Upon Monokuma's usual morning announcement, Masashi woke up, feeling dread about what was to come. After he rose from his bed and got ready, he looked in his drawer once more and saw nothing. Indeed, the motive video that had once been there was now gone, the remains having been tossed away in his trash can. That it was no more proved clearly that last night had been no dream.
Oh, man, I'm late… Masashi thought after checking the time. He looked out the window and saw that it was still rather rainy outside, the seas accompanied by great gray clouds and stark winds. It certainly was no weather that he would normally like to wake up to.
Not wanting to keep the others waiting any more, he quickly readied himself and headed up to the dining room, spotting no one along the way. He figured that all the others were already there, eating their breakfast. Still, when he opened the door, he could not but be surprised.
"Oh, Masashi, you're here at last."
It was Mari, who greeted him with a quiet yet reassuring look. Most of the others looked at him with a hint of mistrust that he had seen from them yesterday. Of course, there were a few such as Kasumi and Tanjiro looked much less harsh in their peers' suspicion, and though it was small in showing, the effect was nonetheless great in soothing Masashi's mind.
"Hey, dude! Hope you feel better!"
This time, it was Sorao, who sat at another table. When Masashi looked him in the eye, however, a sudden whelm of unease hit his body.
Why…? Why do you look that way…?
Though looking not at all unusual, Sorao's face disturbed him in some way. His smile was no different from his usual one, and yet Masashi could not think fully that it was truly a smile. He had no doubt that Sorao felt some degree of gladness, but there was too little bitterness, sorrow, or another such negative emotion on his face. The same could be said for his eyes, which came off as too understanding and tranquil; even the more sympathetic ones like Tanjiro still had some level of uncertainty on them.
It was as if Sorao were a masked player that simply followed the role that befitted the situation. He sounded so natural in his speech that he wondered whether he might be overthinking things. But in the end, as long as the sting of betrayal stayed, doubt would dwell in his heart.
"Yeah, I feel all right…" Masashi replied hesitantly, trying not to look mopey about last night's events. "I'm sorry that I overslept."
"Ah, no worries!" Kasumi replied. "That happens every now and then! One time, I ended up being late at a museum from which I was to steal a certain jar. Hoo boy, the police were sure puzzled about where I was!"
"That seems like an amusing anecdote," Haruyuki commented, smiling slightly. "I'd like to hear the details."
"Anyway, Masashi…" Faye said, looking at him uneasily. "Have you, uh, worked out what your plan is?"
"Yeah, it was something about shooting up fireworks or something like that!" Sayua said.
"Oh, uh… yeah, that's right," Masashi answered.
He then told everything that he and Mari had come up with, including her new deputyship. The two had refined the plan a bit more; right now, they planned to have Arashi make several flares to launch over the course of three days, so as to raise the chances of being spotted by nearby ships. Of course, Arashi would have to modify his work so that it might look less like fireworks, since a celebratory signal might convey the wrong message to nearby ships. As for making the flares, Mari would fetch him the materials, and so he needed not to worry about it. Throughout the meeting, the group quietly expressed their agreement to the plan, speaking no objections.
"If you ask me, though, I don't think it's likely it'll work."
The lone gainsayer, unsurprisingly, was Sorao, who had looked mildly unconvinced the whole time.
"Hmm? What makes you think that?" Mari asked.
Sorao shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back on his seat. "Well, don't get me wrong. I get what you plan to do, but let's face it: the chances that there are nearby ships are pretty low. We don't even know where we are, and the sea's far larger than you may imagine, so for all we know, we're in the middle of nowhere. That certainly would make continuing this killing game easy for Brightmere Research, don't you think?"
"That… That is a pretty good point…!" Arashi mumbled, gritting his teeth.
"Yeah, can't say I'd bet on its success," Sayua replied, among the more skeptical of the group, though it seemed that she showed more apathy than downright dismissal.
"Well, even so," Sister Hikari said, looking not at all skeptical. "I think it's worth a shot to try the plan out. The chances are low, yes, but we all know the old saw: nothing ventured, nothing gained."
Kumi, who was by her side, said nothing, though Masashi noticed that he was nowhere as excited or keen about the idea. Maybe it was confusing to him somehow, or maybe he was not paying attention, finding the subject to be boring.
"Yeah, don't feel let down," Faye said to Arashi. "With your help, there's still a chance we can end this once and for all. Don't let Sorao's attitude get you down."
"Hey, hey, I'm not going to stop you guys," Sorao said, raising his hands defensively. "I only want us to be realistic and adjust our expectations accordingly. I don't think we should be greatly surprised if the plan doesn't work, you know."
"Is that it?" Haruyuki said.
Sorao darted his eyes throughout the room as he crossed his arms. "Yeah… that's all I have to say."
As there were no more complaints or objections to hear, Masashi decided to end things there, and the group began the breakfast meal.
The others chattered as usual, some talking about their hopes that they would no longer have to play this twisted game at last, others talking about everyday subjects as if this were any other day in their daily lives. It was such an unremarkable sight that Masashi would ordinarily pay no attention to it.
But as he ate while speaking not a word, he could not but feel that there was something different about it. It was ever so slight, and to anyone else, it might not be able to be seen, but he could not overlook it: the air of wariness loomed over him. The others happily talked among themselves, but whenever they looked elsewhere, it seemed that they purposely wanted to avoid looking toward him, as if his very sight were foul. There were a few like Mari and Kasumi that did not show such behavior toward him, but he could not stop thinking about the overwhelming suspicion that loomed over him. It was no mystery as to why they were like that: he had broken their trust with his stupid selfish deceptions.
On the whole, he was but a normal, everyday guy. He had always been a rather friendly guy, always wanting to maintain good relationships with other people. He often chatted with his classmates back at school, played with his friends for leisure, and seldom got involved in trouble with any troublesome folk. He had never experienced such unease and mistrust from others as he now felt, whence this whole experience ought to be new to him.
And yet, it was as if he had trodden this ground before. He had been surprised by Maiha's and Sorao's attempts to overthrow him, but he felt hardly any confused by this aftermath, as if some part of him had already become familiar with it.
