Chapter 1: Burning Lights, Burning Spirit (Part 5)

Warning!

This is a Danganronpa Fic, so expect dark and serious themes! And also expect some choice words that might upset people - thanks to a certain Gas Station Manager! But also expect fun and whimsical themes as well! I hope you enjoy!

[Pheme's Room]

"Hm... Hm... Hm..." Pheme was currently looking avidly over a pile of documents, like she usually does in these flashbacks. "Hm... Hm... Hm..."

"Are you having trouble Miss Pheme?" The Figure asked, who was currently standing behind her.

"Unfortunately I am! We are now searching for our thirteenth killing game member... and I'm afraid I didn't realize how precarious this could get." Pheme narrowed her eyes.

The Figure chuckled. "I see. Well..." They moved over to a filing cabinet. "The Contact has admittedly slowly started to run out of Ultimate alumni to suggest to us..." They pulled out a few documents. "But he still did bring in some more earlier today. Have a look." The Figure set the small pile of documents in front of Pheme.

"Fascinating! I'm intrigued already!" Pheme went and figuratively dived into these documents. "Hm... Hm... Hm..." And she very quickly started to "hm" out loud again. "Hm... ah!" Pheme grabbed a document and thrust it into the air, displacing the other documents in the process. "This one! This one here!" She said excitedly.

The Figure calmly took the document out of Pheme's hand. "Ah, I can already see why they caught your interest. Aelia Celani, the Ultimate Puppeteer, is it? Quite the character..."

"Isn't she? I already know she'll be perfect!" Pheme smiled from ear to ear from under her mask.

"She very well might be..." The Figure muttered. "Let's see..." They pulled up a video of Aelia that The Contact had provided on the computer. "Let's watch this first, shall we Miss Pheme?"

"Of course! That sounds lovely!" Pheme nodded happily, then got comfortable, eager to enjoy the video...

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[St. Foster's High School]

"H-hey! You should... c-come and see-" Ignored.

"Later t-today... I'm going to be-" Ignored.

"After s-school... Rodriguez and Eirene w-will be-" Ignored.

A 15-year old Aelia Celani was currently standing in the hallway of her high school, attempting to advertise the puppet show she was going to be putting on after school.

"It's r-really cool... they'll be..." Still ignored.

"Hey? D-do you want to..." Still ignored.

Suffice to say, it wasn't going very well. It usually went like this. Aelia didn't know what it was. But she just couldn't command a presence. She's become a bit used to it, but that doesn't mean it's not frustrating at the same time.

"H-hey! After s-school, I'll be-!" Nope.

"Aelia?" A teacher walked up. "Get to class." They sternly said before walking away.

"Okay..." Aelia sadly muttered before she did get to class.

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"Okay... it's t-time to prepare..." Aelia muttered to herself as school ended. The advertising for the puppet show didn't exactly work... but she sometimes just drew crowds naturally. Ironic, but she wasn't going to object against it.

Aelia got to the place in the lunchroom where she usually does her shows. She fished out the supplies for her puppet show out of her backpack. Including the stars of the shows, Rodriguez and Eirene.

Rodriguez and Eirene were fairly versatile characters for Aelia. She had various stories she'd tell with her beloved puppets, as she'd cycle through them periodically. She liked to occasionally throw in a new one in there sometimes too.

But anyway, the show she was going to put on today was what was arguably her most popular one, Journey for the Spirit Stone. Starring Rodriguez and Eirene of course. What is it about? You'll get to see momentarily!

Aelia looked around. No one was around yet. Her last period was a free period, so she technically got off school a little earlier compared to everyone else. And she used that to her advantage for setting up for her shows. She had her stage set up, her props set up, and Rodriguez and Eirene were ready as well. There still wasn't anyone around yet... but she wanted to get started with the show anyway! With a deep breath, she started...

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"Hm..." Rodriguez muttered, looking over a document. Rodriguez was a police officer in this story, who was currently looking for something important...

"Oh? Mr. Rodriguez! Having trouble are you?" Eirene waltzed into the room, sensing Rodriguez's troubles. Eirene was a demon who had a knack for helping humans instead of hurting them, like a demon usually does.

"It's you Eirene." He greeted her. "Indeed. Look." Rodriguez handed her the document he was looking at. "It's all the last reported sightings of the Spirit Stone. I need to find it... it's my life's purpose to do so..."

Eirene nodded. "I understand! The Spirit Stone has so much power... so you have to be careful. Do you think you can handle it?"

Rodriguez looked down solemnly. "I think I can. If I can't... it'd disgrace my family name. So I want to... no. I have to do it." He looked up. "Will you help me Eirene?"

Eirene slyly smiled. "Of course! Do you even have to ask?" She held her hand to him. "C'mon! Let's go on a journey!"

Rodriguez smiled and took Eirene's hand. "Alright. Let's go! Let's go on a Journey for the Spirit Stone!"

With a nod of affirmation from both parties, Rodriguez and Eirene set off... on their Journey for the Spirit Stone...

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With the first act finished, Aelia was about to take a quick break before the second act. What she didn't expect but didn't object against seeing was that she had a pretty decent audience! She looked at her phone, and it was 1:15 pm. (Fun fact: School in Italy ends at 1:00 pm! Crazy!)

Anyway, even with school ended, Aelia had a decent crowd of people sticking around to see the latest adventures of Rodriguez and Eirene. But soon as Aelia revealed herself to take the quick breaks interest started to wane rather abruptly.

"Oh it's done? I'm gonna go." They walked away.

"I'll see more of it later I guess." Another person walked away.

"And it was just getting good..." And another person walked away.

"I wanted to see more of Rodriguez and Eirene... damn." Yep, another person walked away.

Aelia's eyes widened as people started to spontaneously leave. "H-hold on guys... I'm just t-taking a break...!"

But it was like no one heard her. People liked, and even loved her shows. That was apparent. And that made her happy of course. But no one... no one liked or loved her. She didn't know what it was. Was she just cursed? She didn't know. Even if it was a curse... she was determined to break it somehow. How? Again, she didn't know.

But with essentially her entire audience gone, Aelia packed up her show for now, and sadly and quietly left school...

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A few weeks later, Aelia now found herself outside of school on the weekend. She had set up her puppet show in the park now, in a wide open and public place. She figured it'd be the best way to draw a crowd to her shows. She was feeling strangely confident today. Like a fire was burning in her. Maybe a sign of things to come? Let's see.

She brought her supplied out of her backpack, including Rodriguez and Eirene of course. It didn't take long for her to get set up again. And with that, she dove into the second act of Journey for the Spirit Stone.

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"Here we are Rodriguez! The plains of destiny!" Eirene extended her hand over the vast and luscious landscape before her and Rodriguez. "This is our first stop on our Journey for the Spirit Stone. Our first order of business is to find the Spirit Sage, who resides in a small hamlet in these plains. Are you ready?"

Rodriguez nodded determinedly. "I've been ready for a long time! It's time to seize my destiny!" He turned to look at Eirene. "And with you at my side, right Eirene?"

Eirene giggled. "Of course! How could I leave a sad sack like you alone? I'll be by your side whether you like it or not!" She winked.

Rodriguez looked relieved. "Okay. Good. Not sure what I'd do or how I'd do this with you Eirene. I lo-" He stopped himself. "Yeah. Thank you Eirene."

Eirene wrapped her arm around Rodriguez's shoulder. "No problem my dear Rodriguez! Just know that you can tell me anything!" She took his hand. "Now let's go! It's time to embark on our Journey for the Spirit Stone!"

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Alright, that was the beginning of the second act done with. She ducked out to grab a few props, and saw the impressive crowd she'd drawn in. In fact, this was really impressive. A crowd of what looked like 50 people or so. Aelia couldn't help but get a little flustered at the sight.

"Mommy? Where did Rodriguez and Eirene go? I want to see more of them!" Aelia heard a kid talk to their parent.

Parents...

Aelia found herself zoning out, which unfortunately helped cause people to filter out of the show, and for her to slowly lose her crowd.

"W-wait!" She called out. But like always, it was like no one could see her. They could only see the puppets...

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"Excuse me? Could I talk with you for a moment?" In a surprise to Aelia, it looked like someone still stuck around.

A well dressed and overall fancy looking man had walked up to her. "Oh! H-hi..." Aelia didn't know what to say.

"Allow me to make sure here, but you were the one who was performing that puppet show, correct?" The man asked her.

Wait... was someone actually acknowledging her for once? For real? No jokes? "Uh... y-yes! I w-was the one who doing it." Aelia tried her best to keep her composure.

"Perfect!" The man handed Aelia his business card. "I am a talent scout with Hope's Peak Academy! I arrived here in Italy on the hunt for talented people who could thrive in this upcoming generation. And I happened to hear a rumor of a rather impressive puppeteer in town. And I believe I found who that rumor was referring to. So..." He straightened his clothes. "First, what is your name young lady?"

Aelia was still very stunned. She had an inkling of where this might be going. And if that inkling was right... then... "It's Aelia Celani sir." She tried her best not to stammer of her words.

"Aelia Celani? I'll be sure to remember that." He smiled. "Aelia. I'd like to offer you a place at Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Puppeteer. How does that sound?"

"Yes! Y-yes!" It was like Aelia's brain got suddenly set to autopilot as she blurted out those affirmations.

The man was a little taken back by how quickly she agreed, but smiled all the same. "I see! Very good then!" He pulled out his phone and did a few things on it. "What is your phone number Aelia?"

"O-oh! It's..." (You think I'd actually tell you Aelia's phone number? :ugh:)

"Alright... I've noted that down." As he said, the man finished noting down her phone number. "Within the next couple of days, you should be reviving a call from me. I'll provide you with more details about the opportunity then." The man stuck out his hand. "I'm looking forward to working with you Aelia."

Aelia stood there stunned for another moment. This was really happening? Hope Peak Academy? Ultimate Puppeteer? Recognition? Attention? It... felt surreal.

It felt like she's been struggling her entire life to have her name actually known. Her parents never cared about her name, most of her few friends didn't care about her name, and most people in general didn't know her name.

But by attending Hope's Peak... she can be famous. No... she needs to be famous. It has to happen. The after part doesn't matter. When people will know her name... scream her name... that's all that matters. She needs that pure and enthralling feeling of fame in her veins.

So, with an eager and excited smile, Aelia shook the man's hand.

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[Pheme's Room]

As the video came to a close, Pheme couldn't help but laugh. "Wow!" She slapped her hand on her desk. "She's rather miserable isn't she?" She looked over to The Figure.

The Figure couldn't help but chuckle at Pheme's reaction. "I suppose she is." They eyed Aelia's form. "Hm... you know..."

