Now Playing - Despair Syndrome (1)
"Mizuki? Mizuki! Wake up!"
What the.....
Slowly, I opened my eyes to see a girl with curly brown hair and bright yellow eyes leaning over me.
"Thank God.... You okay?" She said. I noticed she spoke with a slight Italian accent.
"...Wh-who are you!? Where am I!?" Panicking, I sat up and scrambled to get away from her.
"Dammit... He really wasn't joking, then?" I turned my head to where the voice came from and saw a short girl with wavy dark green hair fidgeting nervously with the zipper on her hoodie.
"You dumbasses thought he was joking?" A boy with scarlet hair said, exasperated. "This is Monokuma we're taking about! He never jokes around!"
"I-It's not our fault for being optimistic!" A girl with lavender pigtails protested. "I-it would be a mistake to believe everything Monokuma says!"
"And look where that optimism got us! We've got an Ultimate with amnesia!" The scarlet-haired boy said.
"Baiko!" An orange-haired girl snapped at him. "Chill out, man! Let's just try and get everything under control!"
"Oh, come on! A motive like this? A murder will happen even faster than the first one did!" The boy (Baiko?) shouted back.
The orange haired-girl was stunned into silence. "I.... I'm not.... That wasn't...."
"What the heck, Baiko? I thought we all got over that and forgave her!" A dark-skinned girl said.
"Oh, come on! You're all just stupid! Don't you all remember how she was the one to confess to writing the note!?" He huffed.
I looked back at the orange haired girl who was the source of all this controversy, and I saw that tears were streaming down her cheeks. Slowly, I got up and walked up to her, placing one hand on her shoulder.
She looked up at me and rubbed her eyes. "Um... My name's Katsumi Midori." She said. "You can just call me Kat."
"I-is everything alright?" I asked her.
"You... You wouldn't get it." She said. "I don't think you'd understand any of this."
"Try me."
"Well..." She pointed at the front of the room, which was occupied by a... teddy bear? "That's Monokuma. He's... kidnapped all of us. The only way to leave is to... God.... Murder another person."
"What!? Y-you're joking, right!?"
That was when Katsumi looked me dead in the eye. "I wish I didn't have to say this. But.... Four people have already died."
"N-no. No way."
"Hayato Morihei.... Daichi Midori.... Kyoji Moriai.... Haruko Kobayashi." She said. "Those were their names."
"Midori? Were you..."
"He was my brother." Kat said. One hand drifted up to the necklace she was wearing. "This belonged to him. He gave it to me... Before his execution."
"Execution? As in... the death penalty?"
"He committed murder because of me. Baiko's right to hate me, you know. I indirectly killed two people, including my own brother. Honestly.... I can't believe myself. If we actually succeeded, everyone here would be dead."
"What the hell-"
She reached into the pocket of her track jacket and pulled out a small green rectangle, holding it out to me.
"Rule number six: Anyone who murders a fellow student and becomes 'blackened' will graduate, unless they are found out. Rule number seven: Once a body is discovered by three or more people, an announcement will play, and a class trial will begin shortly thereafter. Participation is mandatory for all current survivors." She said.
I was too shocked to say anything.
"Rule number eight: If the guilty party is exposed during the class trial, they alone will be executed. Rule number nine: If the guilty party is not exposed, they alone will graduate, and all remaining students will be executed." She finished, putting back her rulebook(?) with a sigh.
"How.... How did this happen?" I said, horrified.
"Monokuma has... ways to get us to kill one another." She said.
"Even with the threat of death looming over our shoulders?" I asked.
"That's just part of the game..."
I suddenly started to feel lightheaded. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."
Kat grabbed my arm to steady me and led me out of the room we were in, bringing me to a hallway lined with what looked like dorm rooms. She pushed the door of one open and sat me down on the bed.
"You can stay here a while if you want." She said. "The door can be locked, and it's against the rules to break down a locked door. I'll tell the others that you're in here." Then she left, leaving me alone in the eerily silent room.
I laid down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Kat... Was really being serious, wasn't she? I closed my eyes, shielding my eyes from the light that painfully drilled into my skull. Before I knew it, I fell asleep.
*ding dong!*
I grumbled in discontent and subconsciously pulled my pillow over my face.
