Danganronpa: Obscurity’s Disgrace (SYOC) Chapter 21: Toxic Words, Venomous Actions (Part 4), a dangan ronpa kibou no gakuen to zetsubou no koukousei fanfic

Chapter 2: Toxic Words, Venomous Actions (Part 4)

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]

"Ah ha! I got it! I know who I want our fourteenth person to be!" For this flashback, Pheme wasted absolutely no time in getting to the interesting part.

"Miss Pheme? Really?" The Figure was shocked by her sudden outburst. He personally enjoyed having little bits of fluff before the the actual flashback. "What has you so certain Miss Pheme?" He was really curious to see what caught her attention.

Pheme giggled. "Forgive me, that was rather sudden. But look!" She handed him the document.

"Interesting... ah. Rosalind Reinhardt? The Ultimate Cinematographer. Hm..." The Figure started to think it over.

"Oh! Oh! Read this part!" Pheme pointed to a certain part of the document.

"What part- oh. I see." The Figure realized why Pheme was confident in this girl now. And now he was really intrigued by this Rosalind Reinhardt. "Well well... she could be very interesting." He pulled up one of the videos The Contact provided for them. "I'm very curious to see more of this girl."

"Right? I am too!" Pheme, excited as always, settled in as she prepared to witness Rosalind's video...

...

[Hart House Pictures]

"So Roz? What do you think?" Rolf Whitmann, a cinematographer working for Hart House Pictures, was currently showing a young Rosalind Reinhardt around his workplace.

"Wow... it's so cool!" The young Rosalind couldn't help but be enraptured by everything her eyes saw.

Ever since she was born, Rosalind was going to be involved in the cinema scene, basically whether she liked it or not. With her father being a producer and her mother an actress and all.

"Thank you so much for showing me around Mr. Whitmann!" Rosalind bowed and thanked the cinematographer.

"No thanks are necessary! It's my pleasure! Ha ha!" Rolf laugued heartily. "But wow, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, but I didn't expect you to be so eager to learn!"

Rosalind giggled. "I guess I am! Dad is always in a meeting... and mom is always acting. But despite how busy they are, I'm grateful they gave me the chance to study here!"

"Oh ho! That's for sure!" Rolf started to look around. "Your mom should be somewhere around here... she's the lead actress for the movie after all!"

"There's no need to bother her Mr. Whitmann! Let her do her work!" Rosalind frowned as she firmly wagged her finger.

"Right. You're right!" Rolf couldn't help but smile, seeing this cute kid wagging her finger like she's in charge. "Anyway Roz... tell me what you think about the movie. What do you think about "Spellcaster"?" He referred to the movie they were currently filming.

"Hm... well! I think it's pretty good!" Rosalind put her hands on her hips. "But... can I make a suggestion?"

Rolf widened his eyes. "A... suggestion? Seriously?" He had just gone over pretty much his entire job and role with the curious girl. He didn't see a reason to not humor her. Even if he didn't want to, you could technically call Rosalind a "nepo baby," as she had very high and mighty parents in the cinema industry. So it was foolish to not humor her.

But it's just... already? "Well... shoot! Whatcha got?" Rolf's interest was peaked. He wanted to see what the young Rosalind would say.

"Okay!" Rosalind was unsure if she'd be humored or not, so she was happy to hear that Rolf would hear her out. "So... it's about this shot. You haven't shot it yet right?" She wanted to confirm.

"Yep. That's right!" Rolf confirmed for her. "Why? What're you thinking?"

"So it's about the f-stop here." Rosalind pointed to a page with their filming plans. "In my opinion, the ratio of the f-stop needs to be adjusted. Even if it's adjusted only a little, it should make the shot more pleasing to the eye."

"I see... and how so?" Rolf wanted her to explain more.

"Well..." Rosalind was starting to get a little nervous, but she took a quick deep breath. "I think the ratio needs to be adjusted like this." She drew out an example. "And I wonder if undercranking the camera would do well? The lowered frame rate would fit the scene."

"And why do you say that?" Rolf was getting surprisingly enthralled in what Rosalind was saying.

"The scene is near the climax of the movie right? I think to really emphasize that moment... we should undercrank the camera. And maybe adjust... well hold on." Rosalind moved over to the main camera Rolf operated. "May I?"

"Sure! Go for it!" Rolf had no problems with that. He showed her the ins and outs of it earlier anyway.

"Okay then!" Rosalind started to operate the camera, despite only being eight. There weren't many people around, considering they were on break. So now was the perfect time to practice! "So... like this." She started to demonstrate the shot idea she had in mine. "It obviously can't hit as hard due to the actors not being here but..." She executed her idea.

Rolf was able to fill in the blanks of the actors in his mind. Huh... he saw the vision. He saw where she was going with this. "I see what you mean. Undercranking the camera is... interesting. But it might work."

"Really?" Rosalind's eyes lit up.

"Yes... let me see something." Rolf walked over to a nearby office. Rosalind could still hear his muffled voice.

"Hey Dieter! Question for you!" Rolf waltzed in with a smile.

"What is it Rolf? I'm busy here." Dieter Ector, the director for the movie, was currently on break. So no, he wasn't busy.

"It'll be quick!" Rolf reassured him. "So hey... I got this girl Roz. She gave some ideas for a shot in Spellcaster... I was wondering if we could give her the chance to shoot her own shot in the movie?" He asked boldly.

"...What? Who the hell is Roz? I'm not letting some random girl work on my set." To Dieter, that was one of the stupidest things he's ever heard.

Rolf chuckled. "Random girl? Clara and Bastian Reinhardt's daughter? Not sure I'd say that! Ha ha!"

Dieter's eyes widened. "Wait... Clara and Bastian? Their daughter? But I thought they- wait." He realized who exactly Rolf was talking about. "You aren't talking about Rosalind are you?"

"I am! She's right outside! Have you met her yet?" Judging by Dieter's expression, Rolf was confident this was going to work.

"You buffoon! Why... why didn't you say that earlier?!" Dieter shot up out of his seat. "Where is she?" He darted out of his office.

"Right over here!" Rolf led him to her.

"Hi! I'm Rosalind Reinhardt! You're... Mr. Ector right?" Rosalind gave a toothy smile.

Ah geez... normally Dieter wouldn't let a young and clueless girl anywhere near his set... but considering who her parents were, he didn't really have a choice here. "Heya Roz!" He started to act overly cheery. "Rolf tells me you have a scene idea. Tell me what you have!"

"Oh! Okay!" Rosalind didn't think she'd be explaining her idea to the director... but here goes! She braced herself and explained.

...

"Huh..." Dieter wasn't sure what to expect from Rosalind... but he wasn't expecting that. He wasn't expecting something that sounded like a good idea! "I see the vision Roz. I do." Dieter crossed his arms. "Tell you what. When we resume filming... I'll let you film the shot. It'll be all you! What do you say Roz?" He bent down to her height.

Rosalind gasped. "Really? Thank you thank you thank you!" She jumped up and down excitedly. "I promise I won't let you down! I'll show you what I can do!"

...

"And let us down is something that Ms. Rosalind Reinhardt has not done, rest assured! From "Roulette," to "Prisoner's Dilemma," to "Red Water," Ms. Reinhardt is a young girl with a natural talent for cinematography! Considering her parents, her talent only makes sense! They're a-"

A now 17-year old Rosalind sat on her couch, being currently on a break. She didn't enjoy taking breaks, but considering recent events, she had no choice but to take a break. But she needed to keep working. She needed to obtain that "Perfect Shot." And sitting here lifelessly on the couch isn't going to help that goal.

So, she took her parasol and shakily stood up. "I wonder where *cough* mom and dad are..." She muttered to herself. In all her years, both of her parents' schedules never really changed. Dad was always busy in a meeting, and mom was always filming a new movie. At the very least, considering her job as cinematographer for Hart House Pictures, that did mean she was able to work with her mother a lot. She had fond memories of the sleepless nights her and her mother would have after working on a movie for arguably too long.

"Hm..." Rosalind hummed to herself. She was getting bored here... there was nothing to do! But she was a little thirsty. So she hobbled over to the kitchen to make a quick cup of coffee. "Let's see... how do I *cough* do it again?" She kept talking to herself. "Ah. You do *cough* this and- oh!" She accidentally lost her grip on her parasol. She hung onto the kitchen counter for support. Damn it. She had to slowly...

She suddenly heard a knock on her door. "Excuse me? Is Ms. Rosalind Reinhardt here? I have a message for her!"

Really? Of all the times! Rosalind quietly groaned. "Give me a *cough* *cough* minute please!" Her scratchy voice called out. She slowly and painstakingly bent down to grab her dropped parasol, keeping one hand on the counter at the same time. After a minute of two, she managed to grab her parasol and get her balance back. After that, she hobbled over to the door and opened it. "I'm sorry about the *cough* wait. I am Rosalind Reinhardt. You are?"

"No worries! I didn't mind the wait!" The man handed Rosalind his business card. "I'm a talent scout with Hope's Peak Academy." He sighed. "Considering everything that recently afflicted you... I'll keep this simple. I'd like to invite you to join Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Cinematographer." He asked respectfully.

"You... *cough* what?" Rosalind didn't expect to hear that.

"You're entitled to say no of course. But we've had our eye on you for a while now. You have a great talent, and we'd love to have you. What do you say?" The talent scout patiently waited for her answer.

Rosalind... had to think about that offer. Going to Hope's Peak Academy is basically a one-way ticket to fame. But... she didn't care about fame. It's fake. It's boring. It's tired. But what she did care about... was her work. If her work could persist... if she could leave an impact... if her "Perfect Shot" could be realized...

"I *cough* accept your offer." Rosalind shook his hand.

...

[Pheme's Room]

"How interesting! What an interesting girl!" Pheme smiled from beneath her mask. "Again... I don't believe we need any fluff here. She'd be perfect... wouldn't she?"

The Figure stayed silent as they thought about it. But they didn't need to think for long. "Honestly... yes. Rosalind Reinhardt shall be the fourteenth person to be a part of your Killing Game. Frankly, she's perfect." If anything, he was surprised be didn't find anyone like this before.

"Yes! She'll be so much fun!" Pheme jumped up out of her seat. "I mean... a girl who spits on fame and what it stands for? What greater offence is there? Just for that she doesn't deserve to be alive!" She said her usual thing.

"Indeed Miss Pheme. Indeed." The Figure chuckled along with Pheme's antics. "She'll add a certain... something to our cast. And I'm very curious to see how that "something" plays out..."

...

[Grand Theater]

"This is... an interesting *cough* motive." Rosalind silently watched her fellow sixteen stars squabble up on the stage from the audience. As she sat in her seat... she couldn't help but be the littlest bit grateful. Grateful she didn't have to deal with this. So for now, she chose to just watch.

"This is so bullshit!" Despite what the new temporary rule established, Genjiro was still trying to break the handcuffs that now connected him to Alpha. "Fuck... this!" He was trying all sorts of ways to break them, from tearing them off, to slamming them down, everything. But nothing worked. Damn strong handcuffs.

"Just shut the fuck up already Genjiro! Jesus christ!" Alpha on the other hand, wasn't actually doing anything to break them off. Lord knows she does want these off, but she's not stupid enough to actually break them off. "Even if you break those, you're getting both of us killed dumbass!"

"Grrr... fuck! God damn it!" With one final failed pull, Genjiro stopped.

"You done man? You don't seem well." Kei smirked.

"Kei, let's not rile him up please." Ji-hoon sighed. Kei was far from the worst person to be paired up with, but this was still obviously far from ideal. But he turned his attention away from Genjiro and to the rest of the group. "Everyone... I know you are all probably annoyed with this-"

"Nya.. haha! Don't... even!" Cathy stayed smug as she tried to slip out of the handcuffs that connected her to Kuroko. She was actually tiring herself out a fair bit doing this, and started to pant between her words. "Goddess... this isn't... funny!"

Kuroko heaved a miserable sigh as she watched Cathy try to break away from her. "Usually I'd be fine being trapped with a cute girl... but I'm trapped with Cathy instead-nya. She's cute... but also extremely annoying-nya." The hypnotist sounded really bummed.

"I'm not exactly eager to be trapped with you either!" Cathy held back a snarl. It was strange seeing the cat girls like this. The happy one was sad, and the smug one was angry!

"Ah yes! Before I forget! Ms. Munchkin!" Pheme chimed in with a snap. "Check your Star-Phone please!"

"Ugh..." Cathy groaned as she took out her Star-Phone with her free hand.

One or more rules have been updated!

(Temporary Rule): For the duration of the second motive, the handcuffs cannot be broken (or escaped from). If a pair breaks (or escapes) from their handcuffs, both will receive punishment from Pheme.

"Sorry Ms. Munchkin! I don't make the rules!" Pheme shrugged. "Oh wait... I do make the rules!" She giggled at the sight of the distraught cat burglar.

"Hmph." Cathy stopped her escape attempts and huffed. "So be it. Goddess... I don't think I like you."

"...You just now decided you don't... like her?" Rival was confused by that statement, but he should know better than to question Cathy.

"..." Ayaka meanwhile, wasn't saying anything. Just darting her eyes around the room while looking away from Rival. In the end, she was glad she chose Rival for this. But it didn't mean her paranoia wasn't at an all-time high here. She had no idea what to do.

And Rival... was fine enough with this. There was the whole fact that they were both the opposite sex of each other, but still. Ayaka wasn't the worst person to be trapped to. Her being paranoid also means she'll be quiet at least. So that's something.

But unlike some of the other pairings, certain pairings had more silver linings to find. "YK... this does suck. Like majorly. But if I'm gonna be chained to anyone, I'm glad it's Aurora!" Raiha tried to look on the bright side here. If anything, they were probably the luckiest pairing here. Excluding Rosalind of course.

"Yes... this will likely become disruptive of the daily life, but I'm happy enough with this outcome." Aurora also tried to stay positive. She was glad she chose the way she did. The ones who chose with the mindset of something bad happening to one they chose... they were fairly unlucky. Aurora wasn't a hateful or vindictive person, but she was glad she wasn't them right now.

Speaking of being unlucky, Damien had a slight frown on his face. If he knew this would be happening, he would've chosen his dear Ayaka of course, so she could at least feel comfortable with this motive. But now...

"You need something?" Darren acted like nothing was wrong. "A drink?" He pulled a drink from his personal void and offered it to Damien.