Wanting to get away from this eerie feeling, Masashi glanced at Sorao, who was engaged in friendly conversation with Faye and Murphy. The strategy to deal with him was to leave him alone for now. Masashi had wanted to confront him about his attempt to overthrow him, but she had argued that it would alert Sorao that he was onto him, whence he might try to do something unpredictable. And secretly warning the others about him might work, but she had warned that Sorao might notice the differences in the others' behavior and suspect that something was up. At best, Masashi ought to inform only those whom he trusted about Sorao's fishy nature.
Moreover, Masashi had let Mari in on the secret that Sorao had persuaded him to hide after the second motive: Futaba had already had a lover back home, but Sorao had lied to her about it and had become her "first" love. Supposedly, it had been to ward her from the temptation of regaining her memories of her forgotten darling. Of course, he now doubted that Sorao had had good intentions with it, and he had wanted to tell the others about it, but Mari had advised him not to say anything. Besides not wanting to alert Sorao, there was no actual evidence of the deception; it had all been verbal, and only Masashi had been the only other person aware of the deception. The group had been fully aware that Sorao and Futaba had been lovey-dovey after the motive, but that was no proof that Sorao had ever lied to her.
If only I had told Futaba about this… Masashi thought. Then maybe she wouldn't have died… Maybe she would've rejected him as her lover.
Nonetheless, thinking about what might have been was, he knew full well, a waste of time. Futaba was now dead, and no amount of regret would change that.
He noticed one other thing as well: Maiha had been glancing at Sorao, her gaze full of apprehension and suspicion. Though not thinking highly of her after her failed attempt to overthrow him, he still could not decide how dangerous she was. She was intelligent and cunning, but she was more or less predictable, her mindset and objective clear, and he begrudgingly admitted that her attempt had almost worked because he had given her the opportunity to do so. If he had never lied to the others, then she would have had nothing to reveal and use against him.
It seems she's paying more attention to Sorao now... he thought. Does she also think that he's suspicious?
Setting that aside, he wanted to ask Mari one more thing, now that he had taken another look at the dining room.
"Where's the money that Monokuma put here last night?" he asked.
She pointed to the door to the port hallway. "Before you arrived, I had it moved to this ship's storage room. I thought keeping it here would only tempt the others some more."
"Yeah... Good move," he replied, nodding approvingly, but he knew that its loathsome sight had already been graven in the others' minds. The question now was what the others would do about it. Hopefully, the plan would help them ward off the temptation.
After breakfast ended, Masashi headed back to his room at once, wanting some time by himself. A while later, he heard a knock on his door, and it was none other than Sister Hikari.
"Hmm? What's up?" he asked, somewhat relieved to sense far less suspicion coming from her. With her open-mindedness, he was not surprised to see that she was far more willing to give him a second chance to make things up, though it still irked him a little that she still seemed careful around him. But at this point, he would not complain about such treatment, thinking it better than awkward silence.
"Ah, well… how shall I put this?" she said. "Do you remember how I asked you whether I might clean the storage rooms in the pirates' cove?"
He nodded, recalling a conversation that he had had with her that time. In that same conversation, she had mentioned her theory that Kumi's enthusiasm for fantasy was nothing more than a coping mechanism for separation from his parents.
"Well, I've finished cleaning them," she continued, "and I've found something rather… interesting. Let me take you there and show you what I mean."
Without asking her any more, Masashi followed her, and they made their way to the lower second deck of the pirates' cove. Along the way, he marveled at how dark the clouds were, even though it was around noon. The ship might be sailing through some rough part of the sea, and for a second, Masashi recalled Sorao's words and wondered whether the plan was bound not to work after all.
No, I shouldn't think like this, Masashi thought. I need to stay optimistic and hope that the distress signal will be spotted by someone...
They arrived in the lower second deck and rushed over to the storage room nearer to the ship's bow. When they stepped inside, Masashi was at once blown away by the room's tidiness; formerly, such sundry objects as mannequins and boxes were strewn throughout the room, and so one could hardly wend one's way through the room without bumping into something. But now, the mannequins, boxes, and suchlike had been gathered and put alongside the walls, and thus, one had far more freedom to move around in the middle.
There was, however, one peculiar item that Masashi did not notice at once, for the mannequins had been set on each side thereof. Some feet before the door stood a machine that looked much like a cannon. Since it sat on a rectangular base fixed to the floor, the muzzle, having several small chambers, was at nearly the same height as Masashi, and it faced toward the left.
"Wh-What the heck is this thing?" Masashi asked, carefully nearing it.
"Ah, that's… a shooter, according to Monokuma," Sister Hikari said. "To be clear, it's meant to shoot paper arrows. I saw it the first time I came here, and I thought it was a prop at first, but when I tried to move it during the cleaning, I found that it was truly part of the room."
Masashi looked at the shooter with uncertainty. "Why in the world is this here?"
"To be clear, it's not actually used anymore," she answered. "Apparently, according to Monokuma, it was part of an obstacle course, since this ship's designers had that idea in mind at first. It's designed such that it gets its supply of arrows from a room underneath."
"So why did Brightmere Research decide not to use it?"
Sister Hikari set a hand on her cheek. "I don't know the answer to that… but if I had to guess, I'd assume that they simply decided it didn't fit with the final design for whatever reason. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
"I see…"
Masashi walked around some more and noticed that there was a panel on the wall that the cannon faced. The panel had a small red button on it, and Sister Hikari said that it was the button to activate the shooter. He pressed it, rushing off to the side at once, and indeed, a slew of paper arrows flew from the muzzle and hit the left wall, though they left no mark and fell onto the ground with thuds. The projectiles kept coming from the cannon for a short while, and by the time it had stopped, the paper arrows had handily gathered into a pile.
"That... certainly was a sight to see," Masashi said, still recovering from his amazement. Though they were made of paper and seemingly not lethal, he was sure that were he hit by them, his body would be smarting for a while. And the very sight of them still startled him, since they seemed to be about as large as regular arrows. "Is there anything about it that bothers you, Sister Hikari?"
