Suddenly, Taguchi was shoved into the other room of the sacrifice dome, his hands cuffed behind his back. I paused, looking down at my hands. I'd completely spaced out. My mind was going every which way, unable to focus, even though I should. My hands were shaking. Why were they shaking?
"I'm sorry Taguchi! But we can't let you out until we know for a fact you didn't do this." Kawata explained through a small speaker. Taguchi was screaming from the other side of the one-way window, but it fell on deaf ears. It mustn't been a sound proof room.
"Guys... I don't think Taguchi would've done this..." Otani said.
"Oh my fucking god..." Yamazaki blurted out.
"What?" Otani snapped back.
"Why don't you fucking grow up! It's obvious that this piece of shit pushed Imamura off of the hotel's roof!" Yamazaki yelled, stepping forward. And suddenly, it all came rushing back. The memories of the screams. The memories of the fall. The memories of the blood. I tried to take a breath of air, but instead it had been sucked out of me. "Stop saying that people wouldn't do this shit! Because I've seen it so many times..." Yamazaki seemed to start laughing, almost trying to pretend he wasn't just in a rage fit. "You think that no one will ever harm you. You think humanity's better than what people say. But that's just a fucking lie... a lie they tell you when you're a fucking child... one you believe until the good ones are gone. Until everything in your life crumbles to the ground and you're left with nothing you can do but sit and watch as the world burns." Yamazaki said. Otani stared at him, sighing.
"Are you okay Yamazaki?" Otani asked. Yamazaki scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I'm fucking fine. I'm not the one on my death bed." Yamazaki snapped back, wandering away.
"Guys... d- do you really think... that Taguchi did this?" Arima stuttered, looking through the window at Taguchi who was trying to make as much noise as possible.
"I... I'm not sure. He's the only suspect at the moment." Kawata replied.
"I don't think he'd do something like this on purpose..." Otani said. Otani had a stressed look on his face. "Do... do you think that Imamura is okay?"
"We can't know that for sure... after all... we don't know what Ressa is doing with her..." Kawata said.
"Yes! What could Ressa be doing with the body!? He could be deforming it! He could be killing it! Or he could be holding it in his arms and whispering sweet nothings into its ear..." Ressa laughed.
"Ressa!?" Kawata blurted out, before glaring at him angrily. "Why the fuck are you here!? You're supposed to be helping Imamura!"
"Calm down! She's fine! Kajiwara has it all taken care of." Ressa laughed. "Now... it's time for me to tell you all about something in particular..." Ressa laughed. "A plot twist if you will!"
"What..?" Yamazaki said, looking at Ressa angrily.
"Oh you didn't think I would just give you all that for free, did you!? Arima never pulled that trigger!" Ressa laughed. Yamazaki looked to Arima angrily, Arima responding by putting his arms up as if he had the gun directed at him. "So that means I did not have a proper payment for that coupon. And because of this, I have an announcement to make!" Ressa laughed. "You guys are probably getting tired of these motives, but it's whatever!" He laughed. "Since Arima used the card, I need a life for Imamura's."
"W- what?" Arima blurted out.
"Mhm! If you want Imamura to survive, I'm going to need a sacrifice in her place!" Ressa cackled.
"N- no! You can't mean-" Kawata began.
"Yep a doodles! One of you has to be murdered by sunrise if you want Imamura to survive! Or, if you're unwilling to let one of yourselves die, then you can kill Imamura and everyone will live until eventually we have a class trial over it! Well, of course... that can be avoided... if the murderer has their target card... which will let everyone but one get out of here scot-free!" Ressa laughed. Yamazaki glared at me, which I ignored.
"What happens if... no one dies by tomorrow morning?" Otani asked. Ressa began to giggle, which slowly rose to a horribly manic laugh.
"Then everyone dies except for Imamura!" Ressa cackled. "So what's it gonna be!? What's it gonna be!? Sacrifice the injured for your sakes, or kill kill kill someone else to save the one on their death bed? Or will you all die for her? OOOOO I LOVE THIS MOTIVE SO MUCH!!!" Ressa cheered. "I can't wait to tell the other people who don't know! EEE this is so EXCITING!!!" Ressa called out, before quickly disappearing. Kawata stared for a moment, before turning to me.
"Hirano." He began, before stepping forward and placing a hand on each of my shoulders. "You have to show them."
