Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy (SYOC) Chapter 9: On Road to Despair (Part 6), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 1: On Road to Despair (Daily Life #6)

Warning: This fic contains intense violence, lots of OFFENSIVE cursing (thanks Monoyena, you fucking asshole!), character death, gore and blood, sexual innuendos, and possible spoilers for the Danganronpa series. But hey, everyone lurking in this fandom has at least played the first Danganronpa so no need to worry much there! Right?

With that said, please enjoy!

Hashida Nobukatsu hurriedly buttoned up his suit as he rushed out of the elevator of Nobukatsu Enterprises.

Security guards lined the hallway to the room at the end. Expecting him was a secretary, who hurried alongside him as she read off of the notes in her clipboard. Both of them shared the same expressions as they sped walk their way down the hallway.

"I'm sorry sir," the secretary quickly apologized. "It was another assassination attempt. Really strong one this time. It was–"

"How is he?" Hashida simply asked.

"H-He's stabilized, now," the secretary revealed, walking beside him. "But sir–"

Hashida sped up and reached the door first. The two guards outside stepped to the side and Hashida did not even hesitate to open the door, only slightly. The clacking of the secretary's heels was audible as she tried to catch up to him.

"Sir, I wouldn't recommend you see him now until he's–" the secretary pleaded.

"Thank you, secretary, but that will be all," Hashida hurriedly said. "He's my brother. He's all I have left in this world. I'd be damned if I don't visit him at all."

The secretary stopped herself from following him. She lowered her head.

"...I… I understand, sir…" the secretary simply said.

Hashida nodded at the secretary, then to the two guards, and promptly entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

…

When Hashida saw Kazuki Nobukatsu on the medical bed readily supplied by the Nobukatsu reps, the pain hit him harder than he could ever imagine. The room was spacious. The window blinds kept the sunset poorly hidden. And yet, even then, Kazuki's gaze was fixed toward the window.

Hashida warily walked closer to the young CEO.

IV bags were connected to his arm. Bandages were around his body. But the most chilling of his injuries was the fresh scar left on his neck, poorly concealed by the bandage wrapped around his neck. When he saw that for the first time, it took everything he had to not break then and there.

"...K-Kazuki?" Hashida mustered out a voice.

"...It's beautiful... isn't it?" Kazuki simply said, his voice scuffed thanks to his new injury. "Even when covered up… Even the slightest peek and I'm already enamored by the sight of a sunset… Almost like… A new dawn in a way…"

Hashida pulled up a chair to sit next to him.

Hashida was the eldest brother of the two. And even though it was Kazuki who inherited everything, Hashida was never against the choices of the late Oda Nobukatsu. Kazuki was the new face of Nobukatsu Enterprises and for a while, Hashida was happy for him. But this was the fifth time this has happened.

And the more it happened, the less easy it got for him to understand Kazuki's reluctance to acknowledge the seriousness of these situations. Today was no different. Hashida knew his brother. This talk about sunsets and new dawns… It was just his way of saying not to worry, everything will be different tomorrow.

God damn it.

Why was he so stubborn?!

Hashida leaned against Kazuki's hospital bed.

"Who was it, Kazuki?" Hashida asked. "Was it the Togamis? The Mashiros? Towa? I swear to God, if it's that Allen fellow down at 34th. I knew that foreigner wouldn't–"

"...Does it matter…?" Kazuki simply asked.

Hashida blinked.

Did he just–

"O-Of course it matters!" Hashida exclaimed. "Kazuki! How are you not bothered by this?! This is the fifth time this has happened. You lost a finger last time! And this time they…"

He didn't dare point out the scar over his neck. It was a recent wound. Fresh. He figured if he'd just say it, it'd trigger something. But all it did was weaken him. Yeah. Hashida felt himself getting closer to breaking, but he knew he had to remain strong. One of them had to remain strong and yet, even though it was his brother on the hospital bed, he found himself being the weakest one in the room.

"Goddamn it, Kazuki!" Hashida exclaimed. "You're always like this! We can't keep doing this anymore! You have to speak up about all of this! The longer you remain silent, the more power you're giving these psychos!"

"...They are nothing more than caged beasts let loose into the wild… Hashida…" Kazuki softly spoke. "...Those are the creatures that you cannot fight now… You have to wait till their bloodlust ceases…"

"Wait for how much longer?!" Hashida held onto his own hands tightly.

Kazuki didn't respond. It was clear to Hashida that even his own brother wasn't sure if his words had any merit to it anymore. Hashida stood up, vengeance clear in his mind.

"Forget it," Hashida muttered. "I'm done waiting…"

Hashida turned to leave.

"...Hashida…" Kazuki called out.

Hashida stopped and turned back. That was when he saw Kazuki looking at him. It was the first time he's looked at him since he's walked into the room. And what surprised him the most was the fact that he was still smiling.

Despite everything, despite his current condition, he was still smiling at his brother, like everything was fine. Like this whole thing wasn't serious… Like he hadn't just gotten his own throat slit by some maniac…

God.

It broke him.

"H-How can you be so calm about this…?" Hashida felt tears form in his eyes. "H-How can you just expect me to be okay with this and do nothing? Man, you're such an asshole."

Hashida roughly wiped his tears with his thumbs, trying to remain strong. But no matter how hard he tried, the image of Kazuki in his medical bed never left his mind.

"...Hashida…" Kazuki began. "...No one said this was going to be easy. When I accepted the title of Ultimate Philanthropist, I knew what I was getting myself into…"

This selfless bastard…

God, it made him feel helpless that he couldn't do anything to change his brother's mind like this. It was breaking him, and he hated that feeling of breaking…

"...But…" Kazuki smiled at Hashida, as his own tears started to flow out this time. "...Not once did I ever expect you to be okay with this…"

"K-Kazuki…?" Hashida blinked.

"...I'm not as strong as you think I am… brother…" Kazuki smiled, feeling the teardrops pitter and patter onto his bedsheets. "I'm terrified… Angry… I'm done with it all… And I regret feeling that way…"

Hashida stared at his brother.

Kazuki Nobukatsu was the face of Nobukatsu Enterprises. That was the New Life that the late Oda Nobukatsu gifted him before he passed. And yet, now, Hashida realized that it wasn't any easier for the younger brother he looked after. Behind that image of a strong man who can tank hit after hit…

…Wasn't some God that everyone should worship. He wasn't just some Ultimate who was more special than others. Instead, he was a human just like everyone else. Kazuki Nobukatsu was a human being…

And to see his own brother finally confirm his mortality…

…It broke Hashida even further…

[Hotel Mirai]

(Kazuki's Room)

Kazuki couldn't sleep.

Not after the part he played in that suicide attempt fiasco yesterday.

For the past few hours, Kazuki sat in his bed, staring out toward the balcony that led outside of his room. He didn't know what he wanted to look at. Perhaps it was the sunset, but a palm tree connected to the Beach blocked him from witnessing the sun's full beauty. Perhaps he was thinking about jumping off of his balcony, but what good would that do anyone?

In short, Kazuki's mind was in a blank state. He could hear nothing but ringing in his ears. If anyone were to replace the balcony sight with a freshly painted wall, it'd be no different to him watching paint dry. Guilt was eating at him, picking off bits and pieces of himself…

And Kazuki did absolutely nothing about it.

He felt the watchful yet tired gaze of Roderick Cutler, burning into his mind. The poor fisherman had been up all night, seated on a chair, and blocking the door, making sure Kazuki didn't do anything drastic.

Not like Kazuki really had the energy to do anything.

Roderick also didn't mind taking the night shift. After all, it wasn't like he was capable of sleeping either. But at the same time, that also meant he didn't get much of a chance to test whether or not that charm that Kikuko gave to him actually worked.

Fatigue was an old friend of his.

And he welcomed him back as he kept his gaze fixed on Kazuki for the longest time. And for a moment, Kazuki wondered whether or not the reason he couldn't sleep was because he had a large, burly man watching him do absolutely nothing for the past six hours or so…

…

A soft knock emanated from the door.

Kazuki didn't react.

Roderick, on the other hand, stood up to answer it. Rubbing his eyes, tiredly, he noticed that it was none other than Alisa, standing in front of the door, staring at her pocket watch, intently.

"8:00 AM, exact," Alisa remarked. "Thank you for being punctual."

"Aye, here to take the next shift?" Roderick outstretched his firm bulky arms.

"You know it," Alisa nodded.

She paused for a moment. She spotted Kazuki staring out toward the balcony and lowered her voice in a whisper. With Kazuki hearing nothing but the sound of guilt eating him away, it was pretty impossible for him to hear what Alisa and Roderick would be talking about.

Alisa fixed her glasses.

"So, how has he been?" Alisa asked.

"Nay," Roderick shook his head. "Been doing the same thing he be doing since he was forced here… Staring out that window, like a sailor lost at sea…"

Alisa rubbed her chin.

"...I see," Alisa remarked. "Thank you, Roderick. You've done great work."

"Aye, it be better than fishing out in the deep blue," Roderick yawned.

"So, I'd imagine," Alisa smiled to herself. "Please get some rest. I'll take it from here."

Sharing nods of approval to one another, Roderick left the room to head back to his room. If he was going to need anything today, it was a power nap. And hopefully, he'll get a good one to regain the energy he's lost in the past six hours.

