Chapter 10
Someone grabbed her shoulders.
Someone was in her cottage.
Hanako startled awake, grabbed the first thing her hand make contact with, and swung it at her assailant. Someone screamed. The music blasting in her ears stopped, and a crash sounded on the other side of the room.
She blinked sleep out of her eyes to find Ibuki crouching a few feet from the bed and the smashed remains of her CD player on the far side of the room.
Breathing hard, Hanako ripped the headphones off her head and sat up. "Mioda, you scared the shit out of me."
Ibuki rose to her feet and splayed a hand against her chest. "You scared the voice box out of me. No one's ever come back from waking you up with brain damage."
She remembered she wasn't wearing pants and yanked the blanket over her lap. "People usually knock."
"Ibuki tried, but your door was locked and you weren't answering. I thought you were gonna be the next victim."
The memory of the previous day hit her, and her irritation deflated.
"I couldn't sleep, so I put on some music. Guess I fell asleep with my headphones on." She fiddled with the cord hanging limply over the side of the bed. "Sorry for attacking you with a CD player."
Ibuki nudged the wreckage with the toe of her sneaker. "I always thought I'd go out from a stage light landing on my head, or screaming so hard my brain explodes." She looked up. "Oh, and sorry for giving you a heart attack."
"It's cool. We both live another day." She fisted her hands in the blanket. "So, I'll get changed and meet you outside…?"
"Don't change, Yukimura, I like you just the way you are." She winked.
She felt her cheeks redden. What would happen if she took the blanket off her lap and asked Ibuki to join her on the bed? Maybe she could make something good out of this morning. Though if someone walked in…
She blinked. "Wait, you said my door was locked. How did you get in?"
"Like this." Ibuki demonstrated a vicious-looking front kick, seeming unaware of how revealing it was to do that in a short skirt.
Hanako felt her blush spread down her neck. She needed to diffuse the situation before she did something stupid.
"Okay. Well. Thanks for checking on me. I'll be out in a minute."
"I'll be counting!" Ibuki skipped out the door.
She was wearing red panties today.
Hanako grabbed her pillow, screamed into it, then stood up and started getting dressed.
Hanako stopped short as soon as she walked into the restaurant.
Everyone else was already eating and chatting with one another. Even Nagito was there, but that was still less off-putting than the display someone had set up at the other end of the room.
It was a collection of candles and flowers and animal skulls surrounding a display board covered in pictures. It looked like a child's attempt at a seance.
"What the f—"
Ibuki nudged her arm. "Saionji made a little memorial for Koizumi. Isn't it nice?"
Hanako spotted her sitting at a table across from Akane. Her eyes were still red-rimmed, though the defensive scowl on her face was fierce as ever.
"Yeah," she said. "It is nice."
She crossed the room to take a closer look at the memorial, or altar, or whatever it was supposed to be. The display board was full of Mahiru's photographs, she realized.
There were several from the party in the old hotel building—Akane piling an impossible amount of sweet buns into one hand, Nagito standing beneath the decorations with a sheepish smile. She'd taken some at the beach too, when Usami had encouraged them all to go swimming. There was one of Mikan looking over her shoulder at the camera, of Gundham scowling down at a half-constructed sand castle.
All pictures taken moments before everything had fallen apart. The photographs told a different story of the life they'd been living, a happier and more carefree time. Byakuya was still alive in the photo in the corner, looking unimpressed over the rim of his glasses. Perhaps this was the life Usami had originally envisioned for them.
Hanako knelt down to get a better look at one of the photographs at the bottom of the board. She remembered the moment it had been taken—the supermarket, when they'd all been picking out clothes for the party. The picture was of her, looking at something out of frame. Her expression was soft and unsure, a face she wasn't even aware she could make.
Heat crawled onto her cheeks. Even if that day felt like a lifetime ago, she still remembered what she'd been looking at in that moment.
"If you have something to say, you can just spit it out."
She whipped her head around to see Hiyoko approaching, arms crossed.
She sat back on her heels. "You want my opinion on this?"
"Everyone already gave theirs," Hiyoko snapped, and Hanako realized why Ibuki had been so quick to correct her when they walked in.
