Hello readers and welcome to my new chapter. So, sorry for taking this long to finish up the chapter. If you read Lucky's review in the review section, you know that I've been busy. In short, I was dealing with a lot of crap. A combination of college work and family drama, with a dash of internet problems. Left me with little to no time or energy to write.
But everything is finally settling down (Hopefully for good) and I found the time to finish this chapter. This one will mostly have free time events, with a little bit of the plot at the end. I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Danganronpa.
A Lucky Soldier: A new update is finally here! Rejoice! Yaaaay! Anyways, there won't be a questions section this time since all the questions can be answered with this:
"We are both right now, outside of our own agendas, solely focused on this story only. We have no idea what is in the future after we eventually finish this, nor do we know if we are going to do any sequels."
However, in regards to the other "hey did you read this fic?" I personally haven't read them but I'm not sure if Spirit has.
Spirit: I mostly agree with the statement above. While I do plan for a sequel to happen, I can't say it's set in stone or when it will happen. Though hopefully, I still have Lucky as my beta reader and editor if/when I do the sequel. Some of the chapters wouldn't have been as good without him. Also, I haven't ready any of the fics mentioned, except for "Be More Proactive This Time Around, Luckster".
Chapter 49: Watching Ch 3: NGL! STGH! Part 8
"This is getting serious man…" Hiro sighed, talking to Makoto. The two of them are at the third floor hallway, with Hiro slumping on the wall. "When are we gonna get outta here?! The world so big, so freakin' huge! And we've all been stuffed into this one tiny little corner…"
"Looks like Hiro is at his limit as well…" Makoto mused in concern.
"And like Kyoko said, this has the potential to be bad." Mukuro remarked with a frown.
'Eh, isn't he always at his limit?' Everyone else silently thought.
'I guess even Hiro is starting to get stressed out by all this.' Makoto noted in his head.
"Can we talk, man to man?" Hiro asked Makoto. "I haven't told anyone else, but I need to get this off my chest…"
"Huh?" Makoto tilted his head in curiosity. "What is it?"
"There's a big reason why I'm so anxious to get out of here." Hiro told him.
"A big reason…?"
That got the others a tad curious. "What reason do you have to want to get out?" Sakura asked Hiro.
The fortune teller thought about it for a moment before an idea came to his head. "Ahh...hahaha... I wonder..." He nervously replied.
"I doubt it's as important as your future self says." Celeste said dismissively. "It must be an exaggeration. Or something completely foolish."
"You don't know that! It might be a huge reason!" Hiro argued, though the gambler doesn't look convinced.
"I'm super worried, man!" Hiro exclaimed, anxiety filling his tone. "I'm afraid someone's gonna bust into my house and steal my collection!"
"What collection…?" Makoto inquired.
Then Hiro hit him with the reveal. "I've been surfing black markets and back channels to build a huge collection of OOParts!"
"..." Makoto could only stare at Hiro in befuddlement.
Those were the same looks several of the others were sporting, which Hiro didn't noticed for the moment. "Yeah, I thought that was it…" He said to himself, nodding in understanding.
"O..O-O parts?" Toko repeated, confused.
"Wait, you don't know?" He then noticed all the other blank and confuse looks. "Don't tell me none of you know what OOParts is!"
"No. We do not." Mukuro stated.
"Well, it's gonna be explained soon." Hiro sighed. "Makoto already knows…"
"No reaction?" Hiro noted in confusion. "Wait… don't tell me you don't know about OOParts! You know, OOParts! Out-of-Place Artifacts?! Stuff they find in the ruins of ancient civilizations, but with no explanation how it coulda got there! The crystal skulls, the golden airplanes of Columbia, the Baghdad Battery, just to name a few!"
"Wait a minute…" Leon spoke up, looking at Hiro with disbelief. "You're telling us that you got a collection of those things?"
"That's right!" Hiro stated proudly. "Took a while searching, but I've got an entire collection of OOParts!"
Nearly everyone simultaneously looked at Makoto, their faces asking, 'Are those fakes?'
The luckster could only nod, getting sighs and facepalms from all around. Hiro is one big sucker, that they can all agree on.
"Plenty of museum and research centers claim to have all those different OOPArts, but ya see…" The fortune teller pointed at himself proudly. "Here's the shocking truth! For all of 'em, the real deal is at my house! Did I shock ya? Did the truth slam into your soul like the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs?!"
