"A body has been discovered!" Ressa said over the announcement. I immediately sat up in my bed, looking to the monitor with fear in my eyes. "Jeez... that really did wake you guys up huh? Maybe I should do that more often! Your fearful eyes are HILARIOUS!!!" Ressa laughed. "Well, it's 7 AM, and I want you to actually create a body discovery announcement so HURRY UP!!!" The monitor shut off.
I felt sweat roll down my cheeks. I calmed my breaths, sitting on the edge of the bed with a sigh. That had given me a heart attack. Why did that stuffed animal always have to send us into a fearful spiral?
I got up from my bed, and took a quick shower before getting changed. I began to put on my shoes, and grabbed my glasses. I paused for a moment, walking over to the desk in my room. It had been so long since I'd last studied. Which, wasn't like me.
I remember sitting at my desk for hours, memorizing tedious formulas and reading countless articles. Then getting paid to help kids and other teenagers learn different things. And it was so scary. Worrying if they'd attack me at any split second. But it was... very nice. Finally gaining praise from someone outside of my family.
I stared at the desk, opening before looking through some of the books. I already knew what was on every page. But it was nice to revisit something like this. I opened the drawer, looking inside.
I paused for a moment. Wait... what was this? This was different than last time. Everything was supposed to be the same... so why is it missing? Where did my fountain pen go? The one my father had given me.
It was the only thing I had from my father in this situation. It was my favorite present from him because it was special to him. And my father was special to me. I would die if I lost it! I couldn't lose that fountain pen.
Nervously, I closed it, walking away. A horrible feeling came over me. Did I really lose it? How did I do that? I wouldn't have misplaced it. It was to important. I paused. Did... someone take it? I shook my head, forcing myself to leave the room. I was just going to head to breakfast, and everything would be alright. I didn't want to think about it right now.
I wandered over to the dining room, opening the doors. Everyone was already there, except for Taguchi and Yamazaki. The room didn't seem
to be filled with tension, the only thing keeping the room of people from attacking each other was Sugai's antics. I walked inside, and sat down.
"Alright everyone!" Otani said, walking out of the kitchen with a tray with a bunch of plates on it. Each of them having a waffle on them. He placed it in the center of the table.
"Well, since no one else will ever want a waffle, I will sacrifice myself by eating every single one of them!" Sugai said dramatically, grabbing the tray. He paused for a moment, before looking to Kajiwara, almost confused. "... aren't you going to stop me..?"
"If I stop you, you'll just do it again. I don't think that's very constructive." Kajiwara replied. Sugai glared at him for a moment, almost disgusted and unable to comprehend what Kajiwara had just said. Suddenly, the tray was ripped out of his hands.
"He won't, but I will!" Imamura responded, holding the tray away from Sugai.
"Hey! Give that back!" Sugai demanded. He reached for the tray, but he was to short to do it. Imamura had a triumphant smile on her face, as she looked at Sugai with a sly smirk. Sugai looked to Kajiwara expectantly. But Kajiwara didn't react.
"Um, h- how about everyone just g- gets one..?" Arima asked.
"Yeah, I think that would be the best idea." Otani replied.
"UGH! Whatever..." Sugai said, sitting down in his chair, folding his arms and angrily looking away. Imamura began to pass out the waffles to everyone at the table. And suddenly, someone else walked into the room.
"Yamazaki!" Otani said happily, pulling back a seat for him. Yamazaki glared at him, walking right past him and over to another seat and sitting down. Otani shrugged, taking a plate and placing in front of him.
"I don't understand anything you fucking do..." Yamazaki mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Otani replied.
"How you can blindly show kindness to literally everyone." Yamazaki responded. Otani smiled.
"Well, making people feel wanted is a big part of being alive today. And being nice can solve a lot of issues." Otani explained. Yamazaki rolled his eyes.
"Didn't work for my sister..." he replied.
"Huh?" Otani said.
"Nothing..." Yamazaki groaned. Otani stared for a moment.
"Well, it doesn't work all the time, but it helps a lot more than violence." Otani said. Yamazaki rolled his eyes again. The room fell silent.
