Chapter 1: Silence of the Sacrificial Lamb (Daily Life #02)
Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of cursing, character death, sexual innuendos (thanks Maggie), and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series, most notably the first one. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there!
With that said, please enjoy!
Wheeze.
Wheeze.
Wheeze.
Kane knocked on the door softly before letting himself in the hospital room. His condition had gotten worse, doctors said. There wasn't much they could do at this point. All they could do was help him live the rest of his days, waiting for his time to be over. Every whisper from the hospital halls he heard did little to help him ignore the harsh reality of the situation. Kane clutched the bouquet of roses tightly in his hand as he walked over to the side of the bed.
He set the flowers down by the table. His old man turned to him with a weak smile. When he had first been admitted to the hospital, all they had to worry about was the aching feeling in his throat. By the next month, he had begun to have trouble breathing. By the next week, he needed to use the ventilator. Every day following that, Kane had visited him twice a day: one in the morning, one at night.
Today was a special day though. Today he took the day off from their pawnshop to spend the entire day with him. Kane held his weakening hands softly.
"Happy anniversary Grandpa," Kane smiled softly toward him. "How are you feeling?"
"Like Death's head on a mop-stick," Grandpa chuckled softly, taking off his ventilator. His face had gotten thinner. He hadn't been eating well. He couldn't eat well. His arms and body, once well-built, had now shriveled, thinning him into almost nothing but bones. Grandpa coughed and breathed into the ventilator. "Goodness, Kanenoshin. You didn't have to be with me today. Who's going to look after the pawnshop? An old man like me will only slow you down, boy."
"Don't say that Grandpa," Kane held Grandpa's wrist gingerly. "Today wouldn't be complete without my favorite person in the world…"
Grandpa gripped Kane's hand. He smiled through his ventilator. It was a weak smile. He only had a couple of months left to live. While he would have liked to see Kane live the rest of his life without him, just his grandson being here was… nice.
But he let go of Kane's hand. He looked down, eyes filled with regret and sadness.
"...It's been 13 years since I found you in that box, boy," Grandpa reminisced. "You were so cold. You were crying your little eyes out and I told you that it was going to be okay. Because I promised you that I will take care of you for the rest of your life. I'm so sorry Kanenoshin. I guess the roots of my past got to me far quicker than I had imagined."
He coughed, gesturing to his lungs.
"I won't be able to keep that promise…" Grandpa looked solemn. Kane didn't know what to say. Instead, he just held Grandpa's hand close to him.
"Look Grandpa," Kane looked at him. "We still have time. So, let's just make the best of what we can alright? Quick talking so down. You're just going to make me cry."
"Sorry my boy," Grandpa chuckled, pressing his forehead to Kane's forehead. "It's just the old man in me. I'm just so proud to see how you turned out."
"I promise you Grandpa," Kane smiled. "It's my turn to take care of you. I'll take care of you and the shop and your legacy. I'll protect all of it!"
"Haha, so much work for a little boy like yourself," Grandpa laughed, coughing slightly as he did.
"I'm not so little anymore Grandpa," Kane grinned. "I'm practically old enough to run the shop now. So you just leave everything to me. I won't ever leave you."
"...That makes me the happiest old fart in the world," Grandpa laughed once more, coughing even more than he did before.
Kane meant it. He won't ever leave him.
…
He won't ever leave his Grandpa…
7:00 AM.
Carter got little to no sleep last night.
How could he? Just yesterday he learned he was in a Killing Game and nearly drowned to death with people he hardly knew. It was a hell of a nightmare to be in. At least, he tried to convince himself it was a nightmare.
But as soon as he opened his eyes again, he saw it again. The room that he was trapped in. The room of the prison he was supposed to try to escape today. Was there any escape from such a prison? Carter didn't know.
He just got up and decided to wake himself up. A nice shower should get himself ready for the day. He checked the mirror and noticed a set of toothbrushes and toothpaste for him to use.
At least White Collar was generous to give them some essentials for their stay if that was any positive to go by.
With a sigh of slight anxiousness, Carter decided to exit his room and head straight to the Cafeteria. They all said they would meet at 8 in the morning but being early never hurt anyone, right?
It's as Kane said: the early bird gets the worm. That phrase was going to be outdated soon but still, best to get that worm!
Carter opened the door and blindly walked out before bumping into somebody.
"Ah!" Carter fell onto the floor with a thud. "Urgh. S-Sorry about th-"
…
Lawson the Lamb stood there, grinning intensely into Carter's eyes. The mannequin wasn't moving but it was still a scary sight nonetheless. Any time now, Carter should-
"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!"
(Cafeteria)
"I did mention the lamb thing last night," was the first thing Jared said when he heard Carter's horrific tale from beyond the prison walls. "It was dubbed 'equally useless'..."
Jared turned to stare at Arthur. The rich-looking man had his eyes closed and arms crossed, seeming to not care about the conversation at hand.
Almost everyone had gathered in the cafeteria. Out of the numbers that had yet to gather was a measly 8. In other words, only 8 people were currently in the cafeteria. And the other 8 were in God knows where. The 8 people in the cafeteria were Arthur, Barracuda, Carter, Haruto, Ina, Jared, Titus, and Zuri. Originally, there were 9 people but Kane had opted to go search for those who had yet to arrive.
"Th-That's a lamb?!" Carter widened his eyes. "If th-that's a lamb then my talent is boring!"
"It kind of is dipshit," Haruto frowned, rubbing the back of his neck.
"N-No it's not!" Carter exclaimed.
"How did something like that move I wonder?" Zuri asked, tapping the side of her chin.
"When Jared and I saw it the first time, it could move its bodies in all sorts of ways," Barracuda stated. "I wouldn't be surprised if it could even walk too."
"Or maybe someone moved it?" Titus suggested.
"Can't be," Ina shook her head. "We were supposed to stay in our rooms or risk getting killed, remember?"
"That's correct," Arthur nodded. "Monohebi may have said that last night was going to be overlooked but we all agreed to not take the chance. So unless someone was willing to take the risk, there is no way anyone should've moved the… lamb… thing."
"S-So it really did move by itself!" Carter exclaimed, looking horrified. "And it made sure it stopped at my door! D-Does that mean I'm going to get marked for death?! I- I know I made mistakes but I d-don't deserve to die for those!"
Arthur didn't say anything. Instead he just raised an eyebrow at what Carter had unknowingly revealed. Haruto spoke up.
"Fucking hell, calm your shit down dude," Haruto sighed. "It's probably just programmed to walk around at night or something. Simple as that."
"Or it's possessed by demons," Ina looked serious.
"No one fucking asked you!" Haruto glared at Ina, clenching his fist.
That's when the other 8 had slowly begun to arrive. The first to walk through the cafeteria door was Yuumi, who seemed much happier than she had been yesterday. She even brought along Sailor Penguin who seemed much cleaner than he had been yesterday as well.
"Hello!" Yuumi greeted happily. She perked her head at the slight tension in the room. "What's going on?"
"Nothing of the sort," Arthur shook his head as he answered Yuumi. "We were just preparing to converse over what we will be doing for the day."
"H-Hey, hey hey hey!" Carter frowned. "Don't just act like what happened is nothing! We were talking about that lamb thing running around at night!"
