Anguish & Desire/Chapter Ten

This is Chapter Ten of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Aftermath Time!. In this chapter, Ken deals with the aftermath of a brutal class trial; also, an investigation takes place.

Author's Note: I'm not too happy with this chapter but before finals I wanted to get one out, so, enjoy and thanks for reading! // "I believe finding yourself means accepting that you're someone who is constantly changing." - Ibuki Mioda, the Ultimate Musician.

The sunlight warms my face as I sit alone at my desk, staring out the window from the third floor onto the ground below, where other students play.

A cute, petite girl with a medium-length cut in a dark blue skirt and a brown buttoned jacket -- which is the standard school uniform (however most girls opt for the matching brown skirt) -- throws a baseball around with a red-haired boy, who sports an unzipped white jacket and white undershirt, who also wears a pair of jeans.

The red-haired boy’s name is Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Player. I know that because he’s one of my classmate’s -- Chie Yosano -- senpai. Chie is the Ultimate Pitcher, and the two are often seen practicing together. Though from what I’ve heard from Chie is that he’s a slacker with natural talent, so getting together is hard for her schedule.

I don’t know the girl or anything about her. I see her around the hallways, and, I know she’s a year older than me. But talent-wise and personally, I know nothing.

I’m sure Chie would love to join them.

“Mr. Ken Kijmuta, might I ask what you’re still doing here?”

Hmmm…?

Speak of the devil.

“Just thinking, Chie.”

“Thinking?” she repeats. Her voice is getting closer.

I don’t bother looking at her, I don’t have to. I bet she has that same scowl on her face that she was wearing this morning.

My desk wobbles for a split-second, and I only turn for a moment to see Chie take a seat on top of my desk, she's facing me -- her back toward the front of the classroom. She’s wearing her gym apparel, which is really just a brown tracksuit and a lack of accessories. I almost instantly go back to staring outside, though. I really don’t care all that much today.

“Whatcha thinking about, Ken?” she asks.

I ignore her question, and spit one of my own. “Why are you being so formal right now?”

I should honestly calm myself right now.

I don’t wanna accidentally hurt her feelings or get her mad at me. I’m not trying to be mean...I’m just not in any mood to be talking.

“I don’t know how to handle you when you get like this,” she pauses, and I can hear her click her tongue. “I’m sorry but there are these days where you refuse to talk to any and all of us, so, I thought, maybe it’d be better if I addressed you like I didn’t know you, Kimi.”

Kimi, huh?

Kimi is a nickname my senpais -- Peko Pekoyama the Ultimate Swordswoman and Kiyotaka Ishimaru the Ultimate Moral Compass -- started calling me once I joined their kendo club. Taka-senpai is only a year older than me and Peko-senpai is two years older, but they seem to get along really well and were happy to take me in, so I don’t mind the nickname.

“So, why are you here?” Chie continues. “Class was dismissed two hours ago and you didn’t have club today.”

“I’m just thinking.”

“About?”

“Do I have to tell you?”

“If you’re coming back to my place for dinner like we had planned, then yes. You have to tell me.”

I look back to her. Her voice was tender, her smile was gentle, but her eyes...her eyes scream concern. What kind of concern, I wonder. Concern for me? Concern I wasn’t going to go to her house and help her with the groceries? Concern for what--

Her brown eyes stare down at me. “C’mon, Kimi…”

“S-Sorry,” I mumble, turning my head back away from her, and staring at the grass below the classroom, where the two continued to toss the ball.

“If not me, then who are you going to tell?” she says, her words are now sharp. “Your boyfriend?”

My boyfriend? What does *STATIC* have to do with this?

Actually, who am I kidding…? They have everything to do with this.

“I can’t tell *STATIC*...that’s the problem.”

“Oops, there it is!” Chie exclaims, and, her warm hands suddenly come into contact with my cold cheeks. She twists my head so my face is facing hers. “So, we’re having boy troubles, is it?” she dryly chuckles. “You shoulda told Mama C, Kimi! Tell me everything, okay? Even if I can’t help, I can offer you one-hundred percent confidentiality and a shoulder to cry on!”

She closes her eyes, tilts her head, and flashes a wide smile.

I let out an exaggerated sigh.

I must show no weakness.

“Oh, stop it, you’re trying so hard to push a smile back, Kimi,” Chie says, smirking. “So, what is it?”

“Can you let go of my face first, please?”

“Nope! This is how I handle all my little brothers and sisters!”

I sigh again, and whatever smile I was trying to suppress earlier was gone. I close my eyes...this is serious.

“I think *STATIC* is in a lot of trouble.”

“Ken, wake up--!”

Ughh, I don’t wanna.

The morning announcement hasn’t gone off yet, Rai, let me live.

I feel a gentle nudge, then another, and another, and another…

...I open my eyes.

It’s blurry, of course, I don’t have my contacts in, but the big brown eyes blonde hair in front of my face is unmistakable. Rai...the Ultimate Screenplay Writer.

“Good morning, Ken!”