Roderick left the room, leaving Alisa behind to take the seat that the larger fisherman had been sitting in. She sat cross-legged, watching Kazuki, intently. And it was just as he had said…

He was still staring out of the balcony.

Alisa glanced down at her wristwatch with a small sigh.

This was going to take a huge amount of her time, wouldn't it…?

(Lobby)

Today was D-Day.

Today, the girl dies.

Unless something happens, that was the inevitable outcome that Monoyena promised was going to happen. And it kills Aidan to know there was little he could do about it. Day 6, and there was no clue on how to find the kid.

God.

Seriously?

Was there nothing he could do?!

If Aidan was like any other angsty protagonist, he'd probably punch the whiteboard and knock it down. But he wasn't at that point yet. He still had hope. Hope that a miracle will happen. Hope that an opportunity will appear. That the little girl would be…

"Damn it," Aidan placed his hands over his hips.

His mind was running wild. He thought back to everything that occurred yesterday. Kazuki tried to kill himself. Manon was hurt badly thanks to those electric shocks. Alina… Alina knew what Kazuki was going to do and yet… It was like she supported his decision.

He couldn't believe it.

His own second-in-command.

The one person he'd thought he could count on to back him up in trying to maintain positivity in this goddamn place. She was the one who gave off "just keep smiling and everything will be okay" kind of vibes. So, for her to just… God. It was disheartening.

"Aidan?"

Sweet of the Devil. Or angel. The devil was Beauté.

Alina had walked into the Lobby, slightly nervous. The way Aidan had left things with her yesterday did not feel good. In fact, her biggest worry right now was whether or not Aidan hated her. If Alina knew Aidan, she'd know he had this golden retriever-type personality… That meant that if Aidan really did hate her…

It would mean she messed up big time.

The thought of that scared her.

The moment Aidan turned toward her and gave her a hardened look, Alina instantly bowed her head to apologize. She didn't see it then, but Aidan flinched. He definitely wasn't expecting it. That was for sure.

"Alina–" Aidan spoke up.

"No, please, Aidan, I'm sorry," Alina immediately apologized. "I really am. I knew what Kazuki was planning on doing and I just…"

Alina sighed to herself.

"You're right, I should've done something about it," Alina told him. "I should've tried harder to stop Kazuki. I should've told you right from the get-go. I should've done so much better… And I'm sorry."

Alina felt confident enough to face him this time.

"If you want a new second-in-command, I completely understand, I just…" Alina grimaced. "I just don't want you to be mad at me. That's all…"

Aidan listened to Alina intently.

He never stopped blinking in confusion but based on what he was hearing, Alina spent all night trying to work on this apology. It was… admirable. Aidan sighed to himself and gave Alina a small, genuine smile.

It was weak but the authenticity of that smile was still there.

"Alina…" Aidan sighed to himself, slightly chuckling. "I… I was never mad at you. Did I wish you could've told me sooner? Yeah. I do. But at the same time, I think I can understand."

Aidan placed his hands over his hips.

"You didn't know what the right thing was to do," Aidan said. "If Kazuki succeeded, that would've been the end of that. The girl would've lived. But… then, we'd lose one of us. I just... Today's the day. If something doesn't happen today, she's dead anyway. I just…"

Alina didn't say anything, but she could see it in his face.

The Aidan Brighton she knew worked tirelessly these past few days to try to make sure everyone was getting out… That Aidan was slowly crumbling into a state of helplessness. Optimism dies at some point and Alina knew this was it. Because she could see it in his eyes…

"Hey, hey, Aidan, are you–" Alina hurried to his side.

"God…" Aidan gritted his teeth. "Alina… Everything's a mess. I don't… I don't know what to do anymore."

He felt pathetic. Useless. Day 6. D-Day. It's been days since he made that vow to himself to protect everyone from Monoyena and Stanczyk and now everything was falling apart. That responsibility he instilled in himself… It was tormenting him.

"That girl is dying today, and it feels like I can't do anything about it," Aidan tightened his grip on his fist. "Was Beauté and Yukihiko right? Is there nothing else we can do? Is everything I've been trying to do just worthless?"

Aidan closed his eyes. The stress of being leader was taking control of him. Almost instantly, Alina rushed to his side and placed her hands on his shoulders, trying to keep him from breaking any further.

"Hey, hey, Aidan…" Alina softly spoke to him. "Breathe. Open your eyes and look at me."

Aidan felt himself shudder. He felt it hard to breathe. Just the thought of that girl… probably no older than 10… get maimed and murdered by Monoyena. It scared him.

It really did.

"Breathe… breathe…" Alina ordered him.

Aidan tried to. He tried to calm himself. He had opened his eyes to look at Alina. And here, she was smiling at him, comfortingly. The panic that Aidan felt… well… it was subsiding. And all he could see now was Alina, smiling at him encouragingly.

"Listen to me," Alina told him. "You're our leader, Aidan. The work and effort you put into making sure everyone's okay… It'll pay off, okay? I promise. You'll think of something. Just keep calm and smile, alright?"

Alina slowly let go of him and gestured to the corners of her own mouth.

"Smile," Alina instructed, smiling. "Like this."

Aidan said little to nothing. But he did as Alina told him to do and forced himself to smile. Then, he felt the world come to a peace once more.

"There… better?" Alina smiled at him.

Aidan wordlessly nodded and smiled back at her.

"Y-You're right…" Aidan finally spoke after a moment to catch his breath. "You're right. There's… There's still time to do something. I just…"

"That's the spirit," Alina said.

And for a moment, the two stood next to each other, albeit a little awkwardly. Couldn't be helped. Aidan felt embarrassed that he had panicked like that. He supposed that meant he and Alina were even in terms of doing something that would make the other see them in a different way. Placing his hands on his hips, Aidan softly laughed.

"...To be fair," Aidan began. "I never asked for a second-in-command, so…"

"Ugh, is that really how you show appreciation?" Alina pouted, folding her arms, disappointedly.

All in good fun though as the two shared a smile with one another. It was D-Day. Today was the day the girl was supposed to die. And despite the stress and fear of the possible, Alina did enough to help both of them calm down and think things through. I mean, what other choice did they have but to remain optimistic about their chances.

Optimistic that a miracle could come.

But for Alina, despite her insistence on smiling, a creeping thought appeared in her mind which made her sweet smile flicker for half a second.

What if that miracle would never come?

What then?

Would she be able to handle it?

She glanced at Aidan, and it was clear that even he was thinking something similar. Smiling could only do so much. But it couldn't protect them from that one burning question in their minds:

Would they be able to handle the outcome should they fail…?

(Manon's Room)

Manon opened her eyes.

Her breathing was steady. Her heartbeat, slightly elevated, but was slowly returning back to its usual pulse. Blood pressure, wavering between high and low, but still functioning as it should be. Memory…? A little foggy. The last thing she remembered was the pain coursing through her veins and…

…now she's here?

In her room?

Was everything that had transpired yesterday a dream or…

"Miss Manon!"

Manon didn't realize it then, but her door had been left wide open. Normally, that'd be really strange and a little freaky to have in a place like this, but this was the Safe Zone. No one had any jurisdiction here to commit murder after all.

Needless to say, her trespasser came running after her and tackled her into a tight hug. For a small girl, Manon was surprised to see just how strong Emmeline really was when it came to these showcases of emotion.

"Ah, Madame Swan," Manon blinked, surprised. "W-What… What are you doing here? Is everything–"

"I was so worried about you, Miss Manon!" Emmeline was practically stress-eating her pills at this point. "I thought that maybe… That maybe you weren't going to…"

"...Um…" Manon blinked. She rubbed her head and chuckled sheepishly. "Excusez-moi, but what happened…?"

"You mean, you don't remember?!" Emmeline gasped. "Is this amnesia?! Retrograde or anterograde?! Please hang in there, Miss Manon–"

"Non, non, my memory is just foggy," Manon chuckled sheepishly. "Zat is all…"

Emmeline glanced at her curiously. She noted the discoloration on her neck and bit her lip. She must've really taken a bad shock. She nibbled on her pills at a steady pace and sat next to her with solemn looks in her eyes.

"You mean, you don't remember saving Mister Kazuki?" Emmeline asked. "Mister Aidan and Miss Alisa told us that you jumped to push Mister Kazuki away from the Parade Float. Just to stop it from pausing… Also, Mister Monoyena was really mad about it too…"

Emmeline looked at Manon, pleadingly.

"You don't remember any of that?" Emmeline seemed saddened by that.

But the truth was, the moment Emmeline started to recount the little details, everything came crashing into Manon like a truck.

The memories flooded back like spilled water soaking up the best paper towel in the world. She remembered it all. She remembered Kazuki trying to delay the Parade. She remembered the helplessness everyone felt at the time. She remembered her collar being Red. She remembered having enough of feeling so useless…

She remembered taking action for the first time in her life and rushing forward, nearly staggering with every shock that burst through her system. She remembered jumping forward and pushing Kazuki out of harm's way and crashing into the garden in the middle of the street section. And she also vaguely remembered the insults that Monoyena shouted her way.

She remembered it all.

