Chapter 2: Toxic Words, Venomous Actions (Part 3)
Warning!
This is a Danganronpa Fic, so expect dark and serious themes! And also expect some choice words that might upset people - thanks to a certain Gas Station Manager! But also expect fun and whimsical themes as well! I hope you enjoy!
[Pheme's Room]
"Oh... this is pretty neat!" Pheme was currently looking at something over the camera feed.
"Hm? What is "pretty neat" Miss Pheme?" The Figure, almost like they overheard the narration, was curious at what Pheme was looking at.
"Oh, it's just the Horror Studio!" Pheme showed The Figure the camera feed. "I'm so excited to utilize it... oh! And I also found someone who would fit well in it! Our tenth person!" Pheme handed The Figure a document she had next to her.
"They'd fit well hm?" The Figure took the document and started to read over it. "I see... Yoshino Akiyama, the Ultimate Horror Novelist. Fascinating. She very well might be good."
"Right? Oh, and don't worry. I know how these go. I already have a video of her pulled up!" Pheme move her chair over to the computer. "Shall we?"
The Figure chuckled. "Indeed we shall Miss Pheme. Indeed we shall..."
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[Akiyama Residence]
"Yoshino! Can you come down here?"
"Yoshino! It's dinner time sweetie!"
Ishiyama and Sadako Akiyama, the parents of Yoshino Akiyama, had just finished preparing dinner, and wanted their daughter to come down from her room.
"In a minute mom! Give me a second dad!" The currently 13-year old Yoshino yelled out from her room, unaware if her parents actually heard her. Even if they hadn't, she didn't particularly care right now. She was right in the thick of finishing up her next Horror Short Story -The Tragedy of Ardnaraj. Yoshino honesty really liked it, and she was confident her followers would like it.
The story was about two people... a cop and a criminal. They started off as enemies, but they overtime became romantically interested in one another. This was Yoshino's first attempt at putting any romance at all into one of her stories, but she decided to just give it a try. It wasn't like it was the focus anyway, as the horror was obviously the focus.
Anyway, the horror starts when the cop suddenly turns up missing. Written in blood at his last known location was "Mark Silver XVI." Mark Silver was the name of a notorious serial killer going around. And he killed his victims in extremely weird and gruesome ways, such as burning them, freezing them, crushing them, shredding them, and more. People had taken to calling him the reincarnation of the demon "Cuello Blanco." The criminal tries to find out how the cop died... but they end up having an intense confrontation with the Cuello Blanco. And... well, anything else would be spoilers.
"Okay... that should be good!" Yoshino finished up proofreading and editing the story. "Well..." She skimmed over the story one more time. "Screw it. Let's do it!" And she posted it under her online username, StalkerLover128. Alright, with that settled, she got up from her computer, and went to leave her room. The sudden burst of light from the hallway almost blinded her. She usually keeps her room in the dark, for the sake of setting the mood for whenever she writes. The light flooding in also afforded her to clearly see all the little horror drawings and figurines she had all over her room. Suffice to say, she was definitely a horror nut.
"Yoshino honey! Come down already! Dinner is going to get cold!" Her father Ishiyama yelled out.
Yoshino rolled her eyes. "Yeah yeah! I'm coming!" Her parents could get so impatient sometimes. But to quell that impaitence, she made her way downstairs.
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"There you are sweetie! It's good to see you out of room!" Her mother Sadako said half-jokingly.
Yoshino rolled her eyes again. "Mom, you act like I spend all day in there. I go out and socialize you know! I'm not a NEET!"
Sadako sighed. "I know that Yoshino... I do. But again, I must say that..."
"What mom?" Yoshino put her hands on her hips.
"Honey..." Ishiyama stepped in. "We are of course open to you having interests... but horror? Really? It's not healthy to spend so much time on that stuff."
Ugh... the same lecture again? Ever since Yoshino had first gotten interested in horror, her parents had been fairly disapproving. Yoshino never saw a problem with it... but her parents sure did! And they loved to remind her that they did too. It sure got annoying after a while.
"Dad. Mom. C'mon. This stuff again? Why does it matter? I'm engaging in something I like... and people online like it too! Like what the hell is your problem?" Yoshino was getting really sick of it.
"Sweetie..." Sadako slowly shook her head. "We've been over this. We say this because we don't want you exposing yourself to gorey and freaky things. You're still fairly impressionable and young you know! We don't want you to be-"
"Save it mom! You're freaking out over nothing!" Yoshino rose her voice.
"Sadako. Yoshino. Let's just... enjoy dinner. Please." Ishiyama opted to play peacemaker here. And besides, he was getting hungry just staring at the hamburg steak they'd made.
"Yeah. C'mon." Yoshino said passive-aggressively as she sat down.
Sadako sighed again. She was just looking out for her daughter. Yoshino was of course able to do whatever she set her mind to... but she didn't feel good about her daughter getting into horror at such a young age. "Fine... yes. Let us enjoy dinner as a family shall we?" Sadako gave in and sat down.
The Akiyama family was far from a disfunctional family. They were a very loving one in fact. But with Yoshino being fairly brash and eager to say whatever is on her mind, plus her parents being overprotective... well, it can make for a rocky combination at times.
"Hamburg steak! Hell yeah!" Yoshino smiled as she started to dig into her food.
The rest of the dinner consisted mainly of small-talk.
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"Aight! Thanks mom! Thanks dad!" Yoshino jumped up as she finished her food. She then put her plate in the sink, and immediately went back up to her room.
"Sweetie!" Sadako called out. But to no avail, as only one thing was on Yoshino's mind right now. Her new short story.
As soon as she got back to her room, Yoshino opened up the comments on the story. She wasted no time at all.
Otterplay (7:09 PM): This story was great! The cop and the criminal should've ended up together in the end. Man, I don't like that Mark Silver guy.
ExtraMeme (7:10 PM): True. The tragedy and whatever of the story was great, but I wish they ended up together. Man, I don't like that Mark Silver guy.
aertur2theiind (7:12 PM): The criminal was kinda mean, but the story was good!
CandleFire45 (7:13 PM): Bestie... this was so good! It was short and sweet, with a good villian! I LOVE Cuello Blanco!
Omakin (7:14 PM): This was good, good romance and horror mix. The cop and criminal were cute together. If only that Mark Silver guy didn't split them up. I don't like that guy.
SilverMark16 (7:16 PM): Wait a second- actually nah. I don't like that Mark Silver guy either.
bigHorrorl0ver128 (7:18 PM): Another story from my sweet StalkerLover128? Amazing! You always please me! Have my babies!
That babies guy even has an online account?
"People liked it! Hell yeah!" Yoshino seemingly didn't care about that as she cheered to herself as she looked over the comments. "Good... good... good!" She loved to see it. Yeah... mom and dad were worried over nothing. Yoshino... she was going to make something of this! She was determined to!
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"Holy fuck... this is... insane." A now 16-year old Yoshino sat in her chair, watching the sales of her horror novel, The Lamp of Yamaika. It was her first actual novel that she's ever written, and it was selling like crazy. It hasn't even been twelve hours at this point, and it had already sold over 18,000 copies. She didn't know why it was selling so good, but she certainly wasn't complaining. But, considering what her inspiration was, that could perhaps be a reason why it's selling so good.
"Sweetie... wow." Sadako stood behind her daughter as she watched the sales rise higher and higher.
"Yoshino... that's amazing." Ishiyama stood in shock as he watched with his wife and daughter.
"See?" Yoshino turned around with a smug look on her face. "I know why you guys are scared and worried and shit... but c'mon! Look!" She gestured to the monitor. "I can do this! And... I'll be..."
"Sweetie..." Sadako put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. She... really was worried. She'd never stop worrying. And she was confident Ishiyama felt the same too. Then especially after... what happened... her worry for her daughter increased tenfold. But... "Let's see how this goes shall we?" Sadako smiled as she gave her daughter a gentle look. She tried to stay strong.
"Yeah... hell yeah!" Yoshino got even more excited. Depending on how this goes... well, she'll just wait and see.
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A full month had passed. "Oh my god! Mom! Dad!" Yoshino yelled out as she burst through the door to her home. The Lamp of Yamaika had recently surpassed 1.5 million copies sold. Yoshino had been reveling in her success. And her reveling would reach its peak after coming back from checking the mail.
"Sweetie? What is it?"
"Yoshino? What's the matter?"
Sadako and Ishiyama walked into the entryway of their home, slightly concerned by the racket.
"It's... it's..." Yoshino didn't mean to build up suspense, but she was. "It's... Hope's Peak Academy! Fuck yeah!" She excitedly tossed the letter in the air.
"What? Really?" Ishiyama caught the letter with a curious look on his face. "...the Ultimate Horror Novelist?"
"..." Sadako had no words. "Sweetie..." It was a bit surreal to think that the thing that she was so concerned over... her daughter was thriving in it. She still had mixed feelings about it all, but... "I'm so proud of you!" She hugged her daughter.
"Yeah... never thought I'd make it here... but I ain't objecting! Hell yeah!" Yoshino couldn't stop celebrating. Stuff may have happened to her... but she didn't let that deter her. In the end... she'd prefer to be obscure over being famous. But even she couldn't deny the money and recognition being useful. She wouldn't want her name to be plastered everywhere... but if she could go down in history... she'd be satisfied.
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[Pheme's Room]
"Oh! It's done!" Pheme gave a satisfied nod. "She was awfully cute wasn't she? A little go-getter huh?" Pheme smirked at The Figure while she half-mocked Yoshino.
"Indeed. She really is... oh." The Figure noticed something of note on Yoshino's form. "Miss Pheme. Have a look." They handed Pheme the form. "Here." They pointed to a certain part.
"Oh wow! That sure is something! That sounds like fun!" Pheme's eyes lit up with malice.
"Yes... especially for a certain... thing. It'll be rather "fun," like you said." The Figure worded ominously.
Pheme narrowed her eyes. "A certain thing? What thing?"
"Actually nevermind, I don't care!" Pheme cut The Figure off by jumping up out of her chair. "But what for what I do care about... how do we feel about Ms. Akiyama? I mean... a girl who would dare run away from the spotlight like that? A girl who would denounce fame itself? I mean, she's essentially denouncing me by doing that! And in that case...
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She simply doesn't deserve to be alive!" She dropped her usual line.
The Figure chuckled. He was always rather amused by Pheme's antics. "I suppose... yes. Yoshino Akiyama will be the tenth member of the Killing Game."
"Yes! How exciting!" Pheme shot her hands up in the air. "With a personality like hers, she's bound to make the game more exciting..."
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[Yoshino's Room]
"Alright! I'm excited to get this day going!" Yoshino shot up out of her bed before Pheme's morning announcement even played, in attempt to psyche herself up for the day. There wasn't really anything to be excited about... but she didn't want to let that stop her. Well, there was the whole drinking party thing. She didn't hate drinking, but she was kinda "eh" about the whole thing. She trusted Ji-hoon enough to get rid of any possible weapons and whatever... but it was still something she was a little anxious for.
But that's enough of that! She changed out of the cow onesie she wears to bed, and put on her normal outfit. Another thing Yoshino didn't understand is how Pheme had so many damn copies of seemingly everyone's preferred outfit. Maybe she had someone stalk them or- eh, she didn't want to think about that. It was time to get going!
[VIP Quarters]
"Hello my glamorous stars! It is now 8am, and that means it's morning time! It's time to wake up and get moving! Get ready for a day full of stardom!"
Oh, there it was. Yoshino was glad she trained her body to not wake up to that shit.
"O-Oh! Good morning Yoshino!" It seemed like Adam was the first one to come out of his room.
"Heya Ade! How's it going?" Yoshino held out her hand for a fistbump
Adam stood awkwardly for a second. "Ah!" He returned the fistbump.
Yoshino chuckled. She had already learned that Adam could be a little awkward at times, but that kinda threw her off. "Ade? You not know what a fistbump is?" It's times like these where she was grateful Genjiro wasn't here, because he'd definitely find a way to tease Adam about this.
"Huh? N-No..." Adam sheepishly adjusted his glasses. "I suppose I'm n-not used to h-having friends like you? Sorry, w-was that rude?" Despite how smart the academic was, he didn't know the best way to word that.
"Ha ha! I getcha!" Yoshino wasn't surprised. Adam didn't seem the type to have friends like her. "That wasn't rude Ade, don't worry man. And... I guess we are friends aren't we?" She just then realized the implications of those words.
"S-Should I not of said t-that? Was t-that-" Adam started to get afraid he said something that was too presumptuous.
"Nah, you're good!" Yoshino patted him on the shoulder. It hadn't really hit her... but they were friends weren't they? That wasn't a bad thing at all. But that hadn't sunk in yet for her. "We are friends Ade! I'd like to think that we all have a bond between us already... or some shit." She was better at social interaction than Adam was, but even she wasn't sure of a non-cheesy way to word that.
"Heh, p-perhaps..." Adam chuckled as he started to think. "I k-know we've discussed this b-before, but if we can f-foster that bond... then that would be the o-objectively b-best outcome. That way, Pheme w-wouldn't be able to b-break us apart." The academic smiles proudly.
Yoshino smiled as well. "Couldn't have said it better myself Ade!"
"Nyahaha! Friendship? Bonds? You humans are pathetic!" Cathy swooped in from who knows where, eager to get some screen time after not appearing in the last chapter. "You humans will never learn will you?" She put her hands on her hips.
Yoshino groaned. "Great... it's you." She would've even preferred Genjiro over Cathy. At least the big guy is upfront and everything. But Cathy just sneaks around... she didn't like it. "What do you want Cathy?"
"What do I want? How foolish! You should already know! Nyaha!" Cathy laughed haughtily. "I've heard you humans talking about this "drinking party" yes? How foolish!" She repeated the same line.
"Foolish? Why's that?" Like he was there the entire time, Darren was casually leaning against the wall.
"C'mon Cathy... I think it could be pretty fun-nya!" Kuroko waltzed into the scene.
"Oh perfect! The faker is here!" Cathy scoffed at the sight of Kuroko. "Nobody wants you here faker! You wannabe! Unkindly scuttle off now! Nyahaha!" The cat burglar shooed the hypnotist away.
Kuroko looked offended. "But why-nya? What's your problem with me-nya?" She put her hands on her hips.