With that tone alone I can tell Rai’s happy today...energetic, bright…

“Hi,” I yawn, and Rai’s head slowly backs away, rolling back over onto the bed. “What time is it up?”

I roll over to face Rai, and, as everything gets just a tad clearer, Rai simply flashes a grin. “Someone’s at the door.”

Someone’s at the door…?

I look up to the clock in my room...four o’clock.

Why is someone here so early…?

And then, I hear the knock.

“Want me to get it?” Rai asks.

Yes...yes I do, thank you very much.

“No,” I sigh, pulling the covers off of myself as dramatically as I possibly can. I rise from my super comfy bed and I stagger toward my door, where there’s another knock. “Who could it be…?”

“I don’t know...I was gonna get it, but, after yesterday…”

Rai trails off...can’t say I blame them.

Yesterday...we lost two people.

Chie Yosano, the Ultimate Pitcher. Hiroko Tani, the Ultimate Beatboxer.

The two of them were both killed yesterday...by MonoMech. By the mastermind who encaptured us here. I...I can’t think of it any other way.

“Ken, are you okay…?”

Oh.

I reached the door already...I probably look like an idiot just standing in front of it doing nothing. So, I unlock the door, and swing my door wide-open…

...and I’m immediately taken to the ground by a shadow.

Face-first, onto the hard floor, my arm being held behind my back...I’m honestly too tired to even react right now. It’s way too early.

“K-Ken?!”

Rai’s voice is opposite me though, quick, frightened, but then almost instantly I hear Rai take a deep breath.

“Geez, what’s with that reaction, Ken?”

“Oh, Nakata, good morning,” I yawn again, and I feel the pressure on my back lighten. I feel her grab my wrist and she begins pulling me back to my feet. Once I have my balance back, I look up at her and see she’s wearing her usual working out apparel. “What brings you here?”

“Our morning exercise,” she says, shrugging her shoulders, before looking to Rai, who is also just staggering over to us. “Your defense is too open, after all this time.”

“Y-Yeah, Ken!” Rai exclaims, jumping next to Nakata. “What if someone tried to kill you like they did Yosano?”

Nakata nods. “It’s never out of the realm of possibility.”

I sigh, turning away from the two. When did Rai even join Nakata’s side…

“If you wanna go train, I’ll go.” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “Let me put my contacts in first.”

“Of course,” Nakata nods, turning her head to Rai. “Are you coming?” In an instant, Rai’s smile fades, and Nakata continues. “Well, I’m just assuming since you were so on board with getting Ken to come with me, that you’d wanna come train as well.”

“Oh, no no no,” Rai says, nervously smiling as they scratching the back of their head. “I was just thinking--that, uh, it’s good for Ken! Y’know, he’s just so trusting and opened the door without hesitation! After everything that’s happened...I’m just worried for him.”

W-What are you lying so much for?!

“Is that why you slept over?” Nakata asks, and Rai instantly nods.

“Someone had to make sure he was okay!”

“Well, if what you said is true, how are you gonna protect him once he accidentally lets in a killer, Kitoaji?”

“Oh.”

D-Did Nakata just shut Rai up?

“F-Fine, I’ll go,” Rai finally says, turning toward me, puffing their cheeks out again. That’s totally Rai’s signature -- whenever they get embarrassed or slightly upset, they puff their cheeks out. It’s super cute...and teasing Rai can be fun. “Only ‘cause I have no excuse not to.”

“Okay, puffy face,” I giggle. “I’ll meet you two at the gym.”

“I’ll get everything set up.” Nakata says, smiling to herself. “See you in five -- if you’re late, you know what’ll happen.”

Oh, sadly I do.

I was maybe ten minutes late three days ago -- or was it four? -- and Nakata went full-out. Being on the receiving end of a beatdown from a professional mercenary is...it’s never fun, I’ll just say that. I was sore all day.

After finishing my usual routine -- putting in my contacts, changing into my gym clothes, grabbing my towel and filling up my water bottle -- I went straight to the gymnasium, and waiting for me was Nakata and Rai, whom was wearing a brown tracksuit.

...that’s an odd choice…

“What’s with the face, Ken?” Nakata asks, as I reach the two and set my towel and water bottle down.

“Oh, well, we’re gonna be sweating a lot, so I was wondering why Rai was wearing a full suit.”

Rai smiles. “This is all I got...it’s kinda uncomfortable, though.”

I shake my head. “I doubt anyone else is working out, I’ll ask Yuka--”

Yuka…fuck.

“I’m such an asshole.”

I should’ve checked in on her last night. She--She’s strong. But Yosano was her best friend...and I left her to be alone and probably sad and did she even get any sleep last night...is she even okay?

“K-Ken…?”

Ah, did I say that out loud?

“S-Sorry,” I force a smile, scratching the back of my head. “I was thinking of something.”

“Well, whatever it is, don’t let it hold you back tonight,” Nakata says, placing her hand on my shoulder. “After all, you were two minutes late…”

Oh…

“Oh no.”

