We wandered back over to the room, walking inside. I sighed, looking at the room around us. Almost every time I see it again... it gets worse. At this point, was it getting worse? I sighed, walking to the door and beginning to close it.
"Wait." Tengan said, putting her hand in between the door frame and the huge plank of wood.
"W- what is it?" I replied. She paused the door open, and stopped towards it. She got down on her knees, and inspected the lock.
"This lock traps people inside." She responded, pointing at it.
"How did you know that?" Naito asked.
"I used them at my business." Tengan replied, standing straight up.
"H- huh? Why?" I said in response.
"A lot of people I hire are working for competitors who want to steal different company secrets. Having them on confidential doors makes it impossible to open." She explained. "The only way to open this door is if someone on the outside opens it. There's no other way to get out."
"Well... I guess we shouldn't close that door huh?" Naito laughed nervously.
"I- I guess not..." I replied.
"Um, so, should we begin?" Naito asked.
"Sure." Tengan responded, taking some gloves and pulling them onto her hands, and placing some safety goggles on her face. I sighed, taking some of the equipment from the bag. I put on the goggles and the gloves, before putting on some knee pads.
The three of us worked for hours, picking every single piece of glass up out of the carpet. We cleaned the walls, making the the mold disappear. The room, after a lot of work, turned back to normal. Or, what I assumed was normal. Naito pulled a small step stool from the closet, and walked it over to the center of the room. She untwisted the old light, and placed in a new bulb.
"I think that's it for the cleaning!" Naito said, hopping down from the step stool and happily backing up, before putting her hands up as if she was taking a photo of the room. "Man! I wish I could take a picture of this place!"
"Can't you ask Yamazaki?" Tengan asked. Naito's face suddenly lit up, as if it was the best idea she'd ever heard.
"That's right! I almost forget we're ultimates some times." Naito explained, nervously laughing. "Hey, so do you guys want to help me decorate tomorrow?"
"I'm okay with that." Tengan replied. I paused for a moment.
"W- well, Kawata wanted to talk with me about s- something, so I'll have to see if I can f- first." I responded.
"Oh, okay Hirano. If you can't, that's alright. We can get someone else to help! Or we can just work on it ourselves." Naito replied, a smile on her face.
"Ladies!" Ressa yelled out, scaring Naito half to death. "Alright! I've got a new proposal for you!"
"Leave us alone." Tengan replied. Ressa chuckled a bit.
"Trust me! This is gonna be something you want." He said, laughing to himself. He pulled a small slip of paper from behind his back, almost as if it had appeared in his hand. He held it up in the air triumphantly.
"I- is that another coupon?" I asked. He chuckled a bit.
"Yep! But it's not the same as before!" He laughed. Enthusiastically, be put on a hat and pulled out a cane. "This coupon is very special! This coupon can be used at the class trial!" He laughed.
"Class trial?" Naito replied, a look of surprise plastered on her face.
"Yep! It's called the two for one!" He began. "The two for one coupon can be used to get out of any class trial unscathed as the killer! You automatically get to escape the execution and go home to your mommy and daddy!" He laughed.
"What's are the requirements?" Tengan asked, glaring at Ressa.
"It's very simple! You have to murder two people! But that's not all, you still have to go through the class trial. You can't just use the coupon as soon as the murder is done. You have to let everyone try and figure out who the killer is, then they could use the coupon! But, if they choose the wrong person, then the same rules apply!" Ressa laughed.
"Can you stop trying to advertise murder to us?" Tengan asked, with a long sigh and a face palm.
"Oh, you guys don't get the coupon! I'm going to go hide it, I'm just making sure you guys are aware of it's existence." Ressa explained, beginning to walk out of the room, before placing it on the floor and walking back to where he'd originally been. "There! It's hidden! Good luck finding it!" He said, winking at us before quickly disappearing. The three of us stood frozen in the room, none of us speaking up about the coupon. I stared at the thing, unable to think clearly.
A coupon, that lets you get out out of here scot-free? Escape this hotel without any punishment? No execution of any kind? A... way to get out without the possibility of getting the death penalty? And all you had to do... is kill two people...
"Neither of you are seriously thinking about murdering two people, right?" Tengan asked, suddenly snapping myself out of my trance. "This is probably a lie. After all, this bear thing wants to kill as many people as possible. Letting one of them go scot-free isn't going to reach that goal." Tengan said, walking over and picking up the coupon, looking at each side of it, inspecting it. Almost immediately after, she turned and placed the coupon in the trash. "It's most likely a ruse."
"Yeah... probably..." Naito replied. "I don't want anyone to die though. What if someone finds it and thinks it's real?" She asked.
"Tomorrow, after we finish this room, we go and tell Kawata about the coupon. He wants to prove that he's going to protect us. Let's make that an opportunity for him." Tengan explained. Naito smiled and nodded.
"Yeah. That's a good idea." She replied. We walked out of the room, my eyes glancing at the trash bin. I didn't want to think about it, but the thoughts were to intrusive. All it took was two people. I shook my head. That wasn't okay. I couldn't sacrifice two people just to escape. And I'd probably fail if I tried.
I wandered over to my room, opening the door. I paused for a moment, staring inside. The room has still been in a state of absolute destruction. Nothing had changed, except for the yellow caution tape around the entire thing.