"Well, nothing, exactly, though I think it may prove to be a bit unsafe if someone gets hit by the arrows," Sister Hikari said. "I wanted to let you know about it, so that you might decide what to do about it."
Masashi took one more glance at the cannon, which made no sound or movement as it glanced back at him with its dark muzzle. For some reason, even though the only thing that it shot out was paper arrows, he had a feeling that leaving it be was not a good idea at all. Though no one could take it out of the room, he still suspected that it might be misused somehow.
"I think you should try to see whether you can disable the machine somehow," he said. "Sure, it's nothing fatal… but I still don't think it'd be good if someone were to accidentally activate it."
Sister Hikari nodded. "I'll see what I can do. If I should find that it can't be disabled, then shall I put up a warning about the button?"
"Sounds good to me," he replied. "And, uh, one more thing…"
She raised her brow. "Hmm? What is it?"
Masashi stopped for a few seconds as he felt his cheeks redden. "Thank you for giving me a chance to make it up to you guys. I know I had been acting rather… questionably, but I can see why one may think I was up to something suspicious. Once again, I'm very sorry… Rest assured, though, I'll strive to realize our escape from this twisted killing game."
The nun had opened her mouth in surprise, and once he was done, she looked at him in bewilderment before she answered.
"Oh, well, you don't need to apologize once more, Masashi!" she said, a little flustered. "As I said before, I was a bit disappointed to hear what you'd done behind our backs, but I don't think it'd have been right if I had denied you a chance to redeem yourself. And setting that aside, I still believe that you're not a bad person, though some of us think otherwise."
"I… I appreciate your compliment," Masashi said, trying to sound humble, even though it was he that was of higher status here. Nonetheless, he was ever so thankful that he had not lost Sister Hikari's backing, and he could always trust her to do whatever he asked her to do.
Masashi headed off to the arcade, wondering whether anyone was there. As he entered the room, he saw no one, but he heard the familiar sound of the playing of a machine coming from elsewhere. It appeared to be from the staff lounge, so he left the arcade, walked through the short hallway, and opened the ever so creaky door.
"Oh, it's only you…"
The one playing on one of the machines was Murphy, who seemed to have been enjoying himself, but all glee left his face once he had noticed Masashi's presence. It was not so surprising that he would still be wary around him, given that the man usually was a little standoffish; he certainly was far from being the friendliest of the group.
"Is there something you want from me?" he asked roughly. "Let me warn you, I'm stronger than I look, so don't even think about pulling anything funny."
Masashi held in his desire to let out a sigh; though he had already expected such unwillingness to fully trust him, hearing the expression of that unwillingness did not fail to feel tiring somehow.
"I promise you that I'm not up to anything," Masashi answered, keeping his friendly tone. "I only want to see what you're doing."
Murphy scoffed as he leaned back on his chair, the game screen showing that he had finished his game session. "I'm focusing my efforts on raising my tokens. I hate to admit it, but some of the prizes here interest me. For example, some fancy equipment's apparently offered."
"Equipment? You mean, like shovels and the like?" Masashi replied.
"That's more or less it. Monokuma hyped it up as 'state of the art', so I think my family back home may like it. It'll certainly make the farmwork easier..."
Murphy then sighed, tipping the brim of his straw hat as a frown appeared on his face.
"How I dread going back…" he mumbled. "The farm's full of those loathsome crops, but it's all my fault things are that way…"
Such words could not but pique Masashi's interest, as he had known for a while that for some reason, Murphy greatly loathed his Ultimate talent, but until now, he had left the matter alone, seeing that the man wished not to delve into it, though his curiosity was left to endure the lack of fulfillment.
"Hey, Murphy… Could I ask you something?" Masashi asked. "Why don't you like being the Ultimate Potato Farmer?"
Murphy paused for a few seconds as his eyes darted throughout the room. Eventually, he heaved a great sigh as he shook his head.
"So it's that you want to ask me…" Murphy said. "And to think, I thought you and I could be friends."
"Well, if you don't want to tell me, then that's all right," Masashi replied. "I was only curious, that's all."
Murphy scoffed. "Oh, don't give me that answer. It only shows you still want to know, and you're going to bother me later about it while trying to sound more convincing."
That Masashi could not deny; it was his curiosity's bidding that he ask him once more, even though he understood the man's reluctance to talk about his past.
For a few moments, there was an awkward silence between the two, but eventually, Masashi bore it no longer and so spoke.
"Murphy, it sounds like you did something that you now heavily regret," Masashi said. "If you tell me your tale, maybe I'll understand why you feel the way you do now. But if you don't, all I can do is guess…"
Murphy did not even look angry as he leered at him. "Well… I'd normally tell you to simply go away… but I can't deny you're right about that. You'll keep thinking I'm 'wrong' in my mindset if you don't understand it in the first place."
Masashi let out a small smile, relieved that Murphy had dropped his steadfastness on the subject. Now he could hear of what the man had hidden from the rest of them at last.
"To begin with..." Masasshi said. "How did you become the Ultimate Potato Farmer if you've never liked it?"
"'Never'? I don't like it now, but I won't deny that I formerly liked it," Murphy said. "When I was a child, my parents wanted to get away from city life, so they decided to start a farm in the Irish countryside. At first, we grew many different kinds of crops. It was not only potatoes, you see. But my parents let me start off with potatoes, thinking that it was a good place for me as a beginner, and they were definitely delighted to see that I liked to grow them. I kept asking them whether I might grow more and more potatoes, and they agreed to it."
Masashi found it hard to imagine that Murphy had once been enthusiastic about it. But then again, people could change dramatically over time, and he thought back on how childish and reckless he had been in his childhood.
"Potatoes were the only thing that I grew," he continued. "My parents encouraged me to grow something else, but in the end, they never went against me when I insisted that we stick with potatoes. Soon, the variety of crops on our farm dwindled and dwindled, and eventually, it became the only thing that we grew. We chose to specialize in potato farming, so it's now the only thing that we sell to our local markets. Potato farming's our only source of income."