I look back over to Nakata, who’s devilishly smirking at me. “Learn to put your contacts in faster, boy.”

...I feel like I’m about to experience something worse than death.

After getting my ass kicked at training, like always, I found myself in the shower again my eyes closed, thinking about...everything. The fresh -- now warm -- water hitting my face just feels so nice. Just to think that yesterday, this water was cold, and that at this time Yosano was lying dead in her own shower.

My favorite part about being in the shower is not knowing if I’m crying or it’s just the water from the nozzle.

To think that I was so washed up in my own guilt and fear that I left Yuka to be alone and scared. That I didn’t check up once on her...and Shiomi, too.

I held Shiomi back while the chain yanked Tani away. He looked up to me and asked me to help her. And...I refused to let him go.

And then Tani…

...I let her die.

I could’ve and should’ve done something to save her life. Took her hand and run and find someplace to hide her so that MonoMech couldn’t have been executed. She reached her hand out to me for help...and I let it take her. I let it kill her.

F-Fuck--!

…

…

“FUCK…!”

I can’t help but scream as a sharp pain suddenly shoots through my hand. My eyes shoot open, and then -- and only then -- I realize that I punched the fucking wall. My hand’s swollen, and a small trickle of blood drips down with the water, and flows down the drain. My knuckles themselves are throbbing with pain, red with blood, and they’re turning purple alarmingly fast.

My hand...won’t stop shaking.

I-I can’t even control my own body anymore...what’s happening to me…?

At any rate, I should...I should get out...and get ready for...for whatever will happen today.

I quickly turn off the water, dry myself, put my contacts back in and throw my pants on as quickly as possible before stepping out of my bathroom.

It sucks having a surveillance camera in your room...can’t ever have any fucking privacy.

Man, this is just...this is just something else, isn’t it?

My hand...won’t stop shaking.

I grab my shirt, which is resting on my bed, with my non-bloody hand -- it’s white, and I can’t have it getting stained right now -- and I struggle to put it over my head and get my free arm through the sleeve. I slowly and steadily force my bloody hand through the other sleeve, and as a couple of drops of blood fall onto the white cloth, I can only curse myself.

And, after I find my green jacket lying on my desk, there’s a knock at my door...again.

I’m honestly just...kinda way too upset to talk to anyone right now...and my hand is still throbbing.

“Don’t come in, come back later!” I call out to whoever’s behind the door. In response, I only get another knock. “I said, come back later!”

Another knock.

What the fuck, honestly? Can’t they tell I don’t wanna talk?

“Go away, please!”

...and, now my door knob is turning.

I left it unlocked again…?

The door slides open, and, another blonde peeks their head in.

“Kuuu-chan?”

The Ultimate Violinist, Kiyo Azama, slides into my room closing the door behind her. “Ku-chan, are you okay?”

“Y-Yeah,” I say, looking away from her.

“Your hand...what happened?”

I look back down at my hand, which is still shaking and red and painful, and then back to her…she look really annoyed, biting her lower lip and narrowing her eyes.

“I’m fine, I said.” I say, and let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Shush you,” Azama spits out. “Sit down.”

“No.”

“Sit. Down.”

“N. O.”

“Stop being a pain in the ass, Ku-chan.”

She leaps forward and grabs my collar. Her hazel eyes pierce mine. She’s...kinda scary. Her free hand holds a bandage wrap -- which I don’t need.

“No--”

She shoves me, and--

--I trip over the garbage can, and land on my bed.

What’s with everyone trying to take me down today?

Azama sighs, and sits down on the bed next to me. She grabs my wrist, and steadily begins to wrap my knuckles up with the bandages. I don’t even care to react, honestly, I was just being stubborn…

“So,” she starts, cupping my hands in hers. “Are you gonna tell me what happened…?”

I turn my head back to face her. “I’m sorry.”

She smiles gently. “And why are you apologizing?”

“For being rude--”

She shushes me again, shaking her head. “Everyone’s on-edge, so don’t worry about it…” she trails off, looking away from me for a split second before turning back. “I came here to apologize too, actually.”

Apologize?

“Why?”

“The trial yesterday..the way I acted was completely unreasonable and horrible, to both you and Saishi. I said some pretty nasty things…” she trails off again, but quickly picks back up. “I was just scared. I thought I was actually going to die because you guys kept defending Kitoaji...but I should’ve listened. I should’ve trusted you.” I lift my head off of the bed, and she grips my hands tighter. “I know I don’t deserve forgiveness after everything that happened, but, I’m terribly sorry.”

“No, please don’t apologize,” I say, sitting up. “Anyone would’ve reacted the way you did.”

She takes a deep breath and nods her head. “Thanks, Ku-chan...but seriously, how did you hurt your hand. Don’t think I’ll let this go anytime.”

Gosh, she’s stubborn, ain’t she?

“I was just upset...nothing more to it.”

She nods. “Well, I guess that works...for now.” she pauses, and looks back up at my clock. “Let’s go to the dining hall...the others should be there.”

