"Man, wasn't last night fun guys? Glad I could be there to be apart of your guys's scene." Ressa said over the monitor. "Anyways! It's time to get to doing things. I'll probably come around and annoy you guys! So have fun with that! Buh bye!" Ressa said, the monitor shutting off. I rubbed my eyes, placing on my half broken glasses. Kawata was gonna be waiting outside for role call. I have to get out there quickly.
I quickly pulled on my shoes, and walked out the door. Otani, Yamazaki, Arima, and Sugai were already there. Sugai looked really peeved to be standing in line. Well, more like the back of the line. I stood next to him.
"Why are you here? Do you know about role call already?" I asked. Sugai stared at me for a moment.
"What role call? I'm in line to get food!" Sugai said. He paused, looking down the line. "Wait, is this not the cafeteria line?"
"No, I'm sorry Sugai. You'll have to wait for breakfast. I can't leave the room during nighttime so I can't start on cooking." Otani replied. Sugai's jaw dropped, looking at him as if that was the most horrific thing he'd ever heard.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Sugai screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone just stared at him in silence, as he continued to yell. Suddenly, Yamazaki walked over and grabbed him by both arms, pressing inward so his limbs were pressed together. He held him up in the air.
"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." Yamazaki said. Sugai glared at him for a moment, before spitting in his face. "EW!!!" Yamazaki yelped, dropping Sugai to the ground, skedaddling over to hide behind Otani. He started wiping his face with the gloves on his hands, his face turning a bright red, steam coming out of his ears. "ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!? I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU SHIT GREMLIN!!!"
"Yamazaki." Kawata said, glaring at him. "Don't threaten him." He said, tapping a pen on a clipboard.
"Yeah Yamazaki! Don't threaten me!" Sugai chuckled, putting the letter L to his forehead.
"You, stop roughhousing." Kawata snapped. Sugai glared at him, folding his arms in defiance. Kawata sighed. "Alright. Let's begin. Otani."
"Here."
"Arima." Kawata said.
"Here."
"Yamazaki." He continued.
"Here..."
"Hirano." He said next.
"Present."
"Sugai." He called out.
"Alive!"
"And Imamura has been excused." Kawata said, tucking the clipboard under his arm.
"Huh? Why's that?" Arima asked, tilting his head slightly.
"She's currently stuck in 'prison' at the moment." He replied, putting air quotes.
"Wait, why?" Otani responded immediately. Kawata sighed.
"Well, she genuinely threatened Yamazaki's life. Any threats on other peoples lives are taken seriously. So, she has to be in there for a little while." Kawata explained. Everyone stared at him in silence for a moment, Kawata nervously scratching the back of his neck. "Well, I guess we're dismissed-"
"HEY!!! WAIT!!!" Sugai yelled, running over to Kawata. "YAMAZAKI THREATENED ME!!! WHY ISN'T HE IN JAIL!?" Kawata sighed, tipping his hat to cover the top half of his face.
"Well, Yamazaki and Imamura cannot be in the same room at the moment. I would've arrested him for that, but if they were trapped in the sacrifice dome together, one of them would be dead within the hour." Kawata replied, turning away.
"That's really fucking stupid." Yamazaki said. Kawata took a deep breath, holding it in for a couple of seconds, and then letting it out with a sigh.
"Well, that's how things work. If you really want to be put into the sacrifice dome, I can do that for you right now." Kawata replied. Yamazaki scoffed, turning his head away.
"... I guess..." Yamazaki mumbled.
"Alright, you're all dismissed." Kawata said, walking away. Otani sighed, looking at me.
"Well, let's head up-" Otani started.
"HEY WAIT!!!" Sugai yelled, running over to Otani. "I WAITED FOR BREAKFAST, I'M GONNA GET IT!!!"
"Um, Sugai, I don't really think I can right now-" Otani began. Suddenly, Sugai grabbed onto his leg, holding on tight. Otani sighed, looking over at me. "Okay Hirano, I've gotta help out Sugai. Head up there. When you were gone, Imamura and I moved something in there. It's really important, so you've got to go through it. Do you know where the key is?"
"U- um, yeah." I said. "But uh, won't Kawata find me all by myself?"
"I doubt he'll be able to. It's a secret." Otani smiled. "Alright! I'll leave it to you then." Otani said, before moving his leg awkwardly, trying his best to not hurt Sugai when he took a step. Yamazaki stared at me skeptically, before begrudgingly following them inside of the dining hall. Arima took a moment to wave slightly to me, almost seeming conflicted, before running right after them.
