not own anything aside from original content. So without further ado….gt, z0…we need some heavy destruction b-*hears a roar in the distances…slowly looking to see a massive storm cloud heading towards the studio…with a faint image of a dragon within it*...WHO SUMMONED AMATSU?!
GT: I have no clue. I've been walking around focused on my Switch playing the Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection. It's odd how there's no one online to compare Libraries with…or NetBattle for Crossover Points for 5 and 6.
SZ:...hope you enjoy massive typhoons and megastrong hurricanes then…*goes into the bunker just as the storm began to engulf the studio*
GT: …Eh, I grew up in Florida half my life…and explains the freaky storms in Missouri on the 15th of April in 2023.
"Ahh~" Akane yawned as she rested her head on her desk at the Team Remix Hope Heart hangout, "So bored~"
"Things have been rather…quiet lately," Kaede noted as she paused in playing some cards with Miu.
"And that's bad how?" Miu asked with a raised brow, "We haven't had any weird shit happen to us lately, so that should be a good thing." she sighed, "Been able to work on some new babies thanks to this."
"They aren't more weird things, are they?" Kaede asked with a slightly annoyed look due to past examples of these 'Babies.'
"Weird? Pfft! Hell no," Miu scoffed, "When have I made weird things…?" she quickly held up a finger, "And the robot octopus doesn't count."
"The nose modification you made me," Jenny stated, grimacing at the memory.
"You kept overloading from smelling a rotten egg on the other side of the country," Akane remembered.
"Hey. I…" Miu began.
"The weird big eyes you made for her," Hina added as she was drinking some tea with Sakura.
"What…before we got those parts for her, I wanted to give her proper X-Ray vision…" Miu argued.
"Yeah…and it worked too well," Jenny muttered, blushing a bit at the memory.
"...The second-to-last day Robotboy and Mari were here," Sakura stated calmly…while everyone else froze and shuddered.
"O-Okay, okay…y-you got me there. Can't really defend that," Miu muttered.
"Being honest, Miu…when you refer to any of your new inventions as 'babies'...it tends to be weird most of the time and we often have to have Jenny, Kibo, Kuon...or a mix of all three with Naegi getting some of the other more repliable male students and/or teachers to help," Kyoko sighed.
"Funny thing is…I have an older sister that is a baby," Jenny admitted, "So I keep thinking of her when you say 'babies.'"
"...Say what?" Miu raised a brow.
"Yeah. Remember what my designation is? 'XJ-9.' I have eight older sisters."
"Get outta town!" Akane grinned, "I'm the big sister of my sibs, but you're the baby sister?"
"It does make sense," the Ultimate Female Detective noted, "Your designation means you're the ninth generation of your line, meaning you had previous models that improved on one another."
"Really wish I had a photo of them to share with you guys, but the last one I had was over ninety years old and Father Time done zozzled those and a lot of my other ones up," Jenny admitted.
"W-Wait…how is an older sister…a baby?" Miu asked.
"Well, my Mom made me last…but with each incarnation, the intended age got a little older," Jenny explained, "XJ-1 is a baby and she's just so gosh-dang adorable! She was the bee's knees in cuteness!"
"Aww~" Hina cooed at that.
"...So the more models were made…the more they 'aged' more or less," Kaede noted.
"Yep!" Jenny nodded.
"...huh…th-" Kaede began before her phone began to ring, prompting her to pick it up and answer it, "Hello?"
=Uh…Girls? ….You might want to come out here= Ibuki's voice spoke up.
"Hm?" Kaede blinked before putting her phone on speaker, "Is everything alright?"
=Well, yes….and no. Hiyoko was talking down to Mi-chan again, and I was about to step in to rescue her before she just…slumped for a moment= Ibuki explained.
"Slumped?" Hina repeated.
=Yeah. Slumped…Also Ibuki noted her eyes changing for a moment= Ibuki added.
"Eyes changing?" Jenny repeated, "Ibuki, you didn't drink the giggle juice again, did you?"
=Hey, hey, hey! Ibuki learned her lesson after the only time she had it when Ibuki did music for Sayaka and her group and grabbed it instead of my normal stuff!=
"At least the audience loved the music and Sayaka praised you for a week," Hina noted.
=There's that! But Ibuki will remember that later! Back to Mi-chan! It got all spooky after the eyes changed for a temp and she got all slumpy! …Ahh! She stood up…but she's doing the anime 'shadows over the eyes' bit! Mmmm~Ibuki's so jelly~=
"...Ibuki, where are you right now?" Kyoko asked as she closed her book.
=School fountain!=
"Okay, let's blow, molls!" Jenny declared.
"...Huh?" nearly everyone asked.
"Let's go, girlfriends…" Kyoko sighed, "Context clues and studying the slang of America's 1920's everyone…"
"Even I knew that," Kaede sighed, "Still…we better hurry."
"Hey…hey! Don't ignore me, you ugly pig!" Hiyoko snapped at Mikan…who just stood there as the bangs of her hair shadowed over her eyes, "Seriously, why aren't you apologizing for bumping into me?!"
"Oh this is so foreboding…this totally means something bad is gonna happen…and here Ibuki assumed the bets of when Mi-chan would snap were all silly…how foolish Ibuki was," Ibuki spoke hiding behind cover, "It was nice knowing you Hiyoko." she saluted.
"Seriously if you apologize now, I'll let you act as a rug for me to walk over some mud," Hiyoko stated to the still silent Mikan.
"..."
"...grr! Say something!" Hiyoko snapped.
"...oh. I'm sorry, your majesty. You want tea and crumpets with that?" Mikan suddenly spoke up, her more silent meek tone changing to…well almost like that of a punk rocker.
"Wh-?! Are you mocking me?!" Hiyoko snapped.
"What if I am…" Mikan began as she brushed a bit of her hair out of her face…showing her eyes were a more ghostly green, "Shrimpy?"
"AH!" Hiyoko gawked, her entire face becoming red in anger, "Sh-Sh-Sh-SHRIMPY?!"
"...eh?" Ibuki slowly blinked as Jenny and the others caught up with her, "Mi-chan's voice changed too…"
"Wait…voice change?" Kaede blinked at that.
"Hey!" Hiyoko snapped as she noticed them, making the girls tense up, "Where's Kuon at?! I want him to make this filthy sow apologize for bumping into me and calling me shrimpy?!"
"Something tells me he wouldn't care…" Ibuki muttered, "Also he and the guys went to some sort of Bike show Mondo was super excited about…chances are they'll be back dressed as bikers later."
"HAH?!" Hiyoko gawked, "...THEN YOU APOLOGIZE IN HER PLACE!"
"Apologize? For what?" 'Mikan' scoffed, "You were the one who bumped into me, twerp."
"T-TWERP!?" Hiyoko exclaimed while the girls gawked at how…ruthless Mikan was acting towards her.
"Ibuki knew this would be bad…you can feel the bad juju emanating from her…" Ibuki muttered.
"Eh heh…and us without o-fuda cards from Hagakure…" Hina nervously joked.
"...mmm," Jenny frowned a bit, her eyes changing green for a moment as in her view, she saw a ghostly aura surrounding Mikan, "..."
"...you noticed something," Kyoko whispered to Jenny as they ignored Hiyoko snapping...and failing to get a rise out of 'Mikan', who just kept retorting back.
"I do…I think she's possessed by a ghost," she whispered back.
"Eh?" they all turned to Jenny at that even Kyoko mildly shocked by how simply put that was.
"Maybe I can ring up the Fentons to see if they can send us over some equipment…I have never gotten to incorporating their tech into myself…" Jenny muttered to herself.
"Grr…SERIOUSLY! WHY AREN'T YOU BAWLING LIKE A UGLY BABY?!" Hiyoko screeched at 'Mikan'.
"Oh gee…maybe…" 'Mikan' paused as she leaned forward to face Hiyoko, making her tense as she stepped back, "It's because I don't have time to listen to the words of a bratty, sour, rude, petty..." she began listing as she took a step each time, making Hiyoko stagger back as her anger began to become nervousness, "Due-rag dress wearing, little prissy, foul mouthed, arrogant, twerpy little snot who think she has the right to pick on someone insecure about themselves when they in truth, are just acting out of pure loneliness because all the people in your life have to wait on you hand and foot, so how's about doing me a favor, and take your haughty little shrimp self to whatever daycare you escaped from, and look long and hard in the mirror at what kind of person you are, you little…wimp."
"...Holy fucking shit," Miu whispered as they all looked in with wide eyes.
"That is not Mikan…" Kyoko stated, finding it the only simple thing to focus on at the moment.
"...I…..I…y….you…." Hiyoko tried to speak…sniffling as tears were in her eyes before she bolted out of there, "YOU BIG MEANIE~~~~~! MAHIRU~~~~!"
"Tch…can't back up her own attitude either," 'Mikan' scoffed, turning away before she noticed Jenny and the others looking on, "...oh thank god. I was looking for you, robotgirl."
"Okay…who are you and why are you inside my friend's body?" Jenny asked, "Please be a dame ghost. Otherwise, this is majorly creepy as we've pointed out to Danny dozens of times to make him never do this sort of thing."
"Woah woah woah. I am most certainly a girl, thank you very much," 'Mikan' defended herself, holding her hands up to her chest area with the palms facing them, "Also, as for why I'm possessing this girl who….sweet Jesus being honest here…get this girl a therapist or something. I'm a ghost and even I'm horrified at what I saw in her head."
"Alf comes to visit every other Sunday for therapy for her," Jenny replied.
"...Eto, that doesn't really answer why you're possessing our friend though," Hina pointed out.
"Well with how bright it was out, I needed somebody to possess until I could get to someplace darker," 'Mikan' stated, "Luckily, this girl was nearby when I took over her body...and slugged some guy trying to peek up the skirt."
"You need to be in the dark?" Kyoko blinked.
"Well, this is far away from the only stable portal back to the Ghost Zone. Even us strong ghosts get a lot weaker in the day without the right medium," she sighed.
"You need the stable supply of ectoplasmic energy from the portal to remain in full power," Kyoko guessed.
"So that's why you guys almost never leave Danny's hometown unless you find a place to haunt…" Jenny muttered.
"Exactly! We try anyplace else when the sun's out…Boom! We can be picked off or something by Ghost Hunters," 'Mikan' stated, "But enough about that…you guys got a dark place I can speak to the robot gal at?"
