Forum Thread

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Mei was already out of the room before everyone else, but still close enough to hear that stupid bear and most of the conversations that occurred after she left. Awwww maaaan! 30 minutes were up already? She didn't even have time to look in the kitchen... She noticed the thief enter the room soon after she left, and his hands were... empty. Was the device just... In his pocket or did they hide it? Too bad Mei didn't have time to investigate, she had a trial to attend.

At this point, Mei had been in way too many courtrooms, more than she could count. She knew the procedure by heart, though she doubted this would be anywhere near the trials she had in the past.

See, when your hands were coated in the blood of a large multitude of people, whether directly or indirectly, she often had to deal with the backlash and annoying accusations, as well as a few nasty judges here and there. Let's just say she had a contract and a very good lawyer.

She skipped with excitement on her way to the Entrance Hall, humming the same tune she always did. This one song, one that nobody knew and nobody will ever know. The only one she would ever hum, whistle, or sing. The time it took for her to reach the trial room was long enough for her to decide on a few things, like letting that Kubo guy do all the work. For obvious reasons of course, not because she was lazy or anything. Besides, she wanted to have a little fun. Mei had a basic understanding of how this worked, and what Monokuma's intentions were. The students had to kill in order to escape, it was a "last man standing" situation. Of course, if there were no rules or anything, a single person could just go on a rampage and kill everyone else, no problem. There had to be limitations to what the students could do, limitations that not only let the "killing game" play out, but make things fun. She assumed there was a limit to how many a single person could kill, but she wasn't sure about that, and she assumed this trial will be so that people can solo out the killer.

Or not, the murder could be so well done that no one would be able to figure it out. Monokuma did say that a killer could go free, so maybe that's what he meant? The killer could go free if they weren't found out? And if they were found out... Would they be "punished"? And if they weren't... What would happen to the innocent? Oohh this was exciting, her smile was getting wider and wider by the second, her heart was racing with joy, and her eyes sparkled with eagerness.

She was already in the Entrance Hall moments before everyone else, still humming the same tune and kicking her legs back and forth.

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Akari was one of the last to leave the room, still frozen in place from the sight.

Blood. Screams. Lights. Dismemberment.

Red. Flesh. Pleads. Anger. Distraught.

Fire. Hollow eyes. Ear-shattering noises. The rumbling earth.

Death.

The sound of Monokuma's announcement finally snapped him out of his edgy anime flashback moment, but it didn't get rid of the ringing in his ears. The weight he suddenly felt on his arms and shoulders. The dry eyes from having them open for so long. The shaky breaths he took. The dizziness he felt.

So this was his life from now on, huh. Witnessing the deaths of people in the most gruesome ways possible, watching people fall apart at the seams. He was no different after all. His mind was already on the verge long ago, and this might as well be the end for him.

Akari took a deep breath in, then began to follow the group to the Entrance Hall. He had to wonder though... Where was Sutaraitsu? And the other characters he didn't remember the names of because their roleplayers haven't done much since they woke up?

Akari slipped away from everyone and decided to do a quick search for his dormmate, only to almost immediately find him at the incinerator. "Sutaraitsu? Did... Did you hear Monokuma? Apparently there's been a murder, and a trial..."

Wait. Murderer. Sutaraitsu wasn't there almost the entire night, and this morning he was nowhere to be seen... Could... Could he potentially be talking to a killer right now? Or... Was it anyone else in that room? Could it even be Monokuma? He desperately hoped it was the last one, but he knew that it would never be true. He had a feeling that bear wouldn't get involved...

Akari took a step back cautiously, but wasn't going to leave just yet. There was still a chance that they were innocent.

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Sutaraitsu Umemoto

OMORI - 005 By Your Side (Cemetery Version)

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Sutaraitsu's eyes flew open as soon as he heard Akari's voice.

"Huuuh...wh-what happened...?" He yawned.

Wait, murder?

This can't be true...uhh, at least I'm still alive, I guess. The rainbow bear robot thing didn't seem like they would kill me.

"A-a murder? Umm, are you sure? The p-people h-here seem pretty n-nice...I doubt they would k-kill someone..." His voice cracked and faltered near the end.

He rubbed his eyes and stood up.

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Mika Uyehara

Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith - Faith is for the Transient People
[Sanae Kochiya's Theme, String Quartet Remix by NyxTheShield]

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Mika sighed and followed the others to the trial room. A part of him didn't want to go and urged him to remain at his dorm, but he pushed his suspicion aside and entered anyway.

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Split POV

As Lucian made his way to the trial room, with all the others, a queasy feeling stirred up in him. But he remained calm. The thing that did worry him, was... What happened when they found the killer? And would this taint the atmosphere?

