... what was this? Were... were my eyes deceiving me? There's no way this was real, right? Maybe my eyes really WERE deceiving me. After all, one of my glasses was broken. But... that doesn't change reality. Slowly, I stepped through the open door, blocking the light as I walked through.
I'm standing... in a field?
The wind rushed through my hair, and blew tall blades of grass around in smooth wave motion. Wait, no, they weren't blades of grass. I was standing in a field of wheat. It felt... nice... to feel the wind. I'd almost forgotten what it had felt like. I looked up at the clear blue sky. I didn't even realize that a smile had spread across my face. It felt so... peaceful. But after a moment... it didn't seem so good. The field seemed to be going on forever, from every direction.
"... I thought Araigu said we were close to Yuutsumi." Kawata said, walking up beside me. He seemed slightly annoyed, but couldn't help but smile. We were outside.
"Otani, I just wanna say, your secret was really boring." Sugai blurted out. Then, he started sprinting through the wheat, playing around in the crops.
"This... this can't be real..." Arima said, slowly walking over to stand next to me. Tears fell from his eyes, as he stared happily out at the land. "We're... we're free?"
"We've still gotta make it back... b- but..." Otani stuttered. "I think... I think we are!" He cheered. He held Imamura in his hands, her legs lazily over his arms. She held herself up by holding onto Otani's back.
"... I..." she stared out at the field. Tears welled up her eyes, as she tried her best not to cry. With her free hand, she covered the top of her head, pushing her glasses slightly up. "... thank you..." she croaked, now unable to hold it back. She began to silently sob, taking her other hand and covering her whole face. Otani pulled her close, comforting her from the loss she felt in that moment.
"Hirano..." Kawata said. I looked at his face. As soon as I did, we both started to smile, our eyes becoming glossy. "Thank you so much..." I couldn't hold myself back, the tears running down my cheeks involuntarily.
"We're gonna go home..." I croaked, wiping the tears from my eyes. I stared out at the land in front of me. "I- I'm coming home dad... just wait for me."
"Guys, we've still gotta get away from here first." Arima said, picking up Sugai and standing him up. Suddenly, Yamazaki started trudging through the field, a determined look on his face.
"Yamazaki, wait up! We have to go together!" Otani called out. Yamazaki didn't respond, he just kept moving.
"Whatever, let him go. No one cares if he's gone." Imamura blurted out.
"Imamura! Don't say that! Yamazaki is a valued member of the team!" Otani scolded. Imamura folded her arms, rolling her eyes.
"Whatever..." she said. After a moment, her eyes started to tear up again. "Can we... can we please just go now?"
"Of course!" Kawata yelled, jumping up and down happily.
"FUCK!!!" Yamazaki blurted out. "OF COURSE... it's just as I thought..." Everyone turned around, looking over at where Yamazaki was standing. He had gotten pretty far at this point. His hand was out in front of him, lying flat. "... you guys might want to stay there."
"Is there something over there?" Arima called out. Yamazaki stood still, almost silently thinking about his response.
"... you know what? I'm not gonna be the bearer of bad news. You can figure it out for yourself." He said. We all stood silently, looking at each other. After a moment, I started walking towards Yamazaki. Slowly, the sky started to look like it had... little grooves? Suddenly, it hit me, as I finally got close to Yamazaki. I could hear Yamazaki muttering swear words, his fists tight and angry. Slowly... I put my hand out...
... and touched the wall of the fake sky. The small lines in the walls were letting in a small amount cool air.
"... why..." I started. I slouched down, tears in my eyes. Everything exploded all at once. I grabbed onto my chest, folding in on myself. I began to sob like a little kid. I was whaling. I was screaming. I was feeling pure, utter, despair. "WHY!!!" I howled, trying to wipe the tears from my eyes. My body was violently shaking, unable to calm down from the shock. Yamazaki stared at me for a couple of seconds, before walking away.
The others approached me, trying to call out to me. "Is she okay?" I bet that's what they said. I couldn't hear them. My senses had gone numb. My hands gripped to the top of my hair. My finger started to hurt from how hard I was pressing them into my head.
We didn't escape. We just found another area of the killing game. Why did I ever think I could escape? What made me think that such a harsh punishment could be so easily foiled? I just wanted to see my dad and my brother. Was that so much to ask!? Maybe this really was a punishment for what I did to Masako. Maybe I was in the wrong for that accident. This was all just a ploy to take every ounce of hope I had. It had to be only a couple seconds of sobbing, but it felt like I'd aged 30 years.
I could hear the anguish and pain from the others as they reached the same conclusion as me. Slowly, I stood up, my legs hardly supporting my weight. This feeling. I'd felt something like it twice before. Once when my mom died. Once when I'd killed Masako. But this feeling... it was 10 times worse than those feelings. At least I knew I would live. But now... I'm not certain.
I forced myself to walk. An emotionless feeling came over me, as I stumbled back towards the giant brick box. The others followed behind me. The exit was still open, Imamura's wheelchair being left on the other side. Yamazaki was already back inside... and Ressa was there too. He was cackling, rocking on the floor as he reveled in our misery.
"OH MY GOD THAT WAS SO FUNNY!!! BAHAHAHAHA!!! I'M SO GLAD I WAITED!!!" Ressa yelled, still dying of laughter.
"You... you knew?" Otani barely managed to croak out his words.
"OH YEAH I DID!!!" Ressa bragged, getting up as he continued to chuckle. "You guys REALLY thought that I wouldn't notice you guys going into the secret room? I KNEW FROM DAY ONE!!! And it took every ounce of patience in me to wait for you guys to try and escape, AND OH BOY AM I GLAD I WAITED!!!" Ressa cackled, falling on the ground as he uncontrollably laughed. After a moment, he disappeared. Everyone was silent. There was no way to respond. Our efforts were in vain before we even knew we could escape.