"Lamb thing?" Yuumi perked her head confused. "Hmm, I don't think I know any lamb things. Do you know anything, Sailor Penguin?"
She looked toward her companion toy. As expected, Sailor Penguin didn't say anything. It was a toy that didn't seem to have any sort of voice lines or functions that could make it speak. In other words, waiting for a response from the toy penguin was practically hopeless.
"Mmm, sorry, I guess we can't help you there," Yuumi giggled innocently.
"Urgh, did we seriously have to meet up at 8 in the morning?" came the complaint of Abigail who, despite having gotten herself ready, was still relatively tired.
"Yeah, some of us still require beauty sleep you know," Maggie had been beside Abigail, rubbing her eyes slightly.
"Mmmm, don't break Mimi out of Dream World…" Mimi mumbled through her closed eyelids before blinking awake. She had been holding Maggie's hand, who in turn had been guiding the young witch to the Cafeteria. "Oh… awww… I was imagining myself in the Princesses' Castle…"
"We'll go to the Princesses' Castle after we escape, alright hon?" Maggie smiled toward Mimi. "For now, sorry we're late. I know we were supposed to meet at 8. But from the looks of it, I guess we're not the only ones who are late anyway."
"That's right!" Barracuda grinned. "We're still missing that quiet kid, that rich girl, Kane, and Cassandra!"
"That rich girl's name is Mayu," Arthur crossed his arms.
"That quiet kid's name is Holland," Jared noted.
"Oh!" Barracuda blinked. "Aww. Sorry about that. I'm still learning names here."
"No need to worry about that Barry," Maggie chuckled. "We only just met each other yesterday."
"B-Barry?" Barracuda blinked. "S-Say… that's… that's not a bad name."
"Ohhh, you like name-calling do you?" Maggie looked at him with a sly smirk. "I'll have you know that I can call you all sorts of things if you want me to…"
"Girl, it's too early for this," Titus looked at her in bewilderment before nodding in content. "But respect all around."
"Don't encourage her!" Jared looked at Titus.
"Salutations my friends!" came the voice of Kane, who had just arrived with Mayu and Holland. Holland looked tired, emotionlessly tired. It didn't seem like the early meetup time bothered him that much even though he really was tired but for Mayu, that was a whole different story. She looked very expectant but as soon as she stepped foot into the Cafeteria, she looked down.
"S-Seriously?" Mayu asked. "No one made any breakfast? No one at all?"
"None of us are exactly the Ultimate Chef here y'know," Haruto growled at Mayu.
"Yeah but still!" Mayu pouted. "A young lady such as myself needs food! Are you telling me no one here knows how to cook anything?"
Silence.
That didn't help calm Mayu down at all. Instead, she ended up sitting by herself at one of the cafeteria tables and groaned to herself. It's only Day 2 and she already felt as if this was torture. Not that anyone cared. Mayu was being a little too ridiculous, just muttering the same thing over and over again.
"I'm seriously going to die here," Mayu feigned a sigh. "Die of starvation. No food for my tummy…"
"...So Holland," Jared looked toward Holland, ignoring Mayu's complaints. "What took you so long to get out of bed?"
Holland had to give his answer some thought before shrugging. Jared had to look closely but the guy seemed to be a bit groggy.
"...Couldn't sleep," Holland merely responded.
"You and me both," Carter sighed, quietly.
"I slept great!" Yuumi giggled. "And so did Sailor Penguin! He also made a friend last night too!"
"Yeah, uh, to put this lightly," Haruto crossed his arms, looking toward Yuumi. "No one gives a fuck. Now where's that bitch Cassandra? She's the only one not here."
"No surprise she'd be the last person to join us," Ina shook her head in disappointment.
Kane looked down a bit.
"Yeah uh, she's not joining us," Kane frowned.
"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "But why? Didn't we all promise to meet at the Brewing Room at 8?"
"Hey hey, I tried to get her to come but she kept rejecting me!" Kane frowned, holding up his hands in defense. "Told me to leave her alone. So I guess we'll have to start our day without her."
"Like hell we are, that fucking bitch," Haruto growled. "Let's just go and drag her ass out of her room. There is no way we're letting her off that easily!"
"If she doesn't wish to join, it won't help if we continue to provoke her to come," Arthur shook his head. "Let's just leave it at that and continue on with our morning meeting. What is the plan today?"
"Find an escape!" Barracuda grinned.
"Yes, but how?" Arthur sighed.
"Oh, uh, I… I don't know," Barracuda looked down.
"There's a hatch in the Revolutionary room that I want to try to open," Ina said. "If anyone cares to join me for that, by all means. If not then, that's where I'll be."
"I also want to check the freezer for a possible secret passageway as well," Abigail stated. "Though, I'm going to need at least two people. Let's see… How about…"
Abigail pointed toward Barracuda and Arthur.
"You guys," Abigail pointed.
"Me?" Barracuda blinked.
"And why exactly do I have to join?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"Well, I don't usually trust anyone to join me," Abigail shrugged. "But if there's anyone who can help tackle that freezer, why not the Ultimate Snowboarder? You should be pretty used to the cold and stuff."
Arthur took her answer into consideration before smirking.
"I accept your answer," Arthur smirked, before looking prideful. "As the Ultimate Snowboarder, the cold hardly bothers me."
"Ice Queen Arthur?" Mimi gasped.
"No," Arthur flatly told Mimi.
"And I'm joining because…?" Barracuda looked toward Abigail expectantly.
"...You're just there to help me out in case fancy-pants here decides to hook me onto one of those meat hooks or something," Abigail stated. "That and in the off chance that we get locked inside the freezer or something, a little muscle should help us break out."
"I see!" Barracuda grinned. He seemed content with that answer.
"In that case, I'm planning on doing a weapon sweep inside my Ultimate Cell," Jared stated. "Mainly getting rid of any bullets in those firearms. I'm going to need assistance in doing so, so please by all means, join me in some fun bullet-removing quality time!... And helping me move the lamb thing back to my Ultimate Cell where it belongs..."
"I do love quality time," Maggie smiled. "You can count on me!"
"S-Sure, I have nothing better to do," Carter crossed his arms, looking hesitant. He wasn't going to go anywhere near that lamb thing but at the same time, what else could he do today besides spend the time wasting his life in his room?
...
"I see today we're all going to be pretty busy," Kane gave a nod once everyone had said their piece on what they planned to do for the day. Although some didn't speak up, Kane had trusted that they too would be able to find any sign of an exit to this hellish place. "Let's try to meet up at around 10 PM tonight. That should be sufficient time to hopefully find a place out of this joint!"
Everyone in the room shared a nod and left. They were going to escape today. And once they did, they will have Arthur treat them to a nice celebratory dinner.
No one informed Arthur of this however.
(Ultimate Revolutionary's Cell)
Normally, Ina wouldn't have suggested anyone to help her do a simple task such as this. She was keen and adamant on doing things herself. But even she knew that a hatch like this couldn't be opened without at least some assistance. Titus and Haruto were both very tall men and could definitely reach the hatch no problem so in a way, she was glad those two wanted to help out with this conundrum.
"So what are we looking at?" Titus asked, curiously, his gaze fixated onto the ceiling.
"The hatch," Haruto gruffly responded.
"Oh, that thing," Titus chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's a bit too high for me but for you guys, I think a single jump should be able to at least get you to grip the hatch's handle," Ina stated.