"How can somebody be this fucking dumb?" Mondo whispered to Taka and Chihiro. "It ain't funny how goddamn stupid he is!"
"I'm… not sure bro." Taka sighed. He honestly can't come up with a good answer. Not even Chihiro could come up with a good defense for the clairvoyant.
"But… you have all that stuff at your house?" Makoto questioned with slight skepticism.
"Yup!" Hiro confirmed with a nod. "Got it mostly through the Internet! It's more valuable to me than anything!"
'He's gotta be the world's biggest sucker…' Makoto thought incredulously.
"Yeah."
"No argument there."
"N-No bigger sucker than t-this one."
"Hey! Why are you calling me a sucker?!" Hiro whined.
"Cause you actually believe all of those artifacts are actually real." Mondo sighed, a headache slowly growing. "When it's clear to a five year old that it's fake!"
"You guys are just jealous that I have all those wonderful artifacts!" Hiro accused. "They are real!"
"Yeah, as real as my natural red hair." Leon remarked dryly.
"ITS NOT?!"
"I've invested every penny I have into that collection!" Hiro sighed. "Which is why I'm so worried. If that stuff gets stolen while I'm gone… it'd just be the most tragic tragedy! You know what I've had to go through to get that stuff?! Why do you think I got held back, like… ya know… three or four years…?"
"Wait a second…" Taka said, looking airily calm. "Is he telling us, that the reason he's held back, is because he used all the money he had, money he could use to go to school, just to buy these so called OOPArts?!"
Hiro winced, looking more than a bit nervous. "U-Um… maybe." And maybe he used more than that as well…
At first, Taka was silent, processing this. But after a moment of silence...
"THAT IS EXTREMELY UNACCEPTABLE!" Taka screeched, standing up from his seat to face the fortune teller, a venomous glare entering his face. "AN EXTREME WASTE OF MONEY! HOW COULD YOUR PARENTS LET YOU DO SOMETHING EXTREMELY IRRESPONSIBLE?! WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT IT WAS A SMART IDEA?! I HAVE NEVER-"
Mondo quickly grabbed Taka and covered his mouth, struggling to get his friend back into his seat. "Bro, calm down! You can rip him a new one later!" Mondo hissed at him, though the moral compass continued struggling. "We still need to finish this, and it will only take longer if you ridicule him now!"
After another moment of struggling, Taka finally settled down. As Mondo let go, he settled back into his seat, though gave Hiro a venomous glare that caused the clairvoyant to cringe in fear.
"For once, I agree with the hall monitor." Byakuya said, his eyes continuously twitching. "How much money did you actually waste all these years?"
"I don't think that's an answer we'll want to find out." Celeste stated, resisting the urge throttle Hiro.
"...Huh?"
"Oh, uh! Nothing!" Hiro quickly brushed off, realizing what he said. "Forget about the last part!"
"Okay…" Shaking his head, Makoto went back to the topic of those artifacts. "Anyway, everything I've read is that when you really do serious research on those artifacts, most of the time they end up finding out that there's a perfectly normal explanation for them."
"Don't be stupid!" Hiro rebutted. "You-stupid-Makoto!"
'Says the one who bought fake artifacts from the internet!' Was the overall thought of the group, san Hiro.
"It's a government cover up! They want to hide the ancient aliens and the secrets of the universe!"
"...So tell me again how much you hate the occult?" Makoto asked him.
"This isn't the occult! It's about aliens and ancient civilizations living together!" Hiro argued. "Yeah, that's possible!"
"...And Makoto's the stupid one?!" Hina exclaimed in disbelief.
"Hiro's conversations is torture on my brain." Junko groaned, rubbing her head. "How can anybody be this stupid?" 'It's not even fun picking on him if he's that dumb.'
"I assume his mother or father dropped him as a baby more than a few times." Celeste sighed.
"They must've been hard fucking falls." Mondo huffed.
Hiro slumped at the verbal beatings he's being given. "Did I mention that all of you guys suck?"
"More than once, man." Leon remarked dryly.
'I don't think there's anything I could say to change his mind…' Makoto sighed.
"Good. Leave this useless and idiotic conversation. Now." Byakuya said firmly. "I hope this is the last conversation with this fool."
"My intuition tells me that it won't be." Sayaka mused.
Makoto sighed, hoping that it won't be that conversation. He would rather not remember what Hiro had attempted to do to him.