... someone's gonna kill. Someone... HAS TO kill. It's the only way to leave this place now. If... if I killed someone... then maybe I could get out of here.
... no...
I already made a promise. I'm not going to kill anyone.
Maybe I could let someone kill me. That way, they have a chance to get out of here.
...
But everyone wants to survive.
...
It's a free for all now.
...
The only way to get out, is to-
"You guys really are pathetic, you know." Yamazaki stated, as he leaned up against the hotels wall, his arms folded. Imamura, who was now back in her wheelchair, nearly threw herself out of it to attack him. But she remained seated.
"WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING THAT!? YOU REALLY DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE HUH!!! CAN'T YOU LEAVE US ALONE, FOR ONE SECOND-" she screamed.
"Are you going to let him win?" He asked. Everyone was silent. He sighed, standing up straight. "I thought you guys we were supposed to be ultimates. The whole reason we got here in the first place is that we didn't give up. We practiced our talents until they were perfected. And now here you guys are. Acting like you didn't get this far into the killing game. And you're acting like a bunch of scared little children." He criticized, glaring at all of us. No one responded. He groaned. "It's just pitiful. You're better than this!" He was met with silence again. Suddenly, his eyes went wide from what I could only describe as... pain. Directly after, he fell into the wall. "SHIT!!!" He slowly got back up, his eye twitching. He held himself up by using the wall, he glared at all of us, pointing a single finger at us. "FINE!!! You guys can die for all I care! I'm finding my way out of here. With, or without all your help." He immediately turned around and headed into the hotel.
No one responded to him. But they definitely were thinking it through. I felt my head. I cried so much that I started to get a headache. I slowly made my way to my room, until I finally made it inside.
As soon as I did, I fell into my bed. I couldn't do this right now. I just had to rest. I closed my eyes, the things Yamazaki said floating around in my head. Am... I going to let them win? What... what does that even mean? Before I knew it, my eyes closed, and I'd fallen asleep.
-
"HEY EVERYONE!!! Man, yesterday, was the greatest 'surprise' I've ever had the chance to be apart of! You guys got me the best present I could ever ask for!" Ressa said, giggling. "Anyway, you guys need to get up! It's 7:00 AM! There's a motive that's still going on, and it needs to be completed! I'll see you all very soon!" The monitor shut off. I say up, groggily yawning. After a moment, I put on my glasses.
I didn't feel like getting up. After what happened yesterday, I don't know if I can do anything today. At this point, I'm living here until the day I die. Yesterday, I thought that my life would go back to normal. But I'm waking up in the hotel. How long did I even sleep? It wasn't near nighttime when I went to sleep. Jeez... I really am that pathetic huh?
I paused for a moment. Yamazaki was still trying to get out of here... wasn't he? I sighed, staring at the foot of my bed. I have to get up. Just because I'm not in the mood, doesn't mean I'm allowed to be here the entire day. I have to keep going.
I stood up, slowly getting dressed. I started putting my shoes on, before something caught my eye. It was the sticky note I wrote a long time. Slowly, I walked over and picked it up. I remember what it said. That I have to make myself proud. I put a hand on the side of my face, tilting my head slightly and closing my eyes.
"Would I be proud of myself?" I muttered, not even really realizing I'd said anything. Tears started running from my eyes again, involuntarily. I just want to go home. I wanna see my dad and my brother.
... what would my dad say right now? At a time like this? I thought back to a long time ago, trying to recall any words that might be helpful.
-
"I'm so sorry that this is happening sweetie. Everything is okay. We'll get through this together. You're so strong. Just don't give up, and I know we can get through this. I'm so proud of you." He said that the first day I came home with a bruised eye.
He was proud... but was I?
"You've got this! Just, keep working, and you'll get it eventually. You're so smart sweetheart! Honestly, you're smarter than me! Just think about what you learned in class! Now, let's try the question again." He said that the first time I got confused on a question.
He told me I was smart... but was I?
"Honey, look me right in the eyes. Don't think about mom. Just keep looking a- at me! Everything is gonna b- be okay! Mommy is okay sweetie! I promise! Y- you're so brave sweetheart! Mommy's gonna be okay! M- mommy's okay... she's okay..." He said that... when... when...
-
"I'm not brave dad..." I mumbled, tears running down my face. "I- I'm really scared..." I could barely speak at this point. My tears were too much to bear on my own. I'm all alone. I've never felt more lonely than this before. Maybe I had people who cared about me... but loneliness is about the feelings you have to carry by yourself. And right now... it's eating away at me.
-
I wore a long black dress, and I had tried to make my hair look nice. It didn't. I stared at the coffin. It wasn't open. The damage was too much for them to repair. But I'll remember that face. I'll remember the bloody pavement. I'll remember the way her head was split open. Nothing will EVER make me forget her face. She made sure of that. In almost every way.
I slowly lifted my arm up, my hand shaking involuntarily. I could feel all the eyes on me. From her family. They all hated me. They were all judging me. I know that feeling though. I remembered that feeling vividly. Of course I do. I feel that feeling every day. I placed the flower on top of the coffin. It was my fault she was dead. They'd come to that conclusion when the trial arrived in a month.
My trial was prioritized because of the nature of Yuutsumi Academy. They needed to know if I wouldn't be able to go because of a prison sentence. I'm gonna go to jail. Ayumi and Hanako would testify against me for my mistake. No. Not just them. Everyone would testify against me. Tears welled up in my eyes.
I'm never going to Yuutsumi...