*ding dong!*
"Not now..." I mumbled sleepily. God, my head hurts...
*ding dong!*
"Not now, please!" I repeated.
I heard a faint click, and pulled my pillow off of my face to check what it was. I saw that my door had been opened, and the red-haired boy was standing in the doorway.
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
"Um. Hi. Were you sleeping?" He said.
"Yes." I mumbled.
"Sorry about that. I don't think we've been properly introduced. My name's Baiko Tanifuji." He said.
"Right. The guy who yelled at Kat." I said.
"Um. I apologize for that. I tend to get very angry when we get to the topics of murders."
"Weren't.....You the one who brought it up first?"
His face flushed red. "Um-"
"Why don't you apologize to her?"
"Uh- I don't think she'd accept a simple apology..."
"There's no way to know until you try, right?"
"ANYways.... I came here to tell you that I talked to Monokuma and he told me the few things you remember."
"And?"
"Well, you remember your name-"
"Mizuki, right?"
"-and your talent-"
"Ultimate Intellectual Prodigy?"
"-and basic knowledge of math, science, history, et cetera-"
"Mhm."
"-aaaand that's about it."
After racking my brain for a bit, I found he was right.
"Also, Serena was looking for you in the dining hall." He said.
"Who?"
"Serena Utahoshi? Curly brown hair, yellow eyes, weird accent? Her?"
"Come to think of it, I do remember seeing someone like that... What does she need?"
"I dunno, she just asked me to get you. I can take you to the dining hall since you probably don't remember where it is."
"What a gentleman." I said, getting out of bed. "Well, let's go."
He led me out of the dorm and to a large cafeteria not too far away.
Several other students were scattered about the room, but Baiko led me to a pair seated in the corner who were drinking tea and eating what looked like biscotti. One matched the description Baiko gave me, while the other had wavy green hair and wore a black hoodie.
"Serena, right?" I said to the brown-haired one. "Baiko said you wanted to see me?"
"Right." She nodded, putting down her cup. "I was wondering if you might want to eat breakfast with me, get to know each other again?"
"Ah, I'm not really hungry." I said. "Thank you for the offer, though."
"But you haven't eaten in days." The green-haired girl said. "At least eat a biscuit if nothing else."
"I'm really not-"
I was interrupted by Serena putting one hand on my cheek, then pulling it away.
"You're burning up." She said. "Are you feeling alright?"
"Well, I do have a bit of a headache..." I admitted.
"I'll go to the nurse's office and get you some fever medicine after you eat." She said, holding out one of her biscotti to me.
"There's a nurse here?" I asked.
"Erm, not exactly." The green-haired girl said. "We have to rely on our own first-aid experience if someone gets hurt."
"Thank Monokuma for that policy." Serena said.
I took the biscotti Serena was holding out to me and put it in my mouth, forcing myself to swallow it through the nausea that started when I chewed it.
"Wow, you must really be sick..." The green-haired girl said.
"It's that obvious, huh?"
"Mizuki, you're like an open book." She said. "You can't hide anything from us two."
"Um, no offense, but.... I don't even know you anymore." I said.
"Right. My apologies. I'm Arisa Ryuzaki, Ultimate Hacker."
"Hacker?"
Arisa giggled a bit. "You reacted the exact same way when we first met. Trust me, I'm not a bad person. I got my title of Ultimate Hacker by being a white-hat."
"White-hat?"
"It's a term in the techie community used to describe a hacker who hacks to prevent viruses or malware from infecting computers, and sometimes work for the government. Think of it like the total opposite of stereotypical hackers." She explained.
"Think you could hack Monokuma and get us out of here?" I sighed, sitting down in an empty chair at their table.
The girls were silent for a bit.
Now Playing - DISTRUST
"Mizuki, I-I know that was a joke, but..." Arisa said, lowering her voice, "I'm actually trying to do just that. If Monokuma hears anything about it, I'm dead."
"I-I'm sorry! My lips are sealed!" I said, panicking a bit.
"It's good, just act natural or else he'll think something is up." She said.
"Right, right." I quickly composed myself, sitting up straight in the chair.
Now Playing - Beautiful Morning
"So, how many people have you met so far?" Serena asked me.