“Okay,” I say, and the two of us rise from my bed, and Azama releases my now-bandaged hand..

Once the two of us walk inside of the dining hall, we’re met by twelve bodies, and like before, everyone is separated again.

Shiho, Obinata, Shimazaki, and Nakamoto sit together, eating their breakfast. I’m not quite sure when Shiho became part of that group, maybe Obinata saw potential in how much of an asshole Shiho became last trial and adopted him into his crew…? Whatever reason, the four seem to be enjoying themselves...like nothing really happened yesterday. They’re laughing, Shimazaki’s throwing her food around...it makes me angry.

Satoshi and Tomori sit on one end of the table, and Saishi, Sasada, Yuka, and Rai sit together on the other end. The former two are smiling, talking, but it’s not their usual smiles. They seem tense...not that I can really blame them. The latter four, however, are out of it...you can just tell from a first glance. Yuka’s blank stare, Sasada’s uneasy wobbling, Rai’s head hanging low, Saishi’s restraint. You can see the pain on Saishi’s face -- like he wants to tell everyone not to get down, like they still have a battle to win, but he knows not to; it’s not the right time.

Nakata sits by her lonesome, surveying the room like I do. The second we make eye-contact though, she points to the other side of the room, and naturally, my eyes fly over there.

In the corner, sits Shiomi. His blonde hair covers his face, his body is shaking...his scarf is wrapped tightly around his neck.

...is he okay?

“Ku-chan, leave him for now,” Azama whispers in my ear. “He’ll be fine in a day or two.”

I can’t help but think...that that’s not true.

I really wanna talk to him.

“Okay, everyone!” Saishi’s booming voice erupts over the dining hall. “Since everyone has finally arrived, let us commence today’s meeting!”

“About time you two showed up.” Obinata says, shrugging his shoulders.

I nod to myself and take my seat next to Rai, while Azama goes back to sit with Obinata’s group. Once I take my seat, I can’t help but look to Yuka who blankly stares down at her plate full of fruits...what is she thinking about? Yosano?

“What’s there to talk about today, Saishi?” Tomori asks, tilting her head. “I’m--no, we, are all exhausted.”

“Well, we need to investigate, of course!”

“Investigate?” Rai asks.

“Indeed! I was going for a stroll after the morning announcement and found that the metal gate blocking off the stairs to the second floor has disappeared! I, of course, did not want to check it alone, so I say we all go investigate today!”

W-Wait, really?

We can go to the second floor…?

“There might be a way out up there!” Shimazaki exclaims, jumping out of her seat. “I won’t have to blow anything up?!”

“Let us hope not,” Shiho sighs, rising from his seat. “Shall we be on our way then?”

“Not just yet!” Saishi exclaims, rising from his own seat. “I have decided to implement a buddy system!”

“A buddy system…?” Satoshi mumbles. “That’s kinda odd.”

“Only for the investigation!” Saishi continues. “We don’t know what dangers might be lurking on the second floor, so I have assigned everyone a partner!”

“We don’t even get to pick our own partners?” Nakamoto sighs. “Really, Saishi-chi?”

“Really!” he exclaims. “So, is everyone okay with this?!”

“I see no reason to argue.” Obinata sighs.

“Drama is unnecessary at this moment in time, so I’ll agree.” Shiho nods.

“Okay so the groups will be as such: Nakamoto & Azama, Sasada & Shiomi, Shiho & Tomori, Shimazaki & Rai, Obinata & Nakata, Satoshi & Yuka, and Ken will come with me!”

I’m with Saishi…?

It’s not that I’m at all upset by that, but, I’d much rather be with Yuka and see how she’s doing...but, I trust Satoshi will do right by her. He’s pretty kind, although I didn’t really get to know him that well yet.

“Dismissed!” Saishi concludes, and almost instantly, everyone got into their pairs and left the dining hall...except for Saishi, Sasada, myself...and Shiomi, who hasn’t moved an inch since Saishi gave his declaration.

Saishi hurriedly walks over to me, smiling his big ol’ smile. “Ken, I hope you don’t mind being paired with me!” Saishi exclaims, and I shake my head.

“Of course not.”

“Let’s find a way out of here, together!”

I can’t help but smile just a tad bit. “I hope you don’t mind if I’m your assistant today, sir.”

“Of course not,” he pauses, as I rise from my seat to meet him. “In fact, I’d love to be YOUR assistant! The way you handled that trial was...magnificent! You didn’t let your biases restrict you, and you handled everything logically! I aspire to be like that!”

“Don’t start trying to flatter me, Saishi,” I say, and he chuckles in return. “But...I must thank you, as well.”

“For what, my friend?!”

“For--”

“Shiomi, you ready to go?”

Sasada’s voice interrupts mine, and both Saishi’s and my eyes follow the source of that voice. Sasada sits next to the shaking Shiomi, who -- for a lack of a better word -- is simply unresponsive. She nudges his shoulder, and, gets no response again. “Please?”

“S-Shiomi…”

“Leave him for now!” Saishi exclaims. “Sasada, come with us, please!”