"Then that's where I come in," Haruto gave a nod and a determined grin. "As the Ultimate Basketball Player, my jumps exceed every other person in this place... Just one question though. When I do make it, how the hell do I turn the hatch's wheel? I'd be hanging around like a dangling piece of shit."
"He's got a point," Titus crossed his arms before looking happy. He had an idea. "Hey hey, maybe we should make a human ladder! That way, we can reach the hatch and the person on top can turn the wheel!"
"Solid idea," Ina gave a nod. "Human ladder it is."
"Dibs on top!" Titus exclaimed.
"Guess I'll be bottom then," Haruto crossed his arms. "I at least know I can hold the both of you steady enough to help open the hatch."
Haruto squatted down on the floor and held out his hands. Ina was next, stepping on Haruto's hands in order to place her foot onto his shoulders. Then it was Titus's turn. He had a little more trouble trying to climb up the human ladder, but eventually, he was able to do it. He was at the top and already Ina was starting to struggle.
"Oi, don't drop him," Haruto glared at Ina. "If I can hold two people, you can hold one! So, keep yourself steady damn it!"
"Yes yes," Ina struggled a bit. "P-Please hurry Titus."
"...Clockwise or counterclockwise?" Titus asked as he stared at the hatch's valve in thought.
"A-Any!" Ina exclaimed. "Try any of them."
"Clockwise it is," Titus smiled as he tried pulling. Nothing happened. "Didn't work. Counterclockwise then."
Nothing happened again. It was like the hatch was stuck or glued. No matter how hard Titus tried to pull, the hatch never moved.
"Man!" Titus sighed. "It didn't work either! It's stuck!"
"Fucking seriously?" Haruto growled.
"It's a bust then," Ina sighed.
After a few more moments of Titus trying to move the valve around, the three gave up the human ladder and sat on the ground, attempting to rest their strength. Ina had to check her shoulder a few times to see if anything broke during that excursion. Haruto on the other hand just stared at her.
"Hey," Haruto rolled his eyes. "Hurts like hell, right? Now try with two people on top of you. You'll fucking hate that for sure."
"...Are you sure you pulled hard enough?" Ina looked at Titus.
"Yeah girl!" Titus nodded. "Scout's Honor! I tried to pull as hard as I could! It wouldn't budge!"
"Shit," Haruto frowned. "Another fucking dead end. What's the point of putting the thing here anyway? It's like that White Collar fuck wanted to mess with our heads."
"Maybe that's all it was from the very beginning," Ina sighed.
…
The three sat on the ground for a little longer. All three were silent, not wanting to say much. The hatch was pretty much a go-to lead for an escape, but they should've expected that White Collar would've seen their attempt coming. A hatch that couldn't even open. It didn't make any sense. But then again, if their time in that drowning chamber was anything to go by, they probably should've figured that a hatch like that would probably be involved with the game in some way.
"So, what's your guy's deal huh?" Haruto spoke up, resting his back against the wall.
"What do you mean?" Titus asked.
"Well, the chick here talks about demons or whatever and you look like you came out of the fucking 1960s," Haruto stated. "What's up with that anyway?"
Titus was silent for a moment as he looked up at the ceiling.
"...I'm… not too sure," Titus tapped his chin in thought.
"It's your fashion statement," Haruto raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you're not sure?"
Once again, Titus turned silent and looked back up at the ceiling. Haruto had to look up to see what he was staring at: nothing but the ceiling.
"Hmmm…. Good question," Titus continued to tap his chin in thought.
"Hey, are you just fucking with me?" Haruto looked back at him, irritated by the lack of actual responses from the psychedelic conductor.
"No no, I just… I just can't think of an answer," Titus scratched his head. "Or rather, I just… don't remember. Yeah, maybe that's it. Maybe I don't remember…"
"Don't remember?" Ina blinked. "Is it amnesia?"
"What's amnesia?" Titus blinked.
"Amnesia, like memory loss," Ina stated. She could go on a tangent about retrograde amnesia too, but all that information was worthless to the current topic at hand. She looked at Titus, a little curiously now. "You don't remember why you dyed your hair neon green and pink?"
"...Well," Titus chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "It's kind of embarrassing to say but I relatively don't remember much of my life before I got here. Like I know I had a family and everything but all I can remember is small flashes here and there."
"What are they about?" Haruto asked, crossing his arms. He normally wouldn't be too invested in a topic like this but a guy who can't remember much of his life compared to the rest of them? That itself was strange.
"...My mom and grandparents," Titus closed his eyes, playing with his neon braids.
"How did you get here anyway?" Ina asked. "I mean, what's the last thing you remember before waking up in those cells?"
Titus crossed his arms in thought. He had to think hard about it. He knew he could only remember his mother and grandparents but what else could he remember about his life? Titus had to shake his head a few times before looking up. He looked a little serious but immediately went back to smiling positively.
"I… actually don't know," Titus laughed. "Crazy right? But, enough about me. Just trying to remember makes my brain hurt. What about you two? What's the last thing you guys remember before waking up?"
Ina and Haruto looked at each other, a little unsatisfied by Titus's response. But if he didn't want to say anything more on the matter, then best they leave it at that and only that. Ina was the first to respond to Titus's question.
"...I was ambushed," Ina merely responded. "Then I woke up here."
"Huh, that's it?" Titus looked disappointed. He looked at Haruto. "What about you?"
"...I was at the local basketball courts," Haruto frowned, rubbing his head. "I don't remember much after that but… That bastard White Collar probably got the jump on me there."
"Man, I had to reveal that I may or may not have amnesia and you guys just say that you got jumped?" Titus looked down. "I was hoping for something way cooler than whatever I have!"
"Oi, amnesia's no joke dumbass," Haruto frowned at him.
"...Let's hope you remember something," Ina bit her finger. "Maybe there is a reason as to why you can't remember some things. Perhaps… this was White Collar's doing?"
"Yeah, as if someone can control someone's memory like that," Haruto gritted his teeth. "Get fucking real lady."
"You'd be surprised at what the deepest parts of the world end up hiding," Ina stared at Haruto darkly. "Do not underestimate those demonic forces."
"C-Can we stop talking about my memory?" Titus asked with a laugh. "It's seriously no big deal guys."
Haruto and Ina stared at him in uncertainty. Titus didn't seem to like to indulge on his memory/amnesia problem. Perhaps he was hiding something. But Ina wasn't going to pry and Haruto planned to focus more on escaping rather than what goes on in someone's head.
(Freezer)
The freezer was a large room completely frozen over. Boxes of ice cream were stacked on one side while the other side were filled with refrigerators consisting of other frozen foods. Hanging inside the center of the freezer were slabs of meat from all sorts of animal parts. Barracuda and Arthur didn't seem to mind those but Abigail had to try to avoid feeling sick to her stomach. Key word: try.
"Oh God," Abigail covered her mouth. "They really just hang meat like that?"
"You were the one who wanted to come here, weren't you?" Arthur crossed his arms.
"Yeah but I didn't expect to find meat being hung like this," Abigail sickly stated. "Oh fuck. I'll just be outside. Yeah, I'll be outside."
"What are you, a vegan?" Arthur stared at Abigail. "It's just meat. A little inhumane to leave it hanging, but they do it for a reason."
