Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, this chapter will be the group watching the remaining survivors tell each other what they've found, along with Hina revealing the "ghost" she saw. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
A Lucky Soldier: Another quick chapter to keep things going! And to keep it quick, I'll go right into the questions stuff.
Q: Will you be doing Sakura and Kyoko's FTEs since neither of them will speak to Makoto in Chapter 4?
L: I don't know how Spirit is going to do it but, maybe? We might just bend the rules a bit and have a bit of their FTEs anyways but I'll let Spirit answer this.
S: That's the plan, though I might bend the rules a bit, if I can and/or need to.
Q: Will Mondo be stopped from hitting people even in the mastermind reveal?
L: As Taka would say: Violence is not tolerated in a school environment!
Q: Is Mukuro going to face everyone like she did at the end of IF?
L: We didn't plan that far yet so I don't know. There's still plenty of time before we need to start worrying about it :)
Q: Will you do IF as a side story?
L: I believe Spirit's answer is no.
S: Yeah, it was no.
Chapter 44: Watching Ch 3: A Next Generation Legend! Stand Tall, Galactic Hero! Part 3
When Makoto got back to the dining hall, the first thing he saw was Hina in one of the tables, a plate of donuts in front of her. "Ah-!" She yelped in surprise, dropping the donut in her hand.
"Hina?!"
The group blinked in slight surprise at seeing the swimmer in the dining hall. "Well, looks like Miss Asahina is feeling better." Hifumi commented on.
"And eating her plate of diabetes as usual!" Junko commented on with a smirk.
"They're donuts." Makoto corrected with a sigh.
That caused the girl to blush a little in embarrassment.
Soon as Makoto yelled her name, the others rushed into the dining hall, especially Sakura. "Hina!"
"Huh? I thought she was sick or somethin'." Hiro pointed out in confusion. The group rushed past Makoto and surrounded the girl, making her feel very uncomfortable.
"Are you feeling better already?" Sakura asked in concern.
"Y-Yeah…I decided to eat a few donuts, which is really helping out a lot." Hina reassured them, taking a bite of said donut.
Celeste sighed. "Why even tell a lie if you're not going to keep up with it? Your future self did say that she wasn't feeling good, did she not?"
Hina couldn't help blush in embarrassment. "M-Maybe the others won't notice the slip up."
"With Kyoko and Celeste around?" Junko snorted. "Might as well suggest that Taka doesn't know the school rules well."
"You do love those donuts…" Makoto commented on with slight amusement.
"But…wasn't it your stomach that was hurting?" Celeste pointed out.
"Well, my stomach ache kinda made me hungry, so…you know…" Hina fumbled, trailing off her words. Then she gave a nervous laugh. "I guess my memory's kinda fuzzy lately…"
Celeste let out a sigh while bringing her hand to her forehead as if suffering from a headache. "Your attempt at lying is pitiful." Hina's cheek burned brighter at that. "You really shouldn't have bothered."
"What could she have done? Tell the truth?" Sayaka pointed out. "I doubt any of us would believe her if she did."
"She might as well lie." Leon agreed.
"H-Hey! At least I got my donuts!" Hina protested.
"They say that a goldfish will eat however much food you give it, even if it's about to burst." Hifumi informed them. "Miss Asahina's pretty much the same, it looks like."
The blush on Hina's cheek didn't let up due to Hifumi's comment, and her cheeks puffed up in anger. "You're the last person I want to hear that from, Hifumi!"
"At least she exercises, fatty." Leon added in. "You, however, look like a walrus."
"As I said before, this is only my mundane form! I have yet to release my true one!"
"How about you start working out? Hell, even Toko is probably more fit than you." Mondo pointed out with an eye roll.
"I-I don't take t-that as a compliment y-you know?!" Toko lashed back.
"Hey!" A blush formed on Hina's cheeks as they puffed out. "You of all people don't have room to talk!"
Sakura then interjected. "Anyway…I was worried about you."
"S-Sorry…" Hina said, sounding a bit guilty.
"Besides that, you-!" Jill cut in. But then stopped when her eyes were set on Hina's chest.
"Huh…?" Hina replied in confusion.