"I think the animal skulls are creepy as fuck. I'm not even sure where you got them." She stood up. "But I like it. It's just a shame there aren't any photos of Koizumi."
"Yeah," Hiyoko said, her voice small. "I mean, there's one."
She reached into her kimono and pulled out a photograph. It was a selfie of Mahiru and Hiyoko, shoulders pressed together as they grinned at the camera.
During their baking session, Mahiru had spent thirty minutes explaining why selfies were a threat to the integrity of photography as a medium, which Hanako had taken to mean she didn't really like them. And she'd taken one with Hiyoko anyway.
"I just wanted to keep this one to myself." Carefully, Hiyoko stowed away the photograph, then shot a glare at her. "If you argue with me, I'll stick one of these thumbtacks into your forehead."
Hanako held her hands up. "I didn't say anything. You do whatever you want with the photo."
Hiyoko was silent for a moment. "I can't believe that stupid motive game said I used to be friends with you."
"I'm as shocked as you are."
Her thoughts drifted back to the photograph she'd left on the bathroom floor. Hiyoko and Mahiru's friendship had formed pretty quickly, and Hanako had found herself drifting into something of a trio with Mikan and Ibuki. But Mahiru was dead, now.
"There had to be some reason we hung out at Hope's Peak. God knows you're picky with your friends." She shot Hiyoko a meaningful look. "So…"
Her lips trembled before stretching into a spiteful smile. "I probably felt bad for the rest of you. I can't imagine why else I'd hang out with a bunch of losers."
Hanako fought the urge to roll her eyes. "Well, you ever take pity on my loser self, my door's open."
Especially now that it's broken.
"Hello, everyone! Can I have your attention, please?"
They both spun around as Monomi popped into view. The rest of the dining room grew quiet as everyone turned to the newcomer.
Hiyoko recoiled. "Ew, what is that?"
Monomi's ears drooped. "You've forgotten about me already?"
Akane hooked one elbow over the back of her chair and wiped her mouth. "You got something to say? We're kind of in the middle of something here."
"I just wanted to say, I worked all night and finally beat another one of the Monobeasts." She spread her stubby arms. "So you can all explore the third island! This is a chance for you to all work together!"
Hajime glanced around at the others. "Maybe we'll find something that'll help us get off this island."
"W-What? No, that's not what I meant at all!"
"What about Kuzuryu?" Sonia asked. "Is he all right?"
"Well, um, the thing about that is…" Monomi fidgeted. "I don't know."
Kazuichi scoffed. "Miss Sonia, don't you know by now that that rabbit is practically useless? It doesn't help that she's working for that World Ender organization that brought us here in the first place."
Monomi let out a nervous giggle. "That's, um, well, it's…"
She bolted for the stairs and was gone before anyone could catch her.
"Way to ruin the mood," Hiyoko grumbled.
"This is good news, isn't it?" Nagito said. "Monomi said a third island has opened up to us. We should all go explore right away—there's bound to be plenty of possibilities brimming with hope."
Everyone stared at him.
"Is he just going to be hanging out with us from now on?" Hanako muttered.
"Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll fall off the bridge and drown," Hiyoko replied.
They shared what might have been a conspiratorial smile before Hiyoko huffed and walked away.
Hanako tried not to let her hopes up. She doubted seriously they would find an escape on the new island. But she couldn't quell her curiosity as she and the others reached the other end of the bridge.
This island was different than the others—a large hill dominated the center, dotted with residential buildings painted pastel yellow and pink. The path to the bridge branched off into a cracked asphalt road that ran in either direction around the circumference of the island.
"This place looks just as abandoned as the rest," Hajime said.
Ibuki raised one hand to shield her eyes from the sun and peered at one of the buildings on the main road. "Does that say 'Titty Typhoon?'"
"It does," Kazuichi said as he followed her gaze. "What the heck kind of place is that?"
It was a windowless building with a large neon sign that did indeed read, Titty Typhoon.
"It looks super trashy," Hanako said. "I'm gonna check it out."
"You read my mind, Yukimura!" Ibuki grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the street. "Let's go!"
Hanako barely had any time to dwell on the way Ibuki's hand fit in hers—she was practically sprinting towards the building. They ran past a worn-down hospital building and across the weed-speckled parking lot. Ibuki shoved open the double doors, and they stepped inside a large, dimly-lit room.
