Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy (SYOC)

by SilverMark16

[Sequel to Corrupted Hope] Eighteen of Hope's Peak's finest awake to find themselves stuck in an abandoned theme park, Piero's Playground, the joyous place in the world! However, behind the smiles and laughs is a deadly game of tears and tragedy starring a Killing Game hosted by the eccentric Stanczyk and his twisted partner, Monoyena.

31. House of 1000 Low Spirits (Part 6)

Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits (Daily Life #6)

---

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

With that said, please enjoy!

---

"Tell me about the incident."

Monoyena always hated this part of the procedures.

He was strapped to a metal magnetic table, like some sort of medical patient. His stomach was exposed, revealing an inner working of cogs and wheels and other mechanical parts meshing together. For a plush robotic being like himself, the procedure never hurts. It's painless. For a being like him, it's no different than a check-up from the family doctor.

That's not what he hated about this procedure though.

What he hated was the conversation that happened every time he was sent here. He darted his single jagged red eye toward the man behind the one-way mirror. The man, shrouded behind that protective glass of his as his voice echoed inside the chamber he was in. His lackeys, standing beside his exposed body and checking his machinery.

It was humiliating.

Fucking.

Humiliating.

"Yer talking about that little scuffle down by the office, ain't ya?" Monoyena spoke as one of the scientists/doctors/whatever poked around his stomach. He laughed. "Sorry mate! Couldn't help myself!"

"So you say."

Monoyena could sense how unconvinced the man behind the glass was. In fact, there was a moment of brief silence. The old fuck was probably jotting everything in that notebook of his. He gnashed his teeth together, trying to keep himself composed.

"Look doc," Monoyena cackled. "I don't get it. So I shanked the fuck in the face. The asshole had it coming. Poked around in places he shouldn't have. Ain't that the thing we're programmed to do…?"

Monoyena turned his head toward the scientist that was pretty much poking around in his stomach. He could see the tinge of worry in his eyes. He was afraid. They were all afraid. A normal reaction to someone like him.

A reaction that he had grown accustomed to since the day he opened his eyes.

"...Monoyena. This isn't the first time this has happened. You're aware of this, yes?"

Monoyena didn't say anything.

"New World Order has received hundreds of complaints from your behavior. You're rude. Violent. Reckless. Impossible to work with. They're calling you an abomination. Every time, it's your assigned partners that come home with more holes in their bodies than they started with."

Monoyena couldn't help but cackle at that.

"Fucking diabolical, ain't it?" he snickered, before snapping his cartoonishly sharp teeth toward the scientist. "Oi! Fucking watch it! That's my privates ya fucking predator! I'll fucking rip yer dick out and shove it right up yer ass! How would you like that, fuckface?!"

The scientist jumped back in fright.

He had stopped the procedure midway, but Monoyena didn't care. In fact, he was satisfied with this. Satisfied that he was the most dangerous thing in the room. And yet, for some reason, that was a problem. A real fucking problem to these drags…

Monoyena bitterly sighed.

"Ah heh, anyway," he twisted his frown into a grin. "You were saying, doc?"

Silence.

"Monoyena. This is serious. Your outbursts are inappropriate. Such actions, violate the principles of–"

"Oh, just fucking fix me up already," Monoyena grumbled. "I don't need to hear the same fucking thing from all of these loons again, aight?"

"That's the problem, Monoyena. No matter how many times we try to fix you, you always revert back to your normal self."

"Then, there's no fucking problem!" Monoyena growled. "That just means I'm supposed to be this way! Now, patch me up, and let me be on my fucking way already, aight?!"

Pause.

"I'm sorry, Monoyena. But I can't do that. Not this time."

"What?" Monoyena blinked. "Why the fuck not?!"

"New World Order has deemed you ineffective for any future Killing Game projects. As such, you will be stored and deactivated until you are either needed once more… or until the organization decides they have no further use for you."

Monoyena's eyes widened.

For the first time, he realized just how serious they were. How deep in shit he actually was. He could see the other scientists approach him, getting ready to shut him off. He looked around frantically. This… This couldn't be happening. Not to him. He had so much to live for than remain shut off for who knows how long.

"W-Wait!" Monoyena exclaimed, desperately. "W-Wait wait wait wait wait wait! Hold the fuck on, assholes! If yer were just gonna turn me off this entire time, why bother with the fucking check-up in the first place?!"

"It's standard procedure. The inner workings get clogged much easily in storage."

"Bullshit!" Monoyena exclaimed. "Ya brought me here to explain myself, yeah? So, so, how about this?! A proposal! A fucking proposal for one last chance! I'll be a good little hyena! I swear!"

Another pause.

The hyena could see the scientists slowly back away as they considered this option. He could even feel the man behind the glass ponder this as well. Then, after a while, his voice seeped back into the room.

"What are you thinking?"

"Fucking hell, I…" Monoyena started to sweat oil. "Give me one more partner! I'll treat em right! No stabbings! No shanks! I'll be a good boy! I swear! Hyena's Honor!"

There was another brief pause, as if the doctor behind the mirror was contemplating what exactly Monoyena was trying to offer here. It took a bit but as before, his voice echoed back into the room.

A chuckle all for Monoyena to hear.

"So, even an abomination like yourself can beg for his life. That's interesting. Very well. We'll humor you. We'll give you a partner."

"Yeah, yeah, fucking hell, yeah," Monoyena seemed relieved. "S-So uh, who's it gonna be? The smoking hazard? The milf?"

"Neither. As luck has it, there is only one person that comes to mind. Someone who's in a similar position as yourself. I'm being nice today. So, I've decided to give you a little advantage on your proposal. Theoretically, there should be no way for you to fuck it up. Unless… you give in to your basic urges again."

Monoyena glanced around, confused.

"Who's the guy?" he asked.

…

The life of a MonoMachine was never easy.

Every single one of his predecessors and successors were all created for a single purpose: to enforce the rules of a Killing Game. That was their primary reason of being. That was why they created. And for the most part, every MonoMachine in this goddamn organization understood and respected such outcomes in their livelihoods.

But Monoyena was different.

They called it faulty programming, most likely on his creator's part. Popsies. Fuck that guy. Man gave him an awareness unlike anyone else in the fucking room. He was different in which he knew that there was more to his life than just watching a bunch of kids kill each other. More to life… like an urge. An itch that he wanted to scratch and yet never could.

He waddled behind a woman.

The Woman.

Mature. Definitely one of the top dogs of the organization they were a part of. He knew her well. Everyone did. Because every time she arrived, there was always an air of respect when it came to her. An aura that told everyone to show her the same respect she showed everyone else. Like a mother. Heh, fact remained, even he sometimes imagined her to be his mother…

Mumsie.

He knew little about his own mother...

But with those shiny blades by her side.

Those shiny kitchen knives…

Admirable.

She might as well be his mother too, yeah?

He could feel the piercing stares from the other members: MonoMachines and up-and-coming Overseers alike. All of whom, watching him with disgust, disinterest, or curiosity. Tch. It was fair to say that not a single one of his shit-for-brains 'colleagues' actually liked his company here. Who could blame them?

There was that smoking piece of shit leaning against the wall, killing his lungs with burning banknotes.

Another guy with a fucking TV for a head was by his side, tilting his head, curiously, screen flickering.

Some assortments of animals like Monojaku and Monokumo were there too, just conversing about but quieting down the moment they noticed his presence.

All watching him pass by as the fucking outcast of the entire group. God, that itch was back. The itch to gouge out every single one of their eyes. He gritted his teeth. He tried his best to keep it together, making sure that he didn't lose it right then and there. If he did, the deal was off. But then, the woman stopped. From the distance came a knight, his footsteps clanging from armor to floor…

Right.

That fuck.

"Are doth sure about this?" the knight asked, quietly.

"Oh Credence…" the woman placed a hand over the knight's cheek like she was his mother. "Always so worried about me~ Like a son to his mother…"

"Doth not be mine mother…" the knight flatly responded.

"It's 'you are nay mine mother', ya fucking retard," Monoyena muttered.

The knight snapped his head toward Monoyena. He unsheathed his sword and instantly pointed it toward Monoyena's neck. How he wanted to slice this little shit's neck right then and there. Impale that sword through his eye and just-

"Oh!" Monoyena growled. "So, you wanna go, mate?! Do it, then! Fucking do it!"

"Boys!" the woman snapped.

Both the knight and Monoyena tensed up, turning toward her and ceasing their argument. The knight lowered his sword as Monoyena glanced away, grumbling obscenities underneath his breath.

"B-But, fair maiden-" the knight was about to say.

But the woman placed a hand over the knight's shoulder, giving him a rather assuring smile.

"Don't worry," she smiled. "I'll be okay…"

The knight wasn't too sure about it.

However, seeing the complete trust she had, he begrudgingly stepped out of the way, allowing the woman and Monoyena to pass through a set of stairs. All the while, the hyena couldn't help but feel the burning gaze from the knight. Man could've ended him right then and there, but as it stood, he was under direct orders. Direct orders to let him have this chance…

…

When the woman stopped by one of the metal doors of what seemed to be an endless hallway of solitary confinement cells, she gave him a dangerous glare from behind the mask she wore.

She squatted down and quietly unsheathed a kitchen knife.

Then, she pointed it directly underneath his chin, making sure the tip met his fur.

Monoyena wanted to react, but he couldn't.

Not now.

If he did, it would be all over.

"Fucking hell, bitch," Monoyena raised his paws up. "I ain't gonna kill ya and stuff yer body in there. Jesus! I know my limits!"

"Oh… that's not what this is for," the woman tilted her head, menacingly. "This… is just a warning."

The woman leaned forward, her voice stern and cold, almost sociopathic.

"...If you hurt him in any way," she muttered. "...I will personally rip you to pieces. Do I make myself clear, Monoyena?"

Monoyena slowly nodded.

"Good~" the woman smiled and stood back up, shifting back to her cheerful and motherly self.

She turned toward the door, input a code of some sort, and slowly opened it, allowing Monoyena to peek inside.

...

It was a small dimly lit room.

The only source of light came from the television set seated in the corner. Toys of all kinds were scattered across the floor. A bed was placed against the wall, its blanket sheets and pillows scattered about in a frenzy. And there, in the darkest corner of the room...

He saw him.

His new partner.

The very person that was going to help him out of this precarious spot he was in. All he had to do was not hurt him. That's it. It seemed easy at first, but seeing the glowing yellow plus-shaped eye and his red eye from within the darkness… and listening to that constant jingle on loop…

The jingle from the television playing his theme.

Playing that stupid children's show on repeat.

Monoyena felt the woman slowly push him into the room.

Any time someone touched him like that, he'd go off and cut a finger. But not this time. This was his last chance. He needed to get himself under control or risk being deactivated until... who knows what would happen. And as he forced himself inside, something came into contact with his feet: a Barbie doll.

He slowly picked it up, glancing at it curiously.

"Jesus," Monoyena couldn't help but laugh. "How old are ya to still play with this–"

"It's for you…"

Monoyena blinked.

"The fuck did ya say to me...?" Monoyena started to growl.

The figure in the darkness tilted his head.

"...For... you..." he emphasized.

Monoyena gnashed his teeth together.

"Oh, so ya think yer funny, eh?" Monoyena snarled. "Ya think I really wanna play with a fucking girl's toy?! I'll shove this thing right down yer fucking throat, ya fucking–"

"Ahem!"

Monoyena stopped, glanced back to see that the woman was watching him carefully. He remembered why he was in this situation in the first place. And by God, he hated it. He gritted his teeth and tried to hold his temper in.

"E-Er I mean…" Monoyena muttered. "Gee, thanks a lot... mate… I really... dig it..."

Ugh, this was torture.

He snuck a glance toward the figure in the shadows. He never moved from the space he was in, but Monoyena could feel just how relieved he was to hear that. He moved his head to look up toward the woman, then back at the hyena. He tilted his head, curious. Like an animal trying to identify whether the thing in front of him was a friend or a foe. Monoyena would very much like to be a foe. But the figure...

"Mate?" the figure tilted his head. "Like… friend? So, you are my new bEsT fRiEnD tO tHe EnD?"

Monoyena was taken aback.

"J-Jesus, what the fuck–" Monoyena blinked.

"My name is Stanczyk!" the figure, Stanczyk, extended his hand, but kept himself cornered in the dark. His voice, absolutely ecstatic. "You wanna play games? I have games. I love games. Do you love games? Which ones? Tell me. Tell me. teLL mE…"

Monoyena wasn't sure how to respond.

When they said they had one partner in mind, he didn't think it'd be this kook. If anything, he'd argue that this fuck was crazier than he was. How could someone who speaks so innocently be so… unnerving to be around? It was… annoying. Oh, what he would give to smash this guy's face in just to get him to shut up. He clenched his paw over the Barbie doll. He gritted his teeth. Fuck it. The urge was too–

"Y-You're... scared of me... aren't you?" Stanczyk's voice started to lower.

He slowly dropped his hand down.

"Everyone is always so scared of me…" he continued.

He had lowered his gaze as well.

"They never want to talk or play with me," Stanczyk continued. "They always avoid me. They always tell me to stay away. Stay... here. That's why I stay here all the time… in the dark… alone. Only Mommy wants to talk and play with me. Mommy's the only one who visits. Mommy's my only friend here."

His voice remained somber for a moment before he glanced back toward Monoyena, hope in his masked eyes.