Pheme raised her eyebrows. "Yes? What is it? What do you think? How is she?"

"Well..." The Figure was half-purposely drawing this out. "Aelia Celani... I like her." They nodded.

Pheme's eyes lit up. "Truly? Truly?!"

The Figure smiled. "Yes. Aelia Celani shall be the thirteenth member of the killing game. A girl like her... she'll be a perfect fit won't she?"

Pheme giggled. "Oh yes! She will be perfect. A girl so desperate for that sweet taste of fame... a girl so desperate for her name to be known. Yes. A girl like that doesn't deserve to be alive." With evil encroaching onto her face, Pheme looked at The Figure. "Yes?"

The Figure nodded. "Yes." They have a simple affirmation.

Pheme smiled from under her mask and shook her head. "Oh, I can't help but imagine what sort of antics a girl like that will get up to in here..."

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[Grand Lobby]

*30 minutes before the Special Event*

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Aelia sat absentmindedly on one of the sofas in the Grand Lobby, currently doodling on a piece of paper. Well, the back of the piece of paper. On the front of it, Aelia had a half-started note to a certain someone. All it said so far was:

Dear Damien,

She wanted to write more... but it just felt difficult saying her feelings. Then there was what Aurora told her earlier today...

"Yes." Aurora nodded. "In fact... well, I don't wish to be morbid here. But considering where we are, and what we are being forced to do... I'd suggest telling him. In fact, you never know. He very well might reciprocate your feelings. And... well, I believe you understand what I'm trying to get across here. Forgive me if that came off as strange, and obviously only do it if you feel like you can do it."

Aelia knew she had a point. But it was difficult putting her feelings down onto paper like that. She wasn't even sure why she was writing a note to him instead of outright telling him. She groaned to herself, and worked up the willpower to write a little more of the note.

Dear Damien,

I like you

That was all she could do. Her heart was beating a mile per minute as she attempted to write this. And as she thought about Damien too...

Aelia never had someone who was nice to her before. She never had some who actually paid attention to her. Her parents couldn't care less about her. And there was something about Damien's care for her that felt... genuine. Man, he really is dreamy. "Those eyes... his hair... his face... his personality... his everything..."

"Hm? My dear Aelia? Whose eyes, hair, face, personality, and everything?" And of course, Damien just had to walk up while Aelia was accidentally saying all of that out loud.

"Oh! H-hi Damien!" Aelia instantly started blushing, but she tried to hide it. "And for what I was talking a-about... don't worry about i-it!" She discreetly crumpled up and threw the note she was writing in the trash can next to her.

Damien gave her an inquisitive look, but it rather quickly turned to a calm look. "I see. Well, I trust you my dear Aelia! I won't worry about it!" He sat down next to her. "To tell you the truth my dear, I happen to talk to myself sometimes as well. I don't mean to excessively praise myself, but studies have shown that people who talk to themselves have very sharp minds." He smiled at his dear Aelia. "So my dear Aelia, you talking to yourself is just proof of how special you are!"

God Aelia wished her stupid blush would go away. But when Damien just says things like that, how can she not blush?! "T-thank you Damien..." She muttered.

"Any time my dear." Damien put his hand on Aelia's shoulder, only making Aelia's blush more intense. "Are you alright?" He tilted his head as he seemed to notice Aelia being rather flustered.

"Y-y-yes! I'm f-fine...!" Yeah, Aelia wasn't the Ultimate Actress, and for good reason. She wasn't hiding it very well. "S-so..." So Aelia decided to change the subject. "H-how is Ayaka?" After what happened earlier, Aelia couldn't help but be a little concerned for her.

Damien tried to put his hand around Ayaka's shoulder again, but the violinist quickly moved out of his reach. "N-no. S-sorry, I want to be alone right now." Ayaka then sped walked up to her room.

Aelia and Ayaka weren't exactly friends, but they had a certain... something. It was hard to describe it. And Aelia couldn't blame her for how she acted. After all, the reveal of a traitor is a rather startling one.

"My dear Ayaka..." Damien muttered. "It's unfortunate, but I'm afraid she's been in her room ever since Pheme announced that there was a traitor in our midst. I cannot blame her of course. An announcement of that caliber would upset anyone." He looked into his dear Aelia's eyes. "How about you my dear Aelia? How are you faring since the announcement?"

"I..." How was Aelia feeling? Like Damien said, the announcement of a traitor is rather upsetting... but at the same time, there is the chance that Pheme is just bluffing. Is she wasn't, Aelia admittedly had a guess on who the traitor was. "W-well... it's a tough topic to think about. I'd b-be lying if I said I wasn't the l-littlest bit scared. I think f-for now... I'll believe that Pheme was lying to scare us. Yeah." Aelia nodded.

"I see." Damien slowly started to smirk. He wasn't sure if he believed all of that, but he decided to humor her. "So that's the attitude you choose to have? That's admirable." He closed his eyes.

"W-what do you think about the... traitor? Damien?" Aelia returned the question.

"Myself?" Damien opened his eyes. "I currently am undecided I suppose. I'd like to adopt your remarkable attitude on the subject. But at the same time, it's hard to wholly discount the possibly that there is a traitor." Damien reached his hand up to Aelia's cheek, and caressed it. "But that doesn't matter right now. No matter if there is one or there isn't one... I will protect you my dear Aelia. No matter what happens, you can rely on me. If you ever feel troubled, you can always come to me." He smiled.

Aelia could swear her blushing cheeks were probably radiating heat at this point. "Damien... I..." She muttered, being at a loss for words.

"...?" Damien tilted his head.

They shared a moment of silence as Aelia attempted to formulate her words.

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"OMG? Damien x Aelia is real? Confirmed?" Boy, I wonder who that could be? Raiha waltzed into the scene, immediately announcing her presence.

"R-R-Raiha? ...Hi!" Aelia instinctively jumped off of the sofa she was sitting on, her eyes widened.

"Ah, my dear Raiha! It's a pleasure to see you!" Damien got up as well, though seemingly not bothered or shocked by Raiha's presence.

"Hm..." Raiha said out loud as she narrowed her eyes. "Should I give you two some alone time or nah?" She got a suggestive look on her face.

"I-I-I-I-I..." Aelia stammered, her facing essentially turning into a tomato at this point.

Damien on the other hand merely laughed. "You needn't do any thing like that my dear Raiha. My dear Aelia and I were just having a nice talk." He turned to his dear Aelia. "Right?" He gave an expectant smile.

Hoping that that was Damien's way of calming her down, "Y-yes! Merely... a n-nice talk!" Aelia agreed with him, sitting back down on the sofa in the process.

"Sure you two. I get it. I gotcha. Keeping it low key? Alright." She winked suggestively.

Aelia kept blushing, but Damien stepped in to speak for her. "I kindly ask you abandon whatever thought you may have in your head right now, my dear Raiha." He said a little sternly. "Anyway, did you have business was one of us then?" Damien changed the topic of conversation.

Raiha decided to roll with the topic change. "Nah! Just bored. High key bored enough to just bed rot." She shrugged before sitting down on the sofa.

Damien sat down as well. "Indeed? I suppose it is hard to find things to do in this place at times. But considering the nature of your Ultimate Studio, is there not something in there you could use to occupy your time?" He asked the trendsetter.

Raiha shook her head. "Nah. I told this to Aurora yesterday, but none of the tech in there works. Totes lame." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh... well..." Aelia spoke, hoping it'd help her calm down. "I g-guess you can pretty much only talk to people here huh? I know... you like to t-talk to Aurora and Bessie right?" Aelia brought up Raiha's besties.

"Huh? IG. I was with Aurora bestie and Bessie bestie earlier-" Raiha got cut off.

"Oh? Were you talking about me?" Speak of the devil, and she'll appear, as Aurora walked up on the trio. "Forgive me if I'm interrupting anything!" Aurora gave Aelia a look. A look that communicated "Did you tell him?" Aelia slowly shook her head, implying her answer. Aurora gave a nod of understanding.

"Ah, it's good to see you my dear Aurora! You just happened to come up in our conversation, so don't worry, you aren't intruding!" Damien reassured her.

"Heya Aurora bestie! What's up? What's the tea? IK we saw each other like an hour ago but you're looking on fleek girl." Raiha complimented her bestie.

Aurora calmly laughed. "Thank you." She walked up to the sofa. "May I sit?"

"Of course!" Damien motioned for her to sit down, and she did. "And to catch you up... we were trying to fill the void a bit, so to speak. Just having a nice conversation, weren't we? My dear Raiha? My dear Aelia?" He looked at his two dears.

"Pretty m-much." Aelia nodded.

"FR on filling the void. IK Pheme is giving us crazy stuff each day... but it's still a little boring." Raiha yawned. "Whatevs IG." She shrugged.

"I see." Aurora sighed. "Perhaps I might've agreed with you a few days ago... but now, I'm grateful for the tedium." She looked down.

Aelia nervously laughed. "I think I g-get that. It's can be kinda n-nice... when there aren't things a-always happening." She smiled. "Just... peace and-" Aelia didn't get to finish what she was about to say.

As Pheme's glamorous face appeared on the monitor in the Grand Lobby. All four turned to it with grimaces on their faces. "Attention my adorable stars! I hate to interrupt you, but it's time for a "Special Event!" Participation is not mandatory! But if you do wish to participate, make your way over to the Horror Studio! Further details will await you when you arrive! I hope to see you there!" The monitor cut off.

"M-me and my big mouth h-huh..." Aelia sighed.

Aurora got a look of fear in her eyes. "A special event? Then..."

13. In the case of special events, such as the Pilot Episode Climax, you must follow Pheme's instructions. Failure to follow her instructions will result in punishment from Pheme.

"Just like the Pilot Episode Climax..." The starlet whispered. "I don't..." Her eyes widened shakily. "I..."

Raiha took Aurora's hand. "You good bestie? C'mon." She took Aurora's other hand. "Don't let Pheme's nonsense spook you. You're a queen Aurora." Raiha smiled.

Aurora slowly looked at her bestie. "Raiha... I'm sorry." She got composed. "I'm not sure what came over me. I just don't like being reminded of it..."

"That's perfectly understandable my dear Aurora." Damien set his hand on Aurora's shoulder. "You don't need to apologize."

"Y-yeah!" Aelia tried to join in with the encouragement. "D-don't worry!"

"You guys..." Aurora didn't expect the sudden support from everyone. "Thank you. I won't let Pheme get in my head." She closed her eyes and smiled.

"Heck yeah bestie!" Raiha stood up. "Now let's go and see what the special event is about! Am I right besties?" Raiha looked at her three besties.