"Nyahaha! I have plenty!" Cathy pointed at Kuroko. "You are-"
"Roko, don't pay her any attention!" Yoshino stepped between the cat girls. "Cathy, don't try and incite chaos please! This is ridiculous!"
"Nyaha! You're so transparent horror novelist human!" Cathy took a smug step back. "So be it. I wouldn't want to waste time on that faker anyway! Nyahaha!" She pointed again and laughed.
"Hey, what's with the fucking-" Joji angrily walked out of his room, seemingly alerted by the commotion. "What is- oh it's Cathy." His anger ironically simmered down at that sight.
"Joji? Are y-you alright?" Adam had admittedly expected Joji to perhaps freak out on Cathy, following the logic of previous circumstances.
"Huh?" Joji looked down at the academic. "Yeah, I'm fine Adam. Don't worry!" He put his hand on Adam's shoulder as he worked to control his temper. Between Alpha and Cathy, Cathy was the one who was more infuriating, if he was being honest. He didn't even know what to say to get her to fuck off.
"Oh! The carpenter human has came out of his room?" Cathy reacted to Joji's presence. "And wow, I'm impressed you haven't told me to... what? What are the words you humans use? "Fuck off"? "Beat the shit out of me"? Nyaha! Like you ever could!" The cat burglar just loved to tease all these humans. Sorry Kadachi, she ain't changing any time soon.
Joji kept taking deep breaths. "I'm not going to do that... unless you go a bit too far." He tried to subtly warn her. He didn't want to lose it right now.
"Oh? And what would you define as too far? Hm?" Cathy smugly sauntered up to the carpenter human. "You know, you're doing awfully impressive carpenter human! You always seemed the same type as that gross wrestler human. Constantly making threats? Constantly losing your temper? I mean, all humans lose their tempers. It's how you work. But-"
*SLAP*
"Cathy!" Yoshino slapped the cat girl. "Shut up! Nobody wants to hear this shit! Cut it out!" She stepped between her and Joji. "Why is it so difficult for us all to just work together?!"
Cathy blinked as she held her hand up to her face. She rubbed her now stinging cheek. "Pah." She turned away. "I didn't think you were that spirited horror novelist human."
"Hey! I heard a lot of noise out here! Is everyone okay?" Lake ran out of their room.
"Oh! Lake!" Joji ran over to them. "Don't worry. It's just... Cathy being Cathy."
"Oh..." Lake looked down awkwardly. "Cathy...? Can you calm down maybe?" They tried to talk her down anyway.
"Lake, I don't know if I would-" Joji attempted to stop the ballet dancer. But...
"This isn't me listening to you ballet dancer human... but I suppose!" Cathy got back on all-fours to stretch her lower back, then jumped back up. "I think I've had enough. Honestly, it always surprises me to see how seriously you humans take things! Nyahaha!"
Yoshino slowly blinked. "Wait... so you weren't serious?"
"I wouldn't say that!" Cathy relaxed and put her hands behind her head. "You humans are deserving of contempt... but it's just so fun to mess with you all! Nyaha!"
"Wow. Real classy Cathy." Ji-hoon walked up. "I was wondering what the noise was." He crossed his arms. "So is this all a game to you then?"
"Nyahaha! It's the celebrity detective human! How amusing!" Cathy pointed and laughed at the man.
"Why... is that amusing to you? And why are you like this?" Ji-hoon was already messing up. He should know better than to ask Cathy anything.
"Ji-hoon, I don't think asking this sassy lady anything is going to get us anywhere." Copying Darren and the narration, Kei was leaning against a wall behind the celebrity detective. "I think she just wants to have fun."
"Nyaha! At least the lawyer human gets it!" Cathy couldn't help but laugh. "And I don't need to tell you anything celebrity detective human." She scoffed at him. "Besides, I think it's time for the rest of the humans to finally show up!" Wanting to expedite this scene a little, Cathy decided to wait for everyone else to show up.
"Cathy sis... you are wild. Like what?" Raiha rubbed her sleepy eyes as she stepped out of her room.
"Yes... I hate to be rude, but this... is quite the way to wake up." Aurora came out of her room a few seconds after her bestie.
"Oh! The little girlfriends are here?" Cathy gave the girls a saucy smirk. "I thought you two might've-"
"What the fuck are you doing pussy cat?!" Cutting off her teasing, Genjiro charged out of his room. "Shit... I missed a lot didn't I?! Ha ha!"
"You fuckers are taking way too long to leave. Who gives a shit about the cat with its pussy hanging out?" Alpha seemed pretty tired as she left her room as well, and immediately left the VIP Quarters. Nobody stopped her.
"W-What is happening?" Ayaka slowly crept out of her room, a baffled look on her masked face.
"I... don't know." Hell, even Rival came out.
"Rival bestie?! How are you?!" Raiha naturally was curious to see how he was doing, considering their faux-therapy session yesterday.
"Um... eh." Rival tiredly shrugged... then went back in his room.
"A-And he's gone." Ayaka blinked.
"I wouldn't worry about him my dear Ayaka." Damien phased into existence behind his dear Ayaka. "My dear Raiha most likely had an effect on him... but he still needs time." He put a hand on her shoulder.
"That... m-makes sense." Ayaka looked down at the ground.
"So..." Damien looked around. "It appears I missed a lot of mischief caused by my dear Catherine. Would someone care to fill me in?"
"The girl is just having fun apparently." The last person Damien would've wanted to fill him in, Darren, lightly chuckled and took a sip of his drink that he somehow had. "...It also seems like she thinks the drinking party is a bad idea." The bartender shrugged.
"Oh? Is that correct my dear Catherine?" Damien called out, in attempt to get his dear Catherine's attention.
"Hmm? Why would I even give you the time of day beautician human?" Cathy glared at him.
Damien chuckled. "I suppose you don't have to if you don't want to. I was merely curious." He chuckled again. "If you are going to cause chaos in our midst, you could at least give an explanation. Something more than "it's fun" perhaps?"
"It sounds like that is the reason though." Darren took another sip of his drink.
"Forgive me, but was I asking you?" Damien kindly gave the bartender a look.
"No. You weren't." And that was all Darren said.
"Yes... that's correct." Damien turned his attention back to his dear Catherine. "So my dear Catherine? Will you scuttle away like always, or will you give us any words this time?"
"Damien, it ain't worth it to ask this chick any questions." Yoshino groaned. "Not worth the trouble." She was already sick of dealing with Genjiro, so she didn't want to add Cathy to that list. She was silently grateful she didn't show up too often.
"Yeah, I gotta agree with Yoshi here. This pussy ain't worth our time!" Genjiro spat at her.
"Nyaha! I often forgot how bold and stupid you humans can be!" Cathy giggled. "But it's fun to prove you humans wrong, so I'll explain, if you so wish!" The cat girl pranced around like she owned the place. "It's simple... I believe the gas station manager human has the same take..." She smugly glared at Ayaka. "Someone is bound to perish there. How could someone not?" She then slowly walked up to Ayaka. "You truly think the puppeteer human and the backup dancer non-human will be the only victims? That's a laughable mentality!"
"B-But-" Ayaka tried to retort.
"I wasn't finished violinist human!" Cathy shushed her. "You know... it's awfully strange. You never seemed like the type to suggest an idea like this violinist human."
"W-What are you implying?" Ayaka tried to stand strong.
Cathy snuck a glance at the beautician human. "Nothing! Nyahaha!" She backflipped away. "I think I've had enough fun for today! Just know that when one of you humans inevitably fall, it'll be all her fault! Nyahaha!" She pointed an accusatory finger at Ayaka, then darted away to who knows where.
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"She's gone...geez-nya. What's with her attitude-nya? And why does she keep calling me a faker-nya?!" Kuroko had a lot of questions, but no answers.
"I wouldn't think too hard about it Roko. She's just... whatever." Yoshino didn't even want to think about her. Just a waste a time.
"Damn right Yoshi!" Genjiro stomped his foot. "That pussy is gonna get her uh... comeuppance eventually!" He had to take a second to think of the right word.
"Sure hope so..." Yoshino tiredly shook her head.
"I acknowledge t-that feeding into Cathy's ramblings... p-probably isn't l-logical." Adam started to absentmindedly twirl a pencil around in his hand. "But h-how do we feel about her c-claim? I can't imagine s-someone would die at the party... but h-how does everyone else f-feel?"
"I... can't believe someone will!" Lake was adamant. "We have no reason to kill each other... and nobody is going to die at the party!"
"Fuck yeah Lake! You tell 'em!" Joji supported them.
"It'd be a buzzkill if someone did die there." And that was all Darren had to offer.
"Strange way to word that, but I agree with you." Damien kept his hand on his dear Ayaka's shoulder.
"So everyone is basically all for it?" Kei looked around. "Seems like it. Good. It'd be a shame to let Cathy ruin our... drive? Probably a good word to use."
"Oh yeah! That totes reminds me!" Raiha got totes reminded of something. "Joji bestie, Kei bestie, Damien kinda-bestie, and Ji-hoon kinda-bestie. What ever happened with the dangerous stuff? Likes the poisons and whatevs?"
"Y-Yes, what plan did y-you end up going with for those?" Adam pocketed his pencil.
"I suppose we never explained what we did with those to everyone did we?" Kei sighed. "Well-"
"Excuse me, am I *cough* interrupting something?" After who knows how long after the morning announcement, Rosalind finally left her room.
"Oh! Rosa! You alright?" Yoshino was slightly concerned.
"Hm? Oh, you don't need to *cough* worry about me. And I don't want to bring down your clearly important meeting with my *cough* presence." Rosalind hobbled towards the stairs to leave.
"Nah, you stay here Rosalind." Joji stopped her, as he was standing right near the stairs. "You aren't bringing down shit. Besides, we got stuff we'd like for you to hear!" He tried to be careful around the cinematographer, as he knew she could be a little... frail.
"...As you wish." Rosalind turned around, then sauntered over to a corner, away from everyone else.
"Well there we go! The whole crew is here!" Kei chuckled. "So... about what we did with the dangerous things." He gave Ji-hoon a look.
Ji-hoon cleared his throat. "We took care of them. Rest assured, they won't be a problem." He explained vaguely.
"Okay! Good!" Lake was satisfied with the response.
"Y-Yes... I trust Ji-hoon then." Adam seemed satisfied too.
But... "That's pretty vague Jiji." Yoshino couldn't help but notice.
"Hm? You don't trust our glorious leader?" Kei added with a bit of snark.
Yoshino wasn't in the mood for snark right now. "I didn't say that you idiot! Just kinda ominous is all." She shrugged.
Damien chuckled. "I can understand that... but it'll be alright. There won't be anything to worry about. They're safe and secure." He attempted to reassure her.
"Alright... fine." Yoshino crossed her arms.
"I get where you're coming from Yoshi-nya! But in my opinion, we should just trust them-nya!" Kuroko shrugged.
"Yeah yeah I get it!" Yoshino just wanted to move on now.
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Seeing that everyone had seemingly been fine with the explanation, Ji-hoon decided to move on. "With that out of the way... I want to move on to another topic."
"Hm? And what would that be?" Aurora tilted her head.
"The Romance Studio." Ji-hoon reminded everyone. "I want to get together a group to tackle it today. The quicker we do that, the better."
"That's correct..." Damien had almost forgotten.
"Yeah! Pheme said we gotta solve an optional puzzle or something? TBH, IDK what to think, but it could be kinda slay? She didn't explain what the puzzle was tho. Just that there had to be "eight people" in the room." Raiha stole Ji-hoon's thunder.
"I remember my dear Raiha bringing that up." Damien reminded everyone. "Eight people hm? Or, more like seven people correct? I assume you'll be doing it Ji-hoon?"
"Correct." Ji-hoon nodded his head. "I want to gather seven other people to do it. So...?" He waited for responses.
And it didn't take long for him to get some. "I think I'd like to join." Damien volunteered. "I'm curious enough about it."
"R-Really?" Ayaka looked at him.
"Yes really!" Damien nodded. "Why don't you join me my dear Ayaka? I shall keep you safe of course." He reassured her. "Besides, we never know what we may find there."
"Um..." She was on the fence... but if Damien was going to be there... "Okay. I'll j-join too." Ayaka volunteered.
"Alright, that's two then. Five more." Ji-hoon looked around, hoping for more volunteers.
"Nah... yeah. YK what? I'm down. It could be kinda hype." Raiha volunteered. She then leaned in closer to her bestie Aurora. "You should join too Aurora!" She whispered to her.
"Hm? But why?" Aurora returned the whisper.
"IK you're still looking for Bessie's Star-Phone... but you should chill for now. Take a break yeah?" Raiha suggested.
Right... ever since Raiha reported back to her that she wasn't able to fine Bessie's Star-Phone or her remote, Aurora had tried asking everyone else if they had seen it. But she hadn't had any luck so far. Now... she was assuming someone stole it. And who else would steal them but Cathy? She didn't know why someone would steal them in the first place, but Cathy was the type to just steal for fun.
And if she was right about that... "I'll join as well Ji-hoon." Aurora volunteered. Getting it back from Cathy would be no easy feat. So she opted to take Raiha's break suggestion.
"Ooo... if Aurora and Raiha are joining, I'll join too-nya! How could I miss out on a chance to be close to two beautiful girls-nya?" Kuroko volunteered.
Aurora blushed and Raiha giggled as their responses to Kuroko's statement.
"Okay... two left. C'mon." Ji-hoon didn't think this would go so well, but he wasn't objecting.
"I w-would like to j-join." Adam volunteered. "If this w-will consist of puzzles... I t-think it'd be l-logical for me to join as well." He explained his logic.
"Oh, that's a good point. Adam would probably be pretty good for this." Kei smirked. "Hell, I'll be the last one then. Why not?" Then Kei volunteered as well.
"Alright... good." Ji-hoon really hadn't expected this go so well... and it'd be a pretty decent group in terms of smarts too. He couldn't really object. "So it'll be myself, Kei, Adam, Kuroko, Aurora, Raiha, Damien, and Ayaka. Let's meet up there at about... 6:00 PM? We've already spent a good amount of time up here, and we haven't even eaten yet. I think that'll be a good time."
"Sure sure-nya!" Kuroko didn't have a problem with it.
"6:00 PM... eh. Sounds good to me!" Kei shrugged.