And instinctively, it forced her to place a hand over her heart. She was nothing short of surprised. After all, this was her, she was talking about. Not the character Manon Vivienne Levesque. But her.

She saved Kazuki Nobukatsu from death.

And the feeling that came after was…

"I… I do…" Manon gasped as she slowly started to smile. "Oui…"

"Miss Manon?" Emmeline was slightly confused over her reaction.

But what confused her even more was the excitement that arose from her voice. Manon cheered excitedly, squeeing in glee over the thought of what she had done. She saved Kazuki from death. She. Her. And not because someone forced her to or whatever. It was done of her own volition. Her own will.

It was her.

All her.

"Ahhhhhh~" Manon clapped her hands excitedly. "Madame Swan! I… I am a hero, non?!"

"E-Eh?" Emmeline blinked. "I think so? But why do you–"

That was enough for Manon to jump out of her bed like she was some old man whose grandchild just received a golden ticket to a chocolate factory. She grabbed Emmeline's hand and started to dance around with her, happily cheering.

"I am a hero!" Manon excitedly exclaimed. "I am ze great Manon! And I saved a life! Moi! Ze good-for-nothing fraud!"

"W-What?" Emmeline blinked as she felt herself being dragged. "Wah! Miss Manon! Slow down! My stomach!"

With one last twirl, Manon dropped Emmeline onto her bed. And it took everything Emmeline had to not go and puke right then and there. Instead, she glanced at Manon, warily. Truth be told, she figured that perhaps she got herself shocked a little too much…

She sheepishly set her bag of pills to the side.

"Um, Miss Manon, are you okay?" Emmeline blinked.

"Okay?!" Manon outstretched her arms excitedly. "I have never felt more alive, Madame Swan! I have done some zing I have never done before! And it feels so good!"

Manon turned back to Emmeline and held out her hand.

Emmeline politely waved it off, though not rudely. She gestured to her stomach, but Manon kept her hand extended out.

"Come on, Madame Swan!" Manon exclaimed. "We must celebrate! Oui?"

"C-Celebrate?" Emmeline blinked. "But how? I mean, today is–"

Did Manon forget that today was practically D-Day?

"We will go see Monsieur Arakawa's Ultimate Attraction once more!" Manon decided. "You will join, oui?"

Emmeline did love that attraction very much. And with all the stress that was going on as well as… well… what was going to happen soon. Maybe… Maybe it'd be better if she didn't be the bearer of bad news for her just yet…

"Y-Yes!" Emmeline nodded. "Oui! Oui!"

"Excellent!" Manon clapped her hands, spinning around. "Zen, we will meet up at ze 5:00 PM show, all four of us!"

"Four?" Emmeline blinked.

"Oui!" Manon smiled excitedly. "Tu, moi, Madame Summers, et Monsieur Arakawa!"

Riku passed by Manon's room for some unknown reason. He popped his head in, annoyed that his last name came up. He didn't need to be French to understand what Manon was getting at.

"Nope, leave me out of it," Riku warned.

Then, he walked away.

"...All three of us!" Manon corrected.

"Three?" Emmeline blinked.

"Oui!" Manon smiled excitedly. "Tu, moi, et Madame Summers! Oui?!"

"I… Yes!" Emmeline rubbed the back of her neck. "Oui! Oui!"

"Excellent!" Manon clapped her hands and spun around once again. Then, waving toward Emmeline, she smiled happily and exited her room. "I will see you zen!"

"W-Wait, but why 5:00– Can't we just—" Emmeline was about to argue but Manon had already left.

It was almost as if that electric shock had completely amped up Manon's personality to a hundred. She had been much more excitable than she was originally. Emmeline knew that Manon was a fun person to be around, but this was crazy. Emmeline slowly took her pouch of pills and began to nibble on one.

Whatever was going on, Emmeline hoped that Manon would be okay. For now, she was going to have to humor her.

Because there was no way Emmeline wanted to be the one to tell this happy girl that later today, that poor girl was going to die…

(Kazuki's Room)

Kazuki felt the intensity of his gaze toward the balcony subside over the sounds of a clock winding and incessant ticking.

Kazuki didn't know how long it had been since he's been catatonic in his room. He wasn't the timekeeper in the room after all. But the moment he took his eyes away from the balcony, he finally noticed Alisa sitting on that chair, winding up her alarm clock in an attempt to make sure everything functioned in order.

The clockmaker glanced up and as soon as their eyes met, she stopped.

"I'm sorry," Alisa apologized. "Was this annoying you?"

"Heh… Not at all…" Kazuki chuckled to himself.

Alisa pocketed her alarm clock and examined Kazuki closely. For the first time in a matter of seven hours, 52 minutes, and 32 seconds, Kazuki was finally speaking again. Alisa was happy to see this. She didn't really like the idea of having to spend all of her time watching over someone who wasn't going to speak once…

"...How is she…?" Kazuki suddenly spoke up.

Alisa raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Levesque… I mean…" Kazuki specified. "How is she…?"

Alisa kept her hands clasped together. She wasn't aware of what had just occurred between Manon and Emmeline, so her response defaulted to…

"...The last I checked, she was still passed out," Alisa revealed. "But I'm sure she is awake now, so please don't worry about it."

"...How long has it been since…?" Kazuki asked.

"Seven hours, 53 minutes, and 17 seconds," Alisa counted, glancing down at her wristwatch. "That's how long you've been unresponsive in your little world."

"I see…" Kazuki glanced down. "...Thank you…"

Alisa didn't say anything afterwards. Neither did he. The two remained silent in the room for a while until finally Alisa couldn't take it anymore.

She was there when he tried to do it. She was a firsthand witness to his commitment to die. And had Manon not intervened, he would've died. She understood this principle just like everyone else. And yet, it was clear that she was the one here who was bothered by how willing he was to just throw away his life like that…

"You probably gotten this a lot since yesterday but…" Alisa fixed her glasses. "...You are an idiot."

Kazuki softly glanced at her, smiling and chuckling at her comment.

"...Yeah... I've gotten plenty of that…" he responded.

"And with good reason," Alisa folded her arms. "Nothing irritated me more than to see you be so callous as to throw your own life away while I had to stand there like a fool, watching time tick away."

"...I know…" Kazuki said, after a pause.

Alisa wasn't satisfied with his response. She kept her arms folded and crossed her legs, frustrated.

"What's worse is that you don't even seem to care about what could've happened to you…" Alisa frowned. "I've heard of philanthropists being selfless, but this is a new kind of extreme level of selflessness…"

Kazuki sat in his bed and didn't say anything. He just took it. Alisa's words weren't hurtful or spiteful or annoying or anything like that. Kazuki took it to be the truth. Because everything Alisa said, he knew it to be so…

Kazuki chuckled.

Alisa's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" Alisa frowned. "You think this is funny?"

"...Not at all…" Kazuki smiled. "It's just… you sound like my older brother…"

Alisa's expression turned to confusion.

"...Older brother?" Alisa blinked.

"...I guess it's more accurate to call him my half-brother…" Kazuki revealed. "Something about my late father getting with a foreign woman. I don't really care for the specifics… He's still my brother."

That was news to Alisa. Alisa knew little of Nobukatsu Enterprises. But what she did know was the basic facts that everyone knew. Nobukatsu Enterprise was a company ruled by an Ultimate Philanthropist. The specifics weren't important to her at the time, but now that she was here…

"But as you may know… the role of Ultimate Philanthropist is never easy…" Kazuki said. "And because my brother was practically my only family… He took the full brunt of the consequences…"

"What do you mean…?" Alisa asked.

"...Simply put… He would say the same things you would say…" Kazuki chuckled. "That I didn't care about what was happening to me and that my extreme sense of selflessness was a problem…"

Kazuki coarsely laughed to himself.

"I still don't see how that's a problem…" Kazuki said, tightening his grip on his blanket. "I was just doing what I thought was right. And yet… Every time… everyone gets mad at me for doing it…"

Kazuki sighed.

"It's confusing…" Kazuki closed one eye.

"You still don't understand the problem of what you did yesterday?" Alisa narrowed her eyes.

"No… I do…" Kazuki frowned. "...Miss Levesque got hurt and–"

"I'm not talking about that," Alisa shook her head. "I'm talking about you."

Alisa took out her alarm clock and started to wind the fuck out of it. It was clear that the more she was participating in this conversation with Kazuki, the more she was getting annoyed by how blind this man could be. Kazuki kept quiet, allowing the clockmaker to continue.

"Time is a construct supplied to everyone," Alisa explained. "Like everything else in this world, time has a limit. In the end, everyone runs out of time. But the point is, time is stagnant. Your time in this world is predetermined. So, for you to go and do what you do… It's insulting!"

Kazuki blinked.

"...Kazuki Nobukatsu," Alisa finished winding up her alarm clock and glared at him. "There will be a time where you will die. And whatever that time may be, it's in your best interest to honor it."

Alisa placed her alarm clock away.

"So, how dare you try to cut your time in this world short," Alisa frowned. "Do you not understand what my problem is with your nonchalant behavior regarding all of this? Even now, you're more concerned for Manon rather than for yourself. Even though it was you who went against time itself."

Kazuki listened intently to Alisa.