"But…" Stanczyk started to sound excited. "She told me that I was going to get a new friend today. That's you, right? My new best friend to the end? You'll be my friend, right? Right? Right? RiGhT?"

Monoyena blinked.

He glanced back toward the woman, as if pondering whether this was a cruel joke of some kind. Based on the look she was giving behind that mask she wore... clearly not.

Tch.

So, that's what the doc meant by similar circumstances. Suddenly, the murderous rage he felt dissipated into something else. A connection. This guy was just like him. Stuck in a place where everyone was scared of them. Finally, someone who could understand all the shit he's been feeling since his creation. For once, he didn't think about the NWO and their judgmental members… nor the woman who was getting ready to fly into the room in case he did anything rash…

Monoyena tried to relax.

"Yeah, guess not, mate," Monoyena simply said. "Fuck it. Friends to the end. Or whatever."

Stanczyk didn't react for a moment, but Monoyena heard it.

A sniffle.

It didn't take long before Stanczyk slowly lowered his hands and curled up into a ball. He started to shake and shiver. That's when the sniffling intensified. He couldn't see in the darkness, but he knew it right then and there…

...

…He was crying…

...

"T-Thank you… Urk… Urk… ugh… ahh…" Stanczyk wept. "T-Thank you… b-best friend…"

Monoyena didn't say anything in return.

To think that he would share the same circumstances as this little pussy wet wipe. He couldn't feel anything but pity for him. And yet, he knew he could use him. He knew he could… but he didn't. He didn't know why. For someone like his caliber… someone who was violent, reckless, and an abomination… For the first time in his life, he felt as if he could actually be friends with someone like him.

"...Y-Yeah..." didn't mean he had to like it. "Yeah, no problem. No problem at all…"

This was really it, huh?

His New Life.

His New Life with his best friend to the end…

---

[The Grandview Mansion]

---

(Hallway)

Alisa remembered how much her heart fluttered back then…

As she held hands with a weak and hungry Kazuki, the clockmaker escorted him through the Hallway, hoping to find a good place to reveal her secret. She knew for a long time that this was something she had to do. The question of when though. Now that was a fleeting question.

With every step they took, Alisa snuck glances toward Kazuki. Despite his hunger and how lacking in energy he was, he still looked strong. Powerful. Everything that Alisa wasn't. This was a man who was willing to starve for the betterment of children.

A real Man of the People.

Japanese Gandhi.

Alisa couldn't help but chuckle to herself as she thought about that silly imagery.

"…Is something wrong…?" Kazuki asked. "…Miss Zachary…?"

"O-Oh uh, nothing," Alisa turned away, her face bursting red. "N-Nothing at all!"

The embarrassment was starting to show.

She kept her hands locked onto Kazuki's. Instinctive but… safe. Huh. She only felt safe when she was with Kazuki. Maybe that was the kick that finally got her to go through with this. It wasn't Yukihiko's blackmail. It was… her. Her decision. That's right. She wasn't going to let herself be forced to tell it. She'll say it when she wants to.

That's what Kazuki wanted…

"Oh…!" Kazuki quickly stopped Alisa. "Careful…!"

The door had slammed shut in front of them.

It took Alisa by surprise but what really sold the scene was how quickly Kazuki acted. Man was hungry and he still had the energy to protect Alisa from getting hit with a door to the face. As she said… Kazuki made her feel safe. No matter how hungry he was or how weak he looked, Kazuki was forever strong.

Powerful.

Alisa's face turned beet red.

Yes.

This was the man she could trust her secret with…

She glanced over toward Kazuki, whose main focus was on the door. It took a bit but once the door actually opened, Alisa locked hands with Kazuki once more, assuring him she was fine. They had more important matters to work with.

She could trust her secret with him but…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…Things weren't supposed to play out like they were supposed to.

---

(Photo-Op)

Alisa shot her eyes wide open.

She looked around the room. She noticed that she was on a yellow sofa. A yellow sofa? Was it always yellow or was she still suffering from the effects of being drowsy? She continued scanning the room. It didn't take long for her to finally recognize the place as the Photo-Op.

Right.

That matched with one of the last things she remembered. Just being in this room. And the reason for that was because she was supposed to tell someone a secret. Tell… Kazuki… her secret…

And then everything came flooding back.

Her eyes widened.

Panic started to set in.

She remembered everything now…

The moment she lost herself.

The moment her sickness took over.

The moment—

"Thank goodness…"

Alisa swiftly turned to see Kazuki standing up from the floor where he had been this entire time. His smile was grim, but it wasn't any different from all the times he had a grim smile. If anything, it seemed like he was genuinely fine with seeing Alisa okay and well.

But it was when he walked closer that Alisa's face paled.

Because across Kazuki's face was a splatter of blood. Blood that not only stained his face but also the clothes he wore, not that anyone could make it out from the black suit. But the white shirt underneath, yeah there was blood too. Her blood. Straight from…

Alisa covered her mouth, the dread seeping over her face.

The fear in her eyes as she awaited—

"Hey…" Kazuki squatted down next to Alisa and placed a hand over her head. "It's okay…"

He smiled at her, assuredly.

"This… This was your secret… right…?" he asked, voice starting to sound concerned.

That was the moment that broke Alisa.

"I… I meant to tell you sooner," Alisa felt herself start to cry. "I… I didn't mean for—"

"Miss Zachary…" Kazuki shook his head.

"I tried to tell you so many times," Alisa let out. "I just… I was… I was scared… I was just—"

"Miss Zachary…" Kazuki repeated.

"I'm so sorry, Kazuki," Alisa closed her eyes, trying to avoid the disgust in his eyes. "I know it was selfish of me! I know it was! But please don't—"

"Alisa…!" Kazuki abruptly spoke.

He quickly cupped her cheeks, his voice calm rather than angry or disgusted. But even if she did feel his hands over her face, she still wouldn't dare open her eyes. The fear of rejection was too much. Fear that he'll reject her… just like she did her own parents. It was… too much to…

"…Open your eyes…" Kazuki calmly spoke.

Alisa didn't do it.

"…Alisa… please… look at me…" Kazuki instructed.

This tone.

This was the same tone he used to ask her to dance with him. And back in that Hallway, she said it to herself. This was supposed to be the man she felt safe with. Everything he was doing was all done to make her feel as comfortable as possible. So, why was she hesitating? If she trusted him, she wouldn't be acting this way now would she…?

So, battling the sheer hesitation in her actions, Alisa slowly opened her eyes and looked at Kazuki.

And there she saw it.

Kazuki's face.

Though his lower half was coated with the blood she spewed onto him, he never held it against her. His eyes were just as comforting as his tone of voice and his gentle touch. She felt his hands lower and watched his smile creep wider.

"See…?" he smiled. "You have nothing to be sorry for…"

In other words, he really was okay with it.

And that was enough for Alisa to break down, bury her face in his chest, and sob…

…

"So… I suppose that explains a lot about your ideology…"

Kazuki sat on the sofa, allowing Alisa to rest her head against his shoulder. She had stopped crying, but the redness in her eyes told him a different story. She wanted to cry some more but for some reason, she couldn't. As if being with Kazuki really did comfort her to the point where her entire body felt relaxed. Relaxed to the point of feeling… calm and dare she say, happy?

"…I have to extend an apology to you…" Kazuki spoke up. "I never realized how my decisions could be considered offensive to what you had to struggle through all your life…"

"No, Kazuki, there's no need for apologies," Alisa somberly said. "You never knew until now. If anything, I should've told you about my condition sooner."

She laughed to herself, almost bitterly.

"What was I thinking?" she fixed her glasses. "Keeping this a secret from you for so long. I mean, to think I would've thought someone like you would've hated me for keeping a secret as big as this."

"Obviously not…" Kazuki looked amusedly offended. "I told you… I have secrets of my own. I understand the stress one faces in having to reveal a lifelong secret."

"That is true," Alisa noted. "But that just makes me feel all the more stupid."

She sighed.

"I guess I was scared…" she revealed. "Scared that I would be forced to sacrifice myself…"

"…And you know I would've never allowed for that to happen…" Kazuki remarked sternly. "Sacrifices have to be a voluntary process. To be extorted into doing so… That's… unforgivable…!"

Ah! So, she did tell him about that.

"That Mister Yuno…" Kazuki's expression darkened. "What was he thinking… holding your secret over your head like that…? Surely… he'll need to pay for—"

"Kazuki, no," Alisa shook her head, placing a hand over his chest. "It's… It's okay now… If anything, Yukihiko isn't going to get what he wants from me."

Kazuki's face softened.

"He wanted me to tell you in hopes that I'll be forced to be sacrificed alongside you," Alisa pointed out. "But…"

"…As I said…" Kazuki nodded in understanding. "There is no way I will let you sacrifice yourself… unless it was your choice… and your choice to make…"

He smiled to himself.

"And I know how much you value living over being a suicidal martyr like me…" he continued. "In fact… I think your will to live suits you well…"

"Kazuki?" Alisa blinked, glancing toward him. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying…" Kazuki smiled. "…That you... Alisa Zachary... are the strongest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing…"

He slowly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him.

"…Never forget that as long as you live…". Kazuki told her.

That put a warmth to Alisa's cheek and a smile over her face. She made herself comfortable and cuddled up next to him. And for a long time, the two remained in each other's grasp, both feeling that nervous embarrassment creeping through. As she kept her head resting over his chest, she let out a soft murmur.

"Thank you, Kazuki," she simply said.

"Of course…" Kazuki kept her close. "…Alisa…"

Kazuki knew for a fact that this was going to be a night to remember.

When he had helped Alisa up onto the couch, he recalled checking the time over and over again on her pocket watch to see how long it would take her to wake up. Currently, it was a little past midnight. So, in a way, Alisa had been out for at least… 5 hours.

Ha! For him to wait 5 hours for her to wake up and have this conversation with him…

Kazuki smiled.

It was worth it.

It was so worth it.

But then his smile dropped as his mind wandered to another important fact: Alisa was strong enough to reveal her secret. Now, it was his turn. He had to wonder if he had that same strength. That same strength to reveal what he had been hiding…

Kazuki didn't know.

But what he did eventually figure out was that a moment like this shouldn't be tarnished with other thoughts seeking to sink this momentous occasion. Kazuki let out a deep breath, held Alisa closer to him, and closed his eyes.

Heh.

For once, the two were at peace.

---

(Music Room)

Mara's eyes snapped wide open.

She had heard the sound of a door closing. Specifically, the door from the side. The one that connected to the Nursery. It was an odd thing. Questionable too. Did any one of the three want something with anyone in the Music Room or…?

She frowned and rubbed her eyes.

She had no idea, nor did she want to know. But it did piss her off that she had to be woken up by something as minuscule as that. As the Ultimate Karate Master, her sense of awareness was slightly more enhanced than everyone else. She wouldn't deem it as amazing as any superhero featured on the big screen nowadays. It was just natural to her.

But now that she was awake…

She glanced around the room and then to herself. Mostly everyone had changed back into their normal clothes shortly after the Hide and Seek round, which by the way, the jester had completely failed to even find her. By the time the Nighttime Announcement sounded, she wasn't even in a hiding spot at that point. She sighed in relief. Guess she was getting food…

She narrowed her eyes for a moment.

She noted that there were only two people in the room: her and Yumi.

So, where was… Manon?

Mara turned to Yumi, only just now realizing that the cowgirl had completely passed out. She was resting her head against her head. Something that formed a blush over the karate master's face the moment she realized. Day 1 Mara would've punched Yumi and sent her flying across the room in an instant!

But present-day Mara didn't.

Instead, she tapped on Yumi's shoulder, her expression deadpanned and voice stern.

"Yumi," Mara spoke. "Where's Manon?"

Yumi didn't respond… she was still in her little Western dreamland.

"Yumi," Mara muttered. "Wake up."

He tried shaking Yumi awake but all that did was make the cowgirl turn to the floor to sleep on. Now was about the point where Mara wished she was Day 1 Mara. But knowing her own strength…

Having been released from Yumi's unwarranted cuddles, Mara stood up, her eyes looking down at this cowgirl with disapproval.

"For the love of—" Mara sighed. "How heavy of a sleeper are you?"

No response.

Just the sight of Yumi being happily asleep and the occasional mutter in her sleep.

"Don't worry Mara," Yumi spoke quietly in her sleep. "Ah'll protect ya…"

Mara's face flushed red.

"Idiot…" Mara hissed. "I'll just go and find her myself…!"

That was enough incentive to leave Yumi alone and leave the Music Room. Not once did the karate master ever question why Yumi was dreaming about her. She didn't want to know. But that didn't mean she didn't entirely not dig the idea of Yumi dreaming about her in her sleep.

…

Nope! Focusing on finding Manon was the main concern at the moment!

---

(Grand Lobby)

The quest to find Manon continued as Mara left the Hallway and walked into the Grand Lobby.

She folded her arms, taking the time to ponder a very important question.

Why the hell did she care about finding this mouse actress?

It wasn't like she and Manon were the best of friends. If anything, they were roommates. And while they had the occasional chatter here and there, Mara didn't think they were at that point in a relationship for her to start worrying about her disappearance all of a sudden. She grimaced.

Was this what it felt like to go soft?

…

Mara's body suddenly tensed up.

She furrowed her eyebrows and glanced around. For some reason, she felt as if she were being watched. She looked around. Left. Right. Up on the ceiling. Down over the railings to see whether or not someone was downstairs.