"Alright, let me get to the point." Yamazaki began.
"I don't like where this is going..." Imamura said. Yamazaki glared at her, before turning back to the group.
"It's been three days and no one's done anything about the motive. We're all going to have to do another one of these killing games if someone doesn't do anything about it." Yamazaki replied.
"Yamazaki, we're not going to let anyone sacrifice themselves!" Kawata responded.
"Then what's your plan!? We haven't been able to escape this stupid place yet! We won't magically find a way out now!" Yamazaki replied.
"That doesn't mean we should kill someone!" Imamura said.
"Oh spare me the lecture... fucking activists..." Yamazaki scoffed. Imamura glared at him skeptically. She stood up, placing her hands on her hips and angrily staring at him.
"Excuse me?" She replied. "What's so wrong with being an activist?
"What's wrong is that you don't make any fucking impact to whatever you're trying to fight! This entire time you've been so angry at all of us! What does that do!? It doesn't solve any issues!" Yamazaki yelled.
"Well at least I'm trying! All you do is sit in the corner and brute about meaningless shit!" Imamura said. "Pardon my language."
"Oh god, grow some balls and insult me properly! Because I'm pretty sure that there are two missing near your chest..." Yamazaki replied. Imamura stared in shock.
"I don't... even know how to react to that..." Imamura responded. I looked at Imamura, as tears began to roll down her face. She must've been sensitive to what Yamazaki had said. At least, that was a guess. "You're such a horrible person... you know that!? You're a horrible horrible person!" Yamazaki rolled his eyes.
"I'm a horrible person because I want someone to do something about our situation? Does wanting to survive make me a horrible person!?" Yamazaki snapped back.
"WHAT MAKES YOU a horrible person is insulting someone for something they can't control!!! Insult me for my personality! Insult me for my talents! Insult ME for the way I treat others, BUT YOU SHOULD NEVER INSULT ME FOR SOMETHING OUT OF MY CONTROL!!!" Imamura yelled back. Yamazaki stared back at Imamura, almost surprised. "AND IF YOU'RE SO UPSET THAT NO ONE'S DONE ANYTHING, THEN GET OUT OF THAT FUCKING CORNER AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!"
"Imamura, are you alright-" Kawata began, reaching a hand out to Imamura. She quickly slapped it away.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" She sobbed. She took quick breaths, trying to calm herself down. "I... I need to be alone... don't follow me..." she said, walking out of the room. The room fell silent.
"Yamazaki." Otani began, looking at him with a blank face. "You need to apologize to her." Yamazaki looked at the ground, resting his arms on the table.
"Fine..." he replied. He took a deep breath and looked to the group. "Something has to change. I don't know what, but someone is going to have to do it, or more lives will be lost. I don't even care at this point, I just want this fucking nightmare to end." Yamazaki said, getting up from his chair and leaving the room.
"So... uh... how was everyone's night?" Kawata said.
"Well, I found that my night was very nice!" Ressa replied, popping up out of nowhere. Everyone fell silent. "Man, no screaming? No fear? That's REEEEEAAAAALLLLLLLLYYYYYYY disappointing, you know? But, I guess I'll have to try harder next time!"
"Why are you here?" Kajiwara replied.
"Huh? Do I need a reason to be here? Can't I just want some quality time with my students?" Ressa said. Kajiwara just stared blankly at Ressa. "Fine, fine! You got me!" Ressa chuckled. "Well, I wanted notify you that it's been three days! That means you only have four more until you get to experience it all over again!" Ressa laughed. And then, suddenly, the lights began to flicker.
"W- what's happening!?" Arima called out. And then suddenly, the lights went out. The only thing keeping the room lit was the creeping light from the window, landing directly on the table where Ressa was standing. Everyone was silent, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
"... shit." Ressa said, before disappearing.
"Um, what's happening?" Kawata replied.
"I'm not to sure..." Kajiwara responded.
"BOO!!!" Sugai yelled in my ear. I reflexively screeched, taking cover. "Heh heh heh! No one can stop me!" Sugai announced, looking to Kajiwara, who didn't react. Sugai glared, angrily ripping the waffle off of my plate and stomping out of the room, taking a huge bite as he left.
