Anguish & Desire/Chapter Twenty Three

This is Chapter Twenty Three of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Stack Time!. In this chapter, Ken & Co. have to deal with another motive brought on by the most adorable villain in cinema history.

Author's Note: Guys they changed the hollywood sign again: *insert pic of hollywood meme saying: READ THIS GARBAGE

I didn’t end up sleeping last night. Every time I tried to force my eyes shut, I saw them.

Yosano’s blood-stained chest and slashed throat.

Tani’s twisted neck. Her wide eyes staring down at me as she hangs by a chain.

The knife that was lodged into Mio’s stomach -- her tear-stained cheeks and the crimson blood flowing from one of her eyes.

Shiho’s crushed, unrecognizable face that was too graphic to even attempt to think about when it happened.

Nakata, bruised and bloodied in the clutches of MonoMech. She’s beaten bad, her right eye is missing.

My little sister, Touka, watching me from her own imprisonment. Who knows what she’s going through right now…

They’re all dead, or worse...and I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn’t save any of them.

Because I couldn’t tell Tani was hurting. Because I couldn’t reach out to her. Because Nakata trusted me too much. Because Rai and I butted heads with Shiho.

Why--?

Why am I so useless?!

But, I couldn’t let myself crash just yet. I still had another day to get through. Another day where I lied to everyone about everything. They think that my days of anxiety and fear are over, that I’m handling everything better than I was before. And, on the surface, I’d even think the same, but…

...god, just why can’t I help anyone…?!

I wanna be the person who can pull everyone together to fight MonoMech, but…I’m just not that kind of person.

I’m not strong like Nakata, charismatic like Saishi, helpful like Sasada…

*DING DONG BING BONG*

“Good morning my precious students, it’s officially 7 A.M., so wake your butts up! Let’s give it everything we’ve got and make today another success!”

...I should get going.

So, I drag my disastrous body out of my bed and my room, and venture into the hall. The hall is dimly lit in the mornings, and, this morning it feels even more-so.

“Good morning, Ken!” I turn my head to the source of the booming voice, and I’m just in time to see Saishi tower over me. “How are you doing on this fine day?!”

“Good.”

“Very good! I’m happy to hear that!”

At least he’s in a good mood today. When is he not, though? Sure, he has his moments of fear, but he’s never really let anything get to him before, and...I admire it now as much as I find it annoying.

“Shall we go to this morning’s meeting together?!”

I nod my head. “Sure thing.”

With that, Saishi leads me down the hall to the dining hall, and -- no surprises here -- we’re the first ones to arrive today. Saishi is always first, and I really didn’t wanna sit there alone in my thoughts anymore.

Saishi disappears into the kitchen soon after we arrive, and by the time he comes out with our breakfast, Yuka and Sasada had joined me.

“--that’s why when we get out of here, I’m gonna make the best beats you have ever heard! It’s gonna all ‘boom ticka ticka boom’ and stuff!”

“Ya know, Shiomi’s also planning on writing a song when we get out,” I say and Yuka’s eyes meet mine. “Why don’t you just work with him.”

Yuka tilts her head. “Cause my beats have to be original! And, and, he’s weird and smelly!”

“Weird and smelly? Gee, thanks.”

Shiomi huffs and puffs as he sits on the other side of me and Satoshi sits in front of him. “Sorry, not sorry,” Yuka continues. “When was the last time you showered?!”

“Just last night…” he sighs.

“And before that?”

“The night before…”

Yuka rests her head on my shoulder. “Maybe you’re naturally smelly, Isa-chan.”

Shiomi closes his eyes and frowns. “I apologize for that, then.”

...that’s a cute nickname, though.

“Good morning, everyone,” Azama greets with Tomori in tow. “I hope we’re not too late for breakfast.”

“Of course not!” Saishi exclaims. “Thank you for joining us!”

Soon, everyone else trickled in, and for the first time in a while, we were all together for the morning meeting. Obinata and Nakamoto sat beside Yuka and Saishi, and Rai sits next to Tomori.

...I’m kinda impressed.

Y’know, I only just noticed, but Yuka hasn’t let go of me yet. And, she has been...really touchy lately, actually, now that I think about it.

And she did talk to Saishi about something that was bothering her, too…

I shouldn’t ask her about it in a place as crowded as this. I won’t. I’ll ask her about it later.

“So, Obinata, what made you join us today?” Satoshi asks. “I know it’s rude to ask, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t interested…”

Obinata pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I still don’t trust any of you, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at least enjoy some of your company.”

