Chapter 8: Spun

Sonia came to wake her up the next morning. She flashed her usual cheery smile as soon as Hanako opened the door.

"Good morning, Yukimura. How did you sleep?"

Hanako blinked slowly, wondering if that was a genuine question or not. She could practically feel the bags under her eyes. She'd been tired enough to consider yelling at the first person to wake her up to fuck off, but it was hard to speak that way to someone like Sonia.

"I definitely slept." She ran a hand through her hair. "I'll be at the restaurant in five, okay?"

"Actually, there is something I wanted to discuss with you." She clasped her hands at her waist. "I'll wait until you're ready."

"Cool," Hanako mumbled, then retreated into her cottage to get dressed.

The arcade game in the park worried her. She'd brushed it off last night because it hadn't made any sense, but the cryptic dialogue had come back to haunt her after she'd returned to her cottage. It was the same feeling she'd had after Byakuya had been killed—that she was in way over her head, and that not understanding the situation in a place like this could mean death.

She tried not to let her anxiety show on her face as she stepped outside and began walking with Sonia towards the hotel.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Ah, yes. I am planning a gathering at the beach on the second island."

"Oh, yeah?"

"I had so much fun during our tea party the other day. I thought it would be nice for all the girls to spend some more time together and strengthen our bond."

Hanako shrugged. "Sure, I'm in."

"Marvelous!" Sonia clapped her hands, eyes bright. "We shall meet at the diner at four o'clock today. I do not know if there is a place to change, so it may be best to put on your swimsuit beforehand."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, and…" Sonia shot her an almost apologetic smile. "I would appreciate it if you did not mention this to any of the boys."

"Don't worry, I won't," she replied with a smirk. She had a feeling that comment was directed at one boy in particular.

"Hey, Yukimura?"

She paused just in front of the stairs and turned at the sound of Mahiru's voice. She was approaching them from the direction of the pool, one hand wrapped around her camera strap.

"Do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

Hanako glanced at Sonia, who smiled and gave them a tiny bow. "I will see you both at breakfast, then."

As Sonia ascended the stairs, Hanako moved closer to Mahiru. She looked drawn, eyes weighted with dark circles and flyaways sticking up from her usually neat bob.

"Is everything okay?"

"Do you have time later today to talk? Maybe in the afternoon?"

"We're talking right now."

"I wanted it to be more of a…group discussion."

"Did you want to come up to breakfast, or…?"

"I don't want everyone there." Her face scrunched into the beginning of a grimace before she smoothed it out. "And I need some time to collect my thoughts."

Hanako frowned and stepped closer. "What's going on? You look scared."

"I'm not scared," Mahiru said, and it wasn't clear if she really believed it. "I just need to talk some things through."

"I can skip Sonia's beach thing this afternoon."

She shook her head, causing a few more flyaways to pop up. "Please don't do that. It can wait. Maybe this evening?"

"Sure. Are you coming to the beach today?"

"Probably not. But I'll see you afterwards, all right?" She shot her a slightly strained smile.

Hanako hesitated. "You're sure? If you need to do this earlier, it's fine."

"It's not urgent, I promise. I might speak with Saionji beforehand, so that'll help." She reached out and gave her shoulder a brief squeeze. "Thank you for being a good friend."

"Yeah." She searched her face. Mahiru was a level-headed person. If she thought someone was in danger, she would say it. "You change your mind, you know where to find me, okay?"

"Okay. See you tonight." She walked back towards the cottages, her hand returning to her camera strap.

Hanako let out a long sigh and climbed the stairs to the restaurant. As soon as she entered, Hajime caught her eye and beckoned her over. She slid into the empty seat next to him and propped her elbows on the table. "What's up?"

"Did you give any more thought to the game?" he asked lowly.

"Not really," she said, unable to keep the defensiveness out of her voice. She wasn't sure why he would be asking for her opinion, anyway. He'd been surprisingly good at putting together clues at the trial. She wouldn't have been surprised if he'd already figured something out. "Why, did you?"