"Yeah, see?" Abigail frowned. "Inhumane! You said it yourself!"
"Brrrr, it's cold," Brrrracuda said, hugging himself tightly to keep himself warm. "Can we just find that secret passageway now? Where is it?"
"I'm not sure," Arthur crossed his arms, the cold not even bothering him. "The lady here was the one who stated that there may be an exit in the freezer. But it's nothing more than speculation."
"Yeah, speculation," Abigail deadpanned. "Just… go move around some objects. Maybe some of them are secret levers. I don't know."
Barracuda did as he was told. He pushed aside some boxes. Pushed some slabs of meat so it would swing like a pendulum, which inadvertently grossed Abigail out even more. He opened and closed refrigerator doors. He knocked on the walls. Ultimately, everything he did, nothing happened. So they were here for nothing.
(Kitchen)
The three moved out of the freezer and sighed after feeling the warm air from the kitchen. The mission was a bust, as it really should've been because why would a secret passageway be in the freezer of all places? Kane was also in the kitchen, having been lingering around, waiting for them.
"Well?" was the first thing Kane had asked the three. "Any secret exits or passageways?"
"No," Barracuda just looked down.
"The mission was a blatant waste of time," Arthur coldly sighed. "If we're going to have to find an exit, we'll have to search elsewhere."
"Sorry for making a suggestion on where a potential hidden exit could be," Abigail frowned. "Last time I try to say my thoughts and have people help out."
"Well, it was still a valid suggestion," Kane scratched the back of his neck. "A freezer would be one of the last places anyone would check. But I guess we got confirmation that it's not it."
"What about you?" Arthur asked Kane. "Why are you here in the kitchen anyway?"
Kane looked at Arthur. He looked back toward the Cafeteria. He could still see Mayu outside, looking down that there wasn't anything to eat. He smiled slightly and looked back at the three.
"Well…" Kane slightly chuckled. "I'm going to try to cook everyone up something."
"We have food?" Barracuda looked surprised.
"More like a chef," Arthur crossed his arms with a nod and a slight smile before switching to a more piercing gaze. "But pray tell, why did it take you so long for you to finally admit you knew how to cook?!"
"Hey hey, I thought the most important thing was looking for an escape," Kane scratched the back of his head. "Escape first, eat later! That and I'm not that good of a cook…"
"Any food is better than no food at all!" Barracuda declared. "Besides! I'm starving! Cook something up and then we will continue our search!"
"Well, I'll try," Kane crossed his arms.
"Where did you learn to cook?" Arthur stared at Kane. "A pawnbroker such as yourself wouldn't have much time to cook for yourself would you?"
"Hmmm, Grandpa taught me the basics," Kane answered. "The rest are self-taught since when I got old enough, I had to take care of him… I hope he's doing fine without me…"
Kane looked down. Grandpa was probably worried sick over where he was. But it was going to be fine. He was going to escape back to their families. They'll all be fine. Yeah! They'll be fine…
"What about you guys?" Kane brought back his smile. "What are your families like?"
"Oh yeah, it's something," Abigail looked away, crossing her arms.
Arthur didn't even respond.
"Um, Barracuda?" Kane turned to the larger male who had been staring at his chain for a while after Kane had mentioned his family.
"...I miss them," Barracuda merely stated, looking back up the three.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we all miss our loved ones too," Kane chuckled. He turned to Abigail and Arthur who had yet to express any sort of empathy for what their families and loved ones may be doing. "Right Abigail? Arthur?"
Arthur once again didn't say anything. Instead, he looked a little irritated that Kane was asking about it again. Abigail on the other hand shook her head.
"Yeah, well, my mom can go fuck herself," Abigail crossed her arms with a frown. "She probably doesn't even care that I'm kidnapped so… Why should I?"
"Oh…" Kane looked away. "I see. Then Arthur-"
"Please stop asking me about my family," Arthur crossed his arms. "I thought we were here to talk about any areas of escape. Not indulge in idle chatter over our apparent family issues."
"R-Right, sorry," Kane looked down.
Arthur was definitely irritated. So was Abigail. Barracuda looked saddened and Kane looked disappointed. The freezer was a bust. The hope to look forward to reuniting with their family was also a bust. And frankly, anyone could tell that Arthur might have something going on between him and whoever is a part of his family…
(Prison Lounge)
With most people doing some work in finding an exit, Holland decided this was a better time than anything to play a simple game of chess with himself. He was setting up the board, but this time he was careful to avoid the painfully sharp crown of the Kings. There didn't seem to be much enjoyment on his face as he set up the board or thought about how fun it would be to play the game, but here he was, setting up a chess game for himself.
Once he set the box down, he sat down and prepared to move his first piece as white. That was when she arrived…
"Holland?" Zuri's voice interrupted the game that would never start. "What are you doing?"
"Ah… Zuri," Holland blankly stared at her. "Just playing chess."
"By yourself?" Zuri asked. "But isn't that kind of lonely?"
"...No, not really," Holland responded, looking off into the distance. "It's as fun to play by yourself as it is to play with someone else. In fact, I can't wait to play."
He said this all with a straight emotionless face.
"...I see," Zuri blinked. She nervously chuckled. For someone who sounded ecstatic, he sure didn't look that way to her. She glanced at the seat by the chess board and looked back toward Holland. "Um, do you mind if I play with you?"
"...Do you know how to play?" Holland asked.
"Not really," Zuri chuckled, rubbing the back of her head. "I've spent most of my life just practicing for the Dream Palms, so I never really got to touch games like this."
"...It's a classic," Holland nodded. "...I'll teach you."
Holland sat down across from her. He was black. She was white. He gestured to her with a straight face as he spoke in a never-changing tone of voice.
"...In order to play chess, you need to know what each piece does and what your ultimate goal is," Holland stated. "Your ultimate goal is to corner your opposition's King."
Holland held up the King piece, making sure to avoid the tip of the King's crown.
"W-Why are the King pieces so sharp?" Zuri asked, glancing at the King pieces.
"...I'm not sure, but I could replace them if it makes you uncomfortable," Holland merely said.
"N-No, it's fine," Zuri insisted. "It was just a question. No need to do anything."
"...I see," Holland tapped his chin. Again, no expression changed on his face. That was starting to worry Zuri in fact.
"I-I'm sorry," Zuri looked down. "I… I must be annoying you."
"...Hm?" Holland perked his head. The gesture told her he was confused but his face just told her he didn't care. "...Why would you think that?"
"I… I don't know," Zuri twiddled her fingers nervously. This conversation was going down for the worst. She should've just kept her mouth shut. "It's just… I just can't help feeling that I'm taking away time from you in order for you to teach me how to play. I'm really sorry."
"...There's nothing to be sorry about," Holland said with a straight face. "I don't mind at all."
"A-Are you sure?" Zuri asked him.
"...Mhm," Holland gave a nod.
Zuri didn't believe it. She definitely felt like he was getting annoyed. What else should she say to him? If she continued this line of thought then he might get even more annoyed with her. That's the last thing she wanted! They were all in this scenario together so if he ends up hating her then…
"What does this piece do?" Zuri quickly changed the subject and held up the strange pope-like piece.
"...That's a bishop," Holland stated. "It moves diagonally."