"Well technically yes…" Kyoko muttered.
"But we don't really go down there 'cause…" Jenny muttered.
"Demons pop out of there!" Ibuki blurted, "Also one time we did…it was booby trapped!"
"She's the boob who set it off," Kyoko sighed.
"...wait. Legit demons?" 'Mikan' raised a brow before tensing up, "...They're not…The Damned, are they?"
"Well thanks to the person who kills them for us…we know he calls them Horrors," Kyoko explained.
"...They're real…." 'Mikan' paled at that before shaking her head, "N-Nevermind! You have someplace with less light at least?"
"Oh we can handle that," Jenny nodded, "We can use Mahiru's darkroom for film development. No windows and no normal lights, so it should be perfect."
"Perfect. Then lead the way."
"You sure you girls won't take too long in there?" Mahiru asked as she stood outside the room next to the school's AV room, "I still have a project coming up involving the rarest species of fauna on the planet. Really have to thank Tsubaki-chan for her connections to some Cryptozoologists…"
"Hopefully it won't take us long, Mahiru," Kaede assured.
"I know…but given how different Mikan looks…and the fact she hasn't tripped all the way here makes me suspicious," Mahiru admitted.
"Yeah, that…" Jenny glanced over at 'Mikan' as she grinned on seeing the room, "...Long story short; she's possessed and the spirit needs a dark room to fully manifest."
"...Amity Park?" Mahiru guessed.
"Good place to rock out at," 'Mikan' grinned before snorting, "Outside of having to deal with the Halfa and his fam if you get too wild for his tastes. His old man does make a mean fudge brownie, though."
"Oh tell me about it," Mahiru agreed, "Got some good photos of the place and of a few ghost attacks once. Still don't get why that full metal ghost with a fiery mohawk looked exasperated when he showed up at the zoo when I was getting photos of that new baby purple-back gorilla."
"Because his suit keeps getting hacked by one of the Halfa's friends…I keep telling him to see someone about that, but Ghost Zone forbid he takes my advice…!" 'Mikan' huffed, "And I'm his girlfriend for cryin' out loud."
"Alright, alright. Hopefully, this isn't too long because I am really excited for these photos I've got to develop," Mahiru spoke.
"No sweat," 'Mikan' replied before grabbing Jenny and pulling her inside, "...She's gonna faint when I leave her, ain't she?"
"I've got smelling salts since you do need to apologize…though she'll likely apologize back," Jenny replied.
'Mikan' rolled her eyes before the Ultimate Nurse glowed an ectoplasmic green. She stumbled into Jenny's arms as a figure stepped out of her. The figure took on the form of a gray-skinned teenage girl, roughly around the age of Akane or Mahiru. Her hair, which was made of teal flames, was pulled back into a ponytail with two bangs framing her face, giving it an 'M' shape of sorts. Her clothing was attractive and appealing in nature, consisting of a black choker around her neck, a black leather crop-top underneath a leather jacket with metal skulls on the shoulders, one long glove that covered most of her right arm, and one black high-tech bracelet on her left wrist. She also wore a pair of what appear to be skin-tight black rubber/latex trousers with a silver belt and skull boots. On her back was a stylized purple electric guitar resembling a roaring shark.
"...Ahh! I thought I recognized your voice!" Jenny realized, "You're Ember McLain, one of Danny's enemies! ...Wait..." she blinked for a moment, "...Did you get a new haircut or something?"
"Oh hah-hah…" Ember crossed her arms, "Now look…I know last time we met, you guys all put me on the bad guy list."
"Global Mind control…" Jenny pointed out.
"I'm not sorry," Ember replied.
"But…according to Danny, none of you are pure evil…just wacky supervillains," Jenny added, holding her hands up in annoyance, "His exact words. Also all of you are actually cowards when true evil shows up."
"Hey, hey, hey! There are some folks you just don't fuck with," Ember argued, "Especially the likes of Pariah Dark."
"Huh? ...wh…?" Mikan whispered as she started to regain consciousness…and soon noticed Ember, "..."
"Uh…" Jenny began.
"Oh my goodness!" Mikan gasped, rushing over and looking over Ember, "The severity of these burns…how are you…? Ah…Y-You're a gh-ghost?!"
"How the hell did you see those?" Ember asked, raising a brow in honest surprise.
"She's the Ultimate Nurse," Jenny explained, patting Mikan's head in a comforting manner that she saw Hajime do for her, "...Burns?"
"...Ghosts don't like talking about their final moments, alright?" Ember muttered before shaking her head, "Look, I ain't here for any fights with you guys, but…we have heard through some ghosts that came from this school 'bout you all in the Ghost Zone. A group of girls from three different years in this school making a club that looks into things and has actually indirectly helped them move on from being Earthbound Spirits."
"We have?" Jenny asked.
"Yeah. The latest to come from this place? Guy used to be this Ultimate Spy kid that got offed by his classmate because he got too far into looking into the Despair Bitch as a lot of spirits who came from here call this one nutjob," Ember stated.
'Junko…' Jenny thought with a frown.
"I came here because…" Ember sighed, "I…honestly need your help."
"Our help?"
"Yes, but lemme sing you a little tune, alright?" Ember pulled out her guitar and turned a dial on it to an image of a movie reel before playing it, causing a blue ectoplasmic ripple to wash over the room, changing it into a vast green-tinted void, "When we arrive in the Ghost Zone, some ghosts can create places they and others can call home." she strummed a few notes as a large city based on a rockstar's dream formed, "This is what I made when I became a ghost. A place for gals who died with broken hearts can live out and leave when they can get past that pain." she narrowed her eyes, "The last few years, do you know what's happened? I've had a major, and I mean major, increase of these gals!" she rapidly played a wicked solo as over ninety-nine girls appeared in various places, "Look at 'em all! This is unheard of since I made my place for these heartbroken gals!"
"Oh my goodness!" Mikan gasped, looking at the girls of varying ages, "Strangulation…impalement…asphyxiation…" her eyes welled up in tears, "W-Who would d-d-d-do this?"
"I honestly had no real clue until one of the chicks here came just before Spy boy did," Ember explained, playing a sad tune as all but one of the girl ghosts faded, leaving a shy-looking one left with black hair and a stab wound to her forehead, "She was following the one who killed her and those other ninety-eight gals, but passed on into the Ghost Zone after seeing they'd be stuck in the place they were staying at for a few years let her pass on with hope they'd be found. But what sucks is that when she did, the passing into Ghost Zone wiped her mind of what the damn killer looked like!"
"A murder…" Jenny whispered with wide eyes, "No…with that many victims…a serial killer!"
"Bingo," Ember replied, ending her playing and the area changed back into the dark room, "When that gal learned I could get out of the Ghost Zone, she and the other chicks begged me to find their killer and make sure they got what's comin' to 'em."
"...Oh those poor souls…" Mikan whispered.
"So listen, I know…we kind of got beef thanks to the Halfa, but…look. With how big this place is…and not wanting to deal with the craziness of Ben Tennyson and his group, I couldn't help but think of you since I heard you came to this place, so…" Ember paused before bowing her head, "Just….help me….help me find that bastard who killed all those girls. Please."
"...Jumpin' Jimminies…" Jenny whispered before shaking her head and adopting a determined look, "No way I could turn away something like this. We'll find the punk who done pooped those chicks no matter what!"
"...What?" Ember asked, adopting a flat look.
"I…I think J-Jenny-san means we'll h-help find the serial killer," Mikan guessed.
"Yep."
"...Ugh…1920s slang…" Ember groaned, facepalming.
"But yeah…we'll help," Jenny nodded.
"Thanks…" Ember sighed before looking at Mikan, "Also…hope you don't mind, but I'm gonna have to be borrowing your body again until this whole mess is done with."
"W-wait…why me specifically?" Mikan asked, but got no answer as Ember just flew back in to overshadow her.
"Hey~! Everything okay in there?" Akane asked from outside.
"Yeah! Everything's okay," Jenny assured as she opened the door, "Just….well…"
"A….A serial killer…here? In the school?!" Hina whispered with wide eyes as the girls were back in their club room.
"Yup...and I need you gals to help me find him," Emikan stated…before jerking a thumb at Ibuki as she stared at her with stars in her eyes, "Also mind telling Ms. Sugar Rush here to stop staring at me?"
"How can Ibuki not?! You're Ember McLain, one of the coolest female rockers out there~!" Ibuki squealed, "Your song Remember is such a tearjerker and inspiring!"
"...You understood the song's meaning?"
"Of course Ibuki did! Rockers always get the meaning of their fellow Rockers!" Ibuki replied.
"...Okay, I take back that insult. I'm warming up to you, human," Emikan grinned a bit.
"C-Can we get back to the topic about a serial killer here in the school?" Hina spoke up in a nervous tone.
"Well, we are trying to figure something out. My best guess is Ms. McLain is not a master investigator," Kyoko sighed, "At most, she is our key witness in the investigation. We are looking into records of disappearances and unsolved murders and using Jenny's literal photographic memory to match victims."
"In short, the smart ones do their part and the ones who have their use in other fields can be emotional outlets," Kaede smiled.
"We're the emotional outlets," Akane smirked as she leaned against Sakura while wrapping an arm around Jenny.
"Indeed," Sakura agreed.
"Though this is honestly really heavy," Kaede admitted, "...and us without Maki to help…"
"Speaking of…where is she anyway?" Hina questioned.
"I think she said something about a personal day for her," Miu replied, "Personally, I think she's trying to find a way to go after Kaito's…"
"As I was getting to…we'll have to be very careful with this case," Kaede stated, "I've been with Shuichi-kun and Kyoko-chan on a few cases before, so I know how heavy something like this is."
"It's a murder case…course it's gonna be serious, blondie," Emikan snorted, "Also, you done planning out yet? I'd like to get to finding that psychopath so those gals can have some peace and start healing."
"Shot in the dark…but do you lose to the Superhero Danny Phantom 'cause he always outsmarts you, or his friends figure out your plan for him?" Kyoko asked.
"...Your point?"
"Listen to the smart ones," most everyone summed up.
"Besides we want the actual criminal…we don't want to jump to the first suspect only to be wrong and let the actual murderer escape and kill again. Literally the most basic of outcomes if you rush in without proper detective work," Kyoko added, "So…do you wish to do this quickly…or do you wish to do it right? If not, I can have a Fenton Thermos express delivered to act as your waiting room."
