Anguish & Desire/Chapter Five

This is Chapter Five of Danganronpa: Anguish &amp; Desire, Motive Time!. In this chapter, MonoMech presents the group of Ultimates with a motive; and, with tensions now at an all-time high, Ken begins to crumble, and finds an unlikely source of comfort.

Author's Note: "It's not the strong or the smart that survive, but the ones who can bring about change." - Celestia Ludenberg, the Ultimate Gambler.

“Hey, Tani, can I borrow your camera?”

My body is warm.

“Ooh, and what for, Tomori?”

“Look at them!”

Ughhh. Why are they making so much noise first thing in the morning…?

“Aww, they’re so cute.”

“After you get them, get Obinata and Nakamoto too.”

There’s a hush. “Be quiet or you’ll wake them.”

W-Wait a minute?

Tani? T-Tomori?

My eyes shoot open, everything is still blurry and my body refuses to move. Lying directly in front of me is Kit--Rai, whose eyes are shut, and mouth is slightly ajar. The flower in their hair now missing too...wait why am I so focused on Rai right now??

I lift my head so I can see above Rai, and, I’m met by the s-scary face of Nakata.

“Shh,” she smiles, looking down on both Rai and myself. “You wouldn’t want to wake everyone else up, now would you?”

“Is Rabbit awake?” Tomori whispers, and I look around Nakata’s slim body.

Tomori, wearing pink sweatpants and a pink tank top, stands next to Tani, who is wearing blue short-shorts that’s barely visible under a gray shirt that’s five sizes too big. They both smile, Tomori devilishly, Tani cheekily. Tomori holds a camera, standing over Obinata and Nakamoto, who are cuddling up together and still fast asleep.

“If you don’t say anything we’ll let you see the pictures!” Tomori winks, placing her finger on her link. “Promise!”

I-I don’t really think that’s the issue here…

“Promise?” Nakata asks, and I look back to her smiling face. “I don’t think you have any reason to decline…”

“Wh--” I begin to whisper, but a sudden tug on my shirt stops me from continuing. I glance down, and, notice the sleeping Rai is gripping onto my undershirt tightly. Rai is squinting, mumbling something under his breath--I guess I should leave it be. I look back up to the three girls, Tomori and Tani who have inched their way over and are now only centimeters behind Nakata now. Tomori slowly lifts the camera up, and, with a small press of a button, Tomori begins to giggle to herself.

“Too cute…” she whispers, looking back to Tani.

I sigh to myself, and, put my head back down so it’s directly across from Rai. “Just, show me later.” I whisper, and I can hear Tani giggle to herself.

“You’re the best, Ken.” Nakata whispers, and a few moments later, the three girls retreat out of Nakamoto’s room.

Those three are...something, alright.

I smile to myself as I shift a little bit closer to Rai and close my eyes again.

The peaceful days, the fun, the laughs...why can’t it be like this all the time?

Because that wouldn’t be interesting, right?

Fun isn’t interesting…

...despair is.

“Wake up, Ken!” a voice exclaims, and, a hand runs through my hair.

When did I fall back asleep?

“Ken, wake up!”

“Kitoaji,” another voice -- I believe Obinata’s or Shiho’s -- says. “Shake him; don’t seduce him.”

The hand jerks out of my hair. “I-I’m not!”

“Ah, he’s waking.”

My eyes slowly open, and, both Rai and Shiho are standing over me, tilting their heads. Everything is still...so blurry; I really need to put my contacts in before I bother doing anything else.

“Ken,” Shiho mumbles. “We need to go to the gymnasium.”

The gymnasium?

“Why?” I ask, and I notice Rai sitting back on his knees. “Where--Where are my contacts?”

“Here,” Shiho says, and as I look to him now I realize he had both of my contacts on a piece of tissue paper from the night before. “We need to run.”

“What’s happening?” I ask as I take them. I slowly sit up, and not long after, rise to my feet, and the two others join me. “I need to just go in front of a mirror.”

“C’mon,” Shiho says, and he hurries me over to Nakamoto’s bathroom. As I begin to put my contacts back in, Shiho continues. “MonoMech woke us up.”