Ibuki screamed. "The music gods have finally blessed me!"
There was a stage at the back of the room, complete with a lighting rig and speakers. Hanako's attention was drawn to the neon signs on the right wall, which advertised tequila and beer above a bar.
"Oh, hell yes."
They sprinted in their separate directions, Ibuki leaping up onto the stage while Hanako vaulted over the bar and nearly knocked over a row of glasses on her way down.
"Yeah, this is exactly what I needed. It's…" She crouched down to take a look at the stock. "Fucking empty."
Hanako knew the level of disappointment she was feeling probably wasn't healthy, but she hung her head and let out a long sigh. Of course it was empty. They weren't going to find anything that would actually help them on this island—just another load of false promises.
"Testing, testing!" Ibuki's voice rang out from the stage. She'd set up the sound system in record time. "Hellooooooo Jabberwock Island! I'm your host, Ibuki Mioda, and the lovely Hanako Yukimura will be serving drinks tonight!"
"I'm not serving shit." Hanako rose to her feet. "It's empty over here."
"Aww. Well, folks, looks like we're gonna be partying sober!"
Hanako felt a smile twitch on her lips as she double checked the contents of the bar. Another pair of doors at the back of the room caught her eye, and she pushed her way through them.
It was a storage closet. To her disappointment, the shelves were stocked with paint and cleaning chemicals—nothing she'd feel safe using recreationally. A row of guitars hung along the back wall next to a pile of drums.
The doors swung open again, and Ibuki bounded inside.
"Anything good?"
"Just a lot of extra crap." Hanako stepped around a giant roll of patterned paper to get to a stack of boxes in the corner.
Ibuki bounced on her toes in front of the full-length mirror against the wall. "Gosh, I feel like five inches taller. I bet if I stood on stage long enough, I'd grow into a giantess."
Her excitement was infectious, and Hanako felt her frustration melting away. She opened up one of the cardboard boxes.
"Hey, looks like they have some CDs in here." She grabbed one and her eyes widened. She turned around to show it to Ibuki. "Fucking Lightning Goodbye. You ever listen to them?"
"Only every day in middle school. And every time I walked into a coffee shop or a restaurant or a grocery store." Ibuki put her hands over her eyes and let out an exaggerated groan.
Hanako snickered and flipped over the CD case. "What was that one song that was playing everywhere? Stairway of…something?"
"Ohh, when I look at you something reminds me," Ibuki sang, mimicking the throaty voice of the lead singer.
Hanako laughed and fought the urge to hide her face. She was doing it as a joke, obviously, but hearing Ibuki sing was kind of hot.
"That I just need that one feeling inside me," Hanako joined in for the second line, and they both broke down into giggles.
"Okay." Ibuki stepped forward and plucked the CD out of her hand. "There's only one way to properly hate on this band."
Hanako followed her out of the storage closet. Ibuki slid the CD into the slot in the control panel next to the stage. The first song on the album rang out from the speakers, and she picked up the microphone from where she'd propped it on top of the panel.
"Welcome, Jabberwock Island, to the debut performance of the most derivative lyricist you've ever been tricked into hearing!" She marched onto the stage and waved at an imaginary crowd.
Hanako cupped her hands around her mouth and booed.
"Let's get our number one hater up on the stage!" Ibuki stretched out an arm and beckoned her onto the stage.
Her stomach flip-flopped. Hanako swallowed and grabbed a second microphone. She was actually being called onto the stage by a rockstar. Although the few times she'd fantasized about something like this, she'd never imagined the venue being empty or them being trapped on an island.
When she stepped out into the stage lights, her legs locked up. Ibuki did look a little taller up here. Her jewelry glittered, her gaze magnetic as she moved closer.
"I just want you baby," she sang along with the music.
Hanako realized she was still standing there like an idiot. She raised the microphone to her lips.
"I just need you baby," she joined in, and they both burst into laughter when her voice cracked.
At some point, it stopped being an ironic performance. They sang through the entire album, even the songs they didn't know, and danced to the cheesy lyrics.
Ibuki was beautiful on stage. She harmonized with the main melodies and made Hanako's voice sound a lot better than it was. She moved with endless energy and stirred up a liveliness in her that she rarely felt sober.
