Danganronpa: Twisted Tragedy (SYOC) Chapter 29: House of 1000 Low Spirits (Part 4), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits (Daily Life #4)

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!

"Greetings to you all. So glad all of you could make it."

In the dimly lit dining hall, their only source of light was a candelabra. Beauté Morose's candelabra. Seated at the long table and staring at the 8 other people that had decided to join her dinner party today, Beauté would've hoped that a little more people would've joined her tonight. It was only half of what she had expected. Half of the limited number of people that could attend. Sixteen was the max and yet...

Hmm. Darn shame. Would've surely made the festivities a lot more fun.

But Beauté never let her disappointment show. She was good at stuff like that. She got what she got, and she could work with this. She had already prepared the meal for everyone. And based on the expressions of their faces, it was clear the only reason they joined was for the food. What utter inelegant fools…

She clasped her hands together and smiled.

She had prepared the most exquisite and extravagant of dishes.

Classic fancy French cuisine such as the duck confit or the foie gras. All the really expensive stuff these peasants could never afford in their everyday lives. But the show must go on. That was the term right? She paced around the room, holding her candelabra with careful precision not to hurt her guests…

…even though that would've been quite fun to actually do.

"Mr. Brown, Miss Thatcher, Mrs. Garcia," Beauté listed as she walked to each guest at the table. "So good to see you again."

She glanced toward some of the unfamiliar people.

"I see we even have some newcomers," Beauté smiled. "Welcome! I assure you; the food you see here tonight will be absolutely scrumptious. Catered by the best. But… I must warn you. Nothing here is vegetarian. Bon appétit."

Hannibal reference.

A reference only one of the guests seemed to be amused with. Beauté didn't even bother batting them an eye. She was just waiting to get this dinner on the road so that the real show could begin. Something she had been looking forward to. She placed her candelabra in the middle of the dining table before taking her own seat.

Once she was seated, she clapped her hands and gestured for everyone to begin eating. Then, she sat back and patiently watched. She kept a close eye on each and every person in the room, scarfing down on the food that she so happily prepared for them all. Scarfing down like ravenous wolves, eating the best quality of food with little elegance nor tact.

Animals.

The lot of them.

That was what she thought on the inside. But on the outside, it was the same old Beauté Morose, watching with that observant smile on her face. She never let her disgust show. She never let her disapproval be known. The disappointment she felt was… unmatched. These guests were all the same.

They come here not for the experience but for the food.

In her mind, she wondered whether or not she should've poisoned it just for funsies. Watch them choke on their own meals and berate them for thinking only for the prize rather than the fun. But this world has lost its meaning of fun. No one knows how to have fun anymore. And that was the upsetting thing about the world she was forced to live in…

...

…until her eyes landed on one of the guests.

Unlike everyone else hogging out on their food, this guest hadn't touched his food yet. Instead, his eyes were on her. A handsome man. 6'2. Striking eyes and pale skin… like a vampire. Messy brown hair that was still well coiffed. And small black scars painted over his eyes… a flair that Beauté could most certainly admire.

If she remembered correctly, this was…

"Mr. Silver Lazaru," Beauté asked, curious. "You're not eating?"

Silver gave her a smile.

A smile that showed her a man that was most certainly smitten with her. As he rested his hands over his laps, for the first time, Beauté could easily ignore the other guests devouring the food. She could imagine the space… the room that they were in… she easily blocked all the other guests and focused her attention on just the one.

This one.

Silver Lazaru.

The only one that understood.

"Why enjoy the pleasure of cuisine…?" Silver spoke with such elegance. "When I can enjoy the pleasurable sight of beauty, instead?"

Beauté sank in her seat.

She melted over those words. Since this party had begun, it was only now that she finally realized that things were going to get much more interesting. She licked her blood red lips, practically biting it as she locked eyes with him. She felt her heart flutter as she watched this man observe with such intrigue and interest.

Her face turned red, and her legs instinctively crossed one another.

How…

Elegant…

…

It was the most passionate night of her life.

Beauté on top of Silver as they played around on the nearby bed. Queen-sized, just as she preferred. Silver may have looked strong and built on the outside, but the moment he had taken off his shirt…

Swoon.

Beauté had dug her nails onto Silver's back as the two locked lips. Then, they moved their lips to each of their own bodies. They gave themselves to each other right then and there. And it was at this point, she knew she had become a hypocrite. She called the other guests, 'animals', for being there for the food instead of the experience. But here she was. Giving into her basic animal instincts. All for the experience.

Experiencing what she didn't know she desperately needed at that time.

She could feel Silver digging his teeth into her shoulder, marking her like how a vampire marks his queen.

A moan escaped Beauté's mouth as she felt her body grow hot and heavy. Their body's warmth bounced off of one another. Beauté cupped Silver's face. Their hot breath and their red faces, mirroring each of their own. She could feel Silver's cold, yet soft hands brush against her cheek, moving a strand of her red hair behind her ear.

His lips moved and a soft whisper flowed through her ear:

"J'envie ta beauté," Silver spoke with such warmth and compassion. "Madame Villeray…"

"Oh… Silver…" Beauté whispered back, her smile widening as she ran her fingers through his hair. "My Dark Lord…"

Silver slowly smirked… then, he showed teeth, exposing his vampiric-like canines. It showed how hungry he was. And yet, it was nothing like the pigs at the dinner table. It was an expression of elegance. Inviting. As if asking for her consent. And as Beauté panted on top of him, she could only feel her own cheeks grow warmer and warmer.

"...May I be your faithful Queen?" she asked.

Silver trailed his fingers over her strap.

"You already are…" he smirked.

And off came her bra.

…

Beauté cuddled up to Silver as the two remained in their queen-sized bed together.

The tint of pink over both of their cheeks never disappeared. As they situated themselves in the warm comfort of their bodies… As much as they enjoyed each other's company and what they had just given to each other… Beauté's expression was still that of disappointment. Silver was wonderful in bed, don't get her wrong.

But was that all this was?

Just some one-night stand with the first ever man to make her swoon?

The thought… disappointed her.

And the thought that she had so weakly given herself to someone like that. That disappointment inked out of her mentality and into her physical movements. She slowly let go of Silver… something that didn't go unnoticed to the vampire-like person himself.

"You didn't enjoy yourself?" Silver concluded.

"No, I did," Beauté simply said.

"Then, what's wrong?" he asked.

Beauté didn't know what exactly to say. She couldn't just express what she was feeling. Couldn't just accuse him of trying to be someone who would want to get into bed with her like that. Lord knows she was beautiful, and Lord knows there have been those who asked her out on dates and stuff. But for the first time, someone was actually successful and bypassed all the bases just to get to her.

That level of charisma…

"...The world," Beauté simply said. "For too long I have been disappointed by everything the world has thrown at me. I fear that perhaps, this too may be another thing the world has given just to take away."

Silver didn't say anything for a moment. It took a bit but shortly, he wrapped his arms around her, his muscular body acting as her shield. Her home. Her source of comfort. Thoughts and feelings that Beauté was all too surprised to hear from her own head.

"In my travels, I have often heard of a remarkable young lady, highly talented in what she did," Silver simply said. "I came here today to meet this young lady. Our fate tonight… Our fornication… it was no coincidence, nor was it fleeting."

Beauté turned to face him. The first thing she was met with was a hand that pushed a strand of her red locks behind her ear once again. She flushed as she could see that Silver meant every word of what he said. That… or it was the hope in her heart, desperately pleading that what he said was true.

"You are my faithful Queen," Silver whispered. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Beauté shuddered at his cold touch.

"What is it that you truly want out of this?" she asked. "How do I know this isn't some trick played on me by the world?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Silver smirked. "What is it that you truly hope you can get from me…?"

Beauté locked eyes with him, before answering.

"...Excitement," she answered. "The world is a bore. I want more excitement. A world where we aren't held down by rules and order. Something fun…"

Silver's smirk widened as he tipped his head forward.

"...Anything for you, my Queen," he said before pecking her on the head.

She melted over it.

"...It's your turn," Beauté pointed out, quietly. "Answer my question. What do you want from me?"

"A New Life…" Silver whispered.

A New Life…

Beauté could feel Silver's cold hand brush against her ring finger. She could see that he had long stopped smirking, showing just how serious he was about all of this. She could see… how committed he was to this idea of a New Life. And honestly, a New Life was a brilliant answer. It was something she was quite interested in.

"...Just a New Life?" Beauté asked.

"A New Life can be for anyone," Silver smiled. "You just need to answer me honestly…"

Silver brought her hand up to his cheek.

"...Would you like to join me?" he asked.

Beauté's heart fluttered once more.

This was the defining moment in their lives. An escape from her otherwise dreary life. A life with… Silver Lazaru. A life that she could honestly see herself living. If she could cry, she would, because this has to be the most elegant moment of her entire life. She smiled and brushed her nose against his. Her head against his. Her lips… against his…

"...A New Life…" she whispered. "...I would love that…"

A New Life…

With Silver Lazaru…

With that vampire…

God.

…

How elegant…

…

(Nursery)

Beauté let out a huff as she woke up to the sound of that wailing mother in their Nursery.

It was nice to have an indicator of time in a place that didn't seem to have a clock or two. Whenever that mother wailed, that was when Beauté knew it was 7:00 in the morning. As someone who paid close attention to the rules of the game, she knew that the park opened at 7:00. That was when everything should be reactivated again for the sake of the game.

She couldn't help but glance toward her fellow roommates, wondering if either Kikuko nor Alisa had figured out at least that much.

Judging by their groggy and hungry faces, it seemed they were more focused on other more important matters.

Fair enough.

There was the pickle they had found themselves in, the fact that they had to kill two of their own, and not only that, but a new Survey question was posted for them to enjoy.

Beauté loved the Survey questions.

But the one that was sent out to them this time around was… simpler. It wasn't as thought provoking as the other two were. It was for that reason alone that Beauté felt a little disappointed with what they were getting here.

At the same time however, there was always a nice twist when it came to the questions. A nice way that Stanczyk and Monoyena would integrate into this third round of theirs.

That… was what Beauté was looking forward to today.

She slowly picked herself up from the floor and stretched out her arms, as if she were a princess that had just woken up from the most elegant nap she's ever had. She flashed her engagement ring, though Kikuko and Alisa didn't seem to care about it one bit. She silently huffed and fixed her eyes on that ring.

Oh…

That lovely ring of hers.

How she wondered how Silver was doing wherever he was at…

"Pardon me, Alisa, but are you alright?" Kikuko widened her weary eyes. "Your face… It's…"

Beauté couldn't help but switch her focus from her ring to the clockmaker. She didn't see what the problem was. At least, not at first. It was funny. For someone as observant as her to completely gloss over the fact that Alisa looked a lot more frail and weaker than she usually was…

"I'm fine," Alisa glanced away, fixing her glasses. "I-I'm just hungry. Th-That's all…"

"Are you sure?" Kikuko blinked. "Even if you're hungry, the way you look… I don't wish to sound rude but, it's a little unnatural–"

"I'm fine!" Alisa quickly shut down the thought. Realizing just how suspicious that probably looked on her part, she fixed her glasses and repeated herself. "Apologies… but really, I'm fine."

Kikuko perked her head to the side.

"I-If you're sure…" obviously, the shrine priestess wasn't convinced in the slightest.

Neither was Beauté.

But unlike Kikuko, who had a condition known as respecting other people's privacy, Beauté wasn't going to let such an obvious lie slip by like that. Alisa was hiding something. She has known this for a long time. But it was only now that the secret was struggling to be kept as that… a secret.

"Are you really going to let that slide?" Beauté huffed.

She could see the pale and struggling faces of Kikuko and Alisa snap toward her, as if she had struck a nerve. Neither of them was happy with her interjection, and yet Beauté couldn't care less. She looked at them, unamused.

"Pardon me, Beauté, but if it isn't something Alisa wishes to pursue any further, then the only thing we can do is respect her wishes," Kikuko frowned.

"And where's the fun in that?" Beauté asked, folding her arms.

"F-Fun?" Kikuko sputtered out, frowning. "Nothing about this is fun."

"The mystery of what could be troubling Alisa sure is," Beauté pointed out.

Alisa shifted uncomfortably. Something that Kikuko most certainly noticed. The shrine priestess closed her eyes and tipped her head down in a prayer pose. Truth be told, she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious herself but…

She shook her head.

"Unfortunately, that is only for Alisa and Alisa herself to share," Kikuko informed. "Let us please drop this subject matter."

Beauté tilted her head.

As she expected, Kikuko wasn't going to budge on this subject matter. Her day was ruined, and her disappointment was immeasurable. And quite literally, the day just started. Alas, what could she do with these people who seriously don't know how to have fun.

"Hmph, I see," Beauté sighed once more. "Very well then. Whatever it is though, just know…"

She smirked, trailing her fingers over her bloody red lips as she landed a gaze on Alisa.

"In a Killing Game, the truth will always come out," she warned. "One way or another."