"...Wait, what?" Emikan blinked at that, "You…you have a…"
"So you better behave, or it's time out~" Miu teased with a grin.
"The goodguys have gotten upgrades, like portals from anywhere…so one call to Tsubaki-senpai and…well, she can send over Fenton-san to keep an eye on you," Kaede added.
"No! Anyone but him!" Emikan snapped as she shot up out of her seat, "I just dealt with him last week after he broke my guitar!"
"Well then sit down, trust the process, and stop talking like you are ready to blast the first person we can write as a suspect," Kyoko stated, "Otherwise…we do have someone that might be scarier to keep an eye on you…Once he returns."
"...tch…fine," Emikan muttered as she sat back down.
"Right, first things first: did any of the other victims remember anything about their killer?" Kyoko asked.
"Mmm…" Emikan crossed her arms over her chest as she closed her eyes to recollect, "Victim 34 said that she remembered the last words they said: 'Watch over my sister as her friend in the afterlife.'"
"The culprit has a sister, but given the way it was said…the sister is either dead, alive, or in an in-between state," Kyoko noted, "Anything else?"
"Well…the asshole who killed all them girls didn't care about race," Emikan spoke, "It was like how that Schoolhouse Rock song in the US put it: a great melting pot. A ton of different races, religions…ya name it and there's likely a victim with that combo."
"So the serial killer traveled a lot then," Jenny noted, grimacing, "Which doesn't help much due to the Groundbridges."
"...Oh! McLain-san, what about the times?" Kaede asked.
"Times?" Emikan repeated.
"Yes. The earliest victim you remember? When did they appear in your domain?" Kaede asked.
"About…five years ago," Emikan replied, "Japanese, about a year younger than you, neck sliced right open." she shook her head, "Teaching how to hide those things is always a hassle…"
Jenny nodded as her eyes glowed, "Okay…That narrows down a lot of students in the school that have traveled in the last five years."
"But not enough for us to do interviews safely, correct?" Kyoko asked.
"Sad, but true, gumshoe," Jenny replied.
"I'll be honest, a lot I wasn't there for at the time," Emikan spoke, "Sometimes I was out taking one of the other girls who got over their trauma to find a new place in the Ghost Zone since she was showing the ability to manifest her own domain or they wanted to live at one of those other domains."
"What about the most recent?" Sakura questioned.
"99? Two years ago," Emikan replied, "Don't know where she died since that was one of memories she lost while coming to the Ghost Zone."
"Does that happen often with ghosts?" Hina asked.
"...Yeah," Emikan sighed, rubbing the back of her head, "A lot of ghosts don't fully remember their past, mostly bits and pieces; the parts that make us who we are. We often lose memories because we lose our attachments to the living world, often attaching ourselves to what memories we do keep with the stronger spirits being able to manifest small domains and the strongest ones able to make entire continents that float in the Ghost Zone. Took me a whole decade to get my domain as big as it currently is." she frowned as her right arm moved and laid itself on the opposite shoulder, "..." she gently patted the hand with her other, "Right. Did any of that help?"
"Yep," Jenny replied, "I remember what she looked like from your vision music showed. Cross-referencing with the date and…whoa! She died two years ago, alright. Kochiru Namaguchi, 16 years old…and was meant to come to Hope's Peak as the Ultimate Tea Ceremony Performer."
"A pity," Kyoko noted.
"That explains how damn good her tea was…" Emikan muttered under her breath.
"I'll need some time to check records on the locations the students and faculty were at during the time and location of her murder," Jenny noted, "With the list I have, should take about…fifteen minutes."
"Huh? Faculty?" Hina tilted her head.
"Ibuki's confused here," Ibuki admitted, "Why the teachers?"
"We can't just rule them out because of their status as our teachers," Kyoko stated.
"Plus, we don't know if any of them are bad…remember the jerks who used to be in charge and all their creepy plans?" Kaede pointed out, "Who's to say this wasn't related to one of them, or something they had planned?"
"...What about Kizakura-sensei?" Akane suggested, "I mean…aside from being class 77-B's former teacher, I think he also doubled as a scout for the school to recruit new kids, right?"
"That's a good sense of logic," Kyoko nodded before blinking for a moment, "That's a really good bit of logic," she stared at Akane for a moment, "I'm just gonna believe you are thinking with more clarity since you began taking regular medication."
"...huh. I have been more focused lately…" Akane muttered.
"Wait, does that mean your acting like a stupid beast was the Alien DNA this whole time?" Miu bluntly asked.
"Is…Is this also normal?" Emikan asked Jenny.
"Yes…yes it is." Jenny nodded simply, "We normally just sneak off while this happens and get work done."
"Wait…so you can just sneak off from class…and still get your work done?" Emikan raised a brow.
"I mean….so long as you complete your work for class, you can go do whatever you need to do for your next assignment...or just hang out in your personal Lab until next period," Kaede replied.
"...This place is weird," Emikan blurted, "If I tried pulling that in my old school when I was alive, I'd get my ear yelled off by the principal or somethin'."
"Well…" Ibuki began as she leaned up next to her, "They never had to deal with kids like us~"
"...I may have made a mistake," Emikan whispered to herself with wide eyes.
"Ahh~...man, what a slow day," a relaxed-looking man with blue eyes and ragged-blond hair yawned as he wore a white tuxedo with a green undershirt and black vest top with a blue, almost gray tie. He also wore a white hat with a black decoration going around the circumference near the flappy bit, "So far only two possible candidates in UnderTokyo…it's cool Headmaster Kirigiri is extending the school's invite to possible kids from the stars, but maybe a translator or something to help understand what a few are saying…eh. Least those aliens at that bar know how to make a mean…"
"Kizakura-sensei?"
"Hmm?" the man blinked as he looked over, seeing the girls of Team Hope Heart approach, "Oh hey…if it isn't the local group of mystery solvers."
"...This guy's your former teacher before Yukizome-sensei?" Miu whispered to Ibuki and Akane, "He looks so…..relaxed."
"Eh. He was drunk most of the time," Akane waved off.
"That explains it…" Miu muttered.
"We had to often drag him to the nurses office if Mi-chan wasn't available," Ibuki added.
"...Again this school is weird," Emikan blurted, earning a raised brow from Kizakura.
"...Eh? Mikan, you okay there, kiddo?" Kizakura questioned, "You seem more…confident and impatient than normal."
"It's called growing a backbone, drunky."
"...I was certain I didn't have a sip this morning…" he muttered to himself after hearing that, discreetly blowing into his hand and sniffing.
"It's…a complicated story, sir," Jenny muttered, "But…we're hoping you can answer something for us."
"Oh?" Kizakura blinked at that, "...heh, well what do you kids need? I can probably answer to whatever…"
"The death of Kochiru Namaguch."
"! ...Ahh….yare yare…" Kikakura sighed as he put his hat over his eyes, "I was hoping that wouldn't come up…"
"Wait...so you do know something?" Akane blinked.
"Counter question: who do you think helped cover up the murder so the school's 'reputation wouldn't be tarnished' at the time?" he countered, making the girls tense up in surprise, "Why do you think I was drunk most of the time? …Me and Headmaster Kirigiri hated working for those old men since they wanted to brush anything dark that happens at the school under the rug. All for those 'artificial talents' and 'hopes' they were spewing."
"So…you were forced to cover up that incident?" Kyoko asked.
"We had to cover up a lot of messed up things. Normally under thinly veiled threat towards the people we cared about," Kizakura sighed out, "It was never easy whenever something like this happened. And believe me, it's happened; but normally under different circumstances from their allowing and ordering we bring in kids…who were more like monsters."
"So…then that would mean…there are countless cases that have been left unsolved because of those old bastards?" Emikan asked.
"Don't be so hard on the Headmaster. The threat of anything happening to his little girl…and knowing those old assholes could and would make good on it…scared him beyond the duty to justice. But if it helps, it's not like we didn't do something. As soon as the smoke cleared from the incident, we got a lot of people good at fixing long cold cases. Believe it or not, it got him talking to his old man again…He just stipulated that he have muscle there to prevent arguments."
"Kuon?"
"Kuon…" Kizakura nodded.
"Father and Grandfather…are talking?" Kyoko spoke.
"I hear it was a riot…Kuon actually bonked them both upside the head into a coffee table…and called them idiots…" he laughed, "Ah…I knew scouting that kid was a good idea…"
"So that explains the bandages…" Kyoko muttered to herself.
"Truth be told, when I first found him…I figured he'd be able to change some stuff around here. Though a world famous superhero coming in and doing it first was also a plus. We have a lot of sins to clean up…but we adults are doing our best. But since you kids have come here with questions to one specifically…I take it you found some leads?" he asked, getting a few nods, "Well…I'm sober enough to remember all the dark details…what do you girls need from me?"
"Do you remember where the murder took place?" Sakura asked, "It might be possible there are clues there."
"...Hmm…" Kizakura pondered as he held his chin in thought, "The third floor, first door to the left near the archery range. It was going to be her Lab before the Steering Committee had us tear it down."
"Tear it down…doesn't that mean any clues could be gone?" Kaede asked.
"Yes…and no," Kizakura replied, "The Headmaster took photos of everything in the crime scene before we took it down. A ton of angles and everything."
"Perfect!" Jenny beamed, "That'll hopefully give us a lead."
"And a step closer to finding the fucker who offed those girls," Emikan frowned.
"Wish I could come help you kids, but…" Kizakura paused as he pulled out a pocketwatch, "My lunch break is almost over…need to get back over to UnderTokyo for any potential students. Glad I was able to help somewhat…oh, and if you find out who's behind these murders…do me a favor?"
"Hmm? And what's that?" Hina asked as Kizakura began to walk off.
"Deck him in the nose for me," was all he said, keeping his hat down as he hid a small smirk.
"...Photos…" Kyoko whispered as she held her chin in thought, "And a room that may not 'exist' anymore…"
"Me, Sakura, or Jen can probably break the wall or door down," Akane offered.
"But it would draw too much attention," Kaede stated as some students passed by the group, "Remember…there's still other students here, so chances are one of them could be the culprit and listen in on us."
