The sun was blazing over us as we all headed back over to the lodge per Monokuma's request. Tora and I had just barely enough time to drop all the supplies she collected off at our cabin before rushing to the meeting place in fear of being late.
We were the last two to arrive. Even Rantaro was there, though he kept himself distanced from the rest of the group, as did Daiki. Were they distancing themselves for their own safety, or was it so they could get a better read on the rest of us? Both seemed fairly reserved, but not shy like Ruji. This was strategic. It was like they were already immersed in the game, even before it properly began.
"Alright, is everyone here? Everyone check for your roomies! Puhuhuhu!" Monokuma laughed.
I rolled my eyes, but briefly found myself looking at Tora. She was standing right next to me as always, so I didn't really have any reason to check, but I found myself checking anyway. Besides, it wasn't like she was difficult to look at. She was actually a super pretty girl. Not pretty in a way that made me jealous, but pretty in a way that made... well, I wasn't sure how to describe how looking at her made me feel.
"Good, good, now, for the announcements," Monokuma beamed. "First of all, I'm glad to see that some of you have gotten familiar with our lovely little training center. I'm glad you're all taking this seriously!"
"The only reason we're training is to rise up against you," Yuuki announced, crossing his arms and grinning a heroic smile. "Not to fight each other. We're a team, Monokuma. And you can't break that. You can't turn us against each other-"
"BORING! Enough with the annoying hero-talk," Monokuma interrupted. "I've brought you all here to present you with your very first MOTIVE!"
Motive? What did he mean by that?!
"Motive for what?" Nori asked, sounding slightly annoyed. "You've already taken everything from us. Our lives, our hobbies, our families. All for what--to watch us kill each other? Well, it's like Yuuki said! It's not going to work!"
"Yeah!" Bashira shouted in agreement with the ultimate DJ. "No matter what you do, we're not going to let you win!"
Yuuki grinned and nodded in approval. I was glad his positive influence was spreading. If we could all agree to just join together and be a team, then there would be nothing to be afraid of. After all, Monokuma was clearly not going to hurt us. He didn't want to be the murderer. He wanted to turn us into murderers. All we had to do was not give him that satisfaction.
"Maybe your little minds will change after this..." Monokuma laughed. The bear seemed to raise his arms, creating a glowing item above his head.
Each of us frowned at the strange object. What the heck was it, and how was it floating?
"Is that a spirit orb?!" Ruji asked, his voice shaking. "If it is, then please be careful. It's hard to determine which spirit orbs contain the souls of gentle spirits and which ones are hostile. Although, considering the fact that you're presenting this as a motive, I bet it'll be one of the more violent of spirits. Oh, please don't let it be a violent spirit. I-I'm not good at handling these kinds of things!"
He moved back behind Maikeru, grasping the security guard's shoulders, which I found odd because he was the ghost buster. I would think he'd be used to seeing strange things. Maybe he was a rookie at his trade. If that were true though, then how did he manage to become an ultimate?
The security guard rolled his eyes and pushed the ghostbuster off him, brushing himself off as if he was repulsed by being touched by Ruji. "Enough with your stupid ghost-talk," he hissed. "It's bad enough you kept me up all night with these lectures. You don't need to make everyone else suffer too."
"Harsh as ever! I love it! Anyway, it's not a spirit ball or whatever! It's a very special, one-of-a-kind wishing stone!" Monokuma laughed. "With this little puppy, you can make any singular wish come true. Any loved one can be brought back, any accident can be undone, and any disease can be cured! Just think of all the good you could accomplish with this! Heck, you can go ahead and solve world hunger if you want! And all you gotta do is kill someone!"
A hush fell over the room. I could practically hear the gears turning in everyone's minds.
This wasn't good. If people weren't considering murder before, they definitely were now. Even I found myself briefly considering the possibility, though I was quick to shut it down. I would never go that far. I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Maybe I'm selfish, but I wouldn't be able to do it. No matter what was being offered. I was the kind of person who wouldn't even kill to save my parents.
"Anyway, that's all! Have a lovely day and be sure to check out all the weapons! Monokuma OUT!"
With that, he was gone, and a fresh round of chills ran up my spine.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments until Yuuki spoke up.
"This doesn't change anything," he breathed, though his voice was softer. "We can't let this change anything!"
I was having a harder time trusting him, though. He was the ultimate hero. With that wish, he could save countless people. All he'd have to do is sacrifice one of us, right? Heroes make decisions like that all the time. If anyone were to be affected by this motive, it would be him.
And I wasn't the only one thinking that way.
"We should lock you up," Maikeru said.
Yuuki turned to face him with a completely stunned expression. "What?!"
"We should lock you up," the security guard repeated. "You're the ultimate hero. You could save millions with that wish. Right now, YOU'RE the biggest threat. I don't think the rest of us are selfless enough to sacrifice each other to save the world, but you just may be."
Yuuki's shoulders sank as he looked around at each of us. Almost all the other students were avoiding his gaze.
When his eyes met mine, I could practically see his heart shatter.
None of us trusted him.
He let out a sigh, then turned his gaze back to Maikeru and held his wrists out.