Satisfied by what she had said, the mysterious Ultimate stood up and skipped her way out of the Nursery.

It was only when Beauté left that Alisa finally exhaled. The clockmaker glanced toward Kikuko, thankful.

"Thank you," Alisa fixed her glasses.

"Certainly," Kikuko bowed her head. "Though, that girl. I can never truly understand why she is the way she is."

"Indeed," Alisa sighed, looking uncomfortable.

It was bad enough that Yukihiko knew about her medical condition and was practically blackmailing her into revealing it to Kazuki- everyone else. But now Beauté was trying to butt in and figure it out herself? If she was going to tell anyone, it was going to be Kazuki but…

"Listen," Kikuko placed a hand on Alisa's skinny shoulder. "I meant what I said. Whatever is going on, you don't have to tell anyone if you don't want to."

Alisa hugged herself.

"...If only it were that easy," she mumbled underneath her breath.

"Pardon?" Kikuko glanced at her, confused.

"Oh, um, it's nothing," Alisa shook her head. "Let's just go to the Dining Hall. We… There is still the matter of the Survey Question that has popped up."

Kikuko blinked.

For a moment there, she had forgotten about the Survey Question; literally the biggest part of the last chapter. Compared to the last two Surveys, this one definitely felt targeted to their current circumstances.

Who Would You Rather Give Food To:

A. Yourself

B. The Children

"Right," Kikuko closed her eyes and thought about her response to the question. "It was… quite a difficult Survey to choose this time around."

"Indeed," Alisa folded her arms and glanced away. "Compared to the other questions, this time, we aren't determining a sacrifice between the children's lives but this time, between us and the children. And for it to be based on our starvation situation."

She grimaced.

"...I wonder what Stanczyk and Monoyena have in store for us this time around…" she muttered.

Kikuko had to share just how nervous she was as well. The past two Playtime Events were not things she had to wake up to look forward to. While the button-pressing Hangman's Gambit thing was more on the fear of whoever would be crazy enough to sacrifice an entire group of people for another group, AKA Yukihiko and Riku especially, the Red Light, Green Light one was a definite hindrance to her time in the park.

If it was anything like Red Light, Green Light…

"I suppose we will just have to wait and see," was all Kikuko could say.

She looked at Alisa's face.

She could tell that the clockmaker wasn't looking forward to the Playtime Event announcement today.

Who wouldn't be?

She watched as Alisa let out a resigned sigh.

"Indeed, I suppose we will," Alisa fixed her glasses.

Kikuko may have been worried about the upcoming Playtime Event, but Alisa was worried about something else. More things than she imagined the shrine priestess would be worried about.

Her secret, the illness.

Kazuki's promise.

And whatever she was going to do with everything else…

(Hallway)

As Kikuko left the Nursery and walked out into the Hallway, she noted the fact that Alisa declined her invitation to head downstairs with her.

That was why she was out in the Hallway, alone.

Or rather, she would've been alone had she not bump into the one person she definitely would've liked to bump into in this blasted haunted house setting. Widening her eyes, she couldn't believe that the moment she stepped out into the Hallway, Fábio had done the same thing.

Classic romance trope of two people in the same facility bumping into each other at the same time kind of ordeal.

"A-Ah, Fábio," Kikuko widened her eyes, her face glowing.

"K-Kikuko," Fábio blinked, rubbing the back of his neck.

There was some sort of awkward tension between the two. Shouldn't mean much considering they didn't get much of a chance to interact with one another this Chapter.

In any case, the moment Kikuko landed eyes on him was the moment she felt a mixture of hot and cold in her system. Hot due to her being near the cutest guy in the world. Cold… due to the spirits that were lingering around her. One such spirit included that little boy that lingered near Fábio. The other…

"So, when are you two going to screw each other?" Eiji asked, mischievously.

Kikuko flushed red.

"Eiji!" she hissed to where the spirit was floating next to her. "Why is it that you appear during the most inappropriate moments?!"

"Hey, just looking out for my sis!" Eiji shrugged, leaning back against nothing. "If you two are gonna go and do adult stuff, I would like the heads up! Just like that one time when you were 15 and you—"

"Eiji!" Kikuko squeezed her eyes shut and flushed even harder.

Fábio watched as Kikuko was basically just talking to air. The embarrassment on her face. How much it really looked like she was talking to her brother. Even though he himself couldn't see Eiji, he believed it to the fullest that the little boy was there. He believed… her. And honestly, he couldn't help but laugh.

He felt a pair of eyes glance toward him.

"F-Fábio?" Kikuko bit her lip. "W-What's–"

"S-Sorry," Fábio chuckled. "It's just that… Even though I can't see him, you and Eiji seem to have quite the sibling dynamic."

Kikuko shared a glance with Eiji. The ghost boy stuck out a mischievous ghost tongue in response. If he was emergency food, she'd devour him right about now. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to regain control of her emotions.

"Well, we are still siblings," Kikuko couldn't help but smile at the thought. "Spiritually at least."

"Awww, and here I thought you hated me," Eiji teased.

"I will banish you back into the Spirit Realm," Kikuko snapped her head toward Eiji, her eyes glaring at her ghostly brother.

Fábio couldn't help but let out another laugh.

Perhaps it was the fact that he hasn't had a decent one-on-one conversation with Kikuko since Chapter 2, but the more he got to be near her, the more he couldn't help but admit that she… Fábio felt his cheeks warm up.

Damn.

Did he…?

Kikuko noted his silence. Though, she didn't really seem to notice the faint blush that was over his face. And even if she did, she'd probably chalk it down to the pain of hunger speaking. She tilted her head, curious.

"Fábio, are you…?" she questioned.

"Unmei! Barbosa!"

The referral to the last names could only mean one person and both Fábio and Kikuko were disappointed to hear him enter the Hallway. Issac Santiago, the toymaker with a strange obsession with his toy caterpillar, walked in with a gaze noted directly toward the shrine priestess.

"Fancy meeting you two here," Issac chuckled. "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything…"

He ran his hand through his pink hair.

"...was I?" he smiled, innocently.

"Not this creep, again!" Eiji groaned.

"No… you weren't," Fábio frowned, speaking in an almost sarcastic tone…

"Great!" Issac rubbed Isolde's neck, completely disregarding the sarcasm. "Because I came here to call Unmei over for the Morning Meeting. You should join us too."

"Us?" Fábio blinked.

"I suppose he means him and Isolde," Kikuko reiterated. "...I hope."

Fábio glanced between Kikuko and Issac as if they were two people with a preexisting romantic relationship. Even though he knew that wasn't the case, it always peeved him to see this toymaker get so close to Kikuko all of a sudden. In fact, it didn't even look like Kikuko even liked his presence either.

"No, I mean you and me, Unmei," Issac chuckled, placing his hand over Kikuko's shoulder and pulling her close to him.

The chill that ran down Kikuko's spine was unbearable at this point. And it was this point that Fábio swore Issac was just doing this to fuck with him. He bitterly glanced at Issac's arm over Kikuko's shoulder. Over his… Kikuko. Fábio blinked. What kind of thoughts did he have just now?

Issac could see the discomfort on Fábio's face. Someone like him wasn't clueless as to what was going on. No matter how seemingly mental he was. Tilting his head and bursting into a chuckle, the toymaker couldn't help but look at Fábio, a teasing smirk on his face.

Or was it taunting…?

"Haha, relax Barbosa," Issac chuckled. "I'm not trying to steal her away from you, if that's what you're worried about."

He let go of Kikuko, much to the shrine priestess's relief. Leaning close to Fábio, Issac smiled at him, seemingly innocent. At least in Fábio's perspective, it looked like someone trying to play coy. Especially since for the longest time, Issac hasn't been restrained by 'Isolde'.

"Besides…" Issac smiled, speaking quietly for only Fábio to hear. "Girls get turned off by over possessive boyfriends y'know. Just saying."

Fábio tightened his fist.

"Pardon me," Kikuko cleared her throat. "But you were suggesting we go to the Morning Meeting together, correct?"

Thank God for Kikuko.

Or, sorry.

Thank Seiryuu for Kikuko.

Because any longer and Fábio would've struck Issac across the face and looked like a total maniac. She must've definitely noticed the discomfort he felt and was proactively doing everything she could to make sure this guy didn't fill him with any thoughts.

Fábio noticed Issac back away. As he turned to the Kikuko, Issac extended out his arms, as if expecting her to go to him. Instead, the shrine priestess brushed past him and took Fábio by the arm. She gave him an unamused look.

"If you wish to tag along, you are free to do so," Kikuko huffed, gripping onto Fábio's arm tightly.

Tight enough for Fábio to feel… enamored by the shrine priestess's presence. She was gripping onto his arm. His arm.

His cheeks tinted into a blush.

"Now, come on Fábio," Kikuko continued, dragging the figure skater along. "Let's go."

"R-Right," Fábio snapped out of it and nodded.

Issac never bothered to follow them. He just watched as the two walked farther and farther away from him until they disappeared through the door that led to the Grand Lobby. And all the while, Issac still had that innocent-looking smile on his face. With a sigh, he glanced down toward Isolde.

"What?" Issac smiled sheepishly at his toy caterpillar. "...Oh, come on, Isolde. I'm just playing around."

Silence.

"...Oh Isolde," Issac sighed, his face dropping to disappointment. "When will you ever understand that everything I do, I do for you? Have faith in your love. Okay?"

Issac caressed the toy caterpillar's chin.

If anyone was around to watch this, they'd definitely see Issac as a borderline mental patient. But luckily for him, no one was around. This was just Issac talking to his toy caterpillar. To his precious Isolde. With a smile and sweet, sickening touches on the toy caterpillar's head, Issac couldn't help but bring back his smile.

"...I love you too, Isolde," he chuckled to himself.

Eugh.

Creepy.

(Dining Hall)

Kazuki sat in the Dining Hall, glancing over the picture and the Survey Question presented to them.

Last night, when they received the pictures and Survey Question, it felt like they got hit by a truck. He read the prompt over and over again, his eyes furrowing the more he scanned through it.

Who Would You Rather Give Food To:

A. Yourself

B. The Children

The philanthropist had little words to say about this. He noted just how much the children were in. At this point, suggesting sacrificing himself was looking more and more valid. Except, for some reason, he didn't feel like it was the right thing to do anymore. At least, there was something holding him back.

Something…

No.

Someone…

Kazuki's mind wandered toward Alisa. He knew full well how much she disapproved of his selflessness. He could remember how angry she was when he announced his sacrifice proposal for the second time. And now, it was looking more and more grim that this was what had to be done.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

His stomach rumbled louder than ever.

For the sake of those children and for everyone else here, this was what had to be done…

"Well, if it isn't my favorite leader!"

Kazuki opened his eyes.

If there was someone he wasn't that pleased to see, it had to be Beauté. Because here she was, walking into the Dining Hall with that mischievous smile on that face. He already had plenty of things to think about. Right now was no time for her to come in and start causing a ruckus as she always did.

"Miss Morose…" Kazuki tried to remain as polite as he usually tried to be.

"Ah heh heh, always ever the gentleman," Beauté smirked as she strutted her way toward the philanthropist.

Kazuki had picked the seat by the big colorful chair. The one at the end of the dining table, symbolizing his importance to the group. And here Beauté was, strutting up toward and sitting on the arm of the chair like she was his queen. The lack of personal space was… daunting to say the least.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Beauté inquired. "The Survey Question I mean. Are you really going to choose to sacrifice yourself?"

"...Of course…" Kazuki closed his eyes.

"But…?" Beauté raised an eyebrow.

"There is no 'but'..." Kazuki simply responded. "I intend to keep my end of the bargain…"

"Even though there are still regrets you may still have about everything?" the mysterious Ultimate nonchalantly inquired.

Kazuki tensed up.

He didn't know how she did it, but it was always like Beauté was able to read people like an open book. It wasn't like Kazuki tried his darnedest to keep it a secret, but even so. To have someone like her openly speak about what they were thinking was unnerving at best. He eyed her, cautiously.

"...Why would I have any regrets if I have lived my life the way it's supposed to be…?" Kazuki asked. "The only reason I live is to provide for my people. Everyone here as well as the children are my people…"

"And yet, for someone who talks so big," Beauté licked her blood-red lips. "You let yourself become small for someone meaningless."

"Do not call Alisa meaningless…!" Kazuki snapped, his eyes turning dark.

By the time he realized what he had just said, it was already too late. Beauté was already giving him that look like she's won the lottery. With a grim and vicious grin, the mysterious Ultimate haughtily laughed.

"Ah heh heh heh… got you," she smirked.

She slipped off the arm of Kazuki's chair and sighed to herself. As if the rush of catching Kazuki's slipup wasn't nearly as satisfying enough for whatever sick pleasure she loved. She paced around; her voice slightly tired.

"You know Kazuki," Beauté hummed. "You were a really interesting person when we first met. Your selfless ideology was something to behold. And yet, you succumb to the thing that vexes all men. Honestly, why would you throw your entire life's philosophy away for a girl like that?"

