~Y/n pov~
"Alright, miss Sara, miss Y/n, should we go?" Sou asked.
"Ah. Please don't call me miss Y/n...just Y/n is fine. Miss makes me feel old." I looked away embarrassed.
Sou just smiled , "Okay Y/n."
"Yeah let's go." Sara seemed to be lost in thought.
Nao and Reko are looking after a fainted Kanna.
"Sara, Y/n, come runnin' if you're in danger, alright? Feel free to leave the heavy lifting to the guys." Reko smiled sweetly at us, "Then again, the scrawny beanie kid doesn't look so tough himself... You better run, too."
"W... What a cutting remark... Ahaha." He laughed it off.
"Best of luck, everyone...!" Nao beamed.
There are many exits out of the room. Taking a look through them, most of them lead to dead end passages.
Sou spoke up, "You see those huge cushions in the dead ends?"
"I wonder... when I fell, did I land on one of those cushions?" Sara pondered.
"I think I did too."
"Same for me. I bet all of us fell in a similar way."
Sara opened one of the doors and entered, me and Sou followed closely behind her.
"There's a green vending machine here. Seems to sell drinks... but I've got no money." Sou noted.
"Why is it so expensive?" I questioned.
Yeah..Water and soda... both cost about 1,000 yen. Talk about price-gouging." Sou didn't answer the question but pointed out the obvious instead.
We entered another room.
"This looks like... a bar. Seems to be a lot of alcohol present... But you're underage, so keep away, miss Sara. You too Y/n." Sou smiled.
"You'd better not drink at a time like this either, Sou." Sara stated.
Sou just smiled, "On the other hand, some might say there's no better time to drink."
Gin and Mishima were also in the room.
Gin is searching at a low-eye level.
"Bars are just full of alcohol, meow. I hate alcohol, woof! And I hate my drunkard dad more, meow!" I wasn't sure if Gin was talking to us or himself.
"Your dad has a bad drinking habit?" Sou asked curiously.
"He's an annoyance, woof!"
"When you drink, you gotta be sure not to get swallowed up yourself. I'm drinking age, too... I ought to be careful." Sou said thoughtfully.
Sara walked over to Mishima.
Professor Mishima's inspecting every inch of the room.
"Oh... miss Sara. Have you encountered any dangers? Please take utmost caution... Yes..." He talked in a weird manner.
There's a bunch of names on a blackboard.
Can Drink
Alice, Kai, Kazumi, Keiji, Shunsuke, Sou, Naomichi, Mai, Megumi, Reko, Q-taro
Can't Drink
Anzu, Kanna, Gin, Kugie, Sara, Joe, Nao, Hinako, Ranmaru, Y/n
There were the names of everyone here, but there were also a lot of names I didn't recognise.
"There's a sliding door on the side of the counter." Sara said to us.
I almost jumped, not expecting her to suddenly start talking.
Sou noticed and rested his hand on my shoulder, "Let's open it, I guess. ...Huah! ...Yah! ...Won't open!"
He tried to open to door, " Urgh... I'm too weak... I really doubt I can open this..."
We walked out and moved on to a different room.
~*~
There was another passageway.
"There's a red vending machine here. Seems to sell cigarettes. In the back is a smoking area, I guess...? Don't buy any if you're underage, of course. Can't go turning you into a delinquent, Sara, Y/n." Sou smiled.
Sou wasn't paying attention and didn't see Sara pull a cigarette out of the vending machine.
I eyed her warily but decided not to say anything for now.
"It's got a high-class feel, huh?" Sou was unaware of what just happened.
The back seems to be a smoking area.
There was another room, there was a sign above it like outside the bar, this one said games.
We entered.
"Is this... a game room? ...Pretty lonesome, considering." Sou smiled.
I quietly inspected the room.
"Feels like there'd be some kind of puzzle or trick to this place." Sara stated.
"I'll rely on your insight, miss Sara..."
It felt like I wasn't here.
Just as I thought that, an arm wrapped itself around my shoulders.
"You don't talk much, you remind me of myself.." Sou said quietly so Sara couldn't hear, "Perhaps you don't trust Sara."
"You can't say you fully trust Sara right...so many people already trust her despite barely knowing her. It's stupid." I muttered so only Sou could here.
He chuckled, "I've got to agree with you on that one."
"Why are you telling me this? Do you trust me?"
"I could ask the same to you. Hmm..for some strange reason, I feel like I can trust you." Sou smiled, and this one didn't seem fake.
"There's a dart board here.." Sara muttered to herself.
Sou slowly released me as Sara turned to face us.
There was a red door and a blue door.
Sara tried the red one but it wouldn't open.
The blue door however, opened easily.
We walked into the blue room.
"Whoa, what are those?
There are human-shaped figures sitting in the chairs." Sou exclaimed.
"Sure is a suspicious place, I tell you what." Q-taro chimed in.
I wouldn't of known he was here if it wasn't for his big frame.