“Plus, he didn’t wanna make me sad!” Nakamoto exclaims. “Ain’t that right, Obi-chi?!”

“I did not once say that.”

…

“I think he really likes us,” Shiomi whispers under his breath, and his smile came and went just as quickly when he felt a certain fashion designer’s glare fall on him. “Maybe just a little?”

“A teeny bit,” Rai says, nodding to themselves.

“I’ll take a teeny bit,” Sasada sighs to herself. “Can I?”

Obinata bits his lip and looks away from Sasada. “For you, yeah.”

...is there something here I’m missing?

And, I’m not the only one who noticed it, either. Azama leans her head in towards Shiomi -- just in my earshot -- and whispers. “Are those two…?”

“Isn’t that, like, illegal?” he asks.

“Will you idiots shut it,” Obinata says, sighing to himself. “Sasada is the only one of you I can now tolerate, since she is actually useful and the rest of you don’t know when to shut your mouths.”

Nakamoto gasps. “W-What about me?!”

Obinata scoffs. “What about you?”

...I guess even he can be sweet if he wants to. He goes on and on about this being a game, and about not trusting us, but...he’s been caring and sweet to me and now Sasada. Maybe he really isn’t too bad.

As everyone goes back into their individual conversations, Yuka pulls on my sleeve.

“Yuka, what’s wrong?”

“Big Brother Ken, can you come get some tea with me?”

Her eyes are watering, her--oh god, her eyes are watering. Is she about to cry?

I simply nod my head, and after giving a quick, “Be right back,” to the rest of them, Yuka and I slip into the kitchen. When she closes the door behind us, a soft voice calls out to me.

“--last night.”

I turn my head to face her, and she’s staring at me with those big puppy-dog eyes she always does, and she still looks like she’s about to cry. “I’m sorry?”

“I had a dream last night, Big Brother Ken.”

“Oh, about what?”

She tilts her head and twiddles her thumbs. “I’m not sure exactly. You were in it, though! You were holding me and everything was really blurry, I was so scared. Sai-chan told me to talk to you about it, cause…”

Cause…?

“It’s not the first time I’ve had the dream! I...I’ve been having it the past few days and it’s been really starting to scare me. You’re always covered in blood and crying and, and…”

She covers her mouth with her hands, and looks to the ground as she trails off.

I slowly walk over to her, and I can’t stop myself from putting my arms around her back. “Don’t be sad, Yuka. I’m still here. I’m not leaving you, I already promised, remember?”

“P-Promise again…? Please.”

I nod my head. “Of course. I promise I won’t leave you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Yuka only nods in response, and pulls back just a bit. “Feeling better?”

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Not really.”

“We can stay in this hug, if you want.”

I can hear her giggle only a little. “Tiny bit longer?”

“Teeny bit.”

I giggle in response and gently rub the back of her head. I have nightmares too every so often, so I don’t blame her for getting scared -- especially in a situation where you can feel so alone. But...I’ll have her back. And I won’t leave her, either. She can count on me.

The door to the kitchen opens, and I look up from Yuka to find Sasada closing the door behind her. “Having a moment?”

“No,” Yuka says. “Big Brother Ken just wanted a hug.”

She raises her eyebrow, as if telling us, ‘uh-huh, sure’, but only walks to the coffee pot beside us as I let go of Yuka.

“All that coffee is bad for you, ya know,” I say, and Sasada just shakes her head.

“I don’t want *you* of all people telling me anything I do is unhealthy,” she says. “Not only are your coping methods unhealthy, but I can’t remember the last time you ate a proper meal and finished it.”

Your coping methods aren’t exactly ideal either, Sasada.

“Uh-oh, you’re in trouble,” Yuka mumbles, tilting her head.

“Don’t get me started on you, Yuka.”

Yuka flinches back. “She knows--?!”

After she pours her coffee, she bows her head. “I do. Now, are you coming back?”

First of all, ew she drinks it black, second of all, fine…

Yuka and I nod, and after wiping the tears away from her cheeks, we follow Sasada out of the kitchen and return to our seats.

I can feel Saishi’s gaze on me, and when I look up at him, his brown eyes are lit with joy. I can practically feel him telling me, ‘Good job!’

The morning meeting ended up being more of the same in the end; Saishi telling us to not give up hope and to try our best. The main difference today was, of course, everyone had showed up.

And, it lasted for a half an hour before everyone went off on their separate ways again. Saishi, Shiomi, & Sasada went off to Sasada’s room, Satoshi & Tomori, went back to the pool again today, and the rest of us decided to spend some time together.

