"What a fucking weirdo."
"Wow, do they really think they'll amount to anything?"
"Why even try? You know that you're pathetic!"
"Just give up. No one wants you here. No one loves you. No one will ever care about you."
"It's so sad that you keep coming here. Give up! It's not worth it!"
"You know... it's so sad they have to deal with all this. Glad I'm not them."
"Why not just fight back?"
"Why are they so weird? I mean, it's like they're an alien!"
"You'll never amount to anything."
"You'd be better off dead."
"You're really stupid, how are you still alive?"
"You're really annoying."
"Would you just shut up!?"
"You look like a goblin!"
"Are you blind or something!? No one wants you here!"
"You should die."
"Die."
"Die."
"DIE."
"DIE!"
"DIE!!!"
"DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!"
"Hirano..?"
I paused, looking over to the door. It was hard to tell who it was for a moment, since I'd taken off my glasses to put an ice pack over my eye. After a few moments, I was able to discern the familiar face that was peaking in through the door. He had a concerned, bright smile on his face.
"H- hey dad... c- come i- in..." I said. My dad slowly opened the door, wandering inside. In his arms, was my baby brother. He walked over, and sat down next to me. He grabbed onto the ice pack, holding it to my eye. I jolted back suddenly, before slowly letting him place it, my body shaking ever so slightly.
"You... doing alright?" He asked. I managed to put a smile onto my face, which sent a shock of pain through my whole body.
"Y- yeah... I'm d- doing great." I replied, barely getting the words out. He stared at me, losing the smile on his face.
"Oh I'm so sorry honey..." he said, putting his forehead to mine, me ever so slightly flinching at his sudden movement. He pulled away, looking at me with sympathetic eyes. "Do you want me to pull you out until high school?" I stared at the ground for a moment.
"N- no... that won't h- help our l- living s- situation..." I replied. A small smile came across his face.
"How was a I blessed with such a perfect little girl..?" He asked, placing a kiss on my forehead.
"I- I d- don't know..." I responded. No matter what he said, I wouldn't believe it. But I might as well act as if I'm grateful for the compliment.
"I'm so sorry for all this. Everything will be better when you make it to high school. I promise." He said. I looked to the ground disappointedly.
"S- sure... w- whatever you say..." I replied. He paused for a moment, before placing the baby down on the bed beside me.
"Hirano." He said, getting down on his knees in front of me. "You are so strong for powering through this horrible situation. With everything that's happened over the past few months, I know you have what it takes to overcome everything. Don't let anyone take advantage of you. I will never get mad if you try to defend yourself. Don't let others push you around. You are superior in every way to any bullies or villains you come across in the real world." I stared at him for a moment, before turning my head down.
"O- okay... th- thanks..." I said. He paused for a moment, before taking something from his pocket. He sniffled, wiping the tears from his eyes. A large smile came across his face.
"You know... I was going to give this to you when the school year ended, but... I think you need it now." He replied, holding an envelope out in front of me. I stared at the paper for a moment. I reached my hand up slowly, flinching when I grabbed it. Terror rose inside of me, as I slowly opened it up. I unfolded the note, and my eyes slowly began to scan the page. And suddenly, an overwhelming feeling hit me directly in the heart.
"I- I... w- was scouted b- by Y- Yuustumi?" I asked, a so gripped onto the paper. I felt the tears begin to rush into my eyes, as I let myself begin to cry. "Th- they... thought... I- I was good e- enough!?" Tears fell down my fathers cheeks.
"Your mother and I knew this day would come. I just wish that she was here to see it." He said, picking up the baby and sitting beside me. "I'm so proud of you." He said, holding me close. The tears ran down my cheeks, as I wept into his shoulder, as I held my baby brothers hands.
This was my chance. This could change my life. Yuutsumi would change my life for the better. Or... so I thought.
Because now I'm laying in bed, unable to get the courage to get up. I want to get up. I want to escape these thoughts. But the visions keep entering my head.
Maybe what happened was a sign that nothing was going to change. Maybe this killing game was a punishment for the horrible thing I did. I deserve to be here. I never deserved to be happy. I deserve to feel such despair as I lie in this hospital bed, destined to waste away.