"Yeah... that puzzle solving... and I guess romance too... that ain't my thing. You guys have fun though!" Yoshino stretched out her arms. "But hell... Jiji is right. We've been standing here forever at this point. Shouldn't we... you know? Fucking eat something?"
"Yes... that's a *cough* good idea." Rosalind steadied herself with her parasol.
"Alright! Fucking finally!" Genjiro pumped his fists into the air. "I wouldn't want to join that bullshit puzzle anyway! I got shit to do today! So I'll get some grub, then get going! See you fuckers later!" The wrestler ran off.
Genjiro leaving broke the metaphorical flood gates, as after that, everyone else started to make their way down to the cafeteria to eat something, then get along with their day. The fact that they were starting to get used to this... the fact that this had essentially became their new normal... it, well, disturbed some of them to an extent. But things like the drinking party, and now the Romance Studio puzzle helped that feeling.
But after a breakfast filled with small talk, everyone split up to do their own thing...
[Grand Lobby]
"Ahh... that was some good grub!" Yoshino couldn't lie to herself, she was a little grateful that the food here wasn't actually half bad. If Pheme did feed them slop... that would only make this so much worse. But Pheme did seem like a lady with standards, no matter how psychotic those standards were.
"Alright. I gotta make myself busy today. Oh shit... maybe I should-" Yoshino was talking to herself as she wandered down the hallway of the Grand Lobby. But she cut herself off when she noticed a particular person sitting on one of the sofas. "Oh shit. Rosa? You alright?" Rosalind still both confused and concerned her. Her attitude and mannerisms really did throw her off. But she wouldn't object to learning more about her.
"Ah... Yoshino? Did you want to be here? Forgive *cough* me, I'll get out of your-" Rosalind attemped to stand up, but was cut off by Yoshino gently pushing her shoulder back down, causing her to sit back down.
"Nah, you don't gotta go anywhere just cause I walked by here Rosa! Stay there!" Yoshino decided to sit down next to her. She's never really gotten the chance to talk to Rosalind yet. She's been stuck in the background so far... ironically and arguably more than Rival and Darren even. So this'd be a good opportunity.
"Ah... are you *cough* sure?" Rosalind tilted her head.
"Course I am! C'mon, let's talk a little!" Yoshino knew she'd have to take the lead in this conversation.
Rosaling sighed, then layed her parasol out across her lap. "You... don't need to *cough* pity me. There's no need to go out of your way for me. Besides, it seemed as if you had a different destination in mind... judging by how you were walking. So don't feel forced to *cough* talk to me."
Damn. Girl really knew how to suck the air out of the room huh? "Rosa... stop with that crap! I see a person, and I want to talk with them. What's wrong with that?!"
"There's... nothing wrong with that." Rosalind shook her head. "I didn't mean to make you upset. It's just *cough* that... you can likely find better ways to spend your time than talking with someone like me-
*SLAP*
Rosalind slowly blinked as she felt a stinging sensation on her cheek. "Ow..." She muttered.
"Rosa. I'm sorry, but I mean this in the kindest way possible." Yoshino sounded scarily serious. "You... need to shut... up...!"
"Oh." Rosalind hadn't expected this to happen. "It sounds as if I might've *cough* made you angry. Forgive me." She apologized.
"No Rosa... you don't apologize. You don't have shit to apologize for." Yoshino was trying to balance out his fiery personality so her words get across to the cinematographer better. "You remember back when you, I, and Roko explored Roko's Ultimate Studio for this first time?"
"Yes... yes I do." Rosalind nodded.
"I certainly can see a point in, how you say, "sitting on your ass all the time". If I were to do that, that'd mean you two girls wouldn't have to be *cough* subjected to me." Rosalind sat up in her chair.
...
Yoshino attempted to reach for Rosalind's hand, but Rosalind swatted her away. "I don't need your help or assistance. Just... I'm fine. Don't worry so much about me." Rosalind looked away.
Yoshino didn't really have anger issues like Joji did, but Rosalind's attitude was starting to piss her off a little. But she held herself back, as there was no point in getting rude or aggressive. "Listen Rosa-"
"So you do remember that Rosa?" Yoshino put her hands on her hips.
"Yes... your attitude is one that is hard to *cough* forget. No offense." Rosalind spoke slowly.
"Okay... so why do you-" Yoshino stopped talking when she saw Rosalind slowly shaking her head. "What? What's up?" She wanted to hear what the cinematographer had to say before she did anything else.
"Yoshino... I've told Rival and Alpha this already." Rosalind looked away from Yoshino's intense gaze. "I work in an unpleasant and *cough* toxic industry... so it only makes sense I'm like this. Heh." She dryly chuckled. "I have nothing else to explain about that I'm afraid."
Yoshino really didn't accept that answer, but for the sake or the conversation, she just went with it. "So an unpleasant and toxic industry? Filmmaking? It doesn't seem so bad." She changed the topic.
"Heh... I'm afraid it is." Rosalind slowly shook her head. "Nepotism... favoritism... so many heinous things running *cough* rampant. People with horrible backgrounds achieved high up positions... and no one batted an *cough* eye. It's hard to witness."
"Jesus... it probably is." Yoshino wasn't in a wide and big industry like Rosalind was. She was just a person who liked to write horror books. But from the sound of it, Rosalind had been a part of a lot of big things. "But.. you still like your industry and shit right? You're an ultimate for a reason ain't you?"
"Hm... I suppose. Even throughout everything... my passion for film never left me." Rosalind adjusted her sunglasses. "Yoshino... I understand if you haven't... but have you *cough* heard of Little Roz Pictures?"
"Little Roz Pictures? Eh... can't say I have." Yoshino shook her head as she tried to think. "It'd be German yeah? Since you're German?"
Rosalind slowly nodded. "That's correct. After I left my initial *cough* place of work... I founded Little Roz Pictures. A number of employees from my old work place followed me out... and joined me *cough* as well. I couldn't work at that place anymore... after a certain scandal happened. At Little Roz Pictures... it was easier for me to *cough* achieve "the perfect shot.""
Yoshino widened her eyes. "Holy fuck. Some crazy shit must've happened at your workplace huh? Do you..."
She was going to ask Rosalind if she wanted to explain what exactly happened at her old workplace. But judging by her expression... she probably didn't want to say. But throughout all of this... Rosalind's passion for film definitely came through. So.. she wanted to change the subject away from something that seemed like a sensitive topic for the cinematographer. "Rosa... changing topics here... but have you done any horror movies before?" Yoshino was legitimately curious about this.
"Ah... horror?" Rosalind had to think for a moment. "Horror isn't my usual go-to project... but I've done a *cough* few. I do admittedly enjoy the genre myself."
"No shit?" Yoshino got a little excited. "Like what?" Sure the films were probably German, but there was still a chance she's seen them.
"Let's see... of *cough* note... have you seen "The Bank" and "Witch"?"
Yoshino's eyes lit up. "You're fucking with me! You worked on those movies?" She had evidently seen those movies.
Rosalind nodded. "Back when I was younger... yes. It appears that you've *cough* enjoyed them?"
"Hell yeah!" Yoshino stood up in excitement, causing Rosalind to get thrown back a bit. "I haven't watched them in a long time... but I remember liking them a lot!"
"That's..." Rosalind drifted off for a strange amount of time. "That's good. Good." She then sighed and looked up at Yoshino's face. Despite how honestly tired Rosalind was getting, she was curious about one thing. "Yoshino... how did you get into horror?"
"Me?" Yoshino didn't expect something to be asked of her. She had done all of this to help Rosalind open up... but if she was asking her stuff... then maybe it was working? "Well... I kinda just did!"
Rosalind blinked. "You... "just did?""
"Yep!" Yoshino stood proudly. "I grew up on a farm. I stumbled across shit like Sadako Yamamura, Jason Voorhees, and the rest of them by chance. And ever since I did, I loved it!"
"I see... *cough* that's a strange thing to get into at a young age." Rosalind spoke bluntly.
"Heh. You sound like my mom and dad." Yoshino looked away for a moment. "They always didn't like that I was into horror. Some shit about "not being safe for someone young" and "not wanting me to be exposed to violent topics." I get where they're coming from... but they're dead wrong. Stuff... stuff may have happened along they way. But I'm glad I got into horror." She looked backed mostly fondly at it all.
"That so...? That's... good." Rosalind slowly smiled while seeming a little fatigued.
And Yoshino noticed. "Rosa? You good?" She started to approach her.
Rosalind held out her hand to stop the horror novelist. "I'm *cough* fine." She shakily stood up. "Forgive me... I've grown a tad tired. I think I'll retreat to my room *cough* for now. I... yes." And without another word, she left.
Yoshino considered stopping her, but there was probably no point. She still had various questions and concerns about the girl... but this was a start. Yeah.
With a content smile, Yoshino left as well.
It appears as if *cough* Rosalind and Yoshino grew a little closer today!
[Ultimate Hypnotist's Studio]
"This little fucking stupid lock..." Genjiro was currently in the middle of trying to bust open a locked drawer in Kuroko's Ultimate Studio. Ever since he saw and heard what that person showed him yesterday...
The person chuckled. "I'll tell you. It's the first little bit of information I wanted to tell you. So... in her Ultimate Studio... there is a..." The person finished their explanation off screen, so that the reader was kept in suspense of what this information was.
He knew he had to get his hands on this. This shit'll be useful pretty much no matter what he decides to do. "Fucking stupid lock!" Genjiro was getting frustrated as he kept trying different ways to break the lock on this drawer. He didn't know if it was Kuroko's fault or Pheme's fault that this shit was so fucking tight... but he wouldn't... be... stopped... by a stupid fucking... lock...!
Genjiro focused... then with one last mighty heave... "There we go! Fuck you bitch!" He managed to break the lock into pieces, and it scattered on the ground. He was grateful that Kuroko wasn't in or around this place right now... he had no idea how he'd explain what he was doing. She'd still be able to see that this drawer was broken into... but he wouldn't worry about that. He could probably pass that off as whoever the fuck stole Bessie's Star-Phone and shit.
"Now what do we got..." Genjiro was eager to pull open the drawer... but...
"Hm? Genjiro? What are you doing here?" Lake of all people walked into the Ultimate Studio.
"Oh fuck! Lake?!" Genjiro quickly closed the drawer and used his feet to hide the lock pieces. "What the... what the fuck are you doing here?" This was a strange place for them to be after all.
"Huh? Oh, well Kuroko wanted me to get one of her pendulums for her... so I wanted to make a quick trip to her Ultimate Studio! But now that I'm here..." Lake took a look around. "I haven't actually seen this room yet. Wow... it definitely fits the hypnotist vibe!" They excitedly cheered.
"Uh... I guess it does?" Genjiro didn't know what to say.
"Oh wait! I almost forgot!" Lake tilted their head. "Why are you here Genjiro? I don't want to be mean... but this doesn't seem like your type of place." They pointed out.
"Oh shit. Uh..." Fuck, Genjiro really hoped no one would walk in on him doing this. And it had to be this bitch of all people. "I... Kuroko wanted me to get something too. Some..." He quickly looked around. "Yeah! That bitch wanted me to get a pocket watch for her!" He lucked out in managing to spot a pocket watch that was laying on the counter.
"Oh! Okay! Cool!" Lake wasn't sure when Genjiro would've talked to Kuroko, or how he beat them here... but they weren't going to question it! "So... Genjiro? I know Kuroko is waiting on us... but can I ask you a question?"
Oh great. Genjiro internally groaned. "Yeah? What's up?" He decided humored them. Besides, he needed to make sure to not be suspicious here.
Lake took a deep breath. They tried to think of the best way to word this. They didn't want to be rude after all. "Why... are you... you?"
Genjiro blinked. "What... the fuck... does that mean?" He felt thoroughly confused by that question.
"Well..." Ugh, Lake wished they thought a little more about the question before they asked it. "Genjiro... you're pretty impressive! You're big, strong, and tough! Charismatic too!" They started to compliment him.
"Hey... damn right I am! Ha ha!" Genjiro started to like where this was going.
Lake looked down at the ground. "But... you're also kinda mean sometimes." They squeaked out. "So... I just want to know why... I guess?" One of Lake's main priorties was making sure everyone got along. They couldn't stand violence or conflict. Alpha and Cathy still frustrated them to an extent... and then there was Genjiro. He was... confusing to them.
Genjiro narrowed his eyes. "Did... did you just ask why I'm mean?" That was one of the most questions of all time. He hadn't even gotten asked something like that. "Lake, that's complete bullshit you little-" He stopped himself when he saw Lake's face.
Lake's face was currently a mixture of sadness and nervousness. They didn't want to make Genjiro mad... but they also wanted to know why he acts so... unstable? Is that the word? "Why'd you stop Genjiro?" They titled their head.
Genjiro bit his lip for a second. "Lake. Random question. Fame. How do you feel about it?" He asked ominously.
"Fame? What do you mean?" Lake was confused on where this was coming from.
"Well... it's fame. Isn't it simple? Just answer the fucking question!" Genjiro crossed his arms. He wanted to hear what they were going to say.
"Oh!" Lake was surprised hearing Genjiro raise his voice. Weird that they were surprised, considering that he often does that. "Um... fame..." They had to think. "It's... fine?" They shrugged.
"Just... fine?" Genjiro didn't really expect that answer. "Fuck you mean "fine?""
Lake shrugged. "I don't hate fame or anything. I like it! But it can be a bit much sometimes. Overwhelming even!" They slightly moved their hands for dramatic effect.
"Huh..." Genjiro nodded along. "I should've expected some weak ass answer from you! Ha ha ha!" The wrestler laughed heartily. "I ain't surprised!"
Lake raised their eyebrows. They still had no idea where this conversation was going. Genjiro hadn't even answered their question yet. "Okay...? Oh!" They got an idea. "I told you how I feel... but how do you feel about fame Genjiro?" They returned the question.
Genjiro instantly smirked. "How do I feel! Ho ho!" He stepped up onto a chair, looking triumphant while doing so. "Fame... is fucking amazing baby!"
Lake slightly widened their eyes. Wow... he sure did have an aura about him. He was kind of fun to watch. "Why is it... f-ing amazing?" They censored themselves.
"Heh. Guess you wouldn't know Mx. "Overwhelming!" Ha ha!" Genjiro stepped down from the chair and went closer to Lake. "It's that raw feeling... of people knowing your fucking name! People yelling your name! People screaming your name! It's the recognition that flows through your entire body... it's a crazy good feeling!" He struck a pose.