He shrugged. "A little, but I still can't make sense of it. I was thinking of bringing it up to the others today."

She propped her chin in her hand and suppressed a yawn. She was definitely going to need coffee today. "Didn't we all agree not to play the game?"

"Yeah, but I have a feeling we're not the only ones who broke that agreement."

Did that include Mahiru? Hanako couldn't really imagine her doing that, but it would at least explain her demeanor this morning. That was assuming, of course, that the game had actually made any sense to her.

Hajime cast her a sidelong glance. "It would be nice to have some backup when I do bring it up."

He hadn't forgotten what she'd said last night. I think it would be better if we were watching each other's backs.

Hanako blew out a small sigh. Yeah. Fine. Trust goes both ways.

"I'll back you up," she said. "You wanna talk about it now?"

Hajime glanced around the room. Most of the others were involved in their own, smaller conversations. Hiyoko and Akane were debating the nutritional value of gummy candy. Ibuki was giving Peko a passionate pitch about how sword fighting skills could easily translate into playing music. Fuyuhiko was absent as usual.

Kazuichi sat down in the chair across from Hajime. "Hey, Hinata. Got a minute?"

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Kazuichi cast a pointed glance in Hanako's direction. "Just wanted some bro talk, you know?"

"Bro talk?" Hanako tilted her head.

"Like, guys only…"

"Oh, are you asking me to leave?"

"K-Kinda."

She shrugged and stood up. "Yeah, sure. Later, Hinata."

She made herself a cup of coffee in the kitchen, and when she reemerged into the restaurant, Ibuki waved her over.

"Hey, drumsticks are basically the same as swords, right Yukimura?"

"Totally." She sat next to Mikan, who was at the same table. "You could also stab someone with a drumstick, right?"

"Anything can be used as a weapon with the proper technique," Peko said, then lowered her gaze as she realized the implications of her statement.

"Even air," Mikan said, not seeming to notice her discomfort. "Even a few milliliters accidentally injected into the vein could cause a gas embolism."

Hanako stared at her. "How the fuck do you know that?"

She ducked her head. "I'm s-sorry! It was part of my training on how to safely handle needles. I promise I'm not planning a murder."

"Yeah, no, that makes sense," Hanako muttered, looking away.

"Hey, why are we talking about weird stuff when we should be talking about music?" Ibuki waved her hands to get their attention. "I think Pekoyama could make a pretty badass drummer."

"If it mainly requires coordination and a sense of rhythm, I suppose some of my skills with the sword would translate," Peko said.

"That's the spirit." Ibuki grinned and turned to Mikan, who immediately raised her hands.

"I don't think I would be good at any of that. I'm pretty clumsy and m-my sense of rhythm isn't very good."

Hiyoko turned around from where she was sitting at the table behind theirs. "Yeah, the only thing you'd be good for is falling off the stage. You could spread your legs again for the audience."

Mikan covered her reddening face with both hands. "Please don't remind everyone of that!"

Hanako glared at her. "Saionji, shut the fuck up. No one invited you to this conversation."

Hiyoko scoffed and held her gaze. "Look, Tsumiki, your girlfriend's coming to rescue you."

"Fuck off."

Her grin widened. "I bet you actually liked Tsumiki's little stunt at the party. You could have a two-woman pervy act on stage—"

"Are you actually making fun of me because I like girls?" Hanako realized how loud her voice had gotten and how quiet the restaurant had become, and her stomach dropped.

"What? I don't care about that." Hiyoko almost seemed as flustered as Hanako felt. "If you're gonna make a scene, keep me out of it." She turned back to her breakfast, her pigtails whipping around with her head.

Hanako turned around and took a painfully long sip of coffee. She didn't want to look at Mikan. She really didn't want to look at Ibuki. Instead, she tried not to wince at the burn on her tongue and locked eyes with Peko.

"So, how would you kill someone with a drumstick?"


Hanako fled to her cottage as soon as breakfast was over.