MonoMech?

Does it have to do with the motiv--

“He said he had a motive for us.” Shiho says, and I put the contacts in my eyes, one after the other.

Everything is much clearer, and, now I see the true problem of the situation. Shiho has huge bags under his eyes, his pupils are unnaturally small, and he looks just about ready to cry. He runs his hand through his semi-greasy hair and frowns. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

“Me neither.” Rai says, making themselves visible from the doorway. Rai looks just as bad as Shiho, if not, a little bit better. “What could it be?”

“MonoMech said motive.” Shiho repeats, putting his face in his hands for a split-second before pulling away. “He’s gonna try and turn us against one another. That’s the only thing that makes sense, r-right?” Shiho pauses, before turning to Rai, and back to me. “Guys, guys, whatever happens, just, know okay? Know that I won’t betray you guys--not that I won’t, but, I can’t. I can’t do it.”

“M-Me too!” Rai exclaims, jumping toward Shiho and grabbing his hand. “I won’t hurt you, or anyone.”

“Same.”

That’s all I can say. Same. I bet I’m not really making them feel better, am I? It’s not like Shiho’s words were quite convincing either.

Shiho nods though, and, forces a smile through his frown. “Let’s do it.”

When we got to the gymnasium the others were already waiting for us.

Nakamoto stood closer to the back of the gymnasium, scratching the back of his head, sighing to himself. “W-Why…?” His eyes scatter back and forth, and when we pass him, he looks almost instantly away. “W-Why?”

Nakata stands a little ahead of Nakamoto, and her expression is the same as always. She keeps her arms crossed, and, once she notices my presence she uncrosses her arms and waves me over.

Satoshi and Tomori stand side-by-side, the latter massaging the former’s shoulders. “Sleeping on the floor was such a stupid idea I shouldn’t have slept over Nakamoto’s…” Satoshi complains, squinting his eyes as Tomori chuckles to herself.

“I did it just fine, you big baby!” Tomori exclaims, flashing Satoshi a grin. “You are super tense though! You’re lucky I’m also the Ultimate Masseuse!”

Satoshi reaches back and pats Tomori on the shoulder. “...thank you, Tomori.”

Poor guy. It looks like he’s in a lot of pain.

I look back to Shiho and Rai, the former of which has already broke off and went to the trio of Azama, Tani, and Shiomi. Azama, while nervous perhaps, looks unfazed about this whole situation, and greet Shiho was a light hug. Tani and Shiomi both stay within arms distance of each other, while Tani gently talks, Shiomi laughs -- although, it makes him look more nervous than he was perhaps trying to let on.

Rai smiles at me though, tilting their head. “Go to her, I’ll go over to Yosano and Yuka.”

“A-Are you sure?”

Rai nods, before raising their hand and placing it on my head. “MonoMech doesn’t scare me.”

I feel my lips curve upwards, and as Rai removes their hand from my head, I close my eyes. “Okay!” I exclaim, and Rai skips off to Yuka and Yosano, whose eyes were already on the two of us.

Yuka points at me and starts to laugh boisterously -- is my face that red? -- and Yosano only giggles gently to herself. At least this situation isn’t making them worry too much, right?

But, where one laughs, another glares. It takes me a moment to realize the cold stare I was getting from Obinata who, when I look toward him, adjusts his glasses. He stands off to the side of everyone else, leaning up against the gate of the bleachers and checking his watch. His lips, in contrast to mine, curve downwards. Maybe he’s scared?

Shimazaki soon comes into my vision, giving a glass of water to Obinata, who bows his head in appreciation. At this remark, Shimazaki laughs and dances around the Ultimate Fashion Designer...they make a strange couple, don’t they? He seems way too no-nonsense for her.

When I look back to Nakata, who is patiently waiting for me, Saishi too comes into sight. He paces back and forth, his glasses in his hand, wiping them on his button-up shirt and mumbling to himself. It’s actually a very unsettling sight. Isn’t he supposed to be the sane one?