"Oh, I see," Zuri fiddled with the piece. Holland stared at her. He was very much not annoyed as much as Zuri had thought he was. In fact, he himself wasn't sure if he did something wrong but he certainly felt as if he was making her uncomfortable. Or was it…
"...I'm serious," Holland said. "If the sharp point on the King makes you uncomfortable, then I can replace them."
"N-No no," Zuri shook her head. "It has nothing to do with the Kings. I- I swear!"
"...Does it have to do with… me?" Holland looked at her. If he showed even the slightest bit of emotion, he would probably feel a little sad. He kind of felt it but he didn't show it.
"...I'm sorry Holland," Zuri twiddled around with her fingers. "I'm just… I'm just not good at trying to meet new people, y'know?"
"...Me too," Holland merely stated. "But you'll probably be able to make more friends than me anyway…"
"Huh?" Zuri blinked. "What makes you say that?"
"...You're very nice to other people," Holland tapped his chin. "And you're the type of person people like to be around. Very good quality for friend-making."
"And you aren't?" Zuri asked with a slight frown.
Holland didn't say anything. Instead, he just closed his eyes and fixed his shirt before opening his eyes back up again.
"...People find it hard to talk to me," Holland responded. "...So that's why I think you're better at making friends than me."
Zuri looked at Holland. As straight as his face is, something in her told her that he was probably a little down on himself over this. So, she moved her bishop over a pawn onto a diagonal space. Holland merely stared at her.
"Well, I'd like to be your friend Holland," Zuri gave him an assuring smile.
Holland stared at her for a moment before looking at the bishop.
"...You can't move the bishop like that," Holland stated. "The pawn blocks the bishop, so you have to move the pawn first."
"Ah!" Zuri saw her mistake. "I see. Then… I move the pawn first. Any pawn, right?"
Holland gave a nod. Although his face hadn't changed the entire time they played chess together, Zuri and Holland certainly grew a little closer today…
(Cafeteria)
Cassandra finally left her room after some time. Whatever plans the group had made while she remained alone in her room had been made, allowing her to do whatever she wanted for the whole day. This was a win-win situation. The group can find an exit and she can piggyback along for the ride… or she finds an exit and leaves the rest of them to rot. She preferred the latter option, but the former option was fine too as long as she survived.
The fools were too trusting of one another. This game was a game of betrayal and backstabs. No one has died yet but the moment someone drops, Cassandra knew that would be enough to start a chain reaction of events enough to push someone into a long moment of grief and torment.
She's lived her life knowing what the world was like. She just knew that this game would tear people apart, no matter how much they claimed to be friends. She just knew…
"...Oh, hell no, why are you here?" Cassandra looked displeased when she saw Mayu sitting at the cafeteria bench.
Mayu didn't respond. Instead, she was back to 'air-eating'. Just shoving nothing but air into her mouth as she blankly stared. It took a while before she ultimately snapped back to reality…
"Oh, it's you, average girl," Mayu sighed, rubbing her stomach.
"Oh fuck you," Cassandra glared at Mayu. "I don't have time for your shit today."
"You asked me a question," Mayu looked toward Cassandra with a perk of her head. "Shouldn't I answer?"
"Yeah but whatever your answer will be, it's just going to piss me off," Cassandra glared at Mayu. "So thanks but no thanks."
"...I'm just here, starving to death," Mayu looked down. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday morning… or before I woke up here sometime yesterday. My stomach needs food!"
"Yeah well just go find a snack or something," Cassandra crossed her arms. "This has nothing to do with me."
"But aren't you starving too?" Mayu asked the girl whose talent no one really knows. "I mean, you might be like me. You might not have eaten anything before waking up in those cells."
"...So what if I am?" Cassandra huffed, looking away. "It's none of your business whether I'm hungry or not. Besides, you have legs don't you? Just go to the kitchen and make your own damn food. Like I'm going to do."
"You can make food?!" Mayu looked at Cassandra, her mouth slightly drooling.
"Who doesn't know how to make a simple sandwich?!" Cassandra glared at Mayu. She was met with silence. "Wha- Are you kidding me?! God. All of you are hopeless. How is it that among you 15, not one person can cook? You don't need to be a MasterChef to fucking put bread, cheese, lettuce, and tomato together!"
"...Is a sandwich really the best thing you can come up with?" Mayu stared at Cassandra before shaking her head. "So average."
"Hey, fuck you!" Cassandra glared at Mayu. "At least I'm the only one who's actually making something to eat! You're just sitting on your ass fucking breathing. If you're complaining about being hungry and can't even make a simple sandwich because you're too extravagant to have something like that, then you can go starve for all I care."
"Hmph, perhaps I will," Mayu looked at Cassandra with a frown. "Because I'm not eating something as plain as that."
"Your loss," Cassandra glared at Mayu.
"Ugh!" Mayu crossed her arms. "I miss my family chef. At least he can make me a sandwich ten times better than whatever you end up making."
"Yeah well stop comparing me to rich ass Gordon Ramsay and just leave me and my life choices out of it," Cassandra placed a hand on her hip as she turned to head into the kitchen.
Any long with Mayu and Cassandra would seriously cave her head in. She usually wasn't such an overly violent person but Mayu annoyed her to the point that she was willing to dump her out as heavyweight in the case they ever ended up getting hunted down by White Collar and Monohebi should they escape. Again, that was only if the former happened. If the latter happened, then Cassandra would equally be glad to leave Mayu and the rest of these idiots behind.
"Mmmm, beef wellington with lamb sauce…" Mayu started drooling as she stared up into the ceiling.
"God," Cassandra shook her head. "Fucking rich people."
Rich people. They really think they have it all but once they start living with the rats is the moment they start living with that newfound perspective.
Pathetic.
Needless to say, Cassandra and Mayu grew a little closer today… totally for the worst though.
(Ultimate Police Officer's Cell)
Everyone was doing something fun like talking and being friends (or close enemies if you're Cassandra and Mayu) but here in the Ultimate Police Officer's Cell, Jared, Maggie, and Carter were ready to do more fun things like talking and taking out bullets from guns.
How fun!
Lawson the Lamb was back in his corner, eyes bulging and mouth grinning widely as he watched Maggie, Jared, and Carter dump bullets into plastic evidence bags. The three had chosen to turn their back and take their mind off of this creepy mannequin. Frankly, it was rude to ignore such a beast, but it was Lawson the Lamb so very understandable to ignore him.
"So, what exactly are you going to do with these once you're done?" Maggie asked Jared as he and Carter dumped the bullets into the bags.
"Easy," Jared gave a smile. "I'll be putting them in the Evidence Room. That way, no one should have access to the bullets to the guns."
"Wouldn't it have been easier if we just put the guns and batons in the Evidence Room?" Carter asked, feeling that the process of counting and collecting bullets from each other was tedious enough as it was.
"Well, I actually did think about that when we cleared out the fifth gun but we've already come so far," Jared chuckled sheepishly.
"Another thing," Carter held up an unloaded gun. "An unloaded gun can still be used as a weapon. So…"
"Well I did think that too but waving an unloaded gun around to hit someone with it takes so much work, don't you think?" Jared stated. "I doubt anyone here would be dumb enough to risk getting found like that. And once they do get found, I'm putting them under house arrest!"