"Jeez, your knockers are HUGE!" Jill rudely and cheerfully pointed out. "What the heck, did you convince them to double up on milk production?!"
Hina blushed heavily and covered her chest. "C-Could she stop making those type of comments?!"
"It's Jill: You know the serial killer doesn't have a filter in her mouth." Sayaka sighed. "I feel your pain though." There was more than one time that the serial killer made those type of comments.
"That fiend better keep away from her…" Sakura growled. She too hated when Genocide Jill sexually harassed Hina with her words. The killer is lucky doesn't do so physically, else she would face the wrath of the Ultimate Martial Artist.
Toko could do little else but writhe in her seat every time Jill spoke on the screen.
"Stay away from her, fiend." Sakura growled, stepping between Jill and Hina.
"A-Anyway…" Hiro spoke up nervously. "First thing's first, we should talk about what we found. Right, Taka?"
Again, the moral compass was silent, simply sitting at his usual place. "...Right." The fortune teller sighed. Something then clicked in his mind. "Oh, I just remembered! I saw Byakuya a little while ago."
"What?!" That immediately gain Jill's attention. She turned to Hiro with murder in her eyes and scissors in her hands. "Where?! WHERE WAS HE?!"
Several of them jumped at this. "Why would you say that?" Hifumi cried out.
"I don't know! Jill is already stalking him!" Hiro said nervously.
"Just tell her!" Leon shouted at the screen. "Tell her and save yourself!"
"Shut it!" Byakuya glared at Leon before directing his glare at Hiro. "Your future self better not reveal where I'm at."
"Y-Yeah! K-Keep G-Genocide Jack a-away from M-Master!" Toko spoke up, still curled up and shaking from the sight of Jill.
"Y-You're kinda scarin' me…" Hiro said, stepping away from the scissor wielding psychopath.
"Where. Was. HE?!"
"He was in the locker room…" Hiro quickly told her. "He had a huge stack of books he musta got from the library."
Everyone in the class suddenly made their prayers to Hiro while Byakuya's glare turned even fiercer. At the sight of it, Hiro panicked. "It was future me, future me!" He shouted, hoping that the heir doesn't murder him.
"Tch. You're lucky there are reasons why I can't send you to hell right now." Byakuya threatened.
Hiro could only gulp at the threat made at him and nervously turn back to the TV.
"So THAT'S where he was hiding! I won't let him get away from me!" With her insane laughter, she ran out of the dining hall, leaving the remaining students by themselves.
"She just…ran off!" Hiro said.
"Is…is she okay?" Makoto asked in concern.
"We should not concern ourselves with her." Celeste told them. "There is one piece of good news. There just so happens to be a rec room up on the 3rd floor! I have no doubt that our student life here will be even more enjoyable because of it." She then let out a little giggle. "Will someone join me in a game of Othello sometime?"
Leon snorted. "And if everything but the clothes on our backs will be taken away? Yeah, no thanks."
"It can be a friendly game." Celeste told him.
That earned a scoff from Byakuya. "A friendly game with you Celeste? Don't make me laugh."
"Well.. I had a few friendly games with her before." Makoto interjected before getting shot with 15 looks that said "you're different."
Nobody dared to take that offer. Hifumi then spoke up. "There was an art room on the 3rd floor, and it had all kinds of gear." He informed the then let out a small, dramatic laugh. "Now I'll be able to recreate all my favorite anime characters!"
"Oh yeah!" Makoto spoke up, remembering something. "Speaking of anime, that reminds me…I found something while I was looking around!" He then pull out the digital camera he found from his pockets.
"Hm…a digital camera?" Sakura noted with curiosity.
"That's what it seems like…" Makoto confirmed.
"Does it still work?" Hiro inquired.
The luckster nodded. "Yeah, it seems fine."
"Well then, let's see it!" After Makoto laid it on the table, the group got a good look at it and immediately noted the odd design."What the heck? This thing is like a kid's toy! It looks like it can store like five pictures, maybe? It doesn't even have a timer or anything!"
"On top of that, its appearance seems…questionable." Celeste pointed out. "Is this some kind of anime character? Strange…"
Hifumi gritted his teeth in frustration. "You people are all rude!" He exclaimed. "None of you have true appreciation of anime!"