Sasada stands close to him, but is understandingly keeping her distance. She holds Shiomi’s PS Vita in one hand, and if I had to guess, she was just in the middle of playing another dating sim when they called her over.

I walk over to Nakata, and her stoic face falls almost instantly as she grabs my wrist and jerks me forward.

“--what?”

That’s all I can get out of my mouth when she suddenly releases my wrist and puts me in a headlock. “N-N-Nakata? What did I do?” I look up to her and she’s gently smiling as her arm is wrapped around my neck. “I-It hurts.”

“O-Oh!” she exclaims and instantly the weight around my neck is released. As I cough and rub my throat, she scratches the back of her neck and looks away from me. “I didn’t mean to hurt ya, Ken.”

S-She’s too strong for her own good!

She smiles though and takes a step closer to me. “Our training sessions are back on starting tomorrow morning, right?” she asks. “I don’t like where this is going, and, if this is really a ‘motive’, MonoMech probably has something planned for us to start killing. You’re still far too weak to defend yourself.” Ah, I guess she’s right. I’m still useless. I’m weak. “Look, it’s not like it’s anything that you can really do about it, y’know? We’ve been going for almost a week now and you’re literally incapable of building any muscle mass.” Geez, thanks. “But you’re fast. You’re faster than me, probably faster and more agile than the others too. If you can channel that, you can really kick butt.”

“I’m not at that point yet though, right?” I ask, and Nakata shakes her head.

“Not yet, Ken. You’ve been improving, and, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way but I don’t trust everyone here.” she pauses, lowering her voice. “I don’t want you to get hurt. If this is as serious as I think it is, then you should be able to protect yourself.”

“I-I guess…”

She smiles and puts me back in a headlock -- although this time, she’s much more gentle. “Don’t give me that dejected sigh, Ken, your babyface makes me feel bad.”

Again with the ‘babyface’ comment?!

“C’mon Ken, don’t make me get Yuka over here and cheer you up for me, get that frown out of here.”

What’s with the absurd amount of teasing all of a sudden?

“Well, well, well, is everyone here?!” the high-pitched voice of MonoMech exclaims, and, almost instantly Nakata lets go of me. I look up to the stage where the short robot is standing wide, peering across the crowd at the rest of us. “I’ll take that as a yes yes yes!”

“What do you want?” Shimazaki asks, skipping to the front of the crowd. “If this is lame then wrap it up, why don’t ya?”

“Lame?!” MonoMech asks, jumping on top of the podium. D-Did Shimazaki’s comment offend him? “You know what’s really lame? We have sixteen eccentric teenagers trapped in a confined space and no one has killed each other yet! What’s wrong with you all? Don’t you want to escape?”

“Well, yeah,” Shiomi says, looking away from the stage. “But--”

“No ‘buts’!” MonoMech exclaims. “If you want to escape, kill!”

“That’s the problem!” Shiomi exclaims. “Your requirements are really hard to fulfill, dude.”

“No they’re not!” MonoMech says, jumping down from the podium and onto the gym floor in front of Shimazaki, who in return only tilts her head. “It’s super easy! Just bludgeon someone with a shovel!”

“I already looked for a shovel, there are none.” Obinata remarks. “There aren’t enough tools at our disposal.”

“Oh shut it, will you?!” Saishi exclaims, pointing an accusatory finger at Obinata. “No one is going to kill, okay?!”

“That’s what they always say…” MonoMech sighs, before walking past Shimazaki, and to Saishi. “Poke enough buttons, anyone will do the deed!”

“Not me!” Saishi proudly says, puffing his chest out at MonoMech. “I come from a lineage of police officers, and I shall do them proud by not committing a murder!”

MonoMech tilts his head and looks down. “You’re no fuuuun.” MonoMech then turns back to the rest of us. “Well, while you were all here, I left you all a present in your rooms! And, can anyone tell me what might be there?”

The motive?

“Like we don’t know already.” Tani says, sarcastically. “We get it, you’re gonna try and make us kill someone.”