"Only you two, Baiko, and Kat."
"Oh! Speaking of which, you guys, look over there!" Arisa whispered excitedly, pointing past me and Serena.
I turned around in my chair to see Baiko bowing at the waist to Kat, his face red.
"Is he.... Apologizing to her?" Serena said in wonder.
"Well, it's about time!" Arisa said. "If he brought up the first trial one more time, I was going to go berserk."
"Guess he took my advice." I said.
"Mizuki, you did this?" Serena said. She sounded surprised.
"Um, yeah. I just suggested he apologize, and... he did."
"Guess we were going about it the wrong way, then." Arisa said.
"And how were you guys going about it...?" I asked.
"Um..." Serena trailed off.
"We'll tell you later." Arisa said. "For now, let's just go and get you some medicine." She stood up and grabbed my wrist, pulling me out of my chair.
"Woah!" I almost tripped, but stabilized myself at the last second.
"Careful." Arisa said, dragging me out of the dining hall with Serena chasing after us.
She led me to the nurse's office, which was a small room tucked away in the corner of the hall. It had three hospital beds against the wall and several cabinets to store medicine. Arisa went up to one of the cabinets and opened it, scanning the contents.
"Let's see... Poison, poison, more poison.... "
"Isn't there an entire chem lab for poison?" Serena said.
"Well, you know Monokumquat. He loves his murder."
Serena burst out laughing. "You did not just call him Monokumquat!"
Arisa smirked, then turned towards the excessively large security camera in the room.
"Oh, Monokumquat?" She called in a mocking tone.
Now Playing - Mr. Monokuma's Lesson
"What is it, Ari-son of a bitch?" Monokuma replied, suddenly appearing in the center of the room.
"Oh, come on! You didn't even try with that one, kumquat!" Arisa said.
"I don't care, bitch!" Monokuma said. "Now tell me what you want so I can leave."
"Fever medicine. Where is it?" Serena demanded.
Monokuma grumbled, hopping on Arisa's head to open a cabinet above her. He reached inside, pulling out a small bottle and turning around to forcefully throw it at Serena. "There. You got what you wanted. Now never call me a kumquat again!" He jumped off Arisa's head, storming out of the room.
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
"Guess he's in a bad mood." Arisa said, rubbing her head.
"To be fair, you did compare him to a citrus." Serena replied, opening the bottle and shaking out a few pills into her hand.
"Can't say it wasn't funny, though!" Arisa said with a wink.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it got you killed." Serena joked, playfully attacking her.
"Hey!" Arisa burst out laughing, smacking Serena's hand away.
Serena chuckled, handing off the pills in her hand to me before focusing all her attention on Arisa.
I put the pills in my mouth and swallowed them, watching Serena and Arisa break down in laughter.
Laying down on one of the beds, I covered my eyes with one arm and tried to fall asleep.
"Hey, Mizuki, are you okay?" Arisa said.
"Migraine...." I mumbled.
"It's probably a side effect of whatever's making you sick. Speaking of which, we should probably ask Monokuma about that."
Now Playing - Mr. Monokuma's Lesson
"Hm? What's that, bitch?" Monokuma said.
"Oh, come on! I didn't even call you a kumquat that time!" Arisa protested.
"Monokuma never forgets! So, what seems to be the problem, ladies?"
"Mizuki's illness... It's not food poisoning, because the last thing she ate was food Kyoji prepared, and we all ate that, too." Serena said.
"And we've been isolated for weeks, right? So she couldn't have gotten sick from someone else." Arisa added on.
"Oh, your detective skills are showing!" Monokuma exclaimed excitedly. "You're right! It's not food poisoning, and it's not from someone else! In fact..."
Now Playing - Mr. Monokuma After Lesson
"It's a disease I genetically engineered myself!"
I sat up suddenly. "Wh-what!?"
"Yep! It's an additional motive, because I'll only provide the antidote once somebody winds up dead!"
"And you didn't think to mention this!?" Serena said.
"With any luck, it's already spread to you two!" He laughed. "Now, don't worry, it doesn't make you go berserk. You see, it starts out as a fever and a migraine, but soon you're coughing and vomiting and can't even get out of bed because of the fatigue!"
"It gets worse, doesn't it?" Arisa sighed.