"No... thank you." Damien kindly rejected it. He wasn't a heavy drinker anyway. He had no clue how Darren could act so casually, but he had no choice but to deal with the hand he dealt himself. All while others had ever so slighly better hands.

"Are you... alright Lake?" Joji asked the ballet dancer handcuffed to him. His initial rage has definitely calmed down now. But now... he didn't really know how to react. But he saw that his handcuffed partner was being silent, so he wanted to make sure they were alright.

Lake shook their head like they were getting out of a trance. "Huh? Sorry... Joji. I... just don't know how to feel about all of this." They nervously chuckled. Like the last motive, this was a massive loss of privacy for everyone. But unlike the last motive, you now have someone watching you all the time. Lake wasn't really paranoid, and they didn't have any real secrets to hide. But it still was a lot to take in.

"Right... I don't blame you." Overall, Joji was glad he was stuck with Lake. Like with Aurora, he felt like he lucked out here. Lake had a calming aura... but that didn't mean that this whole mess still wasn't awkward as all hell.

"..." Speaking of awkward, Adam sure as hell didn't know how to react to this. He was handcuffed to Yoshino. It wasn't like he had any feelings for her... but with her being the opposite sex...

"Yo Ade? Are you alright?" Yoshino asked.

"U-Um! Y-Yes... I'm fine." Just like with Lake, Adam... didn't know how to process this. It was... a lot.

"Good! That's good!" Yoshino's instinct was to pat the academic on the back, but that was fairly difficult like this. For her... she was glad she got paired with Adam. She obviously would've preferred to be handcuffed to a girl, but Adam was easily the least harmful guy here. So she couldn't complain.

"So...?" Pheme struggled to contain her laughter. "What do you all think? How do you like the second motive?"

"Don't fucking even bitch." Alpha rolled her eyes. "You sure as hell know none of us like this shit. You really get off to this don't you?" She groaned.

"I think it's pretty evident how twisted in the head our glorious overseer here is." Similar to Darren, Kei was probably taking this motive the best out of everyone, as he just had his signature smirk on his face.

"Aw... that's so kind of you Mr. Aikawa! That's why you're my favorite!" Pheme loved to remind everyone of that fact.

"A-Are you ever going t-to say why Kei is your favorite o-out of all of us?" Adam couldn't help but be curious about that.

Kei chuckled as he heard that. "What? You jealous?"

Adam gave the lawyer a confused look. "N-No...? Logically s-speaking, how could I ever be j-jealous of that?"

"Hm... I think you should be jealous of that Mr. Brooks!" Pheme nodded and put her hands on her hips. "But to answer your question... I don't know!"

"Of course..." Ji-hoon rolled his eyes.

"So... you do play favorites?" Lake was still curious about this.

"Oh my god! Who gives a shit about which one of us Pheme wants to fuck?" Alpha punched Genjiro in the chest.

"Oi! The fuck was that for?" That punch actually hurt Genjiro a little. He knew Joji had some muscle to him, but he probably should consider Alpha's muscles too.

"Stress relief!" Alpha punched his chest again.

Cathy giggled watching the brutes in the group interact. "You know... that's not a bad idea!"

"Huh? What's not a bad idea-nya?" Kuroko didn't expect her unwilling partner to say something.

"Oh nothing... just this!" Cathy pulled out a pendulum she stole from Kuroko.

"Wait wha-?" Kuroko checked all of her pockets. "Hey! Give that back-nya!" She really started to dread the future with being handcuffed to Cathy.

"Oh boy..." Yoshino sighed and shook her head. Most of these pairs could probably deal with each other for long enough. But it's the Cathy-Kuroko and the Genjiro-Alpha pairs that're going to be the problems. Especially because these handcuffs aren't coming off until someone dies... wait. Hold on.

"Excuse *cough* me... Pheme?" Almost as if Rosalind read Yoshino's mind, she suddenly asked Pheme a question. Watching the pairs squabbling caused her to think of something.

"Oh? What is it Ms. Reinhardt? A question? I'm happy to answer!" It was always a gamble on if Pheme would actually answer their questions, but they may as well try.

"It is indeed a *cough* question." Rosalind readjusted herself in her seat. "The way the motive comes off... it's a little confusing."

"Hm? Confusing in what way?" Pheme tilted her head.

"Well... I'll give an example." Rosalind shakily stood up, prepared to make her example. "Let's say... Damien manages to *cough* kill Alpha."

"Me? Kill my dear Alpha? I couldn't possibly..." Damien held up his hand and shook his head.

"Nah, you toy with your fucking prey before you fuck them up. I know people like you too well." Alpha didn't even glance at the beautician as she shook her head.

"Anyway..." Rosalind got back to her example. "Say that my example did *cough* happen. Then there would be two witnesses to the crime. Darren and Genjiro. That... would make for a boring *cough* Studio Trial... no?" She tried to use Pheme's logic here.

"And more on that..." Rosalind still had more to say. "Say that... Alpha killed *cough* Genjiro."

Genjiro scoffed. "Ha! Like she could ever-"

"Let Rosa finish dumbass!" Yoshino yelled at the wrestler before he could finish his thought.

Rosalind waited a moment before continuing. "Again, say that my example *cough* happened. It'd be all too obvious who the killer was in that case. Again... that'd be boring... no?"

...

"Huh. Rosalind brings up a valid point." Ji-hoon hadn't thought about that yet. "She's right Pheme. It would make for a boring Studio Trial. Doesn't feel like something you'd want does it?"

Kei agreed with his partner. "Yep. And if this is connected to the past Killing Games-"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Pheme shook her head. "My glamorous stars... you truly think that low of me?"

"I mean... yeah. We do." Rival shrugged. What, did Pheme think some of them thought highly of her?

"Hm... well I wasn't asking you Mr. Seizon! Hmph!" Pheme for some reason seemed offended by that.

"...Okay." Rival didn't know how to respond to that.

"Alright, enough with the high and low shit!" Joji was getting a little impatient here. "So is there more to this or not? Explain already!" He did his best to control his tone, to avoid scaring Lake.

"Yes yes... I will explain Mr. Kaneshiro!" With a snap of Pheme's fingers, a spotlight shone down on her, and she started to pace around on stage.

"Geez! Damn flashbang...!" Yoshino attempted to hide her eyes from the sudden bright light, but to little avail.

"Ah ah ah Ms. Akiyama!" Pheme wagged her finger. "You'll deal with it whether you like it or not! Anyway..." She didn't wait for a response as she continued to explain. "So... let me start by referencing something Mr. Aikawa said a minute or two before. He said, and I quote, "Yep. And if this is connected to the past Killing Games-". That was his statement." Pheme erased the need for a flashback to his statement, instead just saying it herself.

"Hm... yeah. That sounds right." Kei nodded in agreement.

"Now... about those past Killing Games. Something has always bothered me about those!" Pheme emphasized her statement with a clack of her heels. "Frankly, those were ran by unoriginal hacks who didn't have a single idea of what they were doing. Utter shams!" She threw shade at whoever the hell she was referring to. "But I, the Goddess of Fame, am one for... innovative ideas! I am quite innovative in general after after all!"

"I feel like I should sit back down for *cough* this..." Rosalind quietly sat back down in her chair in the audience.

"Yep... better get comfortable-nya!" Kuroko had a feeling this was going to be long winded. It wasn't like she could be comfortable, considering she was chained to Cathy, but she'd try her best.

"Calling those people shams is bold... but true." The readers didn't know who/what Pheme was referring to, but Aurora and everyone else sure did. "So...? How innovative are you then?" The starlet gave Pheme the chance to continue.

"Yes... for this motive... I will be innovative for one certain thing." Pheme gave everyone an expectant look. "Does anyone have a guess for what it is? The motive itself is a massive hint!" She edged the stars in the right direction.

"I... don't know?" Lake had no clue what the goddess was referring to. "Is this a guessing game now? What's the hint?"

Pheme shook head in disappointment. "Mx. Beaumont! It'd be no fun if I just told you everything! We have to keep it fun for-" She stopped for a second. "We have to keep it fun for all of you! Besides, what's a Killing Game without a little bit of fun?"

Everyone noticed that small pause Pheme made, but no one knew what to make of it.

"Pheme non-bestie... none of this has been fun!" Raiha frowned, then SMHed her head.

"Yeah, the fuck is this stalling shit? Just tell us!" Genjiro punched Alpha's arm.

"Hey! Fuck was that for?!" Alpha counterattacked with another stress relieving punch to the wrestler's chest.

"Stress relief! Ha ha!" Genjiro laughed jovially as he resued his partner's reasoning.

"H-How about we... humor her?" By now, Adam was also getting sick of the stalling, but he was also smart enough to know not to just go against whatever Pheme.

"Shut the fuck up! Be quiet!" Genjiro and Alpha said in unison to the nerd. "Hey! Don't copy me bitch!" They kept copying each other.

"Ugh..." Ji-hoon was in the mood for some stress relief now. Unfortunate he had nothing to punch. But if they were going to play along with Pheme... he had to think. Something that's innovative compared to previous Killing Games? So... perhaps something that hasn't been done before? That's still a long and vague list... but if it connects to being handcuffed to someone... ah. He got it. This motive is about...

...

"Accomplices." Keeping with the trend of talking in unison, now it was Darren and Rosalind who spoke at the same time, both of them stealing Ji-hoon's thunder.

Ji-hoon was grateful he wasn't someone who cared about his thunder being stolen. "Exactly what I was thinking. Good thinking you two."

...

Neither of them responded.

"Ah... I see." Damien was a little annoyed Darren got the answer first, but that didn't really matter anyway. "We all are paired up with our own accomplices for the murder then?"

"Oh... that's... not good." Lake didn't like the sound of that. "So working with an accomplice for the m-murder is encouraged then?" They stuttered as they said the m-word. It wasn't a word they liked saying.

"Oh yes yes yes! That's exactly it!" Pheme jumped up in excitement. "This motive is all about accomplices!"

If that was the case, then Pheme certainly wasn't lying. In all of the previous Killing Games, there was never any point to an accomplice, considering only the one who actually committed the murder would be able to escape wherever they were trapped. But now...

"So let me explain how exactly this will work!" Pheme was giddy with excitement. She was so happy her stars managed to get it. "Taking from Ms. Reinhardt's example... let's hypothetically say that Mr. Lux wanted to kill Ms. Alpha!"

A spotlight shone down on the two pairs. "What is truly encouraged here... are double murders. Again, here is a hypothetical. Let's say Mr. Lux kills Ms. Alpha, and Mr. Taylor kills Mr. Mashimoto!"

...

Pheme paused, expecting an interjection from Genjiro. It didn't happen. Surprising!

"In that hypothetical case... both Mr. Lux and Mr. Taylor would be the blackened! And in the Studio Trial, if they manage to deceive you all... both of them will escape this place!"

...

Oh. Oh wow. "That's... w-wow." Adam didn't know what to think about that, so he just essentially copied the narration.

"Huh... fascinating motive you've given us goddess!" Cathy almost seemed impressed. "But hold a moment. Say, in your example, that the beautician human killed both the wrestler human and the gas station manager human. What then?" She crossed her arms, not caring if they way she said things made the question harder to comprehend or not.

"That's a good question Ms. Munchkin! You get a gold star!" She didn't get a gold star. "But in that case, only Mr. Lux would escape! He would be the only blackened after all!"

"I see..." Cathy was a little piffed she didn't get the gold star. She liked shiny things. "I'll give you credit... this is innovative compared to the previous Killing Games these nasty humans have orchestrated... but I still have a question."

"Oh? What is it?" Pheme was happy to answer!

"Why on earth do I have to be handcuffed to her?" Cathy hissed as she spoke, not even looking on Kuroko.

"Well I'm not supes excited to be trapped with you either-nya!" Kuroko was starting to lose her patience.

"You really have to ask that Ms. Munchkin? It's simple." Pheme covered her metal mask as she giggled. "It's amusing! And fun! Especially for the motive itself! It may encourage strange or antagonistic pairs to work together and escape this place! Enemies working together..." She eyed Genjiro and Alpha. "Is just as likely as friends working together!" She eyed Aurora and Raiha. "It's just... so... so..." Pheme struggled to think of a word to describe her excitement.

"...If... I may *cough* interject Pheme?" Rosalind chimed in once again, as it was her focus chapter.

"Hm?" Pheme turned around like she forgot Rosalind was there. "Ah! Ms. Reinhardt! What is it?"

"I understand this motive and how it *cough* works..." Rosalind narrowed her eyes. "But what about me?"

Pheme blinked. "What about you? What's the problem?"

"Well... I'm by *cough* myself." Rosalind reminded everyone. "I am not handcuffed to anybody. So... am I simply excluded from the motive?" If she was excluded, she definitely wasn't objecting. But she thought it better to confirm before jumping to any conclusions.

"Ah... yes. How could I forget?" Her mouth may not have been visible, but everyone could sense the sinister smirk beneath Pheme's mask. "Yes yes yes... don't worry Ms. Reinhardt! You won't be left out! As you... have a special rule attached to you! Isn't that exciting?"

"Damn... so Rosa didn't luck out then?" Yoshino was a little disappointed. She was hoping that someone could be spared of this nonsense.

"Seems that way..." Rival yawned. Unrelated to Rosalind, but even he was starting to get... unnerved by Ayaka's silence. This must be affecting her more than he thought.

"...I'm afraid that I can't find that exciting if I don't know what the *cough* rule is." Rosalind answered bluntly to Pheme's proclamation.

"Yes... that is correct! I shall explain it then!" Pheme turned to face the eight pairs standing behind her. "So... everyone. You all may have thought that Ms. Reinhardt has lucked out by not being a part of the motive! But that's not so!" She wagged her finger.

"Okay... so how is she involved?" Joji didn't see where this was going.

"I'll tell you Mr. Kaneshiro! And I'll give an example too! Let's say... Ms. Beaufort." Pheme clapped her hands, and a spotlight shone down on the Raiha-Aurora pair. "Ms. Beaufort! Let us say, hypothetically, that you were to murder Ms. Reinhardt for this motive!"

Aurora obviously wanted to object to that idea, but she stayed silent, sensing there was likely no point.

"I get this is an example Pheme non-bestie, but Aurora would never do something that ridic. That'd be awk AF." Raiha defended her bestie with a shake of her head. Well, looks like Aurora didn't need to say anything anyway! She gave Raiha a thankful smile.

