"Ah, Otanashi-sama! What brings you back here?" the bartender said with a graceful bow.
"Huh...where do I even begin?" Ryoko grumbled. "It's all slipping from my grasp, you know. All the threads I tried to keep in place refuse to stay where they are."
"Ah, that must be difficult. But then again, maybe all you're losing is a fiction. Maybe you'd be better off just...moving on."
Ryoko chuckled at those words. "You always know the right thing to say, don't you Tsumugi?"
"I'm flattered to hear you say so!" Tsumugi Shirogane smiled. "But I'm just a plain Jane managing the bar. You're the one who truly matters, a guest that I'm duty-bound to serve."
"Well, glad to see someone still appreciates the importance of duty." Ryoko muttered. "So, what's today's special?"
"Bourbon and advocat, Ryoko-sama."
"Very well, hit me."
Tsumigi dutifully poured her drink as Ryoko reached for her wallet.
"Ah, that won't be necessary. This one's on the house."
"Again? You didn't charge me last time either."
"Because I don't have to. You're serving the Overlook just the way you are, Ryoko-sama."
"I am, huh...?" Ryoko murmured, clearly taken aback, but the sight of her drink quickly melted those doubts away.
"Eh, what the hell. You only live once, right?" she said, raising her glass and taking a sip.
"Wow, that is strong. That's gonna stick."
"I'm sure it will." Tsumugi murmured, her smile inscrutable.
"Thank you for your service, as always." Ryoko said, and stood up, holding her drink as she observed the party.
It seemed off...rather unnatural, but also familiar in a strange way. It seemed pretty obvious to her that she'd just come to this hotel with Matsuda a month ago, but why did it feel so much longer? Why did she get the feeling that she'd had a hand in the place's design, even though she could never remember being here before?
"Whoa!"
A young waitress crashed into Ryoko, spilling the drinks on her coat.
"Oh my God, I'm so so sorry!"
"It's fine...I'll just get a change of clothes." Ryoko said, moving to leave.
"No ma'am, please, let me make it up to you! I can clean this off you!"
She looked so distraught at her mistake. Ryoko couldn't help but feel a little pity for this green-haired girl. She must've been a rookie, screwing up on her first day.
"Alright, then." she replied with a smile.
"Let me escort you to the powder room. I'll remove the stains there, ma'am!"
"Of course."
Ryoko quickly followed the waitress into the powder room, following which the waitress produced a washcloth and began dabbing at the stains.
"Again, I'm so sorry about this ma'am."
"It's alright, uh, what was your name."
"Oh, uh, Monaca ma'am. Monaca Towa."
Monaca Towa?!
"Monaca, huh...?"
She didn't respond as she continued to dab away at Ryoko's coat.
"Say, Monaca. Do you stay here alone?"
"Uh, no ma'am. I came here with a few of my classmates as part our school internship."
"Huh, so this really is your first job."
"That's right, ma'am."
Ryoko silently pondered for a few moments before speaking again.
"And where would your classmates be right about now?"
"Oh, uh," Monaca nervously chuckled, "I wouldn't know ma'am. Around, I guess."
"Around..." Ryoko murmured.
"It's coming off nicely, ma'am. Shouldn't take much longer."
"Monaca, this job of yours...weren't you the caretaker here?"
"Caretaker? What do you mean, ma'am?"
Ryoko simply stared at her for a few moments, before grabbing the washcloth away from her.
"I mean, you came here with your four classmates ten years ago, and they were found dismembered into little bits. You had then slit your own throat while giggling like a lunatic. I read all about it in the newspaper. And the report named you as the caretaker."
"I...I'm afraid I don't know what you're taking about, ma'am."
"Really? Because I recognize you, you know. You look just the same as you did in the photos I saw. You haven't aged a day. Don't bullshit me Monaca, you were the caretaker."
A chilling silence followed, as Monaca simply stared back at Ryoko, her expression morphing from confusion and disbelief...into something inscrutable.
"I'm sorry to differ with you...but you're the caretaker. You've always been the caretaker. I should know, Enoshima Junko-sama. I've always been here."
The color drained from Ryoko's face as she heard herself be called Junko Enoshima. A part of her instinctively resisted the revelation, tried to push it away, but it faded away in a matter of seconds to be replaced by...curiosity.
Monaca was smiling now, but there was no innocence behind her eyes. There was vicious, sadistic malice, her klutzy facade having been shed away, never to return.
"Did you know that your boyfriend is trying to bring an outside party to this situation?"
"Boyfriend...you mean Matsuda."
"Yes. Not to imply this didn't go according to your plan, but he's growing suspicious. He's catching on to his impending doom."
"And what will he do about it?"
"He's going to bring in your employer into the mix, Jin Kirigiri. He's already made several attempts to reach him."
Ryoko clenched her fists. "It's because of Mitarai. Matsuda's getting protective of him. He's probably realized how I always planned to...use him."
"Yes, Mitarai does have a great talent. You always did struggle to comprehend its true potential."
"Hehehe, yes...they are turning out to be truly willful men."
"That's right, Junko. They're very willful men. Very...naughty men, if you don't mind my saying so."
"Yes. We need to do something about that."
"Perhaps they need a good talking to. If I may be so bold, Junko-sama, perhaps, a bit more. My classmates never cared for the Overlook, Junko-sama. One of them was even planning to misappropriate the bombs I'd manufactured for Ultimate Despair to blow the hotel down. But I...corrected them, ma'am. And when my teachers tried to prevent me from doing my duty, I corrected them as well."
"Yes, Matsuda and Mitarai have been very, very bad boys." Junko giggled manically. "Oh, I can't wait to see their faces when they find out they're too late to stop this. When they find out I've been using them all along! Oh, the despair! THE DESPAIR! HAHAHAHAHA!"
As if on cue, the guests outside heartily applauded Junko's outburst, as she suddenly found herself on the Gold Room's stage.
"Congratulations, Junko-sama!"
"It is so good to have you back with us!"
"It has been an honor to serve you!"
"Well done, Junko-sama!" Tsumugi said, beaming with pride, "Now our campaign of despair can finally begin, and once we've drained our prey of their Steam..."
"...they will be here with us, forever and ever."
"In this party that will never end!"