"Eventually, the symptoms get so bad that your body just shuts down! Maybe you can't breathe, maybe your fever is too bad, but the grand symptom of this disease is eventually.... Death!"
"Of course it is." Arisa rolled her eyes.
"Miss Ryuzaki, I don't think you're taking this seriously enough! Death is knocking at your door!" Monokuma scolded her.
"As long as we're with you, we're on the brink of death. You took a big gamble, y'know. You might not have any killing game participants soon." She said.
"Don't get cocky! These types of motives always have a trial within a day or two! This ain't my first rodeo!"
He then disappeared, and the monitors flicked to life.
"Ahem, ahem, excuse me, students! I have an announcement to make! The hidden motive has been discovered! Now, you may be thinking, 'Hidden motive? What's that?' Well, it's a motive that I didn't mention when I declared the first one! And this hidden motive is.... a deadly disease! No antidote until after a Class Trial takes place! Patient zero is Miss Mizuki Kokatsu! With that, happy killing!"
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
"Damn." Arisa cursed, curling a strand of her hair around her finger. "Now what? Do we all quarantine or..."
"No." Serena said. "Sooner or later, we're all gonna run into each other, which means sooner or later, we're all gonna catch it."
Suddenly, two girls came bursting through the door.
"Mizuki! Are you alright!?" The taller one said, adjusting her yellow cardigan.
"Um, I don't think we've introduced ourselves yet..." The shorter one said. "She's Keina Hagihara, and I'm Aiko Hekima."
"Right, right!" Keina said.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine... Just a headache."
"A-anyways, I was originally coming here to say.... I had an idea for how you can get to know the girls around here!" Keina said. "What about we hold a giant slumber party in my room?"
"Would we even all fit? Those rooms are tiny, with only one bed. A lot of us will have to sleep on the floor." Serena asked.
"Aiko's tiny enough that she can sleep in the bed with me, and the rest of you can use sleeping bags on the floor. Come on, it'll be fun! I asked the other girls, and they all said yes!"
"Well, I'm down." Arisa said.
"Sure, me too." I said.
"Well, if you two are doing it, I will too." Serena said.
"Yay!" Aiko smiled and ran in to give Serena a hug.
Serena quickly backed up and held Aiko at arms' length. "Sorry, Aiko... I'm not really a huggy person."
"Aww..." Aiko whined, going back to Keina, who patted her head.
"So, when's the party?" Arisa said.
"I was thinking tonight? Try to make it before the nighttime announcement, 'cause I usually lock my door by then."
"Right!" Arisa nodded.
"So, uh, how many other students are there?" I asked.
"Well, you haven't met any of the boys besides Baiko, right?" Arisa said. "You can meet the rest of the girls at the sleepover, but there are still three boys you need to meet." She turned to Keina. "Do you know where they'd be?"
"Well, Isoshi's probably in the art room. If I had to guess, Yosai would be in the library, and Takayuki... probably in his room!" Keina said.
"Thanks, Keina!" Arisa grabbed me by the arm. "See you at the sleepover!" She then pushed past the two girls, dragging me with her.
She ran up to the third floor, only stopping to let me catch my breath every so often. She pushed open a door attached to a large foyer, and I saw a strawberry-blonde boy sitting at a canvas, completely focused on his painting.
"Hey, Isoshi!" Arisa waved at him. "Whatcha painting?" She dragged me over to him. Looking at the canvas, I honestly could've believed I was looking at a photograph. The scene the boy had painted was that of a sunny beach, with turquoise water so sparklingly clear you could see the sand underneath. What made this even more impressive is that he had no reference image, and seemingly painted it all from memory.
The boy looked up at me and smiled. "Do you like it? I have several more paintings in my dorm if you want to see more."
"Well, I suppose I should've expected that from the Ultimate Painter." Arisa said. "But still, we only had access to this room a couple days! Bro, do you ever sleep!?"
"I have a photographic memory." He said in response. "All the paintings I've made so far are scenes from my childhood. This one is particular is from a vacation to America when I was six."
"Oh man, I wish I had a photographic memory!" Arisa said. "I could remember so many things that would be super helpful as a hacker!"