"Frankly, Kazuki," Alisa began. "If you truly cared about the people, you'd understand that not everyone gets to live long healthy lives. Some people have only months, weeks, even days left in their timeline… They would do anything to extend their life's expectancy…"

Alisa glowered.

"...And yet your decision yesterday to sacrifice yourself…" Alisa began. "I find it insulting on behalf of the people who have reached near the end of time. Do you see the problem now?"

Kazuki did.

Everything Alisa said was hitting him right where it needed to. And frankly, Kazuki was surprised that it did. He kept his eyes widened, never really considering this perspective. He didn't say anything for a while, and by the time he found a response, Alisa sighed to herself.

"...I'm sorry," she apologized. "This is just… a really touchy subject for a timekeeper like me."

"...No…" Kazuki muttered. "I should be the one who's sorry. I understand the message. Value your life. You will never know when it will end…"

Kazuki smiled to himself.

"I suppose it's something I just forgot a long time ago…" Kazuki chuckled to himself. "...Or maybe it was something I just lost belief in…"

Kazuki glanced at Alisa and nodded his head.

"Thank you…" he simply said.

Alisa simply returned the nod and leaned back against her chair. She kept her eyes fixed on him, arms folded, and legs crossed. But this time, her annoyance had died down. Because based on the smile and look of contemplation on his face, she figured that her words must've gotten to him.

Good.

She was glad.

And together, the two sat in silence for a while, confident enough to say that both Alisa and Kazuki had grown closer together with a new lesson learnt for the young philanthropist…

[Ultimate Actress's Attraction]

(Outside)

"3:25. Right on time."

Fábio had checked his nonexistent to see that he had arrived just in time. Similarly, Issac and Yumi had gotten to the outside of the Ultimate Actress's Attraction as well.

Perfect!

"Barbosa," Issac placed his arms behind his Isolde, similar to a typical male anime protagonist. "You're lucky our collars are Green. Why'd you call us here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fábio shrugged, pocketing his hands. "The girl is about to die soon. If we're going to find a clue on where she is, we're going to need to go through every nook and cranny."

"And dat brought us to da roller coaster?" Yumi blinked, confused.

"Don't you remember what Monoyena said about this thing?" Fábio asked.

"So, in other words, a dueling coaster is a roller coaster designed to simulate a fight between two coasters," Fábio concluded.

"That's right," Monoyena started to grin. "Only… this dueling coaster ain't like your classic dueling one. It's got a special touch involved with it…"

"Ooh, what is it?" Emmeline looked intrigued all of a sudden.

"Still held up on that?" Issac asked, sighing and shaking his head. "Look, this "special touch" Yena referred to probably has nothing to do with the girl. It's probably some way to sell the roller coaster to guests or something."

"Maybe," Fábio twirled a lock of his ringlet hair. "But what if it did have to do with the girl? You can't just discount the possibility of that, now can you?"

Issac had no arguments to that apparently. In fact, he had remained silent for a moment. Usually, when he's doing that, he's quote-on-quote "listening to what Isolde had to say". Then, Issac smiled and– Okay. Yeah. That was exactly what he was doing.

"Isolde said she'll call your bluff," Issac laughed. "Fine. I'm willing to check it out."

"Yea, but is it a really good idea, Fábs?" Yumi rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah mean, da last time we rode this doohickey, our backs didn't feel good, yknow?"

"Well, you and I never got a chance to check out the Spellcaster side of things," Fábio explained. "That's why I called both of you. Issac's rode the Spellcaster side–"

"More than once, yes," Issac nodded.

"-And Yumi can help corroborate whatever we find, since she's only ridden the Lady Radiance side," Fábio explained. "That's my plan."

Fábio certainly thought this through. Aside from the Gift Shop that never opens, this was the only other thing that was bugging him. The secret touch. Like, what was it? They said that curiosity killed the cat, and yet, Fábio didn't believe that to be the case for this. Whatever it was, it had to be important.

Why else would Monoyena mention it?

He stepped forward and felt something slippery and slimy on the ground.

"Oh, looks like you stepped in someone's vomit, Barbosa," Issac chuckled to himself, sheepishly.

Fábio recoiled in disgust and tried to wipe its content on the ground. As he did this, he caught Issac's smile. Whether it was from amusement or the fact that he knew he should've told him there was vomit on the ground was unknown, but it was clear that he was enjoying himself with what was happening.

"Yeesh," Yumi shook her head. "Looks like someone couldn't handle the ride."

Yumi took a step forward and–

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

"Oh… And your collar is Red, Gundo…" Issac chuckled to himself once more.

"Gosh darn it!" Yumi exclaimed.

(Queue)

Fábio, Issac, and Yumi traversed into the queue together after the next Red Light, Green Light jingle played and the confirmation that everyone had the color Green in the back of their collars. At the moment, Fábio had leaned against the queue line's railings and was attentively wiping off the vomit on his shoe in disgust. By the time he was done, he tossed the paper towels away with a sigh of relief.

"Finally cleaned it all off, have you?" Issac chuckled.

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Fábio gave him a cold look.

"Hey, man," Issac raised his hands defensively. "I thought you would've seen it. And… It was kind of Isolde's idea to keep quiet about it. Sorry about her. She has a really mean sense of humor, haha."

"Yeah, right," Fábio was beginning to reconsider inviting Issac along.

Especially since the toymaker gave him a small smile and walked on forward. Following behind him and passing Fábio to the intersection was Yumi, who simply tipped her white Stetson hat down and spoke up toward the toymaker.

"Hey, Issac," Yumi called out. "Can ah ask ya somethin?"

"Of course," Issac gave her a smile. "What's up?"

"Ya seem to have a firm grasp understandin dese roller coasters type rides…" Yumi scratched the back of her neck. "So ah just…"

"Want a little history lesson about roller coasters?" Issac blinked. "Well, can't say I know the full history but…"

"Why do you want to know about roller coasters, anyway?" Fábio caught up to the conversation at hand.

"Well, truth be told, ah've never been through much of dese," Yumi folded her arms. "Always spendin doin other fun stuff if ya catch my drift."

"I… really don't…" Fábio shook his head.

"Ahm just confused on what da difference is between a regular coaster and a duelin coaster," Yumi muttered. "Ain't dey da same?"

"Far from it, actually," Issac brushed his pink hair to the side. "There are many different types of roller coasters and coaster tracks. There's the mouse coaster which is smaller but utilizes smaller carts and sharper turns. There are loop de loops, which are the ones you see that completes a 360 degree turn. There are flying roller coasters, where it simulates flight…"

Issac chuckled.

"List goes on and on," Issac explained. "But dueling coasters are different. Dueling coasters are essentially two roller coasters combined into one. And the thrill of those is the fight-flight response of how close the carts are to one another. Makes you think the carts are going to crash into each other…"

"Ah see…" Yumi rubbed her chin. "Ah guess dat makes sense. It did feel like dat da last time I rode it."

"Exactly," Issac folded his arms with a smile. "Hope this helps…"

Yumi rubbed her chin in thought. Dueling coasters were meant to simulate a fight between two coasters. Honestly, the only reason she asked was because of how close and natural it felt to her. Noticing that she, herself, had been silent, she cleared her throat.

"Yea, of course…" Yumi nodded.

She placed her hand over Roderick's gun that was still in her gun holster for comfort.

Dueling coasters…

Duel…

…

The three arrived at the Spellcaster side of the ride. The ride itself had their handlebars up but was clearly moving despite that. The ride was probably in automatic at the moment. But that was certainly something that Fábio had failed to consider. Because the control panel was on the Lady Radiance side…

"Shucks," Issac rubbed the back of his neck. "Forgot about the control panel now did you, Barbosa?"

"Yep," was all Fábio had to say toward that regard.

"Aw crap," Yumi frowned. "Does dis mean we don't git to ride dis ding? Where's dat hyena when ya need him?!"

"Hey, there's no need to call him," Issac held up his hands in defense. "We can just operate the control panel ourselves."

"What?" Fábio blinked. "You can? Isn't that…"

"Against the rules?" Issac blinked before rubbing his chin. "I… don't remember it being there. Guess that means it's okay."

"At least check before you assume," Fábio deadpanned.

"Barbosa, relax," Issac chuckled. "I'm just messing around. Of course it's alright. Summers and I do it all the time."

"Ya what?" Yumi blinked before looking disappointed. "And ah wasn't invited?! Could've made it a three-"

"I'm pretty sure that's not what he meant," Fábio interrupted before turning back to Issac. "So, in other words, you're going to turn the ride back onto Manual, right?"

"Pretty much," Issac nodded. "Just means I won't be able to ride with you guys. Someone has to stay at the control panel and make sure to turn it back to Automatic so the handlebars go up, y'know?"

It was the top of ten minutes:

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Everyone remained silent for a few minutes before Issac chuckled.

"Okay, now I'm probably kind of forced to stay at the control panel..." Issac laughed at his joke.

Yumi and Fábio glanced at each other.

Well, even without the Playtime Event in play, it was tough that they wouldn't have a third opinion. But, according to Issac, he's already ridden the Spellcaster side of the coaster a bunch of times. It only made sense that he'd be the one to turn on all safety mechanisms for the ride. With a sigh, Fábio nodded toward Issac.

"Fine," Fábio said. "We're counting on you."

