GAME

Sero put on the virtual reality headset. A 'No Signal' warning greeted him.

"This sucks," Sero said. "We're stuck down here, and we don't even get WiFi?"

"Don't look at me," Kaminari said. "I can only charge batteries."

"Ugh. I'd sell my soul for a game."

A static fog enveloped the headset's display. A short, white-faced puppet waved at Sero. "Hello there. Would you like to play a game?"

"Absolutely."

A cloud of pixels floated in front of Sero. The resolution increased until the pixels turned into a gleaming kitchen knife.

"First, you must kill Kaminari, or-"

Sero stabbed. Kaminari shorted himself out and flopped over.

The puppet stared dumbfounded. "I didn't even finish explaining."

"Eh, tutorials are boring. What next?"

"Well, uh… why don't you-"

Momo walked around the corner. "Sero? Why is Kaminari lying on the floor in a suspicious red puddle? And why are you holding a comically oversized knife that's also dripping with suspicious red liquid?"

"Say no more!" Sero said. He slammed the hilt into Momo's head, dropping her to the floor.

"I didn't even say anything!"

"Eh, skip dialogue. Now let's see… if I angle this just right…"

Sero crouched on the floor. The puppet facepalmed and asked, "Are you seriously trying to look up her skirt?"

"Hey, don't judge! I better not get an achievement for this!"

"For the love of - if you really want a view that badly, why don't you take off her clothes?"

"Dude, you can't do that!"

"Oh thank Christ, you actually have morals."

"This is a videogame! The developers would never let you get away with stuff like that! I could wind up bad-ended permanently on this save file!"

"And people call me the monster."

Mineta walked in. "Hey Sero, what are you - hey, what are you doing to Momo?"

"Relax, it's just a game."

"You're copping a look and it's just a game to you? For shame! This is how you do it!"

Before Mineta could get any closer, Sero stabbed him. Violently. Mineta flopped to the floor.

"Are you going to judge me for that too?" Sero asked.

"Nope. You did the world a favor."

"Sweet. Oh hey, there's Bakugo!"

Sero brandished the knife. "This is for calling me Sticky Elbows, you jerk!"

Bakugo grabbed his wrist. Sero dropped the knife as his arm smoldered.

"Oh wow, I can actually feel that!"

"I see the machines brainwashed you. Sorry, Sticky Elbows, I'll set you free. Permanently."

"Stop calling me that!"

Bakugo reached out and blasted the headset apart. Sero blinked and pulled its smoking ruins off his head.

"Aww, it was just getting good!"

The rest of 1-A gaped in shock at him. "What?" Sero asked. "It was just a game!"

Momo pulled a baseball bat out of her cleavage. "Your headset livestreamed to every screen."

"And? You'd all do the same."

Half the class whistled innocently. Mineta reached out with a trembling hand and gurgled, "Hospital."

Momo whacked him with her bat.

499

Jigsaw: why is there an IOU in your chest?

Sero: you're not the first person that wanted my soul