"Well, that's a predicament." Kajiwara said, making me jump.
"K- Kajiwara!?" I blurted, almost falling to the ground, but suddenly being grabbed by the wrist, preventing me from hitting the floor. He pulled me back up to my feet.
"I'm assuming that this wasn't your doing, correct?" Kajiwara asked. I nodded. "And Kawata was the one you told first?" He looked at the caution tape as he said that. I sighed, nodding. He paused for a moment, before closing the door. "Whoever did this to your room is most likely out to get you."
"I- I know, b- but I can't stay in any of the other rooms. I- it's too dangerous." I replied. He paused, thinking to himself for a moment.
"I know a place you can stay." Kajiwara responded.
"No... I had a heart attack the last time someone let me stay in their room for the night." I said. Kajiwara looked at me skeptically.
"What are you talking about..?" He replied. I stared at him for a moment, before my face turned pink.
"O- OH!!! I- I thought you w- were going to offer m- me your room!" I responded, covering my face with my hands in shame.
"I don't mind. This isn't the first time someone's made that mistake." He said. I stared at him for a moment. Wow... a ladies man I guess. "I was going to say that you should stay in the hospital. Of course, you won't be entirely safe, since the doors don't lock. But it's better than being in plain view. I myself have been sleeping in the hospital."
"Y- you have?" I replied. He paused for a moment.
"Truth is, a hospital feels more homely than any sort of house. Which may seem idiotic, since that's a place where disease is rampant, but it's just what's more comfortable to me." He explained. I felt a small smile crawl across my face.
"I- I mean, you really love your job." I said. Kajiwara stared at me for a moment, before nodding.
"I'll join you once I find Sugai and get him to bed." Kajiwara replied.
"H- he really is childish." I said.
"HEY!!! I'M NOT CHILDISH!!!" Sugai yelled from down the hall, before covering his mouth and sprinting away. Kajiwara sighed.
"Goodbye Hirano." He replied, before running down the hall. I stared as he raced away, before beginning to walk in the opposite way. I hadn't even thought of that idea. I smiled to myself, nodding as I wandered all the way to the hospital.
I looked at all of the name plates, before finding one with my name on it. I walked inside. The room was completely white, as if the shadows were the only thing allowing the corners to be seen. The rest of the room was filled with grays. Gray table, gray chairs, gray flooring. Most of the furniture was made of metal, and had white cushions to make it more comfortable. I noticed a giant metal cabinet next to the door, taking a pause before opening it up.
There didn't seem to be anything inside, until I noticed something in the corner of one of the shelves. I reached inside, pulling the small piece of paper out of the place it had been wedged inside of. When I managed to get it unstuck, I looked at what it said.
Murder Discount! (Using coupon makes you liable for punishment if murder is not committed within week of use)
"Hooray! You found it Hirano!" Ressa yelled, popping up out of nowhere. I stepped back out of the sudden shock, Ressa chuckling himself about something. "Now you can go and use it to murder someone! Oh, and you can use that other coupon that Tengan threw away to get out scot-free if you murder two people! Pretty sweet deal, huh Hirano?"
"N- no! It's not!" I replied, moving back, trying to get away from the red panda.
"Aaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwww, why not? Oh, I get it, you don't have the guts to do something wrong. But... did you forget? You've already done something absolutely tragic." Ressa chuckled.
"H- huh?" I responded.
"Oh, did you not think I knnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwww? I know exactly what you did..." Ressa said, his voice going low and intimidating. "Are you trying to redeem yourself? Don't kill anyone here so people will see you as a better person? Well... just so you know... doing something that horrible isn't redeemable..."
"I- I..." I could barely get the words out, holding the coupon in my hands as I shook. "I- it was an accident!" I yelled. Ressa chuckled again.
"So... now you're making excuses as to why you didn't do anything wrong? Well, it makes sense. Psychopaths don't know that they've got a mental illness, so it only makes sense that you'd deny everything." Ressa replies. He smiled. "I hope you reconsider the whole 'no murder' agenda." He said, before disappearing. I stood, frozen, holding the coupon in my hands, tears in the corners of my eyes.
I dropped my head. It was probably true. I was gaslighting myself into thinking I did nothing wrong. But in fact, I'd done something despicable. I looked down at the coupon. There was no sense in trying to redeem myself. The damage had already been done... right? I paused for a moment.
Was I ready to kill? No... I wouldn't ever want to kill anyone!
There I go again trying to justify myself with shitty reasons.
I'm to much of a wuss to do that!
Oh please, you've done worse in your life.
But that would be betraying the group! I'd never do that to my friends!
They're not your friends. They're your competition. And are you even sure they trusted you to begin with?
"No..." I mumbled. I wasn't going to let some voices in my head try to dictate what I did. Like a devil and angel on your shoulder, they can try change your actions, but you're the one who ultimately makes that choice in your life.
I held the piece of paper up in front of me, and angrily tore it to shreds. I dumped the pieces into the trash can. I stared at the destroyed pieces. In another life... they'd be intact and in my hand. But not in this life. I turned away, and wandered over to the hospital bed, throwing off my shoes, hopping under the covers, taking off my glasses, and falling into the deep black abyss of my mind.
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