Slowly, I turned and walked over to where my father was sitting. He had a bright, sympathetic smile on his face. In the car seat next to him was my little brother, who was drooling as he passed out. I sat down next to my dad. He tried to place a hand on my back, but when he did I involuntarily flinched. We sat in silence for what felt like years.
"... you know... you're really brave for coming here..." he said. I shook my head back and forth.
"N- no I- I'm not dad! I- I'm not b- brave! I- I've n- never been m- more scared in m- my life! Y- you keep s- saying I- I'm brave! B- but I'm n- not..." I replied, hiding my face in my hands. We sat in silence for a couple more seconds.
"... you know what I think?" He started. I didn't respond. I was still shaking, hyperventilating in place. "... I think... that being brave... isn't about not feeling fear. It's about being scared... but pressing on anyway." He finished. "So... maybe you're scared. But the fact that you're able to continue on like it's nothing?" He smiled. "That makes you pretty cool in my book." Slowly, I arose from my place.
"... th- thank you... d- dad..." I mumbled. He pulled me into a hug, rubbing the top of my head.
"That's my girl!" He chuckled. "How about we go get you some ice cream? A special treat, just for you!"
-
I remember that day vividly. I went to apologize to Masako's family. But... they didn't treat me kindly. I probably wouldn't have treated myself kindly if my daughter's killer came to apologize. I deserved that. But... what my dad said.
... maybe I'm scared...
... maybe I'm horrified...
... maybe... even though I felt like running away...
I could still be brave.
Because bravery isn't about not feeling fear.
It's about being afraid...
... and pressing on anyway.
I wiped the tears from my eyes, staring at the note. Was I proud of myself? Yes. Because right now, I'm gotta press forward. I'll help Yamazaki get us out of here. I'm not letting this moment ruin everything for us. We can still live! We WILL live! And I'll make sure of it.
I headed out of my room. Hopefully, if I was lucky, I could meet up with everyone at roll call. But... I'm not so sure. I stepped out into the hallway, Yamazaki already standing in the hallway. He glared at me, as I slowly moved over to stand a couple feet away from me. No one else was in the hallway but the two of us, and it was already 7:15. Suddenly, Kawata stepped out of his room, his police officer hat casting a shadow over the upper half of his face. He held a clipboard in his hands.
"... where is everyone?" Kawata asked, looking really angry.
"No idea." Yamazaki said, shrugging his shoulders. Kawata took a long sigh.
"I'll mark you guys down... but you NEED to head back to your rooms. None of your group members are here." Kawata demanded, looking directly at me. He was trying really hard not to look at Yamazaki, making sure all of his attention was directed at me. Yamazaki took a long sigh.
"I don't take orders from you dipshit." Yamazaki said, walking up to him. Kawata seemed to be more peeved than usual, but not enough to actually confront Yamazaki. The threat of headaches might've been enough to stop him from speaking his mind.
"... of course you do! We agreed on this!" Kawata snapped back. Yamazaki got onto Kawata's level, trying to stare at him directly in the eyes. But Kawata had turned his head away from him, making sure that wasn't possible. Yamazaki glared at him angrily.
"In case you don't remember, you don't have any power over me anymore. Your taser is gone, so I don't have to listen to your orders anymore." Yamazaki barked, before standing straight back up again. Kawata almost seemed desperate now.
"B- but, e- everyone is really unstable! I- if you don't go with someone, th- then you could be killed!" Kawata panicked. Yamazaki took a long, upsetting groan.
"FINE." He snapped. In the blink of an eye, he spun around. "Are you going to help me or what?" He asked, looking down at me as if I were a rat. I stumbled back slightly, not expecting the blunt question.
"Y- yes?" I stuttered.
"Great. You're coming with me." Yamazaki said, gripping me by the wrist, starting to drag me down the hallway.
"W- wait!" I demanded. Yamazaki stopped in his place, and glared down at me. "I want to talk to everyone first." He rolled his eyes, dropping my wrist.
"Fine. But you're gonna meet up with me tonight at 7 pm, outside of the hotel." He said. I didn't have enough time to speak in return, he just turned and walked away.
Kawata seemed really mad, but he couldn't look at Yamazaki. His attention was directed towards the ground. He took a long, deep breath.
"You better head back to your room Hirano." Kawata said. I stared at him silently, before taking a small sigh.
"Kawata... I can't." I replied.
"Hirano, PLEASE LISTEN TO ME!!! Out of all these people, I want you to survive the most. I'm not letting you die because of this one mistake." Kawata responded, taking both of my hands. I stared down at them, before slowly pulling mine away.
"... Kawata... if any of us want to live... then we've gotta deal with the problem at hand. We have to make sure everyone is okay. We have to make sure no one is willing to kill." I said. My face started to sweat, as I embarrassingly twiddled my thumbs. "... um... so I'm gonna..." I couldn't get the words out.
"... you're gonna set up a party... aren't you?" Kawata replied. I nodded sheepishly. Kawata took a long sigh, placing two fingers on the bridge of his nose. "Hirano, I thought we all agreed that parties were the thing we should AVOID. Every single time we've had one, something has gone HORRIBLY WRONG!!!" He snapped, his hands tightening into fists. I was about to speak, but he cut myself off with a long, deep breath. He'd calmed himself down. "Look... Hirano... I just want you to be careful." I smiled.
"Kawata, I've always BEEN careful!" I chuckled. Kawata stared at me silently. Tears started to form in his eyes, as he put a hand on my shoulder.
"Hirano, PLEASE. I- I need... I need to keep us all safe! I- I have to PROVE that I deserve my talent as a police officer. I- if I can't protect everyone now... what kind of a cop am I?" He said. I paused for a moment, before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"... you're the cop who caught Hano Yoshiko, right?" I said. Kawata fell silent, tipping the police hat down to cover his eyes. "You've already protected so many people with just that. If you can do that, you can protect us." I reassured. Kawata remained silent, slowly rubbing the back of his neck.