"We'd need something that could distract everyone…then go after the room," Jenny spoke, "But that…might not be so hard…" she blinked, "We do have a few people very good at drawing a lot of attention."
"Ooh! Ibuki has an idea!" Ibuki beamed as she grinned at Emikan.
"...I take it I'm going to both love and hate this idea, won't I?" Emikan asked.
"Depends…" Ibuki began before she whistled loudly, causing Usgai-kun to come hopping in while tossing up her guitar case to her, letting her catch it, "Up for a rocking duet?"
"...I'm listening…" Emikan spoke as she leaned in, the girls unaware of someone spying on them from the shadows.
"Ladies, and gentlemen…!" Ibuki declared from an already built concert stage.
"Oh god Mioda's gonna sing…!" one student began to panic.
"I just got my hearing back~!" a female student whined.
"Today…Ibuki shall do something she hasn't done in ages…" Ibuki began as she spoke into the mic, "As you may know...Ibuki used to be part of a band, but she went solo so she can rock out to her heart's content! However…that changes today because Ibuki has found someone with as much of a rocking passion!"
"Oh kami no…!" one student began to freak.
"Presenting my partner for the duet…to honor the Great Ember McLain with her top hit Remember, give it up for Ibuki's partner…Tsumiki Mikan!" Ibuki beamed as she moved to the side a bit, letting Emikan walk up next to her…wearing an exact copy of Ember's outfit minus the leather jacket as she held a copy of her guitar.
"...NANI KORE?!" the students exclaimed, their eyes bulging out in shock and disbelief.
"HA! She's probably gonna flop!" Hiyoko laughed from within the crowd.
"...yeah yeah. I mean..she is the clumsiest student in the school, so maybe…" one student began before a drum beat began to go off, "?"
"Yeah~!" Emikan began to sing into her mic as she and Ibuki began to strum on their respective guitars.
"Oohh~!" Ibuki sang as she followed her guitar rhythm.
"It was…it was September…winds blow, the dead leaves fall," Emikan whispered as the drum beat began to slow.
"To you, I did surrender…Two weeks, you didn't call…" Ibuki added, which…honestly surprised a lot of the students in the crowd.
"Your life, goes on without me…My life, a losing game~" Emikan quietly sang as she began to step forward, "But you should, you should not doubt me!"
"You will Remember my Name!" both girls sang in unison as the music began to pick up.
"Oh Ember~! You will Remember! Ember, one thing remains…!" Emikan sang as she strummed harder on her guitar.
"Oh Ember~!" Ibuki began as she strummed harder, causing her guitar to fire a stream of flames into the air as the crowd began to start cheering the two on. "So warm and tender!"
"YOU WILL REMEMBER MY NAME~!"
"Holy crap! When could Tsumiki sing?!" one student exclaimed in awe.
"I don't know, but apparently she counteracts Mioda's death metal!" another added.
"Oh my god! I haven't heard this song in so long~!" a female student squealed.
"WHOO~!"
"Wh-what?! No! Stop it!" Hiyoko shouted as she tried to get the crowd to stop cheering. "Stop~! Stop cheering them on~! Ibuki can't sing and Tsumiki's a clumsy pig!"
"You hear something?" one student asked the one next to him.
"Probably a rat or something."
"R-RAT?!" Hiyoko gawked.
"...Wow. It's…actually working," Hina blinked as she and Kaede looked on from one of the third floor windows.
"I'll say…" Kaede nodded, her eyes wide, "I know it's McLain-san, but Mikan-senpai really has an amazing singing voice."
"She really does…" Hina added.
"Dang….didn't know Mikan had a set of pipes on her," Akane noted, her ears twitching as she and the others were helping to look for the door Kikzakura mentioned.
"Never judge a book by its cover," Kyoko stated before looking at Jenny, Sakura, and Miu, "Any luck?"
"Nothing yet…" Jenny whispered, her eyes glowing a bit as she looked at the wall, "The Steering Committee must've used some type of paint to prevent people from finding the room through special goggles."
"So lead paint?" Miu asked.
"Probably…"
"Wow, not even caring about poisoning us around this thing…" Miu muttered, "Not to speak ill of the dead…but kinda glad they were murdered in cold blood."
"...Given what I learned…I'm not going to argue," Kyoko replied.
"...Hmm…" Sakura muttered as she touched part of the wall with her open hand, her eyes closed as she examined it, "...there."
"Huh?" Hina blinked as she and Kaede turned, the girls seeing Sakura moving her hand back as her extended fingers barely touched the wall.
"...Hhmm!" Sakura grunted as her hand quickly balled up into a fist as she hit the wall, a few moments of silence following suit before the part of the wall she hit began to crumble, revealing an old door with bits of wall and faded paint on it.
"...hey. That was the move Kuon used on Riruka's crazy psycho boyfriend, isn't it?" Akane asked.
"Considering she's the Ultimate Martial Artist, I'm not surprised she learned it," Kyoko noted.
"Way to go, Sakura!" Hina beamed as she hugged Sakura from the side.
"Hm…it was nothing," Sakura smiled a bit, "I heard the faint sound of air escaping and located the source."
"...Huh. She's right," Miu muttered, her goggles over her eyes as her backpack's robotic arms held up a piece of the broken wall, "There's some air bubbles hidden in the paint…man, those old fucks sucked…"
"Wow. Evil and cheap," Hina muttered.
Jenny tested the doorknob, "Locked." she took her hand off it before putting her finger to the doorknob…before it shifted and turned into a drill that tore into the doorknob, "Aaaand…" she changed her finger back to normal and gently pushed open the door, "Unlocked!"
"Not too shabby," Miu noted.
"Thanks for the upgrade, Miu," Jenny grinned before looking at the open door, "Okay…Everyone be ready for anything, alright?"
"Got it," Akane nodded, cracking her knuckles as she and Sakura stood ready with Hina and Kaede taking a defensive stance.
Kyoko gave Jenny a confirming nod in response, prompting her to open the door slowly. The moment they did, a dust cloud began to seep into the hall…followed by the faint smell of death in the air. Once the dust settled, it revealed what would be best described as an old oriental-fashioned tea house room…with bits of wood rotted or broken into pieces as dust heavily covered a small table and two torn seat pillows.
"...Grr," Akane growled as her eyes narrowed while her nose twitched, "It's faint…but I can still smell blood in there…"
"They just hid it away…" Jenny spoke while looking around, "Maybe this place will be better off without them."
"Agreed," Kyoko frowned, "Miu?"
"I'm lookin'," Miu replied, her goggles still on as she scanned the room, "Sheesh…Owari's right. There's a puddle of blood underneath the floorboards…yet no trace of a murder weapon or anything. In fact…" she tapped her goggles as she noticed faint footsteps within the dusty floors, "No sign of a struggle or anything…at best, the guy or gal must've taken her by surprise when he or she killed her."
"Any signs of those clues Kizakura-sensei mentioned?" Kaede asked.
"...She was in the middle of a ceremony," Sakura noted.
"Huh?" Jenny looked at her.
"She was at the stage where she would prepare the tea," Sakura explained, looking at the center table, the wood of it stained with long-soaked-in blood with scattered tools including a tipped over container meant for water, a portable gas stove long emptied of its fuel, a broken tea bowl beside the table with a teaspoon and tea whisker, a tipped over container of tea leaves, and a falled over kettle with the lid on the other side of the room, "The host needs to be focused, set in a peaceful, calm, and balanced state of mind. Meaning she did not focus on anything but that." she looked at Miu, "Where do the footsteps go?"
"Mmm…They approach her from behind and then move around the place before leaving," Miu replied, still looking through her goggles.
"Given the approach…the murderer employed Nanba in order to aid in approaching her silently," Kyoko noted.
"Nanba?" Hina repeated.
"It is the art of the ninja to silently attack their target."
"EEK~!" Hina yelped as she, Kaede, and Miu immediately jumped behind Jenny, prompting her and the others to quickly turn…to see Korekiyo standing in the doorway."
"Oh…I do apologize. I was heading to the archery range when I noticed you all came in here," Korekiya stated as he looked around the room, "I was not aware of such an intricate room here on the third floor…"
"Blame those nutjobs that got offed when the Gaijin came and walloped Junk-o and his sister," Miu huffed.
"Ahh yes…tea made with tea leaves traced with poison of the world's most poisonous creatures," Korekiyo recalled, "Such a cold way to go…A bit karmic as well. They poisoned the school with their actions, so their demise was poison itself."
"Um…What did you mean by the art of the ninja?" Hina asked.
"Well…to be precise, Nanba is a walking method said to be utilized by Shinobi. By moving the arm and leg on the same side together, you avoid excessive movements from twisting your hips and adjusting your balance. This results in lessing the noise of the rustling of your clothing and your footsteps," Korekiyo explained.
"...That would explain why there's less footsteps," Miu muttered.
"Hmm?"
"I-It's nothing, Kiyo. We…" Kaede began before she noticed something, "?"
"What's up?" Akane asked as Kaede knelt down, reaching under one of the pillows before she pulled out a small magatama bead.
"What's that?" Jenny asked.
"A magatama bead," Korekiyo noted, kneeling down beside Kaede to look at it, "The oldest of them were dated to the Final Jōmon period through the Kofun period, approximately 1000 BCE to the 6th century CE. In Shinto religion, the magatama that are the most recognized are the legendary Yasakani no Magatama of the Imperial Regalia said to have been worn by Amaterasu no Mikoto."
"You sure know your stuff," Akane noted.
"Of course. Korekiyo-san is the Ultimate Anthropologist," Kaede explained.
Korekiyo nodded, "It is a pleasant hobby to have, learning of the world's history through its religions, cultures, and artifacts."
"...Hmm…considering the murder took place in here…" Jenny whispered to herself, "...Hey, Kiyo?"
"Hai, Wakeman-san?" Korekiyo asked as he stood up to look at her.
"I know it's sudden, but…well, given what you know about the method, I was wondering if you can help us on something real quick."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. You see…we're more or less investigating a murder that took place here at the school two years back," Akane explained as she saw where Jenny was going with this, "Considering you know what that Nanba thing is, maybe you can help us out or something?"
"Ah, I see…you're curious about recreating the situation, yes?" Korekiyo asked, looking around, "It would be best if we did it in a recreation of this room, however. If you are investigating, I would not enjoy causing any evidence to be lost."
"Wow! Pretty spot on, Kiyo," Jenny noted.