A-Are you sure we should leave him…?

With a sigh, Sasada rises from the seat, and slowly walks over to us. Her eyes are closed, her face is scrunched up -- she looks very annoyed.

“I’ll talk to him later,” Saishi says, nodding to himself. “Shall we be on our way, team?!”

“I’ll go by myself,” Sasada mumbles, shrugging her shoulders, before walking off. “I’ll be fine.”

Saishi’s hand twitches, and he shakes his head. “W-Well, what can you do..” he turns back to me. “Let us escape together with everyone else!”

I nod, and Saishi smiles brightly once more. “Let’s go, boss.”

He chuckles, and then we’re on our way. We travel to the end of the hallway by the gymnasium, and -- like Saishi said -- the metal gate blocking the stairs are gone.

“Woah,” I mumble to myself, as Saishi and I begin climbing them. “This is insane.”

“At the very least, we can confirm one thing, my friend!” Saishi exclaims as we reach the top of the stairs. “Wherever this is, is not Hope’s Peak Academy!”

Huh?

Isn’t that a bit of a stretch, Saishi…?

“Really?” I ask, tilting my head. “But...if you think about it, we were all supposed to be classmates attending Hope’s Peak together. And, for the most part, this school is pretty big and fancy. How do we know it’s not Hope’s Peak?”

“The layout,” Saishi continues, opening the first door we come across, labeled 2-A. It’s...another classroom. Saishi walks in, and I follow suit, and before Saishi responds, I scope out the room a bit. The classroom looks about the same as the one I woke up in -- there are even metal plates on the windows -- and the only difference is that on the blackboard, there’s a drawing of a flower. However, that’s all the time I get to take in my surroundings, because Saishi’s mouth opens again. “You see, I’ve been to Hope’s Peak Academy before on a tour with my mother. The layout from...wherever this is...is completely different than Hope’s Peak. In Hope’s Peak, there is a bath, a nurse’s office, and an A/V room -- none of which we were able to find during our stay.”

I tilt my head and place my hand on my chin. “So, that’s why you don’t think we’re living in Hope’s Peak?”

“Precisely!” he exclaims, nodding his head. “For what it’s worth, I’m quite observant, and I do NOT ever forget a detail!”

Saishi leads me back out of Classroom 2-A after our investigation finds zero leads. “You have a picture-perfect memory then, Saishi?” I ask, and he nods as we traverse the checker-boarded hallway.

“Indeed!”

“You’re impressive.”

“So are you!” Saishi exclaims, stopping in his tracks so I can catch up to him. “Your hard work to become stronger does not go unnoticed by me, Ken! That’s how all Ultimates should be! Not like…” he trails off, not that he has to finish what’s on his mind. I know exactly what he means. Still, is he talking about my training with Nakata…? “Ken, I want you to promise me something however!” he turns to me...I keep forgetting how tall he is. Saishi literally towers over me. “Promise me you’ll come to me if you need anything! I’m the Ultimate Motivational Speaker for a reason, my friend!”

I can’t help but smile just a tad. “Promise.”

Saishi nods, flashing his never-disappearing grin. “Let us carry on, then!”

I nod too, and Saishi leads me to the next room -- a white door with a red cross on it.

“This must be the nurse's office, right?” I ask, and Saishi nods as he opens the door.

Inside was a white room -- white bricks, white floor, white ceiling -- a granite desk, six beds with white linen all lined up, and a white fridge in the back of the room, with a cabinet hanging above it. Standing at a cabinet, was Tomori and Shiho, going through what looked like a ton of medication.

Tomori nonchalantly looks back over her shoulder at the sound of Saishi closing the door behind us, and she smiles brightly. “Hey, it’s Rabbit and Saishi.”

Shiho shrugs his shoulders, and continues to go through the medication he found.

...I really don’t like this guy.

Tomori, however, turns around to face us, and takes a giant step toward us. “Lookie what we found!” she exclaims. “Medication for days!”

“Woah…” I trail off, walking over to Tomori, and I can hear Saishi follow me. “...this is amazing.”

“There’s IVs, blood packs in the refrigerator,” Tomori says. “It’s quite the set-up if I do say myself.”

“Each of the blood packs are labeled which type they are,” Shiho adds. “So, in case there was another attack where we could potentially save someone who was losing a lot of blood...we just take a look at their e-Handbook, and we can set up a blood transfusion.”

“T-That’s incredible--!” Saishi exclaims.

“Is there anyone who could potentially do that, though?” Tomori asks, tilting her head. “Does anyone have medical experience?”

“We could ask Nakata,” I suggest, and Shiho nods. “With her experience on the battlefield anything’s possible.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” he says. “We just struck major gold.”

“I can ask her later.”

“Thank you, Ken!” Saishi exclaims. “Well, keep up the good work, you two!”

Some of that medication…

“...I took too many of them…”

...maybe Rai could use some.

I don’t know...I wanna help Rai, but, I don’t wanna pry into their personal life too much without being insensitive. I can wait on this.