"... y- yeah... I guess that's true..." he mumbled. He took a long, deep sigh. "Just... be careful. Okay?" I smiled, nodding.
"I will." I replied. Kawata gave me a skeptical look, before returning back into his room.
Okay, now I have to start planning. It wasn't exactly a... party. It was more a positive meeting. I want to make sure everyone's spirits are lifted so we can keep living here... forever. I took a long, dry gulp.
I'm never... gonna see them again... am I? My dad and my brother... I'll never see their faces again. I paused, quickly wiping the tears from my eyes. No. I can't think like that. I've gotta keep hoping for the best. I wandered to the other side of the building, reaching the door of the morgue. I grabbed onto the handle, trying to turn it open. But it halted before I could rotate it further. I stared at it for a moment, almost in disbelief. I tried again once more, but failed to move it. I continued to puzzle over the door. My eyes went wide.
"Oh, right, Kawata has the key." I blurted out.
"Are you sure about that?" Someone said. I nearly jumped out of my skin, letting go of the door handle. Ressa chuckled from the shock I'd just shown.
"W- what do you mean?" I stuttered. Ressa giggled to himself.
"Well, I decided to lock up certain rooms in the hotel. You don't remember the announcement! I literally told everyone I'm locking up different rooms to make things interesting!" Ressa snapped back. I stared at him quiet.
"... no you didn't." I said. Ressa replied with a long couple seconds of silence. Suddenly, he became flustered.
"... I- I didn't?" He stuttered, seemingly embarrassed. We stood in place, not making a single movement. The awkwardness held on. "W- well! I didn't want to startle anyone! They've all been so wrapped up in the exit being fake, and I didn't want to rattle their brains too much!" Ressa justified. I shifted my glasses slightly up on my face.
"Um, but I thought chaos was your whole thing..." I mumbled. Ressa glared at me, a fiery irritation filling his tiny body.
"OH SHUT UP YOU!!! Since when did you get so judgmental HUH!?" Ressa snapped back. I didn't say anything in response. Ressa adjusted himself.
"Anyway, you can purchase keys in the supermarket. But you're gonna have to figure out which rooms are locked on your own!" Ressa chuckled. "Besides that, what did you think of the Araigu's Ai, the secret room, and the fake exit huh!? I wasn't expecting you guys to figure it out so quickly! Well, I did have to do some pushing so you could get Araigu's chip, but IT WAS WORTH IT!!!" Ressa started to maniacally cackle, seeming very proud of himself. "Aren't you so upset that you'll never see your family again!?" My eyes went wide, as I took a small step backwards.
"I-" I started. Ressa suddenly cut me off.
"You know, you don't have to lose hope you know! You could always just..." he started chuckling, motioning a paw at his neck.
"N- no, I'm not doing that." I replied. Ressa took a long, deep sigh. He seemed disappointed, but not upset.
"Alright, fine. It was worth a shot." Ressa started to shrug his shoulders. "Oh well, if you won't kill, someone else will. That's the circle of life!" He said.
"What? No it's not..." I started, before he disappeared into thin air. I took a long, deep sigh. I need to get back on task anyway. Suddenly, someone came around the corner of the hallway. A smile came across my face, as I started to approach them. "Imamura!" I cheered. She glared at me, before moving her wheelchair further down the hall. "H- hey, wait! Imamura! Slow down!" I called out, trying to chase after her. Suddenly, she stopped in place. She pointed a finger directly in my face.
"Leave me the FUCK ALONE HIRANO!!!" She snapped. I took a step back, falling to the floor.
"W- what?" I mumbled. Suddenly, I realized that we were outside of the game room. "Imamura, you're not gonna-"
"Of course I'm gonna do the fucking motive Hirano! Why the fuck do you think I wouldn't!?" Imamura yelled. She seemed extremely agitated. "God FUCKING DAMMIT!!! I'm gonna kill someone I SWEAR..." she started heading towards the door, but I quickly got up and blocked her. Her hands gripped tightly onto the arm rests of the wheelchair. "Hirano, I'm going to RUN YOU OVER IF YOU DON'T FUCKING MOVE RIGHT NOW!!!" I stood there, determined.
"Imamura, I know the fake exit made you upset, but we can't resort to-" I started.
"Um, OF COURSE IT FUCKING MADE ME UPSET!!! EVERYONE IS!!! What, are you a psychopath or something!? WHY WOULDN'T YOU BE UPSET!?" She barked.
"I- I am! B- but we've still gotta work hard to get out of here-" I started.
"YOU KNOW, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING HIRANO!!! THANKS FOR REMINDING ME THAT THE ONLY WAY TO ESCAPE IS BY COMMITTING MURDER!!! I REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!" She yelled.
"IMAMURA!!!" I screamed, loud enough that I hurt my own ears as well. She froze, staring at me in shock. "We've made it this far, and we've got so much to live for! Are you going to give up on all of that now?" Imamura remained silent, before tears started to drip down her cheeks.
"... what does it matter... there's nothing out there for me anyway..." she whispered, silently weeping. My eyes went wide, a small croak leaving my mouth. That was all I could muster for a moment. And then, I spoke.
"Imamura, what do you-" I started. Imamura's head hung low, and she wiped tears from her eyes.
"Everything... I've ever cared about is gone. I lost Taguchi. M- my family probably hates me... a- and LOOK AT ME!!! My LEGS. ARE. PARALYZED. It doesn't even matter if I leave! I- I've already lost... everything..." she mumbled. The two of us remained silent for a moment.