The boy painted a few more strokes, then got up from his chair. "I'm sure your memory is fine already. After all, you're an Ultimate. Some people would kill for skills like ours."
Arisa flinched. "Ah, 'kill' isn't a great word to use in a death game."
"Eh, right, right!" The boy tugged on his apron, turning to face me. "I'm Isoshi Tatsuno, Ultimate Painter! I... would say it's a pleasure to meet you, but we kinda already know each other? It's all a little weird."
"I feel like a fish out of water, to be honest..." I admitted.
"Oh, didn't we all? I was SUPER insecure about my talent when I first came here!" He said.
"Why? You're the best painter Japan has ever known, but I'm just some nerd with high grades."
"My grades sucked! I came here thinking about how I'll probably flunk before I graduate, but I'm in a class with the best honors student in the country, a historian that can list every single Emperor and Empress of Japan from the time the monarchy was established, a hacker who could probably infiltrate national cybersecurity, and a forensic scientist who's better than the actual police!"
"When you put it like that, it does make me feel kinda silly...." I chuckled nervously. "I guess the forensic scientist must be helping you out a lot."
Arisa froze. "He's.... He's dead. He was the first one murdered."
"Oh. Right...." Four people are dead. I should've assumed the forensic scientist was one of them.
"This is getting gloomy. How about we think about something happy?" Isoshi said.
"Like what?" Arisa said. "There's not much to be happy about in this godforsaken school..."
"Oh! Maybe we could think about beating up Monokuma! That'd be pretty great, right?"
"Too bad it's against the rules, otherwise he'd be a pile of fluff before you know it." Arisa said.
"And demon bear coming here in 3.... 2... 1..." Isoshi started counting down.
Now Playing - Mr. Monokuma's Lesson
"What was that, Ari-"
"Called it!"
"Hey, can't you see I'm trying to talk here? Show some respect for your headmaster!" Monokuma shook his paw angrily.
Isoshi rolled his eyes. "You are a bear. I'm not gonna let a bear push me around."
Monokuma sat down dejectedly. "Aw man, why won't someone just kill already so I can have some fun?"
"Mmm, I dunno, maybe because YOU EXECUTED EVERYONE WHO DID." Arisa said angrily. "Or, hear me out, maybe, just maybe, we don't wanna participate in THIS STUPID KILLING GAME!?"
"Arisa, calm down!" Isoshi said.
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO BE CALM! Y'KNOW, YOU DESERVE TO BE CALLED A KUMQUAT, YOU DISGUSTING EXCUSE OF A HEADMASTER!"
"Arisa, stop, before he gets mad!" Isoshi backed away nervously.
"HE'S ALREADY MAD, WHAT THE HELL DOES IT MATTER!? IF HE WANTED TO, HE COULD KILL US ALL! WHY WOULD ANY OF THIS MATT-" Just then, Arisa broke down in a fit of coughs, stumbling back against the wall to stabilize herself.
Now Playing - To Survive
"Oh, what luck! We've got case number one!" Monokuma laughed. "It looks like her symptoms are different, too! This is gonna be fun!"
"Crap.... It spreads.... That fast?" Arisa wheezed.
"The symptoms develop quickly, as well! At this rate, I'd say you've got about 72 hours before you all keel over! Better grab a knife, quick, quick!"
"Is that a prediction.... or a time limit?" Arisa glared at Monokuma.
"Well, it *was* a prediction.... But it might be a time limit if you really want it to!"
"Ugh, no thanks. Let's get outta here, Mizuki." Arisa grabbed my wrist and led me out of the room.
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
Arisa had a bitter expression on her face as we walked down the stairs. How much mental strain did everyone go through because of Monokuma? Maybe I was better off not knowing.
We walked to a large room on the second floor with intimidating red double doors. Arisa pushed one open, revealing the room to be a large dusty library. A boy with silver hair was reading a thick novel, but soon, he put it down with a somewhat dissatisfied look.
"Hello, Arisa." He said.
"Hey." She groaned.
"Mizuki, how are you feeling?" He asked me.
"I mean.... Considering I have Monokuma's disease...."
"I never did think Monokuma would restort to such..... Dirty tactics." He said.
"Apparently it spreads ultra-fast, too." Arisa says. "'Cause I also have it now."
"Perhaps we should stay away from each other for now." He says.