Yuka, Rai, Obinata, Nakamoto, Azama, and myself find ourselves in the gymnasium. It was Nakamoto’s idea, more-or-less, and no one really had any objections.

At least exercise is good for you. It’ll help me get my mind off things. And, I don’t mind the company of the other five, either.

I hold down Nakamoto’s feet as he does his crunches, and he does it with a smirk. He’s confident, he’s fit...it’s not a bad view, honestly.

And he knows it, too. He looks around me to Azama and Rai who sit side-by-side with each other on the bleachers.

“Like the view, Kiyo-chi? What about you, Rai-chi?”

“Nope,” Azama says, placing her head on Rai’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Rai says. “Not my style.”

Nakamoto clicks his tongue. And then his eyes fall on me. What about you, Ken-chi? How’s the angle?”

…

“C’mon, be honest, Rai-chi won’t mind if you tell me what I wanna hear.”

...I feel a gaze. Not only do I feel someone’s gaze on me, but there’s some kind of dark energy surrounding it. I don’t have the best feeling about this.

“Sorry, Nakamoto.”

He sighs. “Not even Ken-chi?! God, I was so popular in my old school, what happened--?!”

Rai happened. I can still feel their death stare as Azama’s laugh fills the gym.

Nakamoto frowns as he reaches his designated amount of sit-ups, which he claims to be one hundred, but...I think I heard him skip a few numbers. “Yuka-chi? Obi-chi? Someone compliment me!”

“You looked good,” Obinata says, who has made his way over to us with Yuka, nodding to himself. “Nice work.”

“You’re a creep~!” Yuka exclaims. “Can I hold down Big Brother Ken’s feet?”

Nakamoto sighs again, as we switch spots. He holds my feet down and I start doing crunches of my own.

I feel myself getting tired and lightheaded almost instantly. I’m sure Sasada’d be mad at me for doing this with a concussion, but I won’t go as long as Nakamoto. I’ll do half of that.

Nakamoto looks down at me as I start, and smiles to himself. “I gotta say Ken-chi, I’m jealous.”

Jealous?

“Of…?”

“Your ability~!”

Ability?

Ah, he means my talent?

“It’s nothing special.”

He dramatically gasps. “Yes it is! You got Rai-chi, Nakata-chi, Yuka-chi, AND I’m pretty sure I saw Satoshi-chi checking you out in the sauna.”

Oh.

''Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh.''

“C’mon, it’s nothing like that,” I say, shaking my head. “And doesn’t Satoshi have a girlfriend waiting for him?”

“They aren’t official,” Nakamoto says. “Trust my skills as a Host dude -- I can read others extremely well. I can smell love from a mile away. And you got it.”

…

“Ken-chi, you’re getting red, do you wanna stop?”

“Y-Yes,” I nod, and Nakamoto lets go immediately, and hands me his water bottle.

“You okay? Don’t push yourself, Ken-chi.”

I shake my head. “I’m fine.”

I hear Azama laugh to herself. “Ku-chan, I wanna see you fight Tomori.”

...why?

“Why?” Obinata asks, as he sits on the floor beside Azama. “She’d kill him like she did Mio.”

Azama rolls her eyes almost instantly. “In a friendly sparring session. Tomori’s got muscle, but Ku-chan’s got speed. And, and, if he can *almost* beat Nakata, I’d love to see him take her on…”

“Make it a threeway~!”

Nakamoto, no.

“I don’t want any of them touching Big Brother Ken,” Yuka pouts. “Kimie-chan is evil and Ma-chan already tried to hurt him!”

“It’s...okay,” I say. “It could be fun.”

“But--!”

Azama throws her arm around Rai’s, and opens her mouth again. “Ya know, I don’t wanna sound like I’m defending them or anything, but if you alienate people like y’all are doing, it’s bound to bite you in the ass.”

Rai nods. “It’d probably be safer to be nice to everyone! So, we can all get out of here together.”

“Right!” Nakamoto exclaims. “Ya know it’s true, Obi-chi, right?

“Perhaps,” he says. “I still refuse to let my guard down near any of you.”

“No one’s asking for that,” Rai sighs. “Just don’t antagonize anyone.”

“You can’t threaten me like you did Shiho,” Obinata says, looking up at them. “I don’t play like he does.”

“Threatened?” Azama asks.

Rai twiddles their thumbs nervously. “It wasn’t anything serious. He just told Ken he’d hurt him, so I got mad…”

...it’s not like you fought him or anything. Hell, it wasn’t even that bad…

...unless something happened when I wasn’t around. Oh god, what happened…?