"Jeez! It took me awhile you find you!" Ressa said, scaring the life out of me. I sat up, grabbing the glasses from the side table. I felt my body began to shake, as I stared at the red panda chuckling to himself. "Someone's gotta fix up your room! I'd get Araigu to do it, but we're not on the best of terms right now." He laughed.
"What is this about?" I asked, staring at him with a scared look on my face.
"Oh right! The purpose of my enchanting arrival!" He chuckled. "I wanted to tell you all about this person named Tengan Kimiko..." Ressa laughed.
"T- Tengan?" I responded. He nodded happily.
"Yep! Yah see, I think it's really really really boring for someone to kill and have none of their motives or plans revealed! I'm gonna make sure you know absolutely everything about the last case!" He chuckled to himself, before paused for a moment. "Hmm... should I leave you in this room? I mean, this is a hospital so if someone tried to kill you then it would be a lot easier to get medical attention..." He mumbled to himself. "Alright! I'll fix up your room Hirano!"
"No!" I yelled out. Quickly, I covered my mouth. Ressa stared at me for a moment, almost confused.
"What do you mean 'no'?" He asked.
"I- I um, Kawata wanted me to g- go and investigate it for anything missing. If you fix it up n- now, I probably wouldn't be able to figure out if anything was taken." I said. Ressa stared for a moment.
"Alright! That's fine with me! Just have it done by the end of the day, because whether you like it or not I'm going to go over and repair it!" He replied, before disappearing.
I stared at the place where the red panda had appeared. Slowly, I arose from the hospital bed and got changed. I moved to the door, leaving the room. I let myself wander until I reached the cafeteria doors. I sighed, pushing them open and walking inside.
"Sugai, give it back to Arima!" Kajiwara said, grabbing Sugai by the hood and lifting him up, trying to reach for a pastry trapped within Sugai's pocket.
"YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!" Sugai yelled, struggling to escape from Kajiwara. But was only really flailing in the air. I stared at the scene for a moment, before looking around the room. The only other person who was in there was Arima. I walked over, and sat next to him.
"You doing okay?" I asked. Arima stared at the table for a moment.
"No..." he replied. I stared at him for a moment.
"What's wrong?" I responded. He didn't reply for a moment, the chaos from Sugai and Kajiwara still doing their chaotic antics background.
"I- I..." Arima paused. "I almost killed everyone yesterday... I... don't know what came over me..." Arima has tears falling from his eyes. "I wanted to make sure that Miyazaki made it out. She saved my life! I- it was only right I try and save hers! I- I..." he paused again. "I should be dead... not her..."
"Arima, that's not-" I began.
"LET GO OF ME!!!" Taguchi yelled, being dragged into the room by Ressa.
"Jeez... I miss the days with absolute bliss when kids thought I was just a tour guide... glad that didn't last long! Now I get to be a serial killer!" Ressa laughed, letting go of Taguchi. He stood straight up, glancing around the room nervously. "Anyways! Gotta bring in the other rats who don't wanna be here!" And, as suddenly as he arrived, he left.
The room fell silent, as Taguchi stood frozen. Slowly, he walked around the table and sat down in one of the chairs. He avoided eye contact with me, as if I would come over and try and kill him.
"If I may ask, why are you so nervous?" Kajiwara asked, finally grabbing the macaron that Sugai had stolen, and handing it back to Arima. Sugai angrily pouted towards Kajiwara.
"Is that any of your fucking business?" Taguchi replied. Kajiwara raised an eyebrow at him. Taguchi shifted back in his seat, dropping his head down. "I didn't mean it... I'm... uh..." Taguchi began, before stopping himself from speaking further.
"You're what?" Kajiwara replied. Taguchi shoved his head further down. Kajiwara stared for a moment. "It's quite alright. It wasn't my place to ask you that." Taguchi didn't react to anything he said, as if he was trying to stop all thoughts from reaching his head.
Suddenly, the doors opened up, Kawata walking inside. I stared for a moment, unable to keep my eyes off of his face. His eyes had massive bags under them, and he looked pale. Dry tears remained on his cheeks, and his clothes seemed lazily thrown on.