"Anyway... getting back to my example!" Pheme didn't get why her stars would object to these. They're examples. But whatever! "If Ms. Beaufort were to murder Ms. Reinhardt... then get away with it in the trial... then both Ms. Beaufort and Ms. Miyahara would escape!"

...

Oh. Oh god. "Huh. Not very fair." Darren chimed in, because he could.

"That's for sure!" Aurora was in shock by the rule. "That's so unfair to Rosalind!" That's unfair and unfortunate. Poor girl didn't luck out at all.

"Don't think this bitch gives one single shit about rules! She does whatever the fuck she wants with them!" Genjiro loudly reminded everyone.

"S-Still though..." Adam looked concerned. "That m-makes Rosalind the easiest target here. L-Logically speaking... if you want to e-escape..." He didn't finish his thought.

"But nobody will do that shit Ade!" Yoshino didn't want nor need Adam to finish his thought. "But seriously Pheme?" The horror novelist couldn't help but be in disbelief at this rule.

"Indeed I am!" Pheme happily nodded. "If Rosalind Reinhardt is murdered, both members of a pair will escape! Provided they succeed in the Studio Trial of course!" Pheme loved seeing her stars distraught. Not everyone was in this moment, but the generally kind ones were! And that was good enough for Pheme!

"So killing anorexia ahoy is easy mode then! Got it..." Alpha crossed her arms, with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Easy mode... that's for sure. Bitch could be cracked by anyone here!" Genjiro tilted his head toward Adam with a chuckle. "Even the fucking nerd!"

"I-I-I'm not sure about t-that..." Was Adam strong enough to do that? It wasn't like Rosalind was particularly strong or hefty. But... no. Why was he thinking about this? This isn't very logical at all!

"Don't get in the poor kid's head Genjiro!" Yoshino defended her partner.

"Yeah man, I don't think that was necessary." Joji defended the nerd too. "However strong you are... that don't matter. If you have the will to get stronger... that's what matters! And Adam sure as hell does!"

"Yeah! I agree!" Lake just liked hearing Joji say motivational things. They thought it fits his image.

"Ugh... yeah yeah. Not wrong." Genjiro couldn't deny that he's seen massive glow-ups before. But the fucking wimp-ass academic getting one? No way. And he could tell by Alpha's expression that she agreed.

"Getting back on topic..." Damien tried to redirect things. "Well... we have to do something about this ridiculous rule. Perhaps our pairs can cycle in and out of protecting out dear Rosalind? That way, she'll be protected-"

"No. There's no need for *cough* that." Rosalind cut off Damien as she shakily stood up, talking in the loudest voice she could manage.

"Rosalind? Are you... alright?" Lake was concerned about their friend. Well... more like everyone's friend! They hadn't even heard how Rosalind herself feels about this unfair rule.

"I'm fine." Rosalind shook her head, attempting dispel concern. "This is... fair *cough* enough, considering Pheme's... personality. I'm not perturbed by it. Not at all. In fact... I welcome anyone to take up the offer."

...

Take up the... offer?

"W-What offer?" Ayaka finally decided to have a line this chapter.

"Simple. The offer to *cough* kill me. I'm quite the... valuable target now... aren't I? Heh." Rosalind somehow found that funny as she slowly sauntered out of the Grand Theater, not waiting for a response from anyone.

"I don't think the bitch is serious... but still. Fuck..." Even Alpha was a little thrown back by that.

"What unfortunate humor to have..." Damien sadly shook his head.

"I'm n-not even s-sure what to think about that." Me neither Adam. Me neither.

"Hmph." Ji-hoon sighed. "Ignoring what Rosaind said there... I don't think what he said was a bad idea. Having someone... "protect" her." He looked around. In an ideal world, they wouldn't have to worry about this. But this was far from an ideal world. And even now... he can't discount the idea of someone killing. With two people being able to escape now...

"Ah! Two things before I forget!" Pheme snapped her fingers, interrupting Ji-hoon's inner monologue in the process.

"First!"

"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!"

"The nighttime announcement!" Pheme posed, treating the nighttime announcement like it was an important thing.

"W-Wow. Really?" Adam checked his Star-Phone with his free hand. He didn't realize it had gotten so late.

"Second!" Pheme snapped her fingers, and a sound echoed from everybody's Star-Phones.

When they took a look at them...

One or more (temporary) rules have been added!

Temporary Rule: For both members of a pair in the second motive to be the blackened, both must have blood on their hands. The same normal blackened rules apply to the members of the pair.

EX: If Pair A and B murder Pair C and D, in order for A and B to be the blackened, A would have to kill C and B would have to kill D. Or vice-versa. If A murders C and D, only A will be the blackened. Also, say A killed B and C killed E. The blackened would be whoever killed first.

EX-2: If A were to murder C, and if B were to murder E, both A and B would be the blackened. Again, both members of the pair need to have blood on their hands.

Temporary Rule: For the duration of the motive, if (Rosalind Reinhardt) is killed, both the killer and their partner for the motive will be the blackened. The same blackened rules apply.

"There we go! That should do it!" Pheme clapped her hands again, causing the lights in the Grand Theater to readjust. "If you stars have any questions about the motive, don't be afraid to ask! But now I must bid you farewell! I need my beauty sleep! Ta ta!" Pheme elegantly jumped off of the stage and ran out of the Grand Theater.

...

No one was sure what to say. They got hit with these ridiculous rules and this ridiculous motive... now what? It really just hit everyone what they were in for. A lot of awkwardness... embarrassment... and misunderstandings. Not to mention the motive just straight up being a massive pain for their continuing daily life.

"Well... should we get going then?" Aurora broke the silence. "We... we need to decide on whose room to stay in, don't we? I just realized..." The starlet couldn't help but blush at the prospect of sleeping with someone else... even if it wasn't in that way.

"If it's gucci with you Aurora bestie, maybe we should go to your room?" Raiha thought the starlet would be slightly more okay with that.

"That's... fine. We can do that." Aurora was slightly more okay with that.

"Welp. I feel for those of you who aren't of the same sex... but let's get it over with yeah? Just take it one day at a time I say." Kei was ready to move, but he realized he technically needed Ji-hoon's permission now.

"Yeah... that's all we can do." Ji-hoon gave his non-vocal permission, and the boys started to walk off of the stage. "It'll be uncomfortable... but let's just do it." He leaned in closer to Kei. "We're staying in my room by the way." He proclaimed.

"Sure. Works for me." Kei had to preference. Besides, it was probably because of the box full of the dangerous things he had stashed in there.

"Yeah alright. Fuck it." Genjiro, unlike the previous pair, didn't give two shits about "permission" from Alpha, as he ran off the stage.

"Jesus fucking Christ! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Alpha felt like she got hit with a defibrillator from an EMT as she got forcibly dragged off the stage. "I fucking hate you." It took her a second to get her bearings.

"No shit? I hate you too!" Genjiro yelled back as the pair ran out.

"Nyahaha! For once, the wrestler human had a fairly amusing idea!" Cathy snickered to herself then lept off of the stage, showing a surprising amount of muscle, as she had to drag Kuroko's weight with it.

"Oh my g- Cathy-nya! You're insane-nya!" Kuroko wasn't as fit as Alpha was, so she had a bit more trouble keeping up with the cat burglar.

"Oh boy... I feel for poor Roko." Yoshino wished she could do something to help her friend, but there was literally nothing she could do here. So she started to join everyone in walking off. "Let's get going Ade! The faster we get through this, the better." Again, Yoshino was glad she got paired with Adam of all the guys here. She could trust him.

"Y-Yes... let's get g-going." Adam shakily nodded his head and followed behind his partner.

"You ready to go Lake?" Joji wanted to make sure his partner was feeling well enough before he made any movements.

"Um... yep! I guess!" Lake was getting more and more bashful about this thing... but like everyone was saying, the faster they get through this, the better. So they joined Joji in leaving.

Which left... two more pairs.

"My dear Ayaka? How are you feeling?" Before he went anywhere, Damien wanted to make sure his dear Ayaka was feeling alright.

"I'm... f-fine." Ayaka was going through some... mental turmoil right now. Just the thought of being this close to a boy was throwing her off. Even if it was one of the more... harmless ones. And not to mention... she was starting to have a bit of a headache too. Almost like-

"Rival." Damien sternly turned to face the backing vocalist. "I ask that you be kind to her. My dear Ayaka is quite a-"

"What is she... your pet?" Rival cut the beautician off. "I don't need instructions on how to... treat a person."

"Ah." Damien hadn't expected that out of Rival. "That's... fair enough. Forgive me. I didn't mean for that to come off strange." He turned away.

"So we're ready to go?" Darren wasn't in a rush, but he still wanted to know if they could leave yet.

"I suppose." Damien held back a frown. "I'll see you later my dear Ayaka!" He gave his dear Ayaka a comforting smile, then left along with the bartender.

So now all that's left... was Ayaka and Rival.

...

And along with them, a fairly awkward silence was left too.

...

"So..." Rival broke the silence. Man this was already more awkward than he was expecting.

"W-What?" Ayaka shakily looked at her partner.

"Shouldn't we... go? It's..." Rival yawned. "Getting late. We should... you know? Sleep?"

"...I g-guess so." Ayaka replied without making eye-contact.

...

"So I see you're not... moving." Rival pointed out the obvious. "Do you not want to leave yet...?"

"I-I..." Ayaka took a deep breath. She debated just holding it all in... but if she was going to be handcuffed with a guy for a couple of days... "I'm s-sorry." She apologized.

Rival blinked. "Sorry? ...Sorry for what?" He didn't think she did anything wrong here. All they've done is... well, nothing.

"I'm s-sorry that... I..." Ayaka had trouble getting the right words out. She didn't know how to word this right.

Rival internally groaned. He got the feeling that, if this was going to go anywhere, he'd have to take the lead here. Ugh... whatever. "Ayaka... you're afraid of men... right?" He got right to the point.

"I-" Ayaka looked away. "Yes. I am." She admitted.

Rival thought so. It wasn't like it was the hardest thing to guess in the world, but it's still good to know. "And I'm going to assume... you don't want to talk about it?" He'd listen if she did, but it didn't feel like she'd explain.

"N-No. I don't." Ayaka stayed looking away. "I h-had an encounter... with a man. And..." She stopped mid sentence, like she realized that she actually did start to explain it. "Sorry... but I don't want to t-talk about it."

"That's fine... I was just asking. Because- oh wait..." Ayaka's words caused Rival to remember something. Something he read online some time ago. Something about an Ultimate Violinist and... huh. Well if is memory is right, he's pretty sure he knows why she's afraid of men now. But that begs another question. "But... Ayaka? If you're so afraid of men... why stay close to Damien?"

"Damie- oh." Ayaka still wasn't making eye-contact. "I don't know how to describe it. B-But... he's been close to me since, well, day one in h-here. I at first thought... he was just like H-" She stopped herself. "I thought he was just... another guy. T-Taking advantage of women. And I still can't 100% trust him. But it's the... c-consistency? He stays close to me... asks if I'm alright... he... I don't know." She looked down at the ground. "I know a llittle of his background and talent. And I understand how he has his following. He's... comforting. And he had an a-aura... one of... trust. He's just- ugh, I'm rambling aren't I?"

"You're fine." Rival shrugged. "But... I get it... I think." I mean, it's not like be could get it. A person like Damien was the last person Rival would willingly choose to get to know, honestly. From what he did know of Damien... Rival personally couldn't trust him. He's... too smooth. Probably no point in saying that though. "I guess... it's good you have someone you can turn to."

"Y-Yeah... it feels... nice." Ayaka had a small blush on her face. "He... he helped me come up w-with the idea for the drinking party too."

Oh? That was interesting. "He... did?" Rival wasn't aware of that.

"Yeah. He did." Ayaka nodded. "A f-few days ago now, he stopped me from leaving the cafeteria. He talked about... how he'd like me to be more outgoing... and stuff."

"...You do blend into the background sometimes..." Said the backing vocalist.

"I know." Ayaka blamed that on her paranoia. "But to s-sum it up... we talked a little, and I came up w-with the idea." She stuttered a little. "Damien liked it, and he encouraged he to share it with everyone else. And... yeah."

"Right... you came up with the idea." Rival couldn't help but be a little off-put by that idea, but it's not like he had any proof of anything. "Hm. I wonder... how it'll go now. The drinking party." He held up his handcuffed hand. "Might be... a little awkward now."

"Oh! You're right." Ayaka hadn't thought about that. "Genjiro and Alpha will probably bicker a lot... Cathy and Kuroko will too."

"Wasn't Kuroko... excited for the whole party?" Rival realized. "Kinda... feel bad for her now. Cathy'll probably ruin it for her..." It's not like he cared that much. But still.

Ayaka giggled a little. "Yeah... probably. But besides for t-them... maybe it'll be fine?" She'd usually have a more sour outlook on things like this... but she felt alright about it. She didn't know why... but she did.

"Heh. ...Probably." Rival was probably going to be forced to go to the party now, considering his unwilling partner was technically the host. Eh... that's fine. Probably wouldn't drink anything... but eh.

...

Considering the following silence, it looks like that conversation is done. Ayaka still wasn't moving, so Rival figured he had to bring up something else now. He thought back to what he read about Ayaka... and got an idea. "Ayaka...?" He turned away from her. "You're... a musician. So what does... performing mean to you?"

"P-Performing?" Ayaka didn't expect to hear that. "Uh... well..." She took a second to think. She didn't see any harm in answering. "It means a lot to me. To me... and to my sister, Ritsu."

Rival raised his eyebrows. "You have... a sister?" He didn't know that.

"Y-Yeah. I do." Ayaka nodded. "I mentioned her to Damien. But... she's one of my main reasons for performing. The w-way her face lights up when I play the violin for her... it's nice." Rival couldn't tell due to her mask. But Ayaka had a slight smile on her face. "She's one of my reasons for l-living... so I have to get out of this place. So I can see her smile again." She recounted foundly.

"Huh. That's... good." Rival didn't know how to react to that.

...

"What's your reason for performing R-Rival?" Ayaka finally took some initiative here.

"...I don't have any." Rival immediately and bluntly answered.

...

"Really?" Ayaka was a little surprised. She didn't expect to hear that.

"Nope." Rival answered again.

...