"Yeah... you've lost a lot..." I muttered. "You lost your friends... you've lost your ability to walk..."
"Hirano, are you trying to make me feel better? Because you're failing miserably..." Imamura blurted out, glaring at me.
"But... you've also lost a lot of the bad parts of yourself. You've grown a lot as a person." I said. Imamura stared at me silently. She seemed upset, but didn't say anything. "You have to admit... that you're a lot nicer than you were before Imamura." She kept glaring at me, before turning her head away.
"... I guess..." she mumbled. I took a deep breath, putting an arm behind my back and adjusting my glasses. My foot started to involuntarily spin on its toes.
"Um, so, this might sound really dumb, but, I was hoping that everyone could meet up with me tomorrow night in the dining hall? I- I want to have a meeting to try and cheer everyone up, a- and discuss what we're going to do next." I replied. She glared at me, before taking a long sigh, rolling her eyes.
"So like... a hang out?" She said. I bobbed my head side to side, considering the label.
"I guess." I replied. She stared at me silently for a minute.
"Fine. I'll attend your weird 'meeting' thingy. I'm still gonna go into the game room. After all, we need at least one person to participate a day." Imamura responded. I smiled at her, nodding.
"S- so I'll see you there tomorrow night?" I said. She took a deep breath.
"Yeah." She replied. I grinned, adjusting my glasses slightly so I could get a better look at her face. She seemed to have a very small smile. I couldn't tell if it was genuine or not, but before I could determine if it was, she went into the game room.
That was two people down off of the list. Kawata and Imamura are both aware of the meeting. Now I need to get Sugai, Otani, and Arima in on it too. I walked over to the other game room, opening the door. Luckily, this door wasn't locked. With Ressa's... interesting decision, I have no idea which rooms are locked or not. I groaned slightly. Why was Ressa making that rule in the first place? It didn't make any sense! I brushed it off. I have to stay focused.
I walked into the closet of the second game room, and picked up a couple of board games. I carried them out of the room, heading down the hallway. I nearly tripped as I walked, but caught myself, managing to stay upright.
The meeting was going to be in the dining room, so that's where I needed to head next. I walked up the stairs, going straight to the dining room. I wandered inside, placing them down on the table. I took a deep sigh. I was honestly surprised that they didn't topple over when I carried them up the stairs. But somehow, the giant stack had kept its balance. Okay, so now I have to figure out the food situation. I'm not really good at making stuff, but I could get Otani to help me. I walked over to the kitchen door, pushing it open.
"Arima... th- this was your doing!?" Otani said, seemingly in distress.
"I- I didn't mean to do it. I- I was trying to climb up and get-" Arima started.
"You climbed up on top of the fridge!?" Otani cut him off. He had tears in his eyes. "A- Arima, w- why would you do this!? A- all of the food is spoiled now! I- I can't bake anything now!"
"YEAH ARIMA!!! Why DID you do it?" Sugai chuckled to himself. Arima fumbled with his hands for a moment.
"... I- I'm sorry... p- please don't hate me..." Arima stuttered, trying his best to keep eye contact but failing miserably. Otani for a long moment, tears rushing from his eyes, which had bags underneath them. All the pent up emotions seemed to be leaking out. He tried to take a deep breath to calm down, but he couldn't keep it together.
"I- it's not your fault... I- I just..." Otani quickly covered his face with his hands. "I- I need to go!" He yelled, before racing out of the room, not even noticing I was now in the room.
"W- what's going on?" I mumbled, as I walked into the room. Sugai jumped down from his place on top of the counter.
"Otani's upset that his ONE, TRUE, PASSION!!! Was DESTROYED by THIS ABSOLUTE CRETIN!!!" Sugai said, making his voice sound posh as he dramatically put a hand to his forehead, leaning his back on the counter top. I looked over at Arima, who didn't even try to rebuttal that statement. He just stared at the two of us, with a blank face. It seemed like he'd been up all night, and by the redness in his eyes, he had been crying.
"... would you guys like to come to the supermarket with me?" Arima muttered. Sugai chuckled to himself.
"Hmm, let me think. NAH!!!" Sugai laughed. I looked at Arima, who just continued to stare blankly at us.
"A Um, yeah, I can go with you." I said. Arima nodded, and started to walk out of the room. Sugai glared at me.
"Oh come on! You're not gonna hang out with me instead!? At least I'm not depressed!" Sugai complained. Arima didn't react.
"Um, I'll be out in a minute Arima." I said. He nodded once more, and exited through the door. I turned back to Sugai. "Hey, you can come with us if you want." Sugai shrugged his shoulders.
"Eh, I guess I can. The supermarket is pretty cool... and I do need supplies for my plans!" Sugai chuckled to himself. He stared at me silently. "Is there something else you were gonna ask?"
"Um, yeah." I started. I took a deep breath. "So um, I'm planning a meeting for tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you could attend? I'm trying to help cheer everyone up, and figure out what we're gonna do next." Sugai stared at me, and then started to cackle.
"HA HA!!!" He blurted out he took a deep breath, before looking at me. His eyes went wide. "Oh you're serious. Huh, I thought you were smarter than that." He mocked. I took a long sigh.
"Sugai, what do you-" I started.
"You do realize they just all had their hearts ripped out right? You do realize that they were all desperately trying to get out of here, and then all that hope was snatched away from them, right?" He said. I was about to speak, but he cut me off. "So what I'm hearing is, you think a party will help fix all of the despair they went through?"
"No, I-" I started.
"Jeez Hirano! How'd you get this dense?" Sugai chuckled. My eyebrows furrowed.