"So what's the problem?" Masashi asked. He knew little about farming, aside from the snippets that he would hear from one of his friends, but he had heard that growing only one kind of crop was not an unusual practice.
"To put it simply… I got tired of it," Murphy said. "It occurred to me one day that potatoes had made everything around me the same. We grew fields of potatoes, we had potatoes as part of our meals, and we made some good cash out of potatoes, but it was all the same. It bugged me to see my life be dominated by something that I had formerly held dear! But it was too late by that point… we were already hard set in our routine. Changing it would… bring about complications, to put it simply."
"S-So that's why you dislike your talent?" he said amazedly. "That's…"
It was not a problem that he often encountered, being a citizen and thus far removed from the harsh realities of farming. Trying to put in more general terms, he understood that Murphy had once liked something to an unreasonable degree, and by the time he got over his obsession, he had found himself trapped in a situation in which he could not escape his former beloved thing. And it was a situation of his own making; there had been opportunities to change things, but it had been too late by the time he had grown willing to change.
"I bet you think it's silly..." Murphy said after a while of silence. "My dislike of potatoes is due to something that small. Nothing to do with any old history and the like. You would've preferred an epic tragedy, wouldn't you?"
"N-No, not at all! Even if it's something small... it still changed your life greatly," Masashi said. "And I understand that it's something that you wish you could change, but you can't for various reasons, so you have to live your daily life having to deal with the consequences that you didn't think through carefully. It's not silly at all."
"Is that so…?" Murphy said, looking none too happy, though showing far fewer signs of irritation. "Well, I hope you've learned something from my sorry experience. Think of it as a cautionary tale."
"What? What do you mean?" Masashi asked.
"Let me put it this way: you think you love everything that you have right now," Murphy replied, "but a day will come when you realize that your love has ended up hurting you in the long run. So you ought to think carefully about your current… obsessions and whatnot."
"Uh, all right... I can't say I have any obsessions or anything, but I'll keep that in mind."
He was a normal guy, and though he was an avid fan of a few hobbies, it was not what he would call an obsession. What was there to obsess over in his everyday life?
In any case, it pained Masashi to see that Murphy would not think about embracing his Ultimate talent once more. It might not be anything special, but there was something about Murphy's steadfastness that was sad. He had a special skill, and yet he saw it more as a burden than a part of him that he could think about in his own terms.
"Murphy… Don't you think you may be a little harsh toward yourself?" Masashi asked. "I mean, I understand why you don't like potatoes anymore, but still, you're an Ultimate. It's something that most people aren't, so it's a bit of a shame that you want to forgo it…"
Murphy frowned, his shoulders looking much tenser.
"Let me make one thing clear," Murphy said. "I'm only doing potato farming out of necessity, but I'll be damned if I let it be my future. Someday, I'll find a way to get myself out of these circumstances and be able to choose something that I actually like. Understand?"
Much as he wanted to gainsay this, Masashi could see that doing so would only upset the man more, and so he meekly nodded.
The disgruntled farmer then beckoned toward the door. "Now, could you leave me alone? I'd like to continue my game, and you'll only make me lose my concentration."
"Huh? Oh, all right..."
And with no further words, Masashi left the room, leaving him to his own devices. It seemed that for now, recalling his sordid history had displeased him greatly and thus bereft him of his willingness to give up his loathing. But maybe if he talked with him later, with a cooler head, things might change.
Masashi decided that he needed a change in pace for his usual activities. He headed off to the secret library, wondering whether he might find something interesting there. When he arrived there, however, he saw Tanjiro sitting at one of the tables in the hidden library.
"Oh, hey, Masashi. What's up?" the writer asked meekly.
"Could I hang out with you?" he said. "I'm interested in hearing more about your writing."
"Really?" Tanjiro said as it appeared that his interest had been piqued. "Well, is there anything in particular you want to learn about?"
"Last time, you talked about your work The Koto Players, I think," he replied. "And you mentioned that you had a few ideas for your eighth book."
"Oh, yeah, I believe I said something like that…" Tanjiro paused as he leaned back on his chair. "Well, are you sure you want to hear them? I mean, it's nothing exciting, since these are only rudimentary ideas and whatnot…"
Tanjiro grew feebler in his voice, such that it almost came off as pathetic, but Masashi sensed a great deal of uncertainty oozing from him, as if he were treading on unfamiliar ground. It was not so surprising, since he had the impression that Tanjiro usually spent time by himself, being more introverted, and so he was not so outgoing as other people.
"I'm no writer, but still, I'd like to hear what you have in mind," he said. "Besides, you can think of it as a chance to show off your writing process and the like."
Tanjiro raised his eyes, looking a little surprised. "Oh, well, if that's what you say, then… I guess it's all right to tell you. Well, to begin with, I was thinking about writing a romance this time, and it takes place in a more traditional setting. A young samurai falls in love with a noble girl, but because of his shabbiness in combat and his humble origins, he faces contempt from a noble courtier who too loves her."
"Oh, so it's a love triangle," Masashi said. "That's certainly something we've seen before."
Tanjiro sighed. "Yeah… it's nothing unique. The idea is that the hero faces many obstacles as part of his character development, including exciting battles against enemy clans. I was thinking about adding a few special aspects, though. For example, maybe the hero can be a musician as well, and one of his strengths is his ability to play the flute."
"Hmm… I guess that can work somehow, if you're writing what you know," he replied, remembering how great an interest Tanjiro had in music. "But if you ask me, maybe it's better that he be not a skilled musician in the beginning. Maybe one of his weaknesses is his lack of skill with the flute, so he has to get better at it as part of his growth. Then maybe once he gets good with it, he can get the girl of his dreams."
Tanjiro nodded along, showing some approval. "That makes a lot of sense, now that you mention it. I guess I can have him be like that… and maybe I can rewrite the heroine so that she may be more involved with music, and have the noble rival be skilled in it already. And maybe as part of the hero's growth, he learns about how he can add his own charm to his music, which leads to his earning respect..."
