Chapter 7: Cigarette Daydreams

When Mikan approached her the next day, Hanako seriously considered ignoring her.

She just wanted some time alone—though she had decided to sit at one of the tables by the pool instead of staying in her cottage. On the other hand, she did have her headphones on, which seemed like a universal signal for Leave me alone. That being said, Mikan didn't seem amazing when it came to social cues.

After a bit of internal debate, Hanako slid off her headphones with the hand that wasn't holding her pen.

"Hey. What's up?"

"I'm terribly sorry to bother you. It just seemed like you were sitting alone, and I thought you might want some company." Her voice grew quieter, tears sparking the corners of her eyes. "That was terribly presumptuous of me. I'm sure you're fine being on your own, but maybe…"

I could probably let her go on like this for an hour, Hanako thought, and immediately felt bad about it.

"Whatever," she said, cutting Mikan off mid-ramble. "If you want to sit here, I won't stop you. It's a free…island."

After a moment of hesitation, Mikan perched on the chair next to her, sitting as if she was preparing to jump up and run at any moment.

Hanako settled her headphones around her neck so she could still hear her music without it drowning out all outside noise, then went back to doodling on her arm.

"Are you giving yourself a new tattoo?" Mikan asked.

"Nope, this is just regular ink. I usually like to test out new designs before I make them permanent."

She stretched out her arm so Mikan could see better. Her right arm was a full sleeve, flowers and butterflies brought to life in multicolored ink, while her left arm was a patchwork of different designs, most of them in black.

Mikan giggled and stretched out a finger towards one of the tattoos just below her shoulder. "Is that your injection site?"

Hanako glanced down at where she was pointing and smiled. She'd inked a target with a hollow center on her skin, along with a cartoon boy scowling and pointing at the bullseye. "Yeah, I got that one for vaccinations. Most doctors don't find it funny, though."

"Why not?"

"They usually say I ruined my body with all these tattoos," she replied, holding up finger quotes for emphasis, "that I'll never be able to find a good job or a husband, blah blah blah."

"Well, as long as you're being safe about it…" Mikan pressed her hands into her lap. "I think it l-looks nice."

"Thanks." Hanako glanced at her, the way her eyes followed the path of the pen. "Did you want me draw on you?"

She started. "I-If it makes you happy…"

"I'm happy just drawing on myself. I'm asking if you want it."

"Um…" Mikan let out a nervous giggle. "I think it would make me happy. If you want to."

Hanako lowered her pen and gestured for Mikan to extend one of her arms. Once she laid it on the table, palm up, Hanako started with a long line down the center of her forearm.

Mikan squeaked, her arm jerking slightly. "That tickles!"

"Sorry. I'll try to be gentle." She added another line.

"You are," Mikan said softly. "Gentle, I mean."

"I was actually going for more of a grumpy bitch vibe."

"But you're nice to me." Her fingers twitched as the pen passed over a sensitive spot.

Hanako doodled in silence for a moment. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Why do you think everyone hates you?"

Mikan let out a small noise of surprise. "Y-You think everyone hates me?"

Hanako let out an irritated sigh. "I don't think that. I mean, you're always apologizing, acting like you're a nuisance before anyone can show what they actually think."

"I… Well, I c-can't help it." Her voice grew smaller. "It's better to apologize and let people do whatever they want. It's s-safer that way."

"It's not safer. If you keep thinking like that, you—" She stopped herself. There wasn't going to be another murder here. Even if the stupid arcade machine in the park held something important, she couldn't believe it would lead someone to kill. "You have to be capable of standing up for yourself."

"But you'll be there for me, won't you? Didn't you say you would stand up for me again?"

Hanako bit the inside of her cheek. And if I say no?

Mikan's voice dropped to a near-whisper. "Aren't you afraid of the motive Monokuma gave us?"

She raised her gaze to Mikan's. "No one is going to be there for you every single time. You're the only person you can really rely on, got it?"

"Oh. I see." Her lips trembled. "I'm asking silly questions again, aren't I?"

"Have you ever considered that maybe people don't think about you at all?" Hanako asked before she could stop herself.

"Huh?"

"Maybe people don't hate you. Maybe they barely notice you." She leaned forward to put the finishing touches on her design. "You have to take up your own space—no more, no less."

Gently, Mikan withdrew her arm and looked over the drawing. A syringe took up most of the space, framed by bundles of flowers. Tears filled her eyes, and she sniffled.

"If you don't like it, it'll come out with soap and water," Hanako said quickly.