"Nah, Serena doesn't think that'll work." Arisa says.
"I suppose I can see her reasoning.... But I still believe quarantine is the best option. I have studied several historic plagues and most were deadly due to improper hygiene and lack of social distancing."
"It's technically not a plague yet." Arisa pointed out.
"That is true... but I don't doubt that Monokuma's disease will end up becoming lethal. It.... is a sad reality we must face."
"Damn... why do you have to be such a downer?"
"....My apologies. I don't know how to cheer you up in a situation like this."
"It's fine, I'd just... rather not think about it." Arisa said. "Y'know... we should get going, Mizuki."
"Okay. " I said. "It was nice meeting you, um..."
"Yosai. Yosai Kabuto." The boy said.
"Yosai." I repeated.
I could've sworn I saw him give us a small smile before we left.
Soon after we stepped out of the library, its tender silence was replaced by....
"Hey, Zuki! Ya doing alright?"
A blonde boy in bright red-and-gold clothes.
"Uh.... Y-yes? ....Am I 'Zuki?'"
"Yes, you're Zuki! Short for Mizuki!" He seems completely oblivious to the fact I apparently got my memories removed.
"Right. Uh.... And you are...?"
"Takayuki! Takayuki Uesaka, that is!"
"Riiiight.... Uh, you have a nickname for me.... So, were we..... Um..... Y'know...."
"D-Dating? No! After the first trial, the idea of romance with one of the girls went straight out the metaphorical window.... "
That's.... actually kinda sad.....
"So fear not!" He said. "I shall pursue no romantic endeavors with you! Plus, I already have a girlfriend!"
He just completely forgot about the first trial....
"Hey, it was nice catching up with you, Takayuki, but we really should be going." Arisa said. "Nighttime is coming up, and we really need to be getting to the dorms..."
"Alright, seeya, Ari!"
"He's so..... loud." I said to Arisa as we walked down to the dorms.
"Yeah, Takayuki has always been a little.... extra." She said. "He once asked everyone what their 'type' was, and didn't elaborate any further. The next morning, I found a slip of paper under my door with a phone number written on it."
"He tried to hit on you!?"
"Pff, no! Apparently, that number belonged to one of his friends. He was trying to play matchmaker!
"Does he realize that Monokuma took our phones?"
"Apparently not. But you know what makes things even better? For the guys, he gave them the number of an ex-girlfriend!"
"No shame, huh?"
"No shame." She repeated.
As we reached the dorms, Serena approached us.
"Hey, Arisa, can I talk to Mizuki in private for a minute, please? You can go on ahead." She said.
"Yeah, sure thing!" Arisa said. She went over to the dorm labeled with a portrait of Keina and knocked on the door, walking inside a few moments later.
"Serena? What do you want to talk to me about?"
Now Playing - Death Wish
"I-I know this is gonna be a lot to take in, but... I have to say it. Mizuki, I... I was an awful person before. And I mean horrible. I didn't have any sympathy, and I didn't show any kindness, and I only helped the others if it benefited me. And I haven't told anyone this before, but I.... I was even tempted to kill someone. Do you hear me? I was tempted to kill someone! Y-You helped me be better, but..... when you get your memories back, I don't want your opinion of me to be lowered. I know it's inevitable, but, please, don't hate me when you get your memories back. Even though I treated everyone horribly, don't hate me. I-"
I interrupted her by grabbing her firmly by the shoulders. "Serena, I don't care what you were like before! I only care about what you're like now! So let's not focus on the past! Let's only focus on the here, and the now, and the time we get to spend with each other! Because.... In a game like this, who knows how much time we have left? I want to spend as much of it as I can.... with you."
"Mizuki....." The look in her eyes conveyed a complex mix of emotions that I couldn't begin to unravel. "Don't.... don't say things like that."
"Well, why not? You're not like that now, are you? So tell me why I can't say things like that!"
"I.... I could die tomorrow, you know. And then where would you be? Wallowing in grief because you were stupid enough to grow attached to me."
"You won't die tomorrow, though! I'll help you, like I helped you before, even if I don't remember it. And I can't explain it, but.... I feel drawn to you somehow. Like we were lovers in a past life. Does that make sense?"