I glanced at the door for a moment, shaking my head back and forth. Alright, I've got something to do? I sighed, walking over to the stairs and climbing them up to the floor with the library on it. Following the steps, I went into the library, opening the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk, scrambling through a pile of papers until I found the key. My hand glided over to the bookshelf, feeling for the small latch. I flicked it open, looking at the camera. I put the key in the moment the camera drifted away. The door opened, and I raced inside, closing it behind me as I turned on the light. I took a deep breath, stepping further into the room.
That's when I noticed it. A small USB stick. Is this what Otani was talking about? I picked it up, looking it over. On the side of it was a single word. Pass. What does that mean? Wait... I've seen this before! I stared at it for a moment. I gasped, nearly dropping it the floor, before placing it on the desk so that wouldn't happen. I put both of my hands over my mouth. This... this is the flash drive Taguchi had! The one he showed us before the second trial! I picked it up once again. But, where had it been hidden? And why are we only finding it now?
Quickly, I turned on the computer. The five blank lines appeared on screen again. I sighed. I don't think Araigu is here anymore. Since we took out their the chip. I shook my head back and forth, quickly shoving the flash drive into the laptop. Suddenly, a small side bar loaded on the side of the screen. Four documents were in the small side of the laptop. Slowly, I pulled over the small chair in the room, and sat down. I clicked on the first one, staring in silence at the document. It seemed to be an email conversation that had been copy and pasted into this format. I took a deep breath, starting to read through it.
Authors Note: Hey guys! Sorry to stop the immersion, but I wanted to say that the next couple of things are info dumps. I'd give you this information more spread out, but it doesn't make sense narratively to do so. Take as many pauses you like to process the information. Alright, back to immersion!
"Dear Yasui Kohaku,
I'm super confused. Hano Yoshiko is going to Yuutsumi? As a serial killer? I know they've begun a rehabilitation program, but I don't think that's a good idea. I don't think yet understand that this woman killed 217 people! And an additional 56 if you count the unconfirmed deaths. Maybe try this whole rehabilitation program on a more stable criminal first? I don't know, it just feels like the executives are becoming dumber and dumber. What's your opinion on this?
From Takei Fumiko.
Dear Takei Fumiko,
Yeah, that is really weird. I've heard that I'm going to be teaching her class this year. I'm sorry, but I'm not really in the mood to die, thank you very much.
Though, it is very strange that she's killed 217 people. She's not that old if she's able to go to high school, and killing that many people before you go to Yuutsumi? It seems kind of suspicious, right? Maybe I'm just overthinking things, but that's not natural.
From Yasui Kohaku.
Dear Yasui Kohaku,
Yeah, that is strange. Maybe there's something going on with that? Here, give me one second. I'm going to do a bit of digging. I'll report back when I find something.
From Takei Fumiko.
Dear Yasui Kohaku,
Okay, I think I may have found something. Some of these victims deaths date back before Hano Yoshiko was even BORN! This may not be true, but I don't think Hano Yoshiko is one person. Or at least her killings aren't all her own. I'm thinking that it might be like a legacy. Passing on a murderous plot down every single generation. What do you think?
From Takei Fumiko.
Dear Takei Fumiko,
That would make a lot more sense. We'd need more evidence for the legacy thing, but I think that is absolutely plausible. I actually did my own research, and I also found something kind of strange. Some of these deaths line up with other serial killers style of murders. But only the last 56 deaths, and which are the unidentified ones, don't match up with the others. With all of the victims being found to have a heart carved somewhere on their body. Also, a lot of these deaths weren't even in Japan. They might be blaming a bunch of different murders on one girl to get this whole thing pushed under the rug.
From Yasui Kohaku.
Dear Yasui Kohaku,
Yeah, that makes a lot of sense actually. Do you think Hano Yoshiko is guilty of any of the murders? I mean, if she didn't do the first two hundred, what is the proof she did the last 56?
From, Takei Fumiko.
Dear Takei Fumiko,
She did it. They forced me to meet her earlier today. I can just see the insanity in her eyes. Takei, I think she's gonna kill me! I done know what it is, but I feel like she's watching me constantly. I don't want to die! I have to teach this crazy bitch!? NO WAY!!! You've got to help me Takei! I can't do this alone!
From Yasui Kohaku.
Dear Yasui Kohaku,
You've got to calm down! We can't think clearly if we don't stay calm. I say we resign from Yuutsumi tomorrow. If we don't, we're dead.
From Takei Fumiko.
Dear Takei Fumiko,
I'm sorry, this computer has been confiscated for unknown purposes. Please do not send any more messages to this email address.
From Yuutsumi Staff
Dear Yasui Kohaku,
What?
From Takei Fumiko."
I stared at the end of the page, not even realizing my face had gone white. Wait, there was more than one serial killer for all those murders? That make sense... but... does that mean Hano Yoshiko didn't kill anyone? It said in one of the emails that Hano Yoshiko is definitely a killer but... I don't know... it's just confusing. I took a deep breath. I've got to get through the rest of these.