"I r-really like it." Mikan hiccuped. "No one has ever done something nice like this for me before. They usually draw mean words on me or put circles around my eyes—"

"Next time someone does that, you punch them in the face," Hanako said. She felt a little like she was encroaching on Nekomaru's territory as a motivational speaker. "So…we're good?"

"I think so." Mikan's cheeks grew pink. "You're very kind, Yukimura."

"I'm really not." Hanako slipped her pen into her pocket, grabbed her CD player, and stood up. "See you around, Tsumiki."

"See you," Mikan replied, her voice barely above a whisper.


Hanako had all of ten seconds after putting away her headphones and CD player and flopping onto her bed before the doorbell rang.

"For fuck's sake," she muttered. "Just five minutes of peace and quiet…"

Scowling, she rolled out of bed and went to answer the door.

"Hey, you ready to—" Ibuki let out a squeak. "What's with the scary face, Yukimura?"

"Oh." She tried to school her features into something more pleasant. "Nothing. I'm good. What's up?"

"I'm taking surveys." Ibuki braced a hand on the door and leaned closer. "What kind of instrument do you play?"

"I can't play for shit," Hanako said, her heart beating faster despite herself. "I mean, I guess I sing sometimes, but that's more of a causal thing."

Ibuki shook her head. "That won't work. I'm already gonna be the lead singer. I guess you could do backup vocals, but you need something to do with your hands. Ooh, what about a keytar?"

Hanako blinked. She was speaking way too fast. "What is this for?"

"Jam session! 'Cause jelly don't shake like that," she added with a wink. "Come on, I already have a lot of stuff in my cottage. We can figure it out there." She grabbed Hanako's wrist and pulled her through the door.

"We're gonna—?" Hanako reached back and closed her door with her free hand. "Oh, you mean music."

"Duh!" Ibuki continued pulling her along the walkway, and Hanako tried to keep her balance. "What did you think we were going to do?"

"No idea. I'm just dumb." Jam session wasn't innuendo for anything, right? There was no reason to read into it. There was absolutely no reason to read into the fact that Ibuki was pulling her towards her cottage and the two of them were going to hang out alone.

"Oh, I get it." Ibuki stopped and turned to face her, eyes bright. "You thought it was going to be a jam session, huh? That does sound like a lot of fun."

Hanako made a weak noise in the back of her throat.

"Strawberry, raspberry, orange, grape…" She groaned. "I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. But music first."

"Yeah." Hanako decided it was better to go along with it and stop trying to keep her face from catching on fire. She was saved by a movement in the corner of her eye, and glanced over to see Hajime heading towards the boys' cottages. "Hey, Hinata."

He stopped and waved at them.

"What's up, Hinata?" Ibuki waved back. "Wanna join in on our jam session?"

Hanako attempted telepathy for the first time in her life. Say no. Say no. Say no.

Hajime shrugged. "Sure."

Fuck.

Ibuki whooped and bounced the rest of the way to her cottage. "Let's get this party started! The more band members, the better!"

"What are we doing, exactly?" Hajime muttered to her as they followed behind.

Hanako suppressed the urge to push him into the water under the walkway. "Starting a band, obviously."

They stepped inside Ibuki's cottage, which had the same furniture setup as Hanako's. Instead of a mini tattoo studio, one corner of her room was occupied by an amp, a large speaker, and a collection of guitars. Her windows were framed by pink and blue curtains.

"This place is kind of a mess," Hajime said.

Hanako couldn't even contradict him on that. Empty wrappers, soda cans, and magazines littered most of the flat surfaces in the room.

"We in the industry call this organized chaos." Ibuki picked up one of the guitars and began tuning it. "Hinata, what instrument are you playing?"

"Uh." He scratched the back of his head. "Aren't there only guitars?"

"You gotta expand your mind a little. I have way more than that." Ibuki moved to the cabinet in the back of the room and opened it with a flourish.

"Holy shit," Hanako said. "It's like Tetris in there."

The cabinet was packed with a variety of instruments, all of them slotted together in an impossibly specific grid.

Organized chaos is right.

"Do you have anything easy?" Hajime asked.

Ibuki tapped her chin with her finger. "Do you know how to move your arms and legs independently?"

"Yes…?"

"Drums it is!" She began pulling the pieces of a drum set out and assembled it with surprising speed. "You just need to move to the beat, and you'll do great."

"Am I on the key-whatever?" Hanako asked.

"I actually don't have one of those." She let out a sheepish laugh. "And you don't really strike me as a keyboard player."

Hajime narrowed his eyes. "Is there a difference?"