“Then get to it you bratty kids!” MonoMech exclaims, throwing his hands in the air like a kid. “I don’t understand what’s so hard about killing your friends...honestly, I should’ve just gone for Plan B.”

Plan B?!

“What’s that?” Sasada asks.

“I was gonna have all of the Ultimates stand in a giant circle and make you all vote who lives and who dies every two minutes!” MonoMech proudly exclaims. “Two things are wrong with that though! One, too short, and two, not enough participants.”

“That seems a lot more complicated…” Nakamoto says. “And, probably harder to pull off.”

“It was easier to split you all up, honestly.” MonoMech shakes his head.

Split us all up...?

“Anyways,” MonoMech continues, shrugging his shoulders. “Go check out the motive and get to killing! Thank you very much!”

And with that, MonoMech out of the gymnasium, leaving us in a state of confusion and fear.

Well, I’m scared...I don’t know about anyone else, considering MonoMech is probably the least intimidating mascot ever.

“Cheer up, Ken.” Nakata says, and I feel her hand land on top of my shoulder. “You don’t have to worry too much.”

“Yeah, Rabbit.” Tomori says, and I look over my shoulder to see Tomori and Satoshi slowly walking to us. “Momma Tomori is here to help!”

“Please don’t call yourself that.” Satoshi says. He wears a weak smile and is clearly nervous about whatever this ‘motive’ is too. “But she’s right, Ken.”

I smile, and as I look around the gymnasium, I realize how empty it is. Obinata, Nakamoto, Shiomi, Shiho, Shimazaki, Azama, and Tani are nowhere to be found, and Saishi, Sasada, Yosano, Yuka, and Rai are already on their way toward us.

“So, let us discuss this motive!” Saishi exclaims, looking from me, to Nakata, to the other six leftovers. “I say if it’s a tape or a note, we discard it immediately!”

“Discard?” Tomori asks, tilting her head. “Like, throw out?”

“Exactly!” Saishi says, nodding his head. “My logic behind this is simple, if we don’t view the motive, then we have no reason to kill!”

“I get it! I get it!” Yuka chants, grabbing Yosano’s sleeve. “We won’t feel the need to kill if we don’t see what it is!”

Sasada nods. “A great idea...on the count of one fault.”

“One fault?” I ask, and Nakata nods.

“You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?” Sasada asks, looking to Nakata, who again nods.

“The others.” Nakata says.

“You mean Shiomi and the rest of them who aren’t here?” Satoshi asks.

“They probably have their eyes on the motive as we speak.” Nakata mumbles. “By us not viewing the motive, we’re at a disadvantage if the motive is actually worth killing over...take Tani, for example, okay.” I nod. “Let’s say Tani reads the motive and it really drives her to murder. And then let’s take you, Yuka.”

“Yay!” Yuka cheers, throwing her hands up in the air. “I’m a model for murder!”

“...okay, then.” Nakata continues, shrugging Yuka’s comment off. “Let’s say Yuka here decides to not watch it, and she continues her day like usual, what happens to Yuka if Tani really becomes lustful for blood?”

“Yuka becomes an easy target…” Yosano concludes, to which Nakata nods. “Okay, you proved your point.”

“Now hold on just a second,” Saishi says, adjusting his glasses. “The untrust within this group is crazy high! No one is going to kill anyone, okay?!”

I look to Rai who’s solemnly staring to the ground, their feet tap up and down.

Is Rai nervous? I can’t blame them, but...

“I’ve always been taught to prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.” Sasada says, crossing her arms. “That’s the motto we should be living by from here on out, got it?”

“Are you giving up on--” Saishi starts, but is almost instantly cut down by Sasada who takes a step forward.

“Don’t misunderstand.” she says, looking from Saishi, to Satoshi, to Yuka, and then finally to me. “I’m going to make sure no murder takes place, understand? I will not tolerate anyone trying to harm one of our friends. I won’t rest until I get us out of here.”

With Sasada’s parting words echoing throughout my head, I retreat to my room, and I’m graced by the presence of a disk with my name written in marker on it. It lies on my bed.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared, or nervous, but, not only does Sasada and Nakata’s words ring true, I’m a bit curious. I pick the disk up and put it into the movie player that hangs right below the TV.