"I'm sorry?" Aurora didn't like hearing the words "special event," so she didn't know how she felt about actually attending it.

"Oh? You actually plan to attend it my dear Raiha?" Damien raised an eyebrow.

"Well yeah? Imma keep it 100 RN, I'm bored, and I wanna know what it's about. Pheme said attendance wasn't mandatory, so I doubt she's gonna murk people if all of us weren't even there. Pheme seems like the type of chick to want to mentally scar and live rent free in all of our heads, not just some." Raiha reasoned.

Damien shifted his eyes to the side. "When you say it like that... perhaps it wouldn't be a waste." He thought.

"Oh h-hey! Look!" Aelia called out, pointing at the door that lead to the Horror Studio.

Following Aelia's point, the four of them saw Ji-hoon, Kei, and Genjiro entering the Horror Studio. "Oh? The boys are interested in it then?" Aurora tilted her head.

"I g-guess so... wait! Look!" Aelia pointed at another person entering, and that was Yoshino.

"My dear Yoshino wishes to join in? I'm proud of her, considering how afraid she apparently was of that studio initially." Damien commented.

"Yeah..." Raiha muttered. "Hey! Hol up!" Drawing attention back to the door, the four then saw Kei leaving, then going right. "Guess Kei wasn't vibing with it?" The trendsetter shrugged.

"I guess s-so..." Aelia narrowed her eyes.

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After another thirty seconds, it appeared that no one else was going to go into the Horror Studio yet. The group of four shared a look. "Yeah, this might be hype!" Raiha took a few steps towards the studio. "Y'all joining?"

Aurora sighed deeply. "Against my better judgement... I think I will." She walked up next to Raiha.

"Atta girl Aurora bestie!" Raiha looked at the remaining two. "So?"

"Well..." Damien trailed off. "How about you my dear Aelia? Would you like to go?"

"Um... I..." God she gets flustered when he just asks her a simple question. But how should she answer? Truthfully, Aelia really didn't like forests. She hasn't even been in the Horror Studio yet. But maybe... maybe if she was with Damien... "O-okay. I think I want to... go to it too." Going against her better judgment, just like Aurora, Aelia agreed to join in the special event.

"Very good!" Damien got up, and offered Aelia his hand. "No matter what may happen... I'll protect you my dear Aelia." He smiled.

I think I've talked enough about Aelia blushing this chapter, but yes! She was blushing again! She took Damien's hand. "T-thank you Damien. That's... r-really comforting."

"I'm glad to hear that my dear Aelia. Now shall we go?" He had let go of her hand, but Damien motioned for Aelia to join up with Aurora and Raiha.

"Yes. Let's stick together as a team and as friends, and it'll end up okay." Aurora gently smiled. The starlet turned to Aelia, almost like she could sense that she was troubled. "Let's go Aelia. It'll be alright." Aurora reassured the puppeteer.

"R-right!" Aelia walked ahead of Damien and Raiha to get next to Aurora, sneaking a glance at the former while she did.

Watching his dears Aelia and Aurora being happy together... Damien couldn't help but smile. He really liked seeing them happy. And no Gold, it's not because he's a (insert example of bad person here), it's because he's a nice and wholesome person! Right? Surely!

Anyway, Raiha noticed Damien smiling to himself like an idiot. "Damien? You good?" She raised an eyebrow.

Damien coughed upon realizing that he was zoning out. "Ah, forgive me my dear Raiha. I am "good" as you say." Damien glanced behind him at a certain something. "You can go on ahead my dear Raiha. I need to do something first." He said suspiciously.

But Raiha didn't seem to notice, as all she did was shrug. "KK!" She skipped ahead to join up with Aelia and Aurora.

Seeing that Raiha was now distracted, Damien went to go and grab that certain something.

And after seeing that Damien was distracted, Raiha turned back around to see what he was doing. Did you really think Raiha was ignore this possibly steaming tea? Of course not! Raiha tried to be subtle, but all she could see was that Damien had some sort of paper in his hand...

"Raiha? Damien? Aren't you coming?" Aurora called out, scaring both of them.

"Y-yeah, what's taking you guys s-so long?" Aelia narrowed her eyes.

"Oh! My b! I'm coming!" Ignoring Damien, Raiha now actually skipped ahead to join up with her besties.

Damien wanted more time to think about this certain something. But he could see that he didn't have time right now. With a scoff, he stuffed it in his pocket and turned around. "Ah! My dear Aurora! My dear Aelia! My dear Raiha! I'll be with you momentarily!" Damien then went to join back up with his dears. None of them had any expectations going into this. But what they were going to experience was the last thing they would've expected...

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[Horror Studio]

*Back in the present*

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"W-w-what the..." Adam muttered as the video started to play.

"Adam? Are you alright?" Aurora whispered.

"I-I-I..." No Aurora, Adam was not alright. Because if the Horror Studio wasn't currently covered in complete darkness, Aurora would've been able to see the utter appalled and horrified look covering Adam's face.

"That g-guy..." He pointed at the young man.

Aurora was getting more concerned. "Adam? What's going on?" She whispered again.

"That's... Asher John Jr...." Adam muttered.

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"I know him..."

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"Wait what?" Ji-hoon quickly turned to look at Adam. "What do you mean?" He aggressively whispered.

"I..." Adam muttered.

"Ji-hoon." Damien's voice reached Ji-hoon's ears. "There'll be time to question Adam later. Let us focus on this video for now." He whispered into his ear.

Ji-hoon quietly groaned. "Right." The celebrity detective went silence, now devoting to his full attention to the video...

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"Audio log start. Log #1. Date is June 2nd, 20XX. Time is 15:00."

After a brief video portion showing off the young man and the young woman, the video shifted to a purely audio format.

"This is Dr. Hannah Yokomizi speaking. Also in the room with me I have Dr. Asher John Jr.. Today, we'll be going over the results of Test #1 on the patient." Yokomizi cleared her voice. "Test #1 seemed to have remarkable effects. Asher showed her a lighter, and it had no effect! We showed her a picture of him, and she had no reaction! It was fascinating! It was like all memories of Ross Kelley were erased from her brain! Absolutely fascinating! Right Asher?"

"Yep Dr. Yokomizi!" Asher's voice seemed to be a little more quiet compared to Yokomizi's. "The video has some crazy effects. Dr. Agata is a truly impressive man."

"I agree wholeheartedly Asher." Yokomizi giggled. "Anyway, we'll be using this audio log so we can have an extra record of our progress on our patient. Test #1 is essentially complete. Agata is working on Test #2, and Zenkichi is working on Test #3. So all in all, the future is looking hopeful! If we can accomplish this... it'll be quite the feat!" Yokomizi coughed. "Okay. I think that's it. Any closing remarks Asher?"

"Oh! Erm..." Asher paused. "I don't believe so. I'm just excited to get going on this project!"

Yokomizi giggled. "Indeed Asher. I am as well." Yokomizi paused. "Alright ,now I think that's it. This is Dr. Hannah Yokomizi and Dr. Asher John Jr. signing out. Log #1 finished."

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The audio stopped.

The studio was still in complete darkness... but all nine of the people present shared a looked. What... even was that? Yokomizi? Asher? Adam knows Asher? What even-?

Everybody's thoughts ground to a halt as another video started to play...

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Only this time, there were no words. None at all. Well, maybe that wasn't accurate. There weren't any words... but there were screams.

It started with a still image of a moderately big family home. It was a nice home. You could sense the good family memories just emanating from it, despite not actually being there. It stayed on this still image for such a time that the group assumed that it was a picture. After a couple of minutes though, that's when it changed.

A middle-aged man could barely be seen entering the home. But that was the only change for a while. After another couple of minutes, something else changed. A group of men dressed in all black approached the house. The camera recording this was so zoomed out, it was difficult to tell what they were doing. But it looked like... they were pulling out gasoline and matches. All nine people of the group looked on in horror as the house was set ablaze. The men dressed in black quickly left the scene.

And...

It didn't take long for the screams to start. Guttural and upsetting screams, presumably from the middle aged man they saw in beginning. The screams wouldn't stop. They become ear-splitting. The girls started to cover their ears. It was borderline painful to listen to.

After a few full minutes of screams...

It stopped...

And the video cut out.

After another minute of full darkness and silence, the lights started to turn back on.

"Thank god..." Yoshino sighed. "Couldn't stand that darkness..."

Unlike Yoshino, most of the group were still at a loss for words. It took a second for anyone to actually speak. "What the..." Genjiro slowly turned to Pheme. "What the fuck was that?! What the fuck?!"

Ji-hoon turned as well, narrowing his eyes in the process. "Yes. What was that? That was a rather upsetting video to watch. And not to mention that audio log..." The celebrity detective's brain was already going at a mile per minute.

"Asher...w-why was he..." Adam muttered, barely audible.

"Right!" Ji-hoon quickly turned around to look at Adam. "Okay. Explain that now. Why do you know him?" He stared right into Adam's eyes, implying that he had to answer Ji-hoon's question.

"Asher... He..." Adam had trouble getting his words out.

"Adam..." Aurora gently put her hand on the academic's shoulder. "It's alright..." She reassured him.

"Hold on." Damien interjected. "If Adam does indeed hold valuable information, should we not gather everyone first?" He suggested.

Ji-hoon scoffed. "I wouldn't see a point. Half the people here probably wouldn't even care. And we could always just tell them later." He looked at Adam again. "So alright. Tell us." He commanded.

Damien shrugged. "Fair enough I suppose." He turned to his dear Aelia, who still had a look of fear on her face. "Are you alright my dear Aelia?" He took her hand.

"I-I... I'm okay." Aelia slowly nodded. "That was just... upsetting. I g-guess."

Damien narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he believed her. But he slowly nodded as well. "It was rather upsetting wasn't it? Well don't you worry. I'll keep you safe." He moved closer to his dear Aelia, then turned to Rosalind, who had been quiet this whole time. "My dear Rosalind? How are you doing?" He asked.

Rosalind just slowly sighed. "I am of no concern. Let us focus on *cough* Adam for now." She attempted to reassure him. Damien wasn't exactly sure if he believed her, but he relented anyway. He made sure his dear Aelia was okay, then he went to focus on Adam...

"Asher..." Adam started his lore drop. "Asher John Jr. was a good friend of mine in school. W-we weren't childhood friends or a-anything... but we met in m-middle school. We were b-both pretty similar honestly." Adam laughed a little. "My s-schooling experience wasn't always p-pleasant. But I s-still had friends... and Asher s-stuck by me for a long time. We both ended up g-going to St. LaDroubi's High School. But it was a l-little after I received my l-letter from Hope's Peak..." He closed his eyes. "I was g-going to tell Asher about me b-becoming the Ultimate Academic, n-naturally. But when I w-went to school the next day to tell him..."

