Chapter 2: She who Sups with the Devil, Part II (Daily Life)
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*DING DONG BING BONG*
Another day, another morning announcement.
Monokuma: Good morning to all of my remaining students! Wishing that overnight you completely forgot that a pair of you are dead, but unfortunately that was most likely not gonna happen. Pretty despairful... despairful, ah... Sorry, got a bit carried away there! Anyways, it's 7 am - so all rooms have been unlocked, just saying. Oh! I almost forgot! At 9 am, everyone is expected to be at the gymnasium for a very important announcement! Be tardy at your own risk! Upupupu~
I didn't even want to acknowledge him as I got ready for the day. Thankfully, the screen shut off as soon as he finished talking, so I could just try and forget. When I opened the door, Kaiji was there. His gritted teeth and wide eyes betrayed that something had happened.
Kaiji: Wh-where's my dad's trenchcoat?!
Kaori: Hey, uh... I don't know. I can't access your room, after all.
Kaiji: But somebody had to have went inside and just... stole it!
Kaori: (It couldn't be anybody... he destroyed the e-Handbook that allowed Ren to go inside Mugen's room... No. Best not to think of that.) Maybe... Monokuma?
Kaiji: (sigh) Yeah, yeah, giving me the prime suspect like you always do...
Kaori: No need to feel ashamed of it.
Kaiji: Listen, Kaori. When you're supposed to be the best of the best, what happens when you get upstaged by people who aren't like that? You feel worthless, that's what happens.
Kaori: ...Kaiji, let's just put this behind us and have some breakfast. An empty stomach won't help with your problems.
Kaiji: Okay then.
Me and Kaiji walked together to the dining hall, where everyone was waiting for us. Breakfast went by without much comment, and it was after everyone had ate that Hirou spoke up.
Hirou: Excuse me, Mr. Kudo? You look nervous. Why's that?
Kaiji: I swear I kept it hanged up before going to bed last night, but as I slept, it... jus-just vanished!
Masao: What are you talking about, Kudo-kun?
Kaiji: ...
Masao: I said, what are you talking about, Kudo-kun? Don't leave us hanging.
Kaiji: ...My dad's trenchcoat.
Umiko: Same with me... my favourite pair of binoculars went missing overnight...
Haruhi: I kept a bonsai tree in my room. That has vanished as well.
Ayane: We need to investigate. Now.
Madoka: Now?! Sure, he gave us a deadline of 9 am, but we have more than enough time to get our affairs in order.
Ayane: Are you taking this seriously, Madoka? Monokuma's planning something and we need to get the better of him.
Daigo: That's right!
Madoka: Ugh, fine...
Ayane: We're going to the gymnasium. Follow me.
Umiko: If she insists, I guess...
Haruhi: If everyone else is going, then- (cough) -I'll follow.
Daigo: Right, then. Off we go.
Following Ayane's lead, we made our way to the gymnasium - once we got there Yukiharu took the initiative and opened the door, allowing us all to enter. I noticed several of my peers appearing to recognise things in the distance.
Hirou: I remember carving that statue! But how did he get his paws on that?
Luka: Huh? That's Mr. Chatty! I used to play with him lots and lots as a kid!
Yura: Wait a sec... are those my airsoft championship medals?!
We walked closer towards the stage and looked at it again. Where once there was the box, there was now a fairly large display case full of trinkets. The trinkets varied in shape and size: a statuette of a dragon made from lapis lazuli, a pair of chattering teeth with googly eyes, pink feet and a wind-up knob on its side, and several gold medals all bunched together by their ribbons.
There was even a tapestry that I remember weaving by hand when I was a child - and it had my signature on it to boot. Only one item was left on the floor and outside of the display case: Kaiji's trenchcoat. The exact same one he had wore while we investigated the murder of Mugen.
And who was standing in front of all of those precious items? None other than Monokuma.
Monokuma: Looks like everyone stayed true to their word and came here on time! I might as well cut to the chase and get to what I was saying.
Souta: Okay... then? We need to know what you're up to-
Yukiharu: So we can beat him at his own game, right?
Souta: I believe that would be a bit too dangerous, Yukiharu.