"Here, this is mine. I'm not to hungry." Kajiwara said, passing over his plate to me.
"O- oh, um, thank you." I replied. Suddenly, the lights came back on, Ressa appearing back in the room.
"Alright! I'm back from my massage!" Ressa laughed.
"Massage? D- didn't you turn the lights back on?" Arima replied.
"Huh? No? Nothing happened with the lights! Pfft- why would anything be wrong with the lights!?" Ressa said. Everyone stared at him blankly, before he turned towards the door. "Anyways! I have to go look for Araigu and kill him! Buh bye everyone!" He said, waltzing out of the room. Everyone looked at each other, unable to say anything.
"Well, speaking of which, I think Hirano and I have something to do." Kawata said, standing up and putting his hands together.
"Oh, um, right." I replied, getting up from my seat, taking one last bite of my waffle before following him out of the door. "Um... is this about the promise from three days ago?" Kawata nodded.
"If Araigu doesn't have anything, we're going to tell Ressa where he is." Kawata said. I sighed, looking to the floor.
"But... isn't Araigu an AI?" I replied. Kawata stared at me for a moment.
"What do you mean?" He replied skeptically.
"Araigu said they were an AI, doesn't that mean they still have feelings? They have morals? They're basically living, right?" I responded. Kawata stared at me for a very long moment.
"Hirano... I know you have a very big heart. You care about everyone. But that's what's bad. You care so much you're being tricked by a stuffed animal who's trapped us here. It's probably just a remote control toy. And whoever's controlling it, is the people who trapped us here." Kawata replied. I stared at him for a moment.
"But... Kawata I-" I began.
"I understand Hirano, but we are people. It's a robot. No matter what you do, or how you look at it, it's feelings are fake. We have to worry about our group of living, breathing, human beings. Not a stuffed toy." Kawata explained, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's... just the way things have to be." I looked at the floor, doing a slight nod in response. Kawata opened the door, and suddenly, Araigu ran over.
"H- hello! H- hurry inside!" They said. Kawata and I looked at each other, before entering the room.
"What is it?" I replied. Araigu smiled.
"I- I think I found something!" Araigu said, pulling out a piece of paper, and handing it to Kawata. He scanned it for a moment.
"This is a list of... security protocols?" Kawata asked. I leaned over, scanning over the words. It listed every camera location, every door lock, every weapon, and even more information about the security.
"A- at the bottom of the page!" Araigu said. Kawata raised an eyebrow, before looking down at the bottom of the paper. Kawata's eyes widened.
"The... exit door?" He replied. Araigu nodded vigorously.
"I- it should be on th- the wall outside! Y- you just have to p- press a specific brick and it'll open!" Araigu said.
"But... the wall will electrocute anyone who touches it. How would we be able to deal with that?" Kawata replied.
"Y- you know the b- blackouts that have been happening? Y- you can touch the wall a- at that time." Araigu replied.
"Um, h- how would we find the brick? There's so many." I responded. Araigu paused for a moment.
"W- well, if you w- walk right up against th- the wall, it should b- be the fourth o- one up." Araigu replied. Kawata stared skeptically at Araigu.
"Hey, why are the blackouts happening? You should know... right?" Kawata said, glaring at Araigu.
"R- Ressa doesn't know how to m- manage things very well. I- it was my job, s- so now that I've s- stopped, h- he can't figure it out." Araigu explained. "A- and, I don't really think th- the mastermind can-"
"Mastermind!?" Kawata said, moving over to Araigu quickly. "You know who the mastermind is!?" Araigu stared at him in surprise, as he grabbed them and held them in the air.
"I- I don't know wh- who it is!" Araigu called out.
"You're not on our side! You've been hiding this from us the entire time! If you'd told us we'd already be over with this stupid game!" Kawata yelled.
"I- I don't know! H- honest! I- I never spoke with th- them! That's R- Ressa's job!" Araigu pleaded.
