Forum Thread

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian blinked and stared at her a moment, and then looked at the food. "You sure?" he whispered back. Why does she seem so... Shy all of a sudden? Did I say or do something? Is it something else?

Sawyer Laurens's POV

She was giving him her food? Maybe she felt bad that Lucian gave up his food to them! Oh, that made sense! Or maybe she's just not hungry!

---

Sutaraitsu Umemoto

Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Border of Life
[Yuyuko's Theme Remix by NyxTheShield]

---

"Ummm, a-are you okay...?" Sutaraitsu whispered hesitantly.

"I-uhm- I'm s-sorry if I made you sick..."

He shyly averted his eyes from Akari.

SUTARAITSU IS A DUMB BEAN

---

---

Mika Uyehara

Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - U.N.Owen Was Her?
[Flandre Scarlet's Theme]

---

[Earlier...]

Mika glared at the overly fancy gates of Hope's Peak Academy.

"-sigh- ...could I have chosen a worse place to waste my time on..."

He reluctantly slid his ID card over the scanner.

"...great. it doesn't even show all my talents."

He walked into the academy, not once looking at the flowering gardens just outside the main building. Fully expecting a surprise attack of some sort, he swiftly took an explosive vial from somewhere.

Unfortunately, he had not planned for paralytic gas to be spread, and soon fell unconscious.

---

Mika couldn't care less about a 'killing game' of sorts and how exactly a robotic bear could host all this.

He just had to graduate from Hope's Peak and get recognition, and having to commit murder for it wasn't that hard anyway compared to things he had to do before.

To be fair, it was definitely easier. Not everyone enjoys sitting around and doing nothing anyway.

---

And so, the night was over. Mika was thankfully able to peacefully sleep for once.

Unfortunately, he was now hungry. He entered the cafeteria like a normal person and took a bowl of udon noodles topped with prawn tempura.

It's too bad I don't feel anything when eating this anymore. Oh well...

Sitting down on the most isolated table possible, he began taking notes on everyone with his notebook, but before he could write down a single word, a girl that had the strongest cocoa powder and sugar smell ever came and made conversation with him.

...great

He failed to reply to Darcy's non-question.

---

---

Horatia Aionios

Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - Flowering Night
[Sakuya Izayoi's Theme]

---

Horatia stared right into your soul.

"Dear reader of my actions, may I interest you in scientifically impossible witchcraft?"

A brand-new leek magically appeared in the middle of the leek circle.

Horatia yeeted the leek at you, which magically materialized in your screen.

"Cool, huh? I hope you enjoy your leek, dearie~"

---

Darcy Harper's POV

"Let me start over! Hiii, I'm Darcy Harper, and I was thinking we could get to know each other really personally!~" she proclaimed in a meaningful voice. "What do you think of that?"

...wait. Was that?

Oh no. They were here. Oh great.

The they in question Darcy was talking about...

Sawyer narrowed their eyes. Umm, great. She was here. This was going to be awkward.
Maybe things could be different here!! Maybe we could be best friends!

Maybe... Or maybe not.

Lucian Arbred's POV

Oh! The strange pretty flirty individual. From the way Sawyer's face looked while looking at her, it seemed like they knew each other. He wondered what might be going on there...

---

---

---

Kaoru Kajiwara

---

"Oh, of course." She blinked slowly. Hmm... it appeared that her companions needed a pushstart.

She nudged the dish closer. It was a tempting platter, she had to admit. The whole traditional breakfast plate.

Exactly what Kubo liked.

The minute her hands touched it, she hated herself a little more. Was she still suchh a coward? So impressionable? So much a pawn, that it was the first thing she took?

And that was why she took it.

Because she needed to remind herself of the past.

Remember it, and accept it, the Sister's voice echoed. Only then can you move on.

Was it cowardly, giving it to Lucian? Maybe. But it also filled her with a warmth. Something like she was trading something in.

Kubo for Lucian.

Her heart wrapping around another.

"Enjoy it," she said softly, and then, looked away. Her heart was pounding, and her whole body was warm- the sun had come.