"That's like asking if there's a difference between chinchillas and guinea pigs." She waved him over to the newly-assembled drum set, then fixed Hanako with a scrutinizing stare. "Hm…"

Hanako scratched her arm, her skin prickling. "I'm good with whatever."

"Ooh, I know. With those tattoos, I could totally see you being the sexy bass player in the corner of the stage." Grinning, Ibuki grabbed one of the guitars from its stand and thrust it at her.

Did she just call me sexy? Blushing, Hanako took the guitar and looped the strap over her shoulder. "Okay, now what?"

"Now…" Ibuki took her own guitar and hooked it up to the amp. She played a quick riff, and a smile spread over her face.

Hanako fumbled with the strings on her own guitar, eventually hammering out a two-note rhythm that hopefully matched what Ibuki was playing. Hajime was having a similar struggle with his own beat, but neither of them could subtract from Ibuki's own performance.

The melody was one Hanako had never heard before, but it seemed to have completely captivated Ibuki's attention, her expression one of deep focus as she strummed out the notes. It was magnetic, watching her like this, seeing the subtle microexpressions as she worked through a difficult chord or found a pleasing set of notes. She was truly in her element, and seeing it sent a thrill down Hanako's spine.

Ibuki looked up and paused in her playing. "Hey, Yukimura, what's the hold up?"

"Oh. Shit." She realized she'd completely stopped playing her own instrument. A blush flamed on her face. "I guess I'm not that good at the bass."

She half-expected Ibuki to call it quits then and there, but she only said, "Okay, time for the old switcheroo!"

Ibuki went back to her cabinet, and Hanako and Hajime spent the next hour practicing on different instruments. Ibuki taught her to play the melodies for some of the songs they both liked, though Hajime wasn't familiar with any of them. Hanako liked the catharsis of the drums and the colorful noises the synthesizer produced, but she still preferred to watch Ibuki's flawless performance.

After another round on the drums, Hajime set the drumsticks down with a sigh. "Do you mind if we take a break?"

Ibuki's shoulders dropped. "Already? It's only been fifteen minutes."

He stared at her. "It's been close to an hour."

Hanako checked the time on her eHandbook. "Yeah, he's right. I could also use a break. I'm kinda thirsty."

"You guys have to build up stamina if you want to get through an entire performance." Ibuki placed her guitar back on its stand, then dug through the trash on the floor and retrieved an unopened water bottle. She tossed it to Hanako and perched on the top of the couch. "I'd say this was a pretty good start, though."

"I had fun," Hanako said with a small smile. She took a swig from the water bottle and passed it to Hajime.

"What about you, Hinata?" Ibuki leaned back on her hands. "Did any of this jog your memory?"

He blinked. "Uh, this is my first time using most of these instruments."

"I meant about your talent, silly." She gestured to the mess of instruments taking up most of the floor. "A musical decathlon like this definitely should've shook something loose."

Hajime's lips moved soundlessly for a moment. "You mean this whole thing was to help me remember my talent?"

Hanako straightened a little. Something like jealousy pricked at her, but at the same time, it was sweet to think Ibuki had done something like that.

"Nah, Ibuki did all this for fun." She laughed and stretched. "Looks like that hole in your brain is bigger than I thought."

"Hole?" Defensively, Hajime reached one hand up towards his head.

"Could be your talent isn't music-related," Hanako said.

"Ooh, you could be an athlete like Owari or Nidai." Ibuki clapped her hands together. "Tomorrow, let's run laps around the beach!"

"We could," Hajime said, not looking the slightest bit enthused at the idea. "Anyway, I'd better get going."

Finally, Hanako thought, but suddenly the prospect of being alone with Ibuki filled her with anxiety. She stood up and flexed her fingers.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna pass out for a couple hours. I'll see you both at dinner."

"Well, see you both on the flip side!" Ibuki waved as both of them made for the door.

It might have been her imagination, but Hanako thought there was an undercurrent of disappointment in her voice. She paused in the doorway and turned around, but Ibuki was busy putting away the instruments.

"My shoulders are kinda sore," Hajime said once they stepped outside. "I never thought playing instruments would be a full-body workout."

"Yeah, my fingers hurt from the guitar strings." Hanako rubbed the tips of her fingers with her thumb. "But I had a lot of fun. Maybe we really should start a band."

"Maybe."

She cast a sidelong glance at him. "Not your thing?"

He shrugged. "I just felt like I was third-wheeling with you and Mioda."

Her heart skipped a beat. "Um, what?"

Hajime held up his hands defensively. "I mean, I still enjoyed myself. Maybe next time we can invite someone else to join in, too."