"W-what? What do you m-mean Asher moved away?" Adam was in Ms. Durama's classroom, as Ms. Durama was giving her student some bad news.

"I'm sorry Adam. Asher's move was sudden enough to where he could only contact the faculty here. But if it's any consolation, Asher did at least want me to tell you about why he moved." Ms. Durama sighed. "It was about his grandfather. Apparently, his grandfather had inherited a movie studio from his own father. And that's why they moved. Because of that studio." She recounted.

"S-seriously? B-because of a m-movie studio?" Adam looked down at his feet. "I thought he would've at l-least..." His voice quivered a little.

Ms. Durama put her hand on her student's shoulder. "Oh, I'm sorry Adam..."

"He apparently m-moved away because of a m-movie studio. What an illogical r-reason..." Adam finished recounting.

Rosalind raised an eyebrow at Adam's story. "Adam? Are you not *cough* aware of where we are?"

Adam turned to Rosalind. "Hm? What do you-" A look of realization spread across Adam's face. "Y-you don't mean..."

Rosalind slowly nodded. "Indeed. I'm sorry, I thought you were aware. This is Asher J.'s Movie and Media Studio. The "Asher J." in the *cough* title referring to your friend's *cough* grandfather, of course."

Adam's eyes slowly widened. "I had a f-feeling... but truly?"

Rosalind nodded. "I'm afraid so. I've been to this studio a few *cough* times before, so I recognized it." The cinematographer turned to Pheme. "I know it wouldn't be pleasant to indulge someone like *cough* me, but are we allowed to ask you questions about what we just *cough* witnessed?" She narrowed her eyes.

Pheme didn't respond. Merely choosing to stare smugly as Adam slowly turned towards her as well. "D-did you h-have anything to d-do with Asher?" The academic shakily asked.

Pheme still didn't respond.

"A-answer me." Adam sounded surprisingly serious.

Pheme still didn't respond.

"P-please. Do you know a-anything about my f-friend?" He moved closer to Pheme.

Pheme still didn't respond.

"S-s-stop being silent! S-say something! C'mon!" Adam was starting to get more frustrated. Everybody else silently watched as he got closer to Pheme. He was now directly in front of Pheme.

Pheme still didn't respond. She just silently stared at the short academic in front of her.

"S-say something already!" Adam was starting to get really frustrated. He started to slowly feel his hands lifting up. He didn't know what was happening. He felt his hands slowly ball up into fists. His hands rose up a little more. He started to pull back his fist, like he was preparing for a punch. "C'mon..." Adam whispered.

Everybody else still stood behind the two, completely silent. But when Adam started to pull back his fist... "Hey! Hold on!" Ji-hoon yelled out. "Don't do that Adam!"

"That wouldn't be *cough* wise Adam!" Rosalind tried her best to be loud.

"The fuck are you doing you little twerp?" Genjiro bellowed out.

"Don't be cray-cray Adam!" Raiha held her hand out.

"A-A-Adam! Don't do it!" Aelia hid behind Damien.

"I'd recommend you don't do that Adam!" Damien yelled out while protecting his dear Aelia.

"Calm down Ade!" Yoshino took a step forward.

"Adam! No!" Aurora tried to be as loud as possible, in order to get Adam's attention.

Adam didn't respond. Pheme didn't respond either, opting to wait and see for what he might do.

It felt like his body wasn't under his control. Adam got trapped in a killing game. He was brought into it in an inhumane way. He saw a person die. And now a longtime friend of his is involved someway? Then the fucking psycho responsible for this is just standing there? Not saying anything? Just mocking him! He was gonna... he was gonna...

"FUCKING SAY SOMETHING!" Adam went to go punch Pheme. Realistically, it wouldn't do much. But considering the rules...

"Adam! Stop!" Aurora, Ji-hoon, and Yoshino started running towards Adam, hoping to stop him. But...

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"Calm the fuck down Adam!" Ji-hoon managed to snatch his wrist at the last second, mere moments before he would've touched Pheme.

"Stop it Ade! Don't do anything to this psycho!" Yoshino grabbed his other wrist.

Aurora was trying to catch her breath, merely standing behind Adam and his two wrist-captors.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Adam tried to wrest out his the grips of Yoshino and Ji-hoon. It didn't work.

"Calm the fuck down Ade!" Yoshino slapped Adam with her free hand. "I thought you were supposed to be smart! An academic or something?! If you were smart, you'd know that Pheme is obviously trying to rile you up! She put your friend in that video to make you anxious, hoping you'd attack her and break a damn rule! Don't fall for it Ade!"

"The r-rules..." Adam muttered, catching his breath.

"Yeah. Rule two." Ji-hoon said flatly.

2. Violence and acts of aggression against Pheme are strictly prohibited. Ones who attempt violence or acts of aggression against Pheme will receive punishment.

"You attack Pheme, and she presumably kills you." Ji-hoon shifted his eyes to look at Pheme, expecting confirmation. Pheme nodded. "She just wants one of us to fall. Don't let that person be you!" He gave Adam an aggressive stare.

"I-I..." Adam body started to slowly relax. Ji-hoon and Yoshino slowly let go of him.

"Are you alright Adam?" Aurora chimed in from behind them.

Adam didn't respond for second. "S-sorry. That had me acting rather i-illogically. I need to b-be alone r-right now." He sped out of the Horror Studio.

"Wait up Ade! Are you really okay?" Yoshino ran after him.

Silence fell over the group for a moment. Everybody needed a second to calm down.

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"Alright..." Genjiro suddenly spoke. "I think that's it." He slowly walked up and around Aurora and Ji-hoon, intending to face down Pheme.

Aurora furrowed her brow. "Genjiro? What are you-"

Genjiro held up his hand, signaling Aurora to stop. "I think it's time." He spoke ominously.

"Genjiro-" Ji-hoon tried to speak up too, but Genjiro just shot him a glare.

"Okay." Genjiro got stanced up. "Phlegm. I ain't stalling this shit anymore."

"Mashimoto! Stop!" Ji-hoon tried to urge him to stop. This time, Genjiro just ignored him.

Pheme stood still, emotionless and expressionless.

"Phlegm..." Genjiro continued. "YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!" Genjiro immediately charged at Pheme. And...

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Pheme dodged his attack. Quite casually in fact, just sidestepping him. She still hasn't said a word. "Hey!" Genjiro screamed, then charged again. Pheme dodged. "Stop fucking doing that!" He charged again. Pheme dodged again. "HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU SO FAST?!" He charged again. Pheme dodged again. "FUCK YOU BITCH!" Genjiro switched up his plan of attack a little, planning to get her when she sidestepped. Pheme still dodged. "Son of a...!" He kept charging at her, intending to probably just kill her once and for all, but to avail.

"G-Genjiro! You should p-probably stop!" Aelia yelled out from behind Damien.

"Exactly! Don't be fucking stupid!" Ji-hoon was really losing his cool with this muscle-head.

"Honestly!" Pheme spoke for the first time in a while. "You'd probably have a better chance of hitting me if you didn't telegraph all of your attacks Mr. Mashimoto!" Pheme mocked him.

Genjiro growled. "That right? Fine then. How about this?!" He telegraphed his attack.

Pheme dodged again, this time jumping over to the exit. "Real quick, I hope you enjoyed the 2nd Special Event - The Conflagration Watchalong! I hope you liked it!" Pheme quickly bowed before turning to look at an angry Genjiro. "Bye Mr. Mashimoto!" She waved before dashing out of the Horror Studio.

"You fucking bitch! Fuck you! Get back here!" Genjiro charged out of the Horror Studio and after Pheme.

The remaining six shared a sigh. "That idiot..." Ji-hoon shook his head.

Rosalind steadied herself with her parasol. "You're not wrong *cough* there."

"What a superfluous man..." Damien muttered before turning to his dear Aelia. "My dear Aelia? It's over. Are you alright?"

Aelia lightly chuckled. "Y-you don't need to always ask that of me Damien." She coughed. "I don't h-hate it thought..." She whispered that last part.

Damien chuckled. "I see. Then how about you my dear Raiha? My dear Aurora?"

"Man... can I be real? I'm shook." Raiha stared at nothing. "Imma dip I think. That was a lot." She then silently walked out.

"Hm... I believe I might join her." Aurora added. "I know it's not night yet... but I believe I might have a rest. That was a lot..." She looked at the rest of the group. "I hope you have a good evening everyone." She curtsied before leaving, parasol in hand.

"I believe I will leave as well." Damien was next. "Will you join me my dear Aelia?"

It took Aelia a few seconds to process what Damien had just asked her. "O-oh! Sure!" Her mood seemed to brighten. "Bye y-you two!" She waved to Rosalind and Ji-hoon before leaving with Damien.

Now it was Rosalind and Ji-hoon left. Does that mean... FTE time? :D

"Well. I'm not sure what're your planning on doing Rosalind, but I'm going to go and do what I initially wanted to do today. So I'll see you later. Stay safe." Ji-hoon advised her before leaving himself.

So no, it's not FTE time. D:

Rosalind wordlessly watched as Ji-hoon left the now brightly lit Horror Studio. After he had left, Rosalind went and sat down, going back to leaning against a tree. She needed some calm after that.

Breath in...

And out...

Breath in...

And out...

[Grand Theater]

Yep, Ji-hoon was pretty sure he'd be able to find her here. The main thing he initially wanted to do today was to talk with Bessie. And there she was, setting up equipment and practicing vocals with Rival. He wasn't the biggest music or singing buff, but to him, it sounded kind of eh. Though maybe the show itself would be different.

Ah yes, speaking of! "Hey Bessie? Can I talk with you for a second?" Ji-hoon made his presence known.

Bessie stopped doing what she was doing and stared at Ji-hoon. Rival didn't seem to care about his presence. "Heya heya Ji-hoon~! Sorry, it's not show time yet! Maybe if you-"

"I don't care about that right now. I just want to talk to you Bessie." He cut her off. "Alone." Ji-hoon added, promptly looking at Rival.

Without waiting for Bessie to respond to that, Rival shrugged. "Alright." He jumped down off the stage and up to Ji-hoon. "Take as long as you need." The backing vocalist told him before he left the Grand Theater.

"Rival! Be sure to stick around! We still have some practice to do~!" Bessie called out to Rival. Hard to say if he heard her. But with Rival gone, Bessie jumped off the stage and sped over to Ji-hoon. "So? What's up bestie? You need something from Bessie B.~?"