"Woah! Did Kawata die and come back as a zombie!?" Sugai yelled, suddenly being slapped across the head.
"Have some respect." Kajiwara replied, before turning back to him. "Hello Kawata, how did you sleep last night?"
Kawata stared at him for a moment moment, before making an attempt to smile and shrug his shoulders, but it came off as more of someone trying to escape a terrifying situation quickly. He raced over to a chair, and sat down, looking straight down.
Suddenly, the doors flew wide open, Ressa returning with another person. Imamura, who had her shoulders slumped over and was staring at the floor depressingly. She wandered over slowly, and sat next to Taguchi. And then, one more person arrived. Yamazaki, who seemed less than interested in being here, but ended up sitting down at the table anyway, his arms crossed.
I took a small sigh. It felt like all the colors and intrigue had disappeared, leaving behind dark shades and a frightening aura. But, as soon as that thought appeared in my mind, a sudden bright feeling entered the air, as soon as the kitchen doors opened.
"Everyone's here! Wow, that is so amazing! I'm so glad!" Otani said, walking over and placing a large crock pot of soup on the table. "Things have been so rough, but, it seems that everyone came besides that! It's so grand that all of you are making this effort to cheer up. Maybe I should try as hard as you all are." Otani smiled. He stared around the room for a moment, and a distressed look came across his face. "Oh... is this not the case? Is... there other motives to being here?"
"Of course that's the case! Do you really think that these despair filled faces would've shown up without a threat or two?" Ressa laughed. All expression left Otani's face, as he stared at Ressa for a moment. "Now! Sit down fat boy! I've got some stuff to talk about!" Otani didn't reply, he only moved over to a chair and sat down. I looked over to Imamura, expecting her to protest something about the insult that Ressa said, but she only stared at the floor, her eyes losing any sort of emotion she may have had on her face.
And suddenly, it became aware to me. Everyone was on edge. Maybe not Sugai, Kajiwara or Otani, but everyone had been pushed past their limits. And it was all this red panda's fault. Something boiled up inside of me. I'd never felt this feeling before, but I could tell it would fester until it exploded. I took a deep breath, my fist clenching up, as I glared at Ressa.
"Alright, everyone ready for story time?" Ressa laughed. No one replied, so he took out some reading glasses and a piece of paper. "Okay, so, Tengan was..." Ressa looked at the piece of paper for a moment, before throwing it away, along with the glasses. "Nah! I think I'll just wing it!" He laughed. "Tengan had actually been planning a murder for quite some time now, she just never had the opportunity to absolutely mangle anyone to shreds! So, she just went along her way! But slowly over time, the pressure overcame her. Look at all the dead people, aw how sad..." Ressa pouted and laughed. "If she didn't do anything quick... she'd also be found dead... and oh how sad that would be for her!" He said, tauntingly. "And then the stars aligned! A free ticket out of here, and a target. Or... should I say two..." Ressa chuckled, looking directly at Arima. "Well... actually... that wasn't the original target of this plan... it was actually little miss shy glasses over here. But, what can I say! You got lucky..." Ressa said, looking directly at me. I stared for a moment, not responding. I was... the original target? "Anyways, very quickly she took her chance, grabbing the two for one coupon out of the garbage can as soon as Naito and Hirano left! And then, she acted on her plan. She got a murder coupon, and used it to get as many items as she needed for her little trick. And by the way Imamura, I did cover for her. So I guess you were right!" Ressa laughed. Imamura didn't look at him, just staring at the floor in shame. "Oh and by the way, she snuck out at night to find the secrets I hid about you guys all around, and one of them just so happened to be about Naito's eye condition! Anyways, moving forward, Tengan's plan was to blind Naito with the chemicals, make it seem as if she'd escaped from the room from the window, and then push Arima inside and light him ablaze, exploding the evidence and getting rid of all traces of her!" Ressa chuckled a bit. A terrified look came across Arima's face, as he began to take deep breaths. "It was pretty genius if you ask me! I mean, exploding literally everything! That would be a great finale to the killing game! But... I guess that Miyazaki's actions saved you all from a cruel punishment, by sacrificing herself..." Ressa mocked, chuckling to himself. "... I guess you're all weak then... letting poor Miyazaki take the fall... none of you had the guts to help protect your fellow man..." Ressa's voice went dark and intimidating, still mocking us.