Nothing.

Whatever that was or… whoever that was… they must've left as discreetly as possible. Mara stopped to think for a moment. Could it have been Manon? The karate master didn't think so. For what reason would the actress have gone out of her way to just run around this haunted house… sometime during the middle of the night.

She didn't have a clock.

She didn't know what time it was.

But she supposed that whoever it was, they must've…

…sniffle…

Mara paused.

She heard it clear as day.

She turned her head toward the Bathroom. The door wasn't fully closed, meaning the opportunity to barge in and find out whether that was Manon sniffling or not was open for her to take. She clenched her fist. Was she going to take it?

Heh.

Does anyone need to ask…?

---

(Bathroom)

When Mara slammed the door open, she was pleased to see that she was right on the money when she caught Manon sitting on the floor.

The actress was completely taken by surprise. And what was worse was that she was caught with tears streaming down her eyes, something that Mara didn't think she would ever see from Manon of all people. Again, she wasn't that close with Manon, but every time she saw her, she always thought to be some preppy girl that loved having fun.

Seeing her look absolutely miserable though. That was… not something she expected.

"A-Ah, M-Madame Garcia," Manon frantically wiped her stray tears. "A-Ah, pardon moi, did you need to use the Bathroom? I— I can move if you would—"

"Save it," Mara slowly shut the door behind her.

Once she did, she took another look at Manon. The actress had changed out of her formal clothing already, meaning she did stop at the Music Room at some point. After that, well, Mara didn't know what her movements were after. But whatever they were, it definitely had to do with whatever was troubling at the moment.

Mara leaned against the door, arms folded and expression serious.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"M-Madame Garcia…" Manon glanced away. "I… I do not mean to offend mais… I do not zink it is any of your business. I just… feel under ze weather. Zat is all."

"Right…" Mara didn't buy it one bit.

She watched Manon, noticing how the meeker girl clung onto her own kneecaps for support.

"If you're not here to use ze Bathroom zen why are you even here to begin with?" Manon muttered, somberly.

"Please," Mara glanced away. "I woke up, noticed you were gone, and went looking. Can't blame a gal for worrying can you?"

"You… never seemed like ze type to worry before," Manon pointed out, raising her head.

"Let me be more specific," Mara narrowed her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't go and get yourself stupidly killed or anything like that. It's getting closer to the end of the week and the people who didn't get a taste at food are going to go crazy."

Mara tightened her folded arms.

"So, you can never be too careful," she muttered.

"Now zat is more like ze Madame Garcia zat I know," Manon couldn't help but smile at that response.

But her dropped smile came immediately after.

She couldn't help herself but admit that Mara's presence only made things harder on her. Yesterday, Yumi dropped the bomb that she liked Mara. That she really, really liked her. Now, to see who was essentially the winner of their little love triangle, enter the Bathroom and care about her… it felt as if someone was rubbing salt in her wound.

Mara watched her carefully, but a while of moping wasn't going to get anything solved, now, was it?

With a sigh, Mara turned her head toward Manon.

"So, are you going to tell me what's been bothering you or are you just going to keep sitting there, bottling everything up?" Mara asked.

"I zought I told you it—" Manon frowned.

"Wasn't any of my business?" Mara finished her sentence. "Yeah. I've used that card plenty of times before too. But you know what?"

She hated what she was about to say next.

"It's not gonna help in dealing with whatever's going on with you," Mara felt like a hypocrite. "Best thing to do is just let it out and tell somebody."

She closed her eyes.

"And lucky for you…" Mara began. "We got all night."

When she reopened them, she could see Manon seriously considering the karate master's offer.

"So, what's it gonna be?" Mara asked.

Manon was silent.

The thing about Manon was that compared to other people who would be in a similar position as herself, she wasn't exactly a stubborn person by any means. If anything, she definitely recognized this as a perfect opportunity to try to move on. It was tough. Thinking about Yumi and staring at the woman who won her heart. But… this was something she needed.

Something she had been desperately in need of for a long time now…

…

"…What do you know of love, Madame Garcia?" Manon asked.

Mara blinked for a moment before groaning inwardly.

"Is that what this is about?" Mara sighed. "Alright. Who's the guy? Was it that caterpillar dude? Issac? Of course it was. I figured he'd be a major douchebag behind whatever his crazy act is—"

"Ah non, non," Manon shook her head. "Um, not guy but um…"

Manon's face blushed.

That told Mara everything.

"O-Oh…" now Mara looked embarrassed. "Um. Right. Sorry. I just… I didn't realize you were—"

"Ah, there is no need to worry about zat!" Manon shook her head and waved her hands vehemently. "Not many people know either. But it is a secret zat could tarnish ze Manon Vivienne Levesque name so…"

Manon placed a finger over her lips.

"…Pleeeeease?" she begged.

"Yeah, I don't really care enough to throw someone out of the closet for the whole world to see," Mara frowned. "So, you got nothing to worry about."

She noticed the actress sighing in relief. It was good that Manon was getting comfortable enough to reveal something like that to her. But at the same time, Mara recognized that Manon was a little too comfortable to be throwing that kind of info away. Especially to her of all people…

"A-Anyway," Mara muttered. "Since it was a girl that did it, think you can tell me who—"

"Ah, non," Manon shook her head. "It's okay, Madame Garcia. It wasn't like I was being hurt like… physically or mentally. It was just…"

Manon glanced down.

The last thing she wanted was to say Yumi's name. She figured that if she did say it, Mara might go on some sort of minor rampage and ruin Yumi's chances with her. Seeing how Yumi liked Mara… Manon would feel awful if she did anything to ruin that for her. That was love… wasn't it?

"In ze competition of feelings, I was ze one who ended up losing," Manon simply said. "Zat was all it was. I just… didn't realize how much it would hurt after."

She chuckled softly.

"So silly, non?" Manon tried her best to smile.

Mara didn't say anything. She took a bit to formulate a response. Mainly because there was just something strange about Manon that Mara couldn't wrap her finger around. And not the strange suspicious way but just… When it came to the typical actors and actresses of Hollywood, Manon was… different.

"I don't think I would've ever expected that from you," Mara spoke up.

"Quoi?" Manon blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You're a famous actress, aren't you?" Mara questioned. "I would've thought you'd have tons of experience with love but based on how you are right now… you make it sound like this was your first time genuinely feeling something for another person."

"Ah, well," Manon smiled to herself. "Zat's because… it was."

Mara widened her eyes

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

"You are not wrong to assume zat as a famous actrice, I would've found love with hundreds of other suitors," Manon smiled. "Mais, I never did. Ze only one I ever ended up with was with a man I did not even love. I'm sure you know his name."

"Please tell me," Mara simply said, leaning against the door. "I'm not well-versed with celebrities."

Manon paused for a moment before saying it.

"Lian deCaprice," Manon revealed.

"Wait, Lian deCaprice?" Mara raised an eyebrow. "As in that guy who starred in Big Ship? Isn't he into like… elderly women or something? How'd you end up dating a guy like that?"

"It wasn't a real relationship," Manon shook her head. "Just some zing for ze tabloids to enjoy and to keep our images clean. Monsieur deCaprice always had a kink for old women and Manon Vivienne Levesque was someone who avoided ze spotlight a lot so it worked out perfectly… at least for Monsieur deCaprice."

Manon looked down.

"Arrangements were made and I ended up having to date someone who wasn't even interested in me nor who I was even into…" Manon sighed.

"Jeez, is that how Hollywood works with dating services nowadays?" Mara muttered.

"It's a suffocating business, oui," Manon softly chuckled. "And thus, not many opportunities to find love."

Manon lowered her gaze.

"So, you can imagine my surprise when I found love here of all places…" Manon placed a hand over her face. "My first ever genuine romantic feelings for someone. And it had to be in a Killing Game. Like… a sick joke from God."

"And… in the end," Mara didn't want to finish her sentence.

"Oui," Manon simply nodded. "Zis place truly is hopeless. And ever since zen, I do not know how I can move on. I…"

She hugged her knees again and buried her face in her arms.

"I… I am such a fraud…" Manon murmured. "I act and claim like I would know all about romance. And yet, when it comes to my own, I don't know what to do. I'm so… pathétique, non?"

If Mara could see her face now, she would've easily seen the hopelessness in her eyes. The heartbreak she felt was too real. The first ever heartbreak she could've experienced in a romantic setting. Manon truly didn't know what to do or how to move on. And for a while, she felt alone.

Until she felt and heard Mara's presence inching closer to her. She raised her head and widened her eyes to see Mara sitting right to her. No longer was Mara leaning against the door, folding her arms, and looking cool. Mara was now sitting criss-cross beside her in a typical meditation fashion. But the only thing meditative here was her words of comfort.

"You shouldn't feel like a fraud or pathetic over something like this," Mara merely said. "These kinds of things happen all the time. You act like a professional and then you realize there's still much to learn. That's all there is to it."

"Mais, it hurts…" Manon frowned.

"Yeah, it always does," Mara remarked. "But after the third and fourth time, you'll get used to it."

"T-Third and fourth?" Manon blinked. "W-What makes you zink zat I would have another chance?"

"Because you're you?" Mara raised an eyebrow. "Manon Vivienne Levesque? The actress? The one who can get hotshots like Lian deCaprice just for a publicity stunt?"

"A-Ah, oui…" Manon understood what the karate master meant. "I am… Manon Vivienne Levesque…"

She trailed off, shaking her head, and pressing for the more surprising implication Mara had dropped.

"M-Mais!" Manon blinked. "Y-You said third and fourth! Just how many lovers did you have, Madame?!"

Mara paused to count.

"Five," she flatly answered.

"Oh la la~" Manon exclaimed. "Zat's amazing!"

"Hey, it's nothing to get impressed about," Mara shook her head. "Some of them were real douchebags. My last one especially."

"A-Ah, what happened with zat one?" Manon blinked.

"Let's just say he's the reason how I ended up where I am today," Mara frowned, folding her arms. "An Ultimate Paralegal who tried to have his way with me and ended up getting a one-way trip to the hospital. Y'know, the usual."

"Not really…" Manon trailed off.

"The point is…" Mara continued. "Everyone's first feels like they're the one. But then you break up and suddenly you're stuck in a bottomless pit you just can't get out of. And then eventually, you meet someone new, and the cycle continues. Up until finally you realize that it's just not worth it anymore."

"Zat sounds… sad," Manon definitely didn't like that outcome.

"But that's how it works," Mara folded her arms.

Mara slammed her fist against the palm of her hands, ready to speak yet another proverb of hers.

"Lao Shi says that when it comes to love, only the most patient can achieve the truest form," Mara dictated. "In other words, there's really no point in you crying over this girl who doesn't reciprocate your feelings."

She placed a hand over Manon's shoulder.

"Live your life and focus on yourself," Mara told her. "That's the only way you'll be able to fully move on. Got it?"

When Mara finished her tangent, Manon glanced at her feeling a mixture of both frustration and understanding. On the one hand, she was being told this by the person who unknowingly became the reason for her heartbreak. But on the other hand… she was right. What good was it to just sit here and cry over Yumi like that? It wasn't going to help her or anyone else in the long run.

The path to moving on was going to be a tough one. But thanks to Mara, she really felt like… felt like…

Tears started to spill from Manon's eyes as she hugged her knees.

"I… I… I really loved her, M-Madame Garcia…" Manon started to weep. "I… I really did!"

"Oh boy, here we go," Mara sighed, patting the sobbing Manon on the back. "There, there. You'll be fine."

She said this with the most blunt expression ever. Comforting people wasn't her strongest suit. And just based on how much Manon was sobbing, Mara knew this was about to be the longest night of her life. But thankfully, this was part of the process. This was the last thing Manon needed to do before she could truly move on. She needed to let everything out. Spill everything out.

Because at the end of the day, this was still Manon's first…

Manon was going to be just fine.

All because of Mara.

A clear example of Manon and Mara growing closer together. Maybe a little too close for Mara's liking as she blankly stared at the wall with Manon sobbing directly into her shoulder as her only source of comfort.

Yep.

This was gonna be a long night…

---

(Ballroom)

Monoyena let his jagged red eye glimmer for a brief moment as he kept himself awake.

He glanced around, noting the current residents in the Ballroom. Not many residents actually, since it was only him and Stanczyk in the room. Only him and Stanczyk in a room covered with random decor from the ballroom dance they had the other day. Honestly, it was a grotesque sight to have watched. These motherfucking kids just having fun…

He gnashed his teeth together, turning toward the one who actually came up with that shit event.

Stanczyk was curled up in the middle of the floor, using his own cloak as a blanket and sleeping nice and soundly. The way he was curled up… was comparable to how a puppy dog sleeps at the foot of a bed or how a child sleeps in a baby crib. For a grown person, it was hideously disgusting. And as he stood up and approached the jester…

God…

That itch would always come back.

That aggravating itch he could never scratch.

He slowly took out his Barbie Blade and gripped it firmly. One plunge down into his trachea was all it took to end this little shit. Or maybe to hear his screams of pain… anywhere near the chest as long as he didn't puncture the heart or the lungs. But then again, Stanshit was a cryer, not a screamer. The only thing he'd be doing is sob with every plunge. So maybe the trachea was better. Just end him right now. End him. End him. Fucking end him…

He snarled.

He gritted his teeth and loomed over the sleeping Stanczyk.