---

---

Kubo Atsushi

---

"I hate sandwiches," Kubo muttered to himself. He half wished to have taken one of those heavy dishes. The traditional breakfast one had looked good.

He really, really liked eggs.

Kaoru didn't.

She had no taste in food, or men. He thought bitterly.

She should never have given him that elastic band, long ago.

"Hmm, is that who I think it is?" A feminine voice came from behind him.

---

---

---

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

As soon as things started to get crowded, Mei shot up out of her seat and put her plate away, then tried to leave the cafeteria. God... these Ultimates acted like preschoolers, so damn immature... You'd think that someone as talented as them would be more mature and sensible, but no. It was so annoying hearing their squeals and rambles, Mei just wanted this to be over with... How stupid did they have to be to get all lovey-dovey in a place where everyone was gonna die? Did they not listen to the bear? Did they think he was bluffing? As stupid and absurd as the situation was, Mei knew Monokuma wasn't lying. They wouldn't lock them in here like that, they wouldn't gather every piece of information about them just for one big prank. She bet that the "motives" the monochrome bear spoke of were involved in the killing game, whether the Ultimates liked it or not. Yeah, sure, it was a really fun idea, one that Mei gladly partook in, but then she'd have to hear the annoying weeping of all the people stupid enough to get attached... She'd have to live with the fact that these people were going to cry their damn hearts out, get all emotional and annoying, all because someone died or whatever. She'd also have to live with the fact that she might not make it out of here alive. How annoying...

Come to think of it... Was she the overly mature one? Overthinking things? Not at least enjoying the time she had left? Had she become too desensitized to death, especially when she was the one behind most of the ones she witnessed? Maybe she should just relax a little...

And to do that, Mei attempted to walk out the cafeteria, only to be stopped by some mystical force that her roleplayer enforced to keep her in the damn room. "Thanks... Love to torture me, don'tcha..." She said, to no one in particular especially not Daiko.

Oh well. Mei walked back to the tables and noticed two loners, away from the group of loud and obnoxious brats. Sutaraitsu and Akari. They seemed to be having a fun little chat... She threw herself at them and barged in between the two, looking at both of them before speaking. "Ooooh nice food! Whatcha guys doin over here?"

---

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Once Sutaraitsu spoke, Akari finally snapped out of it. "...Hm?" He slowly looked over at him, a little curious as to why he thought that way. "...Oh, no, it's not you... I'm not even sure it works like that... It's just..." He paused once again, not really sure what to say. He instead took another small bite. Before he could say anything else, the creepy purple-haired lady fell in between the two, severing his view of Sutaraitsu. Akari recoiled slightly, scootching away to make some space, and to get away from her. Don't talk to her don't talk to her don't talk to her...

---

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian's eyes flicked from Kaoru, to the plate, to the table, and back again. He couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. "I appreciate it," he told her with a warm smile. "...thank you."

There was something upon her face, before she looked away, that he couldn't quite discern. But, he could have sworn part of him knew what it was. He started eating from the plate.

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Wow, Lucian! That is probably the most I have ever heard you speak!" they exclaimed. "You should talk more!"

Lucian didn't respond at first, while eating the food, and then shook his head.

"Whyyy not?" Sawyer asked. "You just don't like it much?"

Much to Sawyer's frustration, Lucian just continued eating. It seemed he didn't want to talk about it.

"Well, alright then. Sorry. I think I'll go see if there's anything else to eat! I'm still hungry!" Sawyer exclaimed, beaming as they darted over to see what other food there was available.

Lucian Arbred's POV

Much to Lucian's relief, Sawyer somehow didn't fall on the way over to look at what other food was available. They were only half-Naruto-running. He couldn't help but wonder if Sawyer still thought of this as a dream, a hallucination, a drug trip, something along those lines.

Lucian knew that could possibly be the case. But somehow, in his mind, he doubted it. This just felt real somehow. And unless he was oblivious to the passage of time and this was simply a normal dream, it seemed unlikely. When you thought about it, all the pieces connected to it being real. The only thing that seemed odd was the bear robot and the Killing Game phenomenon.