I clicked on the x button at the top of the screen, clicking on the next document. I stared at this one for even longer, unable to think properly. I was to scared to start going through it. But I had to get through it. This was important. At least... it should be. Otani made it seem like it was something important. So I had to do this. I started to skim through it slightly to understand what it was. This one seemed to be a report on some kind of... incident? I started from the beginning.
"Report Document: Major Incident #23
Reporting: Kamei Katsuo, Designated Clearance #3, Leading Security Personnel for the Right Wing of the Facility
Subject Name: [Redacted]
Subjects Age: [Redacted]
Subjects Gender: [Redacted]
Subjects Talent: [Redacted]
Subjects State: Dead
Incident's Time: 9:23
Incidents Date: [Redacted]
Incident's Place: Cryogenic Chambers
Incident Description: One of Ultimate students was found to be dying in their cryogenic sleep. Help came to try and save them before they died, but they unfortunately passed in the process of being resuscitated.
Witnessed Incident: I had entered the cryogenic chamber hall the morning of the incident to do a routine check of the area. It was 9:23 when I noticed that the body of one of the students had gone pale since last nights security check. I contacted the medical wing as soon as I witnessed the body. The paramedics entered at around 9:28 with the necessary equipment to help save their life. They took them out of the chamber, and quickly began to perform a check up to see what had gone wrong. They quickly began performing CPR on the body, because the body had lost a pulse. Unfortunately, the student died at 10:52 that same day. That was all I had witnessed from this incident. I wasn't told the cause of death, but I knew they had died when they moved the body to the medical wing. End of testimony.
Report Document: Major Incident #23
Reporting: Uyehara Jiro, Designated Clearance #4, Leading Paramedic
Subject Name: [Redacted]
Subjects Age: [Redacted]
Subjects Gender: [Redacted]
Subjects Talent: [Redacted]
Subjects State: Dead
Incident's Time: 9:24
Incidents Date: [Redacted]
Incident's Place: Cryogenic Chambers
Incidents Description: The medical wing was contacted by security about a students who had gone pale in the cryogenic chambers. We acquired our medical equipment, and then attempted to save their life. The student did not survive.
Witnessed Incident: I got a call at 9:24 that a student had been found in an irregular state in the cryogenic chamber center, the person who found them being the leading security personnel Kamei Katsuo. I gathered a team of paramedics and headed to the cryogenic wing with the necessary equipment. We safely took the body out of the pod, before beginning to check up on the body. The pulse was very weak, so we continued to try and save the life of the student. Moments later, the body had lost its pulse. We began to perform CPR to resuscitate the student. When that did not work, we used the shock paddles as a final resort. We had to call time of death at 10:52. We took the body back to the medical wing to perform an autopsy. Apparently, the combination of a memory drug we used on all the students at the start of all this, and a weak heart caused by an unknown condition had caused their body to fail. The students body couldn't fight to stay alive anymore. The cryogenic chambers may have also made it harder for their heart to undergo the drugs and treatment. The condition does not seem contagious, but it will be good to look out for different medical conditions for further reference, because the organizers have a lot harder job with this student dead. End of testimony."
Cryogenic chambers? Yeah... I guess we did find a document about that a while ago. But someone died in one of them? I didn't really think that was possible. I guess that can happen with an unstable condition, but it's still disappointing. I sighed. That student couldn't really do anything about what happened. It was just a bad circumstance that led them to death. My eyes softened. Imagine just dying... in the blink of an eye. You don't even know you're dead until you wake up. I sighed, shaking my head back and forth. It was just disappointing.
I quickly returned to the hot bar, clicking on the next document. This one seemed to be another report, but a lot less professional and well thought out. Plus, the person who wrote it seems to be a lot younger than all the other people writing all these documents.
"To the Yuutsumi Executives,
Could you guys get some better security? Like, I'm being harassed by protestors everyday for just walking into the front gates of the school! Every single second it feels like I'm being oppressed for just GOING HERE!!! I swear there's like, 1000 + people out there, and that number is growing everyday! I'm sick of walking into Yuutsumi and having a bunch of people blocking me from the entrance. Is it really that hard to protect your students!? The ones who are supposed to be the future of our society or whatever you call us!? I'm genuinely scared to walk up to this school because of how many people are just waiting outside with big signs and loud chants. I don't even have the same class as Hano Yoshiko! And they're just able to yell at me everyday!? Like, what even if this point!? I'm gonna leave if this isn't resolved soon. I don't care if it's a peaceful protest, I don't want to be harassed for a stupid decision that YOU GUYS decided to make. Do whatever it takes. Ask them politely, apply force, or hell! Why don't you just get rid of the rehabilitation program!? It would make everything A LOT easier.