No one would know.

No one would fucking know… right?

NWO don't have constant eyes everywhere… right?

He gnashed his teeth together, almost imagining the pleasure he'll feel once that itch was scratched. Imagining how good it will feel to stab someone. To revert to the good ol days where he could just shank his partners and blame it on the programming. Yeah. The programming. It was the programming that made him this way…

His snout widened into a deranged grin.

He raised his weapon.

And…

Shuddered…?

W-Why…?

Why did he…?

Why was he hesitating?

Was he afraid?

Afraid of that bitch of a woman?

Or was it…?

His quivering paws lowered as his eyes landed on the Barbie Blade. Just looking at it now. Looking at how the blade was just a Barbie doll taped to a sharp razor blade he pulled off an X-acto knife. But the interesting thing here wasn't the blade itself but rather, the doll. The Barbie doll. A present. The first present he was ever given…

And it was from Stanczyk…

From his… best friend to the end…

The blade fell to the ground, clattering as Monoyena heaved through his jaw. He stood back, his jagged red eye flickering, surprised that he was even experiencing such hesitation. He looked at his paws, trying to keep himself under control. He made a deal with NWO. He wasn't allowed to hurt his own partner.

If he did, it was over.

All of it.

Monoyena let heavy breaths seep through the cogs and wheels in his body. He glanced back toward the Barbie Blade on the floor. He knew the moment he picked it up, that itch was going to return. That aggravating itch he wanted to scratch. But even knowing that, he still wanted to pick it up. Not because he wanted that itch but simply because…

…He just wanted that Barbie doll.

He glossed over the toy, noticing the bite marks on it. The bite marks he inflicted on it. Really showed just how long he really cherished this toy. Heh. Fuck. He hated getting sentimental and reminiscing on happier times. Made him look…

…weak…

---

"And Super Stanczyk saves Raquelle! Yaaaaay! Awww thank you Super Stanczyk! You're my hero! Mwah mwah mwah mwah! No Raquelle! You're my hero! I missed playing with you! Ohhh Super Stanczyk! Kiss me more! Mwah mwah mwah!"

It was an embarrassment watching a grown person shroud himself in a corner to play with dolls. Monoyena listened to whatever weird kinky roleplay Stanczyk was into, but never joined in the festivities. Because while Stanczyk was sitting in the corner of the room, playing with his toys, Monoyena remained seated on the couch, completely losing his mind over this kook's noises.

He perched his head against his paw, keeping it all on the arm of the sofa as that same stupid jingle played over and over again. He allowed his jagged red eye to glance up toward the security cameras that were watching them closely. Watching him and specifically him closely. That bitch, Arsine, was probably watching him as Stanshit played with his toys.

Making sure he didn't do anything rash.

Normally he wouldn't mind, but to be stuck in what was essentially a prison room listening to this kooky piece of shit ramble on about the most inconsequential… Ugh! He wanted to kill him! He wanted to shove all of those toys up his ass and watch him shit them back out! That would be miles more entertaining than being stuck on babysitting duty!

He swore to God.

If he heard one more 'mwah mwah mwah'.

If he heard one more cringey-ass thing coming out of that shit's mouth.

One more fucking—

"Oooh, I love life in the dreamhouse with you Raquelle!" Stanczyk giggled in the corner.

"THAT IS FUCKING IT!" Monoyena snarled, his jagged red eye glinting madly.

He bounced off of the couch and screamed in fury. He didn't care anymore. This was torture! Being with this piece of shit was torture! Just listening to him speak and act like a goddamn child! He wanted to tear him a new one! He wanted to fucking destroy those goddamn stupid ass toys he keeps playing with!

"RAWWWWWWRRRRRRRR!" Monoyena roared in fury, yanking the toys out of Stanczyk's hands and smashing Raquelle's body against the Super Stanczyk action figure.

Smashing it.

"FUCK THIS!" Monoyena screamed.

Over…

"FUCK THIS SHIT!" Monoyena continued.

And over…

"FUCK THIS PLACE!" Monoyena yelled.

And over…

"AND FUCK YOU!" Monoyena stopped, a heavy breath escaping his mouth.

...Until there was nothing, but pieces of Stanczyk's toys left in a pile of debris. The Raquelle doll arms were completely bent and broken. And the Super Stanczyk action figure… everything ended up so disconnected. Monoyena smashed them so well that they were just unusable at this point. No more play time for Stanczyk… No more play time for anyone. He was done. He didn't care anymore. He just couldn't take it. Couldn't take the…

"F-Fuck… F-Fuck… you?" Monoyena panted, noticing Stanczyk loom closer toward his broken toys.

With his delicate gloved hands, he picked each and every single little piece, eyeing it like an extraterrestrial being understanding the world for the first time. He rubbed the broken arm from the Super Stanczyk action figure, his face turning somber.

"...You broke my toys…" Stanczyk merely said. "...Mommy… bought these toys… for me..."

"Yeah well, Mommy can shove her tits up her face and suck on them all she wants," Monoyena growled. "I'm fucking done; I tell ya. Just sitting there on that couch, listening to you play your version of PornHub! I've fucking had it here! I—"

He cut himself off as he watched Stanczyk whack the Raquelle doll against the Super Stanczyk action figure, as if he were mimicking what the stuffed animal did prior. Though he didn't use all of his strength to do any considerable damage, he did look at it all curiouslike. Like he was trying something new for the first time.

"W-What the fuck are ya doing?" Monoyena blinked, confused.

Stanczyk just kept on whacking the toys over and over again. By the time he caused the Raquelle doll to split, he stopped… and turned toward Monoyena.

"Hey…" Stanczyk's voice distorted. "…tHiS iS kiNdA fUn…"

He held out the Raquelle doll toward Monoyena. His smile widened. And as the distortion faded away, the more genuine his mask's smile looked. Now, he was inviting the confused hyena to play with him…

"Your turn…" Stanczyk smiled innocently. "…Best friend."

Nah.

This fucker was sick in the head.

For him to still want to invite him to play, of all people, Monoyena couldn't believe it. NWO really picked a worthy partner for him, huh? Someone who didn't care about how different he was or the shit he does. He focused his gaze on the broken Raquelle doll being offered to him.

Focused his gaze…

---

…and blinked when he noticed his Barbie Blade slowly being brought back to his face.

The blade in all of its glory along with the Barbie doll he would've never admitted to anyone that he actually liked having around. He looked up, noticing that during his reminiscence, Stanczyk had woken up, tilting his head down toward him curiously. The mask had that same grinning smile. That same smile that got him to stay…

"…Did you drop this best friend?" Stanczyk asked, curiously.

Monoyena could never bring himself to admit that he was just thinking of killing him back there. It was too embarrassing to fucking admit. He simply took the blade from Stanczyk's hands and grumbled obscenities under his breath.

"Must've fell out of my pockets or whatever," Monoyena muttered. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay, Monoyena!" Stanczyk beamed, happily. "If that's what you want then I'll gladly do it just for you, best friend!"

Monoyena said nothing.

Stanczyk was always like this. Always followed and played with him and shit. Like a dog. Like a fucking dog. Monoyena figured that after a couple years of being with him that he would've folded. And yet, he's been miraculously resisting the urge to scratch that itch. There was always something about Stanczyk that made him think twice before doing it.

Monoyena figured it was probably that deal he struck with NWO.

He figured he didn't want to be shut down or torn apart by that Arsine bitch.

He figured all of that but the actual answer.

That deep down… maybe he did actually like being 'best friends' with Stanczyk.

"Hey, hey Monoyena!" Stanczyk started to pout. "When's the next round of Hide and Seek?! I want a rematch!"

The door to the Ballroom suddenly swung open.

"Bitch, go back to sleep," Monoyena muttered. "Morning ain't for a couple of hours anyway."

Was all Monoyena had to say as he waddled out of the room. Stanczyk didn't listen. As expected, the jester has fully gotten off the floor and skipped behind Monoyena. As the hyena kept his paw over his Barbie Blade, he had to take in a moment to realize just how close he had gotten back there.

That urge to scratch his itch was a fucking annoyance.

And he knew sooner or later, that itch was gonna come back and bite in the ass.

He took a look at the Barbie doll.

One last long look.

…

Fuck.

He was getting soft, wasn't he?

---

(Bathroom)

The fourth thump was the thump that woke her.

When Mara opened her eyes, she realized something was wrong. She could feel Manon resting her head against her shoulder. Or someone resting on her shoulder. She didn't know who it was but seeing how the last thing she remembered before she dozed off was comforting Manon in a Free-Time Event…

It was probably safe to assume it was Manon who was resting her head against her.

Ugh.

Not again.

But at the moment, Manon placing her head on her shoulder wasn't what the problem was. The problem was she couldn't see Manon placing her head on her shoulder. In fact, she couldn't see anything.

The Bathroom they were in was pitch black.

Completely pitch black.

So dark that Mara couldn't even see her own hands. She could tell her eyes were trying to adjust but it could only adjust so far. As she glanced around, she could make out little outlines of things she already knew were there.

The sink.

The door.

If she just focused on those, they would probably be okay. Mara turned to Manon and tapped her head. Hearing a noise escaping her lips and feeling Manon's head slowly being lifted off of her shoulder, Mara was at least relieved to see that Manon wasn't a heavy sleeper like Yumi.

"Mf… Madame Garcia…?" Manon rubbed her eyes. "H-Huh?!"

Just like Mara, she too was taken aback by the darkness she had found herself in. She glanced around frantically, the fear creeping in her system. She grasped onto the closest thing she could feel: Mara. The warm calmness of her body definitely contrasted the cold exterior the karate master often exerted. And if the lights were on, Manon probably would've considered latching onto Mara for comfort.

"W-Where… W-Why is it so dark?!" Manon exclaimed, looking around intensely. "M-Madame Garcia! Is zis still you I am—"

"Yes, it is," Mara grimaced. "Let go. Please."

"A-Ah, je suis désolée!" Manon exclaimed, raising her hands in the air even though Mara wouldn't be able to see it.

In short, it was like one of those classic cartoon moments in which whenever characters were ever in extreme darkness, the only thing visible to the audience would be their eyeballs. That would be the only thing you guys would be able to see. But for Mara and Manon…

Total darkness.

"D-Do… Do you perhaps know why zis has happened?" Manon asked. "C-Could someone have figured out how to turn off all ze lights?"

"Why?" Mara sarcastically asked. "To plot a murder?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," she answered. "Probably. Which is why we should probably do something about it."

"Q-Quoi?!" Manon widened her eyes. "M-Mais… w-wouldn't it be safer if we just… stayed here and waited?"

"And get picked off by whatever maniac is trying to get us in the dark?" Mara asked. "Yeah right."

Manon felt Mara stand up from where she was at. She already knew that Mara had made up her mind. She was going to find out what was going on. Absolutely admirable. Compared to her, Mara was much braver than she was and Manon had every reason to feel envious of that. But envy was the least of her concerns. She stood up alongside Mara, concerned on her face that the karate master would've never seen.

"Mais, how is your plan any different from ze killer getting us?" Manon exclaimed. "You are walking straight toward zem!"

"Let me specify," Mara folded her arms. "I'm not trying to stop whatever maniac is out there from getting us. I'm trying to stop whatever maniac is out there from getting everyone else sleeping in their rooms."

Manon… should've known that was what she was referring to. In a way, she felt a little guilty for not thinking of others sooner. She looked at Mara… or rather the rough outline of Mara.

"Z-Zen…" Manon squeezed her eyes tight and grabbed onto Mara's arm. "I will join you!"

"What did I say about letting go of my arm?" Mara narrowed her eyes, but in the dark, such a glare had little effect.

"If I am to go with you, I would rather not separate myself from you!" Manon declared.

Mara stopped to consider it.

No matter how much she wasn't comfortable with someone touching her… at least not yet… she did have to admit that it was a smart decision on Manon's part. Because it was so dark, it'd be easy for Manon to lose her or for Mara to leave her behind. And since it was dark, Mara probably would need backup to help her out if she got into a tight situation. Granted, Manon didn't seem like much of a fighter but she'll do for now…

In the meantime…

"Fine," Mara simply said. "Just don't grab onto me–"

Manon squeezed herself next to her.

"-so tightly…" Mara finished her sentence.

Yeah, no. When Manon said she wasn't separating herself from her, she definitely meant it. She may not be afraid of the dark, but whatever was looming in the dark was quite possibly ready to attack someone… That she was afraid of. No use in prying her off now. With a sigh, the karate master moved toward the door, with the meeker Manon following straight behind.

She held her hand over the doorknob, making sure that Manon was still gripping her arm…

…

…and opened the door.

---

(Grand Lobby)

Just like the Bathroom, the Grand Lobby was shrouded in complete darkness.

With Manon gripping onto Mara's arm, the two made sure to take careful, slow, and steady steps as they wandered through the darkness. Mara made sure to keep her senses open. Sight was useless. But the sound and the smell and the touch. That was all she really needed to keep herself aware to avoid any ambushes.

Like two blind mice, Mara and Manon used their free hands to wave around the room, hoping to touch something that they could use as a guide. The best thing they ended up using was the wall. Their only guide to how they could travel around and even then, it wasn't as useful as they would've anticipated.

Mara took one more step, stopped and instantly backed away.

She had felt the ground give away for some reason. Felt as if there was nothing in the next step they would've taken. Her hesitance to move forward was enough to get the curious Manon to tilt her head toward the karate master.