“I didn’t take you for that kind of character,” Azama says, looking up at Rai. “How scary...”

After finally catching my breath, I crawl back over to the other five, and place myself in front of Rai. “You okay?”

I nod my head. “Tired…”

Rai uses his free hand to brush my hair away from my face. “Momma Rai got ya covered, don’t worry.”

“Hehe, thanks.”

Azama giggles to herself. “Too cute.”

“You guys are raising soooo many flags,” Yuka gasps. “Lovers never make it out of this situation alive--!”

“We’ll be fine then,” I sigh. “Not lovers.”

“Boo!”

Obinata chuckles as Nakamoto sits beside him. “I’m too old for this.”

“Aw c’mon Obi-chi, no one’s too old for love.”

“Love is overrated.”

“Love makes the world go round,” Azama counters.

“No, gravity does that.”

Rai tilts their head. “I don’t think that’s right either, Obinata.”

Obinata facepalms. “No, it’s right, trust me.”

I...sorta see why he calls us idiots now.

Yuka jumps down from beside Rai and jumps to my side. “Big Brother Ken~! Sleepover tonight?”

Tonight…?

Eh, maybe the company wouldn’t be all too bad…

“Sure, Yuka.”

She throws her hands up in victory as Nakamoto throws his hands behind his head. “This is exactly what I’m talking about…”

“I’ll come over after the nighttime announcement, ‘kay~?”

I nod, and soon after that, we dispersed. If I’m being quite honest, I was...really tired. I was so tired that when I finally got back to my room, I stayed there. I didn’t come out for lunch, dinner, or to talk to Sasada or Satoshi, I was just...exhausted.

I don’t know what’s coming over me.

But, I did make plans with Yuka, so I’ll just keep myself up until the nighttime announcement--

*DING DONG BING BONG*

--and, there it is.

I look up to the clock in my room, and…

...wait, what? It’s not nighttime though. The nighttime announcement goes off at ten, but it’s only nine-fifty...

...wait--no, it can’t be. It can’t be…

Was a body discovered…?

With my body frozen, I steadily turn to face the monitor, and after waiting for a few moments, he appeared on the monitor. “Will everyone please come to the gymnasium at this moment? It’s time for an announcement.”

...an announcement? Ten minutes before the nighttime announcement…?

What could he possibly want?

So, I rise from my bed, and stroll out into the hallways. I’m greeted instantly by the duo of Saishi and Nakamoto, who warily stare down at me.

“Ken-chi, you off to the gym?”

I nod. “What do you think it is…?”

“Who knows?!” Saishi questions, rubbing his chin. “He doesn’t scare me anymore--! I refuse to be tricked and manipulated!”

...so, he’s preparing for the worst.

“Let’s not keep him waiting, however,” Saishi continues. “There’s no reason for us to get him angry with us.”

I nod, and with that, the two older, taller guys and I find ourselves walking to the gymnasium. When we get there, everyone is already waiting for us.

And, it looks like Saishi wasn’t the only one preparing for the worst.

Azama and Shiomi stand side-by-side -- they stare at the stage, Shiomi with wide eyes, while Azama looks more relaxed.

Tomori has her arm draped over Satoshi’s shoulder, and the smaller boy just nervously laughs to himself. He’s...shaking, too.

Yuka, Rai, and Sasada are joined by Saishi, and the three former look up at the stage as well. Yuka stands slightly behind Rai (who holds Yuka’s hand), and Sasada looks just as indifferent as ever.

Obinata stands crossed-arm in the center of everyone, and he bites down hard on his lower lip.

Nakamoto stays by my side, and he points up to the stage where MonoMech stands. His short figure is overshadowed by the suitcase that rests next to him. He twirls like a ballerina in the middle of the stage, singing to himself. “La, La, La~, who’s excited to see what the adorable mascot character has in store for everyone this time~?!”

“Absolutely nobody,” Tomori mumbles.

“Well, too bad, Kimie!”

MonoMech stops in place, and starts beating down on his chest. “You’re all probably wondering why I brought you here.”

“Again, not really…”

MonoMech ignores Tomori’s comment this time, and continues to beat on his chest. “It’s time for a -- drumroll, please! -- motive!”

There’s a silence.

A...motive?

No, it can’t be.

Right now?

“Isn’t this a chapter too soon for a motive…?!” Yuka exclaims, clinging onto whoever was closest to her, this time being Sasada. “I still need more development--! I’m off-limits, ‘kay?! My arc hasn’t been completed!”