But was it really that unbelievable, that there was a robot conducting this? Or that, someone could be controlling said robot for this operation? The question he wanted to know was, why? We're they all being punished for something? Was it merely an experiment? Was the one running jt something of a sadist?

Lucian wasn't all too sure. But he knew, in all likelihood, this was probably real. And if as time went on, he still didn't awaken right outside Hope's Peak, having collapsed, he would have his answer that it was indeed real.

There was also the matter of that all the people here felt real. He wanted to get to know them, help them out if he could. And in this very moment, he couldn't help but feel intrigued by Kaoru. What was she thinking? What was she intending in those things she said and did? He'd have to see...

---

---

---

Kaoru Kajiwara

---

Kaoru got up, and straightened her skirt. "Are you ready to go?" she asked. "I think we're nearing the time our Headmaster expects us. Perhaps 'Motives' simply means orientation."

Hopefully. Because otherwise that "killing game" plan could be real.

A reality she could not yet face.

It was insane, telling a room full of teenagers to kill one another as a joke. If one actually did it, there would surely be a lawsuit.

Kaoru desperately hoped she'd never see a body, ever again.

"Shall we?" she asked.

---

---

Kubo Atsushi

---

"W-Who are you?" Kubo asked.

The girl laughed as if he'd said something terribly amusing. "I'm your new classmate and friend, Miyako. What's your name, sweetcheeks?" She sat next to him. "And your talent?"

Hm. He took a moment to study her. White haired girl. Heavy clothes, playful hair. Her sharp blue eyes were ghostly- but her hoodie and turtleneck seemed fairly grounded.

Edgy girl.

"I'm your n-new c-classmate and f-friend, Kubo," he mimicked.

Her face brightened up. "Oh my god! Biting! I love it! You gotta work on your stutter though. Hehe." Her smile grew menacing. The air dropped several degrees. "My words are holy. Treat them with the utmost respect. Now!" She clapped her hands together and the air dissipated. "Talent, please?"

Kubo blinked, trying to figure out if that was a joke. "Ultimate... De...tector.." Dammit, what was he, a calculator? Why couldn't he lie on the spot? Remembering the old days must've put him off his game.

"Oh, cool, lovely talent. I'm the Ultimate Ghosthunter. I work with detectors a lot."

Once again, what the hell? "Ghost...hunter? W-What does that m-mean?"

Her face grew grave and distant. The pool was filled with silence. The hottub bubbled. Off in the distance, something rattled. "I see dead people." Then she perked up again. "Whatcha do as a detector?"

He was having serious whiplash here. He hoped somebody arrived soon- or this girl stabbed him at least, so his misery would be over.

---

---

Setsuna Jun

---

It looked like aliens had stolen his friends while his back was turned! Alas, what a tragedy! He had to rescue them.

He suddenly realized he was crying at the realization.

How strange! He was the hero. He'd saved people from aliens before and they were obviously having fun.

Without him.

Gone because they preferred something else to him.

He began shaking.

"Going to the pool," he mumbled to an empty table. No one was there. No one cared.

He abandoned his pizza and ran off.

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian nodded, but he doubted it. He thought he saw worry reflected in Kaoru's face. He knew, that if someone trapped them here and told them all to kill each other, and had all their favorite foods in the cafeteria here, chances are, they were serious. Chances are, this was real.

He got up from his seat with Kaoru. "let's go."

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"You're right, Kaoru! I bet it's just orientation!" they cheered, fist pumping in the air. "Ow. I wonder if I'll be able to use my other arm soon... This might take some getting used to, haha!"
What a strange dream. Maybe we are all here to kill each other! But that's okay, I'll wake up anyway. None of this is real, anyway, right?

None of this is real.
All some fun little fantasy.
Yes, that's all there was to it.

"Saeko, Idris, you coming?"

Darcy Harper's POV

-- is not available at this point in time please Celery I need a reply before I get her to the Motives Pool!!

---

Sutaraitsu Umemoto

Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Border of Life
[Yuyuko's Theme Remix by NyxTheShield]

---

Purple hair...

...wait

...oh no...