"A-Ah, is zere some zing wrong Madame Garcia?" Manon asked, quietly.

Mara held her breath for a moment.

"M-Madame Garcia?" Manon gulped.

"Lower yourself down with me," Mara ordered.

"Q-Quoi?" Manon blinked. "W-Why?"

"Just do it," Mara commanded.

Manon didn't need to be told twice. Slowly, both girls lowered themselves and the ground until their bottoms finally touched the floor. Now that they were pretty much just sitting down, Mara slowly moved her leg forward toward where she had felt the ground go missing. It was as if she were dipping her toes into a swimming pool just to check the temperature. But instead of feeling the cold water, what she felt a few inches down was…

…a continuation of the floor.

Ah.

Right.

"Still with me, Manon?" Mara asked, feeling Manon's grip growing softer on her arm.

"O-Oui," Manon's voice came out.

"Good," Mara sighed in relief. "Be careful and scoot yourself forward. We've reached the stairs."

"A-Ah, ze stairs?" Manon blinked. "We are… going downstairs?"

"Well, I was thinking we could get a light source from the Dining Hall," Mara muttered.

"Oh!" Manon realized. "You're talking about ze floating candles in zat room, oui?"

"Yeah," Mara explained. "Those were actual candles weren't they? If we can find one, we might be able to make things a little easier for us here, because this is just ridiculous."

"Zat is a good idea," Manon agreed. "Zen… lead ze way, Madame Garcia."

"Right," Mara returned her comment. "Careful steps now, alright?"

Careful steps indeed for two girls that were using the most safest method of walking down the stairs in complete darkness. They were scooting forward, carefully sitting on each step along the way. It was better this way. But Manon couldn't help but notice just how caring Mara sounded as she led the way.

She could feel Mara's own arm shaking with every scoot forward.

As if… she were afraid of walking down the stairs in the dark? Was this some secret fear Mara had or was it something else altogether?

Manon didn't dare to ask.

Whatever it was, she supposed Mara would tell her the sooner they get this killer hunting job done with…

---

(Dining Hall)

It took a while for the girls to make it into the Dining Hall.

But after much scooting, standing, and wall touching to get to where they were, Mara was confident that they had finally arrived in the Dining Hall. Manon wasn't so sure. Because to her dismay, the light source that they were hoping to find just… wasn't there. The Dining Hall was just as dark as the Grand Lobby and the Bathroom had been.

Complete darkness.

"Zis… Where are ze candles?" Manon blinked.

"And why does the floor feel different?" Mara tried to make use of her surroundings. "Jeez, whoever pulled all of this… when I find it, I'll… I don't even know what I'll do but this is just annoying."

Translation: the two girls had scooted all the way downstairs for nothing. From one dark room, to another dark room, to an equally dark room. Seriously, when would it end? Mara was definitely getting frustrated with whatever was happening in this haunted house. Or rather what someone was probably pulling in this haunted house. But thankfully… there was hope.

Because in the distance was a set of small lights.

Nothing too bright.

Miniscule even.

And colorful too.

Green and red to be exact.

"A light source…" Mara surmised. "Just straight ahead. Hold tight and come on…"

She felt around the room.

"As soon as I find something to…" Mara tried to navigate through the Dining Hall.

"W-Where is ze table and ze chairs?" Manon tried to keep her hold on Mara in an effort to not lose sight of her. "I can't seem to touch– Ah! I found ze wall!"

"Great," Mara spoke up. "We'll just use that to get across…"

As I said before: two blind mice navigating the extreme darkness. Since they couldn't even begin to try to find where the table nor chairs were, their best bet was just to use the wall on the right and slowly move themselves toward the green and red miniscule lights. Remembering the outline of what the Dining Hall had looked like, they were able to navigate themselves at a steady pace until finally…

---

(Breaker Room)

…they reached the right where the green and red lights were.

Specifically, there was only one green light and two red lights. And if you had seen what room they ended up in, yeah. It was fairly obvious that this was the Breaker Room. Unfortunately, neither Manon and Mara knew about the Breaker Room because two idiots decided to tell only one person and leave the others to find out for themselves.

Mara stepped closer and heard a small splash. Then, a cold liquid made contact with her feet, as if she had stepped in a puddle of some kind. That was the instant she froze. She shuddered, not daring to move another step. W-What… What did she just step in? C-Could it be? C-Could it actually…?

"M-Madame Garcia?" Manon blinked, confused. "W-Why did you–"

"Manon… move on ahead and check what those lights are," Mara ordered. "I… I think I might've stepped in someone's…"

"A-Ah!" Manon immediately understood. "L-Let's not… L-Let's not assume ze worst!"

If the lights were on, Mara would've seen the color drain from Manon's face in real time. Truthfully, Mara probably shouldn't have said that because now the French actress was getting cold feet here. And it wasn't due to her stepping in some unknown cold liquid. Manon tried her best to stay calm. She tried to be brave. Like Mara had been in navigating through the darkness.

With hesitant hands, Manon slowly released herself from Mara's arm, her breath hitching as fear swallowed her heart.

"P-Please, stay here with me M-Madame Garcia," Manon pleaded.

"Yeah, like I'm going anywhere," Mara shuddered.

At least she had confirmation Mara wasn't going to just ditch her in a dark room with strange lights. With a steady breath to ease her worries, Manon slowly began to creep her way further into the room. There she was. Creeping closer and closer toward the lights. She made sure to wave her hands around, in case she would make contact with anything. When she placed her hands against the light… that's when she knew she reached it.

A…

"...fusebox?" Manon blinked. "I zink… I zink zis might be a fusebox, Madame Garcia!"

"Well, if it's a fusebox, then it should have an option for lights, shouldn't it?" Mara asked.

"O-Oui!" Manon nodded. "You are correct!"

Silence.

"...Then, press it already," Mara said.

"A-Ah, right!" Manon blushed in embarrassment.

She felt her hands rub across the different knicks and knacks the fuse box had. She could feel that there were indeed buttons on the right side. But on the left… that seemed to be more likely where the light option was. Especially since the nooks and crannies on the left were switches. She brushed her fingers against each switch, noting only one of them seemed to be pointing the opposite direction of the other two.

She flipped that switch…

…

…

…

…nothing happened.

"Well?" Mara asked.

"A-Ah, I zink I must've flipped ze wrong switch," Manon was almost glad that the room was dark because her face definitely flushed a little more out of embarrassment. "H-Here let me…"

She flipped the switch back to its original position and trailed her fingers down more. She found one of the switches that were flipped to the opposite switch. The moment she pushed it from right to left…

SLAM!

That made both Mara and Manon jump.

"W-What did you do this time?!" Mara asked.

"I don't know!" Manon exclaimed. "Don't yell! It is too dark to see which switch I am actually–"

In a panic, Manon flipped the last switch that was stuck to the opposite side. And finally, to everyone's relief, the lights flickered back on, allowing Manon and Mara to see the room they were actually in: the Breaker Room.

A shoddy room that looked to be a total nesting ground for a bunch of spiders. Luckily, as a resident arachnophobe, no such spiders will be appearing this time around.

"Finally," Mara sighed in relief.

"A-Ah, M-Madame Garcia!" Manon's face paled as she pointed to Mara's foot. "You are… Your feet… Zey are!"

Right.

Mara had stepped on a puddle of some sort, didn't she?

When she looked down, she nearly jumped herself. As someone who wore sandals, it was no surprise she'd be forced to feel any substance puddle she'd be stepping on. But for her foot to be covered in a red substance of some kind. A red puddle that looked an awful lot like…

"B-Blood?!" Manon exclaimed. "Z-Zat can't be! D-Did some zing happen?! I-Is zat…?"

"I… I…" Mara didn't dare move.

Her eyes remained fixated on that gruesome puddle. That crimson puddle on the floor. The blood that she had stepped on. She wanted to look around. See if there was a body hiding anywhere in the room. But she couldn't. She just couldn't move. She may be a physically strong person, but the thought of death…

Of someone dying again…

…

Drip.

H-Huh?

Mara blinked.

Did she see that right?

She had been staring at the puddle of blood for so long that she managed to catch a ripple. The surface of the liquid had bounced up and down and rippled across the floor, essentially creating a wave effect. As if a liquid had fallen into the puddle. A liquid that came from…

Mara slowly raised her head toward the source… and relaxed her body with an unamused groan.

"I hate this place," she grimaced.

"M-Madame Garcia?!" Manon blinked. "W-What are you–"

Mara was so relaxed that she trudged through the small puddle and placed her finger underneath a faucet connected to a barrel. She tapped the inside of the barrel, allowing her finger to collect a droplet of the liquid still fresh inside. Then, turning around for Manon to see, she licked her finger. Noting the sweet taste, she spat it out onto the floor.

"D-Did you just– M-Madame Garcia, zat was just–" Manon was completely losing it here.

"Wine…" Mara folded her arms. "It's wine. This puddle…?"

She looked at the puddle with scorn.

To be duped by such a fakeout.

Ugh!

"It's wine," she grimaced.

"O-Oh la la~" Manon could finally feel her body give away.

After a while of tension in her body, from her strong grasp on Mara's arms to her clenched ass, Manon could finally relax. She didn't know what time it was, but it certainly felt like a long stressful moment that was made to give her anxiety or something like that. In fact, it was times like these that she couldn't help but laugh in relief.

"Oh la la~" Manon started to laugh. "It's just wine. It's just— Hee hee hee!"

"Yeah, thank God for that," Mara grumbled, still feeling miffed but also a little relieved.

She listened to Manon laugh in relief. She figured she had every right to. Especially since that entire segment of wandering the dark had been stressful for her. For both of them especially. She was a little miffed that her sandal was now coated in that disgusting alcoholic beverage but… this was fine. At least they got the lights back on. But that only raised one more question…

"So, does this mean that the reason the lights were out was because someone decided to flip the Light Switch off?" Mara asked.

"Zat does seem to be ze case," Manon took a glance back toward the settings in the fuse box.

At the moment, this is what it was.

On the right:

1 - RED

2 - GREEN

3 - GRAY

4 - RED

On the left:

AMBIENCE - ON

LIGHTS - ON

SAFETY - ON

"When I felt ze switches on ze left, it was ze bottom two zat were flipped ze opposite way of ze top one…" Manon read what the top one was. "Ze Ambience Switch."

"Meaning…?" Mara asked, having not even moved close to the fusebox to mess with anything.

"Lights and Safety were 'Off'," Manon rubbed her chin in thought.

"Safety?" Mara blinked. "W-Was… that the second switch you pulled? The one that caused that weird slamming noise?"

"Ah, oui," Manon nodded. "Ze Safety was ze last switch on ze box so… zat had to be what I had flipped!"

Almost instantly, Mara turned around. It was just as she expected. The slamming noise they had heard was from the door. From the door that had now closed on them. She ran over to it, trying her best to open the door. Push. Pull. But nothing happened. For a door that looked to be wooden, it was probably made out of titanium or something because goodness gracious, was it a door that Mara couldn't even think of busting open!

"Damn!" Mara cursed. "Don't tell me we're stuck in here now!"

"Q-Quoi?!" Manon looked surprised. "W-Was it because I switched it off of Safety?!"

She turned back toward the fuse box.

"L-Let me switch it–" Manon was about to say before…

"Don't!" Mara snapped. "There's a Safety Switch for a reason isn't there? Best to keep that on and… I dunno. Figure out another way to open this door?"

What other way was there?

Manon wanted to turn off Safety right then and there just to see but at the same time, Mara was right. The Safety switch was there for a reason and for some reason, it was also turned off. What did it mean? Manon didn't know. But if she looked toward the other knicks and knacks of the fuse box, perhaps she might be able to figure out…

"Maybe…" Manon hummed. "Ze numbered buttons will help us open ze door?"

"Numbered buttons?" Mara asked.

"Oui," Manon nodded. "Zere are numbered buttons. If ze switches aren't going to be of any use, maybe I can press a button non…?"

"Well, it's worth a shot, but–" Mara was about to say but it was too late.

Manon had already pressed Button #4.

"Button #4!" Manon declared in French. "Open sesame!"

"I… would've wished you let me finish my sentence…" Mara frowned.

Manon only chuckled sheepishly.

Regardless of whatever Mara was going to say, it wasn't going to stop Manon from monki braining and pushing a button in hopes it would open their door. Because quite literally, their other option was either sit here and do nothing, wait for the door to open themselves, or turn off the Safety function, which was far from what they wanted to do.

The two girls waited for a bit.

Nothing was happening.

"Think you can go ahead and press a different button?" Mara turned to Manon, looking slightly impatient.

"Ah, of course," Manon chuckled sheepishly.

She turned toward the fuse box.

It was only then that the door swung open, allowing them access back into the Dining Hall.

The Dining Hall that was now filled with light.

"Z-Ze… door… opened?" Manon blinked.

"Finally," Mara sighed. "I don't know if I've said this already, but I'm getting really tired of this haunted house playing mischievous Casper on us."

"Oui, I must agree, Madame…" Manon joined her.

Finally, things were back to normal. As it should be. Manon had stepped away from the fuse box, not willing to risk doing anything else. If that door slammed on them again, she wouldn't know what to do. Mara definitely had a similar idea as she was just about getting ready to leave. Getting ready to leave with her and step right outside the Breaker Room and into the Dining Hall.