"Huh?" I replied, completely taken aback.
"It's the only way we'll get out of this place alive. If we want to survive, we have to get out of here tonight." Kawata explained.
"B- but, what about Imamura?" I asked. He sighed.
"I'll think about it while you're all there. I have to stay here to make sure that Taguchi doesn't making out of this place." Kawata replied. Kawata took the morgue key from his belt, and placed it into my hand. "I'm not sure where Sugai and Kajiwara are, so you'll have to tell them all about this later." I took a deep breath, nodding.
"Everyone! Follow me!" I called out, immediately racing out of the sacrifice dome. Everyone followed behind me, as quickly made our way over to the morgue.
"Where are we going!?" Otani asked. Quickly, I unlocked the door, stepping inside.
"The fuck..?" Yamazaki blurted out, staring at Araigu.
"AAAHHHH!!! WHY ARE THERE SO MANY PEOPLE!?" Araigu called out. Quickly, I shut the door behind us.
"Okay, s- so guys, this is Araigu." I said.
"I can fucking see that." Yamazaki replied, folding his arms angrily.
"Um, Araigu is... helping us find a way out of this place." I explained, ignoring Yamazaki's comment. Everyone went silent, Arima standing next to me happily.
"We're... going to get out here..?" Yamazaki asked, his eyes wide open. Suddenly, sweat began to roll down his face, as he cover his mouth with one hand. "Fuck..."
"Um, well, not exactly. We need to find a four digit code to get out of this place." I explained. Suddenly, Otani pulled me into a hug.
"Oh this is wonderful news!" Otani cheered. He smiled, dropping me and walking over to Araigu. "Thank you so much for helping us. I cannot thank you enough." Araigu stared with a puzzled look on their face.
"O- oh, um, y- you're welcome?" Araigu replied.
"Yamazaki... are you okay?" Arima asked. Yamazaki had a disturbed look on his face, as he stared at the floor.
"Fucking... horse shit..." Yamazaki mumbled. "Just, continue speaking. Don't mind me."
"Okay?" I responded, a bit puzzled. "Um, so I'm going to need your help to find this code. B- but we have to do it tonight, or we all die." I said. Otani nodded.
"You can count on me." Otani replied.
"I- I'll tell Kajiwara and Sugai about this." I said.
"Oh! A- and, I did some d- digging, and found out that th- the code is in the h- hotel." Araigu added. Otani and Arima nodded, racing out of the room.
"Thanks Araigu..." I said. Araigu smiled. I turned back to the entrance of the room. Yamazaki just stood there, thinking. "What's wrong Yamazaki?" I asked. He stood frozen for a moment, before he looked to me.
"I need to do something first... then I can help..." Yamazaki explained. I nodded, smiling at him.
"Glad you're actually trying to be useful." I replied, giggling to myself. Yamazaki rolled his eyes.
"Yeah... sure..." he said, before exiting the room. Quickly, I raced out of the room, heading for the hospital.
I had to tell Sugai and Kajiwara about this. The more people we had the easier it would be to find the code. Then we'd get out of here. And hopefully... Imamura would be okay. I raced into the hospital, seeing Sugai sitting down on the lobby's couch.
"Sugai! I-" I began.
"Hey Hirano! Jeez, did you see Imamura? I think I might-" Sugai said, before gagging. "... puke... ugh it was so disgusting!"
"Um, Sugai I have to-" I started again.
"Oh, hello Hirano." Kajiwara said, directing all my attention to him. "If you would please, I need you to come with me." Kajiwara continued.
"But, Kajiwara I need-" I began.
"It's an emergency." Kajiwara replied. I stared at him, taking a deep sigh. I stood up, following Kajiwara over to one of the rooms. A nameplate was on one of the door, with the name "Imamura" etched into it. I stepped inside, my eyes going wide.
On the bed in the room was Imamura, seeming not quite alive... but not quite dead either. Slowly, I walked over, seeing her legs in two casts held up at the edge of the bed. An oxygen mask was on her face, with a blood pack and water pack going into her wrist. Her eyes were closed, as she breathed in and out. She looked so peaceful. The exact opposite of the terror that had taken place earlier that night.
"What... happened?" I asked. Kajiwara sighed.