We didn't even talk about the stupid game, she thought as she flung the door closed. She would have taken just about any topic to distract her from the surreptitious glances Mikan had thrown her.

Ibuki's cheerful chatter had been okay, but it bothered Hanako more than she'd expected that Ibuki had gone right to acting like nothing had happened. Was that good? Was that bad?

Hanako ran both hands over her face, which still felt uncomfortably hot. And she had Sonia's fucking beach party later today, and all the girls would be in swimsuits and she would feel like a total creep just looking at them. Did Ibuki think she was a creep?

God, she wanted a cigarette.

She slipped on her headphones and listened to music while she doodled on her arm. The familiar pressure of the pen and the thrumming of the drums in her ears helped her calm down a little.

Maybe I just shouldn't go today, she thought, tracing the outline of a lotus with more force than necessary. I'll pretend to be sick. Or just jump off the hotel roof.

It wasn't until the CD stopped that Hanako realized how long she'd been sitting hunched over on the couch. She stretched out her stiff limbs with a groan.

Movement in her window caught her eye. She pushed the headphones onto her neck and realized someone was knocking on the door. She took a deep, calming breath and went to answer it.

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ibuki and Mikan on the other side.

"Uh, hey."

"So you were jamming out in there?" Ibuki reached out and pinched the foam padding on her headphones. Hanako tried not to flinch. "We've been trying to get your attention for a while."

"Yeah. Couldn't hear, sorry." She tried hard not to act like she was bracing herself for something. Maybe this was how Mikan felt all the time.

"We're heading early to the diner to grab some snacks. Wanna come?"

"Sure." Slowly, Hanako felt herself relax. "I was just gonna change first." She paused, noting that neither of them were wearing swimsuits. "Are you guys not wearing swimsuits…?"

"They're under our clothes," Ibuki said with a wink. "Pretty stealth, right?"

She finally noticed the outline of a blue bikini top beneath her white shirt. She quickly focused her eyes back on Ibuki's face.

"I m-might not go swimming, though," Mikan said, turning her arm to reveal the syringe design Hanako had drawn on her yesterday. "I don't want this to wash off. I've been careful in the shower, too."

Hanako blinked at her. "Tsumiki, I'm a tattoo artist. If you want it to be permanent, you can just ask."

"Oh." Mikan let out a nervous giggle. "Y-You're right. I'm so stupid."

Hanako's protest was cut off as Ibuki whooped and threw her hands in the air.

"Yukimura, why don't you bring your whole kit to the beach? We can all get some sick tats."

She was still hesitant about interacting with the others, but Ibuki's excitement was infectious.

"I might sketch some designs if people want," she said, fighting back a smile. "We'll see. Now, gimme a second to get changed."

Her heart was considerably lighter as she stepped back inside and threw on her swimsuit. The two of them seemed okay with her, at least. She wasn't sure if Mikan was actually capable of disliking anyone—barring Hiyoko, maybe.

After putting on a coat of sunscreen, tucking a pen into the waistband of her swim trunks, and checking herself in the bathroom mirror, she emerged from her cottage.

"Wow, Yukimura! You have tattoos everywhere." Ibuki grabbed her arm and lifted it so she could see them better.

Hanako usually hated it when people grabbed her arms just to look at her tattoos. She didn't mind when Ibuki did it. On the contrary, she found herself smile as Ibuki ran one hand over the flowers inked on her bicep.

"It's like you got graffitied by a hundred tiny gangsters!"

She laughed. "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

"Um." Mikan's hands fidgeted, one of them hovering over the design on her arm. "W-We should probably get going if we want to have time to eat before the others arrive."

"Ooh, yeah." Ibuki whirled around and began leading the way out of the hotel grounds. "You know, Ibuki thinks there should be an alarm for lunch. Not like Monokuma's announcements, but something that really says, It's lunchtime!" She waved her hands for emphasis. "Sometimes Ibuki forgets to eat because she gets too wrapped up in writing songs. You know what would be a good idea? A guitar with a compartment for snacks."