For the next few minutes, the two brainstormed many ideas. Tanjiro appeared willing to accept such suggestions as making the hero be a friend of another noble girl in the court, so that he might have someone to talk to as an intermediary between the hero and the heroine. Tanjiro, however, appeared far less willing to think about the suggestion of having the flutes be magical and have some kind of connection to magical ghosts; Masashi had come up with it as a way to make it feel more exciting by having them help him with their powers, but the writer said that he wanted the work to feel grounded and realistic, so he simply said that he would have to think about it later. In the end, however, Tanjiro looked happy at what he had written down,
"I have a far more solid basis to work on," Tanjiro said blithely, having written down his ideas on a small notepad. "Thank you for the many suggestions. Even though some of them are… tricky to work with, I think that you've helped me greatly."
"Oh, no, no, it's nothing, really…" Masashi said. "Anyway, I think this whole experience has been pretty interesting. It's kind of cool to help you with your writing."
Tanjiro showed a little smile as he leaned forward a little, his shoulders slumped. "Um… You know, Masashi… I'm glad that you helped me with coming up with ideas for my next work… But I'm also glad that you even offered to hang out with me in the first place. Even though I'm a famous writer, not a whole lot of people still think to spend time with me."
"Oh… So I take it that you're not the kind of guy who's given a lot of company to enjoy, huh?" he replied.
"No…" Tanjiro then sighed as he lowered his eyes, tiredness entering his voice. "It started way back in my childhood. My younger brother, Tadaomi, would often say how much he hated being related to me as a way to taunt me… And the rest of my family, though not at all malicious or disrespectful, didn't really support me that much."
"What, really?"
The writer shook his head. "My mother, being ever so busy to provide for me and my other siblings, didn't really notice how much we didn't exactly get along. And so at school, the… aggressive students had no qualms about picking on me. Hardly anyone ever came into my defense."
"Wow, that sounded pretty tough," Masashi remarked. "It's a shame that your family didn't really step in to help you there."
"I appreciate your words, but there's no need to feel bad for me, truly," Tanjiro said as he scratched his cheek. "Since I didn't really spend a lot of time with my peers, I wound up passing the time through studying… It's what led me to read a lot about history, especially music history. If things hadn't gone the way they did, I might've never become interested in those subjects. There's no way to know, truly."
"Then I take it you're not the kind of person who wishes that things had gone differently?"
"Don't get me wrong, it would've been swell if I'd been treated decently, but…"
Tanjiro then looked up at him with a more purposeful and bolder expression, placing a hand on his own chest. "I don't think it's of any use to wallow in pity about the past. I'd rather learn from it to change the future for the better… I'd rather have us all be more caring to one another."
Such a declaration amazed Masashi, who thought it to be a rather admirable outlook. However lacking in strength the writer might be, there was no doubt that he was not the kind of man who would simply stand by and let the future play out however it might.
Tanjiro sighed before he put up another smile. "Once again, thanks for spending time with me. I don't often talk with other people about my writing, so I appreciate the time I've spent with you."
The writer got up as he headed over to a nearby shelf, reaching for a book. "If you want, you can help me again later. I'm always open to hear your thoughts."
"Greetings, Masashi. Is there anything about which you would like to talk with me?"
Though Masashi had already grown to his usual eerie behavior, it did not make Haruyuki come off as any warmer to him. There was something a bit weird about him, but he at least seemed harmless enough, and being an art critic, he might have some interesting perspectives on certain matters. Haruyuki stood by one of the pools in the lower third deck of the pirates' cove, apparently having been looking at his reflection.
"You don't seem at all bothered by me," Masashi said.
"Why ought I to be?" Haruyuki replied calmly. "I do not think that you pose a threat to me, though you intrigue me in a few other ways. Yes, there's something about you that shows you're more than you think yourself to be. At least, that's what I think."
Here he was again, with his cryptic speech. Masashi wondered whether he was even doing it on purpose, or whether this was simply how he usually talked. His tone made it seem as if he were detached from all this and thus did not care about how things had played out, but there must be more to him than that impression suggested.
"Anyway, what have you come to see me for?" Haruyuki continued.
"Well, you know, I only want to hang out with you," he answered. "And you're kind of interesting, if you ask me. It's not every day that I get to meet someone like you."
Haruyuki chuckled in his usual eerie manner. "So you wish to delve into my background? I suppose that sooner or later, I would intrigue you with my behavior."
That's putting it lightly, he thought.
The art critic raised a finger calmly. "Very well, then. You've interested me enough that I do not mind divulging a few details about myself. What about me do you wish to know?"
"Um… to begin with, you're an art critic. That's a rather peculiar occupation, isn't it? So what made you become one?"
The man paused for a few seconds, looking as if he were meditating. Eventually, he gave his answer.
"It's nothing complicated, I assure you, but I suppose that's up to you to decide," he said. "To begin with, my tale begins not with me but my parents. They were still a pair of saps in university when they met and fell in love with each other. Then they decided to wed each other and have a child together, while depending on their parents for their income. What a pitiful and reckless move, really."
"You… don't seem to think highly of your parents."
Haruyuki raised his brow. "Did I give off that impression? Interesting… but I'm afraid you're off the mark a tad bit. I don't dislike them, truly, and I certainly would do what I can to take care of them if need were... but I find them tiring in many ways. They're the kind of people who attend events only because they hear some mainstream figure plans to be there… And they scrutinize others by such standards as what kind of wine they drink… What pitiful and shallow folk they are."
"I… I see…" he replied, marveling at how apathetic he sounded the whole time. "So what happened next with your parents?"
"As luck would have it, my father found a job in a film studio," Haruyuki continued, "and my mother later became a writer for children's cartoons. In other words, I had many opportunities to see what was 'behind the scenes' of TV programs."
"Wow, that must've been pretty cool," Masashi remarked. "You must've been pretty happy to know how your favorite shows were made."