"Imamura lost a lot of blood after the fall, and was in a critical state. I had to put her into a medically induced coma. So she's currently asleep. I was able to move her bones back into place, and removed some of the shattered pieces, so there's no need to amputate... but..." Kajiwara took a deep breath. "She's lost function in both of her legs, and part of her lower back." I stared at her sadly.
"That's... really unfortunate..." I said, tears rushing into my eyes. "I'm sorry you had to go through this Imamura..."
"It's so sad huh... sad enough that someone could die for her..." Ressa said, appearing on a nearby chair and staring at her with fake sadness.
"Can you please just leave..." I mumbled.
"No can do stupid idiot Hirano! I'm trying to make sure she doesn't die! Well, unless someone wants to use the new motive..." Ressa chuckled.
"What, what new motive?" Kajiwara replied, looking to Ressa skeptically.
"Oh! Yeah!! That's actually why I'm here! Heh heh heh! See, this time I actually DO have a reason to be here!" Ressa laughed. "I gotta talk to Kajiwara, so shew Hirano! Shew!" Ressa said. I sighed, leaving the room and closing the door.
"What's going on in there?" Sugai asked.
"Um, Imamura is in a coma, and her legs don't work anymore." I explained.
"EW!!! So that blood was from something that bad!?" Sugai replied, covering his mouth with his hands.
"Oh, uh, Sugai! I need you to listen to me!" I said. Sugai stared at me for a moment.
"Well, that's kind of impossible but sure. Hit me!" He responded.
"We're trying to find a way out of here, and we need a four digit code. The code should be in the hotel, so I need you to go looking there." I explained. He nodded.
"Got it! We're trying to stay here so we need a four digit code! I'll tell Kajiwara!" Sugai laughed. I sighed, shaking my head back and forth.
Now, I had to go help everyone look for the four digit code. That was priority number one. I quickly raced out of the hospital, heading for the hotel. Suddenly, the monitors turned on.
"Hello students! It is officially night time! You have until sunrise at 5 to complete the motive! Good luck~" Ressa announced, before the monitor shut off. I took a deep breath. We had seven hours to find the code, and make it out of this place.
I raced back inside, and began searching for the code. I searched the walls thoroughly, using a magnifying glass to help me with my search. I looked at the time. 11 pm. My eyes went wide. It had already been an hour!? And I hadn't even gotten out of this one hallway!?
Was I really trying to be that through? Was I going to get us killed bye searching every inch of the wall!? I took a deep breath, calming myself down. It was okay. The others probably found a lot more than me. Or maybe they didn't... and we were trapped here. We're going to be trapped here, aren't we!? WE'RE GOING TO BE STUCK HERE FOREVER AND I'LL DIE HERE!!! I'LL NEVER GET TO SEE THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT-
Suddenly, my hands went over a small bump out of the hallway. I stared, before pushing it ever so slightly in, it making a clicking noise. And suddenly, a panel swung outwards, hitting the ground. I stared at the small opening for a moment, a piece of folded paper inside. I slowly grabbed it, holding it in my hands. Was... was this the code? I tried to keep myself from being to hopeful, as I slowly unwrapped it.
I looked at the paper. Instead of a code, there was a long essay. Or maybe this was an email that had been printed out? Yeah... it was an email... written to the mastermind? I stopped what I was doing to read through it.
To the Mastermind of the Current Killing Game,
I know you won't care to much about this information, but I am required to message you with the details. We have developed the amnesia technology close to perfection. Instead of the manual serum we granted you, we can now generalize the effects. Such as taking a long chunk of memory away, instead of having to manually go through and select bits and pieces from the mind. It is also quicker, so last minute mistakes and mess ups will be a lot faster to solve. So that mishap that happened before your game would've been a lot more efficient and effective. We will be using it to finally play out the main line killing game that we've discussed. Hopefully, this will help us complete our goal. Make sure not to let this get out to any of the competitors. Goodbye.
Neurological Manipulation Specialist, Murano Ryota
I stared at the note for a moment, stopping to think for a moment. Hadn't we discussed something about cryogenic sleep? Was this involved in it? And who was Murano Ryota? I don't think I'd ever heard of him before. He must've been involved in the killing game, just based off of the email. And what was this about the main line killing game? And an amnesia serum?