“Let us go, Ken!” Saishi exclaims, grabbing me by the wrist, and turning me around.

“Bye, Rabbit!” I hear Tomori call out after us, as Saishi leads me into the hallway.

What’s with the rush, Saishi...?

“S-Sorry,” he says, releasing my wrist and scratching the back of his head. “Did I hurt you…?!”

“N-No,” I say, holding up my other hand -- the one with bandage. “I’m just grateful you didn’t grab this one.”

Saishi breathes a sigh of relief. “That’s good, then! I just hate hospitals and stuff like that...it makes me a little uneasy!”

Ooh? Even the great Saishi has something he fears?

“A-Anyways,” he continues, motioning in front of him. “Let’s keep exploring, shall we?!”

I nod, and we continue walking down the hallway until we come across the next door -- which was labeled with a 2-B. So, presumably, another classroom.

“Shall we give it a look, Ken?” Saishi asks, and I nod.

He opens the door to the classroom, and, he slowly enters, and I follow suit.

Inside looks just like any normal classroom -- the desks are rusty, the windows are covered with metal plates -- but, on the teacher’s desk at the front of the room, was...a white slip of paper.

Well, that’s not suspicious at all.

I stumble past Saishi -- who was too busy gawking at a drawing of a MonoMech on a student’s desk -- and as I reach the teacher’s desk, I grab the white slip.

It’s folded in half, and on it with black sharpie were the written words “Don’t Open”...so naturally, I unfold it…

...and on the inside, were the words: “Seventeen students...seventeen participants”

Seventeen students…?

That can’t be correct. We began with only sixteen of us, right?

Yuka, Rai, Tomori, Sasada, Saishi, Obinata, Nakamoto, Yosano, Shiomi, Shiho, Tani, Shimazaki, Nakata, Azama, Satoshi, and myself. There’s no one else…

Unless...there’s someone else trapped in here…?

“W-W-What is this?!” a squeaky, high-pitched voice calls out, and within a flash, the paper was ripped out of my hands.

“K-Ken?!” Saishi questions with a large gasp.

I look to my left, and MonoMech stands beside me, the paper in his hand, shaking his fist. “Who left this here?!”

“You didn’t…?”

“W-Why would I do that?!” he complains, stomping his foot. “Urghhh, I know who did it! I’ll have a word with them later--!” MonoMech pauses, and begins to whistle. “W-Well, anyways…”

“Have a word with who?!” Saishi asks. “Who left this note here?!”

“That’s not important, is it?” MonoMech asks, tilting his head.

“Y-Yes it is!”

“Is it?”

“Yes!”

“Are you sure…?”

“Positive!”

S-Saishi, stop arguing with him--!

“Well, anyways, did you read it, Ken?!” MonoMech asks, turning to me.

...he’s staring at me…

His eyes are squinted, he looks mad...it-it’s so intimidating--!

I don’t wanna get on his bad side. I’ll deny deny deny.

“I didn’t read anything about there being seventeen students, I promise!”

…

Well, fuck.

“It said ‘Don’t Open’, Ken!” MonoMech complains. “Ughh, well, whatever! Just forget about it!”

With those last few words, MonoMech trots out of the classroom with the white piece of paper in his hand.

“K-Ken,” Saishi says, walking toward me. “Did it really say that there’s seventeen students…?”

I nod. “T-That worries me, Saishi.”

“It does cause a big problem,” Saishi says, tilting his head. “If there is another student, then they must be trapped somewhere in the school! We must save them!”

“Or...they could be being forced to work for MonoMech and whoever is controlling him.”

“Which gives us an even bigger reason to save whomever it may be!” he exclaims and smiles at himself, nodding his head. “We shall relay this information to the group once we meet up again!”

“Should we keep going, then?”

“Indeed, Ken!”

He smiles again and the two of us leave the classroom, and we continue on walking.

As we reach the end of the hallway, the hallway splits -- a path to the right, and a path to the left -- and two arrows are painted on the wall. The one pointed to the right is labeled “Chemistry Lab!” and the one pointed to the left is labeled “Bath + Sauna!”

T-They have a sauna...and a bath?!

“T-They have one?!” Saishi exclaims -- he’s just as happy as I am, he’s practically drooling!

“Wanna race?!”

Saishi chuckles, but shakes his head. “Running is in direct violation of the school rules, Ken!” he pauses, continuously chuckling. “We can walk fast, however!”

I can’t help but giggle as Saishi and I take off down the path to the left, where, at the end of that hallway was a wooden double-door.

Without a care for the world, Saishi and I each push open one door and almost fly into the changing rooms.

Inside, there were wooden lockers, a yellow-tiled floor, and another door -- which I presume leads to the actual bath and sauna. There were benches in the middle of the floor, and, sitting on those benches was the six of Obinata, Nakata, Nakamoto, Azama, Satoshi, and Yuka -- the latter most of them, jumps up to greet us.

“Big Brother Ken!” Yuka exclaims.