If one person drew blood, more could be sure to follow. He knew that very well. It might even turn into something of a free-for-all. All he knew was his talent was likely more needed than ever, to keep everyone sane.

He wasn't sure if escape was even possible. But the last thing they should all ever do was all kill each other.

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"Well, here we are, I guess," Darcy stated bitterly. "At the mark of the death of all our humanity." And our sanity. Darcy looked to be in a sort of discomfort at their body's motions, crossing her arms.

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Sawyer blinked curiously at Darcy's comment. "The death of humanity? Well, I mean, somebody did die and all! But it wasn't all of us, you know!"

"...not what I meant," Darcy replied crossly. But they looked more hurt than mad.

"Oh! Okay then! Pretty dramatic sentence for you there!"

"...yeah. It is," Darcy answered, too quietly for Sawyer to hear.

Wow. The trial room. Felt insane to be here, almost like some sort of game show elimination... It really was nerve-wracking!

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Setsuna Jun

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So... I guess we've arrived. The Entrance Hall. Everyone here. Bear nowhere in sight.

Were the doors going to be opened? Horatia's killer ushered out?

And then the ceiling caved in. Kubo ducked to the side, hissing, narrowly losing his head. "Argh! What the hell?"

Above Kubo's head, a ladder came down.

Everyone looked at each other, then shrugged.

"Alright. Climb, I guess..." Kubo muttered, taking the intiative and climbing the ladder "Follow me."

Setsuna glanced at Green Hair who set her jaw and dragged Lucian with her.

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Lucian Arbred's POV

A certain truth occurred to Lucian as he was being dragged up the ladder. One that had somehow not consciously occurred to him yet. Kaoru was a VERY clingy person, and for whatever reason, she clung to him like a life preserver.

The thought flattered him a little, though. The idea that someone felt like he was needed. Like they made him feel safe.

He was a little shaken by the ladder appearing out of nowhere. Although, how could he be surprised by something like that?

This place was strange. Very strange.

How he only wished he were dreaming...

As the uncertainty clouded the air, and his thoughts, as he struggled to come to a conclusive answer, he let Kaoru half-drag him up the ladder, to wherever it happened they all were going.

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy spotted the green-haired person dragging Lucian up the ladder. And that was when it occurred to them.

I SAW THAT!!

...did Sawyer know, that they might be chasing a dream? A dream that would never come true?

Darcy bit their lip.

Will MY dream ever come true?...

...and what was that, exactly?

No, no. Shut up. Shut up me.

Kaoru, for whatever reason, she liked HIM. She liked the mostly mute lunatic. She meant... Probable lunatic.

And Sawyer liked the green-haired person? What did they see in her, anyway?

...never mind, enough about that.

This whole damned thing was so scary. All of a sudden, a ladder just appeared out of nowhere! What was going to happen to them all?

Darcy clutched at her skirt, shaking her head. No, no. This was all going to go GREAT. They gritted their teeth, and began the climb up the ladder.

Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer, however, had a very different way of seeing things. They beamed. "SECRET PASSAGEWAYS OUT OF HOLES BLOWN INTO THE CEILING?! This just keeps getting better and better!"

They made their way up the ladder. Sawyer noted Kaoru dragging Lucian for some reason? What was that all about? She looked a little shaken up!

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I'm too lazy for BBCode, but Futatabi floated up with the power of depression while Shi put one foot on a rung of the ladder, and, without using her hands, proceeded to jump up rungs 5 at a time as if running up it while parallel to it.

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The Elevator

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The Ultimates entered into what appeared to be an elevator... without buttons.

"Well then..." Kubo muttered, backing up. "Doesn't seem to be much in here... I'll just-"

Then the entire room jerked upward and everyone wss thrown forward into a wall. Kaoru struggled underneath Setsuna who's body was pinning Futatabi. Scrambling, Setsuna called, "Is everyone oka-"

The entire room seized and they were all flying everywhere.

"THIS DOES NOT COINCIDE WITH SAFETY REGULATIONS!" Miyako screamed.

And then all was still.

The elevator doors calmly opened.

The ultimates were all in a pile of pain.

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Omniscient POV

A crumpled Lucian Arbred slowly pushed himself up from the floor, and regained his grounding in reality. Every part of him ached as he stood up.

Darcy was crying and praying. "...God, please, get me out of here," she sputtered, in a half-whisper. This was hell. This was a living nightmare. They just wanted it to be over.

Sawyer grinned, their head spinning. They looked kinda dizzy though. "Whoaaa! The school's an amusement park ride now?" They saw everyone looked really shaken up, then frowned. "...sorry! Everyone okay?"