Sutaraitsu ducked under the table and covered his eyes with his hands.

"G-go away..."

---

---

Mika Uyehara

Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - U.N.Owen Was Her?
[Flandre Scarlet's Theme]

---

Mika stared at the flitry individual blankly.

"I-"

AAAAAAA WHAT DO I SAY AAAAAAA

"Uhhhhhhhh..."

Mika tried not to blush but did anyway because why not.

"-wh-what."

---

---

Horatia Aionios

Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - Flowering Night
[Sakuya Izayoi's Theme]

---

"Eat your damn leek."

---

Darcy Harper's POV

"Aww, you're shy! That's cute." Darcy giggled with her hand over her mouth. "Alrighty, I guess it's time for us to go see the motives or whatever! That's a shame, I didn't get to eat anything! Oh well. Want to come with me, cutie?" She stood on one foot, with the other leg in the air, with a peace sign, a wink, and a smile.

"You could even call it 'our first date', if you'd like!"

(Sawyer and Lucian are waiting on Abra's OCs, [Abra Come Home] posters)

---

Saeko Katsumi.

"Awww! Ain't that true, 'Krates? We can all be best buds!" They chirped.

---

Idris Kallikrates.

I need to get the heck away from these weirdos.

"Yay." He responded sarcastically.

"You're no fun, 'Krates!"

Saeko pouted.

"No wonder you don't have any friends."

They whispered in his ear, too quietly for anyone else to hear. He stiffened.

---

---

Kaoru Kajiwara

---

Kaoru arrived at the pool. The blue head of hair by the water made her shudder. "Kubo..." she whispered. And then, someone was scampering up behind her.

"Hello!" they chirped.

She glanced behind herself to see a new person, yet again. "Oh, hello."

"Hi- oh- I said it twice, hahha- I'm Setsuna."

She did a double take. The person's eyes were very red. Presumably, they'd been crying. An unwanted stir of pity started in her.

"Hello," she said softly. "I'm Kaoru. Ultimate Child Caretaker."

"And I'm Monokuma! Ultimate Headmaster! Puhuhu~!"

The bear strode up to them all. "Just got off the zoom with my wife~! Wow, that woman bear can yell. I was crying the whole way through! Puhuhuhu!"

Kaoru's concern amplified. "Um... Headmaster sir. Do you need to call a domestic abuse hotline? There's no shame in it. Many... murderous bears have similar issues. It doesn't insult your man- er, bearhood or anything. Abuse is not-"

"Shut up, nerds," Monokuma cut in. "It's a joke that's not remotely offensive. Be quiet."

"Oh- okay."

---

---

Setsuna Jun

---

Oh! She- said hi back. And gave her name.

She looked like the kind to use pepper spray. He was glad she hadn't felt it necessary to bring it out just yet.

The bear strode up to a stage that had been set up against the wall, and leapt up to it. He saluted. "Welcome, one and all to the AWESOME MOTIVES READING!"

That sounded- okay.

---

---

Miyako Hiroto

---

Miyako had been forced to leave her new boytoy when the flocks of idiots entered. She wished her eyeballs had the power to end all these nuisances.

Who were totally her friends! Haha! No murderousness here!

"Go to the table at the end of the room. You'll receive your motives there! Puhuhu~!"

---

---

Kubo Atsushi

---

Curiouser and curiouser, this just kept getting. Kubo made his way to the table. There was a slip with his name on it. And just next to it, Kaoru's.

He checked over his shoulder, and slipped Kaoru's into his pack, under the cover of his own.

He headed back to the main group.

Everyone had gotten theirs. Except Kaoru. His lips curled up in a cruel smile.

---

---

Narrator

---

"OPEN SESAME!" Monokuma clapped his paws together. "NO SERIOUSLY, OPEN THEM!"

Setsuna, Miyako, and Kubo opened theirs- Kubo slitting the side with a knife. All three withdrew a slip of paper, and read what was written on it.

Kaoru looked about helplessly, her own hands empty.

Silence fell over the group.

And then Setsuna began a piercing wail, and all chaos broke loose.

Kaoru realized what she should've realized already.