"N-Nothing at all?" Ayaka almost had trouble believing it.

"...Well. I used to. But now...?" Rival stayed silent. "Nah."

"Oh." Ayaka didn't know what to say to that. "So... do you perform at all or no?" She kind of wanted to know more now.

"These days? No." Rival had no trouble answering.

Ayaka blinked. "So... what do you do then?"

"Nothing." Rival shook his head. "I guess... if you want an actual answer... you could probably call me a... hikikomori... I guess."

"A hikikomori?" Ayaka had to think about what that meant for a second. "That's a w-word for someone who has withdrawn themselves from society... and has lived in isolation for a while. Right?" She took the definition from Rival's form for the story.

"Yep." Rival did nothing.

"That's..." Wow. Sure puts Ayaka's troubles into perspective. She had heard very little of "Rival Seizon" prior to this Killing Game, so she wasn't sure what all had happened to him. But... at least she has her sister and family. Unless he's holding back information, it sounds like... Rival has no one. That's... wow.

"Well... okay. You said that you used to h-have a reason to perform right?" Ayaka pointed out. "What... what was the reason?" Rival wasn't nosy with her, so she didn't want to be nosy with him. But she couldn't help but her curious here.

"That..." Rival sighed. Just like his talk with Raiha, everyone basically knows now huh? "Her name was Hanako Kaneko. Pheme... brought her up in the Studio Trial. Remember?" He turned to face her.

Ayaka also turned to face him, making eye-contact in the process. "Yes... yes I do." From what Ayaka could sense, it felt like Hanako was in a similar position to what H- was to her. She didn't even like saying his name in the narration. I mean, they're both likely plenty different, but it's still... a slight similarity the two of them share.

"You're... not gonna ask about her?" Considering that Raiha attempted to go full therapist mode on him, Rival half-expected Ayaka to do this same.

"What...? No." Ayaka shook her head. "You respected my privacy... so I'll respect yours."

"...Oh. Alright. Good." Rival wasn't sure what he had expected as a response... but that's good. He wasn't in the mood to talk about Hanako... in general. Bessie was still a bit too prevelant in his mind anyway. So the name Hanako honestly felt a little cursed to him now. But whatever.

...

Ah yes, the ever prevalent awkward silence comes back once again. But the silence was cut off by a muffled yawn from Ayaka, considering her mask.

"You tired?" Rival asked. This had at first just been a conversation to hopefully break some of the ice between them, but he found himself enjoying it more than he thought...

"Yeah... I am." Ayaka held onto her arm. "Guess... we should go to sleep now?"

Fucking finally. Rival may not of minded this talk, but he was about to pass out. "Yeah... sure. Should we... go in your room or my room? Which would be more comfortable for you?" He wanted to be respectful.

"Ah!" Ayaka hadn't thought of that yet. Which would be more comfortable for her! Probably... "I think my room would be better." Maybe it's a weird word to use... but she felt a little better in her "home base" so to speak.

"Alright... fine with me." Rival didn't care either way. He just wanted two things. One, a bed. And two, some sleep.

"So... let's go then." Ayaka and Rival slowly walked out of the Grand Theater and off to bed. Some ice had been broken between the two of them... so that's good.

And because of that broken ice, Ayaka and Rival grew a little closer today!

[Comedy Studio]

"Darren... why are we here?" Damien was ready to fall asleep for the day. It had been a hectic one. He wasn't exactly in the mood to go drinking, so he wasn't sure what the bartender was thinking.

"Hm... why not?" Darren walked behind the bar, dragging the beautician with him while he did his usual thing. "Besides..." He started to pour a small glass of brandy. "I don't usually go to bed immediately."

"I've noticed." Damien bluntly answered. "So you... drink instead of sleep?"

"I wouldn't say that." Darren took a sip of his brandy. "Hm. Should've done something else. Ah well." He muttered to himself. "Oh." His face looked like he just remembered Damien was here. "Want anything?"

Damien didn't usually indulge in alcohol. But if he was going to he stuck here... "I'll take a water. Please." He was a little parched anyway.

"Sure." Darren got to work preparing a water for his partner, not caring that his partner was literally watching over his shoulder the entire time. "Here you go." He held out the glass of water.

"Thank you." Damien took a sip of the water. Huh. It for some reason tasted better than the usual water. Was that because of Darren's talent? He wasn't sure. "You really like alcohol don't you?" He decided to point out the obvious.

"Yeah. I'd say so." Darren took another sip of hos brandy. "Hm. Definitely should've done something else." He quickly poured the rest of it down the drain.

Damien blinked. "Did you... not enjoy that?" That was a strange sight. Seeing Darren not enjoying an alcoholic beverage.

"Hm... I guess not." Darren shrugged. "Brandy is roughly sixth on my list anyway."

Damien felt like he was getting a ticket into Darren's mind here whether he liked it or not. "It's... sixth? You have a ranking for alcohol?"

"I do." Darren's expression didn't change.

Huh. Damien wasn't sure why he was surprised. And now... did he want to hear it? He already didn't particularly enjoy Darren. He was slightly dreading being trapped with him, despite how likely harmless he was. So... should he just humor the bartender here? Damien... didn't know.

...

"Care to recite the list?" Damien decided to humor him. He had his reasons, but it wasn't like he was forced to explain them in the narration. So he won't.

"...Sure." Darren didn't see any reason why not. "Eighth place is Wine. Too fancy, and it doesn't taste that good anyway."

Damien could see where he was coming from with that. But he didn't comment, and waited for the bartender to continue.

"Seventh is beer. It's not bad. But not good either." Darren continued with his list. "Sixth is brandy." He eyed his now empty glass of brandy. "I like it a little. But I don't usually drink it."

Damien looked confused. "So... why did you just make yourself a glass of it then?"

Darren shrugged. "Eh. Don't know. Was in the mood for something different."

"I see." The indifferent apathy of Darren was something Damien had grown to expect, so he wasn't surprised by that.

"Fifth is tequila. I like it a lot. Don't got many issues with it." Darren nodded. "Fourth and third are interchangeable. Rum and gin. It's good stuff. Second is vodka. Don't like drinking it on its own, but it's good when mixed when other things. First is whisky. Just... perfect." He didn't have anything else to say.

Damien also wasn't sure what to say to that. In his mind, this was the absolute strangest thing someone could devote themselves to. It's not a bad thing to have unique interests... but something about Darren's interests throws him off. Maybe he's own the wrong track... but it felt like there was something more to Darren. But he couldn't put his finger on what...

"Ah. That reminds me." Damien could think about that later. Because Darren's rankings reminded him of something. "What was it... oh! There it is." He walked up to the special drink Darren had requested from Pheme. "This is... Four Seasons Whisky: Summers? I suppose your ranking makes sense now.

"Yep." Darren picked up the bottle. "This whiskey apparently got its name from a famous maestro. She was a good and kind person... or so I hear. Rumors spread about her... but she seemed like someone who loved to smile." He set the bottle down.

"Is that so?" It sounded like an interesting story to Damien. "You don't seem to smile that often though." He pointed out.

"Heh. I guess so." Darren didn't smile.

...

Silence fell upon the two men after that. Neither one know what to say.

...

"Say... Damien?" Darren spoke up. "Random question."

"Yes? What is it?" Damien was starting to get a little tired... but he'd keep going for now.

"I want to say that I could be wrong here. So tell me if I am." Darren prefaced. "But I've always gotten the feeling you don't like me. Ever since the Action Studio." He finally brought up the elephant in the room. "I'm not offended. I couldn't really care. But I'm curious why."

...

"You're right. I don't particularly like you." Damien saw no reason to hide it. "You waltz around as this apathetic bartender with the occasional wisecracking and the occasional comment. Like you're a background character." Maybe a strange thing to compare Darren to, considering he was an actual person and not a character, but it was the best thing Damien could think of. "You certainly are skilled in your profession. But... there's something more in you. It's a certain longing in your eyes... for something else. And... it's that. Frankly, I dislike everything about you. The way you live... not truly going after what you want... it's a waste."

...

"Heh. That's a crazy imagination you got." Darren made himself another drink while Damien explained his thoughts. "Interesting. Thanks for telling me."

Hm... Damien couldn't sense any particular change in Darren's mannerisms after that... so was he wrong? Is he just... well, it didn't really matter. He said his piece, and if Darren doesn't change, he doesn't change. "Anytime." He answered with a sigh. "Now what drink is that?" He pointed to the new drink the bartender made.

"Some rum." Darren took a sip. "Looking at Genjiro's drink made me want some."

"Ah yes, Genjiro did ask for a special drink as well." Damien almost forgot. "What was it again?"

"Four Seasons Rum: Winter." Darren immediately answered. "It's from the same brewery as my whiskey. This one is apparently named after a famous love guru. That's all I got for lore on that one."

"I see. Genjiro certainly likes some strong drinks doesn't he?" Damien went up to the bottle. "Ah. It's pineapple? I never took Genjiro as one to enjoy tropical flavors."

Darren shrugged. "Apparently he does. Or maybe he doesn't know. The Four Seasons line has all tropical drinks. My whiskey is apparently coconut flavored."

"..." Damien wasn't sure what word to use to respond that wasn't just "interesting" or "I see," so he stayed silent. "And what's this one?" He moved to the next bottle.

"That's Okukik Wine." Darren answered. "Both Pheme and Aurora are drinking it. The wine apparently comes from a famous shrine ran by a famous shrine maiden." He dropped more referential alcohol lore.

"Hm... is it a coincidence Pheme and my dear Aurora are having the same drink?" Damien ignored the referential lore.

"Maybe. Can't see how it wouldn't be one." Darren shrugged, like he likes to do."

"Let's hope so." Damien turned away from the bottles. "You of course know that I am no alcohol expert or connoisseur, but this was interesting. I'm glad to see the fruits of my dear Ayaka's labor." The beautician smiled.

"Ayaka huh? You sure like that girl don't you?" Darren took another sip of his drink.

"Well of course I do!" Damien answered proudly. "My dear Ayaka is a hopeful girl full of potential... yet locked in her own mind by her paranoia and the specter looming over her. All I wish is to relieve her of her burdens."

Darren raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't accusing you of anything. No need to get defensive. Just thought it was interesting." He paused. "But it's good you're being with her. She needs a person to help her open up. You're probably the best person here for that job."

...

Damien didn't expect to hear that from Darren. "...Thank you. You're fairly wise."

"Nah." Darren finished his drink. "I've seen lots of people before. And when you see lots of people, it helps you get to know people. That's all." He... wait for it... he shrugged! Like usual!

Huh... "I suppose you're right." Damien stayed silent for a long moment after that.

...

Until the silence was broken by a quick yawn from Darren. "Yeah. I'm good. Let's get to sleep."

"Yes. Lets." Damien nodded as the pair left the Comedy Studio. He... he still didn't know how to feel about Darren. But one thing is for sure...

Whether they like it or not, Damien and Darren grew a little closer today!

[Rosalind's Room]

...

"Hello my glamorous stars! It is now 8am, and that means it's morning time! It's time to wake up and get moving! Get ready for a day full of stardom!"

...

"Ah... is it already that time...?" Rosalind, on pretty much any morning, had trouble getting up. She was a naturally tired woman. But no matter how she felt, she had to get up. She slowly sat up in her bed and looked around her room. Dark and dreary... fitting. Despite the rule now attached to her, she was still grateful she wasn't paired with anyone for the motive. Because...

"Oi! Fuck out of my way!"

"Cathy! Give that back-nya!"

"Fuck off you little cocksucker!"

Because of that. The voices she heard coming from outside of her door. And besides, she was never the biggest fan of... being with someone, as weird as that may sound. This... was fine for her. She dug around under her blanket and found her parasol. Using it, she shakily got up and out of bed, and went to change out of her black satin nightgown. May as well get ready for whatever she was about to witness outside of her door...

[VIP Quarters]

"Genjiro! Can you snore fucking louder? Are you a fucking foghorn?!

"Shut the fuck up! You're the one constantly tossing and turning! I know I'm irresistible, but get the fuck off of me!"

"Cathy! Seriously, give that back-nya!"

"Ny-ope! Nyahaha!"

Ah yes. Chaos. Like Rosalind expected. Alpha and Genjiro were yelling at each other about something ridiculous. And Cathy was dangling a pocket watch in her hands, away from Kuroko's grasp.

Sensing no point in even humoring this, Rosalind attempted to skirt past the group, as everyone was currently out here.

"Oh hey Rosalind. I see you're up at 'em!" The sheer power of Kei's wink crushed Rosalind's hopes of getting away quietly.

Rosalind gave up. "Yes... I am. And I see that *cough* everyone is rowdy today."

"Yep. The usual." Kei wasn't bothered. He was just grateful he wasn't paired with one of those people. Well, Kuroko would probably be fine. It was Genjiro, Alpha, and Cathy that were the worrying ones. "But who cares about them? Did you get a good rest? Pheme's rule scare you?"

"I slept like how I *cough* usually sleep. No major difference." Rosalind shook her head. "Pheme can throw however many rules at me as she *cough* likes to. It'll hopefully help everyone see me as the easy target *cough* I am."

"Damn. Way to be blunt." Kei could appreciate some dark humor here and there. So he wasn't too bothered.

"Well enough about me..." Rosalind shifted attention to Kei's pair. "How did you two gentlemen *cough* get along?"

"Us? Two peas in a pod!" Kei elbowed the celebrity detective.

"Uh... sure." Ji-hoon wouldn't go as far as to say that, but it didn't matter to him anyway. He slept fine. He's slept with other people in his bed before, so he was used to the feeling. He hasn't slept with a guy but- wait that sounds weird. Moving on!

"Can you guys please stop fighting!" No matter what would happen, Lake was always going to try and play peacekeeper.

"Listen to them please! It's too early for this shit!" Joji supported his partner. Overall, sleeping in the same bed as Lake was less awkward than he expected. He wasn't sure how Lake felt. But... he felt alright. "Genjiro, I know Alpha is probably annoying as shit, but please save it!"

"You got that right! Ha ha!" Genjiro gave a half hearty/half annoyed laughed. "Bitch would not stop complaining. She sleeps in the most insane ways too!" He went back to giving his partner a glare. "You really have to take up the whole fucking bed?!"

"Shut the fuck up schizo! You had plenty of room!" Alpha fired back. "You were the one snoring like a discord mod after his tenth big mac of the day! You were so fucking loud! I could barely sleep!"