Ji-hoon sighed. "I do need something from you. First. The show. You're sure you want to go through with it?"

Bessie tilted her head. "Huh? You mean with my partner Rival? Of course I'm sure! Why wouldn't I be sure~? That's such a silly question!" She said emotionlessly.

Ji-hoon sighed again. "That's not what I meant. It's just that... well, I'll be blunt." He slowly blinked. "I'm getting afraid that someone might use your show to kill someone somehow. That's been a big thing on my mind ever since you announced it." He looked right at her. "You're sure it's safe?"

Bessie tilted her head again, but to the other side this time. "Safety? Of course I'm sure about safety~! What sort of pop star would I be if I wasn't? There's nothing dangerous at the show anyway! So no one could use my show to kill another person! That's be ridonkulous~!"

For as much as a hardass Ji-hoon could be sometimes, even he couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Ridonkulous huh?" He sighed for a third time. "I get why Ji-hye liked you..." he whispered while softly smiling.

"Huh? What did you say?" Bessie suddenly got right up on his face.

Upon realizing what he said, Ji-hoon lightly pushed her away. "Nothing." He adjusted his glasses. "Fine. I guess I won't worry about the show for now. What time are you and Rival starting the show?"

Bessie jumped up. "Good question! We'll be starting at 8:15 am tomorrow! Be there or be square~!" She winked.

Ji-hoon slightly widened his eyes. "That early huh? That's just fifteen minute after the morning announcement. You sure about having that early in the morning?"

Bessie rapidly nodded. "Yep yep~! Science shows that souls are more ready for chill beats in the morning~!"

"Huh. Alright." Ji-hoon didn't know what science she was talking about, but he decided to not question it. "Anyway... onto the next thing I wanted to ask you."

Bessie's head tilted like a tilt-a-whirl. "Something else? Sure sure~! Ask away!"

Ji-hoon sighed for a fourth time. "We can keep this one quick. Just need to ask... you wouldn't happen to know why your pre-kidnapping memories are different from everyone else's would you?"

Bessie opened her eyes wide. "Different? Hm?"

Sigh number five. "Yeah. Yours and Raiha's are different from everyone else's I've gotten to ask about so far. Any idea why?" The celebrity detective asked.

Almost instantly after the question, Bessie rapidly shook her head. "Nope! No idea!"

Ji-hoon slowly nodded. "Alright. I think I'll trust you on that." He didn't trust her on that at all. Bessie just seemed like a pain to interrogate is all. "Next..." He trailed off while thinking of the best word to word this question. Bessie just kept starting wide-eyes at him the whole time he was thinking. God it was a little creepy.

Bessie... and creepy... well, that might relate to what he wants to ask now. "Bessie. What does the name Ryuji Yamamoto mean to you?"

Bessie blinked. "Ryuji Yamamoto? He's my manager silly! Why ask about him~?"

Hm. Ji-hoon hadn't expected Bessie to be so forthright with that information. "Well... I'd like to confirm something about him. Ryuji Yamamoto is your father... isn't he?" He gave Bessie a chilling glare.

Shockingly, Bessie seemed to ever so slightly flinch at the question. "Well... technically yeah! He is! Why ask?"

"You can judge me all you want if you'd like to..." Ji-hoon looked away. "But I'd like to know if the allegations about him are true." He didn't say anything else.

But despite Ji-hoon not saying anything else, Bessie knew exactly what he was talking about. "You mean... "The Seismic Sisters?"" She asked.

"Yeah." Ji-hoon nodded. "There any truth to the allegations?" He asked again.

Bessie looked down at the ground. What... was this feeling? What was this? What was going on with her? What was she... "Yes." she said suddenly, like she wasn't in control of her own body.

"I see." Ji-hoon closed his eyes. He was surprised the manic Bessie B. Blossom could get serious at times. He told himself he'd just accept a simple answer from her and be done with it. But... "I get that he's your father... but how can you keep working for a scumbag like him?" He got right to the heart of the matter.

Bessie stared unblinkingly. "How? Bestie... if you already know about the Seismic Sisters, I think you know why!" Bessie's took on a very strange tone of voice.

"Huh. I guess I do then." Ji-hoon crossed his arms. "Because of her?"

Bessie for once slowly nodded instead of rapidly nodding.

"Hm..." Ji-hoon looked at the stage of the Grand Theater. "If I can be honest... I'm surprised you have those stage lights up. Considering... her. I suppose."

Bessie looked back at the stage lights. "I..." A strange feeling welled up inside of Bessie. "I..." she repeated herself. "I..." She said again. "I..." She kept repeating.

Ji-hoon quietly groaned. "Should I not have-"

Bessie turned around to cut off Ji-hoon's question. "Any another questions you want to ask me bestie~?" Her voice took on her usual emotionless tone.

Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes. "You..." He wanted to continue questioning Bessie about her... but he actually opted against it. He wasn't usually one to care about these sorts of things... but for some reason... hm. "Alright. Can I ask one last thing?"

Bessie rapidly nodded. "Yep~! Anything for one of my little helpers! Ask away?"

"What's your real name?" Ji-hoon got right to the point.

Bessie actually stepped back in shock. "You silly billy! What do you mean real name~?" She dodged the question.

Ji-hoon scoffed. "Listen. I know I've been asking you some personal things here. And I know I might be poking at some sensitive things for you. But can't you tell me your actual name at least? Highly doubt a name like "Bessie B. Blossom" is your birth name." He crossed his arms.

Bessie blinked, while trying to... well... it was hard to tell what exactly Bessie was attempting to do right now. "Ji-hoon! You're being a rather silly little helper right now~!" She wagged her finger at him like she was telling off a child.

Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes. He honestly hadn't expected Bessie to be this... resistant to a question like this. Was her real name that important to her? It wasn't like it was big secret or anything. Ji-hoon just wanted to ask for the sake on confirming it. He's seen some strange rumors online about her name... so he just wanted to confirm what it was. "Bessie... how about this." He turned around his question. Or, maybe I shouldn't call you Bessie. Perhaps I should call you Kioka Yamamoto then?"

Bessie bit her lip for a second, then let out a deep breath. "You sure are interested in my secrets, aren't you bestie?" She wagged her finger again. "But okay! If you must know, my real name is Kioka Yamamoto! Don't be spreading that to all of my little helpers now! And not to Rival either! A star needs her secrets~!" She struck a pose.

Weird. Bessie just admitted to it right after Ji-hoon gave his assumption of what her real name was. He wondered if... no. That's a crazy thought. "Alright. Thanks Kioka- ah. I'll stick to calling you Bessie." Ji-hoon looked away slightly guiltily. "That's all I wanted."

"Okay!" Bessie jumped up then ran to the door of the Grand Theater. She immediately opened it up. "Rival? It's time to continue our practice~!" She peeked her head out, but didn't see Rival. Bessie frowned. "He ran off? I must fetch him~!" Almost like she forgot about Ji-hoon, Bessie left to rush after her partner.

Ji-hoon just started at the now wide open door of the Grand Theater. "Bessie B. Blossom. Kioka Yamamoto. Hm..." He mused to himself as he left the Grand Theater.

It looks like Kioka- oh wait.

It looks like Bessie and Ji-hoon grew a little closer today!

[Horror Studio]

Breath in...

And out...

Breath in...

And out...

If you're wondering where Rival went, don't worry! He isn't dead! He merely wandered into the Horror Studio, where he found Rosalind still relaxing on the ground, leaning back against a tree with her eyes closed. He stared wordlessly at her.

Rosalind noticed Rival after a few moments. She turned her head over to him. "Rival? I didn't notice you *cough* there."

Rival slowly blinked when he realized he was noticed. "Oh... hey." He gave a stiff wave.

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Rosalind kept staring at him. "I can't imagine you would, but do you want to *cough* join me?" She offered.

Rival sighed. "...sure." He slowly went and sat down next to Rosalind.

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"So may I ask why *cough* you are here? Not to be rude of course." Rosalind stared out at nothing in particular.

Rival let out a deep exhale. "Nothing... I guess. Ji-hoon wanted to talk to Bessie... so he told me to leave. And now I'm here." He said plainly.

Rosalind slowly nodded. "I see. I understand why you wouldn't want to constantly be in that *cough* atmosphere."

Rival closed his eyes. "Yeah. She's been... dragging me around everywhere she goes... it's exhausting after a while."

"That's quite clear." Rosalind spoke with a bit of snark. "In fact, if I may be blunt, it has seemed like you don't enjoy her *cough* company all that much."

Rival frowned. "I..." He didn't know what exactly to think about that. He didn't hate Bessie. Not at all. She's just... a lot. And ever since he got himself roped into this show... man. "I'm not sure... I'd say that. I guess... I just need a break from her."

"I get it." Rosalind closed her eyes as well. "She seems like an exhausting *cough* personality."

Rival chuckled. "Again... not sure if I'd say that. She's just a lot sometimes."

"*cough* Right." Rosalind went silent, dropping the topic.

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"I don't want to do the show." Rival blurted out. Actually, blurted probably wasn't the right word. More like "Rival casually spoke."

Rosalind still had her eyes closed, and so did Rival, but he could tell that got her attention. "I'm sorry?" She asked.

"I... don't want to do the show." Rival repeated.

"Your *cough* show with Bessie you mean? Why not?" Rosalind assumed it was just another aspect of Bessie's intense personality as the reason, but she thought she may as well ask.

Rival sighed. "I never... even agreed to it in the first place. I was talking with Bessie a couple days ago..."

How was Rival feeling about it? Well to be frank, there was no way in hell he'd want to do that. Fuck no. Least of all in a place like this. So he had to say that. "Bessie... yeah... I'm not into the idea-"

"For real-real? Awesome~!" Whoops, Bessie stopped listening after Rival said "yeah." Skill issue Rival, should've chosen your words more carefully.

"It was like... she didn't catch the latter half of my words." Rival recounted.

Rosalind dryly chuckled at the information. "Hm. I guess that shouldn't be a *cough* surprise." She sighed. "You could've just told her "no" though." She brought up the obvious truth.

Rival groaned. "Yeah... I know. But..."

"It's her *cough* personality right?" Rosalind finished his thought.

"Basically... I guess." Rival agreed with her. "I do have trouble saying the word "no" sometimes though..."

"*cough* I can see that." Rosalind coughed. "You seemed like the selfless type to *cough* me." She offered her insight.

"Am I that... easy to read?" Rival lightly chuckled.

"*cough* No. It's just that anyone else would simply say "no" if they didn't want to do something." Rosalind's voice sounded raspy, yet a bit consoling. "So if you aren't saying *cough* no, in my mind, that shows you're a selfless person. Or perhaps, you don't hate the idea of the show. I know I'm *cough* being blunt, and I know my musings have no value, but it's what I *cough* think."