Once it’s in, I run back to my door and close it shut, before jumping back on my bed to watch.

The TV turns on by itself, and...it’s a pretty scene.

My little sister, Touka, sits on our couch back home, staring through the TV screen. Her light hair flows over her brown eyes, and her smile is as warm as ever...god, I miss that smile.

“Is it recording?” Touka asks.

“I think so!” a weaker voice calls from behind the camera, and soon enough, my sweet mom joins Touka on the camera. “Oh, my sweet Ken!” she cries.

“Big bro!” Touka shouts. “We’re so so so so so so so SO proud you made it into Hope’s Peak! You’re gonna make the Kijmuta family name a proud one, I just know it!”

T-Touka…

I wipe away at my eyes, I just--I just can’t help it. The second I heard her voice how could I not cry? I can’t--

“Oh my little son,” my mom says, smiling as my little sister tears up to. “This is your first time living alone, isn’t it? Oh, we’re going to miss you so much! Touka told me not to mention it, but, she’s gonna miss you so much and she cries just at the prospect of you living away!”

“M-Mom!” Touka yells, turning away from my mom. “That’s not true big bro, don’t listen to her, the meds are finally taking their toll.”

“Oh stop it you,” my mom says.

Then, it happened.

The happiness, their tears, my tears, it all became static for a brief moment.

Then the TV screen jumped to a different scene.

The TV screen showed my sister again, but from a different angle. She sits on the couch, staring into a TV too, just like I am, and it looks almost desolate. The TV and the couch are the only things in the room with her. The camera angle showed as if she was being filmed from the corner of the room, just like m--just like me…?

D-Do yo-you m-mean?

The second the thought entered my mind, the video on screen gets replaced by blood red text that reads:

“KiLl to sEe Her agAin”

T-They have her?

They have my little sister, too?

B-But why?

She hasn’t done anything wrong…

About an hour later, I lay in my bed still. To the right of me is the disk I snapped in half, and to the left of me is a bunch of pieces of ripped up toilet paper I used as tissues.

I haven’t moved since then...just, I don’t know what to do.

I know I s-still don’t want to kill anyone.

But, it’s my little sister--and, my mom. My mom wasn’t in the second video...what happened to her? Is there a reason for that? Is she okay? Was she able to get away from MonoMech or is she...is she worst-case scenario right now? Could she be dead--

--no! I can’t be thinking like that right now! That’s what MonoMech wants.

But, I can’t go out like this. The last thing I want is everyone worrying about me.

At least I know she’s safe.

She’s safe.

That’s the plus, right? It has to be.

There’s a knock on the door. It’s the third one since the motive has been released. I wonder who keeps swinging by. Is it Saishi doing rounds? Is it Yosano rotating between Yuka, Rai, and me? Or is it Rai?

Ugh, poor Yosano.

If it’s the same for everyone, then, does that mean Yosano’s four younger siblings are trapped?

Is Satoshi’s friend trapped?

I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do…

Another knock.

Who is it?

I groggily rise from my bed and shuffle over to my door. I sigh to myself, unlock it, and slowly open the door just enough to stick my head through.

There, I’m face-to-face with Yuka, who is smiling as brightly as can be again.

“Big brother Ken, can I come in?” she asks, looking up at me. “Please!”

...how do I say no to that?

I nod and open the door and she strolls in, and I close the door as she enters. “So, are you okay? I knocked a bunch and you wouldn’t answer.” she frowns, pausing. “I didn’t watch mine, I heard Azama crying and I can’t do it.”

Ah, that makes sense.

“So, are you okay?” Yuka asks, sitting on the floor by the foot of my bed. She pats the floor next to her and I sit down. “Do you need to talk?

I shake my head. “Sorry, I don’t r-really want to.”

“You seem upset though…” she says, inching closer to me. “...we don’t have to talk if you don’t want, big brother Ken.”

“I’m sorry.”

My eyes are still burning from before, I bet I look really pathetic right now.