"Where'd you even sleep?" Joji for some reason asked.

"Oh ho! This fucker's room of course!" Alpha scowled at the wrestler. "Ain't no fucking way I'm letting him into my room so he can sniff my panties or some freak shit like that!"

"Uh, bitch? Like I'd want your nasty-ass underwear!" Genjiro rolled his eyes. "No guy would want that shit!"

Alpha threw off her sunglasses. "Oh you little-"

"G-Guys! C-Can we please-" Adam, just like Lake, attempted to play peacekeeper.

"Shut the fuck up! Go fuck off/play with yourself!" Genjiro and Alpha said in unison.

"Ah- o-okay." Adam didn't know why he even still tried.

"Don't pay attention to them Ade." Yoshino shook her head and attempted to pat the academic's back. But that wasn't really possible with the handcuffs. Damn.

"Y-Yeah... you're r-right." Adam and Yoshino slept alright! Adam was nervous about it all, but it was overall fine!

"Yeah... we gotta be more concerned about Roko here." Yoshino was getting real sick of Genjiro and Alpha's yelling, so she shifted her focus to the cat girls.

"Cathy! First you sleep almost nude-nya!" Kuroko dropped an intriguing fact. But don't worry about it! "If this was any other situation, I'd be happy with that-nya! But no! You moved around constantly-nya! I swear you were trying to make me get no sleep-nya!" Kuroko did have some heavy bags under her eyes. It looked like she attempted to conceal them with makeup, but it looked pretty half-finished. Boy, I wonder who would've interrupted her.

"Nyaha!" Cathy on the other hand, seemed like her usual self. No bags under her eyes. "Unlike you faker, I got a pleasant night of sleep! Better than usual!" She seemed to have managed to find joy in this whole arrangement.

Kuroko groaned. "I can tell-nya! You were so well rested that you had to ruin my morning yoga too-nya! I'm megas stressed out nyow-nya!"

"Oh please! For a human, you're quite the drama queen!" Cathy smugly pulled out a pocket watch.

"Hey! Give that back-nya! Don't take my things-nya!" Suffice to say, Kuroko wasn't having a good time.

"Oh dear... I... don't know what to do." Aurora stood there in shock. She wanted to help out somehow, but she didn't know how.

"I wouldn't worry about it Aurora bestie. TBH, it ain't worth the trouble!" Raiha SMHed her head. Aurora and Raiha also slept fairly well. It helped that they were already fairly good friends of course. But there was something that was a little...

"O-Oh wow that's a lot of people." Ayaka and Rival stepped out of Ayaka's room, cutting off the narration in the process.

"Wow... that's... a lot." Rival blinked. He... slept alright. Ayaka was quiet. He was quiet. He had no complaints. And their talk in the Grand Theater they had before they fell asleep definitely helped. You know, Rival was the slightest bit grateful for this motive. If this hadn't happened... he'd probably still be held up in his room. He hadn't exactly... gotten over Bessie. But this way, he had no choice but to leave. In a strange way, it helped.

"Ah! My dear Ayaka! How are you?" Damien spotted his dear Ayaka come out, and eagerly went over to her, dragging Darren along behind him.

Darren didn't say anything. He didn't feel like making a cameo. He's gotten enough screentime already. You know, he slept better last night that he thought. He didn't think he'd be bothered by this, and he sure wasn't. He didn't know how Damien felt.

"O-Oh! Damien!" Ayaka admittedly felt a little happy seeing someone she knew she was comfortable around. "I... s-slept fine. Yeah." That was the truth. Her talk with Rival last night helped more than she would've thought.

"Really? That's good then." Damien was relieved to hear that. He was silently grateful for Rival.

Now that everyone was up and about, Ji-hoon had intended on getting everyone on the same page for the day... but he couldn't exactly do that. Well, he still could. But he'd have to talk a bit louder than usual. "Alright everyone! That's one night down, and onto a new day!"

"Damn right! We won't be falling for Pheme's bullshit!" Joji was pumped up.

"E-Exactly. It w-went... better than I w-would've thought." Adam shrugged. He still didn't know exactly how it'd impact his daily life, but for the moment, he could likely deal with it.

"Yes... we can do this." Aurora stayed spirited too.

It seemed like the general mood... ignoring the obvious outliers, was better than expected. That's good. Ji-hoon had underestimated these people. He had expected more of them, not just two of the pairs, to crack. "Now then. I say we should-"

"Cathy! Please-nya!"

"Are you getting off to making me pissed?!"

...

"Ji-hoon. I don't believe we can proceed with any sort of *cough* meeting until they have been quelled." Rosalind couldn't help but point out.

"Yeah... I know." Ji-hoon groaned. He didn't know how to deal with them. He half-wanted to just leave them up here to yell at each other, but-

"ALL FOUR OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Yoshino suddenly yelled out.

...

And shut the fuck up they did.

"Nyahaha! The horror novelist human sure is loud!" Cathy stayed carefree. "Sure, I'll shut up!" She arbitrarily decided to play along.

"Geez Yoshi-nya!" Kuroko got a little scared. Adam did too, but he didn't say anything.

"Sorry Roko. Didn't mean to scare you." Yoshino apologized. "I'm just getting sick of this shit."

"Yeah..." Kuroko knew she shouldn't let herself get riled up by Cathy. It's just what the cat burglar wants from her. So... "Hmph." She decided to ignore her now.

"Nyoh ho ho!" Cathy changed up her laugh. "Look at you! The faker being so distant!" She slid the pocket watch back in Kuroko's pocket. "There you go! I've had my fun." She shrugged like she didn't just cause a major disturbance.

"Thank you-nya..." Kuroko quietly thanked her while she checked her pocket. Well, at least she had it back.

Picking up from where Yoshino left off, Joji went up to Genjiro. "Try to keep it together man." He spoke in a surprising quiet voice. "I know it probably sucks being paired with Alpha." Joji sure as hell knew he didn't want to be in Genjiro's place here. "But try to deal with it. We're gonna figure out a solution to this. So c'mon man. We need you to at least be a little calmer."

Genjiro groaned. Honestly, he understands what Joji means here. But god this bitch was infuriating. But no. He was right. He knew it. "Yeah yeah alright. As long as this bitch doesn't nag my ears off."

"And Alpha? Will you be calm too?" Lake followed Joji's example.

It took every ounce of Alpha's being to hold her back from saying an insult to Lake. As much as she wants to keep firing at Genjiro for being and idiot... she was getting tired of it. She was kinda just tired in general.

Alpha was going to keep inner monologuing, until she saw Lake's face beaming up at her. "Christ! Fuck off!" She couldn't stand that sort of cutesy shit. She didn't get how Joji could stay around that for so long. "If it makes you all fucking happy... then whatever."

Everbody, including Genjiro and Alpha, knew that they'd be back at each other's throats soon. But everyone just took what they could take.

"Okay..." Ji-hoon decided to continue. "I don't have too much to say here." He realized. "But... be sure to stay calm. Stay vigilant. And..." This was going to be a weird thing to say, but... "Maybe get to know whoever you're trapped with. It'll... likely make things easier in the long run."

"Tch." Alpha scoffed. "Whatever. Like I'll ever get to know this brute."

"Like I'd want to get to know you either!" Genjiro fired back. Surprisingly, they didn't start arguing again!

"Hm. Then it appears I'll be alone *cough* then. No one for to get to know, it seems." Rosalind dryly chuckled to herself.

"Nonsense my dear Rosalind! If..." Damien had to think for a second. "If there isn't much on the agenda today... we'll likely be doing our things in our pairs yes? Then how about you go with one of us my dear Rosalind?" He offered.

"That's... alright." Rosalind declined. "If I can be *cough* serious here, I don't believe my presence will benefit any of you. Perhaps it might tempt on of you to act. And we... can't have that... can we? Or maybe... me being by myself will *cough* tempt you to act. It's an enticing offer. We... can only wait and *cough* see." She coughed. "I'm going to be excusing myself. I hope everyone can... *cough* get along." She left the VIP Quarters. Nobody tried to stop her.

"Rosalind! Wait!" Defying the narration, Lake yelled out after her.

"Hm... you know what. Let's go and make sure she's alright." Joji turned to Ji-hoon. "Lake and I are going to make sure Rosalind has someone watching her. To... be on the safe side." Considering the motive, Joji wanted to make sure Rosalind was being watched. For as much as her humor and attitude bothered him, he couldn't deny that she was an easy target.

"Alright. Go." Ji-hoon gave his permission, even though it wasn't really like they needed it.

"Okay! Bye everyone!" Lake waved, then ran off with their partner.

And just like that...

"Let's go bitch. Let's get some food." Genjiro said bluntly as he started to walk.

"God you're an ass..." Alpha rolled her eyes as they left.

"Oh hey! Ade!" Yoshino smiled. "I want to go somewhere specific. You mind?"

"Uh... n-no! That's f-fine!" Even if Adam did have a problem with that, he probably wouldn't have expressed that.

"Cool then! Let's go!" Yoshino left with Adam in tow.

After them, all of the pairs started to trickle out. Some'll probably have a better day than the others... but they... they had to keep going. They had to persist. Pheme gave them a particularly nasty motive... but that was all the more reason to not let her win. They... couldn't let her win. They couldn't afford to.

...

"Hey... Raiha?" Aurora and Raiha were the only pair left.

"Hm? What is it Aurora?" Raiha didn't really have anything on her mind that she wanted to do today, so she hadn't moved yet.

"Would you... mind if we went somewhere specific today? I understand if you don't want to... but I'd like to go." Aurora wanted to be respectful with her request.

"Sure! I don't mind! Whatevs you want!" Raiha truly didn't mind either way. She liked being with her bestie.

"Okay... good." Aurora smiled. "Let's go."

[Ultimate Pop Star's Studio]

"Well... here we are." Aurora and Raiha slowly walked into Bessie's Ultimate Studio.

"Bessie's Studio... ok." Raiha had a feeling why they were here.

The duo of girls walked right up to the giant stage before them. "You know... I haven't really gotten the chance to... remember her yet." Aurora looked at the stage with a longing look.

"Remeber her? You mean Bessie?" Raiha tilted her head.

"Yes." Aurora nodded. "Something I've underestimated... is the effect a person can have on you. You could know someone for a minute... or a day... or a week... or for years. Yet... no matter what, they can have an impact on you. Isn't it interesting?"

"Wow... I..." Raiha hadn't expected something so philosophical from Aurora. "So... what sort of effect did Bessie bestie have on you then?" She inferred what she was talking about.

"Well... more of an effect than I expected." Aurora giggled. "It was something about how... carefree she was. Is that the right word?"

"Yeah... I get what you mean." Raiha nodded. "She might've been a robot in the end... so who knows what about her was fake and what wasn't. But... she had a personality that was... admirable." That was probably the biggest word Raiha had said this whole story.

"Yes... I don't know the right way to word it... but yes." Aurora wished that she wasn't having so much trouble expressing her words. But... that's alright.

"But... bestie? Question for ya." Raiha looked her partner in the eyes. "I get what you mean about Bessie. I do. But... she did try to kill you YK?"

Yes... that. Aurora tried to not think about that.

"Hanako. It is time." The muffled voice was back. "After your show with Mr. K-"

"Yes Boss. I understand Boss." Bessie cut the voice off.

"Very good Hanako. Then you know who you must kill then?"

"I do Boss. I must kill Aurora Beaufort, like you said Boss. I'll do it Boss." Bessie's voice bore no human emotions or feelings.

"That's a good girl Hanako. Very good. Your mission is to kill Aurora Beaufort."

"Yes Boss. I'll go rest up now Boss."

How could Aurora not remember that? That chill that ran up her spine upon hearing it... it's something that she'd remember for a long time. "You know... I am aware that she apparently tried to kill me. And that she was apparently the traitor. I am."

"So... how can you look back fondly then?" It was complicated for Raiha. She shared Aurora's feelings... but she also knew that Bessie was the traitor. It made a weird twist of emotions in her heart... she didn't know what to think.

"That's... simple actually. You may judge me for my reason if you wish." Aurora closed her eyes.

"Bestie? I'd never judge you! DW!" Raiha reassured her.

"Right. Well..." Aurora realized how silly this might sound. But... it was how she felt here. She wanted to be honest. "Truthfully Raiha? I don't believe Bessie was the traitor."

...

"Oh?" Raiha raised an eyebrow. "Spill the tea." She didn't expect to hear that.

"Well... I suppose there is no tea to spill." Aurora admitted. "It's... a feeling I have in my heart. It... never felt right that Bessie was the traitor. It never did. Even if she was a robot... and looking back on what Pheme told us about her... it doesn't ring right to me."

"Really... huh." The thought had of course crossed Raiha's mind before, but she hadn't given it any thorough thought. "Bessie not being the traitor... then what about what Pheme non-bestie showed us? The audio recordings and stuff?" She didn't want to completely discount the idea yet.

"Well..." Aurora dryly chuckled. "Again, it's not as if I have proof. But those recordings could've been faked. I'm not an expert in technology... but maybe she was reprogrammed? And... maybe it was just Pheme's way to mess with us?" She threw out some thoughts. "She's no stranger to that. Remember how she messed with Bessie's Star-Phone to mess with poor Rival?"

"Yeah... defo can't forget that." Raiha talked a little with Rival about that after all! But what Aurora was saying... hm. "YK, you're... not wrong." She had to admit. "We are kinda just taking Pheme non-bestie at face value with that. And... IG she could've been reprogrammed too?" She... didn't really have any evidence against Aurora's thoughts.

"Yes... well, again, it's likely just me being... hopeful about the whole thing." One part that Aurora didn't want to think about, is that if Bessie wasn't the traitor, that'd mean Aelia essentially died for nothing. That... wasn't a comforting thought in the slightest.

"YK... IDK if I agree or not." Raiha had to think on it more. "But damn Aurora... you really see the good in people don't you?"

Aurora giggled. "I suppose so? I'm not on Lake or Adam's level in that sense... but being kind and hopeful... it's expected no?"

Raiha blinked. "Wait... huh? Sorry, WDYM?"

"Ah, forgive me." Aurora realized that she worded that weirdly. "It's just that... when you're, well, not just an actress... but a starlet... you're expected to act a certain way. Kind, thoughtful, gentle, and more." She listed examples. "I'm not saying that I'm not those things! But you're expected to act a certain way within the industry... and I do."