"Thank you. I am glad to be of some assistance for my friends," Korekiya smiled behind his mask, "...ahh. Mayhaps we can take this conversation to my Lab? I have books on the very method used."
"...It would prove useful," Kyoko whispered…while keeping a suspicious eye on Korekiyo.
"...I sense some mistrust in me," Korekiyo noted as his gaze moved towards her, "I assure you, I am your friend…however, should you find me do anything suspicious, you may kick me out of this investigation…which would be a shame," he shook his head as he closed his eyes, "No other place in the school has such in-depth knowledge as my Lab…"
"...Huddle," Kyoko ordered as she motioned the girls to circle around her.
"Should we do it?" Hina quietly asked.
"Part of me says 'yeah,' but…" Miu paused as she looked back at Korekiyo for a moment…only to shiver when he gave a small wave at her, "Yeah, he's so fuckin' creepy…"
"But his Lab does have stuff that we could use to better the investigation," Jenny noted.
"Hmm…At the moment, this would give us a boon," Sakura added.
"I'd say we try it," Kaede whispered to them, "Even if he is….creepy…he's still our fellow classmate."
"True…but the moment he tries to pull anything, I'm not afraid of kicking that mask of his into his face…along with his teeth," Akane stated.
Kyoko nodded then before she and the girls looked at Korekiyo, "Very well..lead the way."
"Ahh. Excellent," Kirekiyo misled as he began to walk off, the girls following right behind him, "Do not worry…I'm sure the info you seek will be more than enough…"
"Creepy…" Akane muttered.
"Whoo! Haha that rocked!" Emikan laughed as she and Ibuki moved behind the curtains at the back of the stage, "Haven't drawn in a crowd that fast in years!"
"Ibuki can't believe she brought in that many people!" Ibuki added in her own laughter as the two sat down on top of their respective guitar cases, "Ibuki admits she thought she'd scare a few of them off…but they all stayed!"
"Heh heh…you know I thought you were weird…but you know how to shred, 'Buki," Emikan chuckled, "I like that….sucks you're a human and stuck all the way out here. We'd be rocking the scene world wide."
"It would be nice, but Ibuki swore she'd go solo…but not afraid to do a duet with a rock legend like yourself," Ibuki admitted as she caught a bottle of water, "Thank you, Usagi-kun!"
"Heh…fine then. Your loss," Emikan rolled her eyes as she picked up her own bottle.
"...say. Can I…ask you something..about that song?" Ibuki asked, earning a raised brow from the possessed nurse, "I've listened to it a few times before..and I still love all the heart you put into each of the lyrics…but while we played, I noticed how…sad it got when your turn came up."
"Sad?" Emikan repeated, "What do you mean sad? We rocked out th-"
"It's how you died…isn't it?"
"..."
"I know ghost don't like to talk how they died, but…in a way, you said it through your song..in hopes people don't forget about you," Ibuki noted, a sympathetic smile on her face as she looked at her water bottle, "Every rock legend has to have a tragedy of their own…"
"...The hell brought this up?" Emikan asked with a frown, "It's one thing to take apart my song, and now your just speaking to me like you understand it…you kn-"
"When I was little, I almost died…" Ibuki admitted.
"?"
"My parents took me to the beach and I begged my mom to get me coconut milk…straight from the source," Ibuki explained, looking at the sky, "I got impatient and ended up shaking a coconut tree and-BONK!-a trio of coconuts right to my noggin! ...I had to be rushed to the hospital and woke up a good three months after it."
"!? Three months?" Emikan whispered with wide eyes, "...Shiiiit."
"I'll say! Ibuki missed the finale of her favorite anime!" Ibuki huffed, Emikan nearly falling over in disbelief that that was what she focused on, before shaking her head, "But in all seriousness, it was…freaky. Kept going between this darkness and a spooky shadowy green place the whole time." she sheepishly rubbed the back of her head, "I don't remember much of the green place, but I remember riding on this big ol' werewolf from this spooky white guy in a suit and blowing raspberries at the guy."
"...huh. Thought Walker was talking crazy that day after that crazy wolf escaped…" Emikan whispered.
"But…one day I heard something…music playing," Ibuki continued, "I followed it to the best I could…and when I found it, I saw a female figure…playing the most awesome yet beautiful rock song I ever heard…and she was surrounded by tons of ghost cheering her on…she captivated them…and in a way, gave them hope even though they've past on…" she looked back up at the sky, "When I finally woke up…that's what I wanted to do with my life...play music. Bring in an audience and give them the show of a lifetime…be a star like the legends themselves…I did well in my old school rock band, but as I mentioned…I split to go solo. It…" she paused as she rubbed the back of her head, "Did not go as I hoped it would…no matter what I played, it would always get jeers and compared to death metal…"
"...and why tell me this?" Emikan couldn't help but ask.
"Because for the first time…I got people to smile," Ibuki admitted, "Before when I played before large crowds…deep down and when I went backstage, I got….scared. Real scared…and sad…depressingly sad. But…I wouldn't let that keep me down, because I would always remember the lyrics of Freddie Mercury's Magnum Opus…" she picked up her guitar as she played a few notes, "Inside my heart is breaking…my makeup may be flaking, but my smile….still stays on."
"...that….holy shit that's deep," Emikan whispered as she let that sink in.
"What Ibuki….what I'm trying to say is, even if you went through…such a horrible tragedy, you made it into such a beautiful yet powerful song," Ibuki continued as she put her guitar back down, "You probably felt it, right? The cheers of the people…the happiness and/or comfort you bring to them in your own way…"
"...now that you bring it up…yeah. I did," Emikan admitted, looking at her own guitar, "I've been trying to control people for so long with my music…I guess I just…forgot how it felt…"
"And that makes me think deep down..even if you are a bad ghostgirl…deep down you have a tiny bit of good in you," Ibuki added before holding up a finger before she could argue, "You chose to possess Mi-chan…You could've chosen someone else to possess, but you saw what predicament she was in when she tripped..right?"
"...yeah well…" Emikan before as she turned her head away with a snort, "I don't like dirty ol' pervs looking up girls skirts, ya know…"
"See? No one really bad would leave someone like Mi-chan in a bad state like she was gonna be put under!" Ibuki smiled, "Heck, you could've chosen not to help those poor souls out when they asked you to find who killed them, and yet here you are...doing exactly that!"
"...Pfft! Yeah, right! Me…a good guy?" Emikan laughed, "I appreciate the talk 'Buks, but no way is this bad gal gonna go goodie two shoes!"
"True…but…just because you're a bad guy doesn't mean you're a bad guy…er…girl," Ibuki clarified.
"Uh…well…I guess…"
"Besides Jen-chan says the files on you make you Ghosts more…Cartoon supervillains most of the time. She says only a select few are real dangers," Ibuki pointed out, "I mean, if you were really bad…why do ya respect Christmas so much?"
"It's one of the special times in the Ghost Zone, where Ghosts often drop hostilities with one another," Emikan shrugged, "Heck even the Halfa joins us on occasion because…eugh. As goofy as his parents are…even they ruin Christmas for him from what he told us…"
"Not holly jolly?"
"Nope. Debating over Santa Claus's existence," Emikan replied.
"Hah?! Of course Santa's real!" Ibuki gawked.
"You know that…"
"No, he totally is…it's Ben Tennyson's Grandpa. Makoto told us so," Ibuki cut her off, making her blink, "Magic and everything. See? Totally real! Even you should know magic is real."
"...Okay, fair point…"
"Hai~! But again, even knowing you celebrate Christmas...despite being a badguy, shows deep down you have some good in ya!" Ibuki smiled, "I'm not trying to force it on ya or anything, but…just think about it for a while, hmm?"
"...pfft. Whatever…" Emikan whispered as she looked away from her again, "You get any messages from your friends?"
"Oh! Thank you for reminding Ibuki!" Ibuki gasped as Usgai-kun handed her her phone and dialed in a number…only to blink when she got a busy signal, "...huh….that's odd."
"?"
"Busy signal…on all of them," Ibuki muttered as she tried to send a text...only for it to fail, "Can't even send them a message…and Ibuki paid her phone bills this week."
"Okay, I know a bit about modern phones thanks to my time in Amity Park and Technus, but all of them being busy at the same time…that ain't right." Emikan frowned as she stood up.
"...Red flag…!" Ibuki whispered in worry as she shot up, "We need to go find them!"
"Well l-" Emikan began before Ibuki picked her up, "?!"
"IKUZE~!" Ibuki declared as she rushed off at high speed, her guitar case on her back as her rabbit clung onto her shoulder.
"Ahh, what the hell?! Put me down, Ibuki, you crazy psycho!"
"NEVAH!"
"I knew I should've picked Tennyson instead…!" Emikan groaned.
"Mmm…" Jenny muttered in annoyance, lightly patting the side of her head a bit as she paused from reading a book.
"Everything okay, Jen-chan?" Hina asked as she looked up from a book with Kaede.
"I don't know why, but the moment we entered in here, my radio's started acting all zozzled up," Jenny muttered.
"It's mostly likely due to Korekiyo's Lab being…well," Kaede paused as she looked around the fairly large room they were in, decorated with various scrolls, sumi-e paintings, and many weapons and relics, "Having an ancient feel to it…"
"Ancient nothing," Hina whispered, giving a small shudder, "It's downright spooky."
"I'll say," Akane muttered as she looked at a sheathed katana, "Weapons look cool though…"
"Feh. Probably some cheap knockoff," Miu scoffed as she prepared to lift the glass..only for Korekiyo to slam his hands on the top, "AHH!"
"I advise you to not touch this…it is a very rare katana from the feudal era…one forged by the legendary Muramasa," Korekiyo growled out, a dark look in his eyes, "You touch it…I will rip out your nerves…"
"EEK~! Sorry~!" Miu panicked as she hid behind Akane.
"...You saw that, right?" Sakura whispered to Kyoko from nearby.
"Yes, it was almost blatant," Kyoko nodded, "...Korekiyo-san?"
"...Hai?" Korekiyo asked, turning to look at her once he calmed down.
"I was wondering if you could answer me something."
"But of course," Korekiyo replied.
"Where were you two years ago when the murder occurred?" she asked, earning a look from the others.
"...ahh. That day…" Korekiyo noted as he sighed, "It was the anniversary…of when my dear sister passed on."