"....I think it does."
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
I couldn't help but smile at her. "I was worried it wouldn't. I might've forgotten everything, but somehow, I don't think I fully forgot you."
"I'm too pretty to be forgotten, aren't I?" She joked.
"A face like yours? Hmmm..... B-plus." I responded.
"Oh, you know I'm an S."
You know, maybe she really is an S. Bright eyes, silky smooth hair, porcelain skin.... It's undeniable that she's very pretty.
"I'm right, aren't I?" She said. "S for Serena?"
"Maybe. Now come on, Keina's gonna lock the door on us."
I walked across the hall with Serena, and she grabbed the door handle. Just as she walked in....
"KYAAA!"
A glass of water tumbled from the doorframe, spilling all over her.
"Oh man, I cannot believe you fell for that!" Arisa laughed.
"Arisa! Was this your doing!?" Serena grumbled angrily.
"You know it!"
"You let her do this, Keina!?" Serena turned to Keina, who was sitting on her bed with Aiko in her lap.
"To be fair, it was kinda funny." Keina shrugged.
"Don't worry, I'll help you clean up the mess." Arisa said. "Go dry your hair and get ready for the sleepover!"
Serena grumbled in agitation, going into the bathroom for a towel.
Arisa patted a sleeping bag right next to hers, gesturing to come sit down.
I kneeled down on the bag and watched as one by one, three more girls came in.
A cute brown-skinned one wearing a pink seifuku....
A rather pale one with her dark hair tied into a long braid....
And Kat, who slammed the door shut with an annoyed sigh.
"Baiko has been bugging me with apologies ever since breakfast." She explained. "I needed an excuse to get away from him."
"That does sound really annoying...." The brown-skinned girl said.
"It is! I couldn't get a moment of privacy!" She huffed. "I get he feels bad, but that was just excessive!"
Serena came out of the bathroom, a towel slung over her shoulders.
"Oh, great! Everyone's here!" The brown-skinned girl said. "Let the sleepover commence!"
"So, why not start with introductions?" Keina said. "I mean, Mizuki already knows most of us, but I'm pretty sure there are a couple that she hasn't met."
"That would be me." The brown-skinned one said. "Hi! I'm Emiko Yukimori!"
"And I am Namika Hatake." The dark-haired one added on. "It is a pleasure to know you."
"And what's your.... thing? You know... everyone has their thing, so what's yours?"
"Ooh! Aiko first! Aiko first!" Aiko said excitedly. "I'm a philosopher!"
"And I'm a jockey!" Keina said. "Aiko loves it when I talk to her about horses. Pretty sure it's her favorite topic..."
"Aiko loves ponies! I wanna visit Keina's farm one day!"
Keina chuckled. "Maybe one day."
"Woah, you have a farm, Keina!?" Arisa said. "Tell me all about it!"
"Well, uh..... I was kinda raised as a farm girl. Takin' care of the animals, doing manual labor, et cetera. I didn't really care for the horses all that much, but then my older brother got sick and I had to start taking care of them. And.... it was actually really fun! It was hard at first, but the more I did it, the more I looked forward to it! When my brother got better, I found myself asking to go with him whenever he went out to take care of 'em! Eventually, I took up horseback riding, and took a few gigs as a jockey for some extra money, and that's how I got my talent! So.... that's my story."
"Woah! That sounds super cool!" Arisa said. "Ooh, Namika, what about you? How'd you become the Ultimate Archer?"
"It is a rather boring story." Namika responded. "But if you truly wish to know, my biological father encouraged me to join a club at my school. The only club that still needed members was the archery club. I joined, and apparently had inherent talent. My skills were honed to Ultimate-level, and I was scouted by Hope's Peak."
"'Biological' father? Were you adopted or something?" Kat asked her.
Namika sighed. "As far as I am concerned, I do not have a father. My caretakers are the parents of a friend of mine. Please, do not ask. It's a part of my life I prefer not to remember."
"Okay. What about you, Emiko?" Arisa asked.
"Huh?"
"How'd you get your talent?"
"Um.... you do realize that I'm the Ultimate Lucky Student, right?"
"Yeah? What about it?"
"Well.... I got here through a lottery. My talent isn't anything special."
"So? I still wanna hear the story."