"That's because none of us are full on otakus, dude." Leon said with an eye roll.
"A-And that anime's a mistake." Toko muttered to herself.
"Rude!" Hifumi shouted in offense. "She's not strange! She's Princess Piggles, from Demon Angel Pretty Pudgy Princess!"
"Oh, you recognize this, Hifumi?" Makoto asked him.
"Of course I recognize it!" Hifumi answered, as if it was obvious. "It's a super rare prize that was given away at a bingo contest at a big anime convention…you have any idea how much I had to pay that guy to get my hands on it?!"
"Hopefully not as much as Hiro had to pay for that crystal ball." Celeste said.
"Of course not!" Hifumi immediately answered. "I wasn't that desperate to get the camera! But it still costed a hefty price!"
"Then why did you get it?" Chihiro asked curiously.
"Like future me said, it's such a rare item!" Hifumi explained. "Any huge anime fan would want to get their hands on it, especially fans of Demon Angel Pretty Pudgy Princess!"
"I don't think I'll ever understand you fucking otakus…" Mondo sighed, with those like Leon, Byakuya, and Toko nodding in agreement.
"Wait…that's my camera!" Hifumi screamed in realization and horror.
Makoto's eyes widen in shock. "What?!"
"Wh-Where did you find it?!" Hifumi demanded.
"In the physics lab…"
"It's my most prized possession. I brought it here with me, but I lost the first day, along with my cell phone." The fanfic creator explained.
"Why would it have reappeared in the physics lab…?" Celeste questioned.
'I'm wondering that myself.' Kyoko thought to herself. 'But without anymore information, all I could do is theorize.' She sighed to herself. 'Just like with everything else.' Hopefully there will be something that can connect these separate pieces.
"Agh, but look it! It got all messed up!" Hifumi groaned. "Like when someone steals a stick from your collection, or you buy a secondhand shirt…" He let out a forlorn sigh. "Well, that's it…"
"Huh? That's it?" Makoto asked in confusion.
"It's not in mint condition. I don't need it anymore…" Hifumi stated.
"But weren't you just saying how much it meant to you?" Makoto pointed out with a sweatdrop.
"That's why I'm so disappointed!" Hifumi cried out. "Since it's been messed with, it's not worth any value anymore! It became a secondhand, low purchase item!"
"I think it was already like that." Hina deadpanned.
"Then…may I have it?" Celeste requested. "I might be able to find some sort of use for it." She then took the camera from the table. "If any of you would like to borrow it, please feel free to ask."
"Well…I can't really imagine any of us are gonna need to take any pictures or whatever…" Hina mused.
"Yeah, true…" Makoto agreed.
"So why would you be interested in something like that?" Junko inquired towards Celeste.
In response, the gambler merely shrugged. "I don't speak for my future self, but perhaps it's in case another murder springs up, or a clue about the killing game is shown, and I would need to take a picture of it."
"Yeah, good point…" Makoto said, biting his lip. While he doesn't like the idea that a murder is inevitable, he can't deny that it will happen. Not after the last two trials.
Sakura was the next person to give out information. "I searched the entire 3rd floor, but…all the windows in the halls and the rooms were blocked off."
Hiro groaned at this. "I wish they'd give this a rest already, like seriously! Gimme back my bright blue skies!"
"For once, I agree with Hiro!" Hina groaned. "I mean, couldn't they have just used bullet proof windows or something?!"
"The mastermind wants to make sure no one gets in or out." Mukuro reminded with a sigh. "And from the looks of it, those windows might even withstand tank shells."
"Or a Sakura and Mondo powered punch." Leon added. "I doubt even a bulletproof window could endure something like that."
"Just forget about it." Celeste simply told him.
"You make it sound like I dropped a nickel or something!" Hiro groaned.
"Umm... I can't help but say this Celeste, but it seems as if you're enjoying the life there." Chihiro noted.
"I doubt that my future self is enjoying it." Celested responded calmly. It was a fair observation after all. "I think she probably just sees that it's pointless to think of the outside world, when all it would do is increase our desire to kill."