The scene switched to Makoto walking in the first floor hallway before spotting Kyoko. "Hey Kyoko," Makoto said, getting beside her.
Kyoko inclined her head to him. "What's the matter?" She asked him. "Don't you have anything to do?"
"Not really." The luckster replied with a shrug. "Just would like to talk to you a bit, is all."
Kyoko shrugged in response. "There's no reason to decline. And I'm not the type to decline, anyway." When she spoke again, it was a whisper to herself. "Besides… I find myself more and more intrigue by someone like you."
That got the group's attention.
"Now, what is this?" Leon said, a grin on her face. "Is the Ultimate Detective gaining a crush on our lucky student?"
"Seems likely." Mondo remarked with a smirk. "And I think I see her blushing a bit."
Makoto couldn't help but share some of the embarrassment as he was sitting right next to her, but Kyoko, in her usual demeanor, replied completely unfazed to the nature of the jabs: "You're probably just seeing things. And besides, my future self is probably just intrigued by his trusting nature and optimistic outlook."
While that was partially true, Kyoko knows that there are some feelings developing under that interest. And from the piercing looks she's feeling from all angles, her 'rivals' certainly feel the same.
Luckily for her, Makoto didn't hear that last part. "So, I've been wondering…" He started out. "How do you stay so calm?"
"...Calm?" She looked at him with a perplexed expression.
"I mean, you never lose your cool. You never show emotion…" The luckster explained.
"You say that like I'm some kind of inhuman beast." She remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"N-No, I didn't mean it like that." He quickly reassured her.
"You seem too enjoy teasing Makoto a bit too much…" Celeste commented on.
"As if you're any different." Kyoko replied back. That caused the gambler to giggle softly.
"True."
"Well, I am human. I do have emotions." Kyoko continued. "I simply keep it to myself. I don't show it in my face or in my voice."
"You make that sound way easier than it is. Especially in these kinds of situations…" Makoto pointed out.
"Well, you should consider trying." She suggested. "Your naive honesty makes you an easy target."
"And you seem that you like to point out Makoto's honest nature." Byakuya spoke up. "While what your saying isn't false, what caused you to bring it up?"
"You can call it a friendly warning." Kyoko answered easily.
'She keeps saying things like that. It's kind of irritating…' Makoto thought in slight annoyance. 'Isn't there anything I can say to get a reaction out of her…?'
"That's something I would like to know too." Junko remarked. Then she began pouting in her cutesy persona. "It will be no fun when Halloween comes around."
"No argument there." Leon snorted. "We might even have to keep her from going in any scaring competitions."
"Protect against deception, and never allow others to read your emotion." The lavender haired girl continued. "And whoever stands before you, don't let them push you around. Remember that."
"And that's why you hide your own feelings?" Makoto inquired. "But… but that's such a - a waste!"
"...Hmm?" Kyoko raised an eyebrow at this.
"Your smile is just so cute!"
That sudden curveball from left-field froze the entire room. The contrast of such a pure and innocent remark and that of a serious detective had knocked everyone's brain-activity out cold. Makoto's face quickly flushed red at his own embarrassment while Kyoko quickly but subtly hid her own pink dusted cheeks.
Hina was the first to react. "W-What did Makoto just say?!"
"Her smile is… cute?!" Sayaka repeated, shock and jealousy in her tone.
"O-Out of the blue..." Leon said, completely shocked at what Makoto managed to say.
"T-To Kyoko no less... he's truly got balls." Mondo blurted out.
"Hiding it behind a mask is such a waste! A bright smile is way better!" The luckster stated.
This time, almost everyone had recovered their senses. Like a wake of vultures feeding on a meal, everyone immediately turned onto Makoto.
"Well, what do you know? First Sayaka, now Kyoko?" Leon remarked. "You becoming such a lady's man Makoto."
"Hooh, this must be the harem route that every doujin should have!" Hifumi squealed.
"You definitely got guts to call Kyoko cute." Mondo added.
Hiro let out a laugh. "Who knew our little luckster is a playboy?" Chihiro merely giggled while Sakura smiled in amusement.
Four of the girls, however, didn't act so calmly to this. Hina and Mukuro held deep frowns while Celeste and Sayaka gave out dark auras, the latter tightening her grip on Makoto's arm.
Kyoko, after gaining back control of her emotions, send Makoto a smile in amusement. The luckster, ignoring his blush and the discomfort in his arms, give a sheepish smile in response.