Beauté leaned forward, her red eyes staring deep into Kazuki's soul.

"That girl isn't to be trusted," she smirked. "After all, with how secretive she's been, aren't you afraid that this girl has been secretly plotting your demise from the very beginning?"

Kazuki chuckled bitterly to himself.

"...Wouldn't be the first time…" he muttered to himself. "But it isn't like we all don't have our secrets. Whatever Alisa is suffering from… I don't care if she chooses to tell me or not… She is the type of woman to make the best decisions for herself and for others… I trust her… wholeheartedly."

Beauté didn't say anything in regard to that.

Based on the unmoving expression on her face, she thought that whatever Kazuki's philosophy was, it was utterly ridiculous. Revolting even. Whatever respect he had with Alisa was nothing compared to the beautiful bond she had with Silver (hey, that's me! Take that Sempi). She wanted to say something. Something to cause a wedge in that pedestal Kazuki has placed her on.

"But what is your interest in the matter…?" Kazuki suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Beauté simply smiled. "Whatever are you talking about?"

"Please do not try to talk your way out of this…" the philanthropist sternly warned. "I recognize the patterns. You are always so interested in other people's matters. In fact… you have a unique Talent in deciphering the deepest thoughts of someone's psyche."

Kazuki narrowed his eyes.

"...What exactly is your Ultimate Talent, Miss Morose?" he inquired.

Beauté just stared at him.

Then, with a smile, the mysterious Ultimate laughed. She laughed and laughed. Almost, it wasn't a laugh of amusement. Kazuki didn't even know how to describe it. It looked to be a mixture of relief and disappointment. Forced. And yet, somehow psychotic. Beauté had placed a hand over her face as she continued.

"Finally!" she exclaimed. "It seriously took three Chapters for someone to ask in this Killing Game? Am I seriously that unimportant to the plot of the story?"

"...What?" Kazuki was confused by what she meant.

"Why don't you take a guess?" Beauté leaned forward, smiling to herself. "Given how much I've hinted toward it, surely you should be able to come up with an answer."

Kazuki… didn't have an answer.

Here she was, practically begging him to come up with an answer and yet he didn't have anything on his mind at the moment. And noticing his silence, Beauté sighed for a brief moment before giving the philanthropist a frustrated look. She placed a finger over her lips as she leaned forward.

"How about I give you a hint?" Beauté smirked. "It's… very specific."

V-Very specific?

What kind of hint was that–

"What's going on here?"

Saved by the bell. Or in this case, Fábio and Kikuko, who had come into the Dining Hall to start their Morning Meeting. Kikuko had been dragging Fábio along, grasping his hand as the two glanced at Kazuki and Beauté in bewilderment.

"Mister Barbosa…" Kazuki blinked. "Miss Unmei…"

"Ahhh, and the fun is ruined," Beauté huffed to herself.

Fábio and Kikuko had no idea what she meant by that. And while Beauté was disappointed that her moment with Kazuki got cucked by the couple that were consistently getting cucked, the philanthropist was grateful that he had some company other than the mysterious Ultimate. Still, her hint lingered in her mind for the time being.

Very specific…

…

It didn't take long before the others gathered in the Dining Hall.

Wait.

Actually, scratch that.

It definitely took a while before the Morning Meeting could actually get rolling. Some people didn't come to the Dining Hall until a while. Exhibit A was Alisa, who had been the last to arrive, her face avoiding the expectant gaze of Yukihiko. Yesterday, the babysitter had pretty much threatened her to reveal her secret. Alisa made the compromise of only telling Kazuki.

The only problem was finding time with Kazuki to go through with it.

"Miss Zachary…" Kazuki greeted.

Alisa simply responded with a nonverbal nod.

"...Well… now that everyone is here…" Kazuki began. "I suppose we should go over the elephant in the room."

"Arrrrgh!" Roderick, built like an elephant but not actually an elephant, exclaimed. "What be the meaning of this new Survey Question?!"

"Yes… that…" Kazuki nodded.

"From ze looks of it, ze Question is trying to get us to choose between ourselves and ze children," Manon pointed out. "In comparison to ze last two which had us choose between ze children."

"Levesque makes a solid point," Issac shrugged. "They really moved on choosing which kid to die to which group should die. Makes me think there's more to this."

"What do you mean?" Mara narrowed her eyes.

"You haven't thought about how strange it is?" Issac chuckled. "The entire point of the previous two Survey Questions was to leave it to us to start killing so we can keep a couple of brats alive. This Survey Question just puts us in the middle of the firing range. Like, what's the point?"

He sighed.

"If they really wanted to do something interesting with this Question, they could've made us decide which of the Kids deserved the food," Issac muttered. "But hey, what do I know?"

He was met with some strange looks. Admittedly, what he said was a little out of pocket but he certainly seemed convinced that he had a point in this matter. Yukihiko had a different opinion.

"I believe I speak for everyone when I say that calling them 'brats' is inexcusable," he was more focused on that.

"But you don't speak for everyone," Mara retorted.

"Oh come on," Issac folded his arms. "I'm just pointing out how strange it is…"

"And yet, he's right," Beauté intervened with a smile on her face. "The fact that we're a part of this Survey Question is intriguing at best. The first Survey Question was a question over gender. The second was a question about family. But this one…"

She hummed for a second before continuing.

"...seems to be a question over survival," Beauté deduced.

"Oh, here we go 'gain," Yumi sighed, lowering hat, knowing full well what was to come.

"Food has always been a huge factor in the survival of the human race," Beauté spoke. "While the men went out hunting for the biggest meat there was, it was the women who picked nuts and berries to ensure that everyone had at least something to eat should the men fail to catch game."

Beauté leaned forward, her eyes piercing her fellow playmates.

"That was how mankind survived in the old days," Beauté explained. "And as we evolved, so did our technique of obtaining food. We learned to cook, to mix ingredients, and found newer, simpler sources of food. All passed down from generation after generation."

She tilted her head.

"But what would happen if a society's food supply was cut off?" Beauté questioned. "Perhaps that is the test Stanczyk and Monoyena are trying to figure out. Our source of food and presumably the children's as well have been cut off. Now, I simply interpret the Question as follows: which generation deserves to live?"

"Which generation?" Fábio blinked.

"Of course," Beauté smirked. "There are two generations in this game are there not? There's us. The generation that has already lived half of their lives already. And then there's the generation held captive somewhere in this park. The generation that hasn't even started living. That's what I think Stanczyk and Monoyena are trying to decipher here."

"What kinda logic are ya reachin towards?" Yumi questioned, incredulous. "Ya really think this Survey Question is a battle between generations?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Beauté shrugged with a smile. "It's just my two-cents on the matter. But it surely gets you thinking, doesn't it?"

Beauté was definitely one of the more unhinged members of their group. But when it came to these Survey Questions, she was definitely very intuitive on the matter. She made some strong points, but at the same time, these Survey Questions were just that. Questions. Open for interpretations of any kind.

But as the previous two Survey Questions proved, she was usually correct on her deductions…

"If there really was a generation battle, we'd all know who would fucking win, am I right?"

The potty-mouth Aussie accent could only come from one source and it wasn't Australian comedian, Jim Jeffries. It was the hyena with the neon-colored hair, he waddled his way into the room, paws behind his back as he exposed his sharp teeth.

"Monoyena…" Mara muttered.

"And to think I was getting used to your absence," Yukihiko scoffed. "For you and Stanczyk to be stuck in the same roof as us, I don't think I've seen you clowns once yesterday. Where were you?"

"And why would I tell a gender-confused fuck like you about my personal life?" Monoyena growled.

"Pardon me, but do you even have a personal life?" Kikuko retorted from the side.

"W-Wow, what a low blow from a fucking Jap," Monoyena grumbled. "I'd totally bomb the fuck outta Hiroshima again if I had the chance just for that comment, bitch!"

Kikuko… was definitely not happy with that comment.

"Alright, why the heck are you even here?" Fábio stepped up for Kikuko's sake. "Just to insult us like you always do?"

"Crikeys, is that the only thing you wankers know me fer?" Monoyena took out his Barbie Blade. "Fer being a total incel on Twitter cancelling every single fuck for saying something they don't agree with and calling them pieces of shits that should burn in Hell…?"

Pause.

"Because I haven't been able to do that ever since being locked in here with you smelly wanks," Monoyena chuckled before gnashing his sharp teeth together and pointing his Barbie Blade toward the group. "Think with yer fucking heads fer once! Ya got the Survey Questions! Ya had the talk about whatever it could mean! Now I'm here to interrupt yer conversation! What the fuck do you think is happening?!"

"You're… calling us in for the Playtime Event…" Kazuki surmised.

"That's right!" Monoyena exclaimed. "And to think it's Mr. 13 Reasons Why that got the answer! Now that's irony! Bwa… Bwahahahahaha!"

"Mais, where exactly are we meeting for ze Playtime Event announcement?" Manon questioned. "It cannot be at Pleasure Park, non?"

"Yeah, I wonder why," Monoyena deadpanned. "But that's why I'm here, innit? Stanshit is expectin ya at that theater place."

"Theater place?" Yukihiko blinked. "It was… mentioned in passing during last night's Nighttime Meeting…"

Alisa also seemed a little clueless about that.

Right, Yukihiko and Alisa never actually investigated the Theater of Mystery with the rest of the group. But leave it to Kazuki to keep them updated. Or at least, Alisa.

"Theater of Mystery…" Kazuki answered. "...It's the most recent room that replaced the Art Gallery and I suppose the Hall of Infamy."

"Yeah, and that is where we'll be announcing the next Playtime Event," Monoyena declared. "So get to it! See ya in 15! Or I'll start force feeding you bits and pieces of each other to one another and get yer cannibalism era going!"

That sounded… disgusting.

But Monoyena's threats are always disgusting. When he said his final piece, the hyena simply waddled off, grumbling obscenities and leaving the remaining 12 playmates in the Dining Hall. As they looked amongst one another, most of the eyes were noticeably directed toward Kazuki, their leader.

They had said their piece about what the Survey Question could mean.

All that was left to do was find out what the Playtime Event was.

Kazuki stood up from his chair and took a deep breath.

"...Well… you heard the hyena…" he simply said. "...Let's go to the Theater of Mystery…"

And so they did.

(Theater of Mystery)

Beauté took in her surroundings.

From the look of it, the mystery of the changing rooms had ceased to exist for the time being. After all, the Theater of Mystery remained as it was. The Empress statue was still in the middle, waiting to collect Electroculus, Anemoculus, Geoculus, whatever the fuck Archon Empress was. The room was still circular and featured that 360 screen.

The only difference here was that the screen was completely blacked out. No longer was it playing an episode of Gold House. Heck, it wasn't playing anything for the time being, which made the room darker than it needed to be. With what little light they had, the remaining 12 playmates looked amongst themselves.

"Guys?" Aidan gulped. "I have a bad feeling about this."

Oddly would be proud of that Marvel-esque quote.

"Dun dundun dun dun!" a soft voice came from within the darkness. It didn't take long to figure out who it belonged to as the soft voice continued sing:

…

Stanczyk says

Stanczyk does

Stanczyk plays

With all of us

Let's all smile and sing a cheer

Because Mister Stanczyk is here!

…

"Yeah!" Stanczyk randomly blurted out in the middle of his song, before continuing:

…

What Stanczyk says

You should do

Stanczyk's ways

Are our rules

Let's be happy, go and play

Because he is here all day!

…

"Yaaaaaaay!" Stanczyk declared, jumping out from within the darkness, jazz hands flailing about.

Everyone looked at him, unsurprised.

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Stanczyk repeated with a smile on his face.

Silence.

"Yaaaaaaaay!" Stanczyk repeated, once again.

Silence. One person coughed but still, silence.

"...Yaaaay?" Stanczyk tilted his head.

"Alright, alright, move outta the way, fuckface, yer embarrassing yerself," Monoyena shoved Stanczyk away from the nonexistent spotlight.

"B-But my encore!" Stanczyk exclaimed.

"As if that deserved any encore," Mara retorted, glancing to the side. "Seriously, what was that?"

"Ain't it obvious, bitch?" Monoyena grumbled, taking out his Barbie Blade and picking his teeth. "Since we're stuck in this fucking place with ya, we gotta cut corners when needed. This included the Stanczyk Says theme. Only, this whiny baby wanted to uphold tradition and do it himself."

"That's right!" Stanczyk declared, proudly. "And wasn't it great, best friends?! Didn't it make you feel right at home?!"

"Feeling right at home means actually being home with our families," Yukihiko scoffed.

"Family!" Stanczyk grinned. "Now that's a funny word! Hahahaha! Hehehehe! Hohohohoho!"

It was not.

Yukihiko furrowed his eyebrow. He felt a rush of blood seep from underneath his nose. Sniffling it back in, Yukihiko was more than less displeased by whatever Stanczyk was insinuating. As always, he had to be the one to get things back in business.