“No, don’t be.” she says. “If talking about it doesn’t help, then I wouldn’t be doing what I came here to do.”

…

There’s a silence. A long one.

...

“H-Hey...what do I do, Yuka?”

“About what?”

“...everything.”

I look up at her, and she’s still staring at me. “I don’t know, big brother Ken.” she says, tilting her head. “But if I had to guess...don’t give up!”

Don’t give up? How cliché…

“I don’t know what’s on there, but, if it really is that bad or scary, then I don’t want you to turn back into day one you.” she continues, inching closer until her small body is on top of mine. “That was a bad time…”

“I’m different now, though.”

“I know.” she says, nodding her head. “And I know it’s hard not to be scared.”

I’m not scared.

I’m just--I don’t know what I am.

“So, will you fight with me?”

Huh?

I look from the floor to Yuka, who is practically leaning on me, smiling her big smile. “Will you fight with me?”

“F-Fight what?”

“Fight MonoMech, duh!”

Eh?

She casually jumps to her feet, her feet shoulder-width apart, her hands resting on her hips as she stares down at me...how pathetic do I look? She closes her eyes and flashes that wide grin of hers. “Whataya say?! Together, big brother Ken and Yuka will fight MonoMech and take down all the villains in our way!”

Heh…maybe she’s right...as stupid as it sounds.

“You laughed!” she exclaims, before removing her hand from her hip and reaching it out to me. “Laughing is the key to hope! Let’s make this happen!”

I sigh and slowly reach my hand out to hers. She forcefully shoots hers forward and grabs my wrist, and jerks me to my feet. “Big brother Ken finally comes around!” I smile and shake my head as I now look down on Yuka.

I don’t know why Yuka’s doing this for me. It’s not like we’re particularly close, sure, we’ve spent some time together since this whole thing started, but she’s always with Yosano, Rai, or even Shimazaki. I’m...no one.

“Let’s fight hard!”

I won’t complain though. I have no reason to.

Yuka spins me around and pushes me forward toward the door. “Let’s go talk to everyone!”

“D-Do we have to?” I ask, but at this point there’s no turning back, I’m already in the hallway, and I hear Yuka shut the door behind her.

“Of course we gotta!” Yuka pouts, removing her hands from my back and side-stepping in front of me. “Moping around is good for no one.”

“Well, it makes me feel better.”

“What if I told you that…” she trails off, looking up and away from me. She’s totally thinking of what to say next… “What if I told you that it won’t make you feel better, but worse? And it’ll make Chie feel worse! And Kitoaji too! You’ll worry everyone!”

“I-It won’t?”

“You’ll just think about it over and over again that it’ll become all you ever think about!” she exclaims, matter-of-factly. “And when you get to that point, you’ll be too far gone!” She looks back up to me, boldly smiling at me. “Let’s go see the others, I bet Big sister Yosano is waiting for us to meet her for breakfast anyways!”

“I guess you have a point…”

“Of course I have a point!” she says, spinning 180 degrees. “Now, let’s go!”

I shrug my shoulders and follow the now-skipping Yuka to the dining hall.

Now that I think about it, I really don’t know Yuka that well at all. She’s the Ultimate DJ, she wears those big puffy headphones over her neck -- which I guess is a stylistic choice? -- and she seems to look up to me as a big brother, but, er, why?

“Yuka?” I ask, and she stops almost immediately and spins to face me. “Can I ask you something?”

“Nope!” she cheekily says, before tilting her head. “Juuust kidding! What’s on your mind?”

...now I’m nervous. What’s with the sarcasm?

“Well, if you don’t mind, why be a DJ?” I ask.

She looks up and scratches her chin. “Oh, I know what this is...I unlocked a flag!” Unlocked...a...what? “A flag! Sasada was telling me how in dating sims when you help the people you unlock flags! You get enough flags and you can date that person, so, I must’ve unlocked a flag with you!” P-Please...just...stop…“Juuust kidding, again!”

“I can’t keep up…” I mumble, and she smirks again.