From Kumagai Mari"
I looked at the document skeptically. Wait, why is this important? And why is this information even on this flash drive? What I'm gathering from this is that these are the protests taking place outside of Yuutsumi because of the rehabilitation program, and students were being harassed for going to the same school as her? I paused. Maybe Imamura knows something about this. It was her talent after all.
I got out of that document, and entered the final one. I took a deep breath, skimming through it for a bit to find out what was this was about. I nearly felt my heart stop, but it was interrupted by my gasp. I quickly scrolled back up, reading through it vigorously.
"Report by: Neurological Specialists Assistant, Yano Kin, Designated Clearance #5 [Exterminated]
About: Memories
After lots of research and time, we have finally perfected the memory drugs/machine. It'll be a lot more expensive, but it will be needed for the main killing game. The process begins by injecting the formula into the patient. This is the same formula as the ones we've used for the past three killing games. Then, you put their head into the device. This device is connected to a computer, that will allow you to see the memories, allowing you to edit, add, shift, and extract things as you please. Unfortunately, we do not quite know the side effects of this machine quite yet. Under no circumstances should this device be used in a short amount of time. It may damage the patient personally. We just have to run more tests to be able to understand the side effects of this machine. Each person put into a machine like this needs to be properly connected, and the process of changing and extracting memories should be done very slowly and meticulously. Memories can be regained without the use of the machine as well, but it is very hard to do so. Further research has to be done to solve all these problems. AGAIN, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THIS MACHINE BE USED IN A QUICK MANNER! THIS IS A VERY DELICATE PROCESS, AND IF DONE WRONG THERE ARE SEVERE (unknown) CONSEQUENCES!"
I stared at it for a moment. There's a device... that takes memories? Not just that, THEY CAN ADD THEM, AND CHANGE THEM!? I grabbed onto my head, my heart pounding. That's such a horrible device. But it could also be used to help so many people. Wait, how does that eve work!? Ugh, my brain just can't comprehend this right now. I pulled the flash drive out of the laptop, placing it on top of it. I stumbled out of the back room, placing a hand on my forehead.
This is to much for me to think about right now. I have to find Otani and Imamura. And I know for a fact where Imamura is. I just hope I don't run into Kawata. Not that I don't want to see him, but I don't want to go to jail again. It wasn't fun the last time, so it won't be fun the next. I headed down the stairs, hoping and praying I wouldn't run into anyone. I stepped outside of the hotel, stopping in my tracks.
"YOU'RE GONNA FALL~" Sugai teased, putting both of his hands around his mouth to be louder, looking up at the front wall of the hotel.
"I ALREADY HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!!!" Someone else screamed back, sounding further away.
"What?" I said, looking at Sugai confused. Sugai chuckled, glad he had someone else around to have fun with.
"See for yourself!" Sugai laughed, pointing to the wall. I looked up, squinting my eyes. It was hard to see what he was pointing at. But when I realized, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
"WHAT THE!?" I yelled, grabbing the top of my head. "ARIMA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I screamed. Arima had scaled the wall of the hotel, without any safety equipment.
"HUH!?" Arima said back.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THERE!?" I repeated. "ARE YOU CRAZY!?" I yelled. Arima stared at me for a moment, before continuing to scale the wall at a fast pace. I looked to Sugai. "What's going on!?"
"Arima said he wanted to block out the camera's or something." Sugai said. We stared at each other in silence.
"... what?" I blurted out.
"We found a coin in the kitchen this morning, and I was bored of waiting for the food to be done, so Arima had me follow him to the supermarket so we could buy some black spray paint. Honestly, I thought we were gonna do something fun! But noooooooooo of course Mr. Pissy pants has to be all serious and 'block out the camera's'." Sugai said, a really annoyed expression on his face.
"But isn't that against the rules!?" I replied. "Isn't Arima gonna get punished for this!?" Sugai rolled his eyes.
"Actually, it doesn't say anything like that in the rules. All it says is that we're not to damage the property. So they're not gonna kill him, but he's definitely gonna fall and die." Sugai laughed.
"Who's gonna die?" Arima said, Sugai screaming as he scrambled behind me.
"DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!!!" Sugai yelled. "AND HOW DID YOU GET DOWN FROM THERE SO QUICKLY!?"
"Um, I- I don't really know. It wasn't really that hard." Arima replied. "It was actually f- faster going down than up." Arima stared at Sugai the whole time while speaking, obviously trying to avoid eye contact with me.
"How do you even climb up that fast!?" Sugai yelled.
"Um, w- well it wasn't as hard as c- climbing the elevator shaft, so-" Arima started.