"Let's cut the chit chat," Yukihiko stared at his nails. "We all know why you called us here. So, why don't you just get this over with and tell us what the Playtime Event is?"

"Gee, ya must be real fun at parties," Monoyena deadpanned. "Especially looking like a fucking twinky-ass femboy."

Yukihiko would've cracked a nail at that comment.

"Ooooh, I'm so excited for today's Playtime Event!" Stanczyk squeed. "You are all going to love it! But first…"

Almost like how God gave the world light on the first day, the entire room lit up, revealing what else had been lurking in the darkness: a cart filled with neatly wrapped boxes. At least 12 of them in fact.

The source of the light?

The 360 screens had turned on. On it, were images of the playmates as well as the choices they made. The choices they made for the Survey Questions. Right there for everyone to see as Stanczyk's face distorted.

"...LeT'S sEe wHo yOu CuRsED…" Stanczyk's voice distorted.

All eyes were on the screens, each of them glancing at the choices they had made:

Aidan: Children

Alisa: Yourself

Fábio: Yourself

Issac: Yourself

Kazuki: Children

Kikuko: Children

Manon: Children

Marabel: Yourself

Beauté: Yourself

Roderick: Yourself

Yukihiko: Children

Yumi: Children

Results:

Yourself: 6

Children: 6

The faces of everyone dropped.

Kazuki instinctively turned to Alisa, surprised by the outcome of her vote. Of course, the clockmaker simply avoided eye contact, ashamed.

As for everyone else, it wasn't a look of shock or surprise anymore. Instead, most of it was displaced over the expression of confusion over what this could mean for them now. In fact, even Stanczyk and Monoyena seemed surprised by the outcome. As if they didn't even have the time to compile the results for themselves.

"It's…" Yukihiko blinked.

"It's…" Stanczyk widened his masked eyes.

"It's…" Monoyena was at a loss for words.

"...a tie!" Beauté smiled, clapping her hands excitedly. "Oh, how elegant! I've always wondered how a tie would work in this situation!"

She directed a gaze toward Stanczyk and Monoyena.

"So, how will it work?" she tilted her head, curiously.

"Huh?" Stanczyk and Monoyena looked at a complete loss of words.

Almost immediately, Beauté caught onto what was happening with these two. Whether she should be amused or disappointed though, now was a whole different story now. She furrowed her brow, her expression completely mixed.

"Ah heh…" she feigned a look. "Please don't tell me you two didn't think of this outcome happening at all."

"Wh-What?" Stanczyk blinked. "Um, o-of course we did, it's just that we uh…"

"Oh shut up, bitch!" Monoyena cursed. "Running a Killing Game is harder than it looks! Especially when we're confined to the same place as you 12 fucks! So, I guess we're gonna have to do a little improv here…"

"Oooh, I love improv!" Stanczyk excitedly declared.

Monoyena twirled his Barbie Blade around and waddled up toward the cart with the boxes. He gestured toward Stanczyk, who was just standing around doing nothing.

"A little help here, dickwad?" Monoyena grumbled.

"Oh, right!" Stanczyk ran up toward the hyena and grabbed six boxes.

As these two clowns fumbled around with the boxes, the playmates could only look amongst themselves, confused over what was happening. By the time Stanczyk ran back toward the playmates, six boxes in hand, Monoyena spoke up once again.

"Now then," Monoyena started to comb his hair with his Barbie Blade. "Since ya fuckers decided to tie the vote, I guess I can let ya in on a little secret."

He pointed his Blade toward the cart of boxes.

"The boxes in that cart over there are actually trays of food," Monoyena told them. "That's right. We're generous people who want to feed ya blokes."

"No, you're not," Kikuko pointed out.

"Absolutely right you are, Jap!" Monoyena laughed at his own joke. "If the majority chose Children, we would've handed that food down to the kiddies. But if the majority chose Yerselves, I would've called ya selfish, good-for-nothing, fucking brats and given ya the food. It was gonna be sweet and simple!"

Monoyena's jagged red eye flashed.

"But ya fucks decided to make this a little complicated," Monoyena growled. "So, here's what we're gonna do! For those lucky 6 that actually voted for themselves and/or abstained… Congratulations!"

Stanczyk tossed a box toward Alisa, Beauté, Fábio, Issac, Mara, and Roderick, each of them looking surprised that they were actually going to get fed. As the six opened their boxes, again, the surprise seeped back onto their faces.

Sitting in the palm of their hands was a tray of delicious looking food.

An appetizer in the form of some sort of tomato soup inside a Stanczyk souvenir bowl.

A main dish in the form of a steak sandwich, made with love and care. Something noticeably absent in this Killing Game.

And a dessert in the form of a dark blue cupcake with a small Stanczyk figurine, standing on top of its dark blue frosting.

It was a three-course meal in one single box.

"Yer getting fed tonight!" Monoyena laughed.

"That's right best friends!" Stanczyk exclaimed, excitedly. "Eat up! Eat up! You all deserve it!"

The six that actually got the tray of food looked at one another. Admittedly, they were starving and while there could be the question of whether or not the food was drugged or poisoned, hungry people were legally not allowed to complain. And besides, Beauté ended up being the first person to dig in, practically orgasming at the taste of the food. Her face flushed in excitement as if she were eating food made from the Food Wars! anime.

"Oh my!" Beauté exclaimed. "This food! It's... It's so... ELEGANT!"

"Arrrggghhh!" Roderick widened his eyes as he stuffed his face with a sandwich. "I be forgettin how hungry I be! This is good!"

"Yep, delicious," Issac simply said as he ate his food.

"U-Um, so what about the rest of the food?" Aidan was starting to drool over the sight of the six enjoying their trays. "I mean, you guys are kind of overstocked so..."

"That's why the rest of this food is going straight toward the kiddies!" Monoyena declared with a proud expression.

Aidan was disappointed.

"How are you going to bring it to the children if you're stuck here with us?" Alisa asked a valid question, glancing at the food with a starved expression over her face.

"What was that?" Monoyena feigned deafness. "Sorry. Can't hear ya over the sound of you being a fucking heartless bitch who wants children to starve. Piece of shit."

Ouch.

Alisa winced, glancing away slightly ashamed.

She knew what she voted for wasn't morally correct. But at the same time, she kind of had an excuse to be selfish. Given how frail she was and how often she was succumbing to her illness, this was the best option for her. She needed the food. She needed it to survive… Surely, others could understand right?

Surely, he could–

She caught Kazuki's prying eyes, his mind wondering what on Earth compelled her to vote for herself like this. The shame was back and Alisa could do nothing but look down.

"H-Hey, Roderick, buddy," Aidan's mouth was practically drooling. "That looks like a pretty big plate, y'know."

It was a box of food for one.

"You don't mind sharing, do ya?" Aidan looked absolutely hungry.

"Heh," Roderick smiled at the track star. "Course we can! We all need the energy we can get–"

"No no no no no no no," Monoyena waddled up toward Roderick and Aidan, separating the two of them. "I'm sorry! Did you fucking vote for yerself like a good person trying to survive? No? Then, fuck off! Yer not touching his food!"

Roderick and Aidan were caught off guard by the hyena's outburst. In fact, Monoyena had scanned the room, noting the hungry and slightly envious six people that chose to vote for the Children instead of themselves.

"That goes the same for all of ya fucks that chose to vote for the Children," Monoyena growled. "Ya had yer chance to get food and ya threw it away just to fuck with me! Yer food is going to the Children and yer not going to get a single bite, ever! Take that!"

The more Monoyena spoke, the more he fumed. So much so that Stanczyk had to sheepishly smile for his friend's sake.

"C-Calm down Monoyena!" Stanczyk chuckled sheepishly. "They're just hungry! And you know how kids are when they're hungry!"

Monoyena seethed for a moment longer.

Then, taking a deep breath, the hyena relaxed himself.

"Right, right," Monoyena muttered. "Anyway, as I was saying… If I catch ya fucks who didn't get the food touching the food, I'm killing ya. That's it."

The threat of being killed by Monoyena was enough to stop the prying hungry folks who weren't getting food from trying to beg.

That was it for what they had come to expect from the Survey Question. The results were a tie. Now, whoever did vote for themselves got food and whoever didn't, their food went straight toward the Children. Sweet and simple. But that just left one more matter to discuss…

"And, what about the Playtime Event?" Issac asked, folding his arms. "How exactly does this tie situation fit with that now?"

"Well, I'm glad ya asked," Monoyena's frustrated look suddenly shifted into a sinister grin, as if this had been something he had been waiting for a while. "Stanshit?"

"Finally!" Stanczyk looked excited.

Both of them had been waiting for this for quite a bit. And if they were excited, that couldn't mean anything good for the playmates. Stanczyk maintained his bright smile and carefully scanned the room. As his grin widened madly, the clown didn't dare hold back from what he was about to announce.

"Today's Playtime Event is yet another classic!" Stanczyk exclaimed. "A party game that all the children love to play! Especially in a haunted house setting like this…"

Stanczyk leaned forward.

"Come on best friends!" Stanczyk grinned. "Are you ready to play…"

He tilted his head.

His yellow plus-shaped eye flashed as his face and voice distorted at once, finally revealing what today's Playtime Event was:

…

"...HiDe aNd SeEK…"

…

"Hide and Seek?" Aidan blinked before pondering to himself. "Huh! That is something children all love to play."

"Nay, don't buy into their fishy ways, laddie!" Roderick declared, in-between eating. "This be an impossible game to play in so few rooms!"

"Impossible?" Stanczyk grinned. "Not at all! If you know how to hide!"

"Grk!" Roderick responded with a recoil.

Understanding his own physique, he knew he wasn't cut out for something like Hide and Seek. He's never played the game that much, but he knew that he'd be at least a fantastic seeker. Hiding was a different story. Have you seen him? He was practically the biggest person in the room.

"Hide and Seek, what an adorable game!" Beauté giggled, before leaning forward. "Really now? Is that the best you can muster? How on Earth is Hide and Seek going to be any fun?"

"Bitch please," Monoyena grumbled. "Hold your tits and calm the fuck down. We haven't even started explaining the rules yet!"

Compared to the cruel Red Light, Green Light and the fun problem that was Hangman's Gambit, Hide and Seek didn't sound all that interesting to her. At least, not at the start. There was still the matter of tying the Playtime Event with the Survey Question results at hand, so she had to wonder…

"Hide and Seek!" Stanczyk stepped up to explain. "Everyone knows how to play this game! There is one Seeker and everyone else hides! The seeker's job is to find the hiders! And the hiders have to avoid being found under a specific time!"

"In this case, until the Nighttime Announcement!" Monoyena declared. "Now, this event is gonna be a lot different than the previous events. Red Light, Green Light had you restrained tighter than a BDSM model playing with shibari ropes. Hangman's Gambit had you people losing yer shit over what's right and what's wrong. Hide and Seek on the other hand… is yer second chance."

"Second chance?" Manon blinked.

"That's right," Monoyena slowly grinned. "To the fucks that voted fer the kiddies, guess what? If ya want food, you can get it! All ya gotta do is win a round of Hide and Seek!"

Monoyena took out his Barbie Blade and started to lick it.

"Here's how our Playtime Event is gonna work," Monoyena began to explain. "Everyday, we'll initiate a game of Hide and Seek. Yer job is to go and hide from the Seekers, who will be me or Stanshit. Depending on how we're feeling."

"What?" Stanczyk looked toward Monoyena, confused. "But… I don't wanna be a Seeker. I wanna hide with my best friends!"

"Yeah, well, fuck you!" Monoyena growled. "You're seeking these bastards whether ya want to or not!"

"B-But but but… th-that's not faaaaaaaaaiiiiir!" Stanczyk began to bawl.

"Shut up!" Monoyena snapped.

"Okay!" Stanczyk shrugged.

Like a switch had been flipped. Letting out a heavy sigh, Monoyena continued, twirling his Barbie Blade around.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Monoyena grumbled. "If either me or Stan aren't able to find ya after the Nighttime Announcement plays, congratulations! Whoever doesn't get found after that time gets the food! Tough fucking luck to those that get found before it."

Monoyena's jagged red eye flashed.

"But…" he grinned. "If me or Stan do find everyone before the Nighttime Announcement plays, the children will be the ones to get the food. Ya see where we're going with this, aren't ya?"

"So… let me get this straight…" Kazuki thought about the instructions carefully. "If any of us aren't found by the time the Nighttime Announcement plays… the children won't get any food but the winners do?"

"That's fucking right!" Monoyena cackled. "Meaning if yer playing to win… guess what? Yer a fucking piece of shit who wants kids to starve! Bwa… Bwahahahahaha!"

"I see…" Kazuki seemed unfazed by Monoyena's taunts. "On the bottom line… There is a high risk and reward when it comes to winning a Hide and Seek round. Winners can get food to survive another day. But they put the children at risk of starving."

"Not only that, but it's possible for there to be multiple winners too," Fábio frowned.