"A sister?" Jenny blinked.
"Yes…there is not a day that goes by when I don't miss her," Korekiyo admitted as he looked down, "She was always a sickly girl…but even then, she was there to support me…her love was the greatest thing in my life..and her kindness helped put my weary soul at ease. In fact…" he paused to look at the girls, "Did you know she always wanted to make 100 friends?"
"A hundred?" Akane repeated.
"Yes…strong, loyal, kind, funny and caring…friends she would cherish always," Korekiyi added with a smile behind his mask, "It was a loving dream..to be surrounded by so many loved ones, even as she passes on into the afterlife…but sadly…it wouldn't come to be."
"These are Red flags right?" Akane asked the others.
"Crimson…" Sakura replied with a scowl.
"...so in place of your sister, you swore to make 100 friends for her," Jenny noted.
"Yes..because in her place, I will see to it she feels their love through me," Korekiyo smiled, "And so far...I have made 99 friends…and they were all very generous people."
"Then how…" Hina began as she began to sit up...only to grunt as she soon feel over to her knees, "Wh…wha…"
"Hina?" Kaede began as she tried to stand up...only her arms weren't working right, "?!"
"W…what the hell…" Akane whispered as she soon fell to a knee, "My…my body's shutting down…"
"Girls?" Jenny blinked in confusion as she went to check on Hina and Kaede, "What's wrong?"
"I…I can't move my legs…" Hina grunted as she tried to force herself up.
"I..I can't even get up," Kaede added.
"...shit is someone trying to roofie us?!" Miu exclaimed as she tried to run...only to end up falling face first into the floor, "..shiit…"
"Oh my...is everything alright?" Korekiyo asked in concern.
"That…th-that's…not convincing…" Kyoko muttered, stumbling over to her knees, "It's pretty easy to see where the cause of this originates from…" she groaned as her head began spinning, a numbing pain shooting through her body; it felt like the more she tried to fight the effect, the faster it worked; she could hardly even say the realization running through her mind. It already felt like her ability to speak was being impacted by whatever was causing this.
"Ngh…" Sakura grunted as she soon collapsed onto a knee, she herself struggling to stay awake.
"Oh my, you seem rather frustrated. I don't think it's doing you any favors with…well…whatever this might be. Perhaps it would be safe for one of us to go get help. The school medical staff or Mikan-senpai perhaps?" Korekiyo offered as he closed his eyes to 'smile' and tilted his head slightly to the side.
"Jenny…" Sakura managed to grunt out, falling to her hands as she struggled to stay awake, "Get….help…"
"...got it…!" Jenny nodded with a frown, about to rush off before…
*BZZT!*
Jenny couldn't even scream, her eyes widened in absolute pain as she began to fall over. She tried to stay conscious…but her vision began to blur out as she saw a figure beginning to approach her, her hand weakly reaching out before she soon lost consciousness.
"...Ibuki senses her friends are in danger," Ibuki whispered as she slid past a corner, putting down a frazzled and stammering Emikan as her hair was blown back
"I…I think me and this girl are really in sync right now…'cause I feel as scared as she does normally…oh this poor girl…" Emikan gasped.
"...Mmm…" Ibuki frowned as she and Usagi-kun looked down each path of the hallway...before stopping at one, "There!"
"Wh-OH NOT AGAIN!" Emikan panicked as Ibuki picked her up and ran off.
"Out of my way! Ibuki and friend are gonna save the day!"
"YOU'RE CRAZY!"
"I know! I love it!"
"...At least you don't rave about boxes and warning people to 'beware,'" Emikan muttered.
"That sounds as lame as our local midget troll…" Ibuki muttered, her wording causing Kokichi, wherever he was, to sneeze.
"Two words: Pandora's Box."
"That's real?!"
"The songs I could write about that Halfa's life could easily fill a five-disc set."
"...Wow," was all Ibuki said before she skid to a halt, stopping before a door with the Kanji for 'Korekiyo' on the front, "Here we are…I felt it from here…"
"Seriously...I'm scared of what would happen if you drank coffee," Emikan muttered as Ibuki put her down.
"Ibuki wants to know, too, but Usagi-kun keeps knocking the cup over," Ibuki pouted, looking at her bunny.
Emikan rolled her eyes as she reached for the knob, only to stop for a moment, "...wait…"
"Hmm?" Ibuki blinked before Emikan slapped a mask over her face.
"Real glad this girl's got med supplies on her," Emikan muttered, a mask of her own covering her face, before she kicked the door open, seeing Korekiyo's room…completely empty of anyone inside, "...tch…sleeping gas… real strong stuff, too."
"Sleeping gas?" Ibuki whispered with wide eyes before Usagi-kun, a small mask over his mouth, pointed to something on the ground, "Hmm? ...Ahh!" she gasped as she bolted in and picked it up, "Hina's hairpin...she never takes it off!"
"Tch…" Emikan scowled, "This ain't good, 'Buki." she looked at the kanji, "What's this say?"
"Oh! 'Korekiyo' is what it says!" Ibuki replied, "...Oh, that's not good! They musta came here to talk with him about something they found only for them all to get caught!"
"...Korekiyo…" Emikan whispered as she rubbed her covered chin, "...Their last name 'Shinguji' by any chance?"
"Yup," Ibuki replied before blinking, "...wait. How'd you know that?"
"Met someone with that very last name back in the Ghost Zone," Emikan answered.
"Ibuki wishes Ibuki could say more…but…Korekiyo-kun is…kinda creepy. Even by our standards…" Ibuki replied, "Probably even by ghost standards, too…and you guys are dead."
"Hey, he doesn't force everyone to rhyme constantly until a lesson is learned, does he?"
"Nope. He just has a creepy aura about him and seems to really dig friendships and stuff," Ibuki shrugged, "He even does the creepy Jojo poses, too…the ones the bad guys do."
"Who's JoJo?"
"Did you not have manga in America when you were alive…or the Internet in the Ghost Zone?" Ibuki asked.
"My ex thought comics were for dorks."
"Well he looks stupid now…Superheros are real…" Ibuki pointed out.
"Tell me about it," Emikan muttered before a thought popped up in her head, "...say…what does this Korekiyo guy look like anyway?"
"...Not sure why you want to see him, but..okay," Ibuki shrugged before Usagi-kun handed her her phone, prompting her to do a quick picture shot before she shared a group photo of the V3 class all together, "Here you go."
"...What the hell?" Emikan whispered with wide eyes, "...Are you messing with me?"
"Eh? Wh-What do you mean?"
"I asked you to show me a picture of that Korekiyo guy, 'Buki."
"But Ibuki is!" Ibuki insisted.
"...What the hell? …I…Is he twins with that gal in the Ghost Zone or something!?"
"...Wait, what?" Ibuki blinked at that with wide eyes.
"...n…mm…." Jenny grunted as she started to regain consciousness, her eyes starting to flicker as she slowly began to open them up, "Wh…what….happened…?" she whispered as she fully opened her eyes, noticing that she was in a dark Japanese style room…with a pentagram drawn onto the floor, "!? Wh…what…" she began as she tried to get up, only to grunt out as she couldn't even free her arms or legs.
"Do not bother…those chains are strong enough to keep Gekohara Gonta from moving," a voice spoke up.
"Huh?" Jenny blinked before she quickly noticed the chains wrapped up around her body, "?!"
"Jen-chan!" Jenny quickly turned to see the others right next to her, all of them tied up in ropes with Sakura and Akane bound up in chains as well.
"I do apologize for this. I was hoping things would get less…messy," the voice admitted before Jenny looked ahead, seeing a figure standing within the shadows.
"What is this?" Hina asked, trying to scoot closer to Sakura in worry.
"Should it not be obvious?" the figure asked, "I am merely giving you a chance…to talk with the very spirits themselves."
"...Say wha?" Akane raised a brow.
"Oftentimes, people in ancient Japan would converse with the spirits through rituals, whether by praying to statues, talking to them through someone as the medium, or…" the figure began as they smiled, "By sacrifice…"
"S…Sacrifice?" Kaede repeated with wide eyes.
"You're going to kill us?!" Miu exclaimed.
"Well depends…" the figure began as they looked amongst the girls, ignoring the glares they were receiving from Jenny, Kyoko, Akane, and Sakura, "No need to give me such toxic stares…not the first time I've had such strong willed women look at me that way."
"...You're him, aren't you?" Jenny asked with a frown, "The person behind the murders that's been happening at the school."
"Indeed," they smiled, "I've been targeting you girls for some time now…just never had the chance due to certain…obstacles."
"...and one of these obstacles is Kuon, isn't it?" Kyoko questioned with her own frown.
"Admittedly, yes…Ever since he came, it made my goal all the more…delayed," the figure admitted with a shrug.
"You're scared of him?" Kyoko guessed, "And not just 'cause he's so violent…something about him…unnerves you specifically."
"Is that man the walking bane of evil or something?" Miu asked.
"I'm starting to think so…" Kaede muttered.
"But considering he's not here…" the figure began as they held up a katana, "I can resume what I brought you all here to do…to be the perfect candidate…"
"...for victim number 100," Sakura scowled.
"Hmm?"
"The way you present yourself…the way the room is styled…" Kyoko listed with her own glare, "Targeting female individuals…ones that come here to Kibougamine in hopes they'd be the one…for your precious sister's 100th friend…right, Shinguji Korekiyo?"
"...Kehehe…" the figure chuckled as they stepped into the light, revealing themselves to be in fact Korekiyo, "Was it that obvious, tantei-himesan?"
"No…but I had my suspicions," Kyoko stated, "When we were examining that room, there was no one else in the halls…and yet you came by and described the very same tactic that was used to kill Kochiru Namaguchi, followed by the magatama that was found underneath her pillow…When we went to look around your lab, I noticed something…a magatama bead was missing from one of the displays in there. Most likely you gave her that necklace to throw her off her guard…then you took the murder weapon before fleeing the scene, letting the room stay hidden for two years until we discovered it…lastly, when you mentioned your sister and having made 99 friends in her place…that's when things started to click all together." Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him, "You've been murdering females not just here, but globally…"
"...Well, not like they can meet my sister alive now…" Korekiyo chuckled, "My dream was to see to it she'd have 100 friends…and I'm so close…only then can I receive her love back…"
"L…love?!" Hina gawked.