I took the paper, folding it back up. I put the panel back into the wall, and began walking to my room. I opened my door, throwing the paper inside and closing it back up. I quickly locked it up, and turned back to the hallway. My eyes went wide, as I made eye contact with someone. But... they didn't seem to be quite alright.
"Um, hey Yamazaki." I said. He held a plastic back in one of his hands, and extremely tired expression on his face. His eye ever so slightly twitching. He didn't reply, just continuing to make his way down the hall at a snails pace. "... a- are you okay?" I asked, a frightened look in my face. I stared at him for a moment, as he kept walking. I paused, looking to the bag. "Do you want me to look in the bag-" I began, reaching out for what he had in his hand. Suddenly, his other arm snatched me by the wrist. I looked up, fear in my eyes as Yamazaki glared at me.
"Don't... fucking... touch it..." he snapped, tiredly dropping my arm and entering his room, closing the door behind him.
I stared for a moment. Was he okay? Oh, maybe he was sick? I sighed, walking away. I had to keep looking for the code. It didn't matter if things were going wrong with Yamazaki right now. I had to focus on finding that passcode. I yawned, as I knelt back down to search.
I paused for a moment, looking down at my hand. Everything seemed to be darker. I yawned. Crap... I was getting tired. I took a deep breath. I can't take a deep breath now. I have to stay awake.
-
I looked back in through the window. Taguchi sat on the floor against the wall, his head hung low. I sighed, moving back over and sitting down on one of the chairs.
I took a deep breath. I had to rely on the others to find the passcode and get us out of here. I couldn't leave Taguchi here alone. It's not that I believe he pushed Imamura off of the hotel, but he's the only suspect at the moment and that's dangerous. And I'm very much aware that Taguchi is crafty. So just for now, he'd have to remain in custody.
... custody...
I remember seeing someone sitting in front of me. It was an interrogation. But this wasn't a person. No, it was a person. But I can't tell who it is. It's like they were cut out of a photo in my mind. Someone should be there. I know I knew that before, but now they had disappeared and I couldn't tell what was happening.
Suddenly, the fuzzy feeling that the memories gave me became more intense. I grabbed my head, grasping for any breath I could. But the pain was agonizing. Pain, pain, PAIN PAIN PAIN!!!
Everything was pain. The world was pain. All I could think was pain. Just PAIN!!!
... pain...
-
Slowly, my eyes opened. I was... in the hallway? I'd... fallen asleep. Suddenly, I looked to the time in a panic. It was... 5:31? Then... does... does that mean..? I took a moment to feel if I was solid. Yeah... I was here. I was alive... but... that meant...
I got onto my feet, racing out of the hotel. I ran over to the courtyard seeing Kawata leaving the sacrifice dome in a hurry. I raced over to him. There was a look of panic in his eyes.
"What's going on!?" I asked.
"Taguchi's not in the back room anymore!" Kawata yelled back to me. My eyes went wide with fear.
"I- I haven't seen anyone else either!" I replied. Kawata took a deep breath.
"Hirano, we have to make sure Imamura's okay." I nodded, following him into the hospital. On the couches at the entrance was Kajiwara, laying on one of them with his eyes closed, now in his regular everyday outfit instead of the fancy clothes he had beforehand.
"KAJIWARA!!!" I yelled in a panic, racing over to him. He yawned, and sat up.
"What? What is it?" He asked, obviously groggy.
"Have you checked on Imamura in a while!?" Kawata screamed. He looked at us puzzled.
"No? Last I remember seeing her..." Kajiwara paused, before his eyes went to wide. "Was... last night after you left..." Kajiwara said, pointing to me. The three of us looked at each other in fear, before standing upright and racing into the stairwell.
I stared at Imamura's door in fear. On the bottom half of the door and the floor... was a pool of blood. We raced to the door, attempting to shove it open. But... it was locked. No... it wasn't locked... something was blocking it.
"Everyone! Race into the door together on three!" Kawata called out. "One, two, THREE!!!" He yelled, we shoved our body weight into the door. It shifted back ever so slightly. "On, two, THREE!!!" He repeated. We raced into it yet again. We pushed it enough to slip inside.
Quickly, I got inside, and...
You know... you try so hard. So hard to get out of this horrible place. And you're left with the past mistakes you've made. Some... a lot more bloody than others...
Taguchi Masahiko, laying against the wall with blood covering him and the floor. And Imamura's sheets covered in blood.
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