"Just to be sure, I went from one end to the other, testing each metal plate. None of them budged." Sakura informed them. "It would seem escape via the 3rd floor is as impossible as we feared…"
"I see…" Makoto sighed in disappointed and resignation.
"And there's only two floors left." Hina groaned. "Maybe there's a chance of hidden entrance there?"
"Doubtful." Byakuya said. "The mastermind sealed the place down to the last crack. From the looks it, the only way out is through the front door, with the remote control in hand."
"Which might mean they'll have to face and takedown the mastermind somehow…" Sakura sighed.
Kyoko was the next to speak. "There was a remarkable physics lab on the 3rd floor." She stated. "In the middle of the room, there was a machine bigger than anything I've ever seen before…"
"Oh yeah, apparently it's an air purifier." Makoto revealed to them.
That got the group's attention. "Huh? What's something like that doing here?" Hiro asked in confusion.
"Is the device really that big?" Sakura inquired.
"I…really don't get it." Hina said with obvious puzzlement.
"Why does the mastermind need an air purifier?" Chihiro asked, looking in thought.
"My best guess is so that we enough air." Taka answered. "Considering the way those windows are locked, they look like they're sealed airtight."
"That's plausible." Kyoko agreed, for the time being. However, it still feels like an incomplete answer.
The last one to speak up was Hina. "Um, I wasn't able to help much with the investigation," She admitted sheepishly. "But…I did make one discovery…"
"It didn't happen to be a donut-related discovery, did it?" Hiro inquired teasingly.
That got a pout from Hina. "What does that even mean?"
"It means your obsessed with the stuff." Leon said with a smirk.
The present Hina pouted as well. "I am not!"
"I'm sorry, but you are Hina." Sayaka agreed, also giving the girl a teasing smile. "You eat them whenever you get the chance."
That caused the swimmer to pout even more, as well as blush, while some of the others chuckled or smiled in amusement.
"Aahhhh! This isn't fair when everyone gangs up on you!" She cried.
"Never-mind…it's about the nurse's office! Remember? There's one on the first floor, right?"
"Oh yeah…" Makoto said in realization. "I forgot about the nurse's office."
"Can't see how, with the number of times you entered the nurse's room." Leon said with a smirk. That caused the luckster to blush in embarrassment while some of the others laugh.
Due to his luck, there was more than one time where he end up in the nurse's offices, to the point where there's a sign for him on one of the beds. He also ended up befriending the Ultimate Nurse, Mikan.
"I remember." Sakura confirmed. "But it's locked."
"Actually…not anymore." The swimmer revealed.
"Did you find any protein in there?" Sakura inquired. "Or even vitamin supplements would be fine."
Hina shook her head with a pout. "I did look, but no dice…just a bunch of headache medicine and over-the-counter stuff."
"I see…that's disappointing." The martial artist sighed.
"It is disappointing. Like the end of the world is already here…" Hina moaned in sadness.
"That's a big exaggeration there…" Sayaka said with a sweatdrop, with a few others nodding in agreement.
'I-I'm not sure it's that disappointing…' Makoto thought with a sweatdrop. Shaking the thought, his mind went onto another subject. 'Okay, I've heard what everyone else has to say. So now it's my turn…!'
"You plan on sharing the picture you saw with the others?" Mukuro asked curiously.
Makoto nodded. "It seems that way. Can't think of anything else my future self would want to say."
"I doubt anything fruitful would come from the attempt." Byakuya sighed, crossing the arms. "Most likely they'll write it off as manipulation from the bear."
"Maybe, but it couldn't hurt to inform them." Makoto argued slightly.
"Hey, um…can I tell you guys something?" The luckster spoke up. "If found something that's…kinda been bothering me."
The group stared at the lucky student. "What is it?" Kyoko inquired.
"I found this weird picture in the repository. Apparently Monokuma took it…" Makoto began explaining.
"A weird picture?" Hina repeated, her eyes widening a little. "You mean, like…dirty?!"
"No, not that kind of weird." Makoto quickly answered. "It was…a picture of Leon, Mondo, and Chihiro all together."
Several eyes widen at this. "Those three…?" Kyoko voiced out in puzzlement.
"And the three of them were…laughing." The luckster continued.
"It showed the three of them together, laughing?" Hiumi asked. "When could it have been taken?"