Rival didn't say anything. Was Rosalind right? Did he not hate the idea of the show? Did he... like it? Rival... didn't know. "Rosalind... how are you... like this?" He changed the subject.

"Like *cough* how exactly?" Her voice sounded a little scratchy.

"Well..." How was Rival supposed to word this without sounding rude? "You're just very... morose. No offense."

Rosalind dryly giggled. "That's how you see me is it? You're definitely not *cough* wrong. I'm morose, quiet, unpleasant, and an overall tiring person you see. So I don't take any offense."

Rival opened his eyes, then turned to her. "Why do you... have a low opinion of yourself like that?"

Rosalind still didn't open her eyes. "I brought this up with Alpha the other *cough* day... but when you work in an unpleasant industry, you become an unpleasant person. It's as simple as that I'm afraid."

Rival frowned. "Huh... okay. Can't be... all that unpleasant can it?"

Rosalind slowly shook her head. "I'm afraid it is that unpleasant. Doesn't mean I'll *cough* falter in my dream."

Rival raised his eyebrows. "You have a dream...do you?"

Rosalind let out a content sigh. "I do. I dream... of "the perfect shot." It's what I *cough* aspire for achieve someday."

"What... is a "perfect shot?"" Rival tilted his head.

"Hm... how should I describe it..." Rosalind thought for a moment. "I suppose... it's a *cough* shot that'll cement my legacy in the film industry for years and years to come. That's how I'd *cough* describe it."

Rival slowly nodded. "That's... nice." He knew his response might've sounded a little un-genuine, but it did honestly sound nice.

"So?" Rosalind continued her thought. "Do you have a dream, Rival?" She returned the question.

"No." He promptly answered before going back to staring at nothing.

Rosalind couldn't help but chuckle a little at that blunt response. "Is that so? Fair *cough* enough. I think... if things were slightly different for me, I'd hold the same *cough* view that you do Rival."

Rival slowly shook his head. "You would... would you?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I know it's foolish for a miserable woman like me to dream. So I can *cough* understand... not wanting to dream."

Rival looked at her again. "Hey. You're not... that unpleasant, you know."

Rosalind gave a thin smile. "I'm not being serious." She was more being half-serious if anything. She wasn't going to tell him that though.

"Okay... good." Rival started to absentmindedly fiddle with a blade of grass.

Silence fell upon the two once again.

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"Rival?" Rosalind broke the silence once again, her body relaxing a little. "Can you *cough* humor another question of mine?"

Rival shrugged. "Sure."

"Do you..." Rosalind trailed off for a moment. "Do you know the name Rolf Whitmann?"

Rival thought for a moment. Rolf Whitmann... "That doesn't ring a bell... so no, I don't." He sighed. "He someone special?"

Rosalind relaxed a little more. "No... if you don't know him, pay my *cough* question no mind. Perhaps I'll explain a little more another... time..."

"Alright... if you say so." Rival yawned.

Silence fell upon the two once again...

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"Hey... Rosalind?" Before Rival broke it as he turned to look at the cinematographer. "You... oh." He had something he wanted to tell her, but he stopped when he realized he could hear her softly snoring. "Well... I'll leave her alone." He whispered while getting up.

Rival was going to walk away, but he wanted to do something quickly first. He took Rosalind's sunglasses off of her head, set them nearby. Didn't want her to accidentally break them or anything. "Ugh..." He groaned. Well, time to get back to Bessie. Wouldn't be surprised if she was going on a manhunt for him after he disappeared. With one more groan, Rival left the Horror Studio, and left Rosalind all alone as she got some rest.

Yeah, Rival and Rosalind definitely grew a little closer today.

[Comedy Studio]

The Comedy Studio was currently in a dead silence. There was someone in it though, and that was Adam. After he barged out of the Horror Studio, he found himself sitting in the Comedy Studio, not doing anything in particular. Yoshino left him alone, so now he was just sitting in the quiet. He just needed... a mental break after everything that happened. He kept on thinking about why Pheme showed Asher... but his thoughts were just going in circles.

"Oh. Didn't think there'd be someone else in here." Going to his usual spot, Darren walked into the Comedy Studio.

Adam turned his head when he noticed someone else enter. "H-hey Darren." He said flatly. He did want to be alone, but he didn't have the heart to tell Darren to leave. Adam tends to avoid conflict like that.

Darren slowly walked up to the bar, and took a seat next to Adam. "You drink?" The bartender asked the underage man.

Adam narrowed his eyes. "I'm u-underage you know." He reminded him.

Darren shrugged. "I know. Doesn't mean you can't drink." He poured himself a glass of whisky. "Want some?" He offered a glass to his underage friend.

Adam frowned. "I'm okay." His expression lightened a moment later. "Thanks for a-asking though."

Darren nodded, then promptly sat back down next to him. "No problem." He took a sip of his drink. "You really don't drink?" He asked again.

Adam got a little annoyed at the question. "No? Why do y-you ask?"

Darren shrugged. "You seem like the type to drink."

"W-w-what does that mean?" Adam got a little offended.

Darren shrugged (again). "Eh... probably just imaging it." He didn't finish his thought.

"Imagining w-what?" Adam looked apprehensive.

Darren shrug number four. "You seem like the type to be... peer-pressured. I've seen plenty of people like you." He left his thought unfinished.

"Oh..." Adam realized what he meant. "W-well, strictly speaking, I haven't b-been peer-pressured before into d-drinking." He didn't deny he'd be the type to be peer-pressured though.

"Fair enough." Darren took another drink.

Just like the previous FTE, a bout of silence fell upon the two men.

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"D-Darren?" Until Adam broke it.

"Hm?" He answered, not looking at Adam while doing so.

"What you said e-earlier. "I've seen plenty of people like you." Are you presumably r-referring to your bartending?" Adam was admittedly rather curious to learn more about Darren. He's easily one of the most mysterious of their wacky group of nineteen after all.

"Yep." He answered simply. "You see a lot of people in my line of work. A lot of... variety." Darren's voice took on a strange tone with that last word.

"I see..." Adam thought for a moment. "Anything o-or anyone n-notable?" He continued the question.

"Hm." Darren had to actually think about that one for a moment. "I'm not always the type to remember every customer I serve." He gave an unsatisfying answer.

"O-oh, okay." Adam pouted a little. He asked this question for a certain reason. He knew this was a long shot... but... "W-well..." He still wanted a little more information. "Have you b-by any chance, served a-any notable scientists or doctors?"

Upon asking that, Adam could've sworn he saw the ever so slightest show of emotion on Darren's face. "Scientists or doctors..." He sighed. "You know... there was this one lady."

Adam got cautiously optimistic. "Oh? W-who was she?"

"We had a short conversation about her daughter I think." Darren was trying to recall it. "I believe her name... was Hannah? Hannah Yokomizi? Something like that." He slowly nodded.

Adam eyes widened, but he tried to stay calm. "R-really? That's f-fascinating. Did she say anything a-about... a subordinate o-of hers? Or a-anything similar?"

Darren turned to Adam with a raised eyebrow. "You know her or something?"

"U-uh..." Should he explain why he's asking? It's not like it's a secret, as eight other people already know. Adam didn't know what to do.

"You sure you don't need a drink?" Darren asked again.

"W-what? N-no!" That got Adam out of his head. "I... c-can I explain s-something to y-you Darren?"

Darren looked both emotionless yet intrigued at the same time. "I guess." He turned away and took another sip of his whisky.

"W-well... I w-want to explain what happened in the Horror Studio a little e-earlier." Adam deeply exhaled.

Ah, that's right! Darren had nearly forgotten about that announcement Pheme gave. He would've joined in, but he had a busy schedule packed with... drinking alcohol and doing nothing. Well maybe he wasn't super busy but that's not the point. "Alright". Darren gave the go ahead for Adam to explain what had happened.

And so Adam did.

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"I see..." Darren muttered. "Sounds like a lot."

Adam cast his head down. "Yes it i-is. Not even l-logically speaking b-but emotionally s-speaking it is." He sighed. "So have you h-heard the name Asher John Jr. before?"

Darren promptly shook his head. "Sorry kid. It doesn't ring a bell. Don't think Yokomizi told me about him either." He slowly took another drink.

"I-I figured..." Adam said quietly. "It was l-logical enough that I a-ask you, just in case t-though."

"Yeah." was all Darren said before the two men went silent again.

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And you know, Darren would've been okay with silence. He rather enjoys it sometimes! But after what Adam explained to him... "Adam." Darren suddenly spoke up.

Adam slowly looked up to look at him. "W-what is it?"

"You said your friend Asher was a scientist. What type of... "smarts" I guess you could say... are you the best at?" Darren asked.

Adam blinked. He hadn't expected a question like that. "W-well, to give a honest answer, m-most everything. I've never f-found a subject that'd I've had d-difficulty in." Adam slowly started to smile.

Darren nodded. "That right?" He took another sip.

"Y-yes. My m-memory is, strictly speaking, v-very good too. I r-rarely have trouble m-memorizing anything." Adam kept explaining about his academic self.

Darren nodded again. "Not bad. So you liked school?" He took another sip.

Adam started to smile even wider. "Oh yes! V-very much so for the most part! I'm always sure to keep n-neat and organized. I see m-my peers w-worry about larger assignments rather often. B-but you just need to s-split it up and tackle it in parts accordingly. The l-logic is rather simple there. And..."

Adam then proceeded to go on what one might say a "positive rant" about his school life. And Darren just kept sipping away on his whisky all the while.

"A-and I think that about covers it." Adam finished explaining, then looked at Darren. "T-that wasn't too long-winded w-was it? W-were you able to comprehend it all well enough?"

Darren nodded a few times. "I was." He set down his empty glass of whisky on the bar counter with a thud. "I know we're only one year apart in age..." He stood up. "But you're a good kid." Darren put his hand on Adam's shoulder, then promptly left the Comedy Studio, not waiting for a response from Adam.

"W-well strictly speaking, I suppose I c-could be viewed as a child in Darren's eyes..." Adam got to thinking. He started thinking enough to where his source of anxiety, his dear friend Asher, drifted out his mind for now. He felt a little more at ease.

Like he was snapped out of a trance, Adam looked around the Comedy Studio. "Hm. Sitting here m-most likely isn't the b-best use of my t-time." Speaking to no one, Adam got up, and left the Comedy Studio as well.

Strictly speaking, Adam and Darren grew a little closer today!