This... feeling. I'd never... felt so empowered before. It was as if a fire had risen inside of me. As if I'd reached a limit that I hadn't had before. One that rose above the despair I'd felt before. A rage so inconceivable, it was surprising I'd even had this in me before. And I wasn't going to let this feeling escape me. Because this... this is what was going to empower me. Dad... I promise I'll stand up to the villains. And I'll come home. I'll come HOME!!!
"No..." I said.
"Huh? What was that?" Ressa replied.
"NO!!!" I yelled, slamming my hands down on the table. Everyone jumped back in their seats, staring with complete and utter shock on their faces. "I'M DONE!!! I'M DONE LETTING PEOPLE PUSH ME AROUND!!! I'M DONE LYING IN BED RESTLESS AND AFRAID!!! AND MOST OF ALL I'M DONE WITH YOU!!!" I screamed, standing up on the table and pointing at Ressa. "YOU CAN PUSH US AROUND ALL YOU WANT BUT I WILL NOT FALL TO ANYMORE OF YOUR SCHEMES!!! I WANT TO GO HOME!!! YOU'RE GOING TO LET US GO HOME, A- AND YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!!! WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE OR WE'LL NEVER LEAVE AT ALL!!!" I yelled. Yamazaki scoffed. Ressa stared at the floor for a moment.
"Then never leave..." Ressa mumbled.
"Huh?" I replied. Ressa began to chuckle, before his laugh suddenly arose into a maniacal cackle.
"THEN YOU'LL NEVER LEAVE!!! IT'S THAT SIMPLE!!!" Ressa laughed. "EVERYTHING YOU'VE WORKED FOR WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY!!! THIS WHOLE GAME WILL THROWN UNDER THE RUG AND NONE OF YOU WILL EVER BE REMEMBERED!!!" Ressa suddenly had an intimidating smirk. "Or... will you do something about this? Will you finally take initiative... just like what you did at your last school?"
"W- what?" I replied, staring with large eyes.
"Oh you didn't think I knew? I knew exactly what you did? Honey, I know EVERYTHING about each. And. Every. One. Of. You..." Ressa chuckled again. "So... why don't you do it? Do it again! I dare you! Do it! DO IT!!! DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!!!" Suddenly, I felt myself losing control. I felt myself dive forward, a fury overcoming me as I reached out for the stuffed animal.
And, as sudden as I had dashed forward, I was thrown to the side. A person had flown right at me, pinning me to the floor. It was so quick I hadn't even realized that I hadn't even realized who had done it until I was taking deep breaths on the floor, being pinned down.
"HIRANO GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!!!" Kawata yelled, suddenly snapping me away from the anger that had reached a breaking point. I stared up at an horrified, enraged face, with a taser in a hand being pointed directly at me. And suddenly, the weakness returned. Tears rolled down my face, as I began to sob. Kawata's face suddenly filled with anguish and regret. "No no no, I- I'm sorry I didn't..." he said, letting go of the taser and staring at his hands. Tears started to enter his eyes, as he stood up, reaching a hand out and helping me up. "H- Hirano! I- I'm so sorry, I- I didn't mean to... i- it was out of impulse! A- and I was worried you'd be-" Kawata began. I threw myself into his arms, hugging him tight. What had ever come over me? Why didn't I control myself? If it wasn't for Kawata... then I would be-
"THAT was a close one!!!" Ressa giggled. "Man! I was so ready to rip you to shreds! But oh well, I guess we all can't have our way with things!" Ressa chuckled, before bowing. "Welp! I guess it's time for me to take my leave! Au revoir you sons of bitches!" And then, he disappeared.
"Well, that was fucking stupid." Yamazaki said, getting up and wandering over to the door. "Someone come and get me when something actually important happens. But, I can't say that this didn't teach me something..." Yamazaki glared directed at me, before leaving the room.
I let go of Kawata, and stared at the ground. What was going to happen now? Hopefully... something good... but... that didn't seem to be the case...
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