"So... you're acting how everyone expects you to act?" Raiha furrowed her brow.

"...I suppose you could say that." Aurora gently nodded.

"Bestie... you're think too hard about it." Raiha smiled a genuine smile. "Don't overthink it all."

"What?" Aurora didn't expect to hear that.

"FR though, who cares about the industry? You act how you want to act. Just... be..." Raiha paused for a strangely long amount of time. "Just be... your true self."

...

True self... huh. Aurora stared blankly at nothing. "My true self... yes. Perhaps I am overthinking it..." It matters less in this place of course compared to the outside, but perhaps she needed to get out of her own head...

"Aurora? What's up?" Raiha still really wasn't used to any sort of inspirational stuff, so she wasn't sure if what she said was weird.

"Raiha... what's your true self?" Aurora questioned.

"My... true self?" Raiha had to think about that one. She didn't expext her advice to be turned back around on her. "My true self is... being with my Riactioneers obvi? I gotta make sure my Riactioneers are up to date on all the latest trends! I'm the Ultimate Trendsetter, so that's what I gotta- no. That's what I want to do. It's..." She paused. "It's me."

Aurora smiled and sighed. "Yes... I suppose that is you isn't it?" Aurora she sensed something there... but maybe... maybe she was wrong. That's okay though. "You're rather admirable yourself Raiha."

"Huh? Me? Admirable? Nah..." Raiha subtly not-so subtly fished for more compliments.

"No, seriously." Aurora reaffirmed. "Prior to this, I admittedly didn't have the most knowledge on you or your talent. I had heard of you of course. But now... your personality is very... appealing? I can see how you've gotten so many people to follow your brand."

Raiha couldn't help but blush at the compliment. "Oh please. Aurora, you're miles more appealing than I am." She deflected the compliments back onto her. "At the end of the day, I'm an influencer and you're an actress! I ain't gonna downplay my own thang, but youry on the big screen YK! And that's because you're just straight up pretty. All facts, no printer."

And now Aurora was blushing. "You don't need to say that..." She looked away bashfully. "But I'm serious. It's a personality like yours... that'll help everyone here. I'm sure of it."

"Wha-? Nah..." Raiha wasn't sure how this conversation came to be like this.

Aurora smiled as another reaffirmation. "I hope this doesn't come off the wrong way... but it's that... bubbly personality of yours... and combined with your slang..." She chuckled saying that last word. "You're a good personality to have here. Compared to personalities like Alpha and Cathy's... which I still understand... yours... helps a lot." She looked away again. "I know it helps me..." She muttered.

"Huh?" Raiha didn't hear her.

"Oh! N-Nothing!" Aurora blurted out. Why was she getting so... ugh. She didn't know how or what she was feeling... but she... she didn't want to think about it. Not right now. It's... not the time.

"Aight..." Raiha... wasn't sure what to make of that. Was... was Aurora- No. That... wouldn't make sense.

"And I want to clarify... that I say this because we are friends Raiha." Aurora covered her tracks. "I didn't want this to be weird but- well, you've heard what I've had to say."

Raiha giggled. "Yeah, I defo have." She took another look at the stage. "Aurora. We gotta stick together. IK we kinda have to RN." She raised her handcuffed hand. "But even after this... let's stick together. To carry on Bessie's legacy. Like what you said earlier... anyone can have an effect on you. And Bessie bestie... she had an effect on me. Traitor or nah." She started to smile.

"Yes... yes let's." Aurora looked up at the stage too... and smiled.

So, with Bessie looking down on them, assuming that robots can go to heaven, Raiha and Aurora grew a little closer today!

[Ultimate Carpenter's Studio]

"Yoshino... w-why did you want to come in here a-again?" Adam didn't get why Yoshino wanted to go to Joji's Ultimate Studio of all places.

"Mmm... no reason really!" Yoshino sauntered around the place, dragging Adam along behind her. "I've been curious about it for a bit."

"And... w-why's that?" Adam adjusted his glasses with his free hand.

"Hmm... I don't know!" Yoshino kept acting strangely here.

"Okay...?" Adam either didn't notice she was acting strangely, or purposely chose not to point it out.

"How do you feel about this crap Ade?" Yoshino turned the question around.

Adam blinked. "H-How do I f-feel about it?" He didn't expect to be asked that.

"Sure! Like uh... this might be a stupid word but what do you think about this "big strong man" stuff?" Yoshino purposefully generalized. Anyone can be into whatever they want, but she worded it like that for the sake of the conversation.

"Hm..." Well, Adam didn't have to think too hard about that. "This stuff... it's isn't f-for me, generally speaking. I... d-don't particularly enjoy physical activities. In c-case that wasn't apparent."

Don't worry Adam, that's plenty apparent. "Alright. That's cool and all. You can do whatever the hell you like to." Yoshino shrugged. "But I wanna ask why you don't like that sort of stuff."

Adam narrowed his eyes. "T-This is starting to feel like an interrogation!" He chuckled nervously.

"Shit uh-" That wasn't Yoshino's intention here. "Nah yeah okay. Lemme explain something here."

Ah-ha! Adam knew something was amiss here! It was clear as day! "W-What is it Yoshino?" He tried to act calm despite his inner confidence.

Yoshino sighed. She probably could've played this better, but in hindsight, it probably would've been better to just go out and say what she had to say. So... here goes. "Alright Ade... lemme be honest. I guess first off the place we went to didn't actually matter." She just chose a random place to go and talk. "Let's sit down!" She spotted a small bench in the corner, one she assumed that Joji built.

"Um... s-sure!" Adam and his handcuffed partner went over to the bench and sat down.

Yoshino took a breath before she started. "Ade... I've noticed something. You've obviously seen how Genjiro and Alpha act around you yeah?"

Adam felt a drop of sweat drip down his forehead. "W-What do you mean?" He played dumb to the statement, ironic considering he was an academic.

"C'mon man." Yoshino frowned. "Those fuckers really like to talk shit about you. You've seen it. Don't deny it. Please." She was being as genuine as she could be here.

"..." Adam was silent. How could he not know? How could he not see it?

"Ha! You're that eager for a pounding you little shit? You know..." Genjiro stopped for a second, having a surprisingly serious look on his face.

"Genjiro? W-what a-are you doing?" Adam didn't understand why the wrestler stopped.

"Shut the fuck up you little fuck." Genjiro spoke fast as he continued to think about something.

"..." And shut the fuck up Adam did.

...

Genjiro heartily laughed in response. "Ha ha! Fine fine, I get it. Don't worry Adam." He put a hand on the academic's shoulder. "Not like you could get a girl like Aurora at all! Ho ho!" He still made fun of him anyway.

...

"Why do you sound so on the fence Adam? Huh?" Genjiro went closer to the academic. "You don't have confidence in my smarts do you? Huh? Say it to my face!"

...

"Yeah I do!" Alpha shifted her eyes toward Adam. "I'd buy the five of you doing some shit like that. But no way this little nerd would be joining in the orgy! No one would want his weird dick in them." She didn't even laugh or nothing, causing the statement to hit a lot harder.

"They bully the shit out of you man!" Yoshino threw her hand up in the air. There probably could've been more examples in the flashback too. "Man, I get so damn frustrated whenever I see them. People can have whatever damn excuse they want for acting like how they do. But I hate when bullies pick on people. Genjiro is one vain motherfucker. And Alpha is just a plain nasty person. But I gotta be honest here." She looked Adam right in the eyes. "You infuriate me the most sometimes Ade!"

"M-Me? W-Why me?!" Adam wasn't sure why this was being turned around on him.

Yoshino took a deep breath. "You never fight back. You never say shit against them."

This was probably the most serious Adam had seem Yoshino thus far. "Oh... that's w-what you meant." Adam looked down at his feet.

"Listen. I'm not saying you gotta throw a punch at 'em." Yoshino prefaced. "Hell, even I'd be careful around throwing punches at 'em. They're strong as hell. But... I just wanna know."

"K-Know what?" Adam still didn't look up.

"Why don't you fight back?" Admittedly, Yoshino was fairly confident she knew the answer. But she thought it better to hear it straight from Adam's mouth.

Adam took a deep breath. This... wasn't where he expected this to go. Not at all. He stayed silent for a while, while he internally debated what to do.

...

"Ade?" Yoshino gently spoke.

"...I was bullied a lot d-during my younger y-years." Adam finally admitted.

"Go on." Yoshino wasn't really used to being "gentle," so she had to try her best here.

"Growing up, my p-parents, Albert and Latoya, they... s-sheltered me a lot." Adam wasn't about to deny the truth. He recognized how sheltered he was in hindsight.

"Oh yeah?" Yoshino chuckled. "I can empathize a little. My mom and dad didn't like horror at all. They sheltered me from that. ...But they're probably nothing like yours so-"

Adam chuckled too. "Maybe n-not. But... it's good to k-know that." He liked learning things about friends. "But yeah. While it did h-help me achieve m-my ultimate t-talent in the end, their sheltering... definitely m-made my social smarts... n-not so great." Again, he wasn't about to deny the truth.

"Yeah... you ain't wrong." Yoshino wasn't about to deny the truth either. "But keep going."

"R-Right." Adam nodded. "The r-rest of the s-story isn't so interesting. Because of my l-lack of social smarts... I g-got picked on a lot."

"Did you... ever talk back to those bullies? Did you ever hit them?" Yoshino thought she knew the answer, but she may as well ask.

"N-No. Nothing." Adam sighed.

Yoshino expected that. Still... "But why man?"

"B-Blaming it all on m-my parents would be a tad illogical... but it's what t-they taught me." Adam shrugged. "They'd tell me to ignore the b-bullies. They'd g-go away after they had their f-fun."

"I'm guessing they didn't though?" Yoshino had an expectant look on her face.

"No..." Adam admitted. "T-They definitely did e-enjoy making fun of me, it seems. One of the b-bullies... I still r-remember his name. Kyle Maxim. S-Shoving me into l-lockers... punching me... he e-enjoyed messing with me."

"Jesus Christ..." Yoshino shook her head. "At least all Genjiro and Alpha do is just hurl stupid insults at you."

"You're not w-wrong there." Adam kept a sad smile on his face throughout his own explanation.

"Did anything ever happen to those bullies?" Yoshino understood why he didn't fight back now. Just lessons taught to him... and probably some of that peacekeeper energy he has in him too. But now she wanted to know more.

"Uh... n-nothing actually." Adam shook his head. "After I started t-to train my a-academic smarts, I wasn't b-bullied nearly as often." He revealed. "S-Some of the bullies ended up coming to m-me to have me help with things like t-their homework. Including Kyle Maxim. H-He acted like... like nothing happened. Like he never did a-anything..."

"Damn... so they used you then? Used you to get out of their homework?" Yoshino assumed. It sure as hell sounded like that. No offense to Adam, but it's doubtful they'd just come up to him to be friends after everything.

"I w-wouldn't say that, n-no!" Adam quickly denied. "They just... w-wanted to be friends with me a-and everything... and I h-helped them out with their schoolwork. T-That's all! They never... they n-never used me!"

Ohhh. That's where his naive optimism comes from. Explains why he acts similar to Lake sometimes. "I don't know about that Ade..." Yoshino had her doubts.

"W-Well you'd think d-different if you saw how they acted!" Adam kept denying the allegations.

"Sure man..." Yoshino sighed. "So I get your story with your past bullies. What about Genjiro though? Alpha? What's stopping ya from telling them to shove off?"

"...I d-don't know." Adam answered honestly. Was it fear? His optimism? He really didn't know.

"That's the case huh?" Yoshino smirked. "Tell ya what. This motive gives us a decent opportunity then."

"O-Opportunity for what?" Adam had a feeling where this was going.

"No need to get scared Ade! Just whenever those two fuckers mess with you, if they do, just tell them off a little!" Yoshino acted like that was easy. "I hate seeing them trounce around like they do, and now that they're paired up, it'll likely get worse. So if they come up to you... be gentle about it. Like some "could you please stop messing with me?" type of thing." She knew Adam wasn't the type to fight back, so she didn't want to suggest that. Hell, if it came to it, she'd fight back for him.

"It's t-that simple?" Adam wasn't sure if he believed it.

"Maybe it will be... or maybe it won't." Yoshino was honest. "But the end goal... is having you stand up for yourself! In general! Don't let them push you around anymore-"

Almost as if on cue...

"What is that little fucker doing...?"

"Probably playing with himself. Lord knows he can't..."

The muffled voices of Genjiro and Alpha could be heard.

"Huh? The hell? Are they seriously around?" Yoshino couldn't believe how perfectly timed that was.

"That is q-quite..." Adam shifted in his seat a bit as the pair listened in.

...

The voices faded.

"Weird. Guess they fucked off. Good." Yoshino shrugged. "Now Ade, let's-"

Yoshino kept getting interrupted. Now, by a sudden announcement.

"Attention everyone! It is now time for the second Special Event! I would like eight people... so four pairs, to report to the Romance Studio as soon as you can for a special game! I hope to see you there!" Pheme's smug voice cut off.

"Ah geez..." Yoshino rolled her eyes.

"A-Another special event?" Adam was curious, but considering he got brought into the game via a special event, he felt a little... shaky about them.

"You wanna go?" Yoshino asked.

"L-Logically speaking... let's not." Adam shook his head. "Considering w-what Pheme made us do yesterday in t-there, it's disconcerting to imagine w-what she'd make us do while we're handcuffed to e-each other."

"Ah... good point." Yoshino nodded. "Let's chill here for now... and see what happens." She was alright with letting the others see what this was about. For now... her conversation with Adam faded into a surprisingly pleasant silence. She felt like she helped Adam a little... but she didn't know for sure.

But something she did know, was that Ade and Yoshi grew a little closer today!

[Romance Studio]

"Oh! Ms. Reinhardt! I... didn't expect to see you here!" After making her announcement, Pheme darted off to the Romance Studio right away to get prepared for the second Special Event. But... she didn't expect Rosalind of all people to beat her there!

"Ah... should I leave?" Rosalind didn't have anywhere to be in particular, so she wandered into the Romance Studio a little bit ago.

"Hm... no! That's alright! You can spectate, but you can't join in!" Pheme clapped her hands.