To his surprise, however, Haruyuki shook his head as he clicked his tongue. "It's interesting that you think so… but alas, I think otherwise. Such knowledge instead led me to see how… formulaic those shows came off as. I saw how things must be done a certain way for the audience, whence it came off as rather fake or at least not as entertaining anymore."
"Oh…"
Masashi dropped his smile, shocked to hear how knowing the creative process had actually ruined things for him instead of raising his enjoyment. "That's… kind of sad to hear, if you ask me."
Haruyuki chuckled once more. "I'm more open-minded about it, now that I've broadened my knowledge on fiction. But right now, I talk about the past and not the present, so I shall not delve into that. In any case, I did not find that much enjoyment in art until I was twelve, for that was when I discovered a certain game."
"Really? What was it?"
"It was nothing that you would have likely heard of," he answered. "It was an indie RPG, and I decided to give it a try, since it was free to download. And it was…"
That was when a rush of glee entered the man's countenance, his eyes glinting, his arms opened up, his gaze directed heavenwards.
"It was such a beautiful experience!" Haruyuki said, speaking more quickly than usual, which nearly made Masashi jump up in surprise. "The gameplay was something that I had more or less seen before, but that did not detract from my experience at all! Yes, the soundtrack captivated me with how dissonant and yet orderly its arrangement was! The setting's atmosphere was very strange and otherworldly, what with how I was always reminded of how magical its environment was! And the world was given far more focus through its environment rather than conventional storytelling from its characters! It was brilliant to see how all these aspects were tied together to create one lovely image, insofar as I felt as if I were living in it!"
Masashi said nothing at first, blown away by his bombastic attitude. It was as if Haruyuki had been possessed by some kind of ghost, whence this new ghost had animated the usually quiet and composed man's body. In any case, it was such a bizarre sight to behold that Masashi could not but reassess his image of the man.
"Uh, are you all right, Haruyuki?" he asked once his wits had returned.
A second later, Haruyuki dropped his bombasticness, his calm demeanor returning. "Ah, I apologize for that, Masashi. It is simply that the game I mentioned was something the likes of which I had never seen before. To this day, it still stands among my top favorite works. I should tell you more about it, but I understand that I'd get off-topic."
"Well, it's pretty clear you liked the game a lot!" he replied, wondering what exactly the game was. From how he had described it, it sounded like a one of a kind game, though he suspected that Haruyuki might be overhyping it. "Anyway, what happened next?"
"After I was done with the game," he answered, "I decided to look up what other people thought about it. At first, I was simply curious as to whether other people agreed with me, but as I read reviews and watched people play through the game, I came to a certain realization: I liked to hear other people's opinions about the game, for it produced an experience that we all shared, even though we were but strangers.
"And it is these differing opinions that made me appreciate the game more," he continued. To me, the worth that art has is not determined only by what one man thinks. No, it is what others think about it as well. How well does the work emotionally affect others? It is only from hearing their opinions that one may determine whether it is a true masterpiece."
"I… I think I get what you're getting at," Masashi replied, interested in the roots of the man's career. "So is that the start of your career as an art critic, then?"
Haruyuki nodded. "I wanted to experience more of this art and share my opinions with others, and so I dived into the world of fiction, playing all kinds of games, reading all kinds of books, watching all kinds of shows, listening to all kinds of songs… One may say that it became my objective to discover mankind's beauty by partaking in its art.
"At first, I shared my criticisms with my friends at school, but since my criticisms became too impractical to convey orally, I made a blog for them," he continued. "Of course, there are tens of thousands of bloggers with similar objectives, so I did not particularly stand out at first. My main remarkable trait, however, was my in-depth analyses, according to my followers. They much enjoyed my opinions on the relationship between the worth of art and its emotional effects."
"I see…"
However weird and eccentric Haruyuki might be, Masashi could see that he had a certain appeal to him with how he saw fiction, and it did not surprise him to hear that Haruyuki had grown a fondness for it, insofar as it almost felt like a core part of his personality; it was pretty clear that his analytical mindset of fiction was not limited thereto, for his quiet and observant behavior seemed ever so present. Still, Masashi could not deny that there was still something weird about him, as if he had barely delved into the man's world. What kind of secrets was such a man as this hiding?
The art critic then clapped his hands together. "Well, now, I believe that should be enough to fulfill your curiosity on how I came to earn my Ultimate talent. Though lacking much in action and conflict, I believe that it's a tale simple enough to explain my motivation. Of course, I'd like to hear what you think about it, my good friend."
Masashi wanted to spend time with the others some more, but now, he had a headache, and so he told Mari that he would head back to his room, feeling tired. For the remainder of the afternoon, he lay on his bed, resting as he listened to the waves beating against the ship. He did not know when he fell asleep exactly, but when he awoke, he saw that dusk had just fallen, the very last bit of sunlight off in the horizon.
Ah… At least I feel better now.
Seeing that it was about time for dinner, he quickly made his way up to the dining room. But to his surprise, there was only one person who appeared to have been awaiting him.
"Hey, Masashi! Hope you're feeling better!" Kasumi said. "Before dinner began, Mari told us that you were resting in your room, so I was kind of worried that something might be up!"
"Oh, I appreciate your concern, but don't worry, I'm not sick or anything…" Masashi said before he realized something. "Wait a minute… Are you saying that you guys had dinner earlier?"
"We sure did! Oh, but don't worry, we didn't forget about you," she replied. "Sister Hikari asked me to save some food for you, so that's why I'm still here!"
"Ah, I see. I'm not so surprised that she would go to such lengths…" he said as he sat down by her. "I ought to thank her later for this."
"And me for keeping watch!" Kasumi said, her expression turning somewhat haughty. "I've already eaten, but the sight of this food makes me want to have seconds, if truth be told."
"Uh, thanks, I guess..." he said, looking at her with dumb bemusement for a few seconds. "All right, then, time to eat."
As he ate, he tried to ignore Kasumi's gazing at his food; she already had her dinner, and he suspected that she would try to coax him into giving him more. Funnily enough, he did not mind her gazing all that much, as he at least appreciated that she was not looking at him in such a way that brought about unease in him.