That seemingly took Kyoko by surprise a bit, a blush forming on her face. "W-What are you talking about…?" She stuttered out. "C-Cute? It's much too soon to be bringing up… things like that…!"
That got a smile out of Makoto. "Ah, looks like I got you to show a hint of emotion, didn't I?"
Kyoko's reaction, along with Makoto's response to it, caught the others by surprise. "So Makoto was just trying to get a reaction out of her…" Byakuya stated. "And Kyoko fell for it?"
"So it would seem." Sakura agreed.
Leon whistled in amazement. "Wow. You did a good job there, Makoto."
"A-Actually…" Makoto spoke up, looking embarrassed. "I didn't really succeed. Continue watching."
While everyone was too caught up with the surprises, no one noticed the huge smug grin that was plastered on Kyoko's face.
"...What?" Kyoko's eyes widen in shock. "You… Makoto, you…! Y-You deceived me?!"
'Huh?' Makoto was taken aback by her response. 'Wait…'
"I don't believe this…! To use the word 'cute' to deceive someone…!" She exclaimed in horror. "That's just… too cruel!"
Kyoko's reaction also caught the other by surprise. But a few manage to connect the dots quickly. "I see." Mukuro was the one to voice it out, while also removing her scowl. "So Makoto tried to trick a reaction out of Kyoko, and she used that to trick him."
"I believe this is a case of 'return to sender'?" Chihiro thought.
"Yep." Makoto confirmed, rubbing his head sheepishly. "In hindsight, I should've known that it wouldn't have been that easy."
"No kidding." Junko snorted in amusement.
Hina, Sayaka, and Celeste also settled down, with the pop idol loosening her grip on Makoto's arm.
"S-Sorry! I just got carried away!" Makoto hastily apologized to her. "B-But still… I did deceive you, but… it's not like it was a total lie!"
"...You see how easily you yourself is deceived?"
"...Huh?" The luckster blinked in bewilderment, noticing that Kyoko has her ironclad mask back on.
"You would never just come out and call someone cute like that. Completely out of character." Kyoko pointed out. "You thought I wouldn't pick up on such an obvious ploy?"
"What? You mean…" Makoto's eyes widen at this. 'I thought I'd tricked you, but I was the one getting tricked…?'
"Watch yourself, Makoto. You're honest to a fault." With that, the lavender haired girl left the area.
"Truer words have never been spoken." Byakuya stated, getting nods of agreement from several others. "He couldn't tell a lie, even if he tried."
"Hey!" Makoto exclaimed, pouting. "I kept Chihiro's secret for a long time, didn't I?"
Makoto merely stood where was, silent. 'The most formidable opponent…' He declared with respect.
The next scene showed Makoto walking down the hallway. However, he stopped when he saw Hina leaning on the wall, moaning. "Ahhh… so hungry…" She whined. When she saw Makoto in front of her, she grabbed the luckster by the shoulder. "Makoto, help me… I'm huuuunnngrryyy…!"
"Oh boy." Sayaka sighed, though she has a smile on her face. "There's goes bottomless pit Hina…"
"Hey!" Hina protested, pouting. "I'm not a bottomless pit!"
"You could match Owari in a food eating contest if you want to…" Leon pointed out dryly, getting a blush, as well as a deeper pout, from the swimmer.
"What am I supposed to do…?" Makoto asked in alarm, holding his hands up.
"I need food… anything…" Hina moaned. "I don't care if it's a stack of paper… need foooood…!"
"Why don't you just eat some more donuts?"
"I can't! That's my secret weapon! For emergencies only!" She whined, shaking the luckster. "If I kept gorging on something with that many calories, I'd get fat in no time!"
Byakuya raised an eyebrow. "So you do know restraint. For a while, I didn't think you knew that it existed."
"Of course I do!" Hina exclaimed. "I would've been way fat otherwise!"
"Possibly, if we don't consider the monstrous amount of exercise you do." Celeste pointed out blankly.
'So even she cares about that kind of thing.' Makoto thought to himself. 'Well, she is an athlete…'
"Taking care of one's body is something you need to do," Taka stated, nodding to himself. "Especially athletes."
"Besides, I don't want anything sugary." Hina said, calming down and letting go of Makoto. "Right now I want a salty snack…"
"Like potato chips?" The luckster suggested.
"Like ramen." The swimmer answered.
That earned some sighs and facepalms. "How is that a snack, Hina?" Sayaka asked her. "That's a small lunch, at least."