When the final song faded into silence, Hanako bent double and rested her hands on her knees. Despite her exhaustion, her body felt light with euphoria.
"Oh my god, I feel like I just ran a marathon."
Ibuki howled into the microphone, then dropped it onto the floor.
The sound of clapping startled both of them. Hanako squinted into the darkness beyond the stage—it was hard to see past the bright lights, but she eventually made out Sonia's pale blonde hair.
"What a wonderful performance! Your musical skill is truly outstanding, Mioda."
Hanako felt her cheeks grow hot. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Not long." Sonia moved closer to the stage. "I wanted to ask both of you to come with me to the hospital. Apparently Tsumiki has found something she would like to show the rest of us."
"You sure you don't wanna stay for another set?" Ibuki asked. "I only just got warmed up."
"Perhaps some other time. I suspect Kuzuryu may be at the hospital, and I am anxious to see if he is all right."
"Oh." Hanako felt some of her euphoria fade. Considering the injuries he'd sustained, she doubted Fuyuhiko was anything close to all right. "Yeah, sure. We'll be right behind you."
Sonia nodded and left the room with quick, graceful steps.
Hanako sighed and glanced at Ibuki. A lock of hair brushed the side of her face, and she realized one of her buns had come loose while they'd been dancing.
"Whoops." She let them both down so she could redo her hair, and a second later Ibuki was in her personal space.
"Ooh, Yukimura, I didn't realize you had so much hair! You gotta let me style it one day." She ran her fingers along the red streak she'd dyed on the left side of her head.
"Y-Yeah. Cool." Hanako lifted her eyes to Ibuki's own hairstyle, which was still intact even after her wild head banging. She liked the horns she'd styled on either side, and the pink and blue streaks in her bangs, just above her bright, sparkling eyes…
She swallowed and found her mouth had gone dry. The temptation to lean forward and close the distance between them was overwhelming.
Ibuki's expression was uncharacteristically solemn as she said, "Do you have time for a question, Yukimura?"
"Of course. I got nowhere else to be." She blinked. "I mean, we both do, but…whatever. What's up?"
"Do you wanna be my bandmate?"
She asked the question with the same intensity as if she'd gotten down on one knee beforehand. Hanako felt an intense but not unpleasant falling sensation.
"Sure." She searched her face, trying to figure out exactly what Ibuki was asking. "I mean, you already know my singing isn't that great."
"You don't need to be a great singer to be in Ibuki's band." She grinned. "You just need the right spirit. And I think you got it."
Hanako struggled for words for a moment. The two of them got along because they had a similar music taste, because they had fun together, but it sounded like something else had singled her out in Ibuki's eyes. She'd been eyeing the other girls in the diner, but it was Hanako she'd chosen to drag along with her today.
Even if they kissed, Ibuki would want more than that. Maybe more than she could give.
"Let's get to the hospital." She tried not to let the nervousness show in her smile. "Maybe later we can pick out a band name."
They were the last ones to make it to the hospital. The other were already crowded in one of the rooms on the first floor, and Hanako lifted her chin so she could see who they were gathered for.
As Sonia had predicted, it was Fuyuhiko. The right side of his face was swathed in bandages. More were visible beneath the collar and sleeves of his hospital gown. He was well enough to sit up, at least, but he wasn't doing anything except staring listlessly out the window.
"I convinced Monokuma to let me take a look at his medical file," Mikan was saying to the others. "It seems there was no damage to his organs or major nerves, but he's probably lost use of his right eye."
"It sucks about the eye, but the other stuff is kind of a miracle, right? Considering all the swords…" Kazuichi cleared his throat and turned to Fuyuhiko. "You're lucky as hell, man."
Fuyuhiko didn't respond. There was none of the disdain that had been there every other time he'd ignored them. Hanako wasn't even sure he was listening to their conversation.
"Maybe it wasn't luck," Chiaki said before an uncomfortable silence could descend. "He wasn't alone when it happened. Maybe Pekoyama protected him in her last moments." She fixed her gaze on Fuyuhiko. "You said when we first came in that there was no way you could die. You believe that too, don't you?"
His jaw tensed. Even with his good eye visible, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.