After he was done, Kasumi clapped her hands together. "Now that you're done, do you mind helping me with something? It's nothing huge, really. You know how I would play pranks on Arashi, right?"
"It's not something I'd easily forget," he said. "Why are you bringing that up?"
She waved her hand as she smirked. "You see…. I'm thinking that it's time that I reconciled with him."
He widened his eyes, wondering for a moment whether he had misheard her.
"You may not have noticed it, but even after my declaration of turning a new leaf, he still doesn't seem to trust me that much," she continued. "So I think if I take the first step to mend things, then maybe he'll think differently!"
"When you put it that way, it makes sense," he replied. "But what do you exactly have in mind? Are you thinking of buying him a gift or something?"
Kasumi nodded, smiling. "I'm thinking of buying something from the arcade! In fact, you should go with me, Masashi! With you, maybe you can help make things go smoothly."
As he would rather that she not mess things up somehow, Masashi accepted her invitation, and so he followed Kasumi to the arcade, the rain having abated for now. When they arrived, there was no one else there, though the lights from the machines and the piece playing from the speakers gave the place an easy, soothing vibe.
"Ooh, what should I get?" Kasumi said playfully, looking at the prizes set on the many shelves behind the counter. "What do you think about that?"
She pointed at the shelf that carried a bow and a quiver that apparently held many arrows. The list put on the counter called it "authentic archery equipment", and the bow cost about five hundred tokens, though the quiver of arrows were surprisingly cheap, costing only ten tokens.
"Nah, I don't think it's fitting at all," Masashi replied. "Besides, I don't think he's one for archery, anyway."
"Hmm… then what about that?"
She pointed at a loudspeaker and a receiver set on a lower shelf, and they cost about two hundred tokens. "You think he's in need of those?"
"I don't think so…" he replied. "You know, you seem to be focused on giving him something practical, but maybe you should choose something that simply looks good."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure something simple fits him more," he answered.
He waited as Kasumi looked at the prizes once more. Eventually, she pointed at a pair of bracelets that looked as if they had been made out of pink roses.
"I much like the look of that," she said. "What do you think?"
"It's a good choice," he replied. "I think it's simple enough, and the imagery isn't too bad, either."
Kasumi giggled as she clapped her hands once. "Well, then, it's decided! I'll go with that one!"
She paid for the pair of bracelets, which cost about one thousand and five hundred tokens; the price was ridiculously high, in contrast to the low price of the archery equipment, but seeing that she had made a great success from last night's game session, she could easily afford it. Now that he had a closer look at the bracelets, he thought that they were kind of tacky, but it was still a good gesture to give them as a gift of reconciliation.
Afterwards, the two left the arcade to look for Arashi. According to Kasumi, Arashi was nearly done and planned to finish it tomorrow, but she did not know where he had gone after dinner. They looked around the ship a bit before heading down to the lower third deck, and at first, they saw no one there. But just as Masashi thought to search elsewhere, he looked at the part of the deck that had the boat ride, and he noticed that its signature vehicle was nowhere to be found. It might be that Arashi was riding it; this deck was split into two levels, and the boat ride was incorporated into both levels.
And sure enough, a few seconds later, something could be heard coming from above, and it was the boat, which quickly slid down the water slide, causing water to be splashed to the sides. Their search for Arashi came into an end once he disembarked from the boat.
"Huh? Oh, it's only you two!" Arashi said, looking rather surprised to see them. "What are you doing here?"
"To begin with, Kasumi has something to say to you," Masashi began.
"Huh? What does she want from me?" Arashi said, looking a little peeved at her presence.
"Um, well…" Kasumi said. "I've come here for one purpose only! I wish to reconcile with you!"
"H-Huh?" Arashi cocked his head to the side, looking at her with bemusement. "Wh-What are you talking about? What's this about reconciliation? Is this another prank of yours?"
"No, no, in fact, I wish to apologize for my mischief!" she replied. "I realize that you don't think highly of me from all those silly moments, but I want to assure you that I've changed! I don't want things between us to stay awkward!"
"I… I see…" Arashi replied, still looking astounded, though he noticeably looked calmer than usual. "I have to admit, this all feels rather sudden! I certainly didn't expect you to come to apologize, with how, uh, silly you usually act."
"Well, I know it may seem unbelievable, but I simply want us to start getting along!" Kasumi said. "In fact, I want to give you this!"
She then took out the bracelets and put forth her hand.
"It's not much, I admit," she said, Arashi widening his eyes at the gift, "but given the circumstances, I thought it'd be best to go with this."
For a few seconds, Arashi stood silently as he looked back and forth between
Arashi then set one hand on his hip as he scratched the back of his head with the other. "Well… if truth be told, I still don't fully trust you. You know the old saw: once bitten, twice shy. But…" He paused for a moment. "You seem earnest enough when you say you want to change… so I guess it'd be wrong to reject your apology."
"R-Really?!" Kasumi said excitedly.
Nodding, he then reached out to her hand, took one of the bracelets, and tried it on. "I guess this isn't too bad… at least you want to change and make yourself better. I certainly understand why you'd want to do that."
Kasumi giggled as she put on the remaining bracelet, and the two set their wrists together such that the bracelets touched. "Well, then, let bygones be bygones! And, hey, when we get out of here, I'll find you something even better!"
As Kasumi continued her promise of making it up to him even more, Masashi noticed that Arashi, though not looking unhappy, did not look too enthusiastic about this. It made some sense; after all, it was easy to say that bygones were bygones, but it might take time to actually live by those words, and such a reconciliation as this was only the first step.
Still, it's good that things between them have started to change, Masashi thought. If they keep at it, maybe they'll become fast friends in the future.
After the matter was settled, Arashi told Masashi details on his work. He was almost done with the flares, which were currently stowed in one of this ship's storage rooms. He guessed that he would have been done by tomorrow noon.
"That's good to hear," Masashi said, showing satisfaction at his work. "With your help, we'll have a chance to get out of this place at last."
"Yeah, you get to use your talent to help us!" Kasumi added. "As a phantom thief, I don't see any opportunities to use my skills, since I'm not here for any heists or anything, so we're all lucky to have you!"