Oh dear. Rosalind can't join in the special event? Whatever was she going to do? Following the sarcasm of the narration, Rosalind got up from one of the sofas, and went to stand against the left wall. "So be it then. I'll *cough* remain here." Once again, it wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Very good then!" Pheme snapped her fingers, causing a director's chair to appear in front of the four sofas. She sat down and crossed her legs. "I suppose we must wait now!" She prepared to wait patiently.

...

"Pheme? What if... no one *cough* attends?" It wasn't like it had been that long since the announcement, but Rosalind thought she may as well ask.

"Hm... I'd hope not!" Pheme frowned. "I saw a few pairs in the Comedy Studio prior to my arrival here. I believe it was Mr. Mashimoto and Ms. Alpha, Mr. Lux and Mr. Taylor, and Ms. Naganohara and Mr. Seizon! I hope one of them will show up..." She pouted.

"Hm... preparing for the drinking party tomorrow *cough* most likely." Rosalind guessed, ignoring Pheme's pouting.

"Oh, aren't you so excited?" Pheme clapped her hands together. "I'm so excited to grow close with all of my precious stars over the enthrall of alcohol... it'll be quite the event!" She was very excited.

"Yes... perhaps it will be." Rosalind didn't particularly care about it either way. She wasn't sure if she'd even attend.

"What? You're not going to attend! That's such a waste Ms. Reinhardt!" Pheme put her hands on her hips.

"You..." Did Pheme just read her mind? Or... would it be the narration? Eh, don't worry about.

Rosalind sighed. She was sensing that this was about to turn into an FTE, and Pheme would be the last person she'd want an FTE with. "Pheme, respectfully *cough* I-"

"Heyo. We're here."

"Yeah... we're the first ones to arrive are we?"

Rosalind got cut off by the first pair who arrived, Kei and Ji-hoon.

"Oh hey. Didn't expect to see you here Rosalind. What, we having an odd number for the special event now?" Kei raised an eyebrow.

Rosalind shook her head. "I'm afraid not. According to *cough* Pheme, I am merely spectating."

"Indeed! She'll just be watching!" Pheme reaffirmed.

"Right..." Ji-hoon narrowed his eyes. Judging by how the last special event went, he wasn't sure how this was going to go. But he had to see it anyway... because the last one offered some fascinating information. So he had to see what else Pheme had for them.

"Now then! Come and sit please!" Pheme motioned towards one of the sofas. "The special event will begin once four pairs have arrived!"

"Oh yeah? What if we're the only people that arrive?" Kei kept his eyebrow raised.

Pheme frowned. "Hmph! Ms. Reinhardt asked the same question! For the record, I don't appreciate that tone! Now come and sit already!" She crossed her arms.

"Let's sit down Kei." Ji-hoon cocked his head toward one of the sofas.

"Alright." Kei shrugged, then the boys sat down.

Now, all they had to do was wait for more pairs to arrive!

...

Rosalind coughed. "Pheme. Are you sure more people will-"

Rosalind got cut off again as another pair entered.

"Hiya! It's the Riactionista in the building! Here with my bestie Aurora!"

"It appears we aren't the first ones here?"

Take a wild guess who walked in.

"Ah! Ms. Beaufort and Ms. Miyahara! Welcome in! Now come and sit!" Pheme said with a bit more force.

"Ah... sure!" Raiha sensed something amiss in Pheme's tone. Better to just to do they're told. "C'mon Aurora!"

"Yes. Let's sit down." Aurora and Raiha sat down on the neighboring sofa to Kei and Ji-hoon.

"So... that's four. Now it's four *cough* left." Rosalind kept count for the readers who can't do math.

"Indeed! Now we wait for more!" Pheme sat eagerly.

...

Rosalind was tempted to point out that no one else was arriving. But almost as if they could sense her intentions-

"Oh hey! We're not the first ones here!"

"Yeah... let's see what this is."

"Oh! Mx. Beaumont and Mr. Kaneshiro! Welcome!" Pheme welcomed the third pair.

"Lake? Not the person I expected to see." Kei could buy Joji going to this. But not Lake. Maybe they were here because they were handcuffed to Joji?

"Well... Joji wanted to see what this was about. And I was a little scared... but I didn't want to back down! Or falter!" Lake explained with a determined look.

"Atta girl Lake! You tell 'em!" Raiha supported them.

"Right!" Lake stayed determined.

"Well you know how much I love seeing you determined, but I must ask you both to sit down now!" Pheme urged the third pair to sit down.

"Alright. Fine." As always, Joji hated listening to Pheme. But him and Lake did as they were told anyway.

"Now... just one more pair! I can barely contain my excitement!" Pheme was like a giddy schoolgirl. Everybody gave her weird looks. She didn't care.

"I wonder who'll be *cough* next..." Rosalind pondered.

"Hard to say." Ji-hoon went to cross his arms, realized he couldn't, then he didn't. "Personally I'm hope it's not Genj-"

"Ha ha ha! Do not fret! I've arrived!"

"God you're an idiot."

"Wow! Speak of the devil and they'll appear!" Pheme had a surprised look on her face. "Mr. Mashimoto! Ms. Alpha! Welcome! Take a seat!"

"Genjiro? Alpha? Why are you here?" Joji, unlike probably most of the people here, didn't really hate Genjiro. "Thought this wouldn't be your type of thing."

"Same here. I know you went to the last one but... really?" Kei's eyebrow was eternally raised.

"Bitch was bored. He wanted something to do." Alpha sounded like a tired caregiver.

"Bitch please! You were the one nagging about "ugh I'm so fucking tired and bored" don't put this shit on me!" Genjiro stomped his foot.

"You really want to start this again?!" Alpha felt that fire start to burn again.

"Genjiro and Alpha collective non-besties... can you like... not?" Raiha intervened before it could go too far. She was starting to get a little sick of it and there's been enough of it in this chapter anyway.

"Yes... if you're going to be here for the special event, could you perhaps... play nice?" Aurora tried to think of the kindest way to word it.

Rosalind sighed. "I'm merely a spectator. I have no *cough* say. But perhaps you should sit down?" If even Rosalind was going out of her way to say something, you knew they were getting sick of it.

"Don't tell me what to do! Fuck you!" Genjiro said to no one in particular. "But... eh. Fuck it. Guess I'm not sure how interesting us just yelling at each other is." He was more than willing to yell at the bitch he was paired with, and will likely will after this was over. But even Genjiro knew when to call it quits.

"I'm so fucking tired of this guy and his fucking... fuck." Alpha didn't even have words anymore. "Get moving and sit your ass down!" She slapped Genjiro's back like he was a workhorse.

"Oi! Don't touch me bitch!" Genjiro huffed again and the duo sat down.

...

"Well then! It appears four pairs have arrived!" Pheme was admittedly fine with Genjiro and Alpha fighting. It was fairly entertaining to her! But she was glad they chose to stop for now, as she really wanted to do this special event. "So we can officially start the special event now!" Pheme snapped her fingers, and the doors to the Romance Studio locked, akin to yesterday.

"I swear to god if I have to makeout with the walking slab of meat-" Alpha immediately got worried.

"Like you'd be lucky enough to do so!" Genjiro rolled his eyes.

"No no Ms. Alpha. Do not worry! You will not have to kiss Mr. Mashimoto again!" Pheme reassured her. "Unless... you'd like to do so willingly next time? Hm? Hm? Hm?" She egged her on.

"Why you fucking-" Alpha tried to stand up from the sofa, but Genjiro's weight kept her sitting down. "Don't fucking joke about that! This guy basically raped my mouth! I ain't gonna do that again!" She turned her head away.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever! Ha ha!" Genjiro rolled his eyes with a laugh.

Pheme struggled to hold back a giggle. "I see. I see! Very well then. Let us officially get started! And if anyone is curious, I'll unlock the door after the special event concludes!"

"So... what does this *cough* special event consist of?" Rosalind asked, despite the fact she wasn't participating.

"Hm... it's funny you ask that Ms. Reinhardt! For before we get to the meat of the event, we're gonna play a small game!" Pheme walked up to Rosalind.

"I usually like games. I don't think I'll enjoy this one though..." Lake couldn't help but be nervous.

"Yeah... no game Pheme throws at us would be good at all." Joji frowned.

Pheme gasped. "How dare you diss my game-making skills Mr. Kaneshiro! You don't even know what the game is yet!" She pouted.

"I don't think we need to see it to know it'll be bad in some sort of way." Kei finally relaxed his eyebrow.

"Yeah. C'mon Pheme non-bestie. Betcha anything this game would get you ratio'd." Raiha SMHed her head.

"Enough! Cease!" Pheme didn't appreciate having her game-making skills dissed. "Let us just start it yes?" Pheme handed Rosalind four cards. "Here you are Ms. Reinhardt!"

Rosalind blinked. "What... are these cards?" They were fairly small cards. Two of them said secret and two of them said fear.

"I'll happily explain what they are!" Pheme turned around to face the pairs. "Now that you all are in your brand new couples... I thought it'd be good you get to know your new betrothed!"

"B-Betrothed?!" Aurora couldn't help but blush at the use of the word.

Alpha scoffed. "Crazy word to use. No fucking way."

"She's not serious Aurora. Alpha. Don't humor her words." Ji-hoon was pretty sure she wasn't serious with that. Probably.

"Aw! You're no fun Mr. Jo!" Pheme crossed her arms, something these pairs cannot do. "But enough about that. Now, Ms. Reinhardt will hand each of the pairs one of these four cards!" She motioned to the cards in Rosalind's hand. "When you get your card... one of you must confess the thing that's on the card!"

"...C-Confess?" Aurora didn't like where this was going.

"Oh I swear to god..." Joji was starting to wish he hadn't come here now.

"You all are so dramatic!" Pheme waved off everyone's worries. "No need to be such drama queens! No need to overreact!"

"Yeah we'll see about that..." Ji-hoon didn't believe Pheme's words.

"Anyway! Ms. Reinhardt! I now ask you to pass out one of these cards to each pair! Now go! Hurry along!" Pheme urged her along.

"...Alright." Rosalind now kind of regretted staying in here, but it's too late now. Because she had to think a bit about this. Two secret and two fear cards. Which would be the least harmful for each pair? It's not like she'd actively want to turn anyone against her.

So which would be... "*cough* Here." Rosalind handed Ji-hoon and Kei a fear card. Both probably have plenty of secrets... secrets they likely don't want to reveal. But a simple fear shouldn't be hard to confess.

"Thank you." Kei winked without looking at the card, instead waiting for everyone else to get theirs.

"Now... *cough* here." Rosalind gave Joji and Lake a secret card. Rosalind wasn't necessarily an optimist or someone who saw "hope" in the word. But to her, she doubted Joji and Lake would have many secrets to hide. They seemed like wholesome people.

"Thank you!" Coping Kei's words, Lake tucked away the card until the time was right.

And now... Rosalind had one secret card and one fear card left. And she had Aurora/Raiha and Genjiro/Alpha left for pairs. Considering who makes up these pairs... she didn't feel like there were any good outcomes here. Both pairs likely have plentiful secrets... while Aurora/Raiha had the most fears. So, to hopefully prevent against any precarious fears being revealed... "Here and *cough* here." Rosalind handed Aurora/Raiha a secret card and Genjiro/Alpha a fear card. It didn't feel like either card would be "good" for the girls, so she did what she had to do.

"Thank you Rosalind." Aurora smiled.

"Fuck off anorexia ahoy." Alpha said thanks in her own way.

"Alrighty! Very good Ms. Reinhardt! Thank you! You may sit down now! Or- you may continue standing against the wall now!" Pheme corrected herself.

"Very well." Rosalind calmly and slowly went to go stand against the wall once again.

"Now my glamourous stars... read what is own your cards!" Pheme was excited to see what would happen here.

"Alright... a fear. That's not too bad." Ji-hoon thought. "Doable."

"..." Kei said nothing.

"A... s-secret?" Aurora felt her heart skip a beat.

"Huh... shouldn't be too bad...? Surely?" Raiha also felt her heart skip a beat.

"A fear huh? Too bad Alpha! This is all you!" Genjiro shoved the card into Alpha's hands. "The Genjiro Mashimoto is fearless baby!" He flexed his free arm.

"...Bitch." Alpha muttered as she took the card. A fear might not be too bad. Wasn't like she had to explain context of the fear. If she did have to... she didn't know what she'd do. Huh.

"Secret... fuck it. I can do that. Don't worry about it Lake." Joji immediately stepped up.

"Um... okay! If you're sure!" Lake was silently grateful Joji stepped up. They had a secret that they... didn't exactly want to talk about.

"Oh?" Pheme was intrigued. "If you're sure Mr. Kaneshiro, then by all means, please do share!"

"Ugh." Joji groaned. He hated that Pheme just casually dropped these stupid little games on them to make them uncomfortable... but that's the thing. If he acts like it doesn't bother him, then he wins. He's not gonna give Pheme the joy of a big reaction from him.

"Hm. Wonder if he'll..." Kei wondered if Joji would reveal what he talked about yesterday.

"I've been on the news. There. That's it!" Joji firmly nodded.

"Oh... I see." Ji-hoon got the same memory that Kei got yesterday. He remembered the... situation surrounding Joji.

"Really? You have?" Lake was interested. "What for? That sounds cool!"

"Uh... it's nothing worth talking about." Joji brushed the topic off. "Besides, Pheme didn't say I have to explain context. So I won't!"

"Aw! That's no fun! How would Ms. Miyahara word it... ah yes! I want to hear the tea!" Pheme pouted.

"Ew... that kinda gives me the ick. Pheme non-bestie saying slang?" Raiha seemed grossed out.

"Oh shit! So we don't have to explain details then?" Alpha saw her chance. If she didn't have to explain context, there was something she was fine with saying.

"Well hold on-" Pheme realized she probably should've clarified the rules more.

"I'm afraid of baby oil. Don't like the shit." Alpha revealed.

"...What?!" Genjiro felt insanely baffled. "How the fuck are you-"

"Hey! Fuck off! I ain't explaining details!" Alpha turned her head away from the wrestler.

"Well wait-" Pheme didn't expect them to go rapid fire here.

"I'm afraid of knives. I'm a squeamish guy, what can I say? Don't like them." Kei suddenly revealed without a care in the world.

"Oh... interesting." Ji-hoon wasn't aware of that. Out of everyone here, Kei was one of the ones he had the least information on.