Lucian put his hand on Kaoru's shoulder, attempting to reassure her, as he surveyed the room. Darcy appeared to be crying, and everyone appeared to be shaken up. And now they had to head to a room where they had no comprehension of what would take place. He inhaled sharply.

"...well. I'm alright, I think. Been through worse. Everyone else?"

"I WANT TO GO HOME!" Darcy screamed, banging the walls of the elevator with her fists.

"Okay. So that's a 'no', then!" Sawyer exclaimed. "I guess we have nothing left to do except to go into the room! Righty, guys?"

Lucian was shaking his head. Darcy was still crying and punching the walls, seemingly unable to hear Sawyer, or not caring, and trying to block out everything else. Lucian patted her on the shoulder, trying to get them to calm down.

"I HATE THIS STUPID PLACE, I HATE THIS STUPID BODY, I HATE THIS STUPID LIFE, IF GOD HAS ANY BRIGHT IDEAS RIGHT NOW, MAYBE KILLING ME WOULD BE THE BEST ONE!" Darcy was literally denting the wall while screaming.

"...go on."

"I- I-" Darcy turned to look at Lucian. "...never mind. I'm okay. Let's just go into this stupid place."

"Yeah! That's the spirit, Dace!"

Darcy sniffled and looked away from Sawyer. "...thank you."

Lucian nodded, shrugging. "It's what I'm here for."

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Mika Uyehara

Touhou 10: Mountain of Faith - Faith is for the Transient People
[Sanae Kochiya's Theme, String Quartet Remix by NyxTheShield]

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-sigh- I could probably build a better elevator than that bear...

Mika reluctantly stood up, accidentally stomping on someone he wasn't sure existed or not.

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Kubo Atsushi

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With a grunt, Kubo pushed himself up and free of the pile of human bodies.. He looked around at everyone' half the party already standing up.

Oh how quickly we fall, he thought, scoffing internally at the irony.

Kaoru was by his feet. The therapist-brat had his hand on her shoulder. She wa smiling at him- joyful at the touch.

Kubo set his jaw and entered through the open elevator doors into a courtroom.




At first glance, it was elegant. At second... Well, still elegant, but a little too flashy for his taste.

Black and white tiles, contrasted against a rich gold and deep burgundy. Each flash of colour stood out on its own- the mindnumbing simplicty yet casual elegance had him shuddering.

In the center of the room, golden podiums formed a circle around a throne. If he had to guess, he'd say there were 18 stands, exactly. One for each Ultimate.

And one for...

He squinted, not quite sure he was seeing it right. But yes, there was a picture at one of the podiums.

He inhaled sharply.

How repulsive.

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Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian made his way into the trial room. What an extravagant set-up, he thought. Then, he saw something that made him a little queasy. "...oh."

Horatia's face was photographed onto a podium. Looking perfectly alive, in grayscale, smiling at them all. A clock engraved, seemingly in blood, overtop her face.

Oh, time. They were all running out of time...

Lucian headed to his designated podium, which, he noted, was coincidentally right next to Kaoru's. Not that it mattered. He just wanted to solve the case, and get out of here...

Would they ever all get out of there? Would some of them get out? Would they all die here? Would more of them die? Maybe they could all live here?...

No. He had to banish the last thought.

The bloodbath has begun. And any one of us could be a target, in this sickening game.

As his eyes fixed upon Horatia's dead face, smiling at them as though she were still alive, and among them, perhaps telling a joke of some sort... in her silly, incorrect ancient English...

All Lucian could think was how none of them were safe. How dangerous it actually was, to put together a bunch of so-called "civil" people. No, he knew very well, people would kill when they felt threatened.

And whoever was behind this whole thing, knew that very well too.

Aubrey from OMORI- I'm just kidding- Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy sniffled and forced herself to head to a podium. It was... certainly a fancy place. They would have admired it, if it weren't for the circumstances.

Darcy's stomach turned, as her head turned too. To look at the portrait of Horatia...

"...It wasn't her time, it wasn't her time," she choked out, fighting to brace themself.

God... how could you let this happen?

What's going to happen to me? What's going to happen to... us?

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Wowww!" Sparks ignited in Sawyer's eyes. "This room! It's so cool! The carpets, the podiums, the whole shindig, oh! This whole thing, is so cool and mysterious and- what a dream!"

"...what a nightmare," Darcy choked out, crossing their arms to her chest as though she were very cold.

Huh. Curious.

"We're having frames for the people that die?" Sawyer tilted their head. "Not sure why, but that's interesting!"

They skipped over into their podium. "So! What's going on?"