That this place could never cultivate hope. Nothing about it could ever bring anything but terror and panic. For it was and could only be- as humourous as the thought was- The Pandemonic Academy of Lunacy.

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian glared at the bear for a moment. She was trying to help, there was no need to be rude! Well. Maybe he was still upset over his wife. If she existed.
He slowly headed over, and took his motive. Surely, it couldn't be something that tempting...
He opened it.
The following dictates his reaction.

Except, imagine if you will, Lucian Arbred's face poorly pasted over Skinner's.
"wh-what..." How did he... How did he know? HOW? Why?
He wouldn't kill over this. But he definitely didn't want anyone here to know about it...

Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer hopped cheerily into the room. "Ooh, a letter? For me? Interesting!" They headed over and got theirs. Even Sawyer responded with a chilled silence.

But... This wasn't real anyway.

Right?

"O-Oh! Well, that's- that's so cool!" they stammered.

Darcy Harper's POV

Oh, great. Sawyer was here. Fantastic.

She tried to ignore this fact and went to read the motive with her name on it.

"...well! Dang. This sucks." was all she had to say, but she looked pretty frustrated. But oh, please. There's no way anybody here would actually kill over any of these, would they?

---

---

---

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Akari got up once Sutaraitsu hid away cowardly, shooting him an "I'm sorry" look. He put his plate away and walked out of the cafeteria, not once looking back at Mei, and went straight to the pool.

"Hey, hey! Wait up you damn coward! I was tryin to talk to you!"

Ugh... She had been following him... And that whiny voice too... As much as he hoped this whole "killing game" thing was a joke, he hoped that she would have the sense knocked into her or something, even if the only way to do that was death. Akari never wished death upon anyone, but this girl... He hated her. She had baaaad vibes to her, and from what he heard... The gambler was heartless. Literally the worst person to be around. He walked faster though, slamming the door in her face once he entered the pool room. Mei's angry yells could be heard behind Akari, but he didn't care. He was more focused on that odd bear and the envelopes it urged the students to take.

Akari opened it up, and what was written on the paper, was... interesting to say the least.

His eyes widened as he stood quietly, ignoring the other Ultimates who seemed to be in such despair. What the hell was written on their cards? Were their motives really this bad?

The words on his card didn't shake him much, but it was still shocking that they knew that about him. Well, it's not like it was hard to figure out, really. Looking into his very limited recorded past, doing... something, and even just looking at him, one could easily piece the pieces together. He could live with it if it was announced to everyone, it just wouldn't be pleasant. There was no reason for him to kill anyone over it for something so small, right?

---

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ugh... These two brats... That tiny wimp was so damn rude, and the weird guy in the hat just left her! How dare they... "You look stupid under there... Jesus..." Mei muttered to the one cowering in fear, before calling out to Akari and chasing him.

You know what happens until she gets to the pool, I don't need to make this post longer.

She threw open the door, started yelling profane things, then marched to Akari, before she caught the glare of Monokuma. She stopped in her tracks and groaned, giving up on her chase, and looked at the table with the envelopes. Each of them had a name, and some were already missing. Some of the Ultimates were whining and stood silently in fear, which made her roll her eyes. Geez... Could these people get a grip? Yeah, sure, these were motives, but seriously?

Mei debated on whether she should take one of the others, or even multiple, but decided against it. she just wanted to get this done, she didn't really care at this point. Sure, information was valuable, but did she really care? Oh boo hoo, someone's secretly a psychopath or something, big deal. She angrily took her own and walked over to a secluded area, then ripped open the envelope. Inside was a sheet of paper, one with words that spelled out her motive.

...Ok, I guess. So what, they knew way too much about her, but why should she care so much? If she killed anyone, it wouldn't be because of this. She'd just do it because it was getting boring in here, or she was getting really pissed at people. Mei closed the envelope and stuffed the paper in her pocket as well, then began to study everyone in the room. Everyone had a paper, everyone except that one kid. ...Weird, but ok.