"And Isolde, too, right?" Issac cupped Isolde's chin.

"...Yes, even the caterpillar," Fábio folded his arms.

…

By the time the Spellcaster cart showed up, Fábio and Yumi had sat in their respective carts. Fábio sat in the front row and Yumi sat directly behind him. Issac was stationed at the control panel, and waved toward the two.

"Alright, handlebars coming down now," Issac told them, pressing a button and allowing the handlebars to safely restrain them to their seats. "Feeling nervous?"

"A little," Fábio took a deep breath.

"Ya sure ya know what yer doin?" Yumi gulped.

"Course I do," Issac chuckled. "And if I forget something, Isolde will be there to remind me."

"That's very reassuring," Fábio cynically said.

His eyes trailed toward the handlebar before noticing a large dent on a part of the handlebar. That certainly didn't make things feel any better. He gulped as he trailed his finger on the dent. And oh yeah, it was a dent for sure. As if someone with super strength grasped just a little too tightly on the handle…

"Um, was this dent always here?" Fábio pointed out.

"Dent?" Issac blinked. "What dent? I've been in the front row several times. I've never seen a dent before."

"Well, there's one now," Fábio said.

Issac laughed.

"Dude, seriously, calm down," Issac shook his head. "Don't you trust me?"

Honestly, no.

"Alright guys, keep yourselves seated and arms and legs inside the ride, got it?" Issac smiled. He tilted his head toward Isolde before smiling once more. "Also. Isolde says to have fun!"

"W-Wait, let's–" Fábio began to say but it was too late.

The ride had started…

(The Ride)

Much like the start of the Lady Radiance ride, Fábio and Yumi couldn't see anything for a while. The sounds of police sirens and smells of hot dogs were still prevalent in the ride. Tall buildings were also seen but this time, the voice that would've been Lady Radiance speaking to them was instead replaced by the voice of Spellcaster…

"Well, well, so you've decided to sign up as my henchmen, now have you? Picked a swell time to do so. That brat, Lady Radiance has been hot on my trail for a while. It's time we teach her a lesson. Stay with me, don't fail, or else there will be serious consequences… Now. Let's fly!"

And just like the Lady Radiance side, the ride had moved slowly and turned the corner. It ascended into a dead end but kept moving. This was very familiar to the Lady Radiance route, but each difference just happened to be the voice of Spellcaster speaking up.

"This darkness. How I love it… Wait… Is that–"

Almost instantly, the dark tunnel they were in illuminated with light and the wall itself opened up to reveal the light at the end of this tunnel. Just like last time, the coaster was approaching a peak right outside of the ride's actual building. Not only that, but as soon as Fábio and Yumi reached the peak, they noticed that they were side-by-side with the Lady Radiance cart.

They were also able to see the entirety of Piero's Playground and a very familiar conversation began to play:

"Ah! Spellcaster!"

"Lady Radiance! So glad of you to stop by. It does brighten my day to see you."

Fábio inwardly cringed.

Yep. Just as terrible as he remembered.

"Save your formalities. Whatever you're plotting, I'll stop it."

"Hahaha. Is that so? Very well then. Give me your best shot! You better hold on henchmen! I'm not coming back for you if you fall off!"

This Spellcaster guy was prick–

The coaster cars started to shake just like last time and almost all too quickly, both coasters flew down the track's highest peak at a high speed of let's say 250 mph. Still don't know my speed measurements but I've increased it… for some reason. Fábio and Yumi were still taken aback by how sudden the drop was and held on tight.

"Not agaaaaaaaain!" Fábio felt the wind blow against his face, holding onto the dent on the safety bar handle tightly.

"Yeeeeehawwwww!" Yumi cheered as she did the last time she rode this.

By the time the ride had stopped descending, both rides were now side-by-side, twisting and turning abruptly with the sounds of blasts and explosions ringing in their ears. As Yumi now understood it, this was the beauty of dueling coasters: a simulated battle between two coasters. Between Spellcaster and Lady Radiance.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you're going to catch me, Radiance!"

"Ha! I can do this all day! Take that!"

"Agh! Once again, Radiance, you seem a little impatient. How about you try slowing down a bit?! Abra-Kadooze!"

That was when Fábio noticed that the Lady Radiance coaster had come to a stop, allowing them to pass by it directly into the dark building straight ahead. All the while, Spellcaster started to cackle:

"Mwahahahaha! We've lost her but not for long! That brat will never give up! So, it's time we set a trap!"

The Spellcaster coaster slowed down, moving past luminous lights and reaching a specific spot before stopping. There was no sight as to what was happening but what they did hear was the sound of Spellcaster cackling and blast of different colored lights shining in their faces: like some sort of art show. Then, the room was back into its normal darkness…

Then, the ride shook.

"Aha! You fell for my trap! How about it, Radiance? How's this for a magic trick!"

"Spellcaster, you–"

This was the moment in which Fábio and Yumi would've felt the adrenaline rush. But this time, that wasn't the case. Instead, their coaster carts kept shaking, as if they were the ones attacking the Lady Radiance cart. Dim lights blasted in different corners of the room they were in but like last time, that didn't help them see anything in this darkness.

"Take that! And that! And that! Hahahaha! What says you now, Lady Radiance?! Think you can stop me?!"

"Heroes never give up Spellcaster. So. Let. My. Friends. Go!"

Almost immediately the Spellcaster coaster car moved at a high speed. Now came the moment of being pushed back into their seats by an electromagnetic force. The coaster car had blasted itself through a relatively bright tunnel. The Lady Radiance coaster was now side-by-side with Fábio and Yumi and all they could hear was…

"The power of my radiant light compels you!"

"N-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And that was the last thing they would hear before they reached a familiar sight…

(Queue)

Issac smiled at them as he sat on the stool leading up to the control panel. As he spotted them, he waved toward them and allowed the ride to come to a stop.

"So, find what you were looking for?" Issac asked.

(Outside)

Fábio was disappointed to say the least.

Shortly after the next Playtime Event jingle played, the three exited the roller coaster. And as they did, Fábio kept himself locked in his thoughts.

He'd thought that if he had ridden both the Lady Radiance and Spellcaster side of the coaster, he'd find a clue. But instead, he found nothing. He still had no idea what that special touch was since both rides were generally the same… except for that one part where…

"Wowee, dat was much smoother dan da Lady Radiance side," Yumi smiled.

Fábio had to agree with her on that.

Compared to the Lady Radiance ride, neither of them had felt that immense back pain from the first time. But even then, it just didn't make any sense. What was that special touch? Did it have anything to do with where the kids were held? Was this just some wild goose chase that Fábio had gotten two other people into?

The thought of that caused him to grimace.

Issac caught that expression.

"Hey, Barbosa," Issac sighed. "Don't beat yourself up over it. So, you didn't find what you were looking for. It's not a big deal."

"It is when the girl is going to die…" Fábio sighed to himself.

Both guys were stopped by Yumi, who had outstretched her arms to stop them. She didn't say anything for a bit, but when they saw what was in front of them, they instantly knew the reason behind her actions.

"Looks like the 4:00 PM Parade has just begun," Issac folded his arms. "Guess that means we're stuck here for another 30 minutes."

"Naw, dat's not what I'm talking about…" Yumi gestured to the most unusual thing in front of them.

It was…

…Stanczyk?

Stanczyk had been standing near the edge of the sidewalk and was watching the Parade. Though, his mask showed he was grinning excitedly, to see him alone and not beside his partner, Monoyena, was such a bizarre sight. Bizarre enough for Yumi to approach him…

"W-Wait, Yumi, are you crazy?" Fábio tried to stop her but Yumi didn't listen.

She continued to walk up to Stanczyk and by the time she had reached him, she had folded her arms.

"Now wot in tarnation are ya doin here?" Yumi spoke up.

Stanczyk swiftly turned around; his mask ever so happy-go-lucky. God. It was still so damn creepy for Fábio to even look at it. He tried his best to avoid eye contact, but it clearly wasn't working.

"Oh!" Stanczyk gasped. "If it isn't my best friends! How are you doing?! Enjoying the park?! Enjoying the Playtime Event?! Come to watch the Parade with little ol me?! How thoughtful!"

"None of dat," Yumi rubbed the back of her neck. "We were just wonderin why you were here…"

"No, we weren't," Fábio retorted.

"Don't you normally ride your own Parade Float around?" Issac pointed out. "It's just a little weird to see you watch the Parade for once, y'know? Heh. Maybe Yena threatened you to the point where you just stopped?"

"What a wonderful assumption!" Stanczyk giggled before pouting. "Monoyena is the type of creature to do that! Unfortunately…"

Stanczyk shook his head and grinned.

"That's not the reason at all!" Stanczyk exclaimed. "The truth is it got a little scary after each show… Heh heh! Can you believe it?"

"Scared?" Yumi blinked. "How in the Sam Hill can you be scared of ridin da Parade Float of all dings?"

"It's not riding the Parade Float I'm scared of," Stanczyk gasped. "It's an entirely different thing! After every show, the Parade Floats all line up into this one secret holding area! And it only opens after the start of every show! So, you can imagine how scary it can get being locked in a room every one hour and 30 minutes…"

Stanczyk feigned a shiver.