"Now zat ze lights are on…" Manon asked Mara. "We should have more of a chance to catch ze killer, oui…?"

"Maybe…" Mara folded her arms. "Or maybe the killer will be too much of a chicken to do anything now that the lights are on."

She turned toward the fuse box, her eyes narrowing.

"...Let's stay here," she said.

"Eh?" Manon blinked. "Pourquoi?"

"You and I both think that the reason the Lights and Safety were turned off was because a killer wanted to use that the darkness to their advantage to go and kill someone," Mara explained. "But now that the lights are on… what's stopping them from just going back downstairs and turning it off again?"

"A-Ah, you're right!" Manon blinked. "So zen…"

"We'll keep watch and guard this place from the Dining Hall," Mara said. "We have the advantage now. Two against one. One of them being me."

"Oui! Madame Garcia and Madame Levesque saving ze day by preventing a murder!" Manon looked excited. "I… I zink I like ze sound of zat!"

With the two girls in agreement over what must be done, Mara watched as Manon skipped out of the Breaker Room and headed straight into the Dining Hall. She grabbed the nearest seat she could find and simply sat in it. The karate master could feel something happening to her own lips. As if… she were smiling?

That was… weird.

Why would she be so happy seeing Manon feeling happy herself?

…That was when she realized it.

Manon didn't look to be held up over what had happened with that girl she was into anymore. She looked… chippier. Like her older self back when she first got trapped alongside her and everyone else here. That must be why Mara was smiling. She really was on the path to healing and the karate master couldn't help but feel like maybe she was partly to blame for this.

Huh.

Doing good for people in need…

…It felt good…

---

(Music Room)

"Mmrr… ah hawt damn… Mara… let's… mmr…"

BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG! BANG! CLANG!

"AH, GAWD DAMN IT!" Yumi yelled, jolting up from the floor of the Music Room.

Yumi woke up to the sound of the player piano banging its keyboard over and over again in a cruel attempt to scare whoever would be in the room at the time. Unfortunately, the only person it scared was the only person in the room. Poor Yumi. She would've thought that after five days of waking up to the same banging piano she'd have gotten used to it.

But it was like every time it happened, it just got louder and louder.

Ugh.

To have their own personalized alarm clock…

"Ah had da most wonderful dream and dis darn piano be ruining it!" Yumi groaned to no one in particular.

She felt the need to toss her white Stetson hat onto the ground. What stopped her was the fact that no one really responded to her. Why? Because she had to yet realize that she was in the Music Room all by herself. As the sound sleeper she was, she didn't get to join Mara and Manon on their wacky nighttime darkness adventure… nor did she know about it. She glanced around, confused.

"M-Mara?" she blinked. "Manon?"

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Where in Sam Hill is everyone?!" she exclaimed.

---

(Dining Hall)

Mara's internal clock snapped her awake.

Based on that alone, it had to be morning, meaning whatever misadventures she and Manon had gone up to had to have happened some time during the middle of the night. She looked across the table, noticing the fact Manon was completely passed out. The actress had been leaning against the table, eyes closed and drool seeping out. And based on the fact that Mara herself had fallen asleep as well as the fact that neither of them had received food for days… or at least for Manon, longer than Mara had… yeah that entire moment really took the last of the energy out of them.

But now that she had realized she had fallen asleep…

Her eyes widened.

Shit.

She turned toward the door to the Breaker Room, noting that it was now closed. She knew trying to open that door would be impossible now that it was closed. But at the same time, if anyone was in that Breaker Room, they would be trapped wouldn't they? And double with the fact that the Lights were still on…

Mara felt herself relax.

If whatever psycho that did turn off the Lights the first time did come back to repeat the process a second time, they definitely didn't do it. Just seeing her and Manon in the room was probably enough to scare them off. That's what Mara told herself at least. Because that's what she would like to hope…

"So dere ya two are!"

Mara snapped her head toward Yumi, who had entered the room with a relieved look on her face. Right. Since she and Manon had elected themselves to make sure no one entered the Breaker Room to turn off the Lights again, they never did end up going back to the Music Room. Heh. They had left Yumi all alone up there. All alone with that stupid piano.

Maybe that's why Manon actually felt relaxed when she slept.

"Woowie!" Yumi sighed. "Y'all wake up really early ta have avoided dat darn piano!"

She noticed Manon was still sleeping, peacefully.

"Or uh… y'all were smart and found a better place ta sleep?" Yumi surmised.

"More like we had a rough night," Mara simply responded, folding her arms. "We'll tell you more about it once everyone else arrives. In the meantime, just…"

She shifted her glance toward Manon.

"...let her sleep peacefully," she spoke.

---

(Hallway)

Compared to the chaotic morning Yumi had with that piano, Fábio had woken up like it was any other day.

Lucky him.

The Séance Room didn't have anything like an alarm clock like Yumi had which honestly gave him a little more extra time to sleep. But today, he woke up right on the dot that everyone else should be waking up to. As if, today was a big day for some reason. In fact, when he woke up, he did feel like something was off. Like something from the Séance Room wasn't…

"Ah, good morning, Fábio."

"O-Oh, Kikuko!" Fábio turned to greet a familiar shrine priestess.

He noted that the shrine priestess had reverted back to her casual traditional Japanese outfit rather than the formal outfit she wore. They both did. Fábio had to admit that he missed seeing Kikuko in that beautiful dress she wore but he'd be lying. What he really missed was dancing with her. Spending time with her. Just being… themselves for once.

No game.

No children.

Nothing to worry about besides a dance between two people that… liked each other? Hopefully? Fábio didn't know how Kikuko felt. Basic clueless men behavior not gonna lie. But he did know that whenever he was near her, his heart would jump for… joy? Excitement? Again, Fábio wasn't sure.

But he was glad to see Kikuko.

That much…

That much… he knew.

Fábio blinked for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck. He faintly blushed, having caught himself staring at the curious shrine priestess for too long. He felt awkward. And making this awkward would be the worst thing to do in this scenario. He cleared his throat and shoved his hands down into his pant pockets.

"S-So uh… you… talked with Issac, did you?" Fábio asked.

"Yes, I did," Kikuko glanced away.

"H-How…" Fábio glanced away as well. "How was that?"

"Issac really explained a lot of it to me, but…" Kikuko seemed uncertain.

"...But…?" Fábio blinked.

Kikuko didn't know how to say it.

There was a core difference between when Kikuko confronted Fábio about his past than when she confronted Issac about his. At least with Fábio, she outright told him what she could do, and his reasoning for why his brother may have ended up as a Red Spirit made sense. But with Issac… Issac's story was filled with contradictions. She knew that Issac was probably being genuine about the stuff he said. But at the same time, the reason for why his Red Spirit was a Red Spirit…

Fábio had a reason for his.

But Issac didn't…

…and that bothered her.

"...I still don't trust him," Kikuko simply said, looking away. "I… I don't know. Even after listening to him…"

She shuddered.

"...I still think he's hiding something," she simply said.

"Because he's an A-grade psychopath!" Eiji suddenly popped up. "How many times do I have to say it?!"

Kikuko simply ignored him.

Issac may be a suspicious, weird, and overall creepy individual, but calling him a psychopath was too much of a leap at the moment. It wasn't like he was a serial killer that liked hurting others. At least, not from what she could tell. And Kikuko sincerely hoped that wasn't the case with him…

Fábio let out a small sigh and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on," he told her. "Let's go downstairs. People might be waiting for us."

Kikuko simply nodded.

"You may be right," she said.

And together, they headed straight for the Dining Hall…

---

(Dining Hall)

"Is this… everyone?"

Fábio and Kikuko were both surprised to see that the only people in the Dining Hall today were the love triangle group that didn't even realize they were in a love triangle: Manon, Mara, and Yumi. As it turned out, even after waiting for a bit, only two people actually arrived to join them for every Daily Life's obligatory Morning Meeting.

The two carefully walked in, looking around begrudgingly.

"Yeah uh..." Fábio blinked. "I would've thought some people would…"

"Maybe give em a minute?" Yumi suggested. "They might be running late. Or maybe they overslept? Ah dunno but havin no food in yer system can do dat ta some people."

"That is a valid theory," Kikuko hummed.

"Yeah, but it's been a little too long," Mara muttered.

She grimaced. She looked away, feeling that anxiety rush back into her head. Her mind started riddling with thoughts and negative outcomes over what might've happened. Could it be that whoever turned the lights off didn't really plan on coming back a second time? Could it be that Mara made an error in judgement over what they should've done? Could it be that they really should've gone out of their way to…?

"Damn it," Mara grimaced. "Manon and I probably shouldn't have stayed here all night…"

All eyes turned to her, confused.

"Pardon me," Kikuko blinked. "But what exactly did you mean by that?"

Mara kept her arms folded.

"Yea, now dat ya mention it," Yumi recalled. "Ya did say ya were gonna say somethin 'bout a rough night ya and Manon had, right? Well… only if everyone were here but uh…

"Mara," Fábio stepped up. "Did something happen last night?"

Mara glanced away.

"...I think it was some time during the middle of the night, but Manon and I noticed that the lights were out," Mara revealed.

"The lights were… out?" Fábio blinked.

"Yeah," Mara nodded. "Manon and I knew something was wrong, so we went out of our way to go and investigate it. Let me tell you. It was a huge pain in the ass to navigate through the dark with no light source. It was completely pitch dark."

"But based on the fact that there is light now…" Kikuko glanced around. "I assume you fixed it?"

"Yeah," Mara said. "We managed to find some sort of Breaker Room…"

She pointed toward the door to the Breaker Room that was currently closed.

"...Right over there," she said. "It's closed now, meaning someone's probably inside it or… something. I don't know how it works."

"Ah, the Breaker Room," Fábio rubbed his chin. "I remember seeing that back around our first round of Hide and Seek. Was the reason the lights were off all because of the fuse box's Light Switch being turned off?"

"Yep," Mara gestured toward the napping French actress. "Not only that, but the Safety Switch was off too."

"The Safety Switch?" Yumi blinked. "Dere's a Safety Switch, too? What did dat do?"

"I don't know," Mara shrugged. "But the moment Manon turned that back on, the door behind us shut. I tried to break out of it, but… I'll just say that's no ordinary wooden door."

Fábio rubbed his chin in thought.

This all sounded… really interesting.

Back when he visited the Breaker Room, he did it in the middle of a Free-Time Event with Beauté, meaning he never actually got a chance to test out what the fuse box may have controlled in this haunted house. As he continued to keep all this information wrapped in his head, Kikuko was next to ask a question.

"Pardon me but…" Kikuko began. "It sounded like you two were stuck in the Breaker Room for a bit. If I may ask… how exactly did you get out of it?"

"Well, Manon just pressed a button and eventually the door opened," Mara shrugged. "Took a long time but it did get us out so I'm not exactly complaining. It was around that time that I suggested staying here to keep watch. I would've thought that after we turned the lights on, whoever turned it off in the first place would've returned but…"

Mara turned toward the door to the Breaker Room once again.

"...I guess they didn't do it," Mara simply said.

It did sound like Mara and Manon went through a hectic night. The fact that the French actress was still sleeping through this entire conversation could also corroborate their story and why they were here. But still, with this many people absent from the Morning Meeting, it was a morbid thought but what if…

What if whoever turned off the lights already…

"GOOD MORNING BEST FRIENDS!"

"Agh!" Kikuko jumped.

"W-Whoa!" Fábio let out.

"W-What the–" Yumi yelped.

"Q-QUOI?!" that awoke Manon.

Mara didn't react but if the owner of the voice was a few feet closer to her, she would've undoubtedly been executed for rule violation.

She along with everyone turned to see Stanczyk wheeling in what seemed to be trays of food. The same trays of food he had brought out for everyone to eat back when the Survey votes were tallied. At first, they all looked confused. But as they remembered what had happened yesterday… or rather, what hadn't happened yesterday…

"Congratulations best friends!" Stanczyk grinned. "You all get food! Amazing job you did hiding from me like that! Hehehehe! You need to tell me your secret because… Ohhhh it was impressive!"

The jester's smile shifted into a frown.

"...B-But… even though I didn't find anyone…" Stanczyk's mask started to quiver. "A-At least I'm a gracious loser… r-right?"

His face said otherwise.

He ripped a piece of his jabot and waved it into the air as if he were surrendering to something. And as he did, he looked up into the ceiling, his eyes sprouting tears out of his mask as he bawled over his pathetic loss.

"W-WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Stanczyk bawled. "IT'S NOT FAIR! I DIDN'T HAVE ANY FUN YESTERDAY! WAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"W-Wait, are you saying you didn't find anyone yesterday?" Fábio blinked. "How on Earth did that happen…?"

Fábio started to smile.

"...Or rather, how on Earth do you suck so much at Seeking?" the figure skater couldn't help it.

"Fábio!" Kikuko looked at him disapprovingly.

"H-Hey, I'm just happy we all get food," Fábio chuckled sheepishly.

"I'll have you know this round was just a fluke!" Stanczyk pouted. "This next round, I'll be sure to have my fun! Because next round, Monoyena will be seeking! Ya dig?!"

The group of five glanced at one another. Manon, who had just woken up, looked around confused. She practically slept through the entire meeting. And now that Stanczyk was here, he was awarding everyone with food? Surely, this must be a dream of some sort! She watched as Stanczyk took out five trays and passed them around to each person in the Dining Hall. Once he finished, he paused.