“K-Ken-chi!” Nakamoto exclaims as well, jumping to his feet.

“H-Hey!” I say and jump forward to her, “I-Is there really a sauna?!”

I-I can’t believe how I’m excited for this--!

“See, I told you the two boys would come running,” Satoshi says, smirking to himself. “How awesome is this?”

“This is literally the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!”

Obinata sighs. “Calm down, Ken, your poor is showing.”

“S-Sorry…”

Obinata’s smugness just fills a room, doesn’t it?

“Why do you have to be like that?!” Saishi asks, pointing an accusatory finger at Obinata. “Was that necessary?!”

S-Saishi…

I grip his arm, and he looks back down at me. His face is red…

“You don’t have to worry about me,” I whisper, and he shakes his head. “It can only cause more problems.”

“What kind of friend would I be if--”

“There’s even a bunch of towels in here,” Nakata says, interrupting our private conversation. “We could have a lot of fun with this.”

“That’s what Ken and I were thinking!” Saishi exclaims, turning away from me. “A sauna sounds so good right about now!”

“See, that’s the passion I’m talkin’ bout, Saishi-chi!” Nakamoto exclaims. “Let’s make it a contest, who can stay in the longest!” he then turns to me. “You and Satoshi are playing, too!”

“I am?” Satoshi asks. “When did I agree to that?”

“You have no choice!” Saishi exclaims, throwing his fist into the air. “It’s gonna happen!”

I can’t help but throw mine up too. “SAUNA!”

“What about you, Obi-chi?” Nakamoto asks, as Yuka slides closer to me. “You down?”

“I don’t like sweating,” Obinata says, shrugging his shoulders. “My apologies.”

“Big Brother Ken,” Yuka mumbles, tugging on my shirt. I look from the ceiling back down to her...and she’s wearing that same blank stare as she did before. “Can we talk later?”

Ah, I forgot, again.

I’m pretty terrible, aren’t I?

I force a smile through my teeth. “Of course.”

She nods, and Satoshi jumps up from his seat in return. “I’m getting excited now, ugh.”

“We have all the time in the world!” Saishi exclaims. “For now, Ken and I must be going!”

W-We do…?

“Ah, to check out the chem lab?” I ask, and he nods. “W-Well, we might as well.”

I can’t help but frown. I really really really really wanted to go inside the sauna… “Don’t be down, friend!” he exclaims, placing his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll check out the sauna with everyone later!”

I sigh. “Okay…”

He flashes a smile at me, and, leads me out of the changing room, calling out to the six remaining inside, “Meet in the dining hall at twelve!”

After closing the doors behind us, Saishi and I continue on down the opposite path.

“Saishi, can we pretty pretty please go in the sauna later tonight?”

Saishi smiles as he looks down at me. “Tonight is a no-go for me, Ken. I have some business to attend to, unfortunately.”

Business...?

Oh, that reminds me!

“I need to thank you still, Saishi,” I say, looking back in front of me. “For protecting Rai...for keeping Rai’s secret safe.”

There’s a silence.

It doesn’t last long, but it’s enough to make me want to go run and hide.

“Ken, that is nothing you should thank me for. As a friend of Rai, and in respect of their privacy,, I figured that the rest of our classmates didn’t need to know.”

“I still appreciate it, Saishi.” I say. “I-I don’t know why, but--”

With a pat on the head, Saishi interrupts me. W-Why do tall people feel the need to use us short people as hand rests, honestly. “I understand what you’re trying to say,” he says, smiling brightly as I turn back to him. “Now, let’s see here…”

As we reach the end of the hallway, again, there are two paths we can go down. The one on the left doesn’t go on for much longer, and leads to…

“Another steel gate…?”

There’s a steel gate standing before another flight of stairs...just like before.

“It appears the third floor is cut-off as of now,” Saishi says, shrugging his shoulders as he turns to the right path. “Shall we?”

I nod, and follow the Ultimate Motivational Speaker to the next set of double doors which are labeled “Chem Lab”.

...we’re not gonna find any way to escape, are we?

Saishi swings the doors open, and on the other side of those doors was...exactly what you think a chemistry classroom would look like.

In the front of the classroom is a whiteboard and a teacher’s desk, and five rows of science tables follow. At the back of the classroom are glass cabinets -- safety goggles, flasks, other tools.

In front of the whiteboard stands Sasada, Shimazaki, and Rai. Shimazaki -- in typical Shimazaki fashion -- is jumping up and down in her place, talking extremely loudly to the two on either side of her.

“--and that’s why they don’t let me handle chemicals anymore!” she smiles to herself. “I was bald for two months!”

W-What?!

“Hello, everyone!” Saishi exclaims, and almost instantly the three turn their heads toward us. Shimazaki’s beaming still, while Sasada softly smiles and Rai flashes a grin. “How goes the investigation?!”

“As well as it could have gone,” Sasada says. “Unfortunately, there are still no signs of escape.”

“W-Well, what did we honestly expect?” Rai asks, sighing. “There’s no way there’d be anything in plain sight.”