"It was so cold…" Stanczyk sniffled before grinning. "But… at least now, I have you kiddos! And we're going to watch the Parade together, right?! Right? Right? RightRightRightRight… RiGhT?!"

Stanczyk's desperation distorted for a few seconds before he reverted back to his joyous self.

"Whoops!" Stanczyk laughed. "Where did that come from?!"

"Actually, ah didn't want to come here to watch da Parade," Yumi shook her head. "Ah think Parades are pretty dull so…"

"W-What?!" Stanczyk gasped. "Y-You don't like Parades?!"

Stanczyk's lips started to quiver as tears formed underneath his mask and seeped through his mask's eye sockets.

"W-What kind of sad, sad, little girl are you…?" Stanczyk started to weep.

"Aw, come on, don't be like dat," Yumi looked down. "Just cause I didn't want to watch da show, don't mean I don't want to speak to ya 'bout somethin."

"Y-Yumi, what are you doing?" Fábio harshly hissed toward her, keeping his distance from the jester.

Issac gestured for the figure skater to shut up and let Yumi do her thing.

"Y-You mean… the only reason you don't want to watch the Parade with me is because you want to talk to me?" Stanczyk was slightly taken aback by Yumi's suggestion. He shifted back to excitement. "W-What about?! The weather?! Me?! Ooooh! Please talk about me! I love talking about myself!"

After his sudden shift to excitement, it was clear that saved them from the headache of listening to him sob. Yumi smiled and tipped her hat down as she spoke to him. Fábio watched coldly. Issac seemed intrigued.

"Ah just wanted to ask 'bout da girl…" Yumi rubbed the back of her neck. "She's set to die some time today. Ah was wondering if ya can do somethin about dat…"

Stanczyk listened intently.

"Ah mean, yer da figure every guy and gal look up to, right?" Yumi smiled at him. "Ya wouldn't let dat hyena kill dat girl, right?"

Stanczyk stared at Yumi.

And it wasn't like it was a momentary stare. It was a long stare, as if the clown was seriously contemplating her implied request. In fact, it took a bit for Stanczyk to respond to the point where—

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

"Gundo, your collar is Red," Issac discreetly told Yumi. "Don't move."

Yumi nodded at Issac before Stanczyk finally let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry, little girl," Stanczyk frowned. He folded his arms. "I wish there was something I could do, but whatever happens to those kids is entirely in Monoyena's jurisdiction."

"Doesn't it seem bad to have a partner who's okay with killing childre– Ow!" Fábio felt a painful shock zap his neck.

It was clear that he had Red on the back of his collar as well.

"Look, I know Monoyena is cruel and all," Stanczyk looked down. "But it's not his fault, really! He just has really bad parental troubles! I mean, his mom died before he was born, and he doesn't know who his daddy is… Ugh! Isn't that so sad?!"

"If you're just saying that to excuse his behavior, it's kind of pathetic," Issac muttered. "Don't even know why we're trying to excuse the behavior of a stuffed animal anyway…"

Fábio, Yumi, and even Stanczyk gave him a blunt stare.

"What?" Issac blinked.

"Anyway, the least I can do is extend the time but it's Monoyena," Stanczyk explained. "I doubt he'll allow it. And I really do want to save the girl but… I just… Oh gosh. Here comes the waterworks…"

Stanczyk started to bawl.

"I'M GOING TO MISS HEEEERRRR!" Stanczyk sobbed into his sleeves.

"So, in other words, there ain't nothin we can do…" Yumi sighed. "Well, it was worth a shot to ask, I guess…"

Yumi and Issac let out small sighs, but this time, Fábio jumped in with a question of his own. Folding his arms, he finally stared the clown straight into his crying eyes… That did not help make Stanczyk look any less creepy to him.

"Can I ask you something now?" Fábio asked.

"Y-Yeah?" Stanczyk sniffled.

"...Monoyena mentioned there was a secret touch in the roller coaster ride," Fábio said. "I wanted to know what it was."

Stanczyk tilted his head curiously. He instantly stopped sniffling, as his attention was now on something more interesting than actually sad.

"You mean… you don't know?" Stanczyk asked.

"Know what?" Fábio coldly stared at him.

"You haven't figured it out?" Stanczyk gasped.

"Figured what out?" Fábio was getting impatient.

"Hehehe…" Stanczyk simply giggled. "I can't reveal to you anything! Monoyena will kill me! Have fun figuring it out though!"

"W-What?" Fábio sputtered.

"See ya later!" Stanczyk sprinted off toward the queue line and fell face-flat on the floor. As it turned it out, he had slipped on the pile of vomit that was still fresh on the floor. He gave a thumbs-up from the ground. "I'm okay!"

Fábio stared at Stanczyk incredulously. Was he really not going to tell them? Guess it was to be expected but all this did was put fuel to a fire that was already heated. What the hell was that special touch? It had to be important if Monoyena and Stanczyk were keeping it a secret right?

God.

This was going to drive him crazy. And as he looked at Issac and Yumi, it was also clear that the Parade wasn't ending any time soon yet…

[Happy Highway]

(Street)

The Parade had ended.

Kikuko noticed that much when she had stepped out from Clucks Deluxe. She had wiped herself courteously but if she had to be perfectly honest, she was getting sick of the food. Like seriously, sick of the food. For a restaurant that dwells in nothing but poultry, Kikuko just felt like she needed a chance to calm down and rest.

Also didn't help that the stress of the girl dying today was still on her mind. She sighed. She asked herself the same questions: Was there seriously nothing she could do? Sometime later today, she knew all too well that the feeling of guilt was going to haunt her. That even though there was an option laid out for her, she wasn't going to take it and someone was still going to die…

God.

This place was sick and twisted.

Kikuko walked further away from the sickening Clucks Deluxe chicken shack and– She stopped. What the heck? Was that…?

Kikuko hurried over.

She widened her eyes in shock.

She couldn't believe it.

...

The road to despair was harsh.

That was something she should've expected.

The more Kikuko inched closer to what she had found, the more she wanted to ask Seiryuu, why?

Why would this happen?

Why would something so cruel happen?

Why to this person of all people?

She covered her mouth and tried to say something, but nothing came out. She tried to move closer and hesitated to reach out her hand. It's just… The more she stared at it, the more she couldn't believe it. She knew such opportunities existed but for this to happen...

It was so evil.

It was so cruel.

Fate was so cruel, wasn't it? Because what she was staring at was not what she asked for. Because what Kikuko was staring at wasn't a what…

It was a who.

And not just any who… But a who Kikuko was all too familiar with.

And she couldn't believe that it was them that had fallen as the first victim.

And she couldn't believe that it was her that found them this way.

The way that they looked… Their body slumped to the ground… Unmoving. No soul left in their body.

Kikuko was succumbing to fear.

Trepidation.

Despair.

Yes.

The road to despair was harsh. So harsh that this string of words is getting super long and delaying this Body Discovery. But there's no denying it now. There's no way I can delay the broken feelings of my readers. I'm sorry but this has to be. Because it was someone everyone knew and loved. Because it was someone Kikuko just didn't see coming.

...

Because what she was staring at was the body of Alina Summers, the Ultimate Maestro…

DANGANRONPA: TWISTED TRAGEDY

Anyway–

Kikuko hurried over.

She widened her eyes in shock.

She couldn't believe it.

Because what she was staring at was the unconscious body of Alina Summers, the Ultimate Maestro. Yeah, that's right. Probably gave someone a heart attack or something.

"Alina!" Kikuko reached Alina's unconscious body.

She shook her body. She had been erratically breathing. Kikuko felt her blood pulse. High to low. Wild. And her neck… There was a discoloration on her neck. And given that Alina was lying face-down, Kikuko had free reigns to check her shock collar:

Red.

No. What happened? Did she…?

"Alina, wake up!" Kikuko shook Alina. "Are you alright?"

What was Kikuko talking about? This happened to Aidan and Manon yesterday. They were knocked out thanks to the electrical shocks but thanks to Riku's medical skills, he was able to confirm that they were going to live. Alina's case had to be the same right?!

Kikuko thought of some charms she could use to help Alina speedily recover. It was clear she was in a panic. What the hell happened? How did Alina of all people get shocked to near decommission. Was she messing with her collar? Did she–

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Alina's collar changed to Green.

Not like that would help for someone who was–

"Ugh…" Alina groaned as she slowly came to.

The maestro slowly picked herself up from the ground and rubbed her head with a slight groan. So, that's what it felt like to be knocked out… Alina glanced around to see Kikuko's concerned expression directed toward her. She widened her eyes.

"Kikuko?" Alina blinked as she looked around. "What… happened…?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Kikuko responded. "I finished my lunch and just found you on the ground. How long have you been here…?"

Alina rubbed her chin in thought.

"I… I don't know…" Alina rubbed her head. "All I remember was the Parade and…"

That's when she stopped.

She widened her eyes and glanced around. Whatever she was looking for, well, it was apparently not there. But it was clear that whatever answer Kikuko was looking for, well, that had apparently come back to her.

"The Parade!" Alina realized. "Right!"

"W-What about it?" Kikuko blinked.

"My collar prevented me from moving and I was out in the middle of the road…" Alina rubbed her arms. "In hindsight, I should've been faster or just stopped at the garden but…"

"I see…" Kikuko grimaced. "So, you had no choice but to run past your red light…"

"I… I think that's what happened," Alina felt her heart level slowly lower. "How long was I out for?"