"U-um, if you really wanna hear something about me, then..... My parents taught me that, to be successful, you've gotta work long and hard. They saw Ultimates as the peak of society. When I got the letter saying I was accepted into Hope's Peak, they were esctatic. It's just my luck that I get the one talent that has nothing to do with effort, huh? A-and I'm not even that lucky, either! I never get a good hand in card games, it always rains when I go on vacation, and it's like I break everything I use! In the end, I'm really just a fraud...."
"Woah, is that negative self-talk I hear?" Arisa said. "You're not a fraud, Emiko! You're just as special as the rest of us! You are a lucky, beautiful, ass-kicking woman, you hear me?"
Emiko paused for a moment, then nodded with a smile. "You know.... you've been asking everyone about themselves, but we haven't heard about you."
Suddenly Arisa looked very nervous. "Well, I'm the Ultimate Hacker, and that may sound cool to you, but, if I'm being honest...." She sighed. "Being the Ultimate Hacker.... kinda puts you on a bad road in life. Everyone automatically assumes I'm a bad person just because I infiltrated a cyber security network once or twice. I mean, come on, I never caused worldwide destruction with my talent, or cost the government millions of dollars with a virus, but I keep being silently judged. Guess being an Ultimate isn't all it's cracked up to be."
"O-oh.... That sounds awful. B-but I don't think you're bad!" Emiko said. "I think you're a wonderful person and a wonderful friend!"
Suddenly...
*ding dong, bing bong*
"Mm, ahem, this is a school announcement. It is now 10 p.m. As such, it is officially nighttime. Soon the doors to the dining hall will be locked, and entry at that point is strictly prohibited. Okay then...sweet dreams, everyone! Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite..."
Aiko yawned. "That means we should probably get to sleep."
I laid back in my sleeping bag and stared up at the ceiling. The lights flicked off, covering us in a grayscale darkness. I closed my eyes, and slowly everything disappeared as I fell asleep.
......
Now Playing - Beautiful Morning
"Hey, Mizuki!"
Startled, I woke up to see Keina leaning over me.
"You slept past the morning announcement! You gotta wake up!" She said.
Slowly, I sat up and rubbed my eyes.
"I'm pretty sure breakfast is ready in the dining hall, if you're hungry."
I stood up, stretching out my arms. Keina quickly pushed me out the door and closed it behind me.
The dining hall....? I'm pretty sure it's this way.
Arriving at the dining hall, I scanned the room until I found Serena and Arisa sitting in the far corner. I approached them, and Arisa waved to me.
"So you finally made it! I was worried your breakfast was gonna get cold."
She grabbed a plate on the other side of the table and slid it over to me. All that was on it were a bunch of pastries that bore a resemblance to crossaints.
"Cornetto." Serena said. "It's a recipe my mother taught me."
"Try it! It's really good." Arisa said, stuffing one into her mouth.
I grabbed one and bit into it, becoming almost startled by the amazing taste.
"You're right!" I said to Arisa.
"I'm never wrong about these things." She shrugged.
I continued eating until my plate was empty.
"Hey, Serena, are your hands burnt?" Arisa said.
I looked over. The palms of her hands were bright red. It seems they had been burnt.
"Hm?" She looked at her hand. "Oh, I must've burned myself while cooking."
"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" I asked.
"No, I'm fine." She said.
Arisa shrugged. "Just make sure it doesn't get worse."
Serena picked up our plates and went into the kitchen to wash them. When she came back, she said, "Have either of you seen Namika?"
"No. Why?" Arisa said.
"Well, I've seen every girl but her today. Just wondering if you knew where she was."
"I'll go look for her if you want." I said.
Serena nodded, and I took off.
Now Playing - Beautiful Death
The first place I went was obviously Namika's dorm. I rang the doorbell, but she didn't answer. She must be somewhere else, then.
I searched the entire first floor. Nothing.
I searched the entire second floor. Nothing.
I searched the third floor. Every room was empty...
Except for one.
Now Playing - Despair Syndrome (2)
I pushed open the door of the game room.
That's when terror, cold and unforgiving, flooded my body.
She was somewhere else, alright.
Suspended from a rope tied around a ceiling light.....
Was the hanging body of Namika Hatake.