"Boys, boys, boys," Maggie shook her head in amusement. "You both need to relax. No one is going to be playing along with White Collar's dumb game anyway. We're high school students. Not savage killers."
"Y-Yeah, you're right," Carter took a breath. They were still young after all. So there's no way-
"You'd be surprised at how young some of the most notorious killers end up starting showing murderous intentions," Jared stated, his voice suddenly serious.
"Jared," Maggie looked at the officer in disapproval.
"I'm just saying," Jared tipped his police hat. "You can't really trust anyone here that easily. One of us could very much enjoy the entire idea of a Killing Game or enjoy killing people in general."
"And who exactly would that person end up being?" Maggie looked toward Jared.
Jared gave it some thought over some potential suspects who might enjoy the very idea of a Killing Game. Someone who might secretly be a psychopathic sicko…
"See?" Maggie smiled. "You can't think of any-"
"Arthur," Jared named.
"Huh, Arthur?" Carter widened his eyes.
"Usually the most twisted person is the richest person in the room," Jared snapped his fingers in thought. "Because they will have the finances to pull off something like this and no one typically suspects the rich that much."
"By your logic… that means Mayu would be a suspect too," Carter noted.
"Boys," Maggie looked a little more disappointed now. "Are you seriously going to question and suspect the people who amongst you of being killers or deranged psychos?"
Jared rubbed his head. Carter played with his hair. Maggie sighed as Jared finally opened his mouth up for a response.
"...Yeah, you're right," Jared sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't have suspected our own peers like this. I guess suspicion and paranoia just comes with the job. I have been doing this job since I was 13 so I guess the pressure is on me more now than ever."
"Y-Yeah, sorry M-Maggie," Carter looked away, uncertain.
"No need to apologize, you two," Maggie smiled. "And Jared. I get it. I've been forced into the supermodel path when I was young too, so I can understand the pressure you're feeling. Just take it easy alright? I know you're a cop and all but just take it slow. We can't have you falling for White Collar's manipulations, right?"
"Yeah, you're right," Jared gave a nod and a smile of appreciation toward Maggie.
This conversation went on for a while until finally all of the guns had been cleaned out. The bullets had been placed into the evidence bags and Jared and ever so quickly stored them away inside the Evidence Room. Once he had done that, Jared exited the Evidence Room and shut the door before wiping off his forehead.
"So we're trusting everyone to not use the other things right?" Carter eyed the baton, tasers, and unloaded guns.
"Yep, no good in distrusting others," Jared nodded. "As Maggie said of course!"
"What a charmer you are," Maggie gave a sly smirk toward Jared. "Speaking of which, let's take the time to get to know each other. I normally like one-on-one action but with the three of us, it could be something very interesting…"
"I… hope you mean actually talking and not… y'know," Jared stared at Maggie.
"Yes yes!" Maggie coughed a bit. "Of course."
"W-Well, what do you want to know?" Carter looked unsure. "I'm nothing interesting. But I can tell you about some nice stuff about my Ultimate Talent."
"Like what?" Maggie looked interested.
"Oh, well, so for my talent, I can-"
"Can what?" Maggie started to drool.
"I… I can…" Carter was looking even more unsure now.
"Yeah… Yeah?" Maggie looked even more excited now.
"M-Maggie, are you drooling?" Jared stared at her in bewilderment. "You might need to stop there Carter. She's getting too excited."
"B-But I didn't even get to explain the cool parts of my talent…" Carter looked down.
"Y-Your turn Jared," Maggie looked much too excited.
"Huh?" Jared blinked. "I'm just a police officer. It's nothing too cool. I just do pretty stereotypical police officer things like take down criminals, arrest them, read them their Miranda rights, all that stuff."
"Boring response," Maggie looked bored. Guess she was turned off. That was fine.
"M-Me not even getting a chance to explain my talent got you turned on but Jared talking about his talent didn't?" Carter looked at Maggie in bewilderment.
"What can I say?" Maggie winked. "I'm a picky kind of gal…"
Carter looked away, slightly blushing. Jared rubbed the back of his neck. Maggie was something else and a little crazy when it comes to this stuff. But maybe one day Carter's talent will get the recognition it deserved and maybe one day Jared will… Nah.
Jared was fine as he was.
(Auditorium)
"Oh, hello Yuumi!" Mimi greeted Yuumi as she wandered into the Auditorium.
Out of everyone, Mimi definitely felt like Yuumi was the nicest person here. She seemed so nice and innocent, just like herself! But while Mimi was fascinated with witches and fantastical worlds that make no logical sense, Yuumi had a fascination with the ocean and the great mysteries of what lies behind 70-75% of the Earth. Plus, she also had a toy penguin by her side. That was a plus.
"Hello Sailor Penguin!" Mimi made sure to greet as well. It was only common courtesy! "What are you two doing here?"
"We're supposed to be waiting for someone else," Yuumi smiled at Mimi before poking her own cheek in thought. "But… they haven't arrived yet. In fact, we haven't seen them all day! Maybe they're sick?"
Cassandra came to mind. She didn't bother leaving her room for that breakfast meeting and she wasn't too keen on being buddy buddy with anyone else for that matter. That was one witch Mimi didn't want to have any contact with. But good for Yuumi to at least have attempted to invite her.
"I think they might be busy," Mimi smiled. "But it sounds nice that you are making friends."
"I love making friends!" Yuumi giggled. "Do you have any friends here right now?"
Mimi fixed her witch's hat in thought. Did she have any friends? She thought of those she had interacted with. Haruto hasn't exactly been the kindest person to be around and Arthur seemed to be annoyed by her presence. It's the same old environment she's used to. The same old environment she got used to.
"...No, not really," Mimi shook her head. "Most of the witches and wizards here are a little mean. But not you! You're like the nicest witch of them all! I love mermaids!"
"M-Mermaid?" Yuumi gasped, hugging Sailor Penguin tightly. "I'm… I'm a mermaid? No no. I can't be a mermaid. I have legs!"
"You must've made a deal with your nearby sea witch!" Mimi giddily said. "She casted a spell to give you legs! That's why you're so good against the raging seas and walking on land! You're the perfect mermaid!"
Yuumi looked flattered. She knew she was good out at sea if her Ultimate talent was anything to go by. But still, she couldn't help but look down a bit, hugging her Sailor Penguin a little loosely.
"I'm not a perfect mermaid though," Yuumi gave a small sad frown.
"Huh?" Mimi blinked. "What do you mean?"
"A mermaid is a creature in the ocean," Yuumi stated. "Therefore, they should love the ocean because the ocean is their home. Right? But I don't think the ocean is my home."
Mimi looked at Yuumi. What was she getting at here?
"I mean, I like moving across the open seas!" Yuumi looked excited just thinking about it before looking down. "But I'm just a little scared."
"A mermaid?" Mimi looked at Yuumi in surprise. "No! Could it be? You're a mermaid who's scared of the ocean?!"
"...I love the ocean, but I'm just scared of falling into the sea and drowning," Yuumi looked down. "When that mean White Collar put us through the chamber yesterday, I…"
Mimi remembered something of the sort.
"W-We're going to drown?!" Yuumi asked, her body soaked from the rush of water splashing down. For the first time, she looked horrified by what was going to happen to her. She hugged herself, cornering herself away from where the rush of water was. "No no no no."