Sasada nods her head. “I’ve got pivotal information regarding our circumstances, so kill me, we lose it. Just so ya know.”

...pivotal information?

Ah, about the book, right? We did make that pact with Nakata.

Nakamoto steps up. “You can’t kill me, cause, uh...anyways, why are we doing it so early?!”

Oh, you three just had to starting raising death flags.

“Well, we needed to establish your characters before--!” MonoMech exclaims. “Things are starting to move really slowly, and I’m getting impatient! So there, new motive, one less chapter for the arc, okay?!”

Please stop breaking the fourth wall--!

“It doesn’t matter what you throw at us, we’ll never betray our friends!” Saishi yells out, and I can see Rai in front of me nod in response.

“Really…?”

MonoMech trails off, and he places his hands on his hips as he directs us to a suitcase on the stage.

“Let me show you what’s inside the case.”

…

I look up to Nakamoto and he only shrugs his shoulders as MonoMech trots across the stage to the silver suitcase.

He smirks to himself as he lifts it up, and holds it out toward us. With one click, the suitcase open, revealing...

“Cha-ching! Two million dollars!”

...a fat stack of cash.

“We’re Japanese, not American…” Satoshi sighs. “I don’t even know where I’d be able to get yen for that.”

...

That’s a lot of money...

“I can give you an address, if ya need…”

“N-No, thanks.”

“Doesn’t this seem like a step backwards from the last motive…?” Tomori asks.

“I do everything for a reason, ya know?!”

“Well, if you want me to play along with your game, you need to make the motive a little more enticing,” Obinata says, sighing to himself. “Make the motive something more exciting, then we can talk.”

MonoMech slams the suitcase shut and growls out. “Then don’t kill! Wait for next time -- I don’t care! I’m sure some of you would bite at the chance for this much cash!”

“Really?” Satoshi asks. “And who would that be?”

As if on cue, nine pairs of eyes fall upon Nakamoto and myself. Even Rai and Yuka were staring me down...they don’t think we’d--?!

“You really don’t think I’d kill for money, would you?!” Nakamoto asks, throwing his hands up in the air.

“Y-Yeah!” I exclaim, jumping closer to Nakamoto. “I wouldn’t betray you guys for something like that!”

“Isn’t Nakamoto in a lot of debt?” Sasada asks, tilting her head.

“And isn’t Ken dirt poor?” Obinata asks.

G-Guys, please…

“Show some faith in Ken-chi and I!” Nakamoto exclaims. “We’ve been real good so far, I promise!” Nakamoto’s arm drapes over my shoulder. “Believe our cute faces~!”

Rai nods their head. “He has a point. Ken’s too cute to be a killer.”

“W-What about me?!” Nakamoto asks, and he frowns. “Ken-chi believes in me at least, right?”

I nod my head. “Of course.”

“At least someone does--!”

“I don’t really think anyone would kill for money,” Azama says, tilting her head. “Especially after not killing during the poison fiasco.”

“E-Exactly!” Saishi exclaims, his hand curled up in a fist. “No one would do that!”

“I do everything for a reason,” MonoMech says, cupping his hands over his mouth. “I’ll let you all figure it out, however.”

He turns to leave, but stops short. “Ah, one more thing.”

“What is it?” Shiomi asks.

“If you are able to get away with murder this time, you can take Nakata with you out of here.”

…

…

…

...what?

“W-What?!” Nakamoto asks, retracting his arm. “What’d you say?”

“If you can get away with murder, then not only will you escape, but Nakata will be able to leave too.”

Nakata...she’ll be able to leave…?

We get two million dollars AND Nakata can come with whoever wins…?

*DING DONG BING BONG*

My thoughts are interrupted by a bell.

“Excuse me students, it is officially 10:00 P.M.! That means it’s nighttime! The water will turn off in a few minutes, and don’t forget to lock your doors! We wouldn’t want anyone dying the first night would we? Puhuhuhu! Sleep tight!”

“It’s ten already…?” Azama asks.

There’s a brief silence, but then Obinata speaks up.

“Well, if I were to get away with it, Nakata’d just kill me for letting Ken die,” Obinata says to himself. “That’s not really worth it, either.”

“Nakata wanted to hurt Ken, I wouldn’t risk my life for hers…” Rai mumbles.

“The only person close to her here is Ken-chi,” Nakamoto says. “That means if someone does kill, Ken-chi’ll be the prime suspect. That should be enough to steer him away from anything, right? Since he knows he’d be the one suspected.”