"Wow...!" Lake hadn't expected something that... poetic? "That sounds pretty amazing!" They rolled with it.
"Fuck yeah it is!" Genjiro playfully punched Lake's shoulder. "It's fucking awesome... and it's what I deserve! The best fucking wrestler in the world right here!"
Lake stumbled back a bit from the punch, but they laughed along with him. "Yeah... you seem pretty impressive! An imposing guy like you would be pretty intimidating in the ring!"
"Oh yeah! You got that right!" Genjiro was loving the praise. "I worked my ass off for everything I've gotten. It's my destiny to be famous... and I ain't gonna waste it!" This had essentially turned into a Genjiro FTE with himself instead of Lake at this point.
"I believe you! I definitely do!" Lake happily laughed along with him. "I... still don't know if I feel that strongly about fame... but I can see why you do!"
"Yeah... yeah..." Genjiro was winding down from his ego high. "But damn. Lake, you're missing out. Fame feels pretty damn good. Why don't you care for the shit?" He realized that Lake actually needed to talk about themselves for this to be an FTE.
"Well I never said I didn't care for it! It's just... I've always been a humble dreamer I guess!" Lake explained with a longing smile on their face.
"Humble? That's the stupidest word out there! Being humble doesn't get you anywhere!" Genjiro stomped his foot.
Lake nervously giggled. "Maybe... but it's how I feel! All I want is to do is to continue dancing and performing! That's really it."
Genjiro frowned. "Damn. Really? Still a waste!" He threw his hand up in the air. "So as a ballet dancer... what do you even do? Perform in a troupe? By yourself? I've never been into pussy shit like this, so I have no clue."
Lake decided to ignore that slight towards their talent. "What do I do? I mainly do... s-solo shows. Yeah!"
Genjiro noticed Lake stutter while saying "solo." Weird thing to stutter on, but he didn't give a shit. "Solo huh? I get it! I'm pretty much solo too!"
"Yeah... I guess you would be!" Lake seemed to have gotten a little sadder for some reason. "But yeah... I've always done things... by myself... pretty much."
"I see! Nothing wrong with that!" Genjiro playfully punched Lake again. "But I gotta say Lake, you're missing out. That taste of true fame... now that's the ticket. Working by yourself in wrestling is its own thing, but you'd probably like working with someone in dancing!"
"Wait... h-huh?" Lake didn't expect to hear that.
"I'd never work with someone else!" Genjiro immediately pointed out. "But in baby shit like ballet, working with a partner or something makes sense doesn't it? And you seem like the person to try working with someone! And you're... kind and nice and shit too!"
Lake was still thrown off that they were hearing stuff like this from Genjiro. "Okay... what does kindness have to do with this?"
"Oh! Well like, sharing fame and shit with a friend! I think that's stupid, but you'd like that! Ha ha!" Genjiro laughed as he gave his opinion.
"Ah... okay." Lake looked away. "Maybe... I would?" They didn't know how to answer.
"There you go!" Genjiro gave a third playful punch. Lake was going to have to check their shoulder for a bruise later. But anyway, the wrestler checked the time. Shit... he'd been in here for a while. "Hey Lake... don't wanna cut this off... but Kuroko needs that pendulum shit doesn't she?"
Lake's eyes widened. "Oh no! You're right!"
"And... here!" He gave them the pocket watch from his earlier excuse.
"Oh yeah! I'll give her this too! Don't worry!" Lake still completely believed the excuse Genjiro gave them. They turned around, and headed to the door. But not without one more thing. "You know Genjiro... you aren't too bad after all!" Having forgotten the question they initially asked him, Lake left Kuroko's studio.
...
...
...
"Heh. Bitch is way too naive for their own good." Genjiro shook his head. He didn't expect that to happen... but he was silently grateful that it was Lake of all people who found him. They were an easy person to manipulate.
But even with that... Genjiro didn't hate talking with them. Kinda felt good to talk with someone here who felt like an earnest fan of his. Not a bad feeling. It was why he humored them anyway. He continued to look at the open doorway as he thought to himself.
Ha ha! It looks like Genjiro and Lake grew a little closer today!
...
...
...
"Oh fuck!" Genjiro just remembered why he was here in the first place. He quickly left the studio to make sure no one was around, then he went back inside and closed the door. Then he went back to his initial goal... that drawer. He opened the previously locked drawer... and found a black binder. "The fuck is this? This isn't what they said would be in here!" He started to flip through it. "Ayo? What the fuck is the hypnotist bitch into?" He continued to talk to himself as he looked through the binder. "This is fucking crazy... oh! There it is!"
He finally found what the person told him to find. "Huh... fucking weird. They better not have been feeding me bullshit." They pocketed the thing they found. "But if they aren't feeding me BS... heh. I could definitely use this." With a smirk across his face, Genjiro put everything back where he found it... then left the studio.
[Ultimate Carpenter's Studio]
"Huh... damn." Joji currently stood staring at his now nearly empty wall of tools. He definitely understood why Ji-hoon took them all and everything... but he had to be honest. He kinda liked the feeling of his Ultimate Studio. He hated Pheme with a burning passion, but he could at least appreciate his Ultimate Studio for what it was. But now, he basically had none of his tools. Again, he understood why... but it still stung a little.
"Heya Joji. You enjoy staring at walls? That a pastime of yours?" Kei walked in with his hands in his pockets.
Joji turned around. "Oh shit... Kei? How are you doing?" He hadn't really expected Kei of all people to just "wander" into a place like this. He didn't seem like the type to have any knowledge in the slightest on carpentry. Which was fine... but it was still weird he was in here.
"How am I doing? Eh, not bad." Kei leaned against the bare wall of tools. "Killing time until we gotta do the puzzle. How about you?" He returned the question.
"Me? Well..." Joji kept staring at the barren wall of tools. "I've been better. But I'm persisting. Not gonna fall or give up or nothing." He confidently nodded.
"Oh yeah? That's great." Kei gave one slow clap of his hands. "But you really enjoy staring at this wall don't you?"
"I wouldn't say I enjoy it..." Joji scratched the back of his head. "It just... gives me an empty feeling. Kinda. Not sure how to word it."
"Oh... fair enough." Kei turned around and joined Joji in his wall-gazing. "I mean, this is your Ultimate Studio after all. It's unfortunate to have the fun stolen from you. Even if it is necessary in a way."
"Yeah... shit really sucks in here." Joji crossed his arms. "Every damn day I find my urge to just scream and beat Pheme's face in growing higher and higher..."
"You don't say?" Kei gave him a side-eye. "That's not good." He pointed out the obvious.
Joji looked down at his balled-up fists with a scowl on his face.
Kei wanted to continue bringing the snark, but he was legitimately curious about Joji. "Joji... you got some real bad anger issues don't you?" He continued to point out the obvious.
"Ha. What the fuck does it look like?" Joji closed his eyes. "It gets harder and harder each damn day... struggling to hold in these feeling. It's... fuck!" He punched the wall.
Kei was unfazed. "Yeah... I getcha. I still remember way back when you punched the glass tank to try and save Yuto. That was... something alright."
Joji closed his eyes harder. He had resolved himself enough to not dwell on that... but that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating as all hell to think about. "Yeah... still wish I could've done something for that poor guy..." He muttered. "Fuck..."
Kei walked up to Joji and put his hand on his shoulder. "You've probably gotten your ear talked off about how it wasn't your fault and everything yeah? Don't worry, I won't be retreading that. I ain't that type of guy."
"Oh yeah?" Joji managed to chuckle. "Thanks... I guess."
"Right..." Kei chuckled as well. "I can offer you something else though? If you want."
Joji raised an eyebrow, akin to the :joji_sus: emote on the discord server for this story. "Something else? The hell do you mean by that?" He crossed his arms. He felt his anger slowly melt into intrigue.
"What I mean is..." Kei looked away for a second. "I think I know who Yuto is. At least... I have little bits of info on him." He dropped that bombshell.
"WHAT?!" Joji yelled out, his eyes widened.
"Hey! Keep it down man!" Kei quickly shushed him.
"Oh shit!" Joji darted his eyes around. "Sorry... my bad." He leaned in a little closer to the lawyer. "Okay... little bits of info?" He whispered.
"Yeah. I think so." Kei stuck his hands into his pockets. "Ever since at least I was dropped here... my memories have been all fuzzy. It could be normal and regular shock from it all... or it could be something more."
"Something more?" Joji was getting more invested in this.
Kei chuckled then shook his head "Just a thought I have no proof of. Don't worry about it." He stopped for a second, almost like he was trying to hear if anyone was listening in. "Alright. Now to explain what I meant... recently, some of my memories have gotten a little "unfuzzied.""
"Oh! So you're starting to remember stuff then?" Joji kept whispering.
"Yep. And that's where Yuto comes into this." Kei flashed a smirk. "I think I remember looking into a man name Hiroyuki Yuto. He was being investigated by the police on suspicions of fraud and scamming people."
Joji looked frustrated. "No way! Was that fucker really-?"
Kei wagged his finger at the carpenter. "Before you say anything, I'll say to you first that you don't gotta. That's all I got."
"What?! That's nothing at all!" Joji stomped his foot. "How is that all you have?!"
"Hey now!" Kei held his hands up in front of him. "I'm a lawyer, not a detective. I only occasionally hear things through the grapevine." He started to look down at the floor, seemingly deep in thought. "I know the man was a criminal... but I don't think he was ever caught. I'm confident I would've heard if he was. And... I think what happened with him is proof enough he wasn't caught huh?"
Joji gritted his teeth. "I fucking guess so. Hmph!" He huffed. "So that guy was a criminal? Why'd you even tell me that?" He crossed his arms, a bit unsatisfied by how anticlimactic that was.
Kei shrugged. "Thought it might make you feel better."
"...Huh?" Joji looked confused.
Kei shrugged again. "You seemed like the type of guy to beat yourself up over things. And I thought that maybe this little nugget of info that appeared in my brain might help. Just knowing that the guy was a criminal might help you deal with his death. You know?"
Joji blinked. "Okay... so you told me this... in hopes that me knowing that the guy was a criminal... would help me accept his death?" He spoke slowly, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "No way you're trying to get me to accept the death of a victim in this Killing Game?"
Kei blinked. "I never said that. Just thought it might make the wound a little less... painful?" He kept with the shrugging.
"Bah." Joji scoffed. "No way." He turned away. "It doesn't matter if this guy was a criminal or not. He died for the sake of this stupid Killing Game... so he's a victim in the end. And because he's a victim... I'm going to make it out of here... and avenge him. Same with Bessie and Aelia. I refuse to let a death be in vain." He brought his convictions out in the open.
"Wow... big words. Impressive." Kei nodded along. It was hard to tell if he was being serious or not. "Guess we aren't that similar then..." He muttered.
"What was that?" Joji leaned in, having heard the lawyer's muttering.
"Heh. It's nothing." Kei gave a sly smile and shook his head. "But you're an interesting guy Joji."
Joji narrowed his eyes. "Thanks?" Joji hadn't realized just how... strange Kei could be.
"No problem." Kei waved away the praise. "Anyway... this stuff about Yuto has me thinking about something."
"Oh yeah? And what's that?" Joji was getting a little thrown off by the conversation, but he decided to keep humoring him.
"Breaking the law." Kei checked the cuffs of his suit. "I'm a lawyer you know. So it makes sense I'd be curious about law breakers yeah?"
"I suppose...?" Joji still had zero idea where this was going.
"Yeah. Yeah..." Kei chuckled. "Say, Joji. I want to preface by saying that I'm not Ji-hoon. I'm a lawyer, not an interrogator. You get me?"
"I do...?" Joji didn't think he could get more confused, but here he was, getting more confused. "Where are you going with this Kei?" He thought that Kei's goal was to comfort him, even if it was in a way he didn't really agree with. So now, he wasn't sure what to expect.
"Ah yeah, I'll get to the point. My bad." Kei ran his hand through his hair. "So Joji. Tell me. Have you ever broken the law?" Kei dropped any playfulness in his voice.
Joji instantly bit his lip then looked away. "Why do you ask?" He trouble keeping his voice from shaking.
Kei chuckled. Though this time, the chuckle felt a little different. "Maybe everyone else's memories are still a little messy. If that's the case, then I don't blame them." He leaned in a little closer to the carpenter. "My memories aren't messy though. You've been on the news. You're fairly infamous aren't you? You-"
Joji's hand shot out and grabbed Kei's neck. "You shut your mouth. I don't want to hear about that shit here." His voice dripped with anger... though not an evident anger.
"D-Damn!" Kei got out of Joji's grip. "Calm down! I'm a fragile guy!" He said with a bit of sarcasm. Yeah... he definitely went a little too far there. But with that memory he got... he had to at least bring it up with the big guy. Probably could've been a bit more tactful with it. "My bad man. My bad." Kei stepped a good foot or two back. "You..." He didn't finish his sentence.
"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. I... am calm. I... am calm." Joji was busy calming himself down. He took a deep inhale, then a deep exhale. "...Kei." He slowly turned to the lawyer. "I don't know how much you know... but please keep it to yourself." He spoke slowly and methodically. "I don't want to talk about it. At least, not right now."
"Yeah... you got it." Kei got his usual carefree personality back, proceeding to act like nothing just happened. "You know... I might've just made this a little worse for you huh?" He chuckled then took another step back. "I'll get out your hair man." He turned around then started to walk away.
"...Kei! Wait!" Joji called out to him.
Kei stopped. "You know what... if it makes you feel any better..." He looked back at the carpenter from over his shoudler. "I've broken the law once of twice too!" He finished his ominous statement with a wink, then left.
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...
...
"Fuck!" Joji swore. "Every damn time..." He always got so frustrated with himself whenever he got angry. He... almost hurt Kei. He... couldn't do that. He had to control himself. But... he just hadn't expected someone to know about... that. He probably should've expected it in hindsight. But... damn. He made a mental note to apologize to Kei later, then left his studio. He needed to be alone right now, not in a place where anyone could walk in at anytime.
But as he did, he noticed the door that held the wooden boards in his studio was open. Did he leave that open? ...Eh, it was probably nothing.
Despite how it ended, Kei and Joji grew a little closer today!