"Aww, dawg gone dis darn Playtime Event!" Yumi snapped her fingers. "If we don't want da kids ta starve, we can just not play da game! Dat's simple!"

She raised her hand.

"Ahm willin ta abstain from playin dis game if ah have ta!" Yumi declared. "Ah don't care if ah starve or nothin!"

"M-Madame Gundo, non!" Manon widened her eyes at Yumi's declaration.

"Hey, if ya want to starve to death, it's yer loss," Monoyena shrugged. "The only person who's gonna miss ya is that French whore from the looks of it! Bwa… Bwahahahahahaha!"

Manon gasped. That was seriously uncalled for!

"But, then again, what kind of Hide and Seek are we playing here?" Issac rubbed his chin. "Based on what other kids played back then, are you going by street rules or school rules?"

Monoyena and Stanczyk glanced at one another, confused.

"What the fuck are ya talking about?" Monoyena exclaimed.

"What Isolde means to ask is…" Issac chuckled, waving his hands sheepishly. "In most iterations of Hide and Seek, the Seeker had to tag a person in order to actually get them out of the game. She was just wondering if this was going to be the same here…"

That was… something the two hadn't considered when coming up with the rules of Hide and Seek.

"I mean, anything can count as finding someone who's hiding, right?" Issac shrugged. "Like, someone running around the corner and swearing you saw someone. That's technically 'finding', right?"

"...You kids with yer fucking plotholes and shit," Monoyena grumbled. "Fine. In order to actually be 'Found' Stanczyk and I have to tag ya! Happy?!"

"Thanks for the reiteration," Issac smiled.

"Now then, that's the rules of our third Playtime Event!" Stanczyk exclaimed happily. "Any questions?!"

"Pardon me, but just to be clear," Kikuko raised her hand. "I assume this Playtime Event will end after two people are killed, correct?"

"That's exactly right!" Stanczyk grinned. "What a smart girl you are! I would give you food as a reward but Monoyena will kill me if I try!"

"I sure will," Monoyena glanced at the jester with flashing red eyes, a clear warning sign.

Compared to the other Playtime Events, this Hide and Seek one seemed fairly straightforward. Everyday, a round of Hide and Seek was going to be initiated. Monoyena or Stanczyk will be the Seeker and everyone else will have to Hide until the Nighttime Announcement rings. If the Seeker finds and tags the Hider before then, they are out and they will not receive food. But if the Seeker does not find and tag the Hider before the Nighttime Announcement, they win the round and get food.

Consequently, if there are winners in a Hide and Seek round, the children will not receive food. But if there aren't any winners, the children get food. High risk. High reward.

And of course, everything will end once two people are killed.

Same old same old!

"Now then…" Monoyena slowly widened his grin, showing his cartoonishly sharp teeth. He flicked a stare toward Stanczyk.

Catching the memo, the jester turned around and covered his eyes. Then loudly, he proclaimed a sequence of numbers:

"...120…"

"...119…"

"...118…"

"...117…"

"Wait, we're starting now?!" Aidan exclaimed.

"Well, yeah," Monoyena shrugged. "Ya think we had the Playtime Event for you wanks to just sit there and talk about it? Fuck no! We're playing right now!"

"...113…"

"...112…"

"...111…"

"...110…"

"W-Where do we hide then?" Fábio blinked, glancing around wildly.

"Do I really have to answer all of yer stupid questions?" Monoyena deadpanned. "It's tick tock motherfuckers! Go find a place and hide! Ya got till the Nighttime Announcement! Bwa… Bwahahahahaha!"

The realization set in for everyone as they realized what exactly Monoyena meant. It was a game of Hide and Seek and they were going to start right here, right now. In fact, while everyone remained frozen in shock, with no clue on what to do, Beauté sprinted her way toward the door.

"Well, I'm not waiting for any of you!" Beauté smirked. "Have fun standing around doing nothing! I found that my plate of food tasted the most elegant since I was locked in here! I want seconds!"

"Wait… Let's not…" Kazuki spoke but it was too late.

Cackling, Beauté sprinted out of the door, ready to engage in this game of Hide and Seek. And with the stress of Stanczyk's timer counting down, everyone else followed her lead. It was a moment of panic. And no one was any wiser on what the correct thing to do in the situation. All they knew was that the moment Stanczyk counted down to 0, any chance of getting that food was lost for the day.

And as Kazuki grimaced, forcing himself to tag along, Stanczyk continued counting:

"...100…"

"...99…"

"...98…"

"...97…"

(Hallway)

The countdown was slowly fading away the farther the playmates ran from the Theater of Mystery.

"Everyone…!" Kazuki exclaimed. "Wait…! We shouldn't…!"

Despite his best attempts, Kazuki tried to call out and calm everyone down. The fact that Stanczyk started counting down and Monoyena announced the first round starting immediately along with Beauté inciting this chaos that was Hide and Seek… Those three factors were enough to cause anyone to panic.

He turned to Aidan and Roderick, who were looking around, trying to think of good places to hide.

"Mister Brighton!" Kazuki called out. "Mister Cutler! Help me calm things down…!"

"Nay!" Roderick shook his head. "Apologies Capt'n, but the food be too good to pass! I must have seconds!"

"O-Of all the selfish reasons…" Kazuki's stomach rumbled.

"Yeah," Aidan grimaced. "Sorry, Kazuki. It's probably the cruddiest thing to do to the children. But we need at least some food in our system. One meal is all it takes for us to survive for at least another week. Right? Plus, the dish looked so delicious..."

He was drooling.

"G-Get ahold of yourself... guys..." Kazuki could actually agree with Aidan on some parts of his idea, but at the same time…

"Let us be off, Aidan!" Roderick declared.

"Right!" Aidan nodded, running alongside the deep sea fisherman and out of the Hallway.

His two roommates practically left him in the dust as he stood amidst the chaos of everyone trying to find a place to hide. In the end, he thought back to what Beauté had said about food being a huge factor in mankind's survival. Perhaps it was this principle that was causing everyone to be like this. Perhaps everyone was just too hungry to think…

"Kazuki!" Fábio rushed over to a static Kazuki. "Have you seen Kikuko?!"

"W-What…?" Kazuki blinked. "No… I haven't… Why?"

"Damn it," Fábio grimaced. "I lost sight of her during the rush out of the Theater of Mystery."

He clenched his fist.

"Thanks anyway," the figure skater told Kazuki.

As Fábio turned to leave, Kazuki reached his hand out and placed it on his shoulder. He could only look at him, slightly hoping that he wasn't thinking of the food either. Fábio had turned back, confused.

"...Are you thinking of hiding as well?" the philanthropist asked him.

"You talking about me playing along with this game?" Fábio blinked. "As tasty as the food was, I'm more concerned over where Kikuko might be."

Noticing the satisfied look Kazuki had on his face, Fábio gave him a firm nod and ran off. It was at this point that the chaos in the Hallway had died down. And the only person with him was… He turned around and saw her.

Her pale and frail body looked a little energized thanks to the food she had consumed. But at the same time, she looked ashamed.

"...Miss Zachary…" Kazuki blinked.

(Music Room)

Mara had decided that the best thing to do was stack chairs against the two doors.

After all, if Stanczyk can't come in then he can't find them nor can he even tag them. It was a foolproof plan and there was no rule saying they couldn't do stuff like this. And by they, I of course mean Mara, Yumi, and Manon. The latter of which was in the corner passing chairs for Mara and Yumi to use.

After all, Mara and Yumi were the strong ones and Manon is the weak little mouse that I can bully and keep alive just to get my revenge on Sempi for her crimes.

"Now dis be a mighty fine idea," Yumi smiled, tipping her hat. "Dat Stanczyk fellar don't look like someone who can bust a door open. We'll be eatin good tonight, ladies!"

"Didn't you say you were willing to abstain from the Playtime Event for the Children?" Mara raised an eyebrow after stacking the last chair against the door.

"Yea well, a gal can change her mind, can't she?" Yumi pointed out.

Manon couldn't help but giggle on the sidelines. This was one of the many things that just made Yumi attractive to her. They always said confidence had enough big sigma energy that can rizz up anyone in the field. In less brain rot terms, confidence was good. And Yumi was just a bundle of confidence.

Manon passed Yumi the last of the chairs that they could use to block the door. And like a working unit, Yumi took the chair and handed it toward Mara— Their hands touched for a split second, and the cowgirl instantly dropped the chair.

Manon didn't even notice what had happened.

When she turned back toward the cowgirl and the karate master, both of them were clutching their hands as if they had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

"Ah, Madame Gundo!" Manon widened her eyes. "Madame Garcia! Are you two alright?!"

Neither of the two acknowledged her.

But it didn't take someone like Manon to realize what was going on. When she saw the red over Yumi's cheeks, Manon could feel her heart sink just a little bit. Even worse, Mara seemed to be reacting the same way, though the karate master proceeded to hide it like nothing had happened.

"It's fine," Mara simply said. "We just dropped a chair."

Bullshit in French.

"O-Oh, I see," Manon looked down.

"It was mah fault," Yumi sighed, looking toward Mara. "Ahm sorry, bambina. Ah got confused on who had it and stuff. So ah…"

"Why are you apologizing?" Mara raised an eyebrow. "Accidents happen don't they?"

"Haha, ah guess yer right, bambina!" Yumi grinned.

"Don't call me bambina," Mara simply told her.

The tension between them was… evident. Manon blinked. She bit her lip. She didn't want to believe it. No. She refused to believe it. She stepped back and simply sat down. If this was what she was expecting… She needed to make absolutely sure. So, she simply sat back and watched the two interact.

Watched their entire Free-Time Event play out.

Like an actress watching a movie she wasn't even starring in…

As the last chair was neatly stacked against the second door, Mara and Yumi admired their handiwork. Yumi was the only one who was smiling. Mara just looked at the door, grim and bitter. Of course, the bubbly one had to say it!

"Ah dink you should smile more!" Yumi told Mara.

"I think you should mind your own business," Mara folded her arms.

Manon held in a sigh of relief as she watched Mara reject Yumi's advances. It was clear that she wasn't interested. But if that was the case, then why…? She shuffled by the corner where she was as she watched and listened to their conversation, curiously.

"Why are ya like dis?" Yumi tilted her head, curiously.

"Like what?" Mara frowned. "Being a loner is just who I am."

"But it wasn't how ya started out, now is it?" Yumi tipped her hat.

Mara didn't say anything in that regard.

And she didn't have to. Yumi had her suspicions. Mara's silence only chose to solidify those suspicions. The cowgirl simply sat next to her, smiling in her direction. Mara chose not to look at her. In fact, she did everything she could not fold to Yumi's gaze. Mara didn't know why looking at Yumi was such a huge hassle but to her, it just was…

Yumi placed a hand over Mara's.

The karate master tensed up.

So did Manon.

"Ah told ya," Yumi frowned. "If ya want somethin ta talk 'bout, ahm yer gal. So, talk. What's going on?"

It took a moment for Mara to respond. Manon was secretly hoping that Mara would continue rejecting Yumi's advances, but it was clear that Yumi's touch had an effect on the karate master. Manon slowly bit her thumb, anxious.

"Jeez," Mara turned to Yumi, annoyed. "You're annoyingly persistent. You know that?"

"Only fer da ones ah care about," Yumi tipped her hat.

Manon felt herself die inside.

"Tch, look, I already told you," Mara frowned. "I'm lonely because I choose to be lonely. It's a pain having to deal with my attitude all the time. So, believe me when I say that I'm doing you a huge favor by telling you to screw off, alright?"

"Sure, but ah dink you and ah both know this ain't what ya really want," Yumi shook her head.

Mara grimaced.

"And what do you know about what I really want, huh?" she challenged.

"Someone ta rely on," Yumi simply said. "Like ya did with Riku—"

"You wanna say that name again in my face?!" Mara grabbed Yumi by her poncho.

Manon almost stood up to intervene but the key word was 'almost'. Because she could see that Yumi wasn't panicking or anything like that. Just as she expected from Yumi, she was calm and collected. She wasn't afraid of this 5'2 girl trying to threaten a gunslinger that was 6'1. Yeah. Yumi was hella tall.

Nevertheless, the cowgirl placed a hand over Mara's once more and looked at her sweetly.

"Ya see?" Yumi smiled. "Dis is exactly what ahm talkin 'bout. Ahm sure you and Riku were tight until da bastard decided ta try ta sacrifice children ta get himself out. But even then… Dat's what dis is all about, ain't it?"

Mara didn't even throttle Yumi or anything like that. She lowered her gaze, avoiding Yumi's eyes. She slowly let go of Yumi's poncho. It was clear that since Chapter 2, she hadn't had a chance to properly grieve the loss of the person who was arguably her closest ally in the game. Now that Riku was gone…

"That jerk," Mara muttered. "We share our life's stories with one another and he goes and pulls that crap."

Yumi allowed her to speak.

"I told that guy that I hated getting close to people because I know I'll just lose them in the end," Mara revealed. "Lo and behold, look at what happened. I got close to him and the guy got himself killed. Just another chapter of my life's story."