"Yes…love," Korekiyo replied as he spread his arms out, "I love her with all my heart…and she loved me with all her heart. Yes…we vowed an endless love to each other…forever bound by fate….not even through death, nothing can come between us…we are bound by an intense love…no matter what anyone says. I loved her so deeply…and she loved me so deeply…they called it forbidden love, but none could stop the love we shared…"
"...Wait….are you saying you and your sister…" Miu began with a grossed-out look, "...oh god…incest…"
"And is that so wrong?" Korekiyo questioned as he hugged himself, "I longed for her warmth…the only time I felt at peace…was when I was enveloped in my sister's warmth! I know she was happy when I sent her all those people…all of the wonderful girls across the globe, worthy of being sister's friends~!"
"So many messed up emotions all at once…I'm gonna hurl!" Miu gagged.
"Oh you shut it…" Korekiyo huffed, "I wasn't going to choose you anyway….Frankly your very existence annoys me, so I was gonna kill you afterwards anyway."
"WHAT!?" Miu yelped.
"The rest of you, however…" Korekiyo paused as he looked at the rest of the girls, "Oh each and every one of you are prime candidates for sister's 100th friend…Akamatsu Kaede and her kindness and loyalty, Asahina Aoi and her bubbly personality, Ogami Sakura and Owari Akane for their fierce loyalty, Kirigiri Kyoko for her calm demeanor…and then there's you, Wakeman Jenny…" he aimed his katana at Jenny next, "Strong, fierce, kind, loyal, smart, peppy…all such wonderful traits for sister's 100th friend."
"...and what about the others?" Jenny frowned "If you harmed them in any,..."
"Oh relax…Mioda Ibuki was such a jabbermouth I ignored her, Harukawa Maki was another whose existence annoyed me, and…well less said about that broken toy Tsumiki Mikan the better," Korekiyo admitted, "And if you think about calling your friends in the states…I am honestly hoping for that, too…" he smiled behind his mask, "Nanaya Makoto, Yayoi Tsubaki, Vermillion Noel, Natsume Mai, Faycott Kajun, Tennyson Gwen, Sumdac Sari…all of them all perfect choices for sister's friends, too…No matter who I chose, the rest would be much welcomed bonuses for her!"
"I feel like you are just asking for someone many times bigger than you…to punch you so hard it knocks the crazy out of you," Jenny glared, "And if it ain't me…after that last bit…you really are gonna wish it was me. At least I'll hold back. After a monologue like that…I'm sure Ben would hit you with a literal Space giant fist. And if he's not available, I'm sure we can get a lot of the guys here to take turns punching you."
"Kehehe….true, but you'd be long dead before anyone could find out," Korekiyo countered with a chuckle, "After all…this is for my sister's love…"
"You really think she'd want this?!" Kaede argued, "Killing so many people for such a sick and twisted love?! You…"
"Oh no…I am very happy," Korekiyo suddenly spoke in a more…feminine voice.
"...Huh?" the girls blinked before Korekiyo pulled his mask down…revealing he was wearing lipstick underneath as he hugged himself.
"It is thanks to my sweet brother..I am no longer lonely," Korekiyo whispered as he…she….they hugged themselves, "Oh..I do apologize for not introducing myself…" they smiled as they stood straight, "I'm Shinguji Miyadera…thank you all so much for looking after my little brother."
"Is it okay if I pass out from fear now?" Miu asked.
"Can I join you?" Hina asked with wide eyes.
"Honestly, I think that might just be for the best of the faint of heart. We will find a way out of this." Kyoko stated.
"Provided you can," Korekiyo stated as they put their mask back over their mouth, "I will do what I must for dear sister...even if you call me mad or a murderer, our love is stronger than anything you could ever dream! Which is why I will fulfill her dream…by choosing her 100th friend finally…" he whispered as the candles in the room lit up, causing an eerie dark purple light to fill it, "Speaking of which…it's time to choose…so…" he began as he started walking towards Jenny, "Thank you for being the first volunteer…Wakeman-san…but worry not," he put his foot against her chest as he pushed her onto the floor, aiming his katana down right at her, "Your friends will join you and sister soon enough...in the afterlife."
"?!" Jenny's eyes widened as Korekiyo aimed at where her core was, preparing to stab down before…
*CLANG!*
"?!" Korekiyo's eyes widened in pain…as Ibuki's skull impacted with his chin as he was sent staggering back, causing him to drop his katana in the process.
"Ooh~ Ibuki hoped that wasn't Mondo again…" Ibuki groaned, swirls in her eyes as she stood in a hole in the floor with a part of it raised up behind her.
"Ibuki?!" the others gawked before Emikan popped up behind the rocker.
"Ugh, finally…I can't believe you dragged me through under the floor, Ibuki..." Emikan muttered as she pulled herself out.
"I trusted my instincts!" Ibuki defended as she turned around to point at a wall, still dizzy.
"How!?" Miu couldn't help but shout despite being very happy as well.
"Usagi-kun!" she pointed under her arm, intending to point at the black rabbit poking out of her shirt while said bunny waved to the girls.
"That is one weirdly smart rabbit," Emikan admitted before she noticed Korekiyo.
"Gh…" he growled out, holding his mouth as a bit of blood spilt from the zipper, "Great…you two…"
"...This the guy?" Emikan asked as she looked at Jenny and the others.
"Yeah…that's…him," Jenny grunted as she managed to force herself to sit up.
"He's the crazy psycho that's been killing girls all over!" Akane added as her eyes were slit, "Grr…he's just lucky I'm tied up here, otherwise I'd bust his face in!"
"Eh? Well…that's…oh…nope. Mama's still dizzy…Usagi-kun, point for Mama!" Ibuki ordered as the bunny saluted and pointed at Korekiyo, "Good thing I had a rare clever idea…and texted what we call 911 around this school!"
"Wait…the cops?" Emikan asked.
"Hahaha…ah cops…oh no…much worse…" Ibuki laughed, "He should be walking through…" she pointed at a random wall, "That door in a minute."
"...The hell are you…?" Emikan began before the wall suddenly exploded, "GH?!"
"...No…" Korekiyo whispered in realization as a figure could be seen within the dust cloud.
"You literally made me walk through a wall…" Kuon's voice growled out as blue eyes could be seen in the dust for a moment before it faded to reveal his normal ones, "So…anyone have anything to say before I begin smashing?"
"..." all the girls but Emikan looked at each other for a moment, giving a slight nod before motioning their heads towards Korekiyo, "Kick his butt/ass."
"Now…" Korekiyo began before tensing as Kuon was before him, arm cocked back, "Oh no…"
"GRR!" Kuon growled, slamming his fist into Korekiyo's face, putting so much force into his swing his shirt-sleeve began ripping apart, before letting out a grunt as he sent the killer flying right through a wall…and several others from the sounds of it. Kuon lowered his arm…before ripping the remains of his sleeve off and walking towards the hole in the wall, seeing the defeated and probably concussed form of Korekiyo with their mask torn off and a few teeth missing from their mouth, he grunted looking at his arm, "That…was my favorite shirt…"
"Did you kill him!?" Emikan gawked.
"...No…he's still breathing…" Kuon wrapped the remains of his ruined shirt sleeve around his hand, "I think I can hit him a few more times and keep it that way." he crawled through the hole, "One of you get to freeing the others…someone's gonna have to stop me eventually."
"...You go do it, 'Buki," Emikan spoke up, "I….oddly want to watch this…"
"?" Kuon raised a brow at that before looking at his ring for a moment.
"Possessed by a ghost…who seemed to be looking for the person you just slugged," Zaruba responded quietly, "...don't worry. She seems harmless."
"Why do I feel I got dissed just now?" Emikan muttered as Kuon began to walk through the hole he punched Korekiyo through.
"Well…I felt something off about you…so how's about we don't go down the path of asking why…and I just trust my friends who typically don't want me hitting people…" Kuon cracked his knuckles, "If you can hear me still…just know…I'm not gonna kill you…no…the living aren't done with you yet." he swung a punch as the ground trembled, "But you have told your last story for all I care." he swung, again making the ground tremble again.
"...Freaking brutal…" Emikan whispered in awe just as Ibuki finished undoing Jenny's chains.
"Thanks Ibuki…" Jenny sighed in relief as she stood up before flicking her wrist, causing an energy blade to pop out as she used it to cut off the ropes and chains binding the others, "And thank you again for the upgrades, Miu."
"You're welcome…ah…I'm gonna need a few days to process and suppress these memories…" Miu shuddered as the ground trembled a few times.
"I think I need some days to myself, too…" Hina added as Sakura helped her up, "Especially at the pool…with a big box of donuts…"
"Admittedly, I don't want to leave Shuichi's side for the next few weeks," Kaede admitted as she hugged herself a bit, "You and him have serious nerves of steel, Kyoko…"
"I'll admit I was a little scared until Ibuki arrived…" Kyoko sighed, "Thankfully, the moment she said she called Kuon…I could relax."
"You're sure he's still alive!?" Emikan gawked.
"Nah…you're right…Last punch," Kuon replied as the ground trembled one last time, "Ugh…I think I stained the ground with some blood…" he groaned, "Gonna need to disinfect this by hand later…" he walked up to the hole, "Everyone okay?" he asked.
"Admittedly, a few of us need to decompress from this day…" Sakura replied as Hina leaned against her.
"Hai…for several days or weeks…" Hina added.
"Okay, I'm just gonna…I don't know…uh…I don't think they'll be able to walk for a while…" Kuon muttered, "Know what? I'm just gonna call Kyoko's dad and we'll figure it out. You guys go ahead and leave it to me."
"Yeah, you…you go do that…" Kyoko whispered.
"Oh…Oh I think I scared him so bad he just…oh gross…" Kuon muttered as he pulled out his phone before dialing a saved number "Ah…Headmaster…uh yeah uh…well, no, they deserved it this time. Look…uh…I'll have to ask for details from Kyoko…but just so you know I think I destroyed most of their jaw…oh an ambulance would be most needed right now…If I was to say…it was just three walls…damn it…" he groaned.
"Kuon, if I may?" Kyoko asked as Kuon offered the phone, "...Father…we found the serial killer, so add some officers as well please."