"And there's more…" Taking a small breath, he revealed the last bit of information. "In the picture, there weren't any metal sheets covering the windows."
The eyes widen even further. "Then…the picture wasn't taken here?" Sakura questioned.
"But I don't recall hearing anything about them knowing each other before coming to this school." Celeste mused in thought.
"You probably just imagined it!" Hifumi suggested. "Monokuma cast a spell on you!"
"No! I saw it, I'm telling you!" Makoto insisted.
"But if it wasn't taken before we got here, or after we got here…" Hina said, frowning in obvious confusion.
"I bet they're all still alive!" Hiro declared. "They left the school and then took that picture!"
Cue several facepalms from the group. "Are you even attempting to use that brain of yours, Hiro?" Byakuya growled. "It's very clear that they're all dead!"
"And even if, by some miracle, those deaths were all fake," Kyoko continued for Byakuya. "Have you not been paying attention to how the school is sealed up?"
Hiro couldn't think of any defense for his future self. So he simply hung his head in shame.
"That's impossible." Kyoko stated. "After all…" A flashback of Leon's execution was shown. "...we saw it with our own eyes." A flashback of Chihiro's corpse was next. "Either murdered or executed…" The third flashback was Mondo's execution.
The flashbacks had a heavy effect on the group, especially the victims themselves. Leon clenched his fist tightly once again, while Chihiro felt himself shaking, wrapping his arms around himself. Taka felt himself becoming pale while Mondo merely looked down, his hair covering his eyes.
The mood grew heavy at the reminders. 'And they're not the only ones…' Makoto thought. A flashback of Junko's death then appeared. 'Monokuma killed Junko. And then there's…' A flashback of Sayaka's corpse was the last to be showed. '...Sayaka.'
Mukuro bit her lips, slightly looking away from the flashbacks, while Sayaka clenched Makoto's hand tightly. Sayaka was kind of happy to know that Makoto still remembered her at that point, but it was a vexing thought nonetheless.
'That wasn't an illusion. It was real, I'm sure of it.' He thought in grim confidence. 'They all died. There's no way any of them are still alive.'
The mood around definitely got back to dark. Junko huffed. "Way to kill the mood, Hiro!"
"H-Hey! I was just giving a suggestion!"
"An idiotic suggestion." She retorted. "Seriously, saying they're all alive? Why not trying rubbing salt on the wound?" Mentally, however, she applauded how Hiro darkened the mood. All this despair is like ambrosia for her!
"So we have to figure out when that picture was taken…" Makoto said, after a moment of silence.
However, that idea was quickly rejected by Celeste. "Monokuma most likely forged it. I can't imagine any other possibility."
Makoto frowned at that. 'Forged…? Is that all there is to it?'
"Stay focused, man!" Hiro scolded him. "Don't let Monokuma's bullcrap sidetrack you!"
Hina let out a groan of annoyance. "I know we already discussed that they weren't gonna believe it, but it's still annoying that they're brushing it off like that!"
"I would have to agree as well," Celeste conceded with a sigh. "Especially since this is our future selves."
"But what's the purpose of that picture, anyway?" Makoto asked in slight confusion.
"Considering Monokuma's Modus Operandi, I find it highly unlikely that it accidentally left the picture there for someone to find." Kyoko thought to herself.
"Isn't it obvious that it's an attempt at sabotage?" Byakuya shot in from the side. "Whatever the reason, Monokuma knows that we all saw their deaths with our very own eyes, but to suddenly produce evidence that suggests otherwise, the worst case scenario is that we start having all sorts of doubts about our current situation."
"I... appreciate the insight but I feel like that's dangerous knowledge to have.." Leon jabbed at him.
"Yet, that is also how our enemy is working." Byakuya shot back.
"So then... I guess we're ok that we're brushing this aside in the future then?" Hina asked.
"As long as no one gets any weird ideas from this, I guess so." Leon said, particularly looking at Hiro.
"Hey! I didn't even get ideas yet!"
"He's right. But more importantly…" Celeste said, changing the subject. "There's something that has been bothering me. I would like to discuss that."
Makoto looked at the gambler curiously, forgetting about the picture for now. "What's bothering you, Celeste?"