“Or, that’s precisely why he’ll do it,” Obinata says, turning his back toward us. “He’ll figure, ‘it’s too obvious for it to be me’, and use that to take advantage of that. I, for one, won’t let that happen to me.”

He slowly begins walking off. “I’m off to bed. See ya in the morning.”

Nakamoto’s quick to follow. “G’night everyone! I’m out as well.”

After Nakamoto and Obinata scurry out of the gymnasium, Shiomi throws his hands over his head. “Well, he ruined a perfectly nice day.”

“As soon as we started to come back together, he plans on ripping us apart--!” Saishi exclaims. “Well, he won’t get me down -- no, sir!”

“At least you’re still energetic,” Sasada says, smiling to herself as she begins to leave the gymnasium as well. “I really think that this motive’s too weak to make someone wanna kill.”

“True!” Yuka exclaims, waving goodnight to Sasada. “I’m going to go have a nice beauty sleep in that case! That’s how confident I am!”

“Having confidence must be nice,” Satoshi says, nervously smiling as he does so. “I wish I could be as chill as you guys…”

“Eh, just let it roll of your back,” Tomori says, yawning. And, since yawns are contagious, I find myself doing the same. “We’ll all get some sleep and get ready to take on tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“I like that plan,” Rai says, nodding to themself.

Azama also nods to herself. “Okay, right. Let’s do that.”

With that, everyone else left the gymnasium, one-by-one. There was a feeling of unity among few, but also fear amongst others, like Satoshi, Azama, Shiomi, and myself.

Despite Yuka’s confidence, she wished me a good night, and said she didn’t wanna sleepover tonight. And, I don’t blame her.

I...was scared.

No, not *was*. I am scared.

As I enter my bedroom, I close the door behind me -- but tonight I’m not locking myself in, no. I leave the door slightly ajar as I retreat back into my room.

I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen tonight.

I don’t turn on any of my lights, either. I slowly trot into my bathroom and close the door behind me. I flip the light-switch on.

I love Nakata. I love her so much. I...want her to be able to leave. I want nothing more right now than for her to be safe, but…

...I’m not willing to kill anyone for that to happen. She wouldn’t want me to.

And, she’d want me to protect everyone here, too.

I look into the mirror, and the person who stares back at me is no longer someone I recognize. I don’t know when he became like this. This pale, defeated, ugly human being. The kind of human who doesn't know his own worth like he once did. I reach up to my eye and slowly inspect my knuckles. They’re still slightly blue and bruised, but they don’t hurt anymore. I take my contacts out of my eyes, and let my vision become clouded. I didn’t wanna see the shell anymore.

Even after taking my contacts out, I can still see the shell stare back at me. He’s smiling at me -- mocking me.

It’s pissing me off.

It’s really--

--I’m bleeding. My hand is bleeding. Why is my hand bleeding?

I pull my hand back and look at it -- it’s shaking a lot. It’s, really bad. The bleeding isn’t that bad, though. Sure, it drips a little, but it’s fine.

It doesn’t hurt that much though. That’s...good, I guess.

I look back up to the broken man -- but he’s gone. All that’s left is a shattered mirror.

...ah, I see.

There’s a small piece of glass that remains from the mirror in the sink, surrounded by blood.

I’m getting tired. My head’s beginning to hurt. Maybe I should lay down…

...or, maybe I shouldn’t.

Someone will die if I let myself fall asleep.

Someone will die.

''Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die. Someone will die.''

No--I can’t let that happen. I won’t let that happen.

I will not let that happen.

I steadily pick up the piece of glass in the sink and find myself nodding to no one in particular.

I can do this. I can protect everyone with this.

I flip my lightswitch off and work my way onto my bed. It takes a lot of effort, but I’m able to pull the shirt off from over my head. Once it’s off, my hand grips the glass again, and I bring it to my arm.

I let the sharp glass slide across my arm, and I catch a jolt of pain running through my body. It forces me to attention.

Y-Yes, that’s perfect. This…this will work.

If...If I catch myself falling asleep, I’ll let the glass wake me up. This way--this way I can prevent anyone from getting killed. I’ll hear someone leaving their rooms, or I’ll hear a yell or something. It’s perfect.

This...this’ll show the shell to laugh at me again. This can prove to him that I can protect everyone.

Whenever I start to fall asleep, or I start to feel dizzy I’ll cut myself. I can do this.

I can do this. With this, I can save everyone.

I can save everyone.

''I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save everyone. I can save--''