[Ultimate Pop Star's Studio]
"Oh, Adam! I'm glad you could come!" To kill time before the Romance Studio puzzle, Aurora wanted to talk with Adam about something. She had asked him to meet up with her in Bessie's Studio. And now... here they were.
"Y-Yes... of course." Adam nervously nodded before moving closer to the starlet, who was currently standing in the middle of the aisle. Ever since him and Aurora got... introduced into the game like that... Adam felt a certain "something" with her. But why was it... why did he have this strange feeling in his chest whenever he spoke with her? He didn't know how to describe it...
"Adam? Are you alright?" Aurora seemingly noticed Adam's troubles.
"Oh! Y-Yes! I'm a-alright!" Adam didn't really get lost in his mind like that... so he didn't know why he felt like that. But... he tried to not focus on that. "A-Anyway... why exactly d-did you want to meet h-here? I'm not trying t-to be suspicious of you or anything! But I j-just..." He still was at a loss for words.
Aurora giggled. "Don't worry Adam. It's okay." She gave him a gentle smile. "But to answer your question... do you remember what I brought up during the meeting where he discussed what all we found on floor two?"
Adam felt himself relax a little after seeing the starlet's smile. But what she brought up two days ago... oh! He remembered! Adam did have a pretty good memory after all.
"There was a small room for a stage technician. It had buttons to control the spotlights, and I'm assuming other things as well. Maybe you could take a look Adam?" She gave the academic a look. "Perhaps you'd be able to figure something out?"
"Ah!" Adam hadn't expected to hear his name. "It's p-possible... though I c-cannot say anything for certain without s-seeing it first."
"T-The stage technician r-room, correct? You wanted me to t-take a look at it?" Adam reminded the readers.
"Yes. I did." Aurora nodded then started to lead the academic to the small room. "I'm not too familiar with anything technological." She gave an embarrassed laugh.
"Is t-that so?" Adam liked hearing her laugh. "If I c-can ask t-then... if you aren't too p-proficient with t-technology, then who is? Theoretically s-speaking of course." He posed a question.
Aurora furrowed her brow. "I'm sorry? What do you mean?" She didn't understand what he meant by that.
"Oh! S-Sorry, let me be more s-specific." Adam adjusted his glasses. "What I m-meant is that, because of y-your ultimate talent, you'd do a lot of... well, to u-use a general word, you'd do a lot of "famous" things c-correct? Like organizing shows, f-fan meet and greets, and more."
"Well... yes. I suppose so." Aurora pursed her lips as she thought about it. "Why do you- ah. I see." She finally understood what his point was. "You're asking who does most of my technical work?"
"Y-Yes, that's correct. L-Logically speaking, a prett- ah, I m-mean, a girl like you likely can't handle your ultimate talent all by yourself." Adam blushed as he stopped himself from saying a certain word. "Do y-you have a talent manager perhaps?"
Aurora giggled upon hearing Adam correct his words, but decided not to touch on it. "You are correct Adam. I do have a talent manager. His name is Jean D'Rue. He's been at my side for a long time... I trust him and I owe a lot to him. He's a great man." She smiled as she thought about her manager. "I hope he's doing okay." She longingly held onto her parasol.
"Yes... I h-hope so too." Adam tried to share in her feelings. "But... that's f-fairly fascinating. That m-makes sense!" He exclaimed like he had gotten a sudden revelation.
"Adam? What is it?" Aurora definitely noticed this "revelation."
"Jean D'Rue..." Adam narrowed his eyes. "Am I correct in assuming y-you're referring to the Former Ultimate Talent Scout, Jean D'Rue?" The academic had a very curious look across his face.
Aurora widened her eyes for a moment. "Ah! You know that much do you?"
"S-So I'm correct then?" Adam wanted confirmation of his theory.
Aurora smiled and nodded. "Yes you are." But her smile quick faded. "I know that most people don't like the former ultimates. I know the stigma around them. Some likely despise them because of... what happened. But... I choose not to think about that. Mr. D'Rue is a good and honest man... and I refuse to think wrongly of him." She stayed true in her trust.
Adam smiled like he just confirmed a theory. "Huh... t-that is fascinating." He stared at Aurora's face while he thought more about his theory.
"What is fascinating?" Aurora tilted her head.
"Ah! S-Sorry!" Adam turned away for a second. "I didn't mean to s-stare. It's just that... logically s-speaking, I n-never expected to h-have something like t-that in common with you Aurora. And because of that thing in c-common... hm." He started to think more on it.
"Oh? Something in common?" Aurora was curious on where Adam was going with this.
"Well... I k-know a Former Ultimate as w-well." Adam smiled. "The Former Ultimate Historian, Margot Durama. She w-was, h-honestly speaking, my f-favorite teacher at the high school I attended, St. LaDroubi High."
Aurora's eyes widened in curiosity. "Really? Your teacher was Ms. Durama? That's interesting! I've heard Mr. D'Rue talk about Ms. Durama before."
"R-Really? Tell m-me more!" Now this was fascinating to Adam.
"Well it admittedly wasn't much." Aurora realized. "Considering everything... I can get why the former ultimates wouldn't want to... you know." It was hard to say it aloud.
"Y-Yes... I get what you mean." Adam got what she meant, as he just said.
"But yes... let me think." Aurora needed a second to think back. "Mr. D'Rue often looked back fondly on Ms. Durama. Their talents didn't really overlap... but they had plenty of conversations about history. Mr. D'Rue had always coincidentally liked historical things and relics to an extent. So they always had plenty to talk about. They seemed like a strange pair of people to be close... but it sounded like... they were really good friends." Aurora leaned in a little closer. "Something else that Mr. D'Rue told me... was that he always thought that Mr. Durama had a crush on him. Not sure if that's true or not though." She indulged in a bit of gossip.
"You don't s-say... a crush?" Adam chuckled. "I think I c-can see Ms. Durama liking a m-man like Mr. D'Rue."
That made Aurora think of something. "Were you close with Ms. Durama, Adam?" She was close with Jean, so she was curious if Adam held a similar relationship with his teacher.
"Oh!" Adam hadn't expected to be asked that. "W-Well... not close in the same way as yourself and Mr. D'Rue... b-but we were c-close to an extent." He nodded as he explained.
"Okay, good. Tell me more." Aurora gently smiled as she waited for Adam to explain more.
"M-More? Hm..." Adam had an intense look of focus on his face. "Ms. Durama was m-my teacher throughout the entirety of h-high school. And well, s-strictly speaking, I always h-had fairly high grades in my classes, s-so teachers often took a l-liking to me. That include Ms. Durama o-of course."
"That makes sense, considering your talent!" Aurora giggled. "Keep going." She wanted to hear more.
"Well... there isn't m-much else to explain." Adam spoke with a slightly dissapointed tone. "Ms. Durama and I s-stayed close as teacher and s-student... up until I started to a-attend Hope's Peak of course. She was a-always a very k-kind and understanding teacher... but a little... s-shy at times, realistically s-speaking. She had quirks and stammers... but s-she was a very good teacher for myself, and her other students." Adam looked backed fondly on his teacher. "I.. a-also hope she's doing well."
"Right... I hope so too." Aurora could share in those feelings. That feeling of wishing safety for a mentor figure who was also a former ultimate. "Wow, I truly never expected us to share something like this in common." She shifted the topic a tad. "Was this related to the theory or idea you had earlier?"
Adam narrowed his eyes for a second. "T-Theory? Oh! Ah yes!" He remembered what he had thought. "I don't have any concrete p-proof at the moment. But I w-wonder if... the reason b-both of us were taken and put into the Killing Game... it w-was because of our relations to former ultimates. Perhaps t-that's why we were placed into it in a s-strange way as well." He explained his theory.
Aurora knew he was referring to the first "special event" in his last sentence, but she didn't wish to think more about that. But that theory... very well could be true. "That's not a bad theory Adam. Former ultimates have been the topic of much controversy... and I know this is a morbid thought, but it's sadly realistic to think someone would take us because of our relationships to former ultimates."
"Indeed... that's u-unfortunately very logical." They could talk and debate all day over the former ultimates, but now wasn't the time. "I'll k-keep thinking on the theory. It makes me p-ponder if perhaps Alpha is related to a former ultimate as well, considering her own strange entrance into this game."
"That's a valid point." Aurora had almost forgotten about Alpha's strange circumstances of entry into this Killing Game. "It'd be difficult to get information out of her I'm afriad. Perhaps that can be a future goal?"
Adam nodded in agreement. "I believe that's the l-logical way to play that." He then took a deep breath, and looked around. "I'm sorry... b-but we went off-topic did we not? You intended for me to look at the stage technician's room c-correct?"
"Oh my! I almost forgot!" Aurora curtsied in forgiveness. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get off-track. It's right over here." She started to show him to their initial destination.
"Oh n-no, it's alright." Adam couldn't help but find that curtsy cute. He- no! He can't think that right now! He tried to hide the blush on his face as he followed behind Aurora.
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"Here it is!" Aurora led them up to the small room next to the big stage. And suffice to say, Aurora was right. It had a lot of buttons, and a lot of confusion.
"F-Fascinating..." But Adam found it nonetheless fascinating.
"I still feel embarrassed to admit I do not know much about machines..." Aurora looked the panel of buttons over. "I couldn't help but notice it looks similar to Bessie's remote. Very similar buttons and a similar layout. I'm not sure if that helps." She laughed sheepishly.
"No, I s-see what you mean." Adam shook his head. "It does s-seem similar to Bessie's r-remote, layout wise. Interesting..."
"Right?" Aurora was glad that that information seemed helpful. "Can you glean anything from it?"
"W-Well... let's see." Adam boldly pressed a button.
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Nothing happened. "I see..." Adam narrowed his eyes.
"Nothing happened? Why is that?" Aurora didn't expext that.
"I..." Adam pressed another button.
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Once again, nothing happened. "Damn it." Adam muttered. He pressed another button. Nothing happened. He pressed another button. Nothing happened. He kept on pressing buttons, but he had no luck. "Damn it!" He lightly slammed the board of buttons. "Why isn't this...?" He seemed to be getting frustrated.
"No luck then? That's alright!" Aurora set a comforting had on Adam's shoulder. "Don't worry about it Adam. If you can't do anything with it, it's okay!" She tried to reassure him.
Adam huffed and took one last look over the board. He knew he was being impatient here, but he wanted to figure this out now. He wanted to be truly helpful to Aurora. He didn't know if this board of buttons mattered. And he didn't know if Pheme would offer them anything for this. It probably wasn't worth it to asked that insane goddess anyway.
Adam turned around. "M-Maybe with more time I could figure something out... but f-for right now, I'm not sure what it's for and w-why it's not working. I'm s-sorry." He looked down in shame.
"No Adam, it's totally alright!" Aurora set both of her hands on the poor academic's shoulders. "You were helpful Adam, don't worry! And this is probably nonsense set by Pheme anyway!" She went back to trying to reassure him. Aurora admittedly never expected Adam to get down like this, but she was fine with attempting to comfort him, if she could.
Adam let out a deep sigh. "L-Logically speaking... you're probably right." He met Aurora's gaze. "I'm sorry. It wasn't v-very l-logical of me to get frustrated like that." He pushed up his glasses.
"It's alright Adam." She gave him one of her signature comforting smiles. "This talk with you has been useful nonetheless. Besides, we should probably get going now." Aurora pulled out her Star-Phone. "It's almost time. Ji-hoon will want us to meet up soon."
That's right! They had to do the Romance Studio puzzle! "Good idea. W-We should go and meet up with them." Adam nodded, then left the small room, followed closely behind by Aurora.
"Right! Let's go Adam!" Aurora shared a smile with the academic as the left Bessie's Ultimate Studio, with Adam still working hard on hiding the everlasting blush on his face.
At the end of it all... one thing is for sure. Adam and Aurora grew a little closer today!
[Romance Studio]
"Shouldn't we wait for Ji-hoon and Kuroko before entering?" Aurora questioned.
"...maybe? Eh, I feel like it'll be fine." Kei leaned against a wall as he shrugged.
So far, Damien, Ayaka, Kei, Raiha, Aurora, and Adam had all gathered in the Romance Studio, all eager and curious to see what puzzle awaited them in here.
"Y-You know... I haven't really gotten a good look at this place yet." Ayaka looked around. "It's kind of... overwhelming."
"I totes get what you mean Ayaka bestie. I'm all for style and flair, but this is doing the most, and in a bad way." Raiha SMHed her head.
"It m-makes you wonder what t-this was even used for..." Adam started to ponder. "I k-know this is a m-movie studio... but this seems l-like more of a game show to me, personally s-speaking." He observed the monitor as he spoke aloud his thoughts.
"I believe I can see what mean Adam." Damien stuck close to his dear Ayaka while he examined the place. "I can hardly see many movies being able to be filmed here. You know, I wish my dear Rosalind were here."
"Oh, that's a good idea!" Aurora agreed. "Rosalind would likely be able to get more of an accurate feel for this room. Personally, as an actress, I don't see this being viable for a movie."
"That was such a lowkey humble brag Aurora bestie! I see you!" Raiha winked at her bestie Aurora.
"Oh, that was hardly my intention." Aurora denied the humble brag allegations.
"A-All of this just makes me more curious on what t-the true purpose of this r-room is." Adam kept thinking about it. "And w-what this puzzle w-will be."
"Is it s-strange to say I'm g-getting..." Ayaka darted her eyes from side to side. "Nervous?"
Damien put a comforting hand on his dear Ayaka's shoulder. "You need not be nervous about a thing my dear Ayaka. I was the one who asked you to join us, so if anything foul should arise, I'll protect you." He reassured his dear Ayaka.
"Huh??? You're kinda foul for that yourself Damien! What about the rest of your "dears" hm?" Raiha giggled as she spoke, half-joking.
Damien shared in her laughter. "I'll of course do what I can to protect all of you, should the need arise."
"Uh huh. What about your "non-dears" hm? What about Adam and I?" Kei smirked, also half-joking.
"I understand you are merely joking... but you know I'll do whatever I can to protect all of you." Damien wasn't biased, he'd protect both his dears and his non-dears. He doesn't discriminate.
"Sure sure... whatever you say." It was hard to say Kei actually believed him or not.