"And is dat why ya can't connect with me?" Yumi frowned. "Because yer scared of losin me too?"

"Alright, let's not get your hope's up, or anything like that," Mara frowned. "All you've done is try to get in my business. At most, we're acquaintances. That's it."

"A-Ah, ah see…" Yumi sounded disappointed when she said that. Masking it with a clearing of her throat, Yumi continued. "Well, ah dink ah have ta show ya dat just because ya lost people before, don't mean it'll happen again–"

"That's because you haven't had it happen your entire life," Mara kept her arms folded as she glanced away. "Do you know how many people I've lost because of what I did? First, it was my mom. Then, it was friends… then significant partners… Then, it came to a point where even Hope's Peak didn't want anything to do with me."

Mara dryly laughed.

"At that point, you see why it's pointless for me to even make connections in the first place?" Mara couldn't help but see her entire life as one sick joke. "I'll just lose them in the end. That's the inevitable fate I've been given."

"Now dat's a load of crockery!" Yumi suddenly snapped.

Mara tried to hide her surprise when she said that.

"Ya dink losing all the people important in yer life is yer destiny, but ah call bull on dat," Yumi shook her head. "Marabel Garcia. Ah have big respects fer anyone who can continue moving on after losin so much. Yer a strong person. Physically and mentally. But emotionally, ya need someone ta remind ya just how amazing ya truly are!"

Mara grimaced.

"W-What the hell are you—" she muttered.

"I knew it from da first time ah laid mah eyes on ya," Yumi gripped Mara's hands, forcing the shorter karate master to submit. "Yer a strong gal. Strongest gal ah've ever had the pleasure of bein next to. But even da strongest of fighters needs a partner by their side. Ah can be dat fer ya."

"W-What is this–?" Mara dryly laughed again. "Tryouts? My own partner? Are you kidding me?"

"No ma'am," Yumi shook her head. "Ahm dead serious. Ah dink yer a wonderful gal. But it kills me every time ah see ya alone and tryin ta push people away. A strong gal like ya should never have ta suffer fer dings dat ain't her fault. So please…"

Yumi's grip over Mara's hands grew tighter.

And the tighter Yumi squeezed, the more Manon was beginning to realize how much she had already lost this competition. As if this was a competition in the first place.

Mara on the other hand was having trouble deciphering her emotions. Part of her wanted to push Yumi away like she's always done. But another part of her wanted to keep her along for the ride. Take her up on her offer. Her face showed signs of distress. She… honestly didn't know what to do.

"Why…?" Mara frowned. "Why do you care so much?"

She tried to remove her hands from Yumi's grasp but the cowgirl didn't budge.

"Am I really supposed to believe this is just you being some sort of good samaritan?" she muttered.

"Ahm a daddy's girl," Yumi winked. "And mah daddy always taught me ta look after those in need. It's just common sense to treat others da way ya want ta be treated."

Mara was unconvinced.

"Is that really all this is?" Mara frowned. "Because your dad taught you right from wrong? How do I know this isn't you just trying to get in my panties?"

"Absolutely not, bambina," Yumi swiftly shook her head. "Ah may be a flirt but ah understand consent!"

Wild line I just wrote.

"Please bambina," Yumi continued to hold onto Mara's hands. "Trust me. Ah will be there fer you. Dat's a promise…"

Mara had little emotion on her face.

But the promises and the words that Yumi spoke to her. The warmth and the fact that there was someone here that actually gave a shit about her and how she felt. It's… been too long since she's felt anything like it. She closed her eyes. She wanted this. This was something she's always wanted. And yet, she felt herself wanting to push it away.

Just to protect it.

"...Alright…" was all Mara said.

This time was going to be different.

That was the promise Yumi had made. She already lost one person she actually gave a crap about in this Killing Game. She couldn't lose another. She hoped Yumi was a woman of her word. She met Yumi's eyes, noticing just how bright and full of life they were. Could someone with eyes like that really reignite the fire long extinguished within her?

"Finally," Yumi smiled. "Ah dink dis is a great development in our kinship. Wouldn't ya say, bambina?"

"Don't call me bambina," Mara glanced away.

"Well, it's a start!" Yumi laughed.

Manon let out a squeak.

The French actress had covered her mouth but it was already too late. Both Mara and Yumi had turned to Manon. Based on their faces, they had forgotten that she was there. Classic third wheel situation. And although Mara didn't say anything, Yumi did. She let go of Mara's hands and tipped her hat toward Manon, slightly embarrassed.

"Aww, ya saw all of dat, did ya?" Yumi chuckled sheepishly. "Well dat be mighty embarrassin… Sorry fer ignorin ya fer so long, bambina."

"U-Um, d-do not worry about it," Manon shook her head, profusely. "I was dozing off so I did not hear all of it. J-Just… don't mind me."

It took everything she had to not break right then and there. She was always good at that. Always good at hiding the emotional pain she suffered from. She watched Yumi smile at her before turning her attention toward Mara. The karate master couldn't even meet her eyes again. Manon tightened her fist.

No matter how much she hated it.

No matter how much she was against it.

No matter how envious she was…

She can't deny it any longer.

Yumi and Mara grew closer together. But in doing so, Manon was ignored. Casted aside as the third wheel. The actress looked down, wishing she could leave, but she reaped what she sow when she decided to stick next to the two girls. Now, she was stuck in a peculiar and awkward situation.

She wanted to cry.

But not in public.

Goodness.

It was so typical.

Typical of Manon to end up like this…

(Theater of Mystery)

"...5…"

"...4…"

"...3…"

"...2…"

"...1…"

"Ready or not, here I come!" Stanczyk excitedly declared.

He released his hands over his eyes and widened his grin, turning back toward the Theater of Mystery. He was ready to get searching. But yawning from having to listen to Stanczyk's countdown, Monoyena glanced at him with an irritated expression over his face. Heck, his jagged red eye was glowing more than usual.

"Longest... two minutes... ever..." Monoyena grumbled. "Did ya really have to count so slow?!"

"Of course!" Stanczyk huffed. "I have to give my best friends a chance to win the game, don't I?"

"Even knowing they are destined to lose, anyway?"

Both of them were genuinely surprised by a third presence in the room. Even though, they should've really noticed them considering how open the Theater of Mystery actually was. Yukihiko leaned against the wall, glancing at his nails without a care in the world over this new Playtime Event.

"The fuck are you still doing here?" Monoyena blinked.

Stanczyk ran over toward Yukihiko and tapped him on the shoulder. With a happy grin, the jester clapped his hands, excitedly.

"I found one, Monoyena!" Stanczyk exclaimed. "I found one! I found one! Are you proud of me?!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, shithead," Monoyena shoved the jester out of the way, his tone demanding. "Answer the question! What the fuck kind of hiding spot is this?! Ya really think you can pull the good ol' hiding in plain sight trick, mate?"

"Of course not," Yukihiko scoffed. "I simply have no plans to play along with your silly Playtime Event."

"H-Huh?!" Stanczyk gasped. "Y-You mean, you don't want to play Hide and Seek?! B-But whyyyy?!"

"Because I'm not a child," Yukihiko glanced at his nails. "And frankly, if I'm not mistaken, as long as everyone is found before the Nighttime Announcement, the children get food. Correct?"

"Yeah, that's the rules," Monoyena grumbled, a little annoyed that someone wasn't participating.

"Then, allow me to strike a compromise," Yukihiko's lips slowly lifted into a smirk.

Stanczyk and Monoyena exchanged glances.

Both of them were unsure where Yukihiko was going with this nor whether they should even be doing this with one of their subjects. But at the same time, they were curious. What exactly did Yukihiko have planned? That was the question, wasn't it?

"Aight, what ya have fer us…?" Monoyena spoke up.

(Nursery)

Kazuki gently closed the door to the Nursery and turned toward Alisa.

He could see that the clockmaker didn't dare meet his eyes. He could understand why. She had chosen to vote for herself rather than the children. The level of shame she must've felt. It would be easy to berate her right then and there, but Kazuki was better than that. He didn't needlessly berate for the sake of berating…

But he did want to know…

"Kazuki, I–" Alisa was about to say before Kazuki cut her off.

"Why…?" he asked.

Alisa shifted her eyes down.

"...Why vote against the children?" Kazuki questioned. "I would've thought you'd choose them over yourself."

Alisa didn't say anything.

The fault lay entirely on her creator, ExtraMeme, who came to me with a sinister plot to force Alisa to vote for herself instead of for the children. His reasoning was that she needed the food but I, as the good boy that I am, tried to argue that there were hungry children starving everywhere and Alisa was just a simple clockmaker. But Extra decided against it. He said 'Fuck the children, feed my daughter.'

And so I did.

Unfortunately, Alisa didn't have the powers to break the 4th wall like Beauté did, so instead, ashamed, she responded with the most honest response she could muster:

"...I was hungry…" Alisa simply said. "I didn't know Stanczyk and Monoyena were actually going to give us food. I just… I just voted on a whim. I apologize…"

Kazuki didn't say anything.

His mind raced back to the poisonous thoughts Beauté had implanted in his mind earlier that day. Poisoning his mind with stuff like, 'Alisa is a girl with secrets'... How did he know she wasn't going to betray him in the end? The world saw him, a philanthropist, a Man of the People, as a big threat. Everyone was out to get him.

Why wouldn't Alisa be part of that plot–

No.

He can't think like that.

He closed his eyes and sighed.

"...I believe you…" he gave Alisa a sincere smile.

Something that took the clockmaker by surprise. Even after voting against Kazuki's wishes, he was still willing to forgive and believe her. Such a guy like that… A good man like that… The more she was in his presence, the more she recognized that the secret she was harboring could be entrusted in his hands.

But then came the doubt.

What if he didn't accept her?

What if he ostracizes her for lying to him all this time?

For being hypocritical…

That was the dilemma.

Alisa took a deep breath.

Even if she didn't tell him now, the secret was going to come out sooner or later. Yukihiko had her on a tight leash and to avoid her illness going public, she at least made the compromise of telling Kazuki and only Kazuki. This was what she planned to do. She could see the philanthropist glance at her with clear confusion on his face. Stepping forward, she began.

"...Kazuki," Alisa fixed her glasses, nervously. "I have something I would like to admit…"

Kazuki blinked.

"Is this about…?" he deduced.

"My secret?" Alisa closed her eyes and nodded. "Indeed."

It was a big moment for her. Alisa knew that Kazuki recognized that. In fact, she could see that the philanthropis was kindly giving her centerstage for the bomb she was about to drop on him. But despite the initial confidence, she found it hard to spill the truth than it needed to be. She fumbled her words before she could even let them out.

Goodness.

She's pathetic.

"I…" she started out with. "I… I…"

Kazuki could tell she was struggling. Part of him wanted to walk up, place a hand on her shoulder, and told her that it was okay. That she didn't need to force herself to tell him now. But the commitment she showed told him that this was something she wanted to do. The only thing holding her back now was herself.

That doubt in her mind…

"I have… I have…" Alisa felt her face heat up.

Kazuki watched her closely.

The commitment was dying. He could see it based on her voice, which was minimizing in volume. He stepped up, noticing Alisa's struggling. He held out his hand, but all that really did was make her more nervous. Her face was turning red…

"I… I…" Alisa went back to saying.

"FOUND YOU!"

The door slammed open as Stancuck appeared, a widened grin on his face.

Alisa and Kazuki had little time to react. Because almost immediately, the jester had popped in and poked the two on the noses. There wasn't any reason for him to do that. He just thought it'd be fun to do. In fact, he even made a little 'Boop' sound as he did it too, because why wouldn't he? And all the clockmaker and philanthropist could do was just stand there and stare, bewildered over his intrusion.

"Awww man, I am so good at being a Seeker!" Stanczyk declared, proudly. "Tough luck, best friends! Should've hid in a better spot than try to make a baby in the Nursery! Hahahahaha! Get it?!"

Alisa's face flushed.

"...We were not doing that…" Kazuki told him.

"I-It was… It was a joke…" Stanczyk had to specify, slightly disappointed. "O-Oh… Well…"

As the jester tipped his head down, his presence just made the room that much more awkward. Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to leave to go find the other playmates. With a sigh of relief, Kazuki turned back to Alisa.

"Anyway… You were saying?" Kazuki asked, hoping to continue where they left off.

But Stanczyk killed all that buildup like the prick he was. Alisa simply looked down, defeated and disappointed in herself.

"...It's nothing," was all she had to say.

And in the end, even Kazuki felt a sense of defeat.

(Photo-Op)

"He'll never find us here!"

It was the giggling and overconfident declaration that made Yukihiko step into the Photo-Op room and glance around for his fellow playmates.

Since making that compromise with Stanczyk and Monoyena, he felt a sense of relief when it came to this Playtime Event. No longer did he feel like this Playtime Event was meaningless. Now, it was a means he can use to keep those children nice and fed. Nice and fed until two people sacrificed themselves so they could get out of this damn haunted house.