"Wait…" he tilted his head, curiously. "...Where's everyone else?!"

"Well, we were just talking about that before you arrived, so…" Mara shrugged.

"B-But but, if not everyone is here…" Stanczyk looked completely distraught. "How will everyone get food?!"

"You can just leave the cart behind," Kikuko suggested. "I'm sure whoever arrives will come to pick it up."

"What a devious plan!" Stanczyk gasped.

Kikuko blinked.

"W-What?" she asked, confused.

"You're just saying that so I can leave the cart unattended!" Stanczyk clenched his fist. "And then once I'm gone, you'll go and have seconds all to yourself! What a selfish girl you are! That is so cruel and unfair and… and… mean! You're such a mean little girl!"

He pointed a finger toward Kikuko like a child berating another child for stealing someone's lunch money or something like that. Needless to say, the shrine priestess was not amused in the slightest.

"You mentioned there being another round of Hide and Seek," Fábio stepped up, trying to keep things civil. "When exactly will it start?"

"How about... an hour?" Stanczyk grinned.

"A-An hour?!" Yumi blinked. "Now dat's too early! It's literally mornin! Ya expect us ta hide for an entire day?!"

"That's what you get for not letting me have fun last round!" Stanczyk placed his hands over his hips with a proud smile over his face.

"I don't think it's worth arguing over this," Mara sighed as she opened her tray and poked her food. "We all just got food today. That'll keep us satiated for another few days, won't it?"

"Ah oui but… ze children…" Manon looked down.

Ah.

Right.

That part of the motive…

"Hey, at least with this next round, we'll all end up getting found anyway," Fábio noted. "I mean, hiding for an entire day in a place with so few rooms is pretty much impossible. So realistically, the children will inevitably get fed tomorrow."

Solid point.

It was inevitable that the children would get food based on how early this round was going to be. It should be an easy decision to make. But then Fábio remembered what Kazuki had talked about yesterday. About the cycle… About the fact that it'll never end if they did things like this… That they really did need two sacrifices in order to leave…

That… playing a game of Hide and Seek over and over again just to get food… was no way to live.

"Pardon me, but I do have another question," Kikuko raised her hand.

"Yes, best friend?!" Stanczyk grinned.

Wow.

He dropped the 'Kikuko was a mean girl' really quick.

"Where exactly will you be starting the countdown this time?" Kikuko questioned. "You normally have a good spot to count for us to go and hide. Will it be here in the Dining Hall?"

"Nope, the Ballroom!" Stanczyk answered. "Just like yesterday!"

"Um, hey, Stanczyk," Mara deadpanned. "I don't know if you noticed but the door that normally leads to the Ballroom…"

She gestured to the closed door to the Breaker Room.

"...Yeah, it's closed," Mara frowned. "How on Earth do you expect anyone to go there to hear you start your countdown?"

"Oh!" Stanczyk didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "That little thing? There's no need to worry about that!"

"W-What… do you mean?" Mara blinked.

"Don't worry about it!" Stanczyk smiled, cheerfully, standing right behind the cart of food. "All you kids have to worry about is being in the Ballroom in an hour if you want to know about the timer! Until then, I'll be right here, serving food for all the other best friends that have yet to receive it!"

Stanczyk leaned forward, his face and voice distorting as it usually did whenever he wanted to look scary.

"...Also so… y'know…" Stanczyk's red eye glinted. "...nO oNe tAkEs aN eXtrA kiT…"

And then, like a switch had been hit, Stanczyk leaned back and grinned happily.

"So, until then!" Stanczyk waved toward the five in the Dining Hall. "Enjoy your food!"

The five looked amongst each other.

They should be glad they get a moment to enjoy some food that they had been seriously lacking here. But still, the fact that not many people had arrived at the Morning Meeting was very concerning. (Almost like the author intentionally made it so in order to freak out some people). And the fact that Mara had told everyone what she and Manon had gotten themselves into… it only added fuel to the fear that was running amuck.

All five of them hoped that the worst wouldn't happen today.

But the hope that something wouldn't happen…

…something like that just wouldn't last too long in a Killing Game setting…

---

(Hallway)

Mara and Yumi ventured into the Hallway with their trays of food in hand.

Since Stanczyk stated he was going to be in the Dining Hall to make sure no one was going to take seconds, all five people that actually made it to the Morning Meeting decided to go their separate ways. Or at least, groups of three. Mara and Yumi were such a group. And while it did seem like a bad idea for Manon to hang out in the Dining Hall with that creep, Stanczyk, being there…

She did elect herself to stay behind for some reason…

Neither Mara nor Yumi knew but maybe it was best this way. That's what Manon said to herself when she allowed Mara and Yumi to go back upstairs on their own.

And as they worked themselves into the Hallway, the two girls stood side by side next to each other. They looked around, noting that the room that had constantly changed at the end of the Hallway was now the Hall of Infamy today. They had planned to head into the Music Room to eat their food. But before they could head in, Yumi stopped Mara for a second. The karate master looked at her confused.

"Is something wrong?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Ah just wanted ta ask more 'bout last night," Yumi simply said.

"What about?" Mara simply asked. "I told you guys what happened last night."

"Yea, but ya went with Manon and not me?" Yumi seemed… a little jealous. "Why?"

Mara… raised an eyebrow.

What was this all about now? Was this girl really upset that she decided to check out something with someone else other than her? Honestly, worth an eye roll. But she didn't do it. She simply leaned against the door and looked up toward the obviously taller girl.

"...Well, what's it to you?" Mara tested.

"W-Well, because… if there was some dang as risky as foiling a dastardly plot in da middle of darkness…" Yumi lowered her hat. "Ya can't put Manon in danger like dat. Ahm mean, she ain't strong enough ta take care of herself. No offense to da bambina, of course!"

Huh. So, she was asking to look out for the actress?

"Ya should've came ta me 'bout it," Yumi frowned. "Ah would've fought toe and nail fer whoever would've snuck up behind ya, ya know?"

Now, came the eye roll.

"Alright, let's get one thing straight here," Mara retorted. "One. I don't need your protection. I'm literally the Ultimate Karate Master. If someone was gonna ambush me, I would've sent them straight to Hell myself. And second… I did try to come to you about it, but you're apparently a very heavy sleeper."

Yumi blinked.

"A-Ah… Ah am?" Yumi blinked.

Mara opened the door to the Music Room and stepped inside. With an amused look on her face, she responded.

"Oh yeah," she nodded.

Then, she shut the door.

Mara really left Yumi standing out in the open. The cowgirl was confused. She couldn't tell whether or not Mara was mad at her or not. The slam of the door would suggest so. But the amused look on her face… like she did find her endearing… Huh. Again. It was hard to tell how Mara really felt.

Yumi looked at her own tray of food.

Seeing how she was outside, and Mara was inside… maybe a part of her was mad. Huh. She never took herself to be the type to sleep through something like Mara trying to wake her. Maybe the dream she had with Mara really was a good dream…

Yumi chuckled to herself.

She prepared to open the door to the Music Room and join her until…

…clunk…

She turned around and paused.

Did… that come from the Armory?

---

(Armory)

Yumi would've thought she would see Roderick, Aidan, and Kazuki in this room, since this was the room that they had chosen to sleep in.

But to her surprise, it was neither of them and instead…

…

…Yukihiko?

The child caregiver seemed to be picking up what seemed to be one of the weapons from one of the shelves of Japanese weapons from the floor and repositioning it back toward the shelf. In fact, it didn't look like he had noticed her but just based on context clues and from what she had heard, it seemed like that clunk noise was Yukihiko accidentally bumping something off the shelf and now he was on his way to put it back.

Harmless things she supposed.

But she did have one burning question…

"What are ya doin in here?" Yumi asked.

Her sudden voice made Yukihiko leap back in surprise and cause one of the weapons to fall off the shelf again. He placed a hand over his heart, gasping for breath and looking at the cowgirl with pure irritation.

"Can you… not do that?" Yukihiko grimaced. "Goodness gracious!"

Yukihiko reached down on the ground, picked up the weapon, and placed it on the shelf. As he did this, his irritated expression never ceased. By the time he finished, he narrowed his eyes toward the cowgirl.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Yukihiko asked.

"Ah asked first…" Yumi pursed her lips, nearly forgetting just how much of a social pain speaking to the child caregiver was.

"Hmph," Yukihiko pocketed one hand and used his free hand to twirl his braids. "Fine. I was looking for Roderick and ended up in this conversation with you. Your turn."

Quick and easy.

Yumi frowned, not entirely satisfied with that response but...

"Ah heard somethin in here and wanted ta check it out…" Yumi frowned. "Ah thought, maybe someone was bein attacked. But if ah knew it was you, ah probably wouldn't have bothered checkin…"

"Wow, and people think I'm cruel," Yukihiko scoffed.

Yumi had to admit… she went a little too far there.

But for Pete's sake! Yukihiko just has this nasty habit of knowing how to exactly push someone's buttons the wrong way! And it didn't even look like the child caregiver was even trying with that! Yumi took a moment to calm herself down. She should always remember that personality-wise, she's better than Yukihiko. She lowered her hat.

"Yer right…" Yukihiko sighed. "Ahm sorry. Dat was…"

"It's whatever," Yukihiko scoffed. "No use trying to apologize."

He narrowed his eyes for a moment. At first, Yumi didn't know why he was looking at her so strangely. But then, as the cowgirl traced his eyes toward what she was holding, then everything made sense.

"What are you holding?" Yukihiko seemed a little miffed.

"Ah, yea," he was looking at what Yumi was holding in her hands. "Apparently we all won da Hide and Seek round yesterday. So… we all get free food–"

"Damn it!" Yukihiko now looked angry. "I couldn't find that jester at all last night! What was he doing?! Ugh!"

"And why are ya so angry?" Yumi frowned. "Ya should be happy! Ya get fed—"

"But the children don't!" Yukihiko exclaimed.

He stormed toward Yumi.

For a moment, the gunslinger really thought the child caregiver was getting to throw hands against her. But it never happened. Instead, Yukihiko stormed past Yumi, brushing against her shoulder. She knew that he had taken note of her bewildered expression. Took note that she would never agree with someone like Yukihiko.

With a scoff, Yukihiko bit back against her.

"Forget it," he gritted his teeth. "You people would never understand…"

That was all he had to say before finally leaving the room. Once again, another person who left the gunslinger behind over something she said. It was like a trend for one chapter. But at least with Yukihiko, Yumi definitely didn't feel like having a conversation with him. The moment he left the room, Yumi straightened her hat with a snort.

What a prick.

She turned to leave as well.

…

But she didn't.

She paused for a moment and took a look around the room once more. She furrowed her eyebrows. She was never in the Armory but… Even someone like her would've noticed something as obvious as this. Something as obvious and yet… she didn't know.

She blinked.

Why did it feel like…

…something was missing…?

---

(Dining Hall)

When Manon finished her meal, she shoved it across the table with little satisfaction over her face.

Don't get her wrong.

The food was tasty!

But it was just the thought of allowing Mara to go upstairs with Yumi and having herself stay behind. Thanks to Mara, she knew what needed to be done. She knew that to harbor these painful feelings for someone who didn't reciprocate hers was a tough task. And she knew that the best way to move on was to let them be happy. But still, stuff like this wasn't a one-day done and done healing process. If anything, to see Mara and Yumi go off together…

It hurt…

Like seeing a child you raised for so long grow up and go to college…

That's what it felt like.

She kept her elbows on the table and leaned her head against it, glancing around the room. Since the Morning Meeting, some more people had arrived to collect their food. Kikuko was there as well as Yukihiko who had just stormed in before the door closed. After him, there were the other two just enjoying the food they were given, though one looked… paranoid.

And finally, how could she forget the elephant in the room… Stanczyk, currently hovering the cart and guarding the food with his life. Like how Gollum does with the rings… I dunno. I haven't seen Lord of the Rings. But she did have to admit to herself that it was kind of funny seeing the jester surround the food like they were his own children.

Even though she felt sad…

Heh.

At least she could smile now…

Smile now that she could move onto other things than hovering over Mara and Yumi all the time. Someone in the review requested for Manon to make friends with Issac. To that, I say, hawk tuah. Manon can make friends with other people. In the meantime…

The door to the Breaker Room suddenly swung open, alerting Manon and only Manon for the time being.

She blinked.

The door had been closed before, right?

So… if she went in and took a peek right now, would she find someone trapped inside or…?

She glanced toward the others in the room.

Then, back at the Breaker Room.

And finally, scooting out of her chair, she walked over to the Breaker Room, if not but to peek at who could've potentially locked themselves in the room…

---

(Ballroom)

…But instead of the Breaker Room, she was amazed to find the Ballroom instead.

Of course.

The Breaker Room was another room that changed alongside the Hall of Infamy, the Theater of Mystery, and what was the first one that was found again… oh yeah! The Art Gallery. Readers already knew this but you guys also can't blame Manon for not knowing about the Breaker Room and the Ballroom changing mishap.

Regardless, was this what Stanczyk meant by them not having to worry about anything at the moment?

Manon had to wonder…

Admittedly, it was cool for a haunted house to have rooms that constantly changed every so often.

…

But what was less cool was what was currently in the middle of the Ballroom.

Manon approached it, her instincts kicking in as she wanted to make sure what she was seeing wasn't a trick of the light or her eyes or anything like that. She wanted to make sure that it wasn't real. That it wasn't what she thought it was. But unfortunately, the closer she got to it, the more she realized that it was real.