"Ah… Well, thanks…"
Arashi sighed as he relaxed his shoulders, and at that moment, Masashi noticed a bit of uncertainty on his face.
"Hey, is there something wrong?" Masashi asked.
"Um, well… Nothing important, really," Arashi said, his tone sounding a little forced. "I'm just thinking about this whole situation… Monokuma trapped us all in here and got four of us killed! I thought that Haruka's death would be the end of that, but… Futaba and Abraham are now dead." He then clenched his fists as he ground his teeth. "It's just so… frustrating that Monokuma's laughing behind our backs! It makes me feel so… helpless! I just want it... to let it out and make this feeling go away."
Masashi said nothing at first, as it was clear that Arashi was beginning to feel doubt about himself and all the progress that he had made to try to overcome his anger. Even though Arashi was aware of the aftermath of his anger, he was liable to forget it, fall back to his old ways, and, worst of all, think about killing.
In that case, he needs some more encouragement, he thought. He needs to be reminded about why he wants to overcome his anger.
"I understand that. In this situation, it's only natural to feel that way. Who wouldn't?" he replied. "But right now, you have to set that aside. Don't forget, Monokuma's given us another motive, and he wants us to forgo our moral standards and kill for the money. And we're liable to do that if we're not thinking clearly. So it's pretty clear that he wants you to feel angry again."
"Yeah, there's no need for anger if you ask me!" Kasumi added, smiling. "Besides, you have your work to focus on! If you put all your work into it, then our chances of being rescued grow higher, so there's no need to think about Monokuma's bait at all!"
"Oh… When you put it that way, that makes sense," Arashi replied, though still looking unsure, but Masashi figured that it would take some time for him to fully accept his reasoning. "I guess it'd be wrong if I got angry right now…. Sorry that I bothered you with my problem."
"No, no, it's no big deal, really," Masashi said. "And besides, remember all the progress you've made and why you even wanted to change yourself in the first place."
"Um... all right," Arashi replied. "I'll try… I'll try not to let my anger consume me. I won't forget what you've said."
Arashi, nodding profusely as if feeling insecure that his mind might change the very next second, rushed away and ran up the stairs.
"Wow, you sure handled that well," Kasumi said in her ever so gleeful tone.
"You really think so?" Masashi asked.
It was one thing to think that he had done well, but it was another to hear it from another. Though he could do nothing about the money itself, he could at the very least warn the others about what Monokuma wanted them to do. His tiny bit of encouragement, however pitiful it might seem, could be enough to make the others think twice about furthering the killing game.
Kasumi nodded, clapping her hands. "I'm the kind of girl that thinks positively. It may not be all that obvious, but one's mindset affects one's performance, however skilled one may be."
"And I take it that it's something you know full well from experience," he replied.
"Yep! In my heists, even if it seems as if I were backed in a corner," she answered. "I feel no fear at all. Instead, I stay calm and try to find a way out of the situation. And that's why I can stay positive right now. I don't feel angry or anxious about how things are."
Masashi thought her words to be admirable. However immoral her thieving might be, her positive attitude was refreshing to see, and even if her attitude did not do anything in and of itself, it would help him feel more motivated to follow through with his plan. At least, that was what he wanted to say.
But as he opened his mouth to respond, he repeated her response in his head, and this time, he could not but find her words to be odd. It was not her words' meaning that troubled him; instead, it was the tone with which she had spoken them. She had spoken with a blithesome and chirpy tone, but the more he repeated it in his head, the more he felt that there was something fake about it.
But why...? Why do I have to feel this doubt?
It was one thing to doubt Sorao, who had narrowly succeeded in his betrayal. His deeds had been shocking enough to warrant being watchful over him. But it was another thing to doubt Kasumi of all people now. The others had formerly thought about locking her up, and it was he that had convinced them that they needed to learn to trust one another. And up until the third motive, things had been going swimmingly with her, since the others had grown to be less wary of her.
But now it was he that could not stop thinking about the likelihood that Kasumi might be up to something. She was hiding something, and even if that was typical of a phantom thief, the very possibility that she was deceiving him was upsetting. He wished not to doubt her, especially after she had shown that she had changed by reconciling with Arashi. But at the same time, he could not reject the possibility, having already seen the results of being naive.
If he could not trust her now, then what would it take to get him to trust anyone else without having to feel this doubt?
No... No more of this...
He must escape this doubt at once.
"I... I feel tired now," he said, his voice shaky. "I need to go to bed."
"Huh? So soon?" Kasumi replied, tilting her head slightly. "I was about to suggest playing a few games together!"
"S-Sorry... but I need some rest. Good night."
And without letting her say anything in response, he rushed out of the room. He went back to his room without stopping, took a short shower, and readied himself for bed.
I can't be thinking this way... he thought as he tucked himself into bed. I simply need some time for my mind to cool off. Yeah, I only need some time...
He was imagining things. Kasumi was his friend, and he had listened to her in her declaration that she would never kill a fellow human being. The doubt that he had felt was but a figment of his wild imagination. The heat of the moment had made him briefly forget that Kasumi was a dear friend of his, someone whom he had chosen to trust, and if he had stayed in that room with her any longer, he would have given in and thought earnestly about forsaking that trust.
And it had all been thanks to Sorao that he felt this way. He had betrayed him, and now he was watchful and prone to see monsters where there were none. Thankfully, he knew better now, and so this kind of incident ought not to happen again.
His mind now put at ease, he fell asleep.
Hello, ladies and gentlemen! Sorry for my absence, but I wanted to take a break and catch up on a few hobbies of mine.
Anyway, we have even more Free Time Events, this time featuring Murphy, Tanjiro, and Haruyuki. I originally thought about going into the murder for this part, but I thought it'd feel too sudden, and I wanted to show off some of the characters one more time.
Next time, the long-awaited bloodshed happens, so this means that this is your last chance to guess on which characters you think we shall say goodbye to. It'll be fun to see whether your predictions are on the mark!