"Well, if you got knocked out when the Parade had started, I suppose that would put it at approximately…" Kikuko checked her eTicket for the time because she wasn't Alisa with her fifty clocks residing somewhere in her pockets. "...50 minutes…?"

"W-Wait," Alina widened her eyes. "What time is it now?!"

"...4:50?" Kikuko blinked, confused.

"I'm running late!" Alina gasped. "Quick! What color is my collar?!"

"Green," Kikuko simply stated.

"Thank you so much!" Alina smiled at Kikuko before preparing to run off. "I have to go! I was supposed to meet Manon and Emmeline at Riku's Ultimate Attraction today! Thanks for looking over me when I was knocked out!"

And Alina ran off before she heard Kikuko call out:

"H-Hey wait!" Kikuko exclaimed. "What about mine–?"

Kikuko took a step forward.

"Ow!" Kikuko stepped back and crossed her arms in discomfort. "...Darn it."

Well, she got her answer.

[Ultimate Doctor's Attraction]

(Outside)

When Alina reached the Ultimate Doctor's Attraction, already waiting for her was Manon, who looked much happier than she had been previously, Daisuke and Riku, who was eating her pills in excite– Wait.

Daisuke?!

Riku?!

And not Emmeline?!

What the–

"Huh?" Alina blinked. "Riku? Daisuke? What are you guys doing here?"

"I'm not here by choice," Riku folded his arms. "That butterfly brat forced me to come even though I especially told her not to invite me. So, now I'm here."

Alina looked at Riku.

Then, walking up behind him, she glanced at the back of his collar and gave him a teasing smirk. She headed back to her original position and folded her arms with a soft smile.

"Y'know your collar color is Green, right?" Alina smiled. "If you really don't want to be here, you're free to do so…"

"And waste the amount of time I had spent trying to play along with this silly Red Light, Green Light game?" Riku scoffed. "Unlikely. You cannot believe how long it took me just to get to my own Ultimate Attraction."

"Where were you before?" Manon asked.

"...The park," Riku looked away.

"Ah," Manon understood.

Manon glanced around with that chippier smile on her face. It was an interesting look for Manon, Alina had to think that it really suited her. Or maybe that was complete bias. Alina was a girl who loved to smile and to see everyone smile. And to see Manon smile right after that brave thing she had done yesterday…

…It was nice to see.

"And what about you Daisuke?" Alina glanced at the larger male, who simply tensed up at being called out. "Why are you here?"

"Oh well..." Daisuke simply turned around and showed her the back of his collar.

It was Red.

"He has been here on Red for quite a while," Manon revealed. "Unlucky, non?"

"V-VERY UNLUCKY!" Daisuke exclaimed. "I've gotten barely any Greens today and have been stuck on Red since the 2:00 Parade!"

"Stuck on Red for that long?" Alina widened her eyes. "Wow, that is very unlucky..."

"I KNOWWWW!" Daisuke looked close to crying. "W-When will my color change?! I just wanted to get some chicken and leave but now I'm stuck here..."

Alina had to extend her sympathies out to Daisuke. When Monoyena first announced this Playtime Event thing, he made mention of a possibility like this happening. She just didn't think anyone would get unlucky enough for it to happen like this. Riku, on the other hand, simply scoffed.

"If you wanted to leave so badly, why didn't you just leave during the few times it was Green," Riku muttered. "Instead, you're stuck here at my Ultimate Attraction..."

"Th-The 4:00 Parade started!" Daisuke wailed. "I couldn't leave even if I wanted to! Otherwise, I would die!"

"Wait... how many times have you gotten Green...?" Manon blinked.

"Well... a couple times..." Daisuke looked down. "I was nothing but Green when I entered the park... And then the next time I get Green was right after the 4:00 Parade. So... I couldn't leave even if I wanted to! Otherwise, I would die!"

"You said that..." Riku muttered.

Yep.

Manon had to agree.

That was just unlucky on all sorts of levels. But unfortunately for Daisuke, there was something else on her mind. The French actress glanced around with slight anticipation.

"By ze way," Manon glanced at her eTicket. "Have you seen Madame Swan anywhere? She was supposed to be here aussi…"

"Tch, last I saw her was back when she invited me," Riku folded his arms. "But knowing her, she's probably stuck somewhere because of her collar."

"Like me..." Daisuke looked down. "Siiiiigh."

That was a good point.

The Red Light, Green Light game had just changed, meaning Emmeline was probably soft locked in an area somewhere. And knowing what she was like, it was probably going to be much harder for her to move to where they were…

"Well, wherever she is," Alina smiled. "I'm sure she'll meet up with us here."

Alina looked down.

At the same time, however. Today was D-Day. The day the girl was supposed to die. Based on what Emmeline had told her, Manon wanted a celebratory service in the form of the musical theater. And based on Manon's action, it was clear that she had forgotten that today was the day the girl was set to die.

Was it right for them to celebrate…?

Or was it more right to get Manon back on board with the reality of things…?

Alina wasn't sure.

…

Then, the next jingle played:

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

(Waiting Room)

Alina and Manon walked into the Waiting Room.

Unfortunately for them, it seemed that fate wasn't on Riku's side. His collar was Red, and he was stuck outside. Manon had expected him to be relieved. But instead, there was clear disappointment on his face. And unlike Manon, that was what Alina had expected as she smiled to herself.

Though, she had to feel bad that Riku wasn't making it to the show. And at this point, it also didn't seem like Emmeline was making it either. However, Daisuke's color finally changed to Green and that also meant…

"You know, I'm surprised you wanted to join us for the show, Daisuke," Alina blinked. "I'd thought you'd probably head home the first chance it turned Green."

"Y-Yeah but…" Daisuke timidly looked down. "I… I guess I felt bad. Manon was looking forward to Riku and Emmeline joining and since they're not here I uhhh… I decided…"

"Oooh la la~" Manon spun around, cheerfully. "You are so sweet, Monsieur Kido!"

Daisuke blinked at that reaction. He looked down, feeling his cheeks burn in embarrassment. It was probably one of the few times he's ever gotten a compliment from anyone so that was a pretty nice feeling.

"It's just a shame that Riku and Emmeline aren't joining," Alina sighed to herself. "I know how much Riku wanted to come see this show and Emmeline loves this show so much…"

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked. "R-Riku… likes this show? I thought he didn't…."

"Oh, don't tell him I told you," Alina gave him a teasing grin.

Daisuke remained confused on what the hell was going on. If he had been here in Daily Life Part 3, he'd probably understand. But for now, Daisuke was going to have to remain ignorant until the doors to the Waiting Room opened.

And just like that…

The entrance to the Auditorium opened…

And another jingle…

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Alina, Daisuke, and Manon all looked at one another. Then, collectively, they sighed.

"Zis Red Light, Green Light Playtime Event is annoying, non?" Manon folded her arms as the three began to share their collar colors…

"Yep, agreed," Alina sighed.

(Auditorium)

Luckily for them, Alina, Daisuke, and Manon's colors were Green, allowing them to move straight from the Waiting Room into the Auditorium.

"Oh right!" Alina smiled. "This is your first time here, isn't it Daisuke? So, what do you think?"

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked.

He looked around the place.

Alina was right. This was the first time he ever stepped foot into the Ultimate Doctor's Attraction. And realistically speaking, the only reason he was here was just to distract himself from the inevitable. He was in the same boat as mostly everyone else.

D-Day was among them.

The girl was set to die.

And Daisuke felt just as useless as everyone else did. At this point, he'd wondered if everyone was going on and doing something like this just to avoid the harsh reality. That perhaps this was all a ploy to escape from what they all knew to be the neglect of a child's death. That perhaps they were turning the other way…

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" Alina turned to Daisuke, tilting her head in confusion.

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked, shaking out of his thoughts. "I– I didn't say anything!"

"No no, I think I–" Alina shook her head.

"Let us sit together, Madame Summers!" Manon excitedly grabbed Alina by her hand and dragged her to the left section of seats.

"And let us sit together!"

"WAGHHHH!" Daisuke suddenly screamed as he felt the hot yet chilly breath of Beauté Morose wisp through his hair. "W-WHEN DID YOU GET HERE?!"

"Ah heh heh, a minute ago," Beauté giggled before smirking. "Waiting Room doors are still open. And oh my, you are absolutely perfect with Aidan Brighton…"

"H-Huh…" Daisuke's face flushed. He twiddled his fingers as he goofily grinned. "Y-You really think so…?"

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that," Beauté giggled. "I meant how fun it would be just to mess with you and Aidan. Like, maybe I'll sandwich you together and pin you in a toothpick and an olive kinda way-"

"O-Okay, I don't need the mental image, th-thank you!" Daisuke looked horrified.

"Non, seriously, Madame Morose," Manon blinked, surprised at Beauté's presence. "I zink ze better question is why are you here?"

"Just curious, is all," Beauté cryptically said before shaking her head and leaning back against her seat. "But in reality, I suppose it would be more correct to say that I heard that Manon was wanting to watch a show instead of focusing on the big moment…"

"Ze big moment?" Manon blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"Um, let's not–" Alina spoke up.