"It's about Hina…"
The swimmer in question looked surprise at that. "What? Me?!"
"You said your stomach hurt, did you not?" Celeste rhetorically asked. "But I believe that was a lie. What really happened?"
A few eyes widen at this. "Hey, hey, whatever happened to not getting any weird ideas?" Mondo said.
"Hina is just a horrible liar." Celeste stated. "But the fact that she is lying means that she's most likely hiding something important. Honest people like Makoto and Hina tend to lie whenever the matter is important enough."
The two chuckled sheepishly at this, unable to deny that.
"Huh?" Hina's eyes widen at the accusation.
"It varies from person to person, but whenever someone lies, they tend to have a way of showing it." Celeste explained. "It is called a 'tell' -something that you can't hide, no matter how hard you try. Whenever Hina lies, the tip of her nose gets just a little bit longer."
"What?! For real?!" Hina's hands immediately went up to her nose, to feel if the tip got longer.
That earned some laughter from the group, while Hina pouted at being trick. "You always trick me like that, Celeste!"
"And you always fall for it." The gambler retorted. "It's not my fault you keep falling for the same tricks."
Celeste smiled at that. "Actually, no."
"Huh?"
"But your reaction just confirmed it - you were lying." Celeste said in confidence.
"Th-That's no fair!" Hina protested.
The gambler giggled at that. "There are no rules that says I can't trick you like that."
"Well, there should be!" Hina argued, pouting even more.
The gambler merely giggled. "If you are going to lie, at least try to lie convincingly."
"Hina…be honest. Were you lying about your stomachache?" Sakura asked her gently.
The girl was silent for a moment. After that moment, she hesitantly answered. "Y-Yes…"
"Why…?" Sakura asked. "Why would you lie about that?"
"Are you feeling guilty about something?!" Hifumi accused.
"No, that's not it at all!" Hina denied. "It just…I mean, I have a reason for it!" She sighed. "To be honest…I didn't have a stomachache. I did it cuz…even if I came and told you the truth, I thought you wouldn't believe me…"
"And considering what it was, we can't really blame you for thinking that." Taka said. "While I still think it's better to tell the truth, even I know people would believe a truth like that."
"True that." Leon agreed, along with some of the others. "I mean, we ourselves aren't sure of what we saw."
"The truth…?" Makoto repeated, tilting his head.
"...I saw it." She said.
"Saw what?"
"A ghost…"
"A ghost…?" Hifumi voiced out in shock. "You mean like, THAT ghost?!"
"What the hell kind of ghost are you talking about?" Mondo asked in confusion.
"P-Probably in s-some anime." Toko grumbled. "Or s-something in his p-perverted head."
"I resent that!"
"Is there more than one ghost…?" Kyoko questioned.
"B-But…I mean, ghosts are…" Makoto protested a little.
"See! I told you wouldn't believe me!" Hina exclaimed angrily.
"I-It's not that I don't believe you, but…"
"I'm just having a hard time with what's real and what's not." Makoto admitted. "After everything we've seen, my future self is probably trying to decide which is which."
"Yeah, I can't blame you there." Hina sighed.
"...I believe you." Sakura said in assurance. "No matter what anyone else will say, I will believe whatever you say, no matter what."
That statement earned more than a few smiles from the group, especially from Hina. "Thank you, Sakura." Hina said gratefully.
"It's no problem, Hina." The martial artist said softly. "I'll always stick by your side, no matter what."
Tears filled Taka's eyes. "Such beautiful friendship you two have! As strong as mine and Mondo's bond!"
"It's definitely a strong relationship." Sayaka agreed, a smile upon her own lip.
"True friendship..." Chihiro muttered to himself with a smile.
"So…can you tell us exactly what happened?"
"If you really mean that, Sakura…then okay. I'll tell you." Taking a deep breath, the swimmer began telling her story. "Umm, so…it happened last night. I was in bed, but I couldn't get to sleep. I just kept thinking about everything that's happened up till now. I ended up just getting more upset…" A flashback of Hina getting off of bed and getting ready was shown. "So to try and cheer myself up, I thought I'd go get some donuts."
"Donuts again?!" Hiro voiced out in slight disbelief.