Unlike the previous Playtime Events, it also didn't seem like this one had a time limit. But Yukihiko expected it to be based off of classic deathmatch rules. The time limit was when someone started going crazy enough to go and murder someone. That was it. And it was only a matter of time before something like that happened.

And Yukihiko needed to move that passage of time along.

All he needed was to find his fellow playmates—

He stopped dead in his tracks.

The giggling was getting louder as Yukihiko blankly stared at the sofa. Not even a blind guy could miss the fact that Aidan and Roderick, unlikely friends somehow, were hiding behind the sofa. Or rather, imitating someone who was hiding behind a sofa. Though the upper halves of their bodies were concealed by the sofa, it was their lower bodies that gave it away.

Their butts and legs sticking out, acting as if it was being hidden by the sofa. Like that one scene from Scary Movie where Ghostface tries to hide behind the sofa from Cindy but fails miserably. Pretty much that.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Yukihiko let out with a roll of his eyes.

"Nay, is that Yukihiko?" Roderick's voice came out from behind the sofa, not even trying to whisper.

"It sure sounds like it," Aidan muttered. "But what if it's Stanczyk playing a trick on us? Like, maybe he knows how to mimic voices perfectly. I've seen clowns do that before."

Yukihiko had little patience for incompetence.

Marching up toward the sofa, he squatted down, and picked both Roderick and Aidan up by the ear like an irritated mother. In fact, he made sure to yank as hard as he could, just to show how annoyed he was with their antics.

"Ow ow ow ow!" Aidan exclaimed, flailing in pain. "Yep! It's Yukihiko! It's Yukihiko!"

"Nay, Yukihiko!" Roderick exclaimed. "What ye be doing lassie?!"

"Oh look, I found a bad comedy act hiding behind the sofa," Yukihiko remarked, rolling his eyes once more. "Lucky me. Let's go. Both of you."

"Huh?!" Aidan widened his eyes. "But our hiding spot was perfect!"

"N-Nay, where ye be taking us?!" Roderick exclaimed.

"Where else?" Yukihiko lowered his gaze. "To Stanczyk."

"W-What?!" Aidan exclaimed, feeling himself being dragged along by the ear. "H-Hey! You can't do that! Ow! My ear!"

"This be mutiny!" Roderick declared. "Mutiny!"

Yukihiko didn't care.

The sooner these peons were found, the sooner those kids were getting food. Besides, it wasn't like Aidan and Roderick were going to win this round with how atrocious their hiding spot was. If anything, he was doing them a favor by fast-forwarding the inevitable. It was the least he could do.

Now that was a thought that made him smirk as he dragged the two boys toward the Theater of Mystery…

(Breaker Room)

As Fábio scoured the haunted house for Kikuko, he had stumbled upon a new room he hadn't seen before: The Breaker Room.

He vaguely remembered Roderick and Aidan talking about it but to find that it had evidently occupied where the Ballroom usually was… That was an interesting yet surreal sight. Yet, the surreal sight turned to that of disappointment when he saw who else was in the room. Widening his eyes, Fábio tried his best to back away without any—

"Don't try to back away from me, Fábio Barbosa~"

Fábio silently groaned.

Of all people, he did not want to talk to Beauté right about now. And yet, as the universe pulled him farther away from Kikuko, the closer he was supposed to get to this red-headed bitch. Fábio stuck his hands in his pockets and begrudgingly stepped forward. He didn't meet her gaze. Heck, he was trying to think of some excuse to weasel out of this Free-Time Event with her.

"Can you believe those clowns?" Beauté sighed as she stared at the fuse box. "Doing something so heinous?"

Excuse not found.

"What?" Fábio blinked, confused. "You mean the Playtime Event?"

"Ah heh heh, I'm talking about Roderick and Aidan," Beauté giggled, backing away from the fuse box for the figure skater to see. "Can you believe they would lie about something as important as this?"

"I-Is… that a fuse box?" Fábio blinked.

The closer he got, the more options he could actually read. This included the four numbered buttons on the right…

1 - RED

2 - RED

3 - GRAY

4 - GREEN

…and the three switches on the left…

AMBIENCE - ON

LIGHTS - ON

SAFETY - ON

He'd hated to admit it, but Beauté was right. Already, this looked like important information, so the biggest question here was why Aidan and Roderick decided to withhold it. Especially when there was a switch designated for 'SAFETY' specifically. It made no sense!

He turned to Beauté, who had been eyeing the many options for a good while now.

Okay, it suddenly made a bit of sense.

"And what's your interest in this?" Fábio felt the need to speak up.

Beauté turned to the figure skater, looking both surprised and intrigued.

"Oh my," she smirked. "Deciding to engage in a friendly conversation with me. I suppose it would make sense for us to have something to do as we hide together."

Almost instantly, Fábio threw his hands out of his pocket.

"Whoa now!" Fábio exclaimed. "No one said I was going to hide with you of all people. I'm just here because I thought Kikuko was here. That's all."

"Awww, and yet, you're staying here for me?" Beauté teased.

Admittedly, she made another solid point. Fábio could've just left to find Kikuko again, but instead, he chose to stick around. For what reason? Fábio thought the answer to be simple. He held his ground, refusing to falter around this woman. That's right! Fábio and Beauté event is in Round Two!

"Someone has to make sure you don't play with that fuse box," Fábio told her.

Beauté glanced between the fuse box and the figure skater.

"Touché," she smirked.

She seemed to have accepted his terms and conditions. Great. Because if he left Beauté alonee with that fuse box, who knew what chaos she could evoke with it. The only question was… Now what? Just stand around, awkwardly, making sure she didn't flip the switch that could endanger everyone's lives?

"You know, I felt so awful after our last conversation…" Beauté smiled. "After all, it ended with such hostility. I would like to start over. What do you say?"

Fábio didn't say anything.

Instead, to fill the silence, all the figure skater did was ponder where Kikuko might be at the moment. And as he did, he made a face. A face that Beauté had already seen today. Just like Kazuki, he was lost in thought. And just like Kazuki, it was over some girl. It was clearly enough to force a twitch out of Beauté's face.

"...Do you really think you'll get a happily ever after with a girl like Kikuko?" Beauté spoke with a disapproving tone.

That caught Fábio's attention.

Offense was written all over his face.

These boys…

They make it too easy, sometimes…

"This isn't the first time I had to talk to a wall enamored by some woman," Beauté frowned. "Didn't I warn you already? Romance in a Killing Game always leads to heartbreak. It never works out. All you're doing is making this game easier to prey on what you care the most. Can't you see that?"

Fábio clenched his fist.

"We're just friends," he specified. "You keep saying stuff like that. But how the heck do you know? You've never participated in a Killing Game until this one anyway."

"Ah heh heh…" Beauté laughed. "I suppose I only shared this Free-Time Event fact with Yukihiko, so I don't blame you for not knowing. But my dear Fábio, I think it should be obvious, regardless…"

She leaned forward, her eyes piercing into his soul.

"...I study Killing Games for a living, don't you know?" she smirked. "How do you think I've understood the formula for so long?"

"S-Study… Killing Games?" Fábio blinked.

"Of course!" Beauté beamed proudly. "I've always found it exciting to see people get forced into life-and-death scenarios. Specifically, these types of scenarios. A Killing Game scenario."

Beauté's face started to glow red, as if she were blushing passionately over a man's touch. And the more she looked on the verge of climaxing, the more Fábio looked a disturbed to even be in this conversation with her.

"You see, Killing Games aren't as different as pinning a man against a lion in Ancient Rome or a cagematch between two boxers on BT Sports," she explained. "If anything, Killing Games are much more complex than a simple brawl-to-the-death. There are rules that are meant to be followed. There is a sense of strategy and logic applied to each of them. And the styles are usually always different. Along with the fact that in the end, there are also clear lessons to be learned in each game."

Beauté smiled to herself as she stared at her engagement ring.

"Does your fiancé know?" Fábio suddenly asked, regaining his composure.

"Oh?" Beauté tilted her head in confusion. "Know what?"

"Know about your crazy obsession with these Killing Games?" Fábio grimaced. "Because I can't imagine anyone wanting to stick around with you with whatever sick, twisted—"

"Ah heh heh…" Beauté cut him off with her significant chuckle. "So, you're just going to insult me now? After I poured my heart out about my interests? That's classified as rude behavior, y'know…"

Though, she spoke with more of a teasing tone rather than showing any offense. It was unsettling to say the least. Fábio had glanced away, slightly ashamed that he had gone that far to call this woman psycho… even though she kind of was.

"...Silver Lazaru is my soon-to-be groom's name," Beauté revealed. "And just like me, he finds that there is a certain… beauty to these Killing Games. It's part of the many reasons why we connected so well together."

"And am I to understand that it was you who dragged him into the world of Killing Games?" Fábio muttered.

Beauté didn't respond to that.

She simply glanced at the figure skater, tilting her head slightly in amusement. Fábio had no idea what this gesture meant but it was clear that there was more to this story that she was letting on. In fact, it took a bit before the mysterious Ultimate even made a valid response:

"On the contrary…" was all Beauté had to say.

On the contrary, what?!

"Ah heh heh…" Beauté smiled to herself, glancing at her engagement ring. "Anyway…"

Whatever she was keeping a secret wasn't something she was going to reveal just yet. There was a time and a play for these sorts of things. So, as she glossed over such important details, the mysterious Ultimate directed the conversation back toward Fábio, desperate to pry into his social life.

"In classic Killing Game scenarios, there's always a unique characteristic of every single participant that translates to how they will fare in this game," Beauté continued. "For example, Yukihiko's deal is wanting to save a bunch of children. Mine is trying to absorb as much fun as I can out of my first Killing Game!"

She leaned forward once more.

"What is yours?" she asked Fábio.

"W-What?" Fábio asked.

"Out of everyone here, you were always someone I found hard to decipher," Beauté hummed. "You have the skills of a typical protagonist character. But where's your ahoge? Is it hidden underneath that pile of curly hair?"

"W-What on Earth are you–" Fábio felt the more he talked to Beauté, the more deluded she sounded.

"Surely, there has to be more to you than just someone who hates his Ultimate Talent," Beauté looked at him, disappointedly. "More to you than just someone who's obsessed with some shrine priestess.

"I…" Fábio had no idea how to respond.

"Come on, Fábio…" Beauté egged him on.

"I…" once again, nothing.

"What makes you, you?" Beauté asked again.

"I don't–" Fábio tried to say.

"Tell me what it is!" Beauté exclaimed, her heart racing.

"I don't know!" Fábio blurted out.

Silence.

"...Look… I have no idea what the heck you're talking about," Fábio grimaced. "Typical protagonist character? More to me? Some characteristics that everyone has in Killing Games? Do you even hear yourself?"

Beauté didn't say anything.

"...You've been studying too many of these so-called Killing Games wherever you're watching them and now you've completely deluded yourself into thinking this is all fun and games, but it's not Beauté!" Fábio exclaimed, his frustration starting to boil. "It's just not! These are real human lives being played with! It was never fun and games for anyone!"

Fábio tightened his fist, slowly realizing just how loudly he was yelling. Yelling to the point where even Beauté had to remain quiet. She had no visible expression on her face. The teasing and the smiles were dropped. All that was left was a red-haired girl with little thoughts on her mind. Or at least, for another minute or two.

"...Ah heh heh…" her smile returned. "I see. You're quite the realist aren't you?"

"What?" Fábio blinked.

"I understand now," Beauté smirked. "Thank you for supplying me with the answers I needed. But do remember this, Fábio Barbosa… Realism can only get you so far in this game. After all, the most realistic of participants are often the most stubborn. And the most stubborn will never accept any truths even if it was right there in front of them…"

Cryptic as fuck.

"I quite enjoyed this Free-Time Event much more than our last," Beauté gave the confused figure skater a mock curtsy. "Now then, I shall take my leave and hide elsewhere. Give you a little time to think. Isn't that so generous of me?"

Not really.

But true to her word, Beauté simply walked out of the Breaker Room, giving Fábio the free space he needed to summarize this entire Playtime Event in his head. He felt his heart beating loudly. That level of emotion in him that he desperately tried to hide away after so long… That anger.

First thing first, much to his chagrin, Fábio and Beauté definitely grew closer together.

A development Fábio definitely didn't want.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against one of the nearby washing machines, keeping his hand over his heart.

God…

Kikuko…

Where are you?

(Séance Room)

"Mmpf– Did you really have to cover my mouth like that, Issac?!"

Kikuko was pissed.

The moment she released herself from Issac's surprisingly strong grasp was the moment that she had to do everything she could to keep calm. There she was, running out of the Theater of Mystery on instinct. The moment she tried to get close to Fábio was the moment she felt a hand cover her mouth and her entire body being dragged straight into the Séance Room.

Now, she was here, in a dark room where the only source of light available was that crystal ball right in the middle of the table.