They traded increasingly ridiculous ideas for inventions as they headed to the second island. Most of Mikan's suggestions involved obscure medical terminology, but Hanako noticed that her stutter went away when she talked about medicine.

As they approached the diner, Hanako recognized three people standing in the parking lot—Hajime, Kazuichi, and strangely, Fuyuhiko.

"Hey, now this is a strange trio." Ibuki approached them first. "It's like finding a caramel in your rice crackers."

Kazuichi let out a nervous laugh. "What a coincidence seeing you three here. Are you also heading to the beach?"

Hanako crossed her arms. This feels like a setup for the world's worst triple date.

He looked her over and raised his eyebrows. "Swim trunks, huh? I've never seen a girl wear those before."

"I guess this is a day for firsts, Souda. What are you guys doing here, anyway?"

"Well, Hinata and I were also heading to the beach." Kazuichi began swinging his arms awkwardly. "Funny timing, huh? I guess in that case we should all go together."

Hanako shot an incredulous look at Hajime, who had the sense to look embarrassed.

After an awkward pause, Kazuichi continued, "I guess we should go hang out in the diner. The others won't be here for another thirty minutes, right?"

Ibuki pointed a finger at him. "Busted! How do you know our meeting time with the others?"

Hajime looked up at the sky like he was hoping an alien would come and abduct him from the situation.

"You're just here for Sonia, right?" Ibuki said. "You're transparent as a convertible with the roof down."

"P-Please don't hate me for saying this," Mikan said, "but Sonia was the one who organized this gathering. We should ask her before inviting anyone else."

"That's fine." Kazuichi grinned. "I can't imagine she'd ask us to leave. Right, Hinata?"

Hajime was looking around the parking lot.

"Right?"

"Whatever, let's just go inside. I'm gonna implode if I don't eat something soon." Ibuki bounded towards the door of the diner, Mikan on her heels. Hanako let out a huff and followed them.

"Hey, did Kuzuryu leave?" Hajime asked, falling into step beside her.

She glanced around, but Fuyuhiko was nowhere to be seen. "I guess. Why, were you trying to get him in on your stalker plot?"

"We're not stalkers!" Kazuichi said from behind them.

She shot him a glare over her shoulder. "If it looks like a stalker, and it sets up camp and waits for its target to arrive thirty minutes before like a stalker…"

"We actually got here around two thirty," Hajime muttered.

"I can't even look at you right now." Hanako pushed open the door to the diner and went to join Ibuki and Mikan behind the counter.

She was annoyed, but she realized this might have been a blessing in disguise. Kazuichi being an annoying prick could provide a distraction from any lingering awkwardness between her and the other girls.

Ibuki was twirling a spatula with surprising dexterity. "Order up! How about another round of Yakuza burgers?"

Mikan's brow furrowed. "Y-Yakuza burgers? Are those edible?"

"'Course they are." She pressed a hand to her cheek. "Except Ibuki forgot the ingredients. What was in it? Chili oil…"

"Like, way too much chili oil," Hanako told Mikan. "Mioda and I had to basically drown ourselves in milkshakes after the first bite. I thought I was gonna die."

"Maybe you should wear some protective equipment if y-you're going to be in the cooking area," Mikan said, glancing at Hanako's bikini top. "Your skin could get burned from the stove if you're not careful."

Ibuki stuck her spatula between Hanako and the stove. "Forget that, we need some bulletproof glass to protect this work of art!"

The heat that sprang onto her face quickly cooled as Kazuichi leaned on the counter across from them.

"Hey, what are you guys doing about your swimsuits? You're not allowed to change in the beach house, so…"

"We're wearing them under our clothes," Mikan replied.

"Oh, me too. And that reminds me—Hinata, I brought one for you in case you forgot." He dug through one of his pockets and pulled out a camo-patterned brief.

At the look on Hajime's face, Hanako slapped a hand over her mouth to try and hide her burst of laughter.

"Careful, Hinata," Ibuki said. "You wear that to the beach and something might fall out."

A snort escaped her, and Hanako put her face down on the counter, shoulders shaking with laughter.

