"S- so... you know what he could've stolen?" Kawata replied.
"Yeah! It was my fountain pen." I responded. Kawata stared blankly for a moment, before putting his hand around his chin and thinking to himself.
"Well, we'll have to wait... we don't have anyway of actually getting into his room, since I don't have a proper warranty..." he thought for a moment, before lowering his hand. "Well, at the very least, we know what we have to keep an eye out for. Of course, we'll need to get a way into that room. But we'll come up with something!"
"Like what?" Ressa asked. The both of us didn't react to the sudden appearance of the red panda. "Oooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I get it, you're trying to be menaces to society like me!" Ressa said, pulling out a handkerchief and motioning the wipe of a tear. "I'm so proud..."
"W- why are you here..?" I replied, stepping back and staring with a tinge of fear in my eyes.
"Ugh, again with the reasons!" He yelled out. He took a sigh, which very strange to watch, before he turned back to us. "Anyways, yes, I do have my reasons." He glared at the two of us. "You see... I find the entertainment of a screen to be my favorite pastime. Looking to see whatever shenanigans or misery you may be in, is a v-ery interesting thing to witness... but, you see..." Ressa pointed towards both of us. "Well... I haven't seen either of you on the cameras... which is a very big problem that could lead to the deaths of both of you..." Kawata stared, a look of false anger and horrifying fear taking the place of his blank demeanor. "Jeez, are you guys doing the dirty? Yeah, keep that out of the cameras! I don't wanna be called a pedophile! Professionals have standards! Are you guys even allowed to do that!? Are you guys even old enough for that!? The age of consent is eighteen! Wait, or is it something else in Japan? I'm going off of American laws."
"I fucking hate you..." Kawata said.
"Tee hee! Oh Kawata, you're too modest!" Ressa teased. "And why is it that you only swear when you're talking about me hmm? Why not anyone else? Oh, I get it! Do you have a crush on me? Aaaaaawwwww, Kawata! You flatter me!" Kawata groaned, beginning to walk away. I sighed, turning in the opposite direction and taking a couple of steps. "Oh... and by the way... I'd suggest splitting apart a lot more often... because if I find out what you're doing... things are not going to end well for either of you..." Ressa cackled, before disappearing.
I looked back to see if Kawata was still there. But, he'd disappeared. I sighed, walking away. I started to think about what I could do now. Maybe I could check on Imamura. She seemed really upset earlier, and it would be good to make sure that she's doing alright.
I nodded to myself, trying to think about where she might be. And suddenly, I ran directly into someone else. I fell to the floor, staring up out of the sudden surprise.
"Oh, uh, Hirano..." Imamura said, holding a hand out to me. I laughed a bit, grabbing it and pulling myself up. "Um, are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine! Um, I- I was actually just looking for you." I replied. Imamura stared at me blankly.
"Why?" She responded. I paused for a moment.
"Oh, I- I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright." I said. "Y- you know, after the whole thing with Yamazaki..?"
"Yeah, I'm aware of what happened." Imamura replied. "Well, I'm fine now, so you don't have to worry."
"Oh, what happened?" I responded. Imamura stared at me for a moment, before turning away from me.
"Someone talked to me and made me feel better..." Imamura said.
"Who was it?" I replied. She didn't say anything else, just staring at the floor. "O- oh, you don't have to say anything. I can leave you alone now... I'm sorry... I just wanted to make sure you were doing okay." I turned away, beginning to walk away.
"Um... hey... Hirano..." Imamura began. I spun back around, looking at her. She seemed to be feeling conflicted about something, almost unwilling to say anything. She took a deep breath. "Do you... know anything about love?"
"H- huh?" I replied.
"Nevermind, it's nothing..." she responded, covering her embarrassed, bright red face.
"U- um, it's not that. I'm just confused why you'd ask me... I- I've never been in a relationship." I explained.
"W- well, you're literally the only other girl here, and so you're the only one I can ask about this kind of stuff." Imamura claimed.
"Yeah, that's really weird... that we're the only girls left..." I laughed, nervously scratching my neck. "Um, anyway, I'm not really the romantic type, though I haven't really ever been in a relationship so I wouldn't know, and I'm kind of dense when it comes to love..." Imamura laughed a bit.
"Ha! You think you're dense? This one guy I knew had a crush on me for four years, and when he told me that he liked me, I thought he was complimenting my accomplishments. It took him four tries before I even thought he was trying to confess his attraction. And I only realized what he meant a year afterwards!" Imamura laughed. I giggled along with her.
"Who do you think you would've asked if everyone was still alive?" I replied. She paused, thinking for a moment.
"Well... none of the girls really seemed to be the type to talk about that kind of stuff..." Imamura began.
"Furuya?" I suggested.
"Nah, she'd probably give advice but then freak out when it came to her own love life." Imamura chuckled.
"What about Miyazaki?" I replied. She laughed again.
"I'm pretty sure she'd rather slap someone rather than date them." I joined her in a giggling fit.
"Morita definitely doesn't know anything about romance." I responded.
"I don't think she'd even care enough to get into a relationship." Imamura said. We giggled a bit. "You know what, I bet that Sazama definitely had a relationship. She'd probably be really good with that kind of stuff." We both chuckled together.
"Um, so why were you asking?" I replied. Imamura's smile quickly faded, as she looked away.
"Uh... I just want to know... for when I get out of here..." Imamura responded. I stared at her for a moment, frowning in a sudden understanding.
"Imamura... that's not what this is about, is it?" I said. Imamura turned to me, her aggressive and agitated behavior returning, her face a bright red.
"That is none of your business! I have a right to my own privacy!" She snapped back.