"You're right," he said. "I... I'd be lying if I said the thought didn't cross my mind. But, I don't want to hurt any of you. I'm NOT going to hurt any of you. We can save the world without killing anyone. So... if locking me up will make you feel safer, then I'll do it."
I wanted to reach out and tell him to stop, but Maikeru had already pulled out a set of handcuffs and was attaching them to the ultimate hero's wrists.
I get why people were suspicious of Yuuki with this fresh motive, but handcuffing him? That seemed a bit excessive. He's still the ultimate hero! What if one of us needed saving and he couldn't help us because of those cuffs?
"I'll keep him company," Sora said, moving next to the ultimate hero and placing a hand on his shoulder. He smiled in a way that brought his dimples back, but I could tell what he was really saying. What he really meant was I'll watch him and make sure he doesn't kill anyone.
Yuuki smiled and thanked him, but I could see the despair in his eyes. It tore me up inside. We hurt him. Who were we to suspect him right off the bat, even after everything he did to keep us united?
"I'll be okay, Suki," Yuuki said, making me jump slightly. I hadn't even noticed that most of the other students were leaving. And there I was, lost in my thoughts while blankly staring at him. I must have looked like a weirdo...
"I know," I said, but I didn't know. I turned to Sora and let out a small sigh. "Take care, alright?"
"Oh please, we'll be fine," Sora assured me, adjusting his goggles slightly and giving a thumbs up. His carefree expression almost led me to believe that he was happy to be in this situation. "It's like Yuuki said! Nothing bad will happen if we work together. Sooner or later, we'll all be like peas in a pod! There will be no reason to suspect anyone, and we can all work on escaping. Say, maybe we can build a plane and I can fly us out!"
That was actually not a bad plan. Especially since according to Monokuma, there was a giant wall that surrounded the jungle we were being kept in, but no roof.
"We'll definitely have to come back to that," I agreed with a small nod. Sora and I exchanged a brief wave, then I ran off to catch up with Tora, who was already in our cabin by the time I got there.
She had all the supplies she gathered at the training center organized into different piles on the floor. Rope, small bear traps, daggers, and tripwire.
"Are the bear traps and daggers really necessary?" I asked, carefully picking one of the daggers up. "If someone breaks in, I don't want to kill them. I just want to stop them-"
"This won't kill them," Tora promised. "The traps will be on the ground and the daggers will aim for the feet. To disarm anyone who tries to break in. I know it's kinda drastic... but I don't want to take any chances. Especially with the new motive."
She made some good points.
Still, I felt nervous about setting up traps. On top of that, I didn't really know how to. I have never done anything like this before.
Fortunately, the monopad was filled with tons of information on ways to murder others. Well, I guess that's not too fortunate, but the instructions did help us know how to better prepare ourselves. Tora was able to set up some beartraps below the windows as well as daggers that would launch out at people's legs if anyone were to enter through something other than the front door, triggered by ropes and wires.
She was actually really good at setting everything up. I kind of felt useless just handing her tools and stuff. But hey, teamwork, right?
"This reminds me of when my cousins and would play in the woods," she breathed. "We used to make tiny harmless traps in order to catch each other. Then, we'd chase each other through the forest and play hide and seek. Building these traps here might have been fun if our lives weren't on the line..."
"Yeah..." I murmured, although I couldn't quite see where she was coming from. I never had any cousins or siblings, and the other kids who grew up around me never really liked to play with me.
"I'd always be the one who got caught, though," she giggled. "I was the smallest, so it was usually me who scraped my knee and got banged up. Those might be my favorite memories, though, because it would always end with us going back to my aunt's house so she could patch me up. It would sting, but she'd make me cookies and my cousins would tell me stories to distract me from the pain."
She let out a quiet sigh, then looked up out the window. The sun was starting to set, showing that time had indeed passed since we started our little project.
"Sometimes, we have to be strong, Tora," Tora said with a slightly softer tone. "That's what my aunt would tell me. Sometimes, we have to be strong."
We have to be strong...
We did have to be strong. Especially at a time such as this. It was easy to feel scared and weak, but we couldn't give in. For each other, and for everyone else. Now was not the time for our weaknesses and fears to consume us.
"Sometimes we have to be strong," I repeated with a small smile. "I like that."
"Me too. I get scared a lot... but every time I get overwhelmed, I hear her voice tell me that, and I feel a little bigger. A little more powerful," she explained. "I'm scared now... but I'm still strong. We both are, Suki."
"You more so than me," I laughed.
"We're both stronger together," she said with a smile, taking my hand and giving it a soft squeeze.
I could feel all the strength in her grip. She was strong. Strong and brave, even when she was afraid.
"I think Yuuki's right," I smiled, looking down at our joined hands. "We can all get through this if we just work together and stay strong."
"I agree," she said. Then, she yawned and let go of my hand so she could stretch her arms. "Well, I'm going to go to bed. I know it's still kinda early and it's not bedtime yet, but I'm pretty tired."
I nodded and yawned as well, though I wasn't exactly tired. Her yawns were just contagious. "I think I will too," I said. We both nodded, then went to our own beds, feeling slightly safer now that our windows were more secure.
Sometimes, we have to be strong, I told myself as I closed my eyes and started to drift off, thinking of Tora and her cousins running through the forest, happy and free.
Sometimes, we have to be strong.