It wasn't her she had to worry about. It was everyone else in the room. They each had secrets they didn't want shared, and they would fight to the death to protect it. Everyone here had to play dirty to be this successful, and others weren't as open about it as she was. Hell, her entire talent was literally playing dirty. She could be in danger if one of them decided to snap, but she was confident that she would live.

They all seemed overly shocked, or whining about it in some way, but 2 in particular so far caught her attention. One had this weird smile, and one seemed pretty expressionless. She ignored the weirdo for now and watched Akari carefully. Mei knew nothing about him, like she did with the other students. All she knew was that he was an engineer, but she didn't even think that he was the best there was. He had to be in this academy somehow, I guess. He wasn't famous or anything, and his reaction was fairly calm. Was his motive really not that bad?

Everyone here had done something that could be a motivation to kill, a secret they didn't want to get out. Everyone had played dirty to get to where they were, that's how fame and success worked. Feed off the unfortunate, poor souls to higher yourself. Supposedly not Akari though, unless he was good at acting. He wasn't famous at all, or Mei hadn't done enough research. Was he genuinely a good person? No... There had to be something to him, right? That thing she saw from last night had to mean something.

Everyone else in the room gave off that vibe, something off about them. Their expressions upon reading their motives were all too dramatic to be passed off. Mei had to be careful.

Because she knew that the killing game had begun. S*** was about to hit the f***ing fan.

sorry for the long post and exclusive interaction between my two characters :')

---

---

Sutaraitsu Umemoto

Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Border of Life
[Yuyuko's Theme Remix by NyxTheShield]

---

Sutaraitsu silently followed Akari to the pool, avoiding Mei completely. He pondered on whether or not he should take his envelope and read it for a while, before giving in to temptation and quickly taking it.

He neatly tore the flap open and took the paper out, making sure absolutely no one was behind him.

But nothing could prepare him for what he was about to read.

XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXX XX XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX, XXX XXXXXXX XX X XXXX XXXXXXXX

Without hesitation, he immediately swallowed the paper before fainting of nervousness.

---

---

Mika Uyehara

Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - U.N.Owen Was Her?
[Flandre Scarlet's Theme]

---

Mika breathed a sigh of relief as the flirty individual left for the pool. He left for it as well soon after finishing his meal.

-sigh- i doubt this is a good idea, but i'm going to check it out anyway. it'd probably make it easier for me to kill someone anyway.

Grabbing the delicate paper envelope and placing it inside his notebook for later reading, he left for the dormitories.

---

---

Horatia Aionios

Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - Flowering Night
[Sakuya Izayoi's Theme]

---

"For my last act of scientifically impossible witchcraft, I will teleport to the pool for no apparent reason."

Horatia magically appeared at the pool.

Oh right. The motive distribution. I suppose there was a reason after all.

She snatched her motive paper and tore it open like a maniac. Reading it in a single second, she moved her eyes toward you, the reader.

Well, dear reader. It appears that our dear Monokuma here can sever our connection with each other. Would you be as kind as to will him out of existence? We could become best friends. Just saying, of course. ;)

---

Omniscient POV

Lucian glanced all around him. Everyone seemed to be having some sort of shocked reaction to their motives. Except for two people. Kaoru... Didn't seem to hold one in her hand. Why? Someone else didn't seem to be freaking out about thiers. Lucian folded the paper gingerly and put it in his shorts pocket.

He had a bad feeling that somehow, someone was going to be given a motive they couldn't resist. That they all would hear a scream, and be too late. Maybe there would be silence.

---

Sawyer looked around. There was nary a smiling face to be seen. They put a smile upon their face. This wasn't real anyway! It wasn't real, it wasn't real...

It was all some interesting fantasy dream.

That's all it was.

---

Darcy huffed in annoyance. Oh well! All the more thrilling an atmosphere for one to fall in love, wasn't it? She stared at someone [Mei], who almost looked like they couldn't care less about their motive. Wonder what it could be?

---

Sutaraitsu Umemoto

Touhou 7: Perfect Cherry Blossom - Border of Life
[Yuyuko's Theme Remix by NyxTheShield]

---

On the border of life again. Someone bring him to the nurse's office.