"And you ignored the rule regarding nighttime…" Celeste said with slight reproached.
"I know, sorry." Hina apologized. "I feel really guilty about that…"
"Anyway, please continue." Sakura urged her.
"Well…so I left my room and headed for the warehouse…" The scene then cut to Hina in the hallway. "But then I started hearing a strange sound….it was coming from the direction of the bathhouse. So I headed that way…"
The flashback cut to Hina entering the bathhouse next. "The locker was halfway open, so I took a look inside…" The scene finally went to Hina looking at the bright green head of the late Chihiro. "And I saw a human shape, surrounded by a pale green light. There's no doubt who it was…it was Chihiro!"
"See?! It's a ghost! Chihiro's ghost!" Hiro shouted in terror, pointing at the screen.
"That's far from a clear view!" Byakuya retorted. "That doesn't prove that it was a ghost that we saw!"
"Then what was it then?!"
"D-Don't argue b-back with Master!" Toko hissed at Hiro. "He said gh-ghosts aren't real, s-so ghost aren't real!"
As they argued, Chihiro looked at the screen more closely. 'The sound Hina heard did seem like something a computer would make…and that brightness fits that of a screen…could it really be Alter Ego?'
Both Hifumi and Hiro screamed in terror. "N-No way…! A gh-gh-gh-ghost?!" Hiro screamed.
"It is simply not possible. You must be mistaken." Celeste dismissed quickly. "Just as in most case of 'paranormal' activity, it was born from your weakened mental state."
"Then all we have to do is go see for ourselves, right?" Sakura suggested. "Let's just go to the bathhouse and see what Hina saw."
"W-W-Wait! Your want to go see the gh-gh-ghost?!" Hiro screamed in disbelief. "Are you crazy?!"
"If it's just the head, I doubt anything will happen." Sakura replied calmly. "And besides, this ghost didn't appear to harm Hina."
"That doesn't mean it wouldn't put a curse on us next time!"
"Oh for the love of god shut up Hiro." Leon sighed in annoyance.
"It is a waste of time." Celeste scoffed.
"Maybe, but…there's no harm in it, right?" Makoto said to her. "If we don't find anything, that'll be the end of it."
"You're gonna go try and see a gh-gh-ghost…?" Hiro asked incredulously. "Is that really a good idea? It might put a curse on you!"
"You can wait here if you want." Hina told him.
"I don't want to be alone! Take me with you!" Hiro sobbed in fear.
"The gh-ghost might take me if I'm alone! Please, don't leave me by myself!" Hiro exclaimed, covering his head as if he could ward off any ghosts.
"What are you going to do, Celeste?" Kyoko inquired.
The gambler sighed. "I suppose I have no choice…." She said reluctantly.
"How about you, Mr. Ishimaru? Are you gonna wait here?" Hifumi asked the moral compass. His answer was silence. "...I guess that's a yes." With that, group went out of the dining hall and to the bathhouse.
"Please don't let the ghost curse us, please don't let the ghost curse us…!" Hiro prayed, his hands clasped together.
Leon clenched his teeth. "While I don't believe that it's a ghost, I just hope it ain't anything bad."
"You and me both, dude." Mondo agreed.
The next scene was the group inside the bathhouse. "I-It was right here…" Hina said nervously, pointing towards the opened locker. "I saw it right here in the dressing room!"
Hiro shivered a little. "I'm getting goosebumps."
"Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!"
"Shut up! What if he actually shows up?!" Hiro shouted at Hifumi.
"Yeah, I don't want Cthulhu to show up! So please shut up!" Hiro screamed, holding his head.
"Oh boy…" Sayaka sighed. "Hiro is really freaking out now."
"No argument there." Makoto replied with a sweatdrop.
"Hina…where is it you saw Chihiro's ghost?" Sakura asked her.
"Well, I heard a sound…" Hina began explaining. "And when I opened the locker…I saw a kind of…pale outline of Chihiro…"
The group glance at one another nervously, cold sweat building up on their forehead. They really hope this isn't anything bad. The killing game is already bad enough. They don't need the supernatural to deal with.
And that's the end. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Next up, the class will watch as the survivors meet Alter Ego. Make sure to review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.