"The girl has a bottomless stomach. So ramen would be a snack for her." Celeste stated, drawing an angry pout and blush from the swimmer.
"How is that a snack…?" Makoto asked in befuddlement.
"Huh?" Hina looked at him in confusion. "How is it not? Speaking of which… what's your favorite kind of ramen?"
"Shoyu, without a doubt." The luckster answered immediately.
"Ah, good choice!" Hina said in approval. "Definitely the most refreshing option."
"What about you, Hina?" Makoto inquired. "You're worried about calories and all, so…"
"I'm a porktastic tonkotsu girl through and through!"
"Or you don't care about calories…" Makoto finished blankly.
Hina continued on, as if she didn't hear Makoto. "The key element of any tonkotsu ramen is the butter and the extra fat!"
"And I take back my words about restraint…" Byakuya sighed. "You're lucky that you're an exercise nut."
"Well, the amount of exercise she does probably goes hand to hand with her appetite." Mukuro pointed out.
"Maybe she has high metabolism as well." Chihiro added.
"So you're okay with all that oil…?" Makoto inquired.
Once again, the luckster was ignored. "Ugh, talking about it just made me even hungrier!" Hina groaned. "Maybe it's time… maybe I can make it… to the dining hall…"
"Are you sure? I mean, a bowl of ramen has way more calories than a donut." Makoto pointed out.
This time, Hina reacted to his words. "Who says stuff like that?!" She demanded, getting up close to him. "Are you a real man or aren't ya?!" She then jabbed her finger at his chest. "What, are you afraid? Afraid of ramen?!"
"Or he's not ignorant on how fattening a tonkotsu is." Celeste remarked dryly. "Unlike you."
"You all just need to toughen up!"
"How does eating ramen equal courage?" Chihiro asked in confusion.
"You're pathetic, Makoto! I'm ashamed to know you!"
"A-Are you still Hina…?" Makoto asked in slight fear.
"Shut up!" Was the girl's response. "Get outta my way! I'm gonna show you what a real man looks like! Or are you gonna stand in my way and suffer the fist-based consequences?"
"You always seem to be threatening somebody whenever you're getting hungry and in the middle of talking." Junko noted. "Not even Sakura is safe from your wrath."
The swimmer blushed and rubbed her head sheepishly at this. "Hey, I get over-excited."
"Understatement of the year." Leon said with an eye roll.
"No… I have no intention of getting in your way…" With that said, Makoto moved away from Hina's path.
"Then don't! If I don't do this now, when am I ever gonna get another chance…?!" Without waiting for a response, Hina cried out like a starving mad woman and ran to the dining hall.
"When it comes to food, Hina is… terrifying." Makoto said to himself.
That caused Hina's blush of embarrassment to worsen, especially when the others voiced their agreements on the statement. Is she really that bad?
"So it would seem." The luckster turned his head to seeing Celeste walking towards him.
"Oh. Hey Celeste." Makoto greeted.
"Greetings, Makoto." Celeste returned. "While you are here, there's something I would like to ask you." She stopped once she stood right beside him.
Sayaka and Mukuro narrowed their eyes while Kyoko merely raised an eyebrow. While it was very subtle, they saw that Celeste was enjoying herself by being very close to Makoto.
"Do you like mahjong?"
"Umm… I've never actually played." He answered the gambler.
"Is that so?" A disappointed look entered her face. "A pity. I was hoping we might play together."
"Are you good at it?"
"Good? No, I am not merely good." Celeste answered with confidence. "I once played a game of Russian roulette mahjong and won."
"Russian roulette…?"
"Wait, wait, wait," Leon spoke up, looking confessed. "What do you mean by russian roulette mahjong?"
"How the fuck the does that work?" Mondo asked bluntly. "Don't tell me you did actual russian roulette."
Celeste merely smile at that, which brought some chills down the other's spine. "You know what they say, that five out of six doctors agree that Russian Roulette is a perfectly safe game."
"FOR OBVIOUS REASONS!"
"It was a truly fierce contest, put on by a half-insane billionaire in the basement of his mansion." Celeste told him. "My opponent was a fierce old man and silver-haired boy who was said to have the devil's own luck." The two began walking towards the dining hall as the story continued. "We played with a modified rule set. I remember well the glass tiles we used…"
That earned a couple raised eyebrows from the smarter students of the class. They can't really tell how much of it is true and how much of the story she modified. 'Lying is as natural as breathing for her…' Byakuya thought with a sigh.