"You know Sugai, you've gotta stop judging people so easily." I said. Sugai went silent, glaring at me. He seemed offended. "I don't think that a 'party' will solve everything. I don't think positivity is going to magically make everything better. But we can't give up. We've made it this far. Letting go of hope now will kill us all. That's what the people who put us here want. We CAN'T let them win. And that means pushing forward, even if we don't want to." Sugai stared at me blankly, tilting his head slightly to the side. His eyes squinted at me.
"Who are you?" He asked. I blinked rapidly, taken aback by the question.
"H- huh?" I replied.
"You're not Hirano!" He laughed. I shifted my posture, pushing up my glasses.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, staring directly into his eyes. He chuckled a bit.
"You know, when I met you, you were a BIG OL BABY!!!" He cackled to himself at that. My eyebrows furrowed, as I started to speak. He cleared his throat, stopping me. "Out of all the people here, I thought you'd be the most panicked of the bunch! But for some reason, you seem the most determined. Why do you think that is?" I stared at him for a long time.
"It's like Yamazaki said. We can't let the people who put us here win. So, I've decided I'm gonna take responsibility for that-" I started.
"No no! I mean why are you so different huh?" Sugai said. My eyebrows furrowed. What was he on about? I guess... maybe I have changed a bit. I'm not as scared as before. But how did I change? That's a strange question.
"Sugai, I don't know. Can we just go?" I replied. He rolled his eyes, taking a long sigh. He shrugged his shoulders.
"Aaaalllllllright, fine. Let's go." He said. I stared at him silently.
"Hey, Sugai. Why aren't you as panicked as everyone else?" I asked. He chuckled slightly, putting a hand on the door.
"As I said, I don't really care if we get out of here or not! While you guys are freaking out about whether or not we're getting out of here, I'm just glad I get to do whatever I want!" With that, he walked out of the room. I sighed, following him out. Arima sat patiently at the table. He made eye contact with me, his eyes completely emotionless. He pointed to the board games on the table, as if he were asking me something without speaking.
"Um, I wanted to have a meeting with everyone tomorrow to hopefully improve everyone's moods. So, I thought it might be good to get some board games to play when we do." I said. "Um, by the way, would you come to that? It's tomorrow night at around 7:00 PM." Arima stared at me silently, before giving the smallest hint of a nod. He quickly stood up, nearly falling out of his chair. He sighed, brushed himself off, and started walking to the door.
"Come on. I've got stuff to do." Arima said.
"Yeah yeah, emo! Let's just head over! Still no idea why you're doing this, so let's hurry this up so I can have some fun!" Sugai laughed, shoving past Arima, who didn't react.
I frowned, staring at Arima, who stood frozen for a couple of seconds. Then, he slowly pushed the door open, walking out and holding it open for me. I sighed, walking out. He kept staring at the floor, seemingly lost in thought.
The three of us walked down the stairs, Sugai trying to take the railing down but could manage to pull himself onto it, and even when he did it wouldn't take him all the way down since it was against the wall. Sugai grumbled, opting to just sprint down them instead. I mostly tried to stayed behind to stick with Arima, who was taking his time. We walked out the front door, stepping onto the stone path right outside.
"RACE YOU TO THE SUPERMARKET!!!" Sugai yelled, before booking it towards the supermarket. I smiled, starting to jog as I followed behind. But I stopped, looking to Arima, who was not following suit. I slowed down my pace to stand by Arima.
"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked. He remained silent for a moment, before taking a long, tired sigh.
"Sure." He replied. I frowned, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"I can help you if you want." I said.
"Okay." He responded. I was slightly irritated by the blank answer.
"Okay, then what's wrong?" I asked.
"I don't know." He blurted out. My eyebrows furrowed, but I took a deep breath.
"Arima, it's gonna be okay. You're a really strong person. Usually, you'd be crying from something this detrimental." I said. He didn't respond, he just kept walking, picking up the pace to be out in front of me. "You're the Ultimate Daredevil, right? Your talent is really aging through. The fact that you're still holding out is great! You're really brave for that." Suddenly, he stopped in place. I followed suit, staring at him in confusion.
"Brave?" He blurted out. "Brave... that's what you think?" He mumbled. Slowly, he turned around. His eyes were tired. He looked like he wanted to cry, but he couldn't. "I've never been brave. Never. Not even when I got my talent." I sighed.
"Arima, being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared-" I started.
"I know what the definition of being brave is." He blurted out, cutting me off. "I was being naive Hirano. It's not brave to risk your life for something stupid."
"But, it's not stupid! I've heard that you've won money from your adventures, and given it away to the people who need it most! You-" I continued on.
"Hirano." He snapped back he took a deep breath. "That wasn't the reason. You wanna know what it really was?" I frowned, not replying to his question. "'If you jump off this roof right now, I promise I'll be your friend.'" I froze in place. W- what did he just say? "'If you jump into the lions pen, we'll hang out with you.' 'If you stand in the middle of this raging river, you'll have buddies you want.'" He took a deep breath. "I had always been alone. I had always been in the shadows by myself. People gave me a chance to win their hearts by risking my life. And when I did, that's what I got. I got to spend time with people, even if they only wanted me around for a couple of days. But I didn't want it for just a day or two. I wanted people to like me. So it happened over and over and over again. And so even when I was scared, I forced myself to act out of stupidity. I'm really lucky that I'm not dead. I'm lucky that roof was off a two story building into some bushes. I'm lucky that the zoo workers were able to save me before the lion tried to kill me. And I'm lucky I was able to hold onto a rock long enough to be saved, and not go flying off of that waterfall. Every time those people called me 'courageous'. But it wasn't. It's not courageous to do something stupid. It's not brave to push your body to the point of breaking. It's just..." Arima stopped speaking, realizing that he'd been rambling on. He took a long, deep breath. "I thought... that people would like me here if I did the same thing I did at home." He motioned his hand to his head, representing a gun. "I thought if I could survive that... no one would want to kill me. They'd want to be my friends, and let me live. But you don't come back from that. And somehow... for some reason... I stopped myself there. Somehow... I knew I'd die if I pulled the trigger. Out of all the times. I stopped myself then." He stared at the ground. "I wonder why." He said, almost as if he were talking to himself more than me. He took a deep breath, turning back around and began walking towards the supermarket. I quickly pulled myself alongside him.