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"Aight this is getting weird AF." Raiha crossed her arms. "Where TF are Ji-hoon and Kuroko? They're taking way too long. And there's no way they're... getting up to... you know? Cause they'd be a wack match."
Adam narrowed his eyes. "A-Are you implying that Ji-hoon a-and Kuroko are...?" He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone in the room knew what he was talking about.
"I mean... no?" Kei couldn't help but be amused by the question, despite how stupid the idea was. "Kuroko is a lesbian. That much is obvious. Don't think she'd have a change of heart for Ji-hoon of all people yeah?"
"That's true. They... probably aren't getting up to anything... like that." Aurora blushed a little as she alluded to... a certain thing.
"If t-they aren't doing... that..." Ayaka started to speak. "C-Could... they... b-be... d-" She was about to say that certain four letter d word, but she was cut off by a booming voice.
"Huh? There's no fucking way Ji-hoon and Kuroko are dead!" Genjiro barged into the room. "I saw them over in Kuroko's Ultimate Studio! Don't fucking know what they were doing though! Ha ha!"
A mixture of confusion and annoyance spread across everyone's faces. "Genjiro...? W-Why are you here?" Ayaka was the first one to ask.
"You have a problem bitch?! I can be anywhere I want to!" Genjiro stood his ground. "Besides, Ji-hoon and Kuroko were busy with some shit. I thought you pussies might need some help with the puzzle shit!"
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Nobody said a thing in response.
"So... you want to help?" Kei was first one to speak. "No offense big guy, but you never seemed into this sort of thing."
"Ha ha! That's where you're wrong!" Genjiro struck a pose. ""The Painkiller" can do more than just beat the shit out of some skulls! You'd be surprised lawyer boy!" He playfully punched Kei's shoulder, causing the lawyer to stagger back a fair bit.
"Yeah... sure man." Kei didn't sound convinced, but it wasn't like he could do anything to stop him. Could anyone? "Guess I don't know you that well. Hey, maybe you do have a brain knocking around in there?"
"Ha ha! There we go!" Genjiro was pleased with Kei's response.
"W-Well... I guess G-Genjiro will be fine for a seventh p-person?" Adam didn't think it was very logical, but he definitely knew not to cross the big guy.
"Why do you sound so on the fence Adam? Huh?" Genjiro went closer to the academic. "You don't have confidence in my smarts do you? Huh? Say it to my face!"
"I n-never said that! I j-just-" Adam struggled to stammer out a response.
"You really get off to bullying little boys don't you Genjiro? You seemed like the type." The voice of Alpha echoed into the Romance Studio as she walked in.
"Oh great! This bitch is here!" Genjiro ceased his bullying and turned around.
"Oh hello my dear Alpha. You came to join us?" Damien was the second to address her.
"Uh what? Fuck you mean join you?" Alpha crossed her arms. "Join your orgy? Fuck no."
"That's not what we're doing! That'd be nasty AF!" Raiha shot back.
"Oh yeah? So what are three chicks and three guys doing together? Huh?" Alpha tapped her foot on the ground. "Actually, scratch that. I believe your bitchass."
"You... do?" Aurora didn't expect Alpha to give in that quick.
"Yeah I do!" Alpha shifted her eyes toward Adam. "I'd buy the five of you doing some shit like that. But no way this little nerd would be joining in the orgy! No one would want his weird dick in them." She didn't even laugh or nothing, causing the statement to hit a lot harder.
"W-Well that's j-just..." Adam had no clue how to respond to that.
"Alpha... I don't think that was very necessary." Aurora tried to address her in the kindest way possible.
Alpha immediately shot the starlet a glare. "Oh yeah? I don't think it's necessary for you to be wearing that anklet. You don't know how to dress like a proper person honey? Just take it off and show off more leg! You want guys thirsting after those thighs of yours so bad?"
"W-What?!" Aurora also had no clue how to respond to that. Why was this happening to her two days in a row now?!
"Hey Alpha! Step off!" Raiha got between her bestie and her non-bestie. "Don't diss my bestie Aurora! You're just mad you're not as pretty as her!"
"What?! Fuck you! Like I'd ever want to look like a hag like her!" Alpha spat out.
"Hag?!" Aurora was only 23! She's not that old.
"Hag? You're the one who wears those tacky ass sunglasses! You think you're slay wearing those in doors?!" Raiha spat back. This was turning into a proper cat fight. Ironic that neither of the cat girls were here.
"You say that again bitch! I dare you!" Alpha got right in Raiha's face.
"I'm not afraid of you Alpha! I've faced worse-"
"C-Can we stop f-fighting please?!" Adam tried to intervene. Alpha really had a habit of turning anywhere she goes into a fight.
Alpha now shot a glare to Adam. "Huh?! Don't say shit to me you fucking-"
"Oh! Eight people have gathered! Perfect! It's time to start the Romance Studio puzzle then!" Pheme's face and voice came across the the monitor, then disappeared a moment later.
"Oh yeah... we are at eight now aren't we?" Kei did basic math.
"Indeed you all are Mr. Aikawa!" Pheme emerged into the Romance Studio, with the entrance closing behind her. "Welcome everyone! I'm glad that eight of my glamorous stars have decided to attempt the Romance Studio puzzle!" Pheme spread her arms out wide.
"D-Did the entrance just c-close? It didn't lock us in did it?" Ayaka was the first to notice as her eyes widened at the sight.
"Indeed it did Ms. Naganohara! I'm glad you noticed!" Pheme motioned to the now locked entrance. "This wasn't exactly the group of eight I expected... but no matter! It'll be entertaining to see what you do nonetheless!" She jumped up in excitement.
"What? What the fuck is this?!" Alpha apparently wasn't up to speed. She wasn't there when the "puzzle party" was formed after all.
Raiha huffed and crossed her arms. "Ji-hoon kinda-bestie got together eight peeps to go to the Romance Studio and solve the puzzle! Obvi? And now Ji-hoon and Kuroko aren't here... we got Genjiro and Alpha collective non-besties instead." Raiha was rarely catty like this, but you have to be a little catty in the trendsetting world.
"What? That's fucking stupid! Who gives a shit about what is obviously a trap?!" Alpha stomped away from the group of seven and went up to the door. She tried to open it with the handle. "Huh." It didn't budge "...Fuck." She said surprisingly deadpan.
"Ha! You think you can open the door with those puny muscles?" Genjiro flexed on 'em. "Let me show you how it's done!" He shoved past Alpha and tried to open the door. "Huh." He used all of his strength to try and open it. "...Fuck." He had the same reaction.
"Alright..." Kei walked up to Pheme. "So ignoring our two angry friends over there..." He subtly motioned to his two angry friends. "So what's the deal? Let's get right to it. You're locking us in here?"
"Y-Yes... is this t-the puzzle? Simply b-breaking out of here?" Adam surmised.
Pheme wagged her finger. "Not... exactly. You see... I know I never said when you stars could attempt this room. But... you all stepped foot in here a tad early."
"Early? What do you mean?" Aurora had calmed down from witnessing the cat fight, and now just wanted answers.
"Well... in an ideal world, eight of you stars would've gone in here after... the second motive." Pheme dropped that on them. "The second motive would've made the puzzle a lot more apparent and fun! But... oh well! Things happen!"
Did she... seriously say that? The second motive? Another one?!
"N-No... really? Another motive?" Ayaka felt her hands start to shake.
"Hmph. I'll have you know Pheme that we won't fall for it. It's as simple as that." Damien stood strong.
"Y-Yeah! No way we're f-falling for another one!" Adam mustered up the courage to stand strong too.
Pheme couldn't help but giggle at the sight. "Oh it's just so amusing that you think you have a choice in the matter! How humorous!"
"Pheme non-bestie? This ain't funny at all." Raiha crossed her arms.
"Hm... we'll have to agree to disagree on that Ms. Miyahara!" Pheme started to pace around. "Anyway... this could work out nicely enough. Considering I will be giving you the second motive today... having this take place first could be rather hilarious!" She laughed haughtily.
"Wait... w-we're getting the second motive today?!" Ayaka felt her hands started to shake more.
"Calm yourself my dear Ayaka." Damien took his dear Ayaka's shaking hands. "Pheme... even if that is the case, can you perhaps dispell with the long-winded preamble? You're just taunting us for the sake of taunting us now."
Pheme couldn't help but he a little confused by Damien's statement there. "Well... of course I'm taunting you for the sake of taunting you! Have you been paying attention to anything I've been doing here?" She put her hands on her hips.
"She has a point you know." Kei elbowed Damien. "I don't think there's a point in chastising her for anything. Not like she'll stop."
"Hmph. Fair enough." Damien sighed. "Anyway... will you be explaining what he must do in here?"
Pheme snuck a glance back at Alpha and Genjiro, who were both still attempting to break down the door. "Don't worry Mr. Lux! I will!" She kept pacing around. "This originally would've been structured a tad bit differently... considering the motive of course!" She added with a wink. "But... let's do this." She stopped pacing. "I'll tell you all how to escape. There was a whole puzzle here planned, but it's alright! We don't need to worry about it!"
One thing about Pheme that stood out to them all was just how carefree she could be about certain things. "So... y-you'll just t-tell us how to open the door? It's t-that simple?" Adam had trouble believing it.
"Mm hm! That's correct Mr. Brooks!" Pheme nodded. She snuck another glance back at Genjiro and Alpha. She wanted everyone to be paying attention... but this was alright. "Okay! Are you ready to learn how you'll escape the Romance Studio?"
"Well obvi we are??" Raiha looked pretty annoyed with Pheme's antics.
"I don't t-trust it... I don't trust anything Pheme says." Ayaka muttered. (Sorry Sempi!)
"Well Ms. Naganohara, to be frank, I don't care if you do or not!" Pheme pointed at the violinst. "Okay... you all seem ready. So... for how'll you escape this place... it's simple. Only four of you need to do anything anyway."
"Only four of us?" Kei raised an eyebrow.
"Yep!" Everyone could tell that Pheme was smiling wide from under her mask. "For all eight of you to escape... four of you must...
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kiss. On the lips." Pheme's eyes radiated smugness.
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"I'm... sorry?" Aurora blinked in disbelief.
"We gotta... kiss?" Even Kei was a little thrown off.
"O-On... t-the lips?!" Adam started to blush.
"That's... wild." Raiha didn't know what to say.
"Ayo?! Kiss?!" Genjiro apparently heard, and stomped back over to the group.
"Ah, Genjiro. Any luck with the door?" Damien seemed unfazed by the sudden announcement
"Fuck no! The door is stupid strong!" Genjiro crossed his arms. "But damn! Kissing? The lips?" It was hard to tell how the wrestler felt about it.
Pheme giggled seeing everyone's reaction. "That's correct Mr. Mashimoto!" Pheme moved to the back of the room, behind the monitor. "Once I see four of you kiss on the lips, I'll open the door! It must be two different pairs of people! And you cannot kiss the same person twice!" A director's chair spawned out of midair, and the goddess sat down. "So! Get to it! You don't want to be in here all day do you?" She urged them all.
"B-But..." Out of everyone here, Ayaka definitely had the biggest blush on her face. Aurora and Adam were close seconds though.
Damien watched as his dear Ayaka shakily looked around. He won't lie. If kissing is all they had to do, he'd be happy to do it. He understands being bashful about that sort of thing, but he didn't see much to be bashful about. He looked around the room. His dear Ayaka likely wouldn't want to. His dear Aurora... possibly. But she seemed rather thrown off by it all too. His dear Alpha definitely wouldn't want to. His dear Raiha... also possibly.
Kei chuckled as Damien thought oddly hard about it all. "Just a kiss? That's not bad at all." He shrugged, sharing in Damien's opinion but while also being a lot more carefree about it. "He glanced between the girls. I know it's embarrassing, but what are we thinking?"
"Heh." Alpha shook her head. "This is the opportunity you were waiting for, isn't it you limpdick lawyer?" She leaned against the door.
"Eh... no." Kei answered quickly. "It's embarrassing stuff, but it's a cheap tactic Pheme is employing to make us squirm. The quicker we get through it, the better." He shrugged.
"Hmph. You would try to make it look like you weren't waiting for this." Alpha stopped leaning against the door and walked closer to the group. "Yeah alright. Let's get it over with." She groaned.
"I don't like agreeing with Alpha non-bestie, but she's right. Let's just get this nonsense done." Raiha spoke casually enough about the affair.
Pheme was slightly disappointed that they didn't squirm and blush more... but that's alright. She enjoyed seeinf them uncomfortable, but Ayaka, Adam, and Aurora's embarrassment was delightful enough for her. So she chose to just sit back and watch.
"So..." Damien took one last look at the girls. "If I may be so bold... my dear Raiha?" He asked, not needing more words for what he was asking for.
"Mm... yeah." Raiha shrugged. "I'd be dummy careful about this stuff if this was live or whatevs... but it ain't! My Riactioneers would have a field day if they found out." She walked up to Damien. "Imagine... "The Riactionista kissing the Damien Lux?!" Twatter would eat it up."
"They perhaps would." Damien chuckled. "But anyway..." He leaned down considering their hight difference... and...
They kissed. They shared a half-second long kiss, then pulled back. "Hm... indeed." Damien seemed to have little reaction to it as he turned to Pheme. "So Pheme? Does that suffice?"
Pheme sighed. "Yes. It does." Yeah okay she had to admit this was underwhelming. She never thought they'd be able to do this so easily.
"Nice. Aight, two of you go now." Raiha also had little reaction to the kiss. To Damien, it seemed more like she was trying to hide her reaction, but he didn't comment.
Aurora tried to keep herself composed. "So... to confirm here. No one can... kiss Damien or Raiha now?"
"Yep!" Pheme nodded. "A kiss has to happen between the six of you now!"
Aurora internally groaned. She didn't know why she was feeling so shook up about this. She snuck a glance at Ayaka and Adam. Both were currently silent and blushing messes. Aurora was trying not to also be one, but that was easier said than done. But... this is easy. She's... she's straight. She's not... yeah. She wished she could do it as easily as Raiha could... but...
"Christ is no one gonna even move?!" Alpha started to get impatient. "It's literally just a kiss. It's not hard!"
"Yeah... she's right." Strangely enough... now Kei was feeling slightly uneasy about this. He didn't know how to think right now.