That it was…

It was…

Manon fell backwards, the color draining from her face as her mind finally grasped the reality of what she found.

"A-Ah… A-Ah… A-Ah… A-Ah…" Manon scooted back, before finally shrieking. "A-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

And it was her shrieks that alerted the others in the Dining Hall.

"M-Manon?!" Kikuko exclaimed. "W-What's wrong?! W-What's–"

Together, the four people that were inside the Dining Hall bolted straight into the Ballroom, rushing to see what had caused Manon to let out such a scream. Kikuko was the one who led the charge with Yukihiko and the other two boys running behind her. The shrine priestess looked concerned, but deep down, she must've known. Because as soon as she skidded to a halt, her eyes rested on what was before them.

"Hey look!" Stanczyk's voice called out from behind them as he chased them into the Ballroom as well. "The Ballroom's here! Now we can start our game of Hide and— W-W-W-W-W-WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTT?!"

Even Stanczyk looked absolutely shocked to see what was before them.

Because what was before them was a sight they were all too familiar with in this damned Killing Game. That's right, it happened again. Another one of these had appeared, laying flat in the middle of the Ballroom.

A dead body.

A body whose limbs and neck looked completely broken.

Like a doll.

Like a broken doll…

Whose limbs were bent out of shape and their face devoid of any life.

Whose body looked unnaturally positioned and far from salvation.

Whose body was surrounded by a handful of objects and yet none of could've prevented what might've happened to them.

They were dead.

They were undoubtedly dead.

And the kick of it all was the fact that they all knew this person well…

They all knew this person…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…as Beauté Morose, the Ultimate ?

---

…

Hey everybody!

Someone is dead! Someone is dead!

And they're bleeding red!

Hey everybody!

It's time to play! It's time to play!

Find the killer and make them pay!

(Yaaaaaay!)

…

---

(Grand Lobby)

W-Was that… the Body Discovery Jingle?!

Fábio kicked the door to the Bathroom open, and rushed out of it. There he was, heading off to take a bathroom break when all of a sudden the Body Discovery Jingle ended up playing right out of nowhere. Usually, such a Jingle would sound when three or more people found a body right? So if that was the case… where would the body have—

He slowly widened his eyes.

"K-Kikuko," he let out.

He had left her in the Dining Hall.

If she was there that would mean…

He ran toward the stairs and without a moment's time to lose, he seated himself against the stair railings and slid down to the bottom of the Grand Lobby. Hopping off, he ran straight toward the Dining Hall…

…which was… closed?!

No!

Of all times!

Fábio held onto the doorknob and tried his luck on trying to open it. Shit out of luck. He pulled. Then, pushed. Then, eventually, he removed his hand from the doorknob and simply slammed his body against the door. And the more he slammed, the more pain he felt in his shoulder. The more pain he felt… only barely remembering something Mara had said about the doors:

---

"I don't know," Mara shrugged. "But the moment Manon turned that back on, the door behind us shut. I tried to break out of it, but… I'll just say that's no ordinary wooden door."

---

He gritted his teeth.

No.

He can't give up.

Just because the doors weren't your ordinary wooden doors doesn't mean he should give up!

If something happened to Kikuko…

If something happened to her because he decided to fucking go to the Bathroom…!

It'll be like João all over again!

"Open!" Fábio begged. "Open! Come on! Fucking–"

The door opened.

"URK!" and Fábio fell onto the floor. "A-AGH!"

He winced in pain, clutching onto his shoulder. He tried to get up, but the energy he used up all on trying to slam open an otherwise titanium door made to look like a wooden door. It hurt. It hurt a lot. But Fábio wasn't going to give up here. He held onto his shoulder and slowly picked himself up, panting heavily as he did.

Only…

"W-What the…" Fábio widened his eyes. "W-Where is… W-Why are…?"

Approaching him was Monoyena, who simply looked at him like he just popped out of some random ass dimension. The hyena eyed him up and down, allowing his jagged red eye to flicker for a moment. Fábio had taken too long to just stare at the plush hyena. And Monoyena made sure he knew that with a snarl erupting from his snout.

"Oi, didn't ya fucking hear the Body Discovery Jingle?" Monoyena sighed. "Why the fuck are ya here? And… what the fuck did ya do to yer shoulder?"

"W-Where on Earth did you come from?" Fábio questioned between winces.

"None of yer beeswax, ya fucking retard…" Monoyena waved him along. "Now go and find that corpse! It's gonna be Trial time and ya don't want to go in completely unprepared now do ya?"

Fábio was about to argue over the fact that he didn't know where the body was but wasn't able to say anything. Because what interrupted him was a scream. A scream that he definitely recognized:

"W-WHAT THE HELLLLLLLL?!"

"I-Is that…?" Fábio blinked.

He and Monoyena both looked up, both taken aback by the scream.

"Th-That came from upstairs!" Fábio exclaimed.

Without wasting any more time, Fábio quickly rushed toward the stairs, hoping to track down where he had heard the scream. As he did, he also heard Monoyena call out to him from where he had left him. The hyena was obviously peeved. But then again, when isn't he?

"Oi, ya said that like I'm one of yer little friends that'll just join ya on some random body hunt!" Monoyena's jagged red glinted. "...Which I will fer the hell of it! Bwa… Bwahahahahahaha!"

Needless to say, Fábio found himself an unlikely companion in his search for where the scream had come from. And after much tracking…

---

(Theater of Mystery)

…it led him here: to the Theater of Mystery.

Where he saw the owner of the scream, fallen on the floor as they backed away in terror over what was found directly in front of them.

Where he saw Yumi, whose eyes widened with fear and face looking almost disgusted by the gruesome sight in front of her.

Where he saw Mara, who could only keep her teeth clenched together as her body remained frozen, her mind wandering over to the guilt of having not prevented this from happening.

Where Monoyena had joined the fun, at first grinning with glee before allowing that grin to twist into something even wider.

"Whoa, now that's a fucking kill!" Monoyena began to laugh hysterically. "Bwa… Bwahahahahahahahaha!"

Monoyena was right.

The aftermath of whatever happened to them was gruesome…

The aftermath of whatever happened that would make a dead body look like…

The body that rested on the ground in the Theater of Mystery.

The body that reminded Monoyena too much like the dolls he broke back in his earlier years as Stanczyk's best friend.

The body whose limbs were completely broken and unproportional in every way.

The body whose bones were unnaturally positioned and completely tarnished.

The body whose face looked completely caved in and whose physique was completely destroyed.

The body that once belonged to someone they knew.

The body that once belonged to…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…Kazuki Nobukatsu, the Ultimate Philanthropist.

"W-What the– W-What the– W-What the–?" the owner of the scream, Aidan, covered his mouth in disgust.

"K-Kazuki… Naw, this ain't…" Yumi stepped back in fear.

Fábio had little to say.

He lowered his head. Because although the body looked to be completely broken up, like a dog's chew toy that had been played around with for too long, Fábio recognized the body that belonged to their leader. The… only respectable leader they had. He tightened his fist. Who? Who could've… done this?

A gasp forced him to turn around.

A gasp… belonging to someone he knew shouldn't be the one to see this.

Alisa Zachary had just arrived.

And the moment she laid eyes on Kazuki's body was the moment she covered her mouth and squeaked out her only response, with tears welling up in her eyes:

…

"K-Kazuki…?"

---

DANGANRONPA: TWISTED TRAGEDY

---

Double murder! Double murder! Double murder!

The final Daily Life! Daily Life 6 of Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits! Starting off the New Year's first chapter with a fucking bang! Yes indeed! Our two bodies this time around are Kazuki Nobukatsu and Beauté Morose! And goddamn, it's been too long since I've actually reached a body drop! The amount of prep work I needed for this! Jesus Christ! Chapter 3 was supposed to be long done last year but... hey. It's fine! At least I've reached the climax of Chapter 3 ;-;

First thing's first though...

Trial Update: I finished both Trials Part 1 and 2 but they both are in need of serious editing to make sure everything makes sense and because Trial Part 2 especially went past my 25K limit meaning I'm gonna need to cut things down. But regardless, they should be ready to go! The foundation is all there and it's just the decor that needs a little sprucing up :D But other than that, this Trial might either be my strongest Trial or... it might succumb to 3rd Case Syndrome :D We'll see!

Alright, now for the big ones...

Beauté Morose: First off, thank you so much, Grandma Sue, for submitting this absolutely elegant character! The very moment you sent her my way, I knew INSTANTLY what her traits was going to be as well as what role she was going to play in the story. Beauté was literally my personal world-builder and timeline establisher. Her entire schtick was to play herself as a Danganronpa pro. Her constantly breaking the 4th wall was her most endearing character trait and played heavily on how well-versed she was with your classic Killing Game tropes. And mind you, these endearing character traits were placed exclusively for her as soon as I introduced her :D

A lot of people thought she would be like the main antagonizing force of the story but that was never my plan. Believe it or not, I've always had her jotted down as a Chapter 3 Victim and frankly, I think it's amazing that she was one of the characters that never once changed in whatever Kill Order I had for these characters. Chapter 3 was just such a fitting chapter for her to go out in. Because it's not only surprising to see an antagonistic force like Beauté get killed near the halfway mark... but to get killed without revealing what her Talent was?

Hell yeah!

I had her story all planned out to a tea, which really contribute to how quickly I accepted her too hahaha! Obviously, she was just... such a delight to write! I loved writing every scene that involved her and honestly, I think I'll miss her just as much as I miss Riku D: Man. Riku... I miss Riku. Once again, thank you Grandma for a wonderful character and as for what happened to her... well, just wait and find out, yeah? :D

Kazuki Nobukatsu: So, while I knew for a fact Beauté had to die in Chapter 3... Kazuki, in contrast, was all over the place XE But before we get to that, thank you so much to emberblitz321 for submitting him to the story! As a newbie to my fics, I tell you, Kazuki, like Beauté, was definitely one of the many characters in this cast I just loved writing for. I mentioned this many times but every time I wrote him; I always wrote him in inspiration from Rain Code's Vivia Twilight, who is one of my favorite characters from that game. His speech patterns and mannerisms... were an absolute delight! He was overall such a fascinating character to explore and in a game like Piero's Playground which focused on sacrifice, he was definitely power player toward the ideological aspect of the game.

Now, here's the thing I mentioned before. While Beauté was nailed into Chapter 3 victim, Kazuki... was thrown all over the Kill Order. At first, he was going to be a Survivor. Then, I had him marked somewhere in Chapter 4. Probably a suicide or something. Finally, Chapter 3 victim. Man, really went down the ladder of deaths but I guess the reason why I figured he wouldn't have what it takes to survive was simply because I thought maybe his sacrificial lamb aspect of his character in the game would probably grow tiring. In fact, it kind of did when he went back to his old ideological ways at near the start of Chapter 3.

That was when I knew for a fact that Kazuki's time to go was nearing because having him ask to be a sacrifice for a second time and then not having him die this time... felt wrong. And making him live after that... I dunno. It just didn't feel right to me. Kazuki was always someone who was ready to lay his life down for the good of others. That's the epitome of his character. But what specially made this time hit harder around was his plot with Alisa... which by the way, I... didn't really think would end up being romantic and yet, here we are XE

Yeah, that's right, Kazuki X Alisa wasn't even a planned relationship. I mean, I dabbled with the idea, but the more they interacted... Mannnnn, it just worked XE Agent Fish said it best: They were:

"Two people who are struggling to come to terms with their impending deaths being there for each other, trying to forget about everything for a little bit and just enjoy each other"

And goddamn it, it fucking worked.

I blame Project.

This is fate's revenge for David X Eliza in one of Otterplay's fic.

Rest in peace, my King Kazuki! ::fistbumpemoji::

Today's shoutout goes out goes to WolfieRed23's Danganronpa: Happily Never After. She too has reached a body drop and I think her story deserves some love! Like how Alisa loved Kazuki before he died :D Too soon? Way too soon? Yeah, you're absolutely right XE

Anyway, I'm aiming to finish Chapter 3 by the end of January! Investigation chapter is next and should hopefully be out before January 16! I will have a week of little to no writing as my good friend Otterplay is coming over to visit me and PROJECT DRAMA in the states! :D So, do be patient but do also note that Chapter 3 is coming to an end. The only questions I have now is...

Who do it? :D

Who killed Beauté?

And

Who killed Kazuki?

Let me know but until then... As always, let me know what you think about the chapter! Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know because I always love hearing what you guys have to say about the content I make! Also, because God! I'm always so nervous with these chapters! Here's hoping the logic is sound and reasonable! XE

Also... was the last time I reached a body also when I was back in California? XE How on Earth did THAT happen?

---

Playmates Remaining: 10

---

Aidan Brighton - The Ultimate Track Star [Omakin]

Alisa Zachary - The Ultimate Clockmaker [ExtraMeme]

Fábio Barbosa - The Ultimate Figure Skater [Rayy12]

Issac Santiago - The Ultimate Toymaker [oddlyillregular]

Kikuko Unmei - The Ultimate Shrine Priestess [WolfieRed23]

Manon Vivienne Levesque - The Ultimate Actress [Sempi]

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

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

Yukihiko Yuno - The Ultimate Child Caregiver [Weekaro]

Yumi Gundo - Ultimate Gunslinger [MrUtenaHolic]