"Eugh, hiding in this room with this creepy KPop lookalike!" Eiji groaned. "What's this guy's problem?! Why can't he just leave you alone?! Why I oughta–"

"Sorry about the crude method of getting you here," Issac apologized. "I figured this would be a perfect spot for us to hide together."

"For us to hide together?" Kikuko widened her eyes. "And what makes you so sure I wanted to hide with you of all people?!"

Hey! Fábio said something similar to Beauté!

"Whoa there," Issac couldn't help but chuckle. "Where's this fire coming from and how do I put it out?"

"You literally kidnapped me," Kikuko folded her arms with a huff.

"Did I?" Issac shrugged with a smile. "You can still walk out of this room if you want to."

Kikuko did just that.

She immediately turned toward the door and walked straight toward it. She didn't have time for Issac's bullshit. She needed to find Fábio. Poor guy was probably wondering where she was. And she needed to let him know that she was okay–

"Though, you'd be missing out on some good food if you get caught by Stanczyk," Issac pointed out.

Kikuko paused.

"Sis, don't fall for it," Eiji begged. "He's just trying to get you to stay! It's classic murderous psychopath 101!"

But Kikuko didn't listen.

She just had to get the last word in this conversation. She needed to make it clear that Issac needed to stop. Because whatever he was doing at this point was unacceptable. She turned back, noticing Eiji slap himself across his ghostly head. But she chose not to acknowledge him. She knew what she was doing.

"And what makes you so sure I even want to participate?" she questioned.

Hook, line, and sinker.

"Am I that invisible to you?!" Eiji wailed in anguish.

"Because the food was tasty?" Issac smiled. "Because you're starving and you know deep down that helping the children won't be possible if you're on the ground, shriveling with no food in your system?"

Kikuko didn't say anything.

She felt her stomach rumble. She had to admit that watching the others eating the food made her envious and increased her hunger pangs. If there's anything she wouldn't give for that food, she would. But… at the same time… the children.

"Didn't it make you feel hungrier when you watched Barbosa and I enjoying our meals?" Issac questioned. "Why wouldn't you try your luck?"

Kikuko took in Issac's words, but her face showed some offense to what he had implied.

"You're saying I should bet the fate of the children on my skills at Hide and Seek?" Kikuko deadpanned.

"Sure," Issac shrugged with a smile. "Why not?"

"Of all the most blatantly heartless things to say," Kikuko cursed. "You would rather-"

It happened quickly.

Issac had suddenly pushed the crystal ball of the table, allowing it to roll toward the corner of the room. Then, he grabbed Kikuko and covered her mouth before she could even let out another noise, making sure to hide themselves in the darkest corner of the room. Kikuko struggled. She tried to speak.

If Issac could see, he would've seen the deadliest glare Kikuko had given anyone in her life. If anything, all he could feel was Kikuko's lips moving underneath his hands and her trying to break free of her grasp. He furrowed his eyebrows and lowered his voice.

"Shh shh shhh, someone's coming," Issac spoke quietly.

The moment he said that was the moment Kikuko stopped squirming. The two remained silent in that dark corner. Until finally, the door opened. The door connecting this room to the Armory. Though it was dark, the only thing they could see were a pair of eyes. One red and the other, a yellow star.

"Ohhh, best friends~" Stanczyk grinned, glancing around. "Come out, come out, wherever you are~"

This time, neither Kikuko nor Issac made a sound. They could see his glowing eyes prowling around, trying to find the two. They watched as the glow of his mask pranced around the room, scanning it. Thank Seiryuu his mask wasn't equipped with night vision goggles or anything like that.

Stanczyk loomed past Issac and Kikuko. Then, his head turned. Not toward them but toward the only visible thing in the room: the crystal ball. That would explain why Issac had pushed the crystal ball out of the way. A suitable distraction. Walking over toward the crystal ball, Stanczyk squatted down and picked it up.

"Awww Empress!" Stanczyk looked sad. "What happened to you?"

"I was thrown across the room," Empress's head simply said.

Stanczyk gasped, doing the classic FroggoCry emote that Sempi still owes me.

"Wh-Who would do such a thing?!" Stanczyk exclaimed.

He paused.

Then, his voice distorted. And with the only light source being that crystal ball, it neatly reflected his red eye as he burned his gaze directly toward Empress's floating head. His plus-shaped yellow eye flickered and his face sounded… intense.

"sAy…" Stanczyk spoke in his distorted tone. "CoULd iT bE tHaT tHeY aRe iN hEre… hiDiNG…?"

Issac and Kikuko tensed up.

They had forgotten that the crystal ball could actually respond to certain questions. If that crystal ball outed them right here and now, they were screwed. But much to their surprise, Empress never said anything. Even more so, Stanczyk set the crystal ball and scanned the room once more, like a robot scanning for other lifeforms on Earth. His head twitched but his grin sustained.

Issac and Kikuko were completely frozen in fear. It wasn't like Stanczyk was going to do anything to them if they were caught. The only penalty was another day of no food. At least for Kikuko.

It's also important to note that even Eiji was keeping still as well… even though there was no way for Stanczyk to see him.

Noticing Stanczyk's colorful yet flickering eyes, and what felt like an eternity, finally, Stanczyk stopped scanning the room. His voice returned to normal. With a shrug of his shoulders, he hummed to himself, happily.

"I guess not!" Stanczyk giggled. "Oh well!"

He skipped off toward the exit.

"See you Empress!" Stanczyk declared before finally leaving the room.

Issac lowered his hand from Kikuko's mouth and both of them let out a sigh of relief. They weren't caught. That was a relief. Meaning it gave them enough time to survive long enough for them for the Nighttime Announcement to play. Once that happened, it was time to feast. And yet…

"Whew, that was a close one," Issac sighed in relief.

"Pardon me but please stop invading my personal space like that next time," Kikuko huffed, bringing the crystal ball back toward the middle of the table and keeping her distance from Issac.

"You tell him, Sis!" Eiji declared on the sidelines.

"A little thank you would be nice too," Issac shrugged.

"And why on Earth would I ever want to thank you?" Kikuko frowned. "I told you, I didn't want to participate."

"And yet, you could've put up a stronger fight to attract Stanczyk's attention," Issac smiled. "But you didn't. I wonder why."

He got her there.

"It's none of your business," Kikuko swiftly turned away. "Now, please leave me be!"

She rushed over toward the door, ready to open it. Being dragged into the same hiding spot as Issac was bad enough. Now she had to actually spend closer time here than anywhere else in this haunted house? No. This wasn't something she wanted—

"...Why do you hate me so much?"

Kikuko froze.

"I mean, you clearly don't enjoy my company," Issac shrugged. "You've made that very clear."

Issac walked close toward the crystal ball, revealing his rather unamused expression.

"So, why?" Issac grimly asked. "Did I do something to make you uncomfortable? Did I do anything for you to shun me away like this?"

It took a moment for Kikuko to respond.

"...You keep getting between me and Fábio," was the best she could muster up. "I believe I have every right to feel annoyed with you."

"Mmm, don't lie to us," Issac smiled, irritation behind his voice. "Isolde hates liars."

Kikuko backed away slightly.

"I warned you, Sis," Eiji sighed. "Should've left when you had the chance."

"I'm not lying," Kikuko remained firm in her stance. "You always get in between me and Fábio without permission and frankly, it's a little creepy. So, please stop."

Despite the minimal light in their location, Issac seemed to have landed his gaze on Kikuko directly. She had kept a long distance from him. Something that seemed to have given him a better understanding over what was going on. He leaned against the table, allowing Kikuko to see his expression in high definition.

"Quit making excuses," Issac simply said. "You and I both know this was never about Barbosa. You've been keeping your distance from me since we got here."

That shut Kikuko up.

She felt a cold chill run down her spine the more Issac continued talking.

"You really thought I didn't notice?" Issac sighed, slightly offended. "All the weird looks you've been giving me? All those strange glances you threw my way? Why else do you think I've been hovering around you recently? At first, I thought maybe you were into me. But the more you did it, the more I wondered…"

"I hate him…"

"U-Uh, Sis…?" Eiji gulped as he stood in front of Kikuko. "I-It's happening again…"

No one in the room noticed just how cold Kikuko had gotten. She hugged herself, chills running down her spine as she noticed Issac's expression twist into what seemed to be hurt and betrayal. No. Let's stop hiding information now. Issac wasn't what she was paying attention to anymore. It was that thing that had made its appearance again. That thing…

"Why…?" Issac's face contorted into a twisted sense of remorse. "...Why do you look at me with such hatred in your eyes?"

A Red Spirit.

And just like the Red Spirit of João, this one was just as menacing and hateful. In fact, it was even more terrifying to look at. Because it wasn't the Red Spirit of a young boy covered in blood, but rather a teenage girl whose face was pale. Whose face was forever distraught. Whose neck was forever disproportionate to her body. Broken. Her hateful gaze hovering over Issac with murderous intent. Her voice, hoarse and vengeful…

"I hate him…"

"IhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehim…"

The aura was intense.

Somehow, it was even stronger than João.

Scarier even.

And instinctively, Kikuko had to back away. She hugged herself, never realizing what this would've told Issac. Because with that single light source, he saw her back away. And when he did, he let out a hopeless laugh. Completely hopeless and never realizing there was a Red Spirit haunting him.

"Even now, you still look at me that way…" Issac concluded, glancing away.

Kikuko couldn't help it.

Anyone with a Red Spirit like this had to have defied them in the past for them to hold a grudge like this. And the more her presence hovered over Issac, the more the chills became. She hugged herself and tried her best to fight against it. But nothing could stop her voice from repeating herself. Like a gramophone on loop.

"IhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehimIhatehim…"

Kikuko covered her ears and shivered.

"S-Sis!" Eiji turned to her, concerned.

"It's so loud," Kikuko muttered underneath her breath. "It's so loud. It's so loud. It's so–"

Silence.

The door opened. And once Kikuko slowly took her hands off of her ears, a single distorted voice caused her heart to skip a beat and turn straight toward the jester standing by the doorframe. His distorted face and glowing eyes piercing a gaze toward Kikuko and Issac. With a tilt of his head, Stanczyk only had one thing to say…

"I fOuNd yOu…"

DANGANRONPA: TWISTED TRAGEDY

WHAAAAAAAT?! ANOTHER RED SPIRIT?! Absolutely :D What an end to Daily Life 4 of Chapter 3: House of 1000 Low Spirits :D I've finally revealed a bunch of stuff, including stuff like Hide and Seek, Beauté's fiancé's identity who is definitely me (sorry Sempi :D), and finally, the Red Spirit that has been hovering around Issac this entire time :D Took too long to reach this part and that's my bad! Sorry for that! Finals week was killing me but hey, the semester is pretty much over and I'm due to go back home so...

You can probably expect a good grind of Chapter 3 for the next month and half or so :0

Wait...

Trial Update: No progress. Ah. Maybe the grind won't be as quick as I would hope :D

Today's shoutout goes out to Otterplay's Danganronpa: Algorithmic Alteration! He's reached another Body Discovery! You don't see it? Well, it's probably abducted by aliens or something. His is the Space theme after all!

Anyway, I hope you guys like this Playtime Event. Compared to the other ones, I have to admit, Hide and Seek was definitely among those that I had jotted down for a long time. It was there with Red Light, Green Light, but in terms of how cool it is... Ehhh. It's up to you guys to determine. I personally don't think it's as strong as Red Light, Green Light and especially not as strong as Hangman's Gambit was, but you guys are my critics and it's your opinions that I value :D

Funny thing about the Survey though... I didn't actually realize the votes tied until I started writing again so that was just... unbelievably hilarious for me to realize that everyone got what they had wanted from Chapter 1 XD Insane votes guys!

Aside from that, that's all I really have to say! I'll try my best to wrap up Chapter 3 soon since we're getting to a Body Discovery. Unfortunately, my Trial part hasn't even been started arrrrrghhhhh!

As always, let me know what you thought about the chapter! Did you like it? Did you hate it? What'd you think about the reveals? :D Please let me know if I'm doing your characters correctly. We all know how it can be when I don't focus on this story for weeks on end! So please don't be afraid to point out any mistakes and anything like that! Until then, Daily Life 5 is next and-

LET ME FOCUS ON THE TRIAL GODDAMN IT DX

Playmates Remaining: 12

Aidan Brighton - The Ultimate Track Star [Omakin]

Alisa Zachary - The Ultimate Clockmaker [ExtraMeme]

Beautè Morose - The Ultimate ? [Grandma Sue]

Fábio Barbosa - The Ultimate Figure Skater [Rayy12]

Issac Santiago - The Ultimate Toymaker [oddlyillregular]

Kazuki Nobukatsu - The Ultimate Philanthropist [emberblitz321]

Kikuko Unmei - The Ultimate Shrine Priestess [WolfieRed23]

Manon Vivienne Levesque - The Ultimate Actress [Sempi]

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

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

Yukihiko Yuno - The Ultimate Child Caregiver [Weekaro]

Yumi Gundo - Ultimate Gunslinger [MrUtenaHolic]