Genjiro couldn't help but laugh as he eyed Kei. As usual, the lawyer's expression was a mere smile. But he definitely noticed his indecisiveness. "You suddenly not in the mood for a makeout sesh lawyer boy?" He raised an eyebrow.
Kei didn't say anything in response. It was then where it hit him. Aurora and Ayaka still seemed to be unavailable as options, leaving only Alpha. And honestly? He didn't want to kiss her. Simple as that. But it's unfortunate to express that in this situation. "Hm... well if you're both so impatient about it, why don't you two kiss huh?" He deflected attention back onto the bullies.
Alpha scoffed at the idea. "Yeah, in the big guy's dreams!"
"Huh? Fuck you say?!" Genjiro seemed offended by that.
Alpha seemed amused by the wrestler's response. "You heard me! You wish you could kiss a chick like me!"
"Sure bitch! It's crazy you even think I'd ever want to kiss a bitch like you!" Genjiro got up in her face.
"Yeah? I'd never want to kiss a dumbass brute like you either!" Alpha shot back.
"Good! This dumbass brute can do a lot better than this emo bitch right here!" Genjiro yelled back.
"Emo?! I stay away from these fuckers because it's a Killing Game! If being smart means I'm emo, then I guess I'm cutting myself now!" Alpha threw her hands up in the air.
"Hah! Like you'd have the balls anyway!" Genjiro scoffed.
"Yeah? I have more balls than you! You're clearly overcompensating with that stupid ass cape exposing your abs!" Alpha did a hand motion over his exposed chest.
"I bet you love the sight bitch! Everyone does!" Genjiro flexed.
"Everyone wants to throw up at the sight! No one even likes you!" Alpha threw off her sunglasses.
...
They continued to go back and forth at each other. The six onlookers didn't even know how to react. But someone was getting a little sick of this. "Just kiss already." Kei spoke casually.
"Huh?!" Alpha turned her head, apparently having heard Kei.
Then... Genjiro leaned and kissed Alpha on the lips. The door opened up a few seconds later. "There we go! Fuck you!" Genjiro left immediately.
"W-What the-?" Alpha stammered a little as she reacted. "You motherfucker!" She ran out after the wrestler.
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"Well... it appears we can go now." Kei seemed a litte satisfied.
"Geez... t-those two c-can really yell..." That was what Adam gathered from that.
"That's for sure." Aurora slowly shook her head.
"Hm..." Damien looked down at his dear Ayaka. "My dear Ayaka? How are you?"
Ayaka still had no clue how to react to... all of this. "Um... I t-think I want to pretend like none of this happened."
Kei sighed. "Not a bad idea." The group started to leave.
"Yes... well, perhaps Pheme got what she wanted with that?" Aurora sighed too.
"YK, those two aren't even bad together. They match eachothers bitchiness." Raiha shrugged.
The conversation faded as they left, completely ignoring Pheme's presence.
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"Hm... that was fun!" Pheme stood up. "It started off boring... but it turned rather exciting! I knew taking Ms. Alpha for this was a wonderful idea! And now... well, let's see what he does. Even if he doesn't do anything, I feel satisfied knowing that relationships are slowly but surely changing..." Pheme went to leave the room herself, but not without sending out an announcement.
"Attention my glamourous stars! I ask you all to gather in the Grand Theater for a special announcement! Attendence is mandatory! Please and thank you!" And now all Pheme had to do... was wait.
[Grand Theater]
The group of six all collectively went to the Grand Theater. They were the first to arrive. "Feels like we haven't been in here for a little while." Kei pointed.
"T-That's t-true. The last time we were all i-in here... was for the trial." Adam didn't like remembering it.
Ayaka started to take deep breaths. Damien noticed his dear Ayaka starting to get nervous. "My dear Ayaka? Come now, sit down." He motioned to a seat in the front row.
"O-Okay." Ayaka shakily sat down. Damien didn't need to ask why she was nervous. It was the motive, of course. One could say the group of eight had gotten spoiled by Pheme in a sense... but that hardly mattered.
The group of six started to all sit down... but Aurora stayed standing. "Excuse me... but what is that?" The starlet pointed to a wheel that was on the stage.
"Hm... w-what is that?" Adam tried to get a close look from where he was sitting. "It appears a-as if... it has all of our names on it. All seventeen of us." He noticed.
"Interesting! No doubt part of Pheme's grand scheme." Kei leaned back in his seat. He was grateful that the seats in the Grand Theater were fairly comfy. He had no problem just waiting for their fate.
"Yea... I'm not gonna worry. No use thinking about Pheme non-bestie's wacko mind." Raiha frowned.
"Yes... perhaps you're right." Aurora took her seat, and the group fell into silence.
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"Oh hey! People beat me here?! Damn!" Yoshino was the next to walk in. "Hate thinking about whatever Pheme might have planned but- what the fuck is that?" She noticed the wheel on stage.
"Welcome Yoshino! Have a seat." Kei said casually.
"Hmph... yeah." Yoshino had a bad feeling about this as she took a seat.
From there... everyone else start to trickle in and take their seats. In order, it was Joji, Lake, Ji-hoon, Kuroko, Rosalind, Cathy-
"Hey. Cathy." Ji-hoon interrupted the narration when he noticed the cat burglar enter.
"Hm? What is it celebrity detective human?" Cathy didn't take a seat, instead choosing to just stand in the back of the theater.
Ji-hoon sighed. "You didn't steal anything from Kuroko's Ultimate Studio did you?"
"What? Why in the world would I steal anything from that faker's studio?" Cathy almost seemed offended at the question.
"I ask because Kuroko alerted me to the fact that someone broke a lock in there. She didn't say anything was stolen... but it's still a concern." Ji-hoon started to tap his foot impatiently. "So? Did you? The whole stunt by whoever did it made us miss the Romance Studio puzzle too."
"Hmph! Like I care about a puny puzzle! Nyahaha!" Cathy started to jump around, all as a means to annoy the celebrity detective. "To answer your question... no. I didn't! Thieves honor!" She held her hand over her heart.
Ji-hoon didn't believe that for a second, but even he didn't want to deal with Cathy for longer than necessary. "Fine." He walked away and up to Kuroko. "She says she didn't steal anything and that she didn't break the lock." He told the hypnotist.
"Hm... darn-nya!" Kuroko pouted. "It's so weird... I don't get it-nya! I feel like it must be Cathy... but I don't know-nya. First Aurora gets stuff stolen from her... and now this-nya." She didn't know what to think anymore.
That reminded Ji-hoon that he still needed to ask Aurora about that. He wasn't even aware that she took those things in the first place... so he was curious about that too. He got up from his seat and moved closer to Aurora's. "Aurora. I wanted to-"
"Don't fret everyone! The Genjiro Mashimoto has arrived!" Genjiro's ego interrupted Ji-hoon's questioning.
"Hm? What is it Ji-hoon?" Aurora asked despite the sudden burst of ego in the room.
"It's... nothing." Ji-hoon should probably save this for later anyway.
"Where is that fucker- hey! Genjiro!" And there was the other reason Ji-hoon wanted to save this for later. He knew he wouldn't be able to focus on questioning with those two in here.
"Huh? The fuck you want Alpha?" Genjiro crossed his arms, definitely knowing what she wanted from him.
"I oughta beat the shit out of you for that! I didn't tell you you could kiss me you rapist!" Alpha seemed legitimately mad... but she was always mad so she just seemed like normal Alpha.
"Wait... kiss? The fuck?" Joji seemed confused.
"Those two... *cough* kissed?" Rosalind had trouble believing it.
"Oh... I f-forgot that everyone else doesn't know about w-what happened i-in the Romance Studio..." Adam tried to block all of that out, and for good reason.
"Right..." Damien hadn't realized that fact either.
Ji-hoon got a feeling in his chest what this "kiss" might be about. He ignored the fighting and shifted his focus to the group of six. "Guys... did anything happen in the Romance Studio? Kuroko and I got caught up in something. So..."
"Yes... I'll explain. I'll explain to everyone." Damien stood up.
"Please do Damien-nya! It sounds like I missed something important-nya!" Kuroko almost sounded disappointed.
Lake just seemed confused. They obviously knew what kissing was. But it still sounded strange to them. "Yeah... why would they kiss?" They asked, obviously wanting to know.
"So. It went like this..." Damien ignored Genjiro and Alpha's fighting as he explained the events that transpired to the uninformed.
...
"Wow. Sounds exciting." Suddenly, Darren.
"Huh." Suddenly, Rival. Nobody noticed either of them entering.
"What?! I missed the chance to kiss one of these beautiful girls-nya? Unfair-nya!" Kuroko huffed.
"Not sure you should be complaining about that Roko." Yoshino was glad she didn't go there. Fuck no would she do any of that kissing shit. "So that's crazy. Damien and Rai-Rai kissed... then Genjiro and Alpha kissed. God Pheme is a creep." She scoffed.
"I think it's obvious that Pheme is a creep?" Joji pointed out.
"I know she is Jojo! But... damn. She really likes to mess with us... god." Yoshino shook her head.
"Well then..." Ji-hoon was silently grateful he missed that. "Pheme explaining about the puzzle being early has me curious. We'll look into it more tomorrow. It's getting late." He checked the time.
"Indeed it *cough* is. And... they appear to still be fighting." Rosalind had no energy nor want to break it up, but in her personal opinion, she thought Alpha was overreacting.
"Yeah... I got it." Yoshino groaned, stood up, then cleared her voice. "...GENJIRO! ALPHA! SIT THE FUCK DOWN ALREADY!" In what was probably the loudest voice they've heard yet, the horror novelist's voice echoed throughout the theater. Personally, she thought Alpha was justified for reacting like this, considering what Damien told them. But on the other hand, she needed to get over it already. She had bigger things to worry about in here.
Both Genjiro and Alpha got visibly shocked by the sudden loud voice. "Damn Yoshi! You got some chords!" Genjiro seemed impressed.
"Christ! Shut up!" But Alpha just seemed annoyed.
"Just sit down already! Alpha! There are bigger things to worry about than a fucking kiss! It's Pheme trying get to you! And it's also just Genjiro being an ass! Like usual!" Yoshino had some fair points.
"Ugh." Alpha turned away from the wrestler. "Whatever." She sat down with a huff.
"You sit down too Genjiro!" Yoshino was going full boss-mode. She was just done with his antics.
"You can't tell me what to do bitch!" But Genjiro sat down anyway, away from Alpha.
"Fuck! There we go!" Yoshino sat back down, relieved.
"Wow... that was cool Yoshino!" Lake obviously hated the fighting, so the way Yoshino broke it up was really cool to them.
"Y-Yeah... that was i-impressive." Adam wished he could have that sort of extrovertedness sometimes. He didn't know if that was even a word, but it's the narration, so who cares.
"So... we're all calm now. Good." Ji-hoon started to address the group. "Now will she...?"
"Yes she shall!" Almost as if on Ji-hoon's cue, Pheme walked onto the stage. She had been hiding the whole time. "While Mr. Mashimoto and Ms. Alpha's fight was entertaining, I'm glad it's over! Because that means I can finally address you all!" She happily clapped her hands together.
"Are you going to address that *cough* wheel as well?" Rosalind was curious about it.
"Good eye Ms. Reinhardt! Indeed I will! For you see..." Pheme started to space out her words for dramatic effect. "This wheel... is apart of..."
"It's the motive right?" Yoshino ruined the moment.
"W-What? You already know?" Pheme seems genuinely surprised.
"The people who went to the Romance Studio told us that the second motive was coming soon-nya." Kuroko aided in ruining the moment.
"Wait what?! Did I tell them that?" It seemed as if Pheme didn't remember.
"You... definitely told us." Aurora found it strange that Pheme didn't remember, considering it wasn't even that long ago.
"Y-Yes. I r-remember you telling us." Adam had an academic memory, so he could be trusted here.
"Oh... darn it!" Pheme was disappointed she accidentally ruined her moment here. "Well... fine. Yes, the wheel is a part of the second motive!" She still tried to be excited about it.
"Yeah yeah can you just explain the stupid shit and be done?" Alpha was already sick of this day. "Or do you want us to spout some "uhh we won't fall for it" crap?"
"Well we aren't gonna fall for it-" Lake tried to say.
"I wasn't asking you Joji's onahole!" Alpha had an insult at the ready.
"Um... what's an onahole?" Lake didn't know what that was.
"Don't worry about that Lake." Joji didn't want Lake knowing that stuff. "Alpha!" He shot the gas station manager a glare as he tried to stay calm.
Alpha's first instinct was to bite back at the carpenter, but like the narration said, she was getting pretty sick of this say. So she chose to stay silent.
"Hmph." Joji was glad she didn't say anything.
"Nyahaha! Seeing humans squabble always brings a smile to my face!" Cathy continued to be... herself. "So goddess? The backup dancer non-human and the puppeteer human fell to the last motive... now what about this one? Who will fall this time?"
"No one... no one will fall." Ji-hoon answered in Pheme's place. "Pheme. Just explain it." He knew it'd be better to get it out the way instead of running away from it. That way, they'd know better how to fight it. And judging by most everyone's expression... it seemed like everyone agreed with him for the most part. Good. That saves him time.
"Well well well... I see the stars are rowdy today. Very good!" Pheme started to get her fire back after getting over the previous disappointment. "So everyone... this motive is simple. I..." Pheme spun the wheel. "Will spin this wheel! And I..." She waited for the wheel of names to stop spinning before she continued.
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It landed on Cathy. "I will call up whoever it lands on! So Ms. Munchkin! Come on up!" Pheme urged her up.
"No." Cathy responded.
Pheme glared at her. "Don't play this game Ms. Munchkin. Just come on up."
"...Mm... No." Cathy kept her answer.
"Ms. Munchkin... I swear..." Pheme didn't have anger issues like Joji, but she had a bit of a temper inside of her.
"Nyaha! Fine fine!" Cathy was amused that Pheme's buttons were so easily pushed. She giggled to herself as she lept up onto the stage. Pheme told her to stand on a specific spot, and she did. Everybody stayed silent... waiting in anticipation for what this motive would entail.
"Now... Ms. Munchkin! What you must do is simple! Now you must..." Pheme motioned over the audience of sixteen. "Pick someone!" She instructed her.
"...Pick someone? One of these humans? Why would I do that?" Cathy didn't have any snark for once, she was genuinely confused on where this was going.