"What are you doing, Q-taro?" Sara asked.
"Just gettin' a big ol' view of the room. But these guys... They're checkin' every corner, no hesitation... Ain't they scared of traps?" He responded.
"Wonder what this big painting is for?" Joe hummed.
"Finding it curious?" Sara smiled, probably happy to see Joe.
Keiji stood by himself, investigating something.
Me and Sou stood back and watched them interact.
"Maybe try taking it off the wall." Sara suggested.
"I think I'll check the easy things first, like these chairs. Besides, Sara, it's just barely out of your reach, huh?" Joe teased.
"Hey, I grew a centimeter since last year. Don't take me lightly!" Sara retorted.
"Uhh... Sou, was it? Y/n too..." it was as if Joe only just noticed we were there.
"Ahaha, I'm glad you remembered my name." He smiled, his smile seemed forced.
I didn't say anything, unsure about Joe's character, but from what I've seen he's ok.
I watched out of the corner of my eye as Keiji handed Sara some bullets.
My eyes widened, he shouldn't trust her enough to give her bullets.
I'll have to keep an eye on Sara.
There were creepy dolls sat on a few of the chairs.
~*~
"This looks like... a cafeteria. I wonder if our kidnapper is telling us to eat up here?" Sou stated.
Sara tried to open the kitchen door, but of course it was locked.
I can see the kitchen through the glass.
There's a pitch black area in the back of the cafeteria.
Sara picked up a dart of the table.
"You could use that on the dart board in the game room." I commented.
"It's small, but it looks fancy. The tip is sharp, so be careful." Sou added.
~*~
"What an imposing atmosphere... That red lamp is eerie. Don't think I have the courage to enter that door..." Sou sighed, pulling his hat down.
A red lamp eerily illuminates a door at the end of the hallway.
Sara steps in front of us and opens the door.
"Whoa! It's not locked.. W-what should we do? ...Are we going in?" Sou stuttered slightly.
"It'd be pointless to not investigate everywhere we can." I commented calmly.
"Here goes...!" Sou pushed the door open further.
There was a pink room.
A clothed doll torso leans against the wall.
"I... It's not gonna move, is it?" Sou gasped.
"I highly doubt that." I muttered.
"Could this be...related to the head in the box?" Sara asked.
Realisation hit me, "Oh you mean that weird note?"
"Find the body...! ." Sou smiled bringing his hand up and patting my head, "Well done."
I blushed at the physical contact, gently pushing his hand away. He simply smiled and turned away.
Sara ignored us, "I wonder if the doll head from the box can be combined with this torso..."
"Will that make something happen?"
"It might. Which is a little scary..."
"Y-Yeah, right! Let's search around some more first! A... Ahaha..." Sou laughed nervously.
There's nothing on the shelves.
There's a heart-shaped vent on the wall.
"Hey... Let me look at those." Sou snatched the bullets off Sara, " ...Ahh. These are dummy bullets."
"Dummies?" Sara asked cluelessly.
"What do you think a dummy bullet is? It's exactly what it sounds like." I sighed.
"They're like toys. If you put these in a gun, they won't fire." Sou explained.
"So they're not real bullets." Sara replied.
~*~
Sara forcefully throw her dart toward the target. Suddenly, a strong wind blows from above, and the dart plummets into darkness.
"Such a shame! Zero points." Sou stated.
Sara combined another dart with the revolver, and this time it hit the target.
"Congratulations! Congratulations! A fantastic bullseye! For hitting the bullseye, you get a wonderful gift! Please look into the hole!"
Sara reached in and grabbed a leg?
"It's a doll leg, huh. How mean to pull the same trick over and over. I'll hold on to this." Sou huffed.
Sara went back into the blue room.
Sou stayed in the game room, so I decided to stay too.
~*~
I turned hearing a loud noise, iron bars blocked the doorway of the blue room. Everyone inside was trapped.
Sou tried to open it, "...Gah...! It won't open...! I... I'll look for something to pry with!"
He walked away from the door and didn't even bother to search for something.
"It's pointless." I pointed out, "They won't be let out until they finish whatever trial awaits them and we have nothing to break in."
"I wasn't planning on helping them out anyway." Sou smiled.
"We should investigate more and just hope someone comes out of there alive. I can't say I care as I'm not particularly close with any of them." I turned and walked away.
Footsteps followed me quickly, "Wasn't expecting you to be this cold."
"Just because I'm quiet and a loner doesn't mean you know my personality. Besides, something about Sara seems off.." I trailed off.
Sou nodded in agreement, "Anyway, let's go."
He grabbed my hand, quickly dragging me off.
~*~
We were back near that room with door that has a red light illuminating it.
Sou felt along the door before I heard the click of a door, he tugged me into the room.
"I found this hidden room earlier when Sara was distracted searching around."
There were bookcases and a laptop.
We tried all sorts of passwords but to no avail.
~*~
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1822 words
A/n decided to release this chapter early because why not!