Monokuma: Thank you, teacher's pet. Going against Monokuma is a dangerous act that can result in being read the riot act. Just saying.
Madoka: Tsk, tsk, tsk. Way to kick us while we're down.
Monokuma: But everyone arrived on time today! That's something to be proud of! It's an accomplishment!
Kozue: Finally, something to be positive about!
Yura: I wouldn't consider that an accomplishment, 'cause it shows that we're all basically running on fear.
Monokuma: Mmm, yes, good point, Ms. Ouka.
Madoka: And you're a fool for thinking that it's something to be proud of, Kozue.
Kozue: Guess you're right there, eheheh.
Ayane: What Yura said is true. We're all too scared to go up against him.
Daigo: That's not true at all!
Yukiharu: So you're basically saying I'm a coward?!
Ayane: No, I did not say that-
Yukiharu: Hey, Monokuma! I'm gonna tear your head from your shoulders right here, right now!
Kozue: Didn't you listen to what he just said?! It could get us killed!
Yukiharu: I don't care what happens to me! If I'm gonna die a hero, then so be it!
Daigo: Listen, I wouldn't go to such extreme measures right now! What if he kills you right in front of us?!
Yukiharu: As if that's gonna happen to me! Hell, it's more likely gonna happen to that samurai wannabe over there!
Monokuma: SILENCE!
And with that, the argument stopped dead in its tracks.
Monokuma: Finally, some peace and quiet that everyone has been intimidated by. Let me hear your scared whimpering, everyone!
Umiko: ...Ah...
Luka: Uh...
Hirou: (shaking his head) This can't be real...
Monokuma: Oh I assure you, Mr. Shinju, it is. But I have somebody else in mind right now. KAIJI KUDO!
Kaiji: ...Yes, sir?
Monokuma: (pointing towards the trenchcoat) Does this happen to belong to you, by any chance?
Kaiji: It-it does, sir. To my father, to be specific-
Monokuma: Well too bad!
With those words Monokuma opened a matchbox and took out a match from it. He then dragged the match against the matchbox's surface to ignite it, and before anybody could stop him dropped it onto the trenchcoat's fabric. Kaiji was left screaming as his treasured garment was quickly consumed by fire.
Kaiji: AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! You can't! That's my father's! Put it out, put it out, put it out! Please!
Monokuma: Nuh-uh!
Kaiji: WHY?! JUST, WHY?!
It didn't take long for it to be reduced to little more than a pile of black ashes. Almost immediately Kaiji tried to escape the room, his tear-stricken face buried deep in his hands. The door had however been locked though, and he resigned himself to collapsing onto the floor in a curled up position, much like a little child.
We were trapped inside and forced to listen to him. And Monokuma, the cruel bear he was, didn't care.
Monokuma: Just be grateful I haven't set fire to your precious favourite childhood mystery novel... yet.
Kaiji: ...Ah... ah... why would you do this...
Monokuma: Simple. So. I. See. You. All. Kill. Have I made myself clear?
Yukiharu: Fuck you, Monokuma. Why the hell are you destroying our stuff, anyway?!
Monokuma: You didn't have to be so rude about it to your, but yes. This is your second motive for murder.
Yukiharu: GODDAMNIT!
Kozue: Are you kidding me?!
Hirou: Wait, what?!
No way... Once again, he was trying to goad us into killing each other. His silver tongue had already caused two of us to die needlessly, and I knew that unless we did something fast, it would happen all over again.
Monokuma: No ifs, no buts. I'll explain everything once, and once only. I've got all of your stuff. More specifically, all of your stuff that you loved ever since you were little kids! And if somebody hasn't killed within 72 hours, starting from now, every last one of them gets destroyed by fire!
Masao: (gasp) They're going to burn... all of our personal treasures... are going to burn like Honno-ji...
Yura: What the hell are you rambling about?!
Masao: Ouka-san, it has nothing to do with you.
Souta: From what I've heard, it was where the esteemed warlord Oda Nobunaga got betrayed by one of his own generals and forced to kill himself, right?
Masao: That is correct, Furusawa-kun. But enough small talk; we must focus on what is happening right now!