"Just humor me Ms. Munchkin! I'm afraid I can't tell you the exact reason why!" Pheme was keeping everything as vague as possible.
"Hm... okay." Cathy started to think. "Knowing how you act goddess... I feel as if I'm choosing something bad to happen to someone." She reasoned.
"Is that so...?" Pheme kept being vague.
"So in that case... I'll choose you!
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Hypnotist human!" She pointed at Kuroko.
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"Wait... me-nya?" Kuroko didn't expect to get picked as she stood up. "Wait... you want something bad to happen to me-nya?!" The implications of what Cathy said hit her a moment later.
"Don't worry about it Ms. Kurobara! Just come on up and stand next to Ms. Munchkin!" Pheme spoke over the chorus of "Nyahaha" in the background.
"Well... okay-nya." Kuroko was apprehensive, but went and stood next to Cathy up on stage. "Now what-nya?"
"Now... you wait!" Pheme ordered her. "We have fifteen others to get through you know!" Without waiting for a response, Pheme spun the wheel again. People started to see where this was going... but it was clear that they were missing some valuable context.
The wheel kept spinning... until it landed on... "Ms. Beaufort! Come on up!" Pheme welcomed her next contestant.
"...Alright." Aurora was nervous, but she tried to hide it as she went up.
"So Ms. Beaufort... just like Ms. Munchkin... pick someone!" Pheme instructed her.
"Pick someone... okay." It was moments like these where she was glad she was an actress. It made it easier for her to hide her feelings. Because... she didn't want to choose in the same way Cathy did. She didn't want to choose for the sake of making something bad happen to someone. So... "I'll choose differently from Cathy... I'll choose someone with the thought they'll get an advantage."
"Ha! You're awfully hopeful arent you, starlet human?" Cathy didn't agree with that view.
Aurora shook her head, ignoring any teasing. "So with that in mind... I choose Raiha." She pointed to her bestie.
"Oh! Heck yeah!" Raiha excitedly stood up and went on stage, not even needed Pheme to tell her to do so. "I knew you were a real one Aurora bestie!" She side hugged the starlet.
"Right... I feel good about my choice." Aurora smiled, happy she chose the way she did.
"Interesting interesting... already some opposing views! I like it!" Pheme clapped. "But let's not waste anytime shall we?" Pheme spun the wheel again. And this time, it landed on... "Mr. Lux! Come up here!"
Damien was next up. "Of course." He left the side of his dear Ayaka and went up on the stage. "So... now I choose someone correct?" He wanted to make sure.
"Yep! You got it!" Pheme started to remove the names of the stars that were already up on the stage from the wheel.
Hm... Damien had to make a mental coinflip here. While he admired the way his dear Aurora chose, he also recognized that the way his dear Catherine chose is rather likely. He wished he had gotten more information on this... but it's too late now. So... he flipped that mental coin... and it landed on... "Darren. I choose you." He spoke with a healthy amount of disdain for the bartender.
"Oh. Alright." It wasn't apparent if Darren was surprised or not, as he simply went up and stood next to Damien, not voicing any complaints or anything.
But the others were a little surprised. "Dang... that's a strange choice you made." Kei seemed intrigued.
"Hm. Yeah. Expected you to choose Aya over Darren of all people." Yoshino, as previously stated, didn't like Damien. But even she was curious by his choice.
Ayaka didn't say anything. She merely looked down at the ground.
"Well... I chose in the idea that we are choosing something bad to happen to someone. It's unfortunate, but it's a more... logical choice." Damien explained his reasoning.
Darren still didn't say anything to that.
"Well... these pairings are already turning out interesting!" Pheme seemed to approve. "Now onto the next!" With another wheel spin, the next person chosen was... "Mr. Kaneshiro! It's your turn!"
Joji chose before he even made it onto the stage. Choosing for a good or bad reason... it didn't matter. No matter what... "I choose Lake. Let's go!" He smiled at the ballet dancer.
"Oh!" Lake didn't expect to have been chosen so quickly. "A-Alright!" They got up and went with Joji up onto the stage.
"A quick one hm? That's alright! Let's keep it moving then!" Pheme kept it going with another spin of the wheel... "Ms. Naganohara!" She motioned for the violinist to come up on the stage.
Ayaka darted her eyes around as she slowly got up. Honestly... she had no idea who to choose. If she had to pick from everyone... it'd be easier for her. She would've probably chosen Lake... or maybe Damien. But now... she didn't know.
Pheme waited for Ayaka to get into place on stage. "...So Ms. Naganohara? Who do you choose?" She waited with anticipation.
Damn... she really didn't know who to pick. "...Rival. That's w-who." Ayaka tried to choose based on who she thought was the most harmless. And... she thought of Rival.
Rival slowly got up and yawned. "Alright... sure." He had no objections as he went and stood next to Ayaka.
"Intriguing...!" Pheme had a smug smirk under her mask. But enough about that. It's wheel time. Next... "Mr. Aikawa! I summon you!"
"Heh. Not sure I'm something to be summoned, but sure." Kei walked up on stage with his hands in his pockets. "I'll dispense with the filler words if it's all the same to you Pheme?" He knew who he had wanted to choose from the beginning anyway. "Ji-hoon. You." He chose quickly.
"That works for me." Ji-hoon was fine with that. He didn't know where this motive was going, but out off all the possible pairings he had wanted, Kei was fairly high on the list. He walked up next to the lawyer.
"Yes yes... five left! Let's see!" Pheme giggled. It was now where it'd get interesting. And you know what would be interesting? A spin of the wheel! And the wheel chose... "Oh! Ms. Alpha!"
"Ugh..." Alpha groaned as she got up and actually got on stage. "I have to choose from these four? This is fucking rigged." She clearly wasn't pleased.
"I'm sorry Ms. Alpha, but it's how the cards fell!" Pheme happily shrugged.
"Yeah yeah..." Alpha waved her off. Fuck... she didn't know who to choose here. The remaining four... Genjiro, Adam, Yoshino, and Rosalind. All were going to be annoying as hell. She could tolerate Rosalind... barely. But at the same time... if she is choosing for something bad to happen to someone... she definitely knew who she'd choose. And... actually. You know what? "Genjiro. Get your bitchass up here!" She called the wrestler up.
"Ha! I fucking knew it!" Genjiro jumped up out of his seat and up onto the stage.
"Don't fucking say shit. Not in the mood." Alpha cut him off before he could say anything. "I chose you because I'm hoping Pheme will cut your dick off or something."
"Ha! Fair enough!" Genjiro actually respected her wishes, and kept quiet.
...
"So now it's final three! The undesirables!" Pheme jumped up with joy.
"Yes... you aren't wrong-"
"Rosa, don't even." Yoshino didn't want to hear any of her dark humor. "And Pheme... this whole thing is bullshit anyway. Don't give us this "undesirable" crap and get this over with!"
"Y-Yes...! What s-she said!" Adam tried to share in Yoshino's energy.
Pheme covered her masked mouth as she giggled. "I see! Fine then, as you wish." She prepared for one final wheel spin. "But I'll inform you three... this last one will decide the remaining pairing! Whoever gets chosen here will by by themselves... and the other two will be a pair! So... let's go!" Without waiting for comments from the undesirable three... she spun the wheel again. And now... they waited.
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Until finally... it stopped. "Interesting! So the person who will be by themselves for the motive will be... Ms. Reinhardt!" The wheel landed on Rosalind. "Ms. Reinhardt... you may stay seated!"
"Ah... I see." Rosalind was slightly happy she didn't have to get up.
"So that means... Ms. Akiyama and Mr. Brooks! You two are the final pair!" Pheme pointed at the horror novelist and at the academic. "I have a spot for you right here!"
"Well... alright. Let's do it!" Yoshino didn't know what to expect, but she was just going to bite the bullet. "C'mon Ade! Let's do it!" She flashed the academic a smile.
"R-Right... let's go." Adam was trying to think of what this might turned out to be... but he still wasn't sure. But it'd probably be revealed rather soon. So because of that, he joined Yoshino up on stage.
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"So... all of our pairings are decided!" Pheme was very excited. "In order... they are...
Cathy - Kuroko
Aurora - Raiha
Damien - Darren
Joji - Lake
Ayaka - Rival
Kei - Ji-hoon
Alpha - Genjiro
Adam - Yoshino
Rosalind
"All very exciting pairs!" Pheme got a mixture of expected and unexpected pairs... so she was curious to see how this was going to play out.
"So can we finally get to the motive part?" Alpha groaned. "I don't feel especially encouraged to murder this bitch yet."
"Same! She's annoying as shit, but still. Not feeling that urge." Genjiro shared in the groaning.
"I highly doubt this is all... Pheme probably has something up her sleeve." Joji was getting a bad feeling.
"You are correct Mr. Kaneshiro! I do have a trick up my sleeve!" Pheme snapped her fingers, which caused eight stands to ascend up from the floor. "Now you stars... put your wrists onto the stand!" There were spots on these stands for a wrist... one on each side.
"Huh... weird..." Yoshino was sketched out, but she put her left wrist on one side of her stand. And Adam put his right wrist on the other side.
Everybody else slowly followed suit... each person putting one of their wrists onto the stand.
"...Gotta be honest Pheme, still not feeling that murderous urge yet." Kei sounded jokingly disappointed.
"Kei bestie... she's clearly got more for us." Raiha gave Kei a bombastic side-eye.
"So... what do you have Pheme-nya?" Kuroko had a slight feeling on where this was going.
"Hm hm hm..." Pheme hummed to herself. "I'll happily show you all what I have for you! I'll happily show you the real motive!" She slowly prepared to snap her fingers again, taking in the nervous and suspicious faces as she did. Until...
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She snapped her fingers.
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It happened so quick. No one's reflexes were fast enough to respond to it. Because... "Woah! What the hell?!" Yoshino wasn't fast enough. She wasn't fast enough to react as handcuffs emerged from the stands, and snapped around both her and Adam's wrists. She looked around, and saw the same happening to everyone else.
"Oh ho ho... I see." Kei finally saw where this was going. Ji-hoon didn't say anything, instead just having a look of grim realization on his face.
"Hm... damn it." Damien swore under his breath as he got locked to Darren.
"W-What? W-What is this?" Ayaka quickly started to get out of the sudden handcuffs that connected her to Rival. But... to no avail.
"Ha! What bullshit is this?! This is nothing!" Genjiro seemed baffled yet confident in the face of these handcuffs.
"Hey! Stop flexing and... start... pulling... you bastard...!" Not wasting any time, Alpha got right to trying to break the handcuffs.
"Don't worry! I'll be-" Genjiro was about to start attempting to break the handcuffs, but he got cut off by a sound coming from his Star-Phone. Using his free hand, he pulled it out and read what he saw on the screen.
New Temporary Rule Added!
(Temporary Rule): For the duration of the second motive, the handcuffs cannot be broken. If a pair breaks their handcuffs, both will receive punishment from Pheme.
"Oh come on!" Genjiro threw his free hand up in the air.
"Grr... so this is the motive? Forcing me to be trapped to this phony?" Cathy tried to slip out of the handcuffs, not break them. But to no avail.
"That's correct Ms. Munchkin!" An aura of pure unbridled glee started to roll over Pheme. "Until further notice... you pairs will be trapped with each other! Through bathing... sleeping... eating... through everything! You'll be with your partner through it all! Ha ha ha!" Pheme hit a perfect evil laugh.
Everybody was either mortified, angry, or a mix of the two feelings. "This... this is bullshit!" Now knowing he couldn't break the handcuffs, Joji didn't know where to direct his anger.
"Yeah... IDK about this..." Raiha was more than happy to spend time with her bestie, but even this was a bit much.
Rival bit his lip. "This... could definitely be annoying."
Ji-hoon gritted his teeth as he examined the handcuff that connected him to Kei. "Do I even have to ask how we get these off?"
Pheme giggled. "No... you don't! It's simple! If you wish to remove these handcuffs...
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Someone must die! Simple...no?"
Alrighty! Here we are! The second motive, and my personal favorite motive for the story. This was the first one I thought of, and I'm really glad I did! This'll be fun! There's still a bit more for you to learn about the motive... but you'll learn in part 4! Besides, this gave you the basic gist anyway
Now... I want to explain how I did this motive. I actually loaded all seventeen names into a wheel online. I'd then spin it, then I'd ask the creator of whichever character the wheel landed on a question! I'd ask them to "Put yourself in your character's shoes and choose someone from the cast!" I kept it vague to not spoil the surprise. The whole thing started out fairly funny... as they first person I landed on was Cathy. But as Cathy's creator isn't available right now, I merely spun the wheel again to choose her partner. So the fact that the wheel landed on Kuroko, someone Cathy hates, was a complete coincidence!
But overall, like Pheme said, I got a mix of expected pairing and unexpected pairings. I had to build aspects about this case around these pairings... so that was kind of fun. Let me tell you, I was really nervous to see who the Chapter 2 deaths were going to be paired with. And... well, you'll see. You'll see soon!
But that's all from me! I hope you look forward to more details as the next death creeps closer and closer!
Glamorous Stars Remaining: 17
Adam Brooks - Ultimate Academic [PROJECT DRAMA]
Alpha - Ultimate Gas Station Manager [Epifanio Therion]
Aurora Beaufort - Ultimate Starlet [WolfieRed23]
Ayaka Naganohara - Ultimate Violinist [Sempi]
Catherine Munchkin - Ultimate Cat Burglar [Nekoja]
Damien Lux - Ultimate Beautician [oddlyillregular]
Darren Taylor - Ultimate Bartender [Otterplay]
Genjiro Mashimoto - Ultimate Wrestler [Grandma Sue]
Ji-hoon Jo - Ultimate Celebrity Detective [TheRoseShadow21]
Joji Kaneshiro - Ultimate Carpenter [SureJahn]
Kei Aikawa - Ultimate Lawyer [theotakureader101]
Kuroko Kurobara - Ultimate Hypnotist [MrUtenaHolic]
Lake Beaumont - Ultimate Ballet Dancer [KadachiNova]
Raiha Miyahara - Ultimate Trendsetter [Prince PokePersona]
Rival Seizon - Ultimate Backing Vocalist [SinWriter7]
Rosalind Reinhardt - Ultimate Cinematographer [Orlando Butler]
Yoshino Akiyama - Ultimate Horror Novelist [DeathlyJazzHands55]