"Hey, what's that?" Ibuki pointed out the window.

She looked up, expecting another punchline, but her eyes fell on the familiar bright orange of Hiyoko's kimono.

She was sprinting across the parking lot as fast as her sandals could carry her, face flushed red. It was hard to tell from this distance, but it looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Is she okay?" Hajime asked.

"Well, if I had to describe her with a song title, it'd probably be 'Sprint of Tears,'" Ibuki said.

"Yeah, she doesn't look right." Hanako frowned and stepped out from behind the counter. Mahiru had mentioned she was meeting with Hiyoko today. Had something happened between them?

"Hey, why was she running from the beach?" Kazuichi asked. "Isn't she coming to the girls' thing?"

"Apparently she can't swim, so she declined the invitation," Mikan said.

"And Koizumi said she isn't feeling well, so I guess she isn't coming either," Ibuki added.

Hanako bit her lip, unease settling in her gut. Normally she wouldn't have bothered to check on someone like Hiyoko, but the way she'd been running spoke of full-blown panic. If someone had hurt her, she couldn't just overlook it.

She made her way to the door, but it swung open before she reached it.

Chiaki stepped into the diner, holding a tin lunchbox. She was still wearing her backpack, but she'd traded her normal outfit for a white bikini.

"Oh, hi, everyone. I came early, so I didn't expect people to already be here." She held up the lunchbox. "I brought ice cream."

"Hey, Nanami." Hajime seemed to be making a concentrated effort to keep his eyes on her face. Kazuichi was not.

Neither was Ibuki. "Nanami, you're gonna give me a heart attack dressed like that!"

Hanako crossed her arms and tried not to glare at Chiaki's cleavage. She'd always been content with having a smaller bust. It made chest tattoos easier. She didn't give a fuck if some of the girls were bigger than her.

She went to the soda fountain to give her hands something to do. Chiaki definitely looked hot in a bikini. It would be difficult for anyone to deny that. But if Ibuki had said something out loud, did that mean she liked girls, too? Even if she did, that didn't mean she would like Hanako specifically. Maybe she had a thing for girls with big busts and unmarked skin.

The cup in her hand began to overflow, soda spilling onto her fingers. Hanako cursed and set the cup onto the plastic tray.

"Hey guys, sorry to keep you waiting," said a new voice from the doorway.

Hanako suppressed a scowl. That sounded like Akane, who made absolutely no secret about her own chest. She turned around and froze.

"Holy shit."

Akane had blood dripping onto her face from above her hairline. She brushed some out of her eye like it was nothing more than sweat. "I guess I'm a little late, huh?"

Mikan let out a small scream. "Owari!"

"What?" Akane frowned at her. "I made sure to wear a swimsuit and everything."

"You look like you walked out of the prom scene from Carrie," Ibuki said, wide-eyed.

"Oh, this?" She shrugged. "I ran into Coach Nidai on the way here and I was in the mood to fight him. Things got a little rough. I'll just rub some dirt in it, huh?"

"Absolutely not!" Mikan strode forward and grabbed Akane's arm, careful of the scrapes on her elbows. "We need to clean the wound right away. Even shallow lacerations on the head can result in quite a bit of blood loss, not to mention the risk of a concussion…"

Her voice faded as she all but dragged Akane into the bathroom at the back of the diner.

As if they were in some kind of weird revolving door, Peko stepped into the diner, dressed in a black bikini and already dripping wet.

"Is something the matter?" She adjusted the strap of her sword bag, which she was still wearing for some reason. Her eyes landed on Kazuichi and Hajime. "I thought this was going to be a girls-only gathering."

"Why are you soaking wet?" Kazuichi asked, ignoring her comment. "Were you swimming before coming here?"

She nodded. "I wanted to see if it would be possible to swim to another island, but I tried for about three hours with no luck. It seems it would be impossible to escape by swimming."

"Well, I could've told you that," Ibuki said, looking Peko over. "It would be mega-impossible without a body like that."