"Arima! It's gonna be okay. I'm... really sorry that happened to you. But that doesn't mean you weren't brave, and that you aren't brave now! You've come a long way! Right now, you're not crying, you're not scared, and you're not-" I started, trying to reassure him. Even if it meant lying to him.
"Hirano... please stop." He said. He stared directly into my eyes. Every emotion he had in him was just gone. He felt like a husk of a person. "I know you're trying to make me feel better, but I'm just tired of it all. I'm tired of being scared. I'm tired of being sad. I'm just... tired of feeling anything. So please... just... let me go." He said. I couldn't find any words. There was nothing I could say anyway. He'd already decided his fate. Was there... really nothing I could do to help?
"YOU GUYS ARE SO SLOW!!!" Sugai yelled. Stopping Arima in his tracks. He took a long sigh.
"I know Sugai, I'm just not-" he started.
"Oh no no no! You're not gonna go all boring on me! You're coming with me!" He yelled.
Arima tried to speak up, but was quickly grabbed by the wrist and dragged towards the store. His face went a bright pink out of embarrassment, calling out desperately to try and stop Sugai. Slowly, I started to smile. Maybe I couldn't help, but that doesn't mean that no one else can. I paused for a moment, turning around. My eyes went wide.
The exit door was open? Why was that? It didn't matter if the door was opened, but what was the purpose of keeping it open? I took a step towards it. No, I can't. I have to join Arima and Sugai in the supermarket. I took a deep breath, quickly racing back to front door of the store.
"Jeez, didn't think I'd have to wait so long for you Hirano! You must be really slow huh?" Sugai giggled. I chuckled slightly.
"Whatever you say!" I replied. Arima looked really embarrassed, as he turned and started walking down one of the aisles. I quickly followed after him. "So, uh, what are you looking for?" I asked. Arima stopped, but not from my question. He took a large box off of the shelf, struggling to carry it.
"A mini fridge." He said. Sugai started cackling from behind where I was standing, startling me.
"You wanted to come here for a mini fridge!? What, you gonna smash this one into another counter!?" Sugai cackled, flopping to the floor. Arima's face went a hot pink, as he desperately looked away from us. He was clearly upset about that whole sequence of events. I sighed, walking over to him.
"Um, do you need held with that?" I asked. Arima continued to keen his head turned away, trying not to make eye contact with me. "I'm not the strongest, but it might be easier to bring it over if we work together." Arima reluctantly moved his hands, allowing me to grab the other side of the box.
"You know what Arima! That's a really good idea! Let's buy ALL of the mini fridges, and we can smash them all together!" Sugai chuckled. I rolled my eyes, sighing happily. Arima and I reached the counter, heaving the burdensome box on top. I hit the little bell, and suddenly, Ressa popped up from behind the counter.
"Man, I remember this place like it was yesterday! I can't believe that it's been so long since you came here with Tengan and Naito, and then they ended up dead the next day!!!" Ressa started to cackle, pleased with the act of murder that had taken place. Arima didn't react, just taking a coin from his pocket. "Jeez, tough crowd. Fine. Take your stupid mini fridge. You can use it to cool your deadly poison that kills instantly when a gas, and is very hydrophobic." I sighed. What was Ressa even going on about at this point? Ressa snatched the coin from Arima's hand.
"Hey, where do you find those? I've never been able to get them." I said. Ressa stared at me for a moment. He seemed to be thinking. After a moment, he started to laugh.
"Alright Hirano, here." Ressa handed me the coin he had in his hand. I stared at him skeptically, before putting it into my pocket. "Before you guys go, could I interest you in some keys?" Ressa asked, chuckling as he motioned to the wall behind him, presenting a row of hooks. Each one had a black label above them, and a key on everyone one of the hooks.
"Oh, this is what you meant by locking the doors, right?" I asked. Ressa nodded vigorously.
"We've got a wide arrangement, so feel free to take a look!" He chuckled. I scanned the wall of hooks, trying to read the labels. But it was difficult to do so because of my broken glasses. The key to the morgue was on one of the hooks. Another was a key to the office room that's next to the kitchen. A key to the library, a key to the room, etc. But there were also keys to everyone's hospital rooms? But what confused me the most was a singular key. There were similar rooms to it, for some reason.
"Why is there a key to Kawata's ultimate lab and not everyone else's?" I blurted out. Arima stared at it as well, remaining silent for a moment.
"Uh, probably for like, police outfits? Now you can arrest anyone you want!" Sugai chuckled, hopping up to sit on the counter.
"It's probably so we can get the weapons Kawata hid there." Arima said. I looked over at him, eyes wide.
"Huh? That's where he hid them?" I blurted out.
"Hey, how do YOU know where they are huh? You go looking for trouble or something?" Sugai snapped, slyly smiling at Arima. He took a long sigh, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"The day that you said Kawata went missing, I went to the Ultimate Labs and I found him there. He was going through a giant pile of weapons." Arima said. I looked back to the wall of keys.
"Um, I'd like to buy Kawata's Ultimate lab key." I said. Ressa glared at me.