"STOP IT!" Pheme suddenly took out her dagger and flung it at Kei's head. It missed. "I see what all of you are doing!" She took her dagger from the sofa, and away from the unflinching Kei. "What? You think you're "winning" by not giving me what I want?" She tried to regain her composure. "Nonsense!" She directed her dagger towards Raiha and Aurora. "The other three pairs may have tried to ruin my fun... but I know you girls won't!" Pheme's eyes brimmed with malice.

"...What? ...What do you mean?" Aurora tried to stay calm.

"We have to reveal a secret about one of us yeah?" Raiha wanted to confirm.

"Obviously you do! Now just say some shit so we can be done and so Pheme can get pissed!" Genjiro urged them along.

"Yeah you two. Get it out of the way." Joji urged them along as calmly as he could. He felt pretty close to losing it here, this became a lot more stressful than he would've thought. He just wanted whatever information Pheme would give them, so he could finally leave with Lake.

"..." Both Ji-hoon and Kei stayed silent. Ji-hoon had a bit more knowledge here... but both were aware enough that... this might not be easy for the girls.

"Hm?" Pheme poked Raiha's neck with her dagger. "Hm?" She then pointed Aurora's neck with her dagger. "I see you girls are having trouble! Surely a mere secret can't be too much to reveal can it? Come now, simply say a secret, then we can move on to what everyone is waiting for!"

"Um..."

"Uh..."

Aurora and Raiha had no clue what to say. Was thinking of a secret really that difficult for them? Or maybe...

"Are you two okay? Why are you so quiet?" Lake didn't get it.

Aurora gulped. "Just to confirm... are we able to deny saying a secret of ours?"

"Heh." Pheme chuckled. "Of course you can!"

"Wha- really?" Raiha widened her eyes.

"Yes really!" Pheme twirled her dagger around in her hand. "But to warn you... if you do deny to say a secret..." She leaned in close to both of the girls' ears. "Then I will plunge the beautiful dagger into both of your hearts." She whispered emotionlessly. "You wouldn't want to... disobey me... would you?" She said sensually while she cupped Aurora's chin. "Right? You'd never... want to disobey... right?" She then cupped Raiha's chin.

You know, in hindsight, Raiha and Aurora really wished they hadn't came in here.

Ji-hoon and Kei stayed silent. Both were curious about how this would end up.

Lake was confused... and Joji was too. How was it so difficult to think of a secret? It wasn't like they had to give details.

"Christ, I know you want to fuck us but can we move this along Pheme?" Alpha voiced her displeasure. "If anything, Aurora and Raiha would rather fuck each other and not you!"

"Yeah c'mon! This shit is taking too long!" Genjiro was getting impatient. "Just fucking say something!"

"..." Rosalind had nothing to say. She didn't realize that these girls would hold some deep and dark secrets. She silenty cursed herself for damning their fate with that card.

Pheme just continued to stare unblinkingly at the pair of girls. This... she loved this. The other three pairs had a strong enough will to merely say something and move on. No fear in their eyes. But no matter. Because now... she was able to witness the delicious fear in Raiha and Aurora's eyes. She knew what their secrets were and she knew why they couldn't explain them. But now... now they had no choice! They had to, lest they suffer the same fate as Bessie and Aelia. She had cornered these miserable girls so easily... and now she'd get exactly what she wanted... the delightful sight of her stars squirming... her beautiful stars begging for-

Raiha gasped. "I used to trash myself online for attention!" She revealed.

"...Hm. That's fairly *cough* interesting." Rosalind silently commented.

Aurora let out a deep and relieved breath. "Oh... really?" She couldn't even bring herself to have any thoughts on that.

"...What?!" Pheme stomped her heel-clad foot down on the ground.

"Yep." Raiha let out a deep breath while a drop of sweat dripped down her forehead. "Way back when I- wait. I don't gotta explain stuff. Nevermind!" She chuckled. "Aight Pheme non-bestie... you can start the whatever now!" She got a little smug seeing Pheme mad.

And Pheme was mad. Trashing herself online?! That was cheating! That wasn't even- ugh. "That wasn't what I wanted to hear Ms. Miyahara!" Pheme tired to keep her tone and mood under control.

"Well too bad!" Joji answered for her. "She answered your stupid question! Now let's move on already!" He slammed his fist down on the sofa, which ironically made Lake more pumped up, and not scared.

"Heh. Fair enough Raiha." Ji-hoon was honestly a little impressed. He didn't think she'd be able to come up with something that wasn't... well... you know.

"...Pheme? Do you need my *cough* aid with the second half now?" Rosalind wasn't even trying to be smug, it was a genuine question.

Pheme felt her hands start to shake.

"Okay... can this shit finally be done now?" Alpha didn't even yell that time, she was just annoyed.

Pheme felt her legs start to shake.

"Yeah... gotta be honest. I expected a bit better of the "game" Pheme." Kei shook his head in disappointment.

Pheme's eyes widened.

"Hey is Pheme-" Aurora was the first one to notice there was something weird with her.

"I... I... I..." Pheme's breathing quickened. "I... I... I... I-I-I-I-I-" She stopped.

"GRRAAHHHHHHHGH!" Pheme let out an almost demonic howl, then suddenly lept at the wall. She slashed through the cheap wall paper of the Romance Studio, revealing the details underneath. Luckily it was the wall opposite to Rosalind.

"I can't... I CAN'T!" Pheme flung her dagger towards Rosalind, just barely nicking her the cinematographer's ear.

And without another word, Pheme stomped out of the room. The Romance Studio's door opened up as she did.

...

"So..." Kei didn't know how to react to that.

Lake was shaking like a leaf. "W-What... what was that?"

"Lake! It's uh-" Joji put his free hand on the ballet dancer's shoulder. "Don't worry. It's alright. She's gone now. It's okay." He did his best at calming them down.

"My word..." Aurora was shaking too. "We... seemed to have made her angry."

"YK..." Raiha sighed. "I'm glad we got past that stuff... but we gotta be more careful I feel like." She realized that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to piss off a dagger-wielding psycho.

"You don't fucking say." Genjro was shocked... but also a little impressed. Now he was curious if Pheme could actually fight or not with that thing... of if it was just a toy.

"Huh... that scream..." Ji-hoon found that scream familiar. But... from where?

"Now that Pheme is *cough* gone, I wonder if the special event will still play?" Rosalind wondered, not caring about her minor ear injury.

"Oh hey! You good Rosalind?" At least Raiha cared. "Did Pheme non-bestie get you?"

Rosalind ran a finger over her here. There was only a small drop of blood. "I believe she did... but it's nothing to make me *cough* keel over. I'll be fine."

"Well... that's good." Lake felt themselves slowly calming down.

"...So we all just gonna sit here and jerk each other off or are we gonna leave?" Alpha was getting impatient. "Not surprised that psycho screamed like that. But now she's gone... so no video or whatever?"

"Good point." Ji-hoon didn't expect Pheme to have an outburst like that. They definitely need to check their attitudes when they're around her more... but that scream was just... visceral. It made his mind start to race.

But... that race would soon stop... as the lights in the Romance Studio started to dim. And an audio spectrogram appeared on the monitor in the room. Everyone was silent as an audio recording started to play.

"Hannah... what exactly are we doing again?"

"It's an audio recording Akimitsu! Or... no. More like an audio log. Just think of it as... insurance. Just to make sure we have a record of these tests."

"Hm... if you say so. So... ah- has it started?"

Hannah giggled. "Yes it has Akimitsu. Don't worry. I'll start it off." She cleared her voice. "Audio log start. Log #2. Date is June 4th, 20XX. Time is 16:00. This is Dr. Hannah Yokomizi and Dr. Akimitsu Agata reporting on the second test conducted on _." It seemed like a name had been redacted.

"Yes... well then. Test #2 was a resounding success! The trip went better than expected... and the patient's reaction when I had my "heart attack" was quite fascinating." Akimitsu spoke slowly.

"Right? She had no reaction at all! Akitmitsu, the effect of those drugs is utterly fascinating!" Hannah spoke with glee.

"Oh please, there's no need to praise me." Akimitsu wasn't one to fish for compliments. "But anyway... after the test, we showed her a picture of Charlotte Kelley, and just like with Ross Kelley, she had no reaction at all. I hesitate to celebrate too early... but if this proves to be a success... then..."

It sounded like Hannah walked closer to Akimitsu. "Akimitsu... I know. We all know. Our revenge... it'll be realized. And we'll be by your side the whole way."

"I appreciate that Hannah. More than you could know." Akimitsu coughed. "But this isn't the time to get into that. Zenkichi has Test #3 planned... and Asher has started the preparations on Test #4. I'll be preparing Test #5, though I have no progress as of yet. Now... I believe that's it. Do we... close it out then?"

Hannah giggled again. "If you have nothing else to add, then yes. We can close it out." She cleared her voice. "Alright then! This is Dr. Hannah Yokomizi and Dr. Akimitsu Agata signing out! Log #2 finished!"

The audio recording stopped.

...

"What... in the ever loving fuck... was that?" Alpha hadn't attended the previous special event, so she wasn't aware of what transpired at them.

"Another recording..." Ji-hoon had more to think about in this one. Tests... revenge... Hannah and Akimitsu... and...

"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!"

Well, not that.

"Goodness... it's gotten *cough* rather late." Rosalind suddenly had trouble keeping her eyes open.

"Yes... this day has been... a lot." Aurora needed a breather. A lot had been happening lately.

"Yea Aurora... let's go. We'll keep the big brain stuff like hyper-analyzing this recording for the boys!" Raiha winked at Ji-hoon and Kei.

"Ha ha! And me right?" Genjiro acted liked he was a big brain.

...

"Let's go. I don't even have the energy to tell you how much of an idiot you are." Alpha yawned, then started walking off. "This was a fucking waste of time..." She seemed to have regretted coming here.

Genjiro rolled his eyes and said nothing as he followed behind her.

"C'mon Lake. Let's get out of here." Joji had had enough today too... this whole special event was a bit much.

"Okay!" Lake nodded. "Good night everyone!" They waved to the remaining five as they left.

"It's about time I *cough* left too." Rosalind bowed. "I bid you all farewell." She started to hobble out the door.

"Hol up Rosalind bestie!" Raiha called out. "C'mon Aurora! Let's go!" She just wanted to leave at this point.

"Yes. We'll see you tomorrow Ji-hoon! Kei!" Aurora waved to the boys as she left with Raiha.

And that left the boys by themselves.

...

"Tell me something Ji-hoon." Kei spoke. "I'm not aware of Aurora's situation. I'm not exactly french. What about Raiha though? Are you aware of her situation?" Considering what he knew... he had a feeling what the secret was that Raiha was hiding.

Ji-hoon sighed. "I am. And... well, I hesitate to speak without evidence." He ironically spoke like a lawyer. "Tomorrow. At the drinking party. Let's bring it up then."

"Oh?" Kei smirked. "Getting info from the inebriated? Clever!" He teased as they started to leave.

Ji-hoon actually chuckled at that. "That's not what my intention is and you know it. Also... let's talk about the audio recording tomorrow. To digest it with everyone."

"Sounds good to me!" Kei shrugged. "It's sounding like...

...

tomorrow is gonna be pretty... exciting!"

[Pheme's Room]

"Damn it!" After making the second nighttime announcement, Pheme barged into her room.

"Hm? Is everything alright Miss Pheme? You seem agitated." Asclepius asked, despite having watched the whole special event from the camera feed.

"That damned Ms. Miyahara and Ms. Beaufort!" Pheme threw her dagger onto a counter. "They think they're so smart! Ms. Miyahara... Raiha... she cheated!" She stomped her foot.

"Is that so? And will you do anything about it Miss Pheme?" Asclepius was wary, but he wanted to hear what Pheme was going to say.

"...You know what?" Pheme went over to filing cabinet and started to dig through some files. "My glamorous stars think they're so smart... ignoring me... ruining my fun... well let's see how they like it when I..." She pulled out nineteen documents. "Asclepius! I'll be taking these! And after the second Studio Trial concludes... I will have a wonderful idea. An idea to show my stars their place!"

Asclepius thinly smiled. "Hm... fascinating..."

...

"I'll be waiting eagerly!"

Part 4 is finished! This was a pretty meaty chapter... a lot of stuff! A lot of stuff I've been excited to show off more like!

I hope the motive rules make sense. If anyone does have any questions, feel free to ask me. But I've always felt like the usual accomlice rules, while reasonable, are also kinda... meh. So for this case, if someone is going to kill, they basically need to have an accomplice! Exciting!

I also loved how the chosen pairs basically forced me to write certain FTEs. Of the pairs, some I did plan to have FTEs with each other. But for some of the other pairs? I never planned FTEs with them! So it was fun to write those.

I have more to say... but I won't. I feel like if I do, I'll start yapping, and that'll probably go into spoilers.

But anyway! I hope you're excited for the drinking party in the next part, where absolutely nothing will go wrong! And in a complete coincidence, a body (or two) will drop in the next part! Any predictions? Let me know!

That should be it! I hope you look forward to the blood! The blood god demands sacrifice!

Glamorous Stars Remaining: 17

Adam Brooks - Ultimate Academic [PROJECT DRAMA]

Alpha - Ultimate Gas Station Manager [Epifanio Therion]

Aurora Beaufort - Ultimate Starlet [WolfieRed23]

Ayaka Naganohara - Ultimate Violinist [Sempi]

Catherine Munchkin - Ultimate Cat Burglar [Nekoja]

Damien Lux - Ultimate Beautician [oddlyillregular]

Darren Taylor - Ultimate Bartender [Otterplay]

Genjiro Mashimoto - Ultimate Wrestler [Grandma Sue]

Ji-hoon Jo - Ultimate Celebrity Detective [TheRoseShadow21]

Joji Kaneshiro - Ultimate Carpenter [SureJahn]

Kei Aikawa - Ultimate Lawyer [theotakureader101]

Kuroko Kurobara - Ultimate Hypnotist [MrUtenaHolic]

Lake Beaumont - Ultimate Ballet Dancer [KadachiNova]

Raiha Miyahara - Ultimate Trendsetter [Prince PokePersona]

Rival Seizon - Ultimate Backing Vocalist [SinWriter7]

Rosalind Reinhardt - Ultimate Cinematographer [Orlando Butler]

Yoshino Akiyama - Ultimate Horror Novelist [DeathlyJazzHands55]