"You felt like you were third-wheeling." Her face was getting hot. I need to get a fucking hold of myself.

"It's just that you and Mioda seem pretty close," Hajime continued. "It's probably because you're both girls."

"Yeah. Maybe." She nodded, which came out as more of a twitch. "Well, I'm gonna go nap for a little. Bye."

"Okay," Hajime said, still seeming nonplussed. "See you."


She didn't sleep.

Dinner was a welcome distraction. It was easy to listen to Kazuichi and Hiyoko get into an argument over something stupid while Akane tried (unsuccessfully) to pick a physical fight with either of them.

Afterwards, when the nighttime announcement sounded and they all drifted back towards their cottages, things were…less easy.

Hanako let her hair down and curled up on her bed, but her muscles refused to relax.

She liked Ibuki. She liked her a lot. Maybe things would have been different if she had a chance to clear her head, but that was nearly impossible when there were fifteen of them on this island and their cottages were only a few doors apart. If there had been any hope of avoiding her, it might have been easier for Hanako to set her priorities straight.

But there was also the fact that she didn't want to. She liked hanging out with Ibuki, liked feeling something other than the crushing anxiety that one of her classmates was going to die. That she was going to die. Was it really so wrong to seek out a distraction at a time like this?

With a sigh, Hanako touched the tattoo on the outside of her left thigh. It was a pair of mice curled up next to each other—the only one she'd gotten with someone else in mind.

She'd been in relationships before. It had always been someone asking for something. Boys wanted sex. Girls wanted free tattoos. Sometimes it was as simple as a drinking buddy or a makeout partner.

Ibuki wasn't like that. Sure, she was impulsive and a little pushy, but she'd never asked for something more. She picked fun and companionship for the hell of it.

So didn't that make Hanako the one that was asking?

Her temples twinged with the beginning of a headache. Hanako stood up and walked over to her CD player. Her fingers grazed the buttons and tightened into fists. She suppressed the urge to throw it across the room.

Besides the rules for the killing game, the policy she despised the most was Monomi's finger-wagging at littering and trashing things. She wanted to throw empty beer cans into the pool and see which ones sunk first. She wanted to take a baseball bat to a junk car.

"Plan B," she muttered, and picked up the CD player.

The rows of cottages were quiet when she stepped outside. Chiaki's light was on, and a couple of the boys' were as well, but she ignored them and moved as quietly as possible. On a night like this, she would have considered picking a fight with Akane, but she'd seen her spar with Nekomaru. There wasn't much stress relief in getting the absolute crap beaten out of her.

As she left the hotel grounds and headed towards the bridge, the sounds of the ocean grew stronger. The smell of the ocean breeze calmed her a little, eased the tangle of claustrophobic thoughts knotted between her temples.

Going to a different island would mean passing by the park and that creepy arcade machine, so Hanako stopped at the strip of sand just next to the bridge and set the CD player down. She cranked the volume as high as it would go and pressed play.

The roar of music battled with the noise of the tides. If Hanako wanted to, she could have screamed and let the waves swallow up the noise. Instead, she found a rock the size of her fist and tested its weight.

There were plenty of stones at the edge of the beach, possibly leftover from some attempt at landscaping. She walked to the edge of the water, cocked her arm back, and threw it as far as she could. Shadow and seawater enveloped it simultaneously, and her eyes barely caught the splash it left behind. She picked up another rock.

Byakuya and Teruteru were dead.

Splash.

Monokuma had set up the arcade machine so more of them would die.

Splash.

They didn't have a way off the island.

Splash.

What was the point of waiting around for more people to die?

Splash.

What was the point of surviving in a place like this?

"Yukimura?"

She turned on her heel, arm still cocked to throw the stone in her hand.

Hajime held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, it's just me."

"Oh." She swiveled and half-heartedly tossed the stone into the water.

"What are you doing up?"

You know, just your casual middle-of-the-night mental breakdown.

"Couldn't sleep." Hanako bent down to stop the music on her CD player and picked it up. "You?"

"Do you usually have trouble sleeping?"

She sighed. "Why do you think I'm late for breakfast every morning?"

Hajime didn't respond to that, sneakers shifting awkwardly against the dirt on the road.

"So, you're also having trouble sleeping, or what?" she asked after a moment.

"I guess so. I…" He hesitated. "I was heading to the park."

"To play the game?" Her pulse jumped in her throat. "Why?"

Hajime wasn't a murderer. She couldn't stand to believe something like that.

"I don't think we should leave something like that alone," he said, choosing his words carefully. "If Monokuma truly plans for this thing to be the next motive, I want to know what we're up against."