"Oh, this some deep shit…" Kuon muttered, "Now I don't feel so bad about the walls…"
"...Okay, now I'm pissed I didn't even get a hold of the guy," Emikan scowled, the group now back in the Hope Heart Club room…minus Miu, Sakura, Hina, and Kaede at the moment as Kyoko finished explaining what had happened with Korekiyo.
"I knew there was something about that guy I didn't like…" Kuon whispered as he leaned against the wall.
"He's just lucky I didn't join in…" Akane growled a bit as she gripped her arm a bit to try and calm herself, her tail and ears out and flicking wildly.
"Down girl, I broke his face already." Kuon spoke, walking over to flick her head, mostly to replace anger with surprise from the act, "It's dealt with. From here, we leave him to…the tragedy of the legal system. That alone should be a worse punishment than death." he sighed, "Sides, I'm sure they'll get more coming wherever they get locked up. The skinny talkative type isn't popular."
"...Have you…been in jail?" Jenny asked.
"Physically…maybe…legitimately…no," Kuon explained, making them all blink, "I had my reasons…"
"Why am I scared that you said: 'I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me?'" Ibuki muttered.
"Imagine if they knew it was a prison in the Demon World…" Zaruba chuckled.
"Oh the poor guy would not stand a chance," Kuon whispered to him in response before looking at Emikan, "So…what's your story?"
"I was the one who asked Wakeman and her crew for help," she explained, "One of the girls that skinny asshole killed begged me to find her killer…and what's freaky is he looks exactly like this one chick I met in the Ghost Zone!"
"Excuse you?" Kyoko blinked at that….before shaking it off, "No…no no…don't…just try and forget today…"
"So…it's a ghost…" Kuon repeated simply, "Yeah, I don't deal with shit I can't punch so consider me out."
"Seriously…ghosts is where you of all people draw the line?" Jenny blinked.
"No punch…not my problem."
"Then you would not like Amity then, buddy," Emikan spoke as she stood up, "Speaking of which…I'm done here. Serial killer bagged and beaten to a pulp…I got to rock on the side, so I think I'll bounce…" she stated before the ghost rocker left Mikan's body, "Besides, it's cloudy out so I can find a portal back home."
"...Wait…aren't you Ember McLain, that rock star from overseas?" Kuon asked.
"The one and only, Muscles."
"Well…as long as ghosts don't start coming around…I actually have to do work to get rid of a ghost problem…" Zaruba muttered.
"Seriously who keeps dissing me…?" Ember whispered in annoyance just as Mikan began to wake up.
"Ah…wh…what h-" Mikan began before she noticed what she was wearing, "?! Eh…EH~!?" she panicked as she immediately covered her chest, "Wh-Why am I dressed up like this?!"
"Mikan, Mikan! Easy girl…" Akane spoke as she began patting her head to get her to stay calm, "Ibuki and Ember there needed ya in that as part of a distraction."
"And we rocked…!" Ibuki laughed as she flicked a carrot stick to Usagi-kun, "Really, Mi-chan…you got a really nice voice there."
"...I…I do?" Mikan blinked a bit.
"I mean I don't use this trick enough to superimpose my voice over those I possess," Ember spoke, "But yeah…you got a nice set of pipes on ya."
"...I…I can sing well…" Mikan whispered as she smiled a bit, "Mmm…"
"...ugh…know what…before I head out, I may as well give you girls some payment or something," Ember groaned.
"Frankly, I thought you would've…" Jenny began.
"Hey, 'Buki! Mind handing her your guitar for a moment?" Ember interrupted before Ibuki was before her with her guitar in her hands, "...close your eyes."
"Eh? ...kay," Ibuki shrugged as she did, unaware of a green-light going off for a moment, "But Ibuki doesn't see why…"
"Open 'em up and look."
"?" Ibuki blinked as she did and looked down at her guitar...and saw Ember's name written on it with a faint green glow, "?!"
"Normally I don't do many autographs for humans unless I got them under my spell, but given that performance we did earlier…I'll make an exception," Ember grinned, "Call it a parting gift…from one rock legend to one in the making."
"...Ahh~" Ibuki gasped as she fell over onto the floor with stars in her eyes.
Ember rolled her eyes a bit with a light amused smile before looking at Mikan, "...Mikan, right?"
"Eek! S-sorry!" Mikan yelped.
"No no…don't apologize…in fact, you have no reason to," Ember stated as she walked up to her, "I just need you to take this advice to heart."
"...a…advice?" Mikan repeated.
"Yeah…break out of that little shell of yours," Ember stated, making her blink a bit in confusion, "I've seen your memories…and being a bad ghost, that….what you went through is really messed up, and I get you want to help people..that's why you wanted to study as a nurse, right?"
"...y….yeah…"
"Good. I getcha…but listen…" Ember began as she gained a serious expression, "You don't owe anyone any sort of apology, especially if they act like an asshole towards you. You think if you let people walk all over you, they'll accept you...but that's not right. That doesn't give that little brat and those kids who bullied you the right to walk all over you. You don't owe any asshole any type of apology!"
"?!" Mikan flinched a bit at her tone.
"Look...I don't know much about doctors and stuff, but I do know…they gotta have nerves of steel to deal with the type of stuff they see every day," Ember continued, "I mean, you managed to see my burn marks…and didn't even flinch once…Hell, you didn't even faint before you finally noticed I was a ghost."
"...W-Well of course," Mikan slowly nodded, "I…I just…can't imagine the type of pain you went through...I...I wish I was there to help but..but…" she paused as she began to sniffle, "I'm sorry…"
"Again...don't be," Ember sighed as she patted her head, "It's my cross to bear…no need to get yourself mixed up with a bad girl like me anyways…" she added as she began to walk off, "Besides next time me and Wakeman meet…we're gonna be enemies again."
"Had a feeling," Jenny muttered.
"But….you girls ever in town while I'm on break and not dealing with the Halfa…let me know," Emer grinned as she looked back at them, "In fact, don't be surprised…when the whole world remembers my name!" she laughed as she strummed her guitar before vanishing.
"Remind me not to go with you on that trip…" Kuon spoke up.
"Noted…" Jenny whispered with a nod before looking down at Ibuki, her rabbit poking at her as she still had a happy smile on her face, '...Huh. I wonder what Ibuki said to her that…'
"HEY!"
"?!" The group jumped as they looked towards the doorway, seeing a very angry Hiyoko standing there...with milk and juice stains all over her kimono.
"...Yeesh. What happened to you?" Akane asked.
"THOSE TWO IS WHAT HAPPENED!" she snapped as she pointed at Mikan and Ibuki, "After they held that stupid concert, I went to try and get some special juice I had to calm me down...only for those two to bump into me and cause me to spill it! And just as I was leaving for my room…they did it again and bumped into someone drinking milk!"
"That sounds like a you problem…" Kuon muttered.
"SHUT UP!" Hiyoko snapped as she stomped up to Mikan, "YOU!"
"?!" Mikan tensed as the traditional dancer slammed her hands on her desk.
"You're going to make it up to me by cleaning my kimono!" she barked, "And pay back all the money on that juice you made me spill, carry all my books for me, and do all my homework for the month! Do it and I'll let you forgive me!"
"..."
"...Hey! Are you listening to me!?" Hiyoko snapped, "You still need to pay me back for all those insults earlier today too, so get to it you filthy swine!"
"...n…"
"...what?"
"...n….no…" Mikan whispered as she trembled.
"Grr….SPEAK LOUDER YOU STUPID UGLY P-" Hiyoko snapped.
"I SAID NO, YOU LITTLE…!"
"?!" Kizakura nearly gagged on his drink when he heard a loud curse in the air.
"...hmm. Sounds like someone venting," Kirigiri noted as Yukizome was helping file some paperwork for some officers as they helped finish loading up a still unconscious and bloodied Korekiyo into a police-guarded ambulance.
"...Jumpin Jiminies…." Jenny whispered with wide eyes, she and the others…even Kuon was taken back as they all stared on at Mikan, who heavily panted as Hiyoko just stood there…with her pigtails blown all the way back.
"Woah….she finally snapped at her," Akane whispered.
"I win the pool…" Kuon spoke up.
"..." Mikan took a slow deep breath before looking at Hiyoko, "G….Gomen, but…no. I….had a long day, so…if you want someone to clean your kimono and get you your juice….d-do it yourself…"
"?!" Hiyoko gawked further as Mikan stood up and began to walk off.
"I…I'll be in my room…I'll see you girls tomorrow…" Mikan whispered, holding her shaking hand as she left the room.
"...Huh…Wha happuh…" Ibuki muttered as she finally woke up, "Ibuki may have had a fangasm just now…"
"Kuon wins the pool again," Kuon smirked.
"?" Ibuki blinked as she noticed the frozen state Hiyoko was in, "...Mi-chan finally snapped?"
"Eeyup."
"Wow…." Ibuki blinked before smiling, "Go Mi-chan…"
"Never underestimate the quiet ones…" Jenny whispered.
"Indeed…" Kyoko agreed…before mentally sighing, 'There goes my new books…'
SZ: Welp…this is what happens when you push someone too far…even someone like Mikan, and we've seen what happened with her in the second Danganronpa game.
Z0: It's all fun and games till the nice one snaps.
SZ: Especially the shy ones, because…oh you don't know what type of beast you'll unleash…
GT: Yeah…Speak softly and carry a big stick…
Z0: But anyway, your probably wondering Readers, why we treated this one with such seriousness…while a certain other is…treated as comedy…cause…well…that's how the world, lore, and games themselves treated them. One is just evil…the other is totally…goofy.
SZ: Eeyup…while Danganropa has a group of colorful characters…don't forget this series can get….pretty dark at times...Korekiyo being a prime fucking example.
Z0: Also our first crazy killer is a deranged glasses wearing goof whom by the end of the series lore was…mostly heroic. This guy…pretty sure the intent is: Hate him and don't feel bad for his death. You are allowed to have a character to just hate for being evil. Lord knows that by the third game we kind of expected it.
SZ: Eeyup…anyways folks, we hoped you enjoyed this chapter regardless…and worry not. We're gonna be getting back to the main story soon enough. Also for those wondering why we keep coming back to the Kibougamine crew…worry not. We'll still focus on the other characters in our story.
Z0: Enjoy folks, we'll try and get more goofy next time.
GT: We'll do our best for the next Side Story for goofy and not seriousness. 'Till then, please Read and Review!