[Grand Lobby]

Pheme was still running away from Genjiro. She hadn't expected their little "fight" to turn into a game of cat and mouse, but she wasn't objecting! She was rather enjoying it! But alas, she was much faster than Genjiro's hulking bag of muscles he calls a body, and she was able to lose him rather quickly. Considering the first floor isn't that big or complex, that's quite the accomplishment! But as she did finally lose him, Pheme promptly ran into Joji, who was currently sitting down on a sofa in the Grand Lobby.

"Ah! Hello Mr. Kaneshiro!" Pheme waved to him.

Joji slowly turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Huh? Oh." He wasn't pleased with what he saw. "What do you want?" He clearly wasn't happy to see Pheme.

Pheme put her hand on her chest in shock. "Hm?! You sound like you aren't happy to see me Mr. Kaneshiro!"

Joji groaned. "I have a lot of reasons to not be happy to see you." He turned away, trying to keep himself calm. "Could you please go away?" He was legit trying his best to keep civil.

Pheme did the :damien_wink: emote, but as herself instead of Damien. "I suppose I could!" She thought she could hear Genjiro coming. "But don't you want to have an FTE with yours truly?"

"NO!" Joji angrily yelled out.

Pheme sighed. "Fine. I guess Pheme and Joji didn't grow a little closer today..." She said dejectedly before disappearing around the corner.

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A few seconds later, Genjiro arrived, panting a little. "Where the fuck did she-" He looked around for Pheme, but found Joji instead! "Yo Joji! You see where that bitch Phlegm went?"

Joji slowly shook his head. "She was here a few seconds ago, but she vanished. No idea where she went." He said without energy.

Genjiro noticed that. "You good man?" He wanted to still chase after Pheme to beat the shit out of her, but there's nothing wrong with a break sometimes!

Joji groaned. "Yeah. Yeah I'm good. It's just…"

"Pheme?" Genjiro finished Joji's sentence.

Joji widened his eyes and looked up at Genjiro. "Not bad. Yep. It's that bitch who has me feeling… bleh." He didn't know how else to describe how he was feeling.

Genjiro slowly shook his head. "Joji Joji Joji…" He went and sat down next to Joji. The sofa shook a bit when Genjiro sat down. "You can't let that bitch win man! You gotta stand up and fight against that bitch and shit! You know?" He encouraged him.

Joji sighed. "You're damn right." He still sounded a little metaphorically deflated. "Yo Genjiro? How do you keep up that energy all the damn time? You're ready to knock Pheme's lights out 24/7 man! That's crazy!"

"Ha ha!" Genjiro laughed confidently. "You want the real answer? It's because I don't hold back!" He jumped up off the sofa and started to flex. "When my enemy is in my sights… I beat the fuck out of them! Simple as that, baby!" He flexed again.

Joji chuckled. "That right?" He looked down. "You bring that energy with into your wrestling too?"

"Oh ho!" Genjiro pumped his fist into the air. "Fuck yeah I do! I'm the fucking "Pain Killer" after all!"

Joji looked up at him. "Is "Pain Killer" your wrestling epithet then?"

"Fuck yeah it is! Got it from my uncle Ichiro!" Genjiro stomped his foot. "Him, Riku, and Michiko all supported the hell out of me. They're fucking awesome!"

Joji furrowed his brow. "Michiko and Riku?"

Genjiro laughed. "Did I not say? They're my foster parents bro! Love em' to death man. Michiko was the one who enrolled me in wrestling classes in the first place. She's a fucking awesome woman." He smiled to himself as he thought about his foster parents. "How about you man?"

Joji's eyes widened in shock for a moment. "Huh?" He acted like he didn't hear what Genjiro said.

"Your parents man! Or guardians! Whatever the fuck took care of you! How are they?" Genjiro said jovially.

Joji looked away, not very jovially. "Eh. Didn't see dad much. And I ain't gonna talk about mom, if it's all the same to you man."

Genjiro frowned. "Aight. That's fine." Huh. Genjiro crossed his arms and thought. He didn't expect to have that in common with Joji. "Hey man. Look at me."

Joji slowly looked over to him, and saw Genjiro stanced up at the other side of a coffee table. He looked ready to arm wrestle. "Really? You want to arm wrestle?" Joji wasn't sure if he wanted to.

"Heh." Genjiro shrugged with his one available arm. "What? You scared? Think you can't beat the "Pain Killer"? You gonna run away?" He started taunting him, smirking all the while.

Joji scoffed and looked away. Yep. Genjiro could tell it worked. "Fuck it." Joji got up and went over to the table. "You want to do it? Fine. I'll beat you if you want that so badly." He got smug as he set himself up to go up against Genjiro.

"There we go! Gimme that energy Joji!" They interlocked hands, put their elbows on the table, and...

"Now!" Genjiro sent them off.

From the beginning, it was intense. Objectively speaking, Genjiro is the bigger and stronger guy of the duo. But Joji wasn't to be underestimated! Genjiro could see the concentration rising in Joji's face. He knew he had to match it. They two of them kept pushing against each other. The balance would slowly slip back and forth between the two. It was quite the spectacle.

"Hah... that all you got?" Genjiro kept taunting him.

Joji didn't say anything to in response. He was giving it his absolute all in this arm wrestling match. Joji could feel his energy rising like Sin's love for Damien. He was giving it... his all.

"Not gonna... talk?" Genjiro let out a burst of energy, slightly tipping the match in his favor.

Joji still didn't speak.

"I can see... that energy of yours rising... you know?" Genjiro kept speaking between breaths.

Joji still didn't respond.

"You afraid of your energy? You afraid... of anger?" Genjiro glared at him.

Joji widened his eyes. "What do... you know?" He spoke between breaths.

"Not fucking much..." Genjiro smirked. "It's clear... you got some baggage man. And it's clear... that anger of yours has got something to... do with it." Genjiro was slowly getting a bit more exhausted.

Joji looked away. He didn't respond again.

"C'mon man..." Genjiro's breaths were starting to get a little shaky. "Give me some of that energy... give me some of that anger... yeah?"

Joji looked down at his feet in thought, causing him to lose his focus for a second. Genjiro gained the upper hand for a moment. "Oh? You're giving up... already? Thought... you were... stronger than that?" He quickly got back to taunting him.

"I ain't..." Joji breathed out.

"Huh?" Genjiro wasn't sure what Joji was going to do here. He was curious.

"I ain't..." He looked back up at Genjiro, with a fire in his eyes. "I AIN'T TAKING THIS SHIT!" Joji's energy had burst out, his anger hitting its ceiling.

"Holy... shit...!" Genjiro loved seeing this. Joji brought the match back in his favor very quickly. Fuck. Genjiro might actually lose. He just wanted Joji to get his fire back. He didn't want to lose. Fuck it then. It's time to go all out. "Hell yeah... Joji! Let's do this shit!"

Both Genjiro and Joji were unleashing their full energy now. It was intense, sweat dripping down both of their faces. "Fuck..." one of them muttered. The balance kept shifting back and forth. "Damn..." they muttered. After a fervid couple of seconds... "FUCK!" One of them lost...

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"Fuck Joji. That was pretty good." Genjiro relaxed his sore hand. Genjiro... had lost.

"Shit..." Joji was exhausted, but he had won. "Good match... Genjiro." He still needed to catch his breath.

Genjiro chuckled. "Yeah... whatever." He crossed his arms. "You feeling better man?"

Joji slowly stood up. "You know what? A little." He sighed. "That felt good. You saw through me with my anger and shit... but... I think I like having energy. I don't want to let Pheme get to me."

"Oh ho! There you go!" Genjiro patted Joji's back. "There's my man!"

"Yeah..." Joji sighed contentedly. "I'm going to go on a jog. Don't know what it is. I want to put this energy to use! Don't wanna waste it!" Without waiting for a response, Joji just started jogging away. "Thanks man!" He yelled out before he disappeared behind the corner.

"Ha! Wait up! I gotta get my runback man!" Genjiro jogged off after Joji, completely forgetting about his quest to "beat this shit out of Pheme." Eh, he'll have time later. Not like Genjiro was going to die soon.

But anyway, these two big and strong men, AKA, Genjiro and Joji, grew a little closer today!

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Rival, who had just left the Horror Studio, checked his Star-Phone. Christ. It was already 10:55pm? How the hell does time go by so fast in here? "Ugh..." He shook his head. Tomorrow... he was going to be performing. Fully and seriously performing. God what did he get himself into with Bessie? His mind kept on going back and forth between hating the idea and liking the idea. His talk with Rosalind helped clear his head a little in regard to the issue... but he still felt... lost.

But at this point? It'd be too late to back down. Bessie had told everybody about the time for the show. 8:15 am tomorrow. Rival didn't exactly like that it was so early, but he could deal with it. They both have practiced enough, and Bessie has the technical stuff down with the remote that Pheme gave her. Pheme would help out if need be as well. Yeah. He felt like this might go okay. He didn't know why he felt like that... but he did.

"Hey! There you are Rival~!" Who else could it be but Bessie? Like she suddenly phased into existence, Bessie suddenly appeared in front of Rival. "I've been trying to find you Rival! So? Are you ready~? Are you excited~?"

Rival could tell the she was referring to their show. Well, like he thought earlier, it was way too late for him to back out now. "Yeah... I'm super excited." He answered. Not truthfully, but not necessarily lying either.

"Very good! Very good!" Bessie rapidly nodded her head. "I'm excited too!" She shot her hands up into the air. "Mainly..." She got right up in Rival's face. "I'm excited to work with a special guy like you Rival~!"

Huh. Normally, Rival would get a little weirded out by Bessie's strange antics. But that last sentence... Rival felt like that was the first time he's heard genuine sincerity come from Bessie. It's not that she hasn't been sincere with her words before. It's just that... there was something a little different with her tone in her last sentence. Hm...

All of a sudden, "Attention my glamorous stars! It is now 11pm, and that means it's night time! It's time to go to bed, and get a good night of beauty sleep! Sleep well my stars!" Pheme's nighttime announcement.

Bessie looked up at the monitor in wonder. "Hm... guess that's it then!" She turned back to Rival. "Alright bestie!" She took Rival's hand. "Tomorrow, we're gonna do your best! Yeah~?" She awaited an answer.

Rival internally sighed. "Yeah."

"Good! I'll see you tomorrow!" With a strange wave, Bessie ran off to her room. Rival could see her making quick conversation with Aurora and Raiha, among others.

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Well, he better get to bed too. Rival started to walk to the VIP Quarters, but he got stopped by someone bumping into his shoulder from behind.

"Oh! Hey! My bad!" Kei made his presence known as the shoulder-bumper.

"You're fine." Rival waved him off.