"Who knows?" he said after a long silence, then gingerly rolled over and turned his back to them.
Hanako looked away, something like grief pinching the back of her throat. She hadn't liked Fuyuhiko at all when they'd first met. He was a complete ass in his best moments, and then there was the fact that he was the reason Mahiru was dead.
But it was hard to reconcile that with the image of him at the end of the last trial, how he'd broken down and run to his death as Peko had met hers. It seemed now like whatever was holding him up had been irreparably bent. He was proof that even the most callous and hardened members of their group could be broken down when struck in the right place.
She wanted a cigarette.
Hiyoko brushed past her and stormed out the door, shoulders stiff with anger. Akane and Nekomaru were arguing about something, while Mikan tried to get them to quiet down.
Ibuki moved closer and nudged her arm. "Hey, wanna get out of here?"
It was hard to resist the tentative smile on her face, but Hanako could already feel the room getting smaller. She didn't want Ibuki to see her like this. She didn't want to think about how much it would hurt to lose her.
"I'm gonna get some air," she said, trying to keep her tone light. "I'll catch you later, okay?"
Without waiting for an answer, she turned and fled the room.
She sat on the curb of the hospital parking lot and took out her pen. She bent over the hole in her jeans and began doodling on her knee. A collection of tiny spiders took form, each of their bodies indented into her skin with the pressure of her pen.
Nekomaru stomped out a while later, with Akane right on his heels. One by one, the others filed outside. Ibuki waved as she passed, but didn't approach her. Hanako didn't know whether to feel relieved or hurt. She realized she'd started drawing a heart on her skin and crossed it out with furious strokes.
A shadow fell over her, making her glance up.
"Hey," Hajime said.
"Hi."
He sat beside her on the curb. "Are you practicing for a tattoo or something?"
She relaxed a little, relieved he hadn't brought up Fuyuhiko or anything else that had transpired yesterday. "Nope. Just doing it for fun. If I like a design, I might make it permanent, but usually I'm just messing around."
"Messing around, huh? You looked kind of stressed when I walked over."
"That's just my face." She shot him a look, then began drawing a box around the crossed out heart. "What do you do to relieve stress, Hinata?"
"Me?" He was silent for a moment. "Sometimes I go for a walk, I guess. Or try and figure out how to fix whatever's giving me stress. I guess here I usually go to sleep and try to forget about things for a while."
"I get that," she said softly. "Music helps, too. Did you see the music venue down the street?"
"Yeah, I went inside. You and Mioda were too distracted to notice me, though."
Her cheeks went hot. She wondered how many other people had walked in on her and Ibuki during their impromptu concert.
"Did you see the rest of the island?" Hajime asked.
"No, I was in the music venue basically the whole time. Anything else worth checking out?"
"There's a motel, but it looks pretty crappy. I don't get why we'd stay there if we have the cottages. The road opens up to a side street with all these electronics. There's also a movie theater, but it's only playing one thing."
Hanako straightened. "What movie?"
He made a face. "Something Monokuma made. I think it's called 'The Wizard of Monomi.'"
"Ew."
"Yeah. Komaeda saw it and said it was terrible, so it's probably not worth checking out."
She propped her chin in her hand. "Was it actually bad or was there not enough hope or whatever?"
His lips twitched. "If Monokuma made it, probably both. Remember that comedy show he forced us to watch?"
"Oh my god, that was fucking terrible." She sighed and shook her head. They'd reached the point of joking about things that had been downright terrifying a week ago.
It was strange how quickly things changed here.
She glanced at Hajime and tried not to let any accusation into her tone as she asked, "So, were you hanging out with Komaeda again?"
His expression soured. "No, of course not. I just ran into him at the movie theater. I still think he's dangerous."
Hanako held up her hands in surrender. "Yeah, fine, that's what I thought. I just don't really know what we're going to do with him now."
"Me neither." He frowned at a tuft of grass poking through the asphalt like it was personally responsible for trapping them all here.
She sighed and pushed herself to her feet. "Let's get out of here. Hospitals creep me out."
Hajime looked at her for a moment, then his expression relaxed and he stood up. "Yeah. Me too."
This chapter's title is from Reunion by M83, which is such a fun and vibey song, perfect for Hanako and Ibuki. Thanks for reading!