Makoto thought he heard something familiar there. "A silver-haired boy who has the devil's luck? Say... isn't that-"
"Now now Makoto. Now's not the time for distractions." Celeste lightly chided him, eager to let her other self boast about her victory.
"And you won…?"
"I defeated them both at once." Celeste stated with a smile. "I will never forget the angry, twisted looks on their faces. The crowd that had been invited to watch became positively riotous. Nobody could believe I had won." She giggled at the memory. "That is one of my fonder memories…"
Makoto was silent at this, more than a bit amazed at what he heard. 'I'm really glad I didn't agree to play mahjong with her…' He thought to himself.
"I'm surprised the gambling community didn't ban you from these games…" Chihiro murmured, though it was loud enough for Celeste to hear.
"I've learned how to look as if I can lose, to make sure none would be too intimidated to face me." Celeste revealed. "At least, those dumb enough or arrogant enough would be captured by the bait."
More than a couple of the students either frowned, looked away, or put on a sheepish mask at the statement. Yeah, they all learned by now not to play any game with the Ultimate Gambler.
The next scene was Makoto in his room, the school announcement playing once again. 'Nighttime already…' Makoto let out a yawn. 'I guess I'll go to bed for today. Pretty tired after the everything that happened, especially this morning.' With that, he got onto the bed.
The TV quickly transition to the dining hall, with Makoto, Sakura, Hina, Hifumi, Hiro, and Celeste at the main table. "Taka and Kyoko are not here today…" The gambler of the group noted.
"Kyoko's still on guard duty, probably." Hiro guessed.
"I have no idea about Taka…" Sakura stated.
"Should we be worried?" Chihiro asked, a bit concern. Mondo also looked a bit tense.
"Not right now." Kyoko reassured them. "There's no hint that anything happened so far. And it isn't the first time some of us didn't arrive in the dining hall."
"May as well just forget about that guy!" Hifumi growled.
The others jumped a bit at Hifumi's angry statement. "Guessing he didn't forget about his love rival." Hiro sighed.
"Of course I didn't forget!" The fanfic creator cried out in response. "And I will not rest until he is bowing down in defeat!"
"W-Will he just shut up?" Toko grumbled.
"You don't have to get so mad…" Hina said, a bit startled.
"They're rivals in love. What're ya gonna do…?" Hiro reminded Hina.
"Don't put me on the same level as that… that… virgin!" Hifumi exclaimed. "I might catch his virginity!"
"'Catch his virginity'?" Leon repeated blankly, turning to the fanfic creator. "Newsflash, dude. You already caught it."
"No, that's not how it works." Mondo sighed.
"And how is that an insult?" Taka questioned, confused. "Aren't all of us virgins to begin with?"
"Point to the moral compass there." Junko said in response.
"Nah, my guess is you're already infected…" Hiro sighed.
"Wait, can you really catch it?!" Hina gasped in shock.
Facepalms ensues. "Seriously?" Toko groaned. "How d-dumb are you?"
"Hey! It's a legitimate concern!" Hina tried to argue. "I don't want to catch any diseases!"
"Virginity is something we've all been with, simpleton." Byakuya bluntly stated. "Stop taking words so seriously."
"Soo... is anyone here not a virgin?" Hiro asked, only to be met with fifteen piercing glares and complete silence.
"Stop being vulgar." Celeste spoke in. "Let's eat breakfast."
As Makoto about to reach his food, a familiar laughter entered the room. "Huh?" Hina's head shot up at the sound. "That voice…"
The familiar laugh caused several of them to groan while Toko stiffen. "Oh great, she's back again…" Mondo sighed.
Suddenly, the dining hall door burst open, with Genocide Jill rushing in, cackling madly.
Once again, Toko shrieked in terror and curled into a ball. This time, it drew the attention of the others. "Is she going to keep doing that every time Jill appears?" Hiro asked.
"She'll probably get use to her appearance after a couple more showings." Mukuro guessed. She will have too.
"So it's you, Genocide Jack." Sakura said. "And…"
Right beside the serial killer was Byakuya. "Don't bother asking why we arrived at the same time." He said before anyone could ask. "The answer should be obvious."
"Great…" Mondo growled. "He's back again."
"And it was so nice not having the asshole on the TV." Leon sighed. The affluent progeny chose to ignore the complaints.