"YOU CLIMBED THE ELEVATOR SHAFT!?" Sugai yelled. Arima stared at him blankly.
"Um, y- yeah? I had to so we could g- get out of the class trial grounds." Arima said. "You uh, k- kind of... stranded us there..." Sugai stared at him blankly, completely unresponsive to his comment.
"Hey, uh, where's Yamazaki?" I asked. Sugai smirked, looking over at me.
"He is plotting to murder everyone here in a different way~ ooooo spooky! He's gonna KILL Otani with poison, Arima with a knife, you with electrocution, Kawata with fire, Imamura with strangulation, and me with the most interesting and cool death of them all!" Sugai paused for a moment, struggling to think of something. "Fire! Yes, I will be burned alive!"
"I thought you said that for Kawata-" I replied.
"SHHHHHHH!!!" Sugai shushed me, clearing his throat. "You're making it up! I said that Kawata would die of drowning. Ooooo spooky but not a cool as burning!"
"... oh... I thought you wouldn't like fire... after what happened to Kajiwara-" I started.
"NEVERMIND!!! I DON'T LIKE FIRE ANYMORE!!! SWITCH MINE AROUND WITH KAWATA'S!!!" He yelled. He paused, his eyes going wide. He cleared his throat and took a proud stance. "Ahem! But for no particular reason! I have no idea who Kajiwara is, so if he died from a fire then I guess he went out in a pretty cool way." Arima sighed, staring at Sugai.
"Just say that Yamazaki is helping Otani make food." Arima said. Sugai glared at him, folding his arms as he pouted.
"Well that's not as fun..." he said in a pouting voice. He lifted his pointer finger up in the air. "And plus, I'm not wrong because Yamazaki could be poisoning Otani right now!"
"... or he could just be making food with him." Arima said, tiredly placing a hand over his eyes.
"Nuh uh! I'm right, you're wrong! I'm really smart and you're really dumb!" Sugai laughed.
"... I'm gonna go do the other camera's now." He said, beginning to walk away. Suddenly, he tripped, doing three somersaults before landing in a seated position. But he didn't trip on nothing.
"JEEZ!!! Watch where you're going kid!" Ressa yelled.
"Ooooooo you're in trouble now Arima!" Sugai laughed. Arima stared at Ressa in fear, mostly from what Sugai had said. Suddenly, the red panda started to laugh.
"Oh I see what you did!" Ressa's laugh became more of a cackle now. "You sprayed over the cameras!" Ressa fell onto the ground with laughter.
"Y- you're not mad?" Arima stuttered, getting up onto his feet.
"Oh no, I'm PISSED!!! But I can't do anything about it because it's not in the rules! So I'll be changing them so you can't do that again! Next time, I'll fucking kill you, okay Arima?" Ressa looked back to where Arima was, but now he was gone. "What the!?" Ressa blurted out. He spotted the door of the hotel swing closed. "HEY!!! GET BACK HERE!!!" He yelled, sprinting after him.
"Huh, well that's fun." Sugai said. He looked over at me, observing me silently. "Hey, why doesn't Arima make eye contact with you? Did you try and kill him or something!?" Sugai laughed.
"... oh... uh..." I stared at the ground. "I uh..." I took a dry gulp, tears forming in my eyes. But I forced myself to to stop before they became noticeable. "... I told him... about how I killed someone..." I said. Sugai gasped, covering his mouth.
"YOU DID!?" Sugai yelled, his mouth agape. "Okay, wait, LIKE ACTUALLY!? LIKE STABBY STABBY!?" He motioned with his arm someone stabbing something with a knife.
"... um... not stabbing... b- but..." I started.
"OH MY GOD YOU REALLY DID!!!" Sugai yelled. He placed a hand on his hip and one covering his forehead. "... wow. You know, I wasn't expecting that." He paused, raising an eyebrow at me. "Wait, did you kill someone here or outside?" His eyes lit up. "DID YOU FRAME SOMEONE FOR MURDER AND GOT AWAY WITH IT SO WELL THAT NO ONE KNEW IT WAS YOU!? NOT EVEN THE MASTERMIND OR THE STUFFED ANIMALS!?"
"N- no." I said.
"Well, of course that wouldn't make any sense. If everything was recorded there's no way you'd be able to trick them..." Sugai replied. His eyes became intense as he stared at me. "You know... if you did actually kill someone... I can't trust you." He said, a blank expression on his face as he stared me down. "Murder isn't something someone can take lightly. That person isn't ever coming back you know? And you still chose to steal their chance at life. That's the most sinister thing anyone can ever do." Sugai said. I hadn't even realized it until now, but tears had started to fall down my face. "But maybe they deserved it, you know? I have no way of knowing!" Sugai giggled, booping me on the nose. "Alright! I got to go! I have to make sure I get all the food before anyone else can eat!" He chuckled. I stared at him for a couple of seconds, wiping the tears out of my eyes. My hands were shaking. He looked at me puzzled. "Hey. Why are you upset? Aren't you supposed to be a blood thirsty killer or something?"