"...I see, you were scared," Mimi looked at Yuumi. "But that's okay! Everyone gets scared! I get scared too. I get scared so much that I learned to read up on magic spells and books from the library to calm myself down! Maybe you will be able to calm down too!"
"Huh, but what are you scared of Mimi?" Yuumi asked.
Mimi lowered her witch's hat over her eyes.
"...I don't like it when I lose friends," Mimi responded. "I always had a hard time at the witch's school because everyone saw me as a lesser witch compared to everyone else. So, I never got to make many friends. That's why every friend of mine I did end up making, gets enchanted by a magical protection spell! Then they will never leave me, and they will always be protected from danger!"
Yuumi looked at Mimi. She was so innocent. And her talk about magic spells and witches and wizards was just so childish that it was pretty much adorable.
"I want to be friends with you Mimi," Yuumi clapped her hands together. "And so does Sailor Penguin! We want to be friends with you!"
"Friends?" Mimi blinked, looking at Yuumi before looking happy. "Yay! Friends! I will now cast the magical protection spell!"
Mimi took out her pencil and aimed it at Yuumi like a wand.
"Magicus, spellus, protecticus!" Mimi chanted.
Nothing happened. Guess the spell was a b-
"You and Sailor Penguin are now protected!" Mimi cheered as she jumped up and down in excitement. "Now as for the other initiation! I shall record your adventures in my Magical Journal of Fantastical Adventures and Mysteries! I'll title the next adventure: The Mermaid Who Fears the Ocean!"
"That's me!" Yuumi giggled. "Sailor Penguin and I would like to read it soon!"
Needless to say, Mimi, Yuumi, and Sailor Penguin grew a little closer today…
(Cafeteria)
10 PM.
Everyone had gathered together at the Cafeteria once 10 PM had hit. They had all been given a little snack to eat, courtesy from Kane. But by everyone, it was everyone but Cassandra. It wasn't odd for her to not be with the group but who knew where that girl was. Jared had opted to search for her in order to keep tabs on her but Kane dismissed the idea.
"Seriously, I don't think it's a good idea for her to just wander around this place alone," Jared fixed his police hat. "She could be putting herself in danger for all we know, or worse."
"Yes but even so, she wouldn't come with you even if you gave her the most pretty flowers and a high quality box of chocolates," Kane responded to Jared. "Besides, I believe people found some exits today, did they not?"
Kane extended his arms, gesturing to his allies to spill the good news. No one said anything. Instead, they all just looked rather disappointed. That's when Kane dropped his arms, his face from hope followed by a face of disappointment.
"N-None of you guys found anything?" he asked. "I know the freezer gang was a bust but no one else found anything?"
"We couldn't get the hatch open," Haruto folded his arms. "According to Neon Lights over there, the wheel wouldn't budge."
"Nothing in the Prison Lounge," Zuri looked down. "Holland and I spent our entire day looking after a game of chess."
Holland merely nodded in agreement.
"Mimi and I were in the Auditorium, but nothing really changed," Yuumi raised her hand. "So we didn't find anything."
"Can't say we found anything in Jared's Ultimate Cell either," Maggie placed a hand on her hip. "But we did spend the entire day trying to clean out the bullets from those guns so you're welcome."
"Mayu, what about you?" Kane looked at Mayu.
"I was hungry," Mayu frowned. "Too hungry to help search for an exit."
Then she smiled slightly.
"But I got my food so now I'm happy," she smiled before frowning. "But still not as good as my family chef."
"In other words, you're fucking useless," Haruto growled.
"S-So, what now?" Carter looked worried.
"Aww man, don't tell me we have to stay here for another day," Titus sighed. "This place sucks. And it's small. And I don't want to play a Killing Game!"
"No one is going to play the Killing Game," Kane reassured the group. "We made it past day two and no one here has even expressed wanting to kill anyone, right? So if we keep this up, there's virtually nothing to worry about."
"Isn't there…?" a voice spoke up.
Everyone turned to the source to find Cassandra standing at the entrance of the Cafeteria. She didn't look too happy. It wasn't surprising. She was the one person that didn't like the company of anyone in the room and everyone else could say the same thing except for a select naive few.
"...Sorry to crash whatever board meeting you have here but I just came in here to make a sandwich and couldn't help but overhear some Kumbaya shit you're trying to spread," Cassandra rudely stated.
"Fucking bitch," Haruto clenched his fist. Just seeing Cassandra made his head boil. "You got some nerve coming here after not even trying to make it to the morning meeting."
"...As I said, I wanted to make a sandwich," Cassandra rolled her eyes. "It's dinner time for me. Not my fault our times clashed together."
"I can go for a sandwich with every meat known to man…" Mayu sighed to herself.
"Cassandra," Jared looked at her with a serious expression. "Just say your piece and go make that sandwich. Your presence is already riling people up."
"Okay, I will," Cassandra gave a slight smirk before she looked at everyone, flatly. "You people are a bunch of idiots. You really think everything is going to be okay from here on out just because no one 'expressed wanting to kill anyone'?"
"What do you mean?" Barracuda looked worried. "A-Are you saying someone might… might turn against us?"
"Oh look, the fucking giant got it faster than the dweeb and your so-called leader," Cassandra gestured to Carter and Kane. "How can any of you guys trust each other so easily? You guys literally just learned each other's names last night and you guys think it's going to be hunky-dory A-okay from here on out."
"In a situation like this… isn't it more wise to work together to fight the greater evil?" Ina pointed out. "I too like to work alone but I know this is a fight even I can't do alone."
"And the greater evil is who exactly?" Cassandra rolled her eyes. "White Collar? You guys seriously think you can fight White Collar, the fucking mastermind with a snake that, need I remind you, nearly killed one of your own yesterday?"
"In due time, yes," Ina nodded, looking determined. "I know we can."
"You guys are more idiotic than I thought," Cassandra looked irritated. "The greater evil here isn't White Collar. He and the snake are just the fucking side quest. The greater evil here is the people around you. White Collar isn't going to be the one killing you, it's the people you've learned to work together with."
"N-No," Mimi shook her head, trying hard to deny what Cassandra was saying. "Th-That's not true. The people here are nice! They're nicer than the witches and wizards at my school! Th-There's no way they'll do something so horrible!"
"Yeah, you can't possibly suggest someone here would ultimately give in to killing someone," Maggie crossed her arms, looking at Cassandra in disapproval. "I refuse to believe any of that."
"...But at the same time, she does have a point," Abigail spoke up. Everyone turned to her, slight looks of surprise that someone would honestly agree with Cassandra, of all people! "...How well do we really know each other?"
"A-Abigail," Zuri looked shocked and disappointed. "W-Why are you agreeing with her?"
"...I'm sorry but after hearing all of that, you can't deny that she's made some valid points," Abigail looked away. "Don't get me wrong, it's nice to be with a group to help find an escape or a way to blow White Collar's brains out, but at the same time, we're complete strangers. We can't really just blindly trust each other and hope that someone doesn't pull the wool over our eyes."
"S-Sure we can!" Yuumi looked at Abigail with a frown. "Mimi and I trust each other! We're like best friends now!"
"R-Really?" Mimi gasped. They sure got their Hope Fragments quicker than expected.