“Still, we mustn’t lose hope!” Saishi exclaims. “Our captive might’ve overlooked something--!”

“We’ll just have to continue on our search another time,” Sasada sighs. “We won’t find something just blindly walking around.”

Shimazaki nods. “What the gardener said!”

“D-Do you even know my name…?”

“Nope!”

Well, at least she’s honest.

“I agree!” Saishi exclaims. “Let us meet back up in the dining hall with the others and discuss everything we have found!”

My eyes move from Saishi to Rai, and once Rai’s meet mine, we both nod.

After returning to the dining hall and going over our findings -- there was one common factor through each of the groups.

...and Shiomi was nowhere to be found.

“So, there’s no path of escape?” Obinata asks. “Well, I wish I could say I was surprised.”

“Still, at least we won’t be as bored now…” Nakamoto says. “That’s a plus.”

“Exactly!” Saishi exclaims. “To be honest…”

Sitting in between Rai and Yuka, it’s hard not to stay focused on the group conversation. The three of us are pushed together, so no one else can hear us.

“Do you think we’d be allowed?” Yuka asks.

“We’d probably have to avoid Saishi,” I say, looking from her pink eyes to Rai’s brown eyes. “We’re not allowed to run in the halls.”

“It’d be fun though!” Rai whispers, smiling.

“I know, righ--”

“And now, Ken and I have some very important information to present to the rest of you!”  I look up, and Saishi is now looking down at me, grinning ear-to-ear. “Ken found a suspicious note in one of the classrooms that told us that the number of students in this school didn’t align with what we previously thought!”

Shiho sighs loudly. “What does that even mean?”

“The note told us that there are seventeen students here, not sixteen.” I clarify.

“Really?” Nakamoto asks, tilting his beautiful blonde head. “But, uh, I didn’t see anyone else…?”

“We assume that whomever the seventeenth person is, they’re either locked away in another part of the school or, the mastermind is holding them captive!” Saishi exclaims.

“So, what do we do with this information?” Azama asks. “Yes, it’s great to know, however it doesn’t really help us.”

“Then keep it in the back of your mind,” Obinata says. “Who knows when this information will become valuable.”

“That’s my Obi-chi, being all smart and stuff!” Nakamoto exclaims, nodding to himself. “Well, we’re done here then, right?!”

“What’s with the urgency?” Sasada asks. “Have somewhere to be…?”

“Nah, I just hate all the serious talk,” he says, scratching the back of his head. “It irks me.”

"Seriously...y'all are a bunch of mood killers..." Tomori says, yawning. "I need my beauty sleep, immediately."

"Don't you think you get enough...?" Satoshi asks, smiling lightly as Tomori chuckles.

"There is no such thing as enough beauty sleep!"

Saishi nods, putting his hand into the air. “We have nothing else to discuss, anyways! You’re all free to go!”

At Saishi’s dismissal, the group disbands again, and, once Rai leaves to use the restroom, I’m left all alone with Yuka.

This is my time...to make sure she’s okay.

“Yu--"

“Ken--”

O-Oops…

“I’m sorry...you can go first.” I say, scratching the back of my head.

“Okay,” she says, nodding her head. She takes a deep breath -- which makes me even more nervous -- and continues. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay, Big Brother Ken.”

...huh?

“I mean, you were close to Big Sister Chie and all,” she says. “I was sad too at first, but, life moves on...it’s not something that I need keeping me down.”

Y-Yuka…

...you’re talking about Yosano...how could you say she’s only gonna w-weigh you down…?

“Big Sister Chie would’ve wanted us to stay happy...to escape together...so!” she pauses and jumps to her feet. “I’ll only remember the happy moments! That’s what she would’ve wanted!”

I close my eyes and smile. Maybe she’s right...would Yosano have wanted me to mope around about her death...to let my insecurities get the better of me…?

“...who am I kidding, you need me.”

Yosano...are you up there…?

Are you up there looking down on us? Worrying about us? Protecting us?

...I never got to thank you, did I?

I never got to thank you for being there for me when I first woke -- when we first woke. For how scared and nervous you must’ve been on your own, you went into protection mode and did your best to cheer me up.

When I had forgotten my identity...when I had broken down and you held me. When you introduced me to everyone and acted as my support...I’m so sorry for not doing this earlier.

“...thank you.”

Did you hear me, Yosano? I’m so sorry for not doing it when you were around. I’m sorry I’m so late...but--!

Yuka tilts her head as I open my eyes. She’s staring at me with her big pink eyes, some of her pink hair falling on my shoulder.

“You’re right, Yuka!” I exclaim, jumping up from my seat, to which her look of confusion turns into a grin that goes from ear-to-ear. “Yosano would be totally upset and angry if she found out we were moping about--!”

Yuka nods. “Let’s do it, Big Brother Ken!”

I’ll escape this place, Yosano. I’ll escape this place with Yuka and Rai...and when we get out of here...I’ll avenge you and Tani.

I will kill the Mastermind.