“Well, if you really wanna know, I became a DJ because music is love! Watching people smile and dance makes me happy! So, if I can throw some beats together and the entire room can turn into one big smile, then I’m happy!” she turns back around away from me. “Maybe if I unlock enough flags and we make it out, you’ll ask to listen to some of my tracks.” she nods to herself, I guess she’s happy with whatever she’s still talking about. “But, being serious stresses me out, big brother Ken, so let’s get back to the others and discuss fun things!”

“Fun things? Like, what?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Who knows!”

So, we continue walking (or, Yuka continues to skip) to the dining hall, and once there, we’re greeted by the waves of Yosano, Tomori, and Rai, who are sitting fairly close to the entrance today. Yosano sits on one side, a bowl of oatmeal in front of her, and Rai and Tomori sit next to each other on the same, with the same...delicious?...looking meal in front of them.

“Hey Yuka, Rabbit!” Tomori greets, and Yuka skips around the table to sit in her spot next to Yosano. I smile and wave to her, sitting in the free seat next to Rai. “Fancy seeing you guys here.”

I look around Rai’s back to see Tomori’s face. “You’re one to talk...when are you ever here for breakfast?”

She looks back at me and shakes her head. “You guys wake up so early, it’s not fair! I have to end up eating breakfast by my poor own lonesome because Satoshi takes an hour to get ready.”

“You take, like, an hour too…” Yosano reminds Tomori, gently chuckling to herself. “The only difference is, Satoshi wakes up an hour after you.”

I look from Tomori to Rai, who looks back at me, and smile. As Tomori taps Rai on the shoulder and starts talking about god knows what, I look back to the table in front of me.

I’m really happy that everyone is acting normally despite this motive, although, it’s just a little unnerving. Did they pull a Yuka and not watch it? Did they dismiss it? Did they--

A hand suddenly starts waving back and forth out of my vision. I was zoning again, wasn’t I? “You’re staring out into space again, Ken.” Rai pouts, retracting their hand as my eyes land back on theirs. “That’s a bad habit of yours, you know that?”

“It really is.” the monotonous voice of Nakata mumbles as the seat next to me is suddenly filled. I look over to her, and she brushes the strand of black hair away from her hazel eye. She puts a plate of mixed fruit in front of her before looking up at me. “You’re lucky my hands were full or I would’ve taken you down.”

“Sorry, sorry.” I say, shakily, scratching the back of my neck. “Habit.”

“A dangerous one.” she replies, and, not long afterwards, the seats in front of me and Nakata get filled as well.

Satoshi sits down in front of me, and next to Yuka, while Sasada sits next to him and in front of Nakata. Satoshi looks down, his eyes puffy -- as if he’s been crying -- and he furthermore looks a bit pale in the face. Sasada on the other hand looks like she’s still crying, a small little stream is barely visible on the cheek that’s opposite the others.

“H-Hi,” Satoshi says, looking up from the table to me. “Sorry, just a little shaken up.”

“Don’t be,” I say. “It’s rough.”

“Rough is one way to describe it.” Sasada sighs, shaking her head. “It’s like...family is everything, y’know? Wh-Why is it like this?”

“It’s how they plan on defeating us.” Yosano says, before rising from her seat, and I rest my head on the table in return. I’m getting really tired. “If MonoMech can’t get us to kill, then, bringing in our families is just his way of telling us we’re ahead of him.”

“Exactly!” Tomori exclaims. “This is our battle to lose right now, we can’t give up hope.”

I look to Nakata who is now looking down on me, and she only shrugs her shoulders as Sasada begins to speak again. “Fine, we won’t lose.” I turn my head over to the other side of the table and now look up to Rai, who simply tilts their head and smiles at me. “Ah, Nakamoto, Obinata, Shimazaki, nice to see you.”

Keeping my head rested on the table, Rai picks their hand up from off the table and places it on my cheek, and I watch as Nakamoto sits next to Tomori, Obinata sit in front of him, and Shimazaki sit next to Obinata. Rai, your hands are cooollddd.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Obinata replies, nodding to the table and resting his hands on the table. He looks like he usually does, no surprise there, does anything make him illogical? Nakamoto on the other hand looks very, uh, what’s the word…? Ah, paranoid. Every few seconds his head turns slightly to the left and he looks behind him...no one’s gonna murder you in plain sight, I promise. And Shimazaki, well, she’s just as bouncy as she usually is; she can barely keep still and every now and again she pokes Obinata’s shoulders and giggles when he turns to look at her.