"I- I'm sorry! I- I didn't mean to, I- I just wanted to make s- sure you were doing okay! I- I'm really really sorry!" I replied. Imamura's eyes were filled with rage, but suddenly, her face softened. She looked down at her hands, shaking back and forth, quickly stuffing them into her pockets for safe keeping.
"I'm... sorry Hirano... I shouldn't have yelled at you like that..." Imamura said, looking at the floor in shame.
"N- no, I shouldn't have p- pushed you so much." I responded. She shook her head back and forth, before looking up at me.
"Hirano, I don't think you understand how great of a person you are." She said.
"H- huh?" I blurted out. She sighed, pulling out a medal from her pocket, holding it out to me.
"It's a medal awarded to those who have created peace. I received it a couple of years back. I think... you should have it." She replied. I put my hands up, trying to push it away.
"N- no, Imamura I can't accept this-" I began.
"Hirano!" Imamura said, demanding attention. "I got this medal for something I never did. I got this medal because I was told I made a difference in this world. That I created some sort of peace on this horrible planet." She stared directly into my eyes, before looking away sighing. "But I never did... I never created peace... all I've done is demanded something for my own morals. This whole time, I've spent the killing game arguing for my own personal agenda. My own ideas. I would've gotten everyone killed in the first trial, because I was so set on the fact that I had to be right, even if it didn't make any logical sense. I had to be smart enough. I had to be the hero. Everything was about me, and what I thought was right. I created fights. I created dismay. I created hatred and discomfort. But you never did any of that Hirano. You did the exact opposite." She looked away, taking a small sigh. "You put aside your own fears. You were nice to as many people as possible. You made people feel safe around you. You've grown so much throughout this whole killing game." She looked up, directly into my eyes. "When I first met you, you were shy, meek, and fragile. But now, you've become confident, brave, and strong, while still being the nicest person I know. I've never seen anyone do that before. Especially in an impossible situation like this. You've led us to victory in every class trial. And you never told yourself that you were the cause of that. You never blamed others. You never gloated about your successes, or made it all about you. You are the kindest, smartest, prettiest, and the bravest girl I know." Imamura looked at the ground in shame, chuckling to herself. "While I'm still struggling to control my anger..." she laughed pitifully to herself for a moment, before turning back to me. "If anyone deserves this medal, it's you." I stared at the medal for a moment. Part of me wanted to take it. With a speech like that... who wouldn't want to? But...
I reached my hands out. Imamura stared expectantly, before I put mine onto hers, closing her hand back into a fist. I pushed it towards her chest, and held it there. She stared at me, a look of complete and utter shock on her face.
"I think you deserve this Imamura." I replied.
"No, Hirano, I-" Imamura began.
"Imamura... I don't want you to say that you don't deserve this. Because I know for a fact that you do. You've changed a lot, even if you can't see it. And I don't care if you've done anything wrong. We all make mistakes. Maybe some are bigger than others, but that's still a mistake. Imamura... I know you've been mean to be people... but that's not how you are now... you've changed!" I said, a bright smile on my face. "You've changed a lot of people's lives. So keep that medal. It shows how far you've come."
"Shush." Imamura said.
"I know that's not what you want to hear Imamura, but-" I began.
"Shush!" She said, putting a hand over my mouth and moving us against the wall. She stared down the hall, a look of determination in her eyes. I stared at her, before following her gaze. My eyes went wide.
Yamazaki and Arima..?
The two seemed to be talking about something. Or rather, Yamazaki was doing the talking while Arima listened. But I couldn't make out what they were saying. Imamura glared skeptically at him, as if she had a bad feeling about this whole situation. And, before we knew it, Arima walked down the hallway towards the rooms. Quickly, Imamura pushed me backwards into the hallway, before walking. I stared at her, confused but going along with what she was doing.
"Wasn't that rude of her? How could she say something so horrible after she did that to me!" Imamura said, staring at me expectantly.
"U- um, I-" I began, glancing over at Yamazaki as we walked by him. "I- I think that was really horrible. I- I would never expect someone to act so harshly."
"What are you talking about..?" Yamazaki asked, glaring at the two of us.
"Oh, I'm telling her about the time this girl insulted me about the color of my skin." Imamura replied. Yamazaki glared, looking back and forth to us.
"Hey... Imamura..." Yamazaki began, walking over to us. Imamura held her ground. He stared at her for a moment. "Sorry." Imamura's eyes went wide from the sudden surprise.
"Huh?" She replied. Yamazaki rolled his eyes, turning away and walking down the hall. I looked over at Imamura, who was staring at him with wide eyes. She began to glare at him. "I don't believe him."
"... I- I'm not sure..." I replied. She paused, thinking to herself for a moment. Suddenly, a bright smile came across her face, as she nodded.
"What'cha thinking about?" I responded. She looked to me for a moment, stopping to think.
"I uh... was thinking about something I could do tomorrow." She said. I smiled at her.
"Well, I can't wait to see what that is." I replied. She grinned at me. And suddenly, the monitors turned on.
"Go to sleep~ go to sleep~ go to sleep little babies! Without a peep~ without a peep~ so we won't hear your horrifying screams!" Ressa sang, before the monitor shut off. Imamura glared at the monitor.
"I hate that fucking thing..." she said. She sighed, looking to me. "Hey, we should hang out more often." I smiled.
"Yeah! Um, I'd definitely like that!" I replied. Imamura walked me to my room, waving goodbye as I closed the door.
I quickly took a shower and got changed, hopping into bed. And suddenly, a horrible feeling shot through my body. I grabbed my arms, taking deep breaths. It was as if I'd been sent some sort of message. The calming day had put me into a false sense of security. I began to sweat. The feeling I was getting... was that tomorrow wasn't going to end well.
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