"Oh my… that electric shock sure did a number on you, didn't it?" Beauté looked down, feigning tears.

Then, her face shifted into a smirk.

"Today is the final day…" Beauté smirked. "The day that poor little girl gets killed by Monoyena. Are you sure you should be hanging out here, celebrating…?"

"...Quoi?" Manon blinked.

"Beauté!" Alina gasped.

"So, you're here for the show. Excellent. Welcome dear patients. What you are about to witness is a show unlike you've ever seen. The stage will move and shift as it pleases and to prevent any accidents and operations by my hand… Hmhmhm… Trust me, you wouldn't want that… Please remain seated at all times, do not touch the performers, and of course, no filming or flash photography is permitted. Got that?"

The voice of Doctor Eternos had appeared to give his usual rules about the show.

"Good. Now then, on with the show!"

"O-Oh, what's happening to the lights–" Daisuke saw that the lights were dimming down.

Alina turned to Manon, noticing that her excited face had turned to shock. She knew for sure now that all of that had slipped her mind. And unfortunately, that was all Alina was able to make out of her face as the lights blocked any opportunity to see her properly. But she could tell that Manon was feeling tense.

The music began.

And Alina knew that this was about to be the most awkward 45-minute show ever…

…

The show went on as it usually did.

The music was just as it was before. The Name Is Doctor Eternos still hit hard but the more Alina thought about how the girl sitting next to her was feeling, the more the music felt out of it for her. She let her eyes trail toward that bitch who sat behind Daisuke. And though, she couldn't exactly make out her face…

…Alina could tell that Beauté was pleased with herself.

Almost smirking.

Then:

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Alina widened her eyes.

Even now, the Playtime Event jingle would leak through the performance…?

…

Liam, Count to Three was next on the playlist.

Alina glanced around.

The aura radiating off of Manon was tense. She wasn't as excited as she had been this morning and it showed. Normally, throughout this performance, she'd be cheering and clapping and yet here she was, quiet and stone-faced. Alina was sure there was so much in her mind that was going on…

Alina bit her lip.

Even she couldn't focus on the music…

Then:

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Right in the middle of the song too…

…

Curse the Doctor, the Monster, the Caster was the next thing that played.

But even the blue moon didn't want to show up. The monster had long appeared after its terrifying slam and roar. And yet the room was left in strict darkness as the singing voice of Doctor Eternos lamented in the air.

This was something new, but Alina could care little about that for now.

She had snuck glances at Daisuke, who had been horrified by the reveal of the monster.

Then, she snuck a glance toward Manon. Still quiet.

Then finally, Beauté… Still smirking at the silence in the room.

And finally, what felt like hours finally ended with:

Red Light

Green Light

One, two, three!

Alina sighed in relief…

…

By the time the lights turned back on, Alina narrowed her eyes and stood up. She marched up to Beauté, hands on her hips, fully committed to the cause of confronting her. After all, this was all Manon's plan, and she was really looking forward to it so why...?

"Did you really have to go ahead and ruin this for Manon?!" Alina frowned. "She literally just recovered from her really bad electric shock!"

So, did she, but… She wasn't going to mention that. At least, not yet.

"Ruin?" Beauté blinked, feigning confusion. "Oh my, I thought she was just heartless. Did she truly not know…? Or rather... not remember...?"

Beauté took out her hand fan and covered the lower half of her face. But despite her attempts at hiding it, Alina knew all too well she was smirking. Maybe even laughing behind her fan. And it really irritated Alina.

"No, you did this on purpose didn't you?" Alina frowned. "You intentionally ruined her day because–"

"And what if I did?" Beauté smirked. "I mean, a child is about to die, Alina. And yet you're here telling me off for ruining a supposedly happy occasion? What occasion is that? A child dying? Do you even hear yourself right now…?"

Alina said nothing in that regard.

"Madame Summers," Manon spoke up, having stood up and looking rather dejected. "...Why did you not tell me? Non. Why didn't anyone tell me…?"

"I…" Alina blinked. "I thought maybe it was…"

"A what?" Beauté leaned forward with a sadistic smile on her face. She had long put her hand fan away as she did this. "An escape from reality? Because that is secretly why you joined isn't it? To turn a blind eye? To just ignore the fact that she is going to die…?"

"N-No!" Alina yelled out. "It's not like that!"

"And what is it like then?" Beauté smirked.

"Manon!" Alina turned to her. "Look! You seemed so happy! I just didn't want to ruin it for you! I mean, you felt so good saving Kazuki that I just–"

Manon seemed to take in what Alina was saying. But at this point, this entire charade was a mess. A goddamn fiasco.

"Ah heh heh heh," Beauté chuckled. "So, you just let her have her moment of peace even knowing full well that a child would be in danger? Ah heh heh heh… you have an interesting way of thinking."

"Beauté, can you stop twisting my actions for once–" Alina was about to finish saying before:

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

All three girls turned toward the stage and saw that Daisuke was on the floor. His face was pale, almost nearing blue. He tried to crawl away, but the three girls had hurried over to what he had seen.

"Agh!" Beauté stopped, instinctively touching the back of her neck.

As curious as she was, that Red collar on her back was not doing her any favors.

Manon and Alina raced over to Daisuke. Alina squatted down and helped him up, but it was clear that Daisuke was in no mood to even move. And it wasn't even the fact that his collar was Red (it was Green), but rather the fact that he was frozen in fear.

And the moment Manon reached the area first, she too, let out a scream.

"AGHHHHHHHH!"

Because hidden behind the walls of the Auditorium's set pieces was a horrific sight. It rested near the blue moon prop. And it didn't move. No. Wait. It wasn't even an 'it' but a 'they'. They were a person clearly once living and clearly devoid of any life.

Manon had similarly backed away, covering her mouth and trying not to cry.

Because what was happening was so surreal…

Because what she thought to be a good day was none other than a path to despair in a terrible guise…

Because who was laying on the ground in front of her was none other…

…

...

…than Emmeline Swan, the Ultimate Lepidopterist.

DANGANRONPA: TWISTED TRAGEDY

What's this?! Another chapter within two days?! AND it's the Body Discovery?! AND it's Emmeline who died?! AND it's the start of the Deadly Life for Chapter 1?! This is what happens when I'm finished with classes and my Finals! Ughhh! Feels niiiice!

Update for you all: Edited Trial Part 2. Are the Trials good to go? Not really. There are still some little kinks I need to work out to make sure everything makes sense. But other than that, Trials are already written. All that's left for Chapter 1 is Investigation and Chapter 1 Epilogue and then I can finally go back to Corrupted Hope, my beloved ;-;

Now, updates aside, first things first:

Emmeline Swan. Thank you so much to Prince PokePersona for allowing me to write her! Of the first victims I've written, which is two, three if you count Mindy Misuto *cough cough*, Emmeline was definitely the best to write. She had the funniest gimmick, which was her constantly popping pills. I loved having her call everyone by their honorifics and first name. It was just so cute and overall, Emmeline was such a cute character! But the moment I received her, I knew for a fact she was going to be my Chapter 1 victim. She was the epitome of innocence and for a story that builds on destroying innocence... like y'know... the children that are constantly under threat... it just made sense to me that she had to go first D:

Slight hiccups that occurred when writing her: just the overall balance between her childlike innocence, a showcase that she can be smart, and her lacking energy in some parts. Was a little difficult to balance but it should be fine regardless.

I promised Otterplay, even though the bastard didn't read my chapter, that I'd shout him out if he finished publishing his most recent chapter so here goes:

Please go check out Otterplay's Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alterations! If you liked Prince's character Emmeline, you bet that he'll have an equally fun character in Otterplay's fic too ;D

Anyways, look forward to the Investigation Chapter probably also coming this week :0 Writing rampage till the 15th! So be on the lookout :) Please let me know how I've been portraying these characters! Sempi, I need you to give me reassurance that I'm doing Manon justice XE And follow me on Twitter... sorry. X. Or MuskEnterpr- Who even knows at this point?!

Virxels out!

...

Wait. Virxels-?

Playmates Remaining: 15

Aidan Brighton - The Ultimate Track Star [Omakin]

Alina Summers - The Ultimate Maestro [Otterplay]

Alisa Zachary - The Ultimate Clockmaker [ExtraMeme]

Beautè Morose - The Ultimate ? [Grandma Sue]

Daisuke Kido - The Ultimate Fast-Food Employee [CandleFire45]

Fábio Barbosa - The Ultimate Figure Skater [Rayy12]

Issac Santiago - The Ultimate Toymaker [oddlyillregular]

Kazuki Nobukatsu - The Ultimate Philanthropist [emberblitz321]

Kikuko Unmei - The Ultimate Shrine Priestess [WolfieRed23]

Manon Vivienne Levesque - The Ultimate Actress [Sempi]

Marabel "Mara" Garcia - The Ultimate Karate Master [Epifanio Therion]

Riku Arakawa - The Ultimate Doctor [theotakureader101]

Roderick Cutler - The Ultimate Deep Sea Fisherman [Orlando Butler]

Yukihiko Yuno - The Ultimate Child Caregiver [Weekaro]

Yumi Gundo - Ultimate Gunslinger [MrUtenaHolic]