"N- no... I- I'm not a blood thirsty killer. I- I'm just a normal girl... w- who didn't want any trouble..." I stuttered.
"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I just think it's kind of funny." He chuckled.
"F- funny?" I replied. He nodded.
"Like, you just don't seem like the type. Though, you could be a traitor or something who is just trying to hide your true intentions. Which, would mean you did a very good job because MAN did I think you were just another generic shy girl." He laughed. I stared at him.
"What? I don't understand what you mean." I said. He smiled at me, placing a finger on his cheek.
"I mean, I don't know, look at you!" He laughed. I took a moment to look at myself, still completely puzzled. "You just don't seem all that interesting based on how you look! And then your personality! Oh jeez your PERSONALITY!!!" He laughed. "When I met you, you were constantly whining. 'WAA WAA, I'M IN A KILLING GAME!!! I WANT MY MOMMY!!! WAA!!!' You stayed like that for awhile too!" He laughed. "Maybe you're STILL like that! I don't know! I'm gonna be honest, I stopped paying attention to you after we went to the sacrifice dome." I stared at him in disbelief.
"How can you just say things like that, so confidently? It's just... so mean." I said. Sugai smiled.
"Yeah, but did it work?" He asked. I raised an eyebrow.
"... what?" I replied.
"Did it make your stop crying?" He replied. My eyes widened. I hadn't even realized it, but I'd completely relaxed. I'd completely forgotten about what we had been talking about until just now. I paused, before grinning.
"... thanks." I responded. He chuckled, evilly putting his hands together.
"Heh heh heh... now you have signed the contract! You are officially in my super secret evil villain group!" He said. I looked to the sacrifice dome, before I looked back at Sugai. Well, better now than never.
-Free Time-
Should I hang out with Sugai Tatsuo? -Yes- -No-
"Huh? You want to hang out right now?" He asked, looking kind of peeved. "Fine, but we gotta finish before Otani finishes making breakfast. I need to be there first so I can steal all the food!"
I invited Sugai to join me over at the hospital. Mostly so we could stay out of the way of Kawata. He knows that Imamura is in the sacrifice dome, so he shouldn't come anywhere near here. Sugai decided he wanted to play hide and seek in the dark. It turned into a series of jump-scares as I tried to hide and find Sugai in the gloomy hospital. It was horrifying, but fun at some points.
I think Sugai and I grew closer today.
Would you like to give Sugai a present? -Yes- -No-
I gave a lazy drinking hat.
"OH YES!!! THIS WILL WORK NICELY WITH MY EVIL PLANS!!! MWAHAHAHAHA!!!" He laughed. He stared at me for a moment, an sympathetic expression coming across his face. He turned away, pouting as he folded his arms. "Th- Th- Th- Th- Th-" He kept stumbling over his words, as if it were physically hard for him to say. He started to get frustrated with his inability to speak. Finally, he put a hand over his mouth, and whispered very quickly and discreetly, "Thank you very much." I stared at him for a moment, before a bright smile came across my face.
"... what did you say?" I replied. He immediately shushed me, almost angry that I could suggest anything of him.
"It's none of your business!" He said, folding his arms defiantly. I giggled, a bright smile on my face.
"You're welcome." I responded. Sugai proceeded to get angry at me, making up a whole bunch of excuses. "Hey, Sugai." I interrupted. Sugai looked at me puzzled.
"Huh? What is it?" He asked.
"I was curious... what are you gonna do when you get out of here?" I replied. Sugai smirked.
"Take over the world of course!" He chuckled. I sighed.
"Uh huh... I mean, really, what are you gonna do?" I responded. He glared at me.
"I'm taking over the world! It's literally the next most natural step! You start off really famous, you win a killing game, well not win, because I'm the mastermind after all but I digress, then you take over the world!" He cackled, standing triumphantly. I tilted my head to the side.
"So... there's not anyone you want to see when you get out of here?" I asked. He rolled his eyes.
"Who even says I want to get out of here?" He replied.
"... h- huh?" I responded. He sighed, leaning up against the wall.
"I mean, honestly, it's kind of nice in here! No responsibilities, no real rules, just a bunch of fun with no one to stop me! I mean I guess the killing game is kind of sucky, but who really cares about that! I'm the mastermind so I don't!" He chuckled.
"There's... absolutely no one?" I replied. He glared at me for a moment, standing up straight. His eyes became intense, as he lifted up his pointer finger.