"Abigail," Kane looked at Abigail, trying to reassure her with a slight look of sadness. "I think you're being a little delusional here. I mean, I don't think anyone here would betray someone so easily like that. Except maybe Cassandra but even so, she is the reason you're thinking like this…"
"...Actually, I didn't trust virtually anyone from the get-go," Abigail crossed her arms. "I made that painfully clear to Maggie yesterday."
"Safe to say it, the rest of you idiots are the delusional ones," Cassandra flatly stated. "You guys are so deluded into thinking everything will be okay that you've practically convinced yourself that everyone is so nice and kind and friendly. No one here is questioning whether someone here might end up being some psychopathic killer who's marinating you till they can finally slice you in half and dump you away."
Jared looked away. This was something he himself had stated back at his Ultimate Cell. Cassandra repeating it back to him was not something he expected to hear. But he held his ground. He wasn't going to agree. As Maggie said, he can't fall for White Collar's manipulations.
"B-But, no one here is a killer… right?" Barracuda looked around, uncertain.
"No Barry," Maggie crossed her arms, glaring at Cassandra. "No one here is a sick, twisted killer. This is just a bunch of nonsense Cassandra's trying to spout in order to rile everyone up."
"Call it nonsense or whatever," Cassandra shook her head before smirking slightly. "But there are people here that know I'm right. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make my sandwich."
Cassandra headed into the kitchen with a feeling of pride. She definitely told them what was up. And she was feeling kind of proud about it. Proud that at least there were some people who saw what she saw and knew that she was right. Even in the kitchen, she could still hear them. And what she heard made her raise her smirk.
"N-No one here actually thinks she's right… right?" Kane asked the group.
"Cassandra," Haruto growled her name, looking very agitated. "That fucking bitch thinks she could just strut in here, give some damn fucking speech, make us turn against each other and just get away with it?! Fuck this. I'm fucking locking her in the damn freezer! She needs to chill the fuck out!"
"Hmph," Arthur scoffed. "Already you're playing into her hands by threatening to lock her inside the freezer. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were trying to kill her."
"The fuck you say to me?!" Haruto turned to Arthur with a glare. "You think I would actually fucking kill her?"
"From the countless threats of using nothing but violence, forgive me for believing that you would be the first person to draw blood," Arthur crossed his arms. "Cassandra and Abigail are correct. We're nothing but strangers to each other. We can't possibly trust each other with the knowledge that someone here may be plotting our demise as we speak."
"A-Arthur…" Zuri looked down. "Not you too."
…
There was a long period of silence. Everyone had glanced at one another. The feeling of distrust had begun to spread. At this point, what used to be 15 people who were willing to work together to escape, had been cut down to half…
"Titus, Carter, Mayu, Ina, even you Holland?" Zuri looked disappointed that the five would join Abigail and Arthur in believing the crap that Cassandra had spewed.
"...I'm sorry," Holland looked away. "I just need some time to think about this."
"Uh-huh, and you," Haruto glared at Ina. "What's your excuse huh? You literally spouted some shit about us working together. What happened to that, huh? Getting cold feet?"
"...While it is nice to work together to fight the greater evil…" Ina looked down. "I believe this is the best course of action at the moment. Until we are certain we can trust each other, then I will rejoin your pact to fight against that demon, White Collar. Until then, I will do as I always do and go at it alone…"
"Yeah, same here," Titus sighed. "My… head is not what it used to be. Don't think I can trust y'all when I can't even remember stuff about myself. It's not you, it's me by the way."
"T-This isn't a breakup," Carter chuckled sheepishly. "I th-think we just need some time. Th-That's all."
"So that's it then," Kane looked down. "Our first ever morning meeting is going to be our only morning meeting…"
"Not true," Jared shook his head. "We can still have our morning meetings. It's just that… there won't be many people."
That's when the announcement began. Everyone glumly looked up as Monohebi's voice rang throughout the facility:
"Attention all prisoners," Monohebi announced. "It is now midnight. Curfew hour begins now. As such, all prisoners must report to their confinements. Anyone who is caught outside of their confinements will be punished accordingly. Be sure to review the rules on the Rules App of your Handbook. That is all."
"Wow, perfect timing," Cassandra walked out of the kitchen. She had been enjoying her sandwich while listening to the conversations that group had been having. Needless to say, she was pleased half of the group understood where she was coming from. "I trust your little board meeting went fine?"
"...You're mean," Yuumi frowned at her.
"Get the fuck outta here," Haruto glared at Cassandra.
"Ouch, touchy," Cassandra feigned being hurt before shaking her head and leaving. Shortly after, the other seven who had agreed with her, left the Cafeteria as well, leaving the group of 8 by themselves.
"Well… I guess, see you guys tomorrow at the same time," Kane looked down, disappointed that this had happened.
"Y-Yeah, of course," Jared gave a nod.
It was clear no one was happy or hopeful after their little meeting...
Kane especially was disappointed. In fact, he was the last person to leave the Cafeteria. While everyone else had returned home, he himself had stopped by his room to stare at his mugshot.
With a slight frown, he sighed, pressing the side of his fist against the door.
"...I miss you Grandpa," Kane said before looking a little more serious. "But don't worry. I'll make sure I get out of this. I… I have to get out of this. And I will, Grandpa. I will get out of this. And not just me… everyone. We'll get out of this together. Wait for me, Grandpa…"
Wait for me…
DANGANRONPA: CORRUPTED HOPE
Another chapter has been completed yet again! Part 2 of the Chapter 1 Daily Life is a go!
I hope you enjoyed how I handled Free-Time Events for the chapter! As always, I make sure everyone has an equal amount of spotlight and try very hard to make sure the characterization is to everyone's liking. I really appreciate all of the reviews, comments, and criticisms about how I'm portraying your characters so feel free to keep dropping those my way! They're practically a big factor to my motivation to this story! :)
Another thing I also enjoy are theories on who will make it and who might bite the dust. It's always a delight to see what everyone is thinking and how other people think the story will go so if you have any theories, by all means share it by either review or PMs!
Hope you're excited for what's next to come because I am looking forward to hopefully revealing some things, little by little... ;D
Prisoners Remaining: 16
Abigail Ellsworth - The Ultimate Equestrian (oddlyillregular)
Arthur Kingston - The Ultimate Snowboarder (SinWriter7)
Barracuda - The Ultimate Personal Trainer (Weekaro)
Carter Franklin - The Ultimate Opinion Columnist (armadas)
Cassandra Mura - The Ultimate ? (ExtraMeme)
Haruto Walker - The Ultimate Basketball Player (theotakureader101)
Holland Delaney - The Ultimate Game Designer (Sempi)
Ina Hamamura - The Ultimate Revolutionary (VividIsSleeping)
Jared Ceartas - The Ultimate Police Officer (Otterplay)
Kanenoshin Amao - The Ultimate Pawnbroker (benkj6)
Maggie LaDroubi - The Ultimate Supermodel (Project Drama)
Mayu Mashiro - The Ultimate Heiress (zetsunaflame)
Mimi Kazoo - The Ultimate Fairytale Writer (Idraegan)
Titus Erskine - The Ultimate Conductor (Lidamek)
Yuumi Kizuchi - The Ultimate Sailor (Shamelles410)
Zuri Auraline - The Ultimate Bassist (CandleFire45)