She couldn't deny that she was a little curious as well, though she'd tried to put it out of her mind. "I'm coming with you."

Surprise flickered on his face. "Okay." He hesitated again. "Is it because you don't trust me?"

He saw it on my face. It stung to know he'd recognized it, though. It stung worse to think he didn't trust her either.

Hanako let out a long sigh. This shit goes both ways.

"I think it would be better if we were watching each other's backs," she said. "And I have literally nothing else to do besides throw rocks into the ocean."

A small smile twitched on his lips. "Well, as long as you don't throw anything at my head."

"You would not be scared at all if you could see my aim."

They began walking across the bridge in silence. Hanako felt a little better having someone else with her. She silently debated bringing up the whole murder island issue, to gauge if he was having the same dilemma, but she couldn't figure out where to start.

Hajime broke the silence first. "I spoke to Komaeda today."

She cast him a sidelong glance. "Why?"

"Koizumi was tired of bringing food to him and asked me to do it instead this morning." He shook his head slightly. "I guess she didn't want to deal with feeding him anymore."

Hanako made a face. "I don't blame her."

"Anyway, I guess Komaeda found out about the game somehow. He said we needed to confront the despair the motive brings, and that's the only way we'll reach true hope, or something."

She rolled her eyes. "So, his usual nonsense."

"It wasn't total nonsense. It makes sense that running away from our problems won't get rid of them. But the way he phrases things makes it hard to follow."

"Because he's a nutjob." Hanako shook her head. "I still can't believe he convinced all of us that he was normal."

Hajime hummed an agreement, and silence descended between them again. They reached the central island and took the path to the park. The shifting shadows cast by the trees made her shiver, and she was doubly glad she wasn't alone.

The park was empty except for the ominous countdown tower and the arcade machine. They approached the latter with wary footsteps.

"If the game turns out to be dangerous, we'll stop playing," Hajime said lowly.

"Who's we?" Hanako replied. "I'm not playing the game."

He frowned. "Then why are you here?"

"To watch your back." She looked over the machine as they approached. "I just hope we don't need any of those stupid coins to work this. I'm broke."

"It's fine, I have plenty," Hajime muttered. He reached towards the controls, but the screen lit up before he could touch anything.

Warning: This game is a work of nonfiction. Any resemblances to real persons, living or dead, is purely intentional, read the monitor.

"Nonfiction?" Hanako repeated.

"Twilight Syndrome Murder Case," Hajime read as the title screen appeared. "Doesn't that look like Hope's Peak Academy in the background?"

A chill crept down her spine.

Hajime pressed the Start button, and a new title screen appeared: 2nd Day.

"Wait, why is it starting with the second day?" Hanako asked.

"I don't know."

"Can you go back? Did we open someone else's save file or something?"

"There's no button to go back," Hajime said, sounding slightly annoyed. "I think we just have to keep playing."

The game opened up with a character labeled Girl A standing in a grainy hallway. Hajime moved her through what looked like a high school and into a classroom with a group of girls inside. They began to discuss a murder that had taken place.

Hanako leaned her elbow against the side of the machine and propped her head in her hand. "Is this the whole game? It's just people talking to each other."

Hajime shot her a sidelong glance. "You've never played a visual novel before?"

"If I wanted to spend all my time reading, I would go to the library."

The scene ended, and another title screen appeared: 4th Day.

"I think this game is broken," Hanako said.

Another short scene played, in which the characters discovered the dead body of Girl E. The screen faded to black.

Game Over. Down five…

Hajime wiggled the joystick, but nothing else happened.

"That was really stupid," Hanako said. "That didn't make any sense."

"I don't understand either." He frowned at the screen. "We didn't get to see what happened on Day One or Day Three. And what does 'Down five' mean?"

"I have no idea how this could even be a motive." She met his eyes. "Do you this this means we're in the clear?"

"In the clear?"

"Yeah, like, if it's a shit motive, then no one has a reason to kill someone else."

Hajime didn't look relieved like she'd hoped. "I don't know if Monokuma would give us something if he didn't think it was going to work."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, my murder-desire-levels are still pretty much at zero, so."

"Mine too." He stepped away from the arcade machine. "Come on, we should probably head back to the hotel."

As they left the park, Hanako glanced back at the machine one last time. The words "Game Over" were still burned onto the screen.

I feel like Ibuki and Hanako together is like "me and the bad bitch I pulled by being weird as hell"

Anyway, the title for this chapter is from Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant. Next chapter will be the beach party where absolutely nothing bad happens :)