---

---

Mika Uyehara

Touhou 6: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil - Lunar Clock ~ Luna Dial
[Sakuya Izayoi's Theme]

---

Mika entered his dorm.

huh, so my dormmate is my clone. i guess that makes sense

He lay down on the bed and took his motive envelope out. He carefully tore it open and began reading it.

Deciding that it wasn't that compelling of a motive, he began formulating a way to defend himself from murder attempts instead.

---

---

Horatia Aionios

Touhou 10.5: Scarlet Weather Rhapsody - Flowering Night
[Sakuya Izayoi's Theme]

---

Horatia readied herself for some yelling.

"BEFORE I ATTEMPT TO DISAPPEAR FROM THIS WORLD, DOES ANYONE WANT DIVINE KNOWLEDGE FROM YOUR LOCAL TIME TRAVELER?"

---

Futatabi Akarui

---

My eyes welled with tears. They... how... why? I felt a chill encompass my body as I collapsed to the ground. "IT WASN'T MY FAULT!" If my throat wasn't sore, I'd have gasped at my accidental yelling. Instead, I curled up into a ball and cried.

---

---

Third Person POV

---

"Jeez." Miyako wrinkled her nose. "Kinda weird. What they got on us." But even the creepy girl looked slightly unnerved. "Oh- well, whatever. We can... work on that." She grimaced.

Kaoru sidled up fo Lucian. "What does yours say?" she whispered.

"J-Jeez is right," Kubo said. He shrugged, putting his back in his pack. "S-Scary."

"Puhuhu! Motives are done, so go do what you want! My job is done, and I got the money for child support. My wife should be satis-"

The door banged down.

"NOT SO FAST!" a voice screeched.

They all turned to see...

A rainbow build-a-bear with lipstick.

Kubo paled. "Oh god. Oh god. Oh god... Please tell me..."

"OH GOD!" Monokuma finished. He was then slapped so hard he was yeeted through the roof. "AHHHHH KIDS HELP MEEEE!"

The monstrosity turned to the kids, paws on its hips. "Now that that cheating son of a gun is subsuquently defeated... EVERYONE GET OUT OF THE POOL!"

---

(The following all take place at the same time, from the characters' separate points of view.)

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian half-jolted. Kaoru... Wanted to see his motive?

...

Could he really trust her to see it? It's not like he was planning to kill anyone anyways.

She seemed harmless. And part of him wanted to show her...

Slowly, he unfolded the motive and showed Kaoru the note. But he had barely brought it out when--

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Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer stared at the note curiously. Well. This wasn't too strange to be seeing in their dream!! After all, the laws of it would follow what they knew!

It's not like people would ACTUALLY die anyway. Since, you know, they weren't real. But they'd miss communicating with their characters!!

They noted Kaoru... near Lucian... seeming to be asking him something.

Huh, I-- wonder what that's about. Probably just a friendly conversation! Right?...

Almost out of nowhere, they heard a loud BANG!

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Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy couldn't help but look in Sawyer's direction. Noticeably, they seemed to be taking things rather well. OF COURSE. How could she expect anything else?

She noticed some people seemed frightened. Others... Slightly eager?

Oh, well. She'd have to figure out how to get settled into this place. And not get killed, while she was at I--

Omniscient POV (After the appearance of Monokuma's abusive wife.)

"Whoa! What the mint jujubes?! Is that even canon?" Sawyer burst out in puzzlement, at the being entering the room. "Hey, strange Build-A-Bear fairy, what if we dooon't leave the pool?" they suggested mischievously. "Also, what did he do? Yyyyyiikes."

Lucian, meanwhile, was side-stepping towards the exit, as he did not care to find out more about this being. She was potentially very dangerous, given what she just did. Oh god. WAS SAWYER PROVOKING HER? Shoot... He might just have to step in and save them. He gave Kaoru a nervous look and pointed at Sawyer.

Darcy Harper blinked at the bear that had just appeared. Okaaay. Things just kept getting weirder. "Excuse me, uhh, ma'am? What are we getting out of the pool area for? I thought Monochrome here told us we get to do whatever we want! Nice to meet you, by the way!"

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