Ayane: Yes. Monokuma has given us 72 hours-
Monokuma: 71 hours and 59 minutes, now.
Ayane: ...as I was saying, 72 hours to kill another student unless all of our personal childhood treasures are to be incinerated. It may seem tempting, but I don't value items over people.
Daigo: Listen, Monokuma. We're not going to kill each other over a few old trinkets. I wouldn't even kill for my "Employee of the Month" certificate back! Even if it turns out that you're not bluffing and you do destroy them, we look towards the future, not the past. This is our act of rebellion!
Haruhi: Don't count on it. I'm certain someone will act because of what that bear said sooner or later.
Luka: And why do you think that?
Haruhi: It's fate. We all die someday, some of us earlier than others, so we might as well make the most of what little time we have.
Yukiharu: Like hell! There's no fate but what we make!
Haruhi: That's where you're- (cough) -wrong, Yukiharu.
Monokuma: Anyways, go on everyone! Class is dismissed! For now!
The gym's door then unlocked, and Kaiji instantly ran off in order to grieve. Haruhi was the next to take her leave, and the rest of us all reluctantly left the large room together.
3 days... 3 days that I had to spend with my fellow students, not knowing whether they would be willing to kill for what they cherished the most...
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(Free Time Event #5: Madoka Uryu)
I knew that she was up to something when she asked me for Mugen's note: what value did she see in a small slip of paper that contained nothing but presumably gibberish? But needless to say, I had to spend time with this mysterious girl in order to build up trust with her, even if she nearly got us all killed for reasons she still keeps to herself. Surprisingly, she never once brought up the affair of that note in our following conversation, which took place right outside of her dorm room. Instead, she decided to voice her grievances about life.
Madoka: Heya.
Kaori: Hey.
Madoka: Have you came here to talk to me?
Kaori: I have.
Madoka: Oh, that's swell, because... I just wanna get it off my chest.
Kaori: What do you mean?
Madoka: Let me ask you a question. Do you consider yourself to be ordinary, by any means?
Good question. You could say I am ordinary. Aside from spectacular results in textiles, all of my grades are average at best; thankfully I'm not failing any subjects as far as I can remember.
Kaori: I suppose so... I had rather average grades in middle school.
Madoka: But you're an Ultimate Weaver. I know for a fact that you're one of the most talented teenagers in Japan. Everyone here knows who you are. And me? I don't remember my Ultimate talent. For all I know I may not even have an Ultimate talent! I may just be a normal person in the wrong place at the wrong time!
Kaori: Really?
Madoka: Yeah, and that's kind of harsh when you think about it. You've got your whole life ahead of you, and now you're suddenly having to deal with the fact that you may potentially die!
Kaori: (Sounded like a sob story, but...) Madoka?
Madoka: (on the verge of tears) Isn't life fair?!
Kaori: From what you're saying, no.
Madoka: Exactly.
Kaori: ...
Madoka: ...
Kaori: ...
Madoka: ...Thanks for letting me blow off some steam. Gonna go now and try to distract myself from this.
Kaori: You're welcome, Madoka. Bye for now.
Madoka: (sigh) Yeah. Bye for now.
Madoka and I grew a little closer.
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(Free Time Event #6: Souta Furusawa)
Dinner came and went without any substantial comments or events of note, and I found myself with more than enough free time to try and connect with another student trapped in this strange facility along with me. When I came across him standing in the library, I thought to myself that it would be a good idea to spend that free time with him. He must have noticed me even before I said a word; his eyes instantly darted away from the bookshelves and towards me.
Souta: Greetings, there! ...Would you like to spend some time with me?
Kaori: Um...
Souta: Have a little, friendly chat? Kuhuhu~
Kaori: Yes... I guess?
Souta: Excellent! You might want to sit down, because let's face it, I'm going to ramble for a very long time. Got that?
Kaori: I do.
Souta: Good. You might be wondering, how did I even become a paleontologist in the first place? Especially the Ultimate Paleontologist?
Kaori: (Yes, I have been thinking about that.)
Souta: Chalk it up to the one thing that keeps me going on through life: curiosity!
Kaori: Curiosity, huh? I've heard that it kills the cat-
Souta: But that is irrelevant to us! Now, onto what I was getting into...