Hanako turned back around and grabbed a plastic lid for her near-overflowing soda cup. She struggled to put it on, spilling more of it in the process.

"Stupid fucking thing…" she muttered.

"I think that's the wrong size lid." Hajime stepped up next to her and handed her a different lid.

"That's fucking dumb," she said, popping on the new one without much difficulty.

"Hey, are you mad about Souda and I crashing your party?"

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "I mean, it was pretty uncool, but I'm not actually mad at you."

"I just thought it would be kind of pathetic if Souda tried to join you guys by himself."

"Well, you really saved him. He doesn't look pathetic at all."

They both glanced over to where Kazuichi kept glancing out the window in search of Sonia. A smile twitched on Hajime's face.

Hanako stabbed a straw through the lid of her drink. "Actually, there is something you could do to make it up to me."

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You have to wear the swimsuit Souda got you."

"No way!" His face flushed, and she cackled.

The door swung open again.

"I am terribly sorry to keep everyone waiting!" Sonia swept into the room, wearing a pink and black wetsuit.

Kazuichi's eager face shifted through what appeared to be all five stages of grief.

"I wanted to wear something to protect my skin, but since I have never worn a wetsuit before, it took some time to put it on," she said.

"I guess it would be pretty bad if your beautiful white skin got burned by the sun," Kazuichi said, nodding to himself.

Sonia's smile faded a fraction as her eyes shifted from Kazuichi to Hajime. "What are you two doing here?"

Kazuichi stood up straight. "I'll be honest with you, Miss Sonia. When you and the girls go to the beach, can you please take us with you?"

"I suppose if you've come all the way here it would be impolite to send you away. Very well, then."

"Thank you, Miss Sonia! I promise you won't regret this," he said, practically bouncing on his toes.

Sonia ignored him and walked towards the back of the diner. "Yukimura, your tattoos are incredible! It must have taken you years to complete all of them."

"Yeah, I probably pushed myself more than I should've." Just to annoy Kazuichi, she slid one strap of her bikini off her shoulder to reveal the rose just above her breast. "This one got a little bit of an infection, but it still healed up pretty nicely."

"I did not know tattoos could become infected." She tilted her head. "I suppose they are like battle scars, in a way."

Weird phrasing, Hanako thought, but smiled anyway. "Well, I think these look better. Have you thought about getting one?"

Her eyes lit up. "I have always wanted to display a unicursal hexagram somewhere on my person."

"A what?"

Kazuichi finally stopped pretending he wasn't listening. "Hey, Miss Sonia, you shouldn't get a tattoo. Didn't you just say you wanted to protect your skin?"

Hanako leaned around Sonia so she could glare at him. "Oh, so you think people with tattoos have ruined their skin?"

"I-I didn't say that!"

Sonia touched her arm. "Perhaps later I can show you the design I mentioned earlier. I don't believe it is terribly complicated."

"Complicated is my specialty."

"Wonderful." Sonia gave her a small curtsy before gliding away to talk to the other girls.

Kazuichi watched her go, then announced to no one in particular, "It's getting kinda late. I'm gonna go set up at the beach, okay?"

Hajime pushed off the counter. "I should probably go help him."

Hanako took a sip of her soda. "What, you're not gonna change into your swimsuit first?"

"Not a chance." He rolled his eyes and followed Kazuichi out of the diner.

She laughed to herself and joined the others in the kitchen area. Ibuki was explaining the contents of the Yakuza burger to an incredulous Peko, while Sonia examined the empty fryer baskets with Chiaki.

"Put this away." Hanako took the bottle of chili oil Ibuki had set on the counter and stashed it in one of the cabinets. "I'm not setting my mouth on fire for the seco—hey!" She pulled her drink away as Ibuki grabbed the straw with her teeth and stole a sip of soda.

"Aww c'mon, you're gonna get a drink and not share?" Ibuki leaned forward for the cup as Hanako held it behind her, practically pinning her against the counter.

"Get your own!" Hanako said, heat flaring onto her cheeks.