"Something you've got to know about me Hirano, is that I don't make meaningful connections. I don't have any lasting relationships. That's how I work. No one that has ever entered my life has ever been important to me in anyway. I don't care if it sounds sad, it's just my life. Maybe things could be different, but no one likes a rowdy, spoiled child. That's the way things are." He said, a horrible aura filling the air. Suddenly, he shifted to have a bright smile, putting both of his hands together in the air. "Oh! But I guess I miss the butler guy! Don't remember his name but he was nice! Maybe he misses me!" He chuckled.
"... Sugai... I-" I started. He smirked at me, shushing me quickly.
"I don't really understand why you guys wanna get out of here. People in the outside world are AWFUL!!!" He laughed. "Well, I guess everyone here is awful too, but there's a lot less people here, so it feels a lot funner!" He giggled, waving goodbye to me. "I'll see you later Hirano! I've gotta go get some food! I hope I'm not to late to steal it!" And suddenly, he disappeared out of the hospitals entrance. I sighed, taking a moment to think.
-Free Time End-
Oh yeah, I have to go see Imamura. I need to talk with her about the flash drive her and Otani had found. Or, at least that's what I assumed he meant by that whole talk we had earlier. I walked to the front of the hospital, peaking my head out. Okay, Kawata wasn't there. I really didn't want to have to spend the night in the sacrifice dome. I quickened my pace heading over to the sacrifice dome.
I stepped inside, staring at the one way window. I could see Imamura through it. She was staring at the ground, a defeated look on her face. I paused, taking a long sigh. I placed a hand on the window, almost as if I were reaching out to her. But she was trapped inside. I paused, looking at the locked door. Should... I go inside? If I do... I can't get out. I sighed, walking over to the door and grabbing the handle.
"What are you doing?" Someone yelled, making me jump back suddenly.
"H- huh!?" I stuttered, looking to the door.
"Oh, uh, hey Hirano." Kawata said.
"... um... hi." I replied. Kawata sighed, scratching the back of his neck.
"I uh, see you've found Imamura." Kawata said. "I guess you guys were busy in here while I was dealing with Otani."
"... what do you mean?" I responded. Kawata stared at the ground for a couple of seconds, almost ashamed. But he straightened his back, making direct eye contact with me.
"Otani, Sugai, Arima, and Yamazaki were found away from their groups, so they are currently locked up in their rooms." Kawata explained. He stared at me for a moment. "I would do the same for you right now, but I'm assuming you were here with Imamura for the mTost part, right?" I nodded, because if I had given a verbal response, it would've been so obvious that I was lying.
"... you... locked up four other people?" I replied, my eyes going wide. "Kawata... that's five people already! Is everyone going to be locked up somewhere!?"
"NOT UNLESS THEY'RE BREAKING THE RULES." Kawata snapped, my body involuntarily stepping back. Kawata eyes widened, realizing what that meant. He took a deep breath, taking his hat off for a moment and placing it in the center of his chest. "Listen... maybe it's not the best solution, but for now it's the ONLY solution. I'm trying to come up with other ones that are better. But these are now OUR rules, and I'm going to stick by them." I stared at him blankly, still holding onto the door handle. Alright, I have to get to the point.
"Imamura's... been in there a long time." I said. "... do you think... she could come out now?" Kawata took a long sigh.
"You can try and get Imamura to come out if you want. I already tried earlier this morning when he time was up, but she wouldn't budge. If you want to try, go on in. I'll wait out here. Just knock on the door when you're ready to come out." Kawata replied. A small smile creeped up my face.
"... thank you Kawata..." I said, turning the handle and walking through the door. I entered the back room, looking over at Imamura. She hadn't moved an inch from when I had last seen her through the window. "Hey... Imamura." I blurted out, slowly walking towards her. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She didn't even react.
"..." she sat in silence. I paused, pulling one of the chairs over so I could sit in front of her. She continued to stare at the ground.
"... I'm sorry... that I didn't come in here sooner. I should've came here as soon as I knew you were here." I said.
"..." she continued staring at the floor, not even a hint of emotion in her eyes.
"... Imamura... is everything okay?" I asked.
"..." she remained silent again. I stared at her for a moment, before noticing that her hands were shaking. Maybe she had been shaking the entire time, but only now did it actively become noticeable. I looked back up at her face, which was now had emotion. But not in a good way. It was a face of loss, of mourning, of despair.
"... I can go... if you don't want me here." I said. We were both silent. After a couple of seconds, I took that as my cue. I stood up, suddenly being grabbed by the wrist. Imamura continued to stare at the ground in silence, but it was clear what she wanted me to do. I sat back down. "... you can talk to me Imamura."