"No you're just using us! You're just playing with us! You're giving us false hope, and by the end of this you're going to laugh and say how badly we dealt with this all! You're going to say how horribly I've done MY job as a police officer and how I couldn't protect everyone! And that I'M responsible for everyone's deaths!" Kawata said, his face turning red with rage and his eyes becoming glossy, as tears began to flow. Kawata raised his other fist, ready to swing at the raccoon.
"Kawata! Calm down!" I called out, grabbing onto Kawata's hand, forcing him to stop. Kawata looked back and forth between Araigu and I.
"Hirano! You don't understand! It's playing us! If we don't do something about this we'll end up dead!" Kawata replied.
"But Kawata! Araigu already gave us enough information! We don't need to know who the mastermind is! W- we're going to escape, right? And Araigu doesn't even know! Even if they did, w- what good what it do us!?" I replied.
"It would get us Justice! So many people have DIED ALREADY!!! I'm not losing anymore! Not when I can DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!" Kawata yelled, grabbing the taser out of his belt, and turning it on, ready to jab it into the robots body.
"NO!!!" I yelled, grabbing onto Kawata's wrist, forcing him to stop moving his hand. The taser inches away from electrocuting my face.
Panic rose in Kawata's face, tears streaming down his face. I stared at him, a pleading look in my eyes. Kawata dropped Araigu to the floor, staring directly at me. He started to take deep breaths, as he turned the taser off. I moved Kawata's hand down, him letting go of the weapon. Kawata started stifling breaths and cries, wiping the tears out of his eyes with his other hand before they could be seen.
"I- I'm so sorry... I- I don't know what came over me... I- I just wanted to-" Kawata began.
"Protect everyone?" I replied, smiling at him. I raised his fist up, placing my hands around it. "I know you'd never want to do this. You had a good reason. If this goes wrong, then we're all in trouble. But..." I looked at the floor, tears starting to fall down my face. I made eye contact with him, grinning "At least I'll someone with me when it happens. All I care about is that we at least try to get out of here. And I want to do it in the safest way possible." I giggled, moving one hand to wipe the tears away "Oh, you've got me crying now..." I laughed a bit.
"I- I'm sorry..." Kawata responded, looking at the floor in shame.
"Don't be sorry. You didn't think of anyone but yourself. You almost broke the rules, and all you cared about was making sure that we were protected. And I'm so... so very thankful that I have someone who cares enough to do that for everyone." I said. I could feel myself holding back a sob. "B- but... I don't think I could handle seeing my best friend be killed. I don't think I could handle it if you left me here all alone. I don't want to lose anyone... not anymore... but I don't want to lose you the most... you were the first one I met here... and I don't you to be the last one I lose..." I didn't think I'd had so many emotions rush out of me at once. It was like a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, but another had taken its place. The cup has been filled, but at the same time been emptied. Kawata stared at me for a long, silent moment.
"I'm sorry Hirano... I should've controlled myself better..." Kawata said. He punched me ever so slightly in the shoulder. "You better not leave me either! You're the detective in every case and you do any amazing job at it!" He laughed. I giggled in response, rubbing my shoulder.
"Well... maybe I could be one when we get out of here." I replied. Kawata smiled at me.
"Yeah... I'd like that." Kawata responded. Kawata looked to Araigu, and laughed nervously. "Um, uh, sorry about that..." Araigu stared at him in horror.
"N- no hard feelings?" They replied.
"We should probably get going. I want to be ready when the power goes out." Kawata suggested. I nodded, Kawata headed for the door. Suddenly, something popped into my head. I looked over to Araigu.
"H- hey, thanks for saving me..." Araigu replied.
"O- oh, no problem." I laughed. "Um, h- hey, if Ressa rebuilt someone's room, would he be allowed to take anything?"
"O- of course not! U- unless it actively works a- against the k- killing game, we're not allowed to t- touch students private p- property." Araigu replied. My eyes went wide, nodding as I quickly rushed I've to Kawata.
"Kawata!" I said, as we left the room.
"W- what is it!?" He asked in a shock.
"Y- you know how you asked me to investigate my room to as if anything was missing?" I replied. His eyes went wide. He knew what that meant.
We had a lead.
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