"Alright." Kei shrugged. "Hey. I'm excited for the show." He winked before heading off.

Huh. What a weird guy. Rival shrugged, before heading off to bed himself. Nothing strange or significant happened on his way up to his room. So... Rival lied down in his bed... with a surprising peace in his mind...

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But little did he know...

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How quickly that peace was going to break... come morning.

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[Kei's Room]

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Morning came faster than Kei would've thought. He sat up in his bed and stretched. He hadn't even heard Pheme's morning announcement yet. He lazily stretched over to his nightstand to check his Star-Phone. 7:35 am. He wasn't really the biggest morning person... but you know what? Screw it. He decided to get dressed for the day. It wasn't like he was a fan of Bessie or Rival's music, but eh. He still wanted to see the show! Raise his spirits up or something!

After he got dressed, he left his room, and headed straight to the Grand Theater.

[Grand Theater]

Like the narration just said, Kei went to the Grand Theater, even neglecting breakfast. He checked his Star-Phone when he got there. 7:45 am.

And also when he got there, he found Lake, Kuroko, and one half of the performers, Rival, all already there. Lake was the first one to notice Kei's presence. "Hello Kei! Good morning!" They kindly greeted him.

"Oh! Hai Kei-nya! Good morning-nya!" Kuroko greeted him as well.

Rival gave him a simple nod as a greeting.

"Good morning everyone." Kei gave as a collective greeting to the three. "We're the only ones here so far I see."

Lake nodded. "Yep! We are a bit early I suppose."

"I guess we are-nya!" Kuroko giggled-nya.

Rival shrugged from up on the stage. "Doesn't... matter to me. Get here... as early as you want."

Kei smirked. "That works for me." He took a seat in the back. "Hey Rival? Bessie isn't here yet?"

Rival slowly shook his head. "Nope. Guess... I didn't know if she'd be early or not. Whatever." He didn't seem bothered by it.

Well Kei was a little bothered by it! Bessie seemed like the type to be too punctual if anything. He looked at Lake and Kuroko. Both of them didn't seem to be bothered by it either. Hm... was he overthinking it? Maybe... eh. Kei internally shrugged. He'll just wait it out for now.

And so, the four shared some small talk with each other for a few more minutes... until... Rival looked at his Star-Phone. 7:49 am. Again, he didn't know how Bessie works with schedules. So maybe she'll show up right as it starts? Hm... ugh. Now his mind was going to places he wished it wouldn't. He quickly shook his head. He needs to stop it. Yeah. Just think about... something else. He tried to think of another person... and...

Oh wait. Rosalind was the first person that came to mine. Jeez, he really hoped she didn't spend the entire night sleeping in the Horror Studio. He didn't know how strict Pheme was with the rules, mainly rule three, but god he hoped she was okay.

And now...

Rival's mind kept going back and forth, thinking about various things to make the time go by faster. Lake, Kuroko, and Kei kept to sharing some small talk. And then...

7:50 am.

All of a sudden, Kei got on guard. He sensed something strange.

Lake looked at him with concern. "Kei? Is something-?" Lake didn't get to finish her sentence.

Kei suddenly jumped up from out of his seat like he heard something. He looked up, and then back at Rival. "Rival! Move! Now!" He sounded completely serious for once.

"Huh?" Rival promptly looked up.

It was like slow motion. That agonizing slow motion... of seeing a spotlight falling... and it was falling directly... onto... Rival...

"Rival! No!" Lake screamed.

"Move-nya!" Kuroko screamed too.

But it was like... slow... motion...

Rival could only stare up in horror as...

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darkness suddenly fell around the four.

"What? What the hell?"

"Hey! Who turned out the lights-nya?"

"Hello? Is everyone okay?"

Right as the spotlight was about to fall upon Rival's head, the lights in the Grand Theater suddenly shut off. Or... no. It's probably more accurate to say it was a blackout. None of them could see the stage.

Lake tried to feel their way up to the stage. "Rival? Are you okay?"

"Rival-nya? Say something-nya! I'm worried-nya!" Kuroko was trying to stay calm.

It wasn't like Kei could see in the dark. But he just quietly stood in place for now. Until...

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*CRASH*

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the lights came back on.

"Oh! The lights are back on! Thank goodness!" Lake looked up, then they looked at the stage. "Rival? Are you-" Lake didn't finish their sentence. They couldn't finish their sentence... as they were forced to look upon a shocking sight...

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the shocking sight... of all four spotlights, having crashed onto the stage. And...

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"Ugh..." Rival slowly standing up from behind one. "What... the hell was that?" He was understandably a little ticked off.

"Rival! You're okay!" Lake ran up onto the stage and hugged him. "That all happened so fast... I thought..." They struggled to hold back tears.

Rival returned the hug awkwardly. "Hey... I'm fine. Don't worry." He tried to reassure the ballet dancer.

"That's good-nya! We thought something bad might've happened to you in the darkness-nya!" Kuroko gave a relieved smile.

"Yeah..." Rival broke away from Lake's hug to look at the spotlights. "What the hell... how did that even...?" Rival slowly turned his head to look at Kei. Not out of suspicion, but out of curiosity. "Kei? What's up?"

Kei didn't respond at first. After a second... "Where is everyone...?" He looked around the Grand Theater. "I'm starting to get worried. Someone else should've shown up by now." He started to pace around a little. "I could always..." Kei muttered to himself before looking at the other three. They weren't paying attention. Good.

Seeing his chance, Kei opened up his Map (T) app, to see the locations of people. After a couple of seconds, it loaded. "Hm..." He started to whisper to himself. "Some people there... two in there... one person in there... one person in... oh. Oh no." Kei quickly pocketed his Star-Phone, then looked at the other three. "Hey! You three stay here!" He suddenly yelled out before running out the door.

[Grand Lobby]

Shit. He knew he got a bad feeling from the map. After exiting the Grand Theater, he immediately smelled smoke. He could already feel it messing with his airways, but now wasn't the time to complain. Quickly searching for the source of the smoke, he found it coming from...

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The boarded-up room. Not only that... "Genjiro?! Joji?!" Kei ran up to the two men.

Genjiro and Joji were currently trying to break down the door to the boarded-up room, just with their raw strength. The boards that originally covered up the outside of the room were taken off, and thrown on the ground next to it.

"Kei! Help us out!" Joji yelled out. "This damn door... won't open!" Even after the boards were taken off, the door still apparently refused to open.

"Get the fuck over here Kei! We need all the help we can get!" Genjiro ordered him over. Smoke was pouring out through the cracks of the door. It was getting harder for Kei to breathe. But he didn't need to be told twice. He knew he wouldn't be much help, but he joined with the two stronger men anyway.

"Stupid fucking...!"

*SLAM*

"Bitch ass door...!

*SLAM*

"Open already...!"

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

The combined strength of the three men slowly got the door to shake. Until... one... final...

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*SLAM*

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The door burst off its hinges. Kei immediately needed to catch his breath. But Joji... "Hey! Is anyone in here?!" He ran right into the fire!

"Joji you fucking idiot what are you doing?!" And Genjiro chased after him.

Kei had only a few seconds to think about what to do here. Breathing was becoming a chore... and he had a really bad feeling about what he might find in there... but almost like his body wasn't his own...

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He ran in as well...

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[Boarded-Up Room]

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Smoke. Flames. That all that my vision could see. Rubble was slowly falling from the ceiling, searing my already partially ripped suit in the process. What the hell was happening? How did a fire-? "Gah!" I screamed. "Joji? Genjiro?" I weakly called out for the other two.

It took only a few seconds to get a response...

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"What..." That sounded like Joji! "What... WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"SHIT!" And that was Genjiro!

I followed the sounds of their panicked voices. And when I was able to finally see their silhouettes among the flames... I also saw...

It.

I wanted to look away. I screamed at my mind to look away. I screamed at my brain to look away. But it didn't. I could only stand there frozen in awe and what I saw. "Damn it..." I muttered. Never again... I never wanted to see another one again... but here we are.

It was motionless on the ground. Their once nice and vibrant clothes were now nothing more than tatters, barely covering their blackened and charred skin. It was barely recognizable as a human anymore. It was a horrible sight.

But...

that it once had a name. Yes. A name I knew. How could I not?

The name... of the lifeless body lying in front of me... and the name of the first to fall in this killing game... it could only be...

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Bessie B. Blossom, the Ultimate Pop Star.

Wow! Here we are! The first body, and it's none other than Bessie! Oh my goodness!

I'll start this off with a big thank you to CandleFire45 for giving me Bessie! Or maybe I should I say congratulations? Congrats! Your wish came true! Bessie died first!

But in all seriousness, thank you so much Candle! I fell in love with Bessie and her character from the moment I started reading her form, and I hope I did her justice! I was a little shaky on writing her at first, but when I got her down, she was a super fun character! But she's dead now! D: Man, who decided to kill her off so early? Oh wait! I did!

Small fun fact: I immediately knew I wanted Bessie to be the Chapter 1 Victim. She was the death I was easily the most sure on. She never changed on the death order at all. Crazy right?

But speaking of death... who killed her? Who could it be? And theories? I'd love to hear them!

Anyway, I think that's it! Let me say thank you to Candle one more time, and I hope you all look forward to the investigation and the trial!

Glamorous Stars Remaining: 18

Adam Brooks - Ultimate Academic [PROJECT DRAMA]

Aelia Celani - Ultimate Puppeteer [theycallmewotch]

Alpha - Ultimate Gas Station Manager [Epifanio Therion]

Aurora Beaufort - Ultimate Starlet [WolfieRed23]

Ayaka Naganohara - Ultimate Violinist [Sempi]

Catherine Munchkin - Ultimate Cat Burglar [Nekoja]

Damien Lux - Ultimate Beautician [oddlyillregular]

Darren Taylor - Ultimate Bartender [Otterplay]

Genjiro Mashimoto - Ultimate Wrestler [Grandma Sue]

Ji-hoon Jo - Ultimate Celebrity Detective [TheRoseShadow21]

Joji Kaneshiro - Ultimate Carpenter [SureJahn]

Kei Aikawa - Ultimate Lawyer [theotakureader101]

Kuroko Kurobara - Ultimate Hypnotist [MrUtenaHolic]

Lake Beaumont - Ultimate Ballet Dancer [KadachiNova]

Raiha Miyahara - Ultimate Trendsetter [Prince PokePersona]

Rival Seizon - Ultimate Backing Vocalist [SinWriter7]

Rosalind Reinhardt - Ultimate Cinematographer [Orlando Butler]

Yoshino Akiyama - Ultimate Horror Novelist [DeathlyJazzHands55]