"... I lost my temper again..." she muttered. I stared at her in silence.
"... I know." I said. She placed a hand over her face, sniffling. She was tearing up, but doing her absolute best to stop herself from crying. She succeeded, now being able to raise her head slightly.
"I..." she stared at the ground for a couple more seconds. Her hands tightened around the hand rests of the wheel chair. "I just got so angry. If my legs still worked... and the hadn't stopped me... I would've..." she took a dry gulp, staring at the ground in shake. "... killed Yamazaki." A deep breath went in her nose, and out her mouth. "I'm never gonna change, huh... I'm always going to be trying to kill someone..."
"Imamura, what are you-" I started. She raised a hand, stopping me from speaking.
"... sometimes... I think I've changed. Sometimes... I think I'm a good person. But then I think about how angry I get. I'm angry enough... to kill someone. I've always been angry... but..." Imamura looked at me dead in the eyes. "I've never been more mad than I was yesterday... and that combined with this killing game?" She turned her head away from me. "That's not a good pairing..." I sighed.
"Imamura... I think you're a lot different from when you started." I said. Imamura rolled her eyes.
"Oh stop it with the sappy shit-" Imamura's started up again.
"IMAMURA!!!" I yelled, standing up. Imamura froze, staring at me in shock. I stared with wide eyes. Why did I just become so aggressive? I took a deep breath, sitting back down. "... when I first met you... you were angry. And then, you started to pick me apart. And it made me cry." I stared at her for a moment. "When I meet you now... I see someone completely different. They're more worried about themselves than they are about others. And they would never make me cry on purpose." I sighed. "I know... that it may be hard to see yourself as different... because you've done so much change in only a week or two. But... you have. And you can't cut that short. I won't give up on you Imamura. So don't give up on yourself."
"..." she was silent, unable to respond. Her expression suddenly became sour, as she looked away. "Maybe... maybe that's true. Maybe... I'm not as judgey." She turned back to me, her face hot with anger. "That doesn't mean that I'm different. If anything, I've gotten ANGRIER!!! I've become so much more violent! For gods sake, I WAS GOING TO KILL TAGUCHI!!! And..." she paused, trying to stop tears but they ran out of her eyes before she could stop them. "... I don't think... I'll be able to stop myself this time... if I'm alone with Yamazaki." She said, wiping the tears away. "If I'm ever alone with him... one of us is going to get out of it alive... and the other... won't be breathing..." her breath ran cold.
"... it's okay Imamura... I know you can get through this..." I said, trying to reach my hand out to put it on hers. Suddenly, hers snapped from its place, grabbing me hard by the wrist.
"... how am I supposed to trust you... if I can't even trust myself?" Imamura stated. My eyes went wide, as her grip tightened. Her hands were shaking, her blood seeming to boil, staring at me sourly. "... I know myself... I don't even know... if you're the person I've known this whole time." Her breaths became quicker. "Everyone... could be faking it! What if this was all done to torture me!? Did Taguchi even like me!? ARE YOU EVEN MY FRIEND!? ARE ANY OF YOU REAL!? WHAT IF THIS WAS ALL SOME KIND OF CONSPIRACY, TO TORTURE ME FOR ALL THE HORRIBLE THINGS I'VE DONE!!! HOW CAN I TRUST YOU HIRANO!? I- I CAN'T DO THIS!!! I- I CAN'T TRUST YOU!!!" She yelled, lifting up her other hand to grab onto her hair. I snatched her by her wrist, now sitting with each of us having a single wrist trapped in someone else's hold. We made eye contact, her eyes filled with anguish and grief. She was met with mine, which were calm and collected. I slowly led her arms to be on the arm rests, leaving us still both trapped in a hold.
"... you don't know if you can trust me..." I said.
"... w- what?" Imamura blurted out, unsure of how to respond.
"... there's no way I can prove that you can trust me." I replied. I took a deep breath. "... I don't know if I can trust anyone... but... I'm still going to. None of us are gonna make it out of here if we can't trust each other." Imamura's breaths slowed, as she followed my exact pattern. "... we only have each other right now. The only people we can trust are each other... because right now... at least we have Ressa as a common enemy." I smiled, looking into her eyes. "You don't have to trust me. But I trust you." I said, removing my hand from around her wrist. We stared at each other in silence, before Imamura let go of mine, weakly dropping it down and looking at the floor.
"... okay..." she replied, slowly lifting her head to look at me. "I trust you..." we smiled at each other, uncertainty filling the air. I glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room. If I remember right, we couldn't hear sound on the camera's. I quickly went back to making eye contact with her.
"... alright. We need to talk." I said. She glared at me skeptically.
"... about what?" She responded. I took a few seconds to breathe.
"The flash drive."
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