The monitor on the wall chimed.

Monokuma's cheerful, twisted voice blared through the diner: "A body has been discovered! Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"

Everyone froze. Hanako set her drink down and faced the monitor, but it had already gone dark.

Sonia's horrified voice broke the silence. "Did Monokuma just say…?"

"Another murder has occurred," Peko said quietly.

The bathroom door burst open, and Mikan stepped out, Akane right behind her. Her eyes were wide and teary.

"D-Did anyone else hear that?"

"We all did," Chiaki said, her face uncharacteristically grim. "We need to find out where it happened."

"And who…" Ibuki whispered.

"I'll save you the trouble!" Monokuma hopped onto the countertop, startling all of them. "The crime scene is over at the beach house. As for the who…well, you'll have to find that out yourself."

Hanako's heart dropped. Hajime and Kazuichi were at the beach.

"Fuck," she whispered, and ran for the door.

They all stumbled out of the diner and into the blazing afternoon sun. Akane, Peko, and Ibuki took the lead as they ran through the tunnel leading to the beach. They rounded the corner and found the front doors to the beach house already open. Mikan let out a small scream.

The smell of blood wafted through the doorway, and Hanako covered her mouth. As her eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the beach house, she could make out the puddle of blood on the tile floor, the smear of it that led to the body slumped against the door…

"Koizumi?" Sonia whispered breathlessly.

"What the hell happened here?" Akane marched towards the doors, but Chiaki grabbed her arm.

"Wait! Don't step on those." She pointed to the footprints in the sand. "They could be important evidence."

Evidence. They were going to need to collect evidence for another trial. They were going to do it all over again. Mahiru was dead. Hanako felt dizzy all of a sudden, the sun shining painfully onto the back of her neck.

The others carefully stepped around the footprints and into the beach house, and Hanako had no choice but to go along with them. Hajime and Kazuichi were already inside, both looking pale and unsteady. It was hard to look at Mahiru's body. Hanako tried to find somewhere else to put her gaze, and her eyes landed on a bloodstained metal bat lying in the middle of the floor.

The memory came back to her of the arcade game in the park, and the gruesome image of the dead girl's body and the bloodied bat. It was nearly identical to how Mahiru was positioned.

Hanako let out a shaky breath. The others were talking, but she could barely hear them over the ringing in her ears. The game had been a motive after all. Someone had used it to kill.

The smell of blood stung her nose, and nausea rushed up her throat.

She stepped outside on shaky legs, only vaguely remembering not to step on the footprints they were supposed to preserve. The salted ocean breeze settled her stomach a little. The beach looked beautiful, inviting. They were supposed to be enjoying themselves right now.

Tears stung her eyes. She sat in the sand and wrapped her arms around her knees. It took an extraordinary amount of effort just to keep her breathing even.

She knew something was wrong. She asked me for help and I didn't do anything and now she's dead.

Panic swarmed on her skin like locusts. She didn't know what to do with her hands, fingers curling and uncurling, nails pricking her skin.

"Hey, Yukimura?"

She glanced over her shoulder. Ibuki was walking towards her, a tight furrow in her brow.

Fuck me. Reluctantly, she pushed herself to her feet and tried to speak around the lump in her throat.

"Hey. Yeah. What's up?"

"Do you wanna change? You're shivering."

Hanako looked down at her hands and realized they were shaking. It wasn't from the cold, obviously, but maybe Ibuki was just giving her an out.

"Okay, sure. I'll put my clothes on and come back."

Ibuki nodded. Her bouncy attitude was gone, and it unnerved and comforted Hanako at the same time. "I can walk you there."

"That'd be good."

They headed towards the tunnel leading back to the road. Hanako wasn't sure who reached out first, but when Ibuki's hand wrapped around hers, she squeezed tightly and didn't let go.

Hiyoko: I can excuse bullying Mikan, but I draw the line at homophobia

lmao anyway. This chapter is titled after Spun, another Grouplove song. Next chapter will be the investigation and a teeny part of the second trial. Thanks for reading!