“So, what are we discussing?” Obinata asks, and in return is poked by Shimazaki. “You all seem fired up…” he looks over at me. “Uh, except for you.”

“So-Sorry, just tired.” I say, and Rai’s hand leaves my face for a moment before slowly going back into place.

“We’re not gonna lose, Obinata!” Yuka exclaims, jumping up from her seat. “We’re gonna beat MonoMech up!”

I-Isn’t that going a little too far?

“Hell yeah!” Shimazaki exclaims next, throwing her hands in the air. “I’ve been itching for a fight!”

“Mio-chi…” Nakamoto sighs. “...I don’t think you g-guys should actually fight MonoMech.”

“Why not?” she asks.

“That’s against the rules…” he continues. “We don’t want you getting punished, now do we?”

“I guess not--”

Then, a voice cuts Shimazaki off, and booms throughout the room. “Everyone is here!”

Everyone...here...?

Rai’s hand slowly lifts, and my head lifts with it. I look from Rai, who is looking to the doorway, to Nakata, who is doing the same. I twist my body around to face the doorway...and, well, why am I not surprised?

Saishi stands by himself, looking at the group of us sitting in the cafeteria. He’s smiling, of course, when is he not unless he’s fighting with Obinata, but that’s not the weird part...he’s wearing a very, very, fancy suit, with a black bowtie too. “Come one, come all, to a special event premiering tonight!” he pauses, gripping both door handles that lead to the dining hall, and, in one swoop, both doors are opened, and four more students step forward.

Shiomi, Shiho, Tani, and Azama -- all dressed in black suits and white dresses -- smile to themselves as they enter the dining hall. The girls walk on Saishi’s left side, while the boys walk on his right side.

“Tonight, 8 P.M. sharp, come on down to the gymnasium for a treat put together by the musicians of the 79th class of Ultimates!” Saishi continues.

“Rude…” Yuka quietly mumbles under her breath.

“Music, written by the Ultimate Songwriter Isamu Shiomi will be performed by the Ultimate Pianist Yoichi Shiho, the Ultimate Violinist Kiyo Azama, and will be sung by Ultimate Beatboxer Hiroko Tani. Come on down to slow dance, have fun, and to enjoy each other’s presence...thank you very much.”

At the end of his speech, Saishi bows, and Tani steps forward.

“It’s mandatory, by the way.” she says, bowing too. When she rises, she smirks and holds a peace sign up. “We promise it’ll be so much fun, and, it’ll take your minds off of everything.”

Shiho, Azama, and Shiomi all bow too, and, when they rise, Azama steps forward. “We’re Ultimates for a reason, aren’t we?”

It’s Shiho’s turn to step forward. “We’ll do our part, even if it’s only moral support.”

Shiomi steps forward last. “Suits and dresses will be provided by MonoMech, who, agreed to let this happen if he was invited and could get a slow dance in with Saishi, so, have fun.” Saishi nods, semi-nervously, giggling. “We’d love if everyone could make it, so please, give it some thought.”

With one final bow, the five turn around, and exit the dining hall, and as the door fell shut…

“Oh my god that sounds like so much fun!” Yosano exclaims, sitting back in her seat. “We’re going, right? We’re going?”

“Well, we gotta.” Sasada says, smiling to herself. “It’d be extremely rude for us not to go.”

With the murmurs of agreement amongst the group being loud and supportive, I guess I have no choice but to go.

It’ll be fun! There’s really no question about that. I know how passionate Shiomi and Azama are, so, the performance if nothing else will be incredible. Hey, you know, what could really go wrong? If we’re all together like this, there’s nothing we can’t do!

MonoMech, you better watch out. The 79th class of Ultimates are in high spirits and ready to beat you at your own game.