Lucian Arbred's POV

I wonder if Sawyer is aware of how harmful that positive energy of theirs is. Of how much it's probably harming those around them. Lucian sighed. He would have to lecture them on socializing...

If he got the chance.

He noted the look on Kubo's face. What is he thinking?...

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Kaoru Kajiwara

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Kaoru gave Lucian's hand a final squeeze as she took her place at what she presumed was her podium. Each had a name imprinted on it.

All those names, one after the other. Laid out systematically. They weren't given a number, just ushered into a room. Told to pick out their name, find their podium, find their place. Unmilitary.

All of those names...

Kubo Atsushi, Sutaraitsu Umemoto, Mei Akamatsu...

And of course, Horatia Aionios.

Each place, soon to be taken by a new portrait.

The whole thing just made her queasy.

She ran her fingers over her own name, neatly printed, neatly laid down. That's me. That's how the bear refers to me, who I am in this game.

Kaoru Kajiwara.

She almost preferred a number. At least then it wouldn't be her here.

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Setsuna Jun

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This place was crazy. A trapdoor, a stupidly designed elevator that nearly killed them, a murder-

And now a freaking portrait of the dead person. Like she was being mourned. Like she hadn't just been a piece in this jerk-bear's game...

He shivered at the thought. Everyone was going to a podium. He took the nearest one.

"Excuse me, Setsy," a pleasant voice said behind him. "But that's my podium."

"Ah!" He turned to face Miyako. "S-Sorry. Did you want this one?"

With a singular finger she pointed to his chest. "Eh? Is my shirt dirty?" Wait no, she was pointing past it...

He glanced down at the plating and oh. Yes, Miyako Hiroto. Not his place.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and took his next to her.

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Kubo Atsushi

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And now, the blood begins.

He opened his mouth to speak, but his attention was snatched away by the Monokuma who had begun speaking.

"Welcome! Welcome all to the despairfullll first Class triallll!" Dead silence answered him. Monokuma was not deterred. Instead, he grinned brighter. "You are here today to discover the truth behind the despairfully delightful death of your beloved classmate, Horatia somethingidon'twanttospell! Under mysterious circumstances, she has died, missing half her body, surrounded by something truly horrific- vegetables!"

Monokuma smirked. "The rules of the trial go as follows; You will debate over the death with the evidence and the Monokuma files you will find underneath your podiums. At the end of the trial, you will each pull your individual levers after selecting who you believe to be the killer. If you're right- the blackened will receive rightful justice for their heinous act- and if you're wrong-"

Monokuma's expression became downright monstrous.

"You will all be executed in their steed. And they will graduate from this school into the outside world."

Kubo closed his eyes and took in a deep breath.

"Let the class trial... BEGIN!"

"W-What does that mean?" Kaoru demanded.

"I guess we have our answer..." Miyako mused. "That's what happens to the killer. Could've been useful before this trial..."

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Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian was perplexed at Kaoru's gesture. Perhaps it was bonding the two of them, as friends and allies, as family, a sort of blood oath. Maybe it was a sort of reassurance for her.

Lucian listened to Setsuna and Miyako converse with one another. He felt a certain familiarity at seeing Setsuna here, almost a certain comfort.

But as he saw Miyako, prickles went up and down his spine. What had she wanted with Kaoru?

He almost wanted a knife. A good, sharp knife. He didn't want to kill anyone, but, just for defense purposes...

...he heard Monokuma's announcement, which seemed to confirm his fears. He bit his lip, glancing over at Kaoru, attempting to smile reassuringly.

"We need to find the killer, and they'll be killed, or get killed ourselves."

Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer froze up a moment. Like their brain had turned to stone. Medusa went zapzapzap.

"...o-oh. The killer will be... Killed? Isn't that a bit much?" Even they were seemingly shaken.

Darcy Harper's POV

"...for once, I agree with you." Darcy took a deep breath. Alright. Everything would be fine. Everything would be okay.

"What should we discuss first?" Darcy asked, a slight quiver to their voice. "About the murder?"

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Setsuna Jun

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Setsuna's heart seized.

The killer... executed?

That was just wrong! How did an extra life make this better? It was all just messed up, and he wouldn't stand for it.

He raised his hand. Beside him, Miyako twitched slightly.

"Vote me as the killer, guys." He was relieved to hear his voice steady. "I'll die. I don't want anyone else to be..."

Mom, dad... I'm sorry I can't return home to you. But if my life saves someone else- well, we always knew I would have to make that choice, right? I've been selfish once, I can't-

"-you even listening?" Kubo scoffed, shaking his head. "If we're wrong, then we all d-die... And the k-killer goes free."

Green Hair made a whimpering noise. Her eyes were wide with horror.

"Oh- Oh.