"I'll give you a hint…" A lecherous grin entered Jill's face. "I'm wearing red lingerie today!"
That caused some of the guys, such as Chihiro and Makoto, to blush, while several of the others have disturbed looks. Toko, meanwhile, look incredibly embarrassed. "W-Why did she reveal s-something like t-that?" The writer stuttered out.
"And what the hell does that got to do with why the two arrived at the same time?" Leon questioned.
Hifumi answered that. "Perhaps Miss Jill and Mr. Togami got in the room together, and…"
"Finish that thought and I will make sure your body will never be found, not even for vultures to pick off." Byakuya threatened. The fanfic creator quickly shut up at that.
"Umm… I don't think anyone wanted to know…" Hina said, looking creeped out.
The serial killer turned to Hina in response. "Hold on a second! You…!"
"H-Huh…?!"
"What's your top power level, 35-22-33?! You start out big on top to try and look thinner down south!" Jill exclaimed shamelessly. "Look at your melons! They're seriously gargantuan! Do you dunk'em in milk every night or something?!"
Once again, the swimmer blushed heavily before curling up and covering her chest. "W-Why does she always have to mention them?!"
"Jill likes to make all of us feel uncomfortable." Kyoko tapped her chin in thought. "And it may have to do with a bit of jealousy…"
"Still, that doesn't justify her harassing Hina!" Sakura stated fiercely, looking angry once more.
Hina scooted back from her chair, covering her chest. "Y-You're starting to freak me out…!"
Sakura glared fiercely at Jill. "If you lay a finger on Hina… I will show you no mercy!" She growled.
Toko shivered, a chill entering her spine. She REALLY hopes Jill won't push Sakura's buttons.
"So? What do you want?" Celeste asked Byakuya, getting back on track. "Surely you are not here to join us for breakfast." (That earned several snorts from the group.)
"Of course not." The heir confirmed. "I came to hear a story."
"A story…?" Makoto said in confusion.
"A story that nobody bothered to tell me yet." Byakuya clarified.
That caused the group to tense up once more. "Is he talking about…" Hiro trailed off nervously.
"I think so." Mukuro confirmed the unasked question. And depending on Byakuya's true goal, this might turn out badly.
That caused the group to tense up. 'Are you talking about… Alter Ego?' Makoto thought to himself.
"Sorry, but we can't talk about that right now." Sakura told him.
"Why not?" The heir questioned.
"Because of certain… circumstances." The martial artist subtly glanced at the camera at that.
"Up till now you haven't given a crap about anything, and now you're all concerned?" Hiro asked with obvious doubt. "I don't buy it."
That caused Byakuya to glare at the fortune teller. "I've just made a decision. When we get out of here, I'm going to feed your body to the vultures."
That caused Hiro to yelp and jump back. "What kind of messed up dictator are you?!" He exclaimed.
"Yeah, seriously!" Hiro agreed, looking as scared as his counterpart. "You shouldn't do that to anybody who just disagrees with you!"
"And why not?" Was the heir's response. "It seems like the perfect punishment for fools like you."
"I'm really worried about the future now…" Hina replied with a sweatdrop.
"But isn't this a democracy? Or would you exclude those who don't fit into your tyrannical majority?" Byakuya retorted.
"Th-That's not what we're doing…" Makoto protested.
"Well, whatever." The blonde said dismissively. "If nothing else, tell me what's going on with Taka. When I saw him yesterday, I happened to notice something seemed… off. So I was curious."
"Taka has become utterly useless." Was Celeste's ruthless statement.
"Celeste!"
"Damn, that's cold!"
"The fuck you say to my bro?!"
Celeste's mask didn't even budge an inch when faces turned towards her. "Well, you can't really deny the statement." The gambler replied. "As he is right now, he's in his own little world."
"But you don't have sound so cold about it!" Makoto protested.
"Celeste!" Makoto exclaimed in shock. "You don't have to say it like that!"
"Did his spirit collapse or something? Was he unable to withstand this environment?" Byakuya inquired. "Those men who clothe themselves in the cheap fabric of justice are often the first to fall…"
That earned a growl from Mondo. Togami is lucky that he can't attack him right now, otherwise, he would've fucked him up by now!
A smirk entered his face. "But perhaps that will make things all the more interesting…"
"Interesting…?" Makoto repeated in confusion.
"Let me leave you with a bit of advice." The heir directed his attention back to everyone. "Don't come to rely on false camaraderie… or you'll reap its bitter reward."