"You're gonna waste the coin I LITERALLY JUST GAVE YOU, on a key?" Ressa snapped. I could tell that the only reason he was upset with me buying the key to Kawata's Ultimate Lab because I would be able to stop people from taking weapons. I nodded vigorously. Ressa glared at me, before smirking. "Oh by the way, I'd like to say that there is a no return policy! And I will not stop anyone from lending a key or stealing it!" I took a deep breath.
"Alright, I'll buy it then." I said. Ressa grumbled a bit, before jumping up and grabbing the key off of the wall. He held it out to me, putting his other paw open. I placed the coin in his hand, and took the key from the other. "Alright, I'm done for the day. You guys do whatever. BUT I'M CLOSING UP SHOP!!! SO NO MORE BUYING STUFF!!!" Ressa yelled, before disappearing behind the desk. I sighed, looking at the key in my hand. Okay, at least no one could get those weapons. Maybe people can still hurt each other with other things, but taking away the easiest ticket would still help out. I stuffed the key back into my pocket.
"Can we head back now? This is so BORING!!!" Sugai complained. I smiled at him, nodding.
"Um, Arima, where are you even taking this?" I asked. I turned to where Arima had been, but he had disappeared. He was over by the front door, struggling to get the mini fridge through the door. I walked over to him, staring at him with a confused expression.
"Don't you want me to help you?" I asked. Arima avoided eye contact with me, as I held open the door. He walked through, making sure to not glance in my direction. I sighed, following behind him. Sugai raced after us, seeming annoyed that we left him behind.
"So, Hirano, who you gonna kill?" Sugai asked. My eyes went wide, as I stared at him.
"What?" I blurted out. Sugai rolled his eyes.
"Y'know! You have the key to Kawata's ultimate lab with all the weapon! Who's going to be your victim!?" Sugai said. He started to smirk, pointing at Arima. "Oh! It's him isn't it! That's why you don't wanna tell me." Arima glanced at him and I, before looking away. My eyebrows furrowed.
"No-" I started.
"Or maybe you wanna kill me! That's probably another reason you don't want to tell me huh?" Sugai chuckled. "Well, I kind of prefer neither, but if you really must, Arima is taller than me, so he has more meat on his bones!" I glared at him. Was he suggesting I was going to eat him? I took a long sigh, before a small smile appeared on my face.
"Wait, you're shorter than Arima? I thought you were taller than him!" I said. Sugai stared at me in silence for a moment.
"Yeah, I am. Get on the same page, Hirano!" Sugai chuckled. I smiled, giggling slightly.
"Whatever you say Sugai." I replied. He had a smirk on his face, as he sprinted into the hotel. I held the door, letting Arima walk through the door. I clicked the button for the elevator, looking over to Arima. He just looked... tired. "You should probably get some sleep Arima." With that comment, he looked slightly annoyed. He sighed.
"Yeah, I know." He said. The elevator arrived, Arima getting ready to step on. Before he could though, Sugai ran past him, nearly knocking him over. I stepped on behind the two of them, Sugai chuckling at Arima, who didn't say anything. I looked over to him, frowning. Arima's face was covered in a couple droplets of sweat.
"Hey, are you sure you don't want me to help you carry that?" I asked.
"I'm- fine." He insisted, the elevator doors opening. He stepped out, his feet slightly stumbling. Sugai chuckled, looking over at me.
"He's such a bad liar..." Sugai whispered, skipping out of the elevator. I sighed, following behind them. Arima finally stopped in the middle of the hallway. He was standing in front of Otani's door. He knocked on it, stepping back and twiddling his thumbs. The door suddenly opened, Otani stepping out. A depressing aura followed him out of the room.
"I- I..." Arima took a deep breath. "I- I'm really sorry that I broke the fridge. I- I really didn't mean to, I- I swear." He pointed to the box with a mini fridge inside. "S- so, I um, bought you this. I- I know it won't r- really fix the problem, b- but I thought-" Arima stuttered. Suddenly, Otani pulled him into a hug. The air around him was no longer sad. It was bright, and cheerful.
"Oh thank you so much Arima!" Otani blurted out. Arima remained frozen for a moment, before his eyes softened. He lifted up his arms, and placed them around Otani. Sugai rolled his eyes sticking his tongue out in a disgusted manner. They stood there for a moment before Otani pulled away from him. "You know, you're making some real progress Arima." Arima uncomfortably shifted, staring at the ground.
"Well... I- I'm trying." Arima stuttered, glancing over at me and Sugai, before looking and to Otani.
"I'm proud of you." He said, a bright smile on his face. After a moment, he too looked at us. His eyes went wide. "Oh, hello. I didn't see you two there." He chuckled. After a moment, his eyes softened, and he started to frown. "Um... how are things going... you know... with everything that's happened?" I rubbed the back of my neck.
"I'm-"
"Great! Never better! You know, I honestly don't think that staying here is a bad idea! We could just like, stay here forever and ever!" Sugai laughed, putting on an innocent smile. I took a deep breath, putting my hands in fists as I stood determined.
"Actually, I wanted to talk about that." I said. "Um, so I was thinking that we could all meet tomorrow in the dining room to help cheer up everyone, and talk about what we're gonna do next." Otani smiled.
"Oh yeah! I love that idea! What time is at?" Otani asked. I grinned, satisfied that he liked my idea.
"It's gonna be at 7:00 pm tomorrow." I said. My face went blank. Wait, 7:00 pm? I looked over at the clock on the wall. "OH CRAP!!! I've gotta go! I- I'll see you all later!" I yelled, starting to sprint down the hallway. The three of them stared at each other confused, but didn't say anything.
Okay. It's time. I have to help Yamazaki find a way out of here.
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