Kaori: Okay...
Souta: When I was a young child, very young, I went to the museum, like most other children do sometime in their lives. It was there at one of the exhibitions, more specifically one into dinosaurs, that I saw perhaps the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life. A full skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex, or T. rex for short! I just couldn't stop staring at it!
Kaori: What was you thinking then?
Souta: My mind instantly went onto imagining how that majestic beast must have walked the earth aeons ago, before us humans were born! Oh, how it lived life to the fullest!
Kaori: And-
Souta: I needed to know more, and I found out more! Apatosaurus! Stegosaurus! Triceratops! I just couldn't stop researching everything to do with them! I was like a little kid who thinks that dinosaurs are the most wonderful thing ever, and I never grew out of it! And now here I am! What do you think about it?
Kaori: (I just stood there like a deer in the headlights, unable to believe that to him, dinosaurs were serious business.) ...
Souta: What? You don't like dinosaurs?
Kaori: Look, your zeal is giving me the creeps. I want to go now.
Souta: Eh?
Kaori: I want to do something else other than listen to a lecture.
Souta: Ah, now I see. I don't blame you - got a bit carried away there, to be honest! Bye, then!
Souta and I grew a little closer.
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After that talk, I heard some distinct coughing in the distance - and it sounded much more hoarse and rapid that it had been originally. Instantly I had to check up on her to see if she was okay... but I was shocked at what I witnessed when I did find her.
There she was - Haruhi standing in the middle of the hallway, hunched over and with her hand over her mouth. She was in the middle of a violent coughing fit.
Kaori: Ha-Haruhi?
Haruhi: I'm- (cough cough cough) I'm... fine.
I stepped closer towards her to get a good look at her face, and noticed the small smattering of pink blood obscured by her gloved hand. I then looked towards the floor at her feet. Were those... blood-covered rose petals?
Kaori: ...What is happening?! Are you alright?!
Haruhi: I said, I'm fine.
Kaori: You're clearly not fine.
Haruhi: Listen, this is none of your business.
Kaori: And this is a matter of life and death. If it's so bad right now, then why haven't you taken your medication yet?
Haruhi: ...
Kaori: What's wrong?
Haruhi: I'm going to die soon, so forget about me.
Kaori: Wait, I won't-
Haruhi: Because somebody stole my medication. It dropped out of my pocket when I was tending to the flowers and that's when they- (cough) took it.
Kaori: Somebody took your medicine?! Do you have any idea who has it?
Haruhi: No. (cough) As I said, I was- (cough cough) -tending to the garden's flowers...
Kaori: Okay, I'm going to the infirmary for your sake, Haruhi. What does your medication look like?
Haruhi: A small white pill bottle. There's a picture of a cherry blossom petal on it, Kaori.
Kaori: Hold on. I'll be back shortly.
I then rushed towards the infirmary to try and find a replacement for Haruhi's pill bottle. I looked high and low, on the shelves, under the beds, behind the counter, but there was no sign of a bottle resembling Haruhi's description, and eventually I ceased searching, concluding that Monokuma had no such medication on him. I walked back to the hallway that she was in to deliver to her the bad news, but...
When I got there, Haruhi was gone, and I had no idea of knowing where she had went while I was on that wild goose chase. I ran around both of the floors of the facility to try and find her, but it was getting dark quickly - so I reluctantly had to give up my search and go back to my dorm in defeat. That night, I couldn't get to sleep - already Mugen and Ren died as a result of Monokuma. I didn't want her to share their fate.
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*DING DONG BING BONG*
Monokuma: Wakey-wakey, rise and shine everyone! Remember this: it's 7 am, almost all rooms are unlocked and free for access, and you have approximately 48 hours before all of your precious memories go up in flames! I wonder how it'll end? In blood, or in fire? Upupupu~
Thankfully, there was no body discovery announcement last night. For all I knew, Haruhi was still alive, even if she was quite clearly seriously ill and in danger of dying sooner or later. As I got ready for the day, I thought to myself...
Time to get to work.
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Chapter 2: She who Sups with the Devil, Part II, End
14 Remain