And, predictably, his words angered several people. "Is he asking for someone to kill him?" Leon asked in anger and disbelief. "Cause who would go out of there way to say shit like that?"
"Yeah! He should know that none of us would ever accept that so called 'advice'!" Hina growled.
"Those with no allies are doomed to fail." Sakura said with a sigh. "You should heed that in the future, Byakuya." The blonde heir ignored the words of his classmates, having nothing to say in his future self's defense.
His words earned several frowns. "That's why you came? To give us that amazing 'advice'?" Hina voiced out in anger.
"It seems I am unwelcome here." Byakuya noted, unperturbed. "Then I will grant your desire and remove myself…"
"Yeah, let's get outta here!" Jill quickly agreed.
"...You don't need to come with me." The heir told the serial killer.
"You don't have to play hard to get, Master!" Jill reassured him, smiling brightly. "You can just play hard!"
"That doesn't make any sense…" Slowly, Byakuya back out of the room before picking up speed and began sprinting out of the dining hall.
"He ran away…?" Jill questioned, tilting her head. "So now he's running hard to get… I see!" With a maniacal laugh, she ran after him. "Wait, wait, wait!" And with that, Jill was gone.
Several of the students couldn't help but burst out laughing at the entire thing. "Man, it's fun seeing Byakuya like that!" Leon wheezed out in laughter. While it was weird at first, it became entertainment for the group after a while.
"Serves him right for everything he's been saying and doing!" Hina giggled out, trying her best not to end up on the floor.
"No fucking argument there!" Mondo snickered out. "The asshole had it coming, that's for damn sure!"
Byakuya, meanwhile, looked very annoyed at all this. "If I could, I would execute all of you right now." The heir said with gritted teeth.
"Y-Yeah! T-This is no time for l-laughing!" Toko cried out, looking extremely worried. "G-Genocide J-J-Jack is after master!"
"And we are loving it." Junko sang.
The group was silent, not knowing what to say about the string of events. "S-So at the end there…" Hina hesitantly spoke up. "What was that all about?"
"Just now, Byakuya was like…" Hiro trailed off, looking baffled.
"Maybe he's like the mean guy who starts acting different or getting all flustered when things change!" Hifumi suggested.
"...Guess so." Hiro decided to go with it.
That caused the group to laugh louder. "Yep, that would describe Byakuya." Celeste said as she giggled.
"Definitely panic when things go his way!" Sayaka stated vindictively.
Kyoko, Mukuro, and Sakura held smirks of amusement while Makoto and Chihiro smiled sympathetically at the affluent progeny. He chose to ignore the increased laughter, focusing on the screen. They were very lucky he could not send them to their doom at this moment.
And that's the end. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And hopefully, most, if not all the drama I'm dealing with, is gone or going away. And said drama didn't affect the chapter in any shape or form. Next chapter will be another round of free time events before getting fully back into the plot. Review, favorite, and follow and I will see you later.
A Lucky Soldier End of Chapter random topics: Oh boy, got a long one this time considering how long its been :D
Since the last chapter, I think I cried a lot over the animes and a light novel I have found myself. I finished Code Geass Lelouch despite hating almost everything about it. It's a really good anime, but I just can't agree with any of the characters or the overall philosophy and themes behind the show. But even still, it moved me to tears at the end of season 2 so I can't say I didn't enjoy it.
Now, Saekano and Love and Lies definitely sent my life into hell for a couple weeks. My personal schedule is full with work, hobbies, and school every day, but I definitely did not schedule a "feels rollercoaster" anywhere and I definitely didn't have room for it. But watching Saekano then reading the rest of the LN, followed by watching Love and Lies (Koi to Uso) was, while not the smartest decision I've made all year, definitely not regrettable. They both apparently have some mixed feelings towards them, but I can vouch that they're both great if you haven't watched them.
And now, for a slightly more serious note:
I don't know if I've made this segment before, but honestly, I have a huge amount of respect to any author who does these massive 20+ Chapter stories, especially original ones (even if I don't end up reading them). I don't know how busy people find that much time to put into them, and committing to it is definitely a daunting task. I'm not even going to mention the planning and the thought that goes into them since it's only going to make my head hurt but what I do know, is that I'll probably never find it in myself to start something that big (although, the thought has crossed my mind multiple times). Anyways, what I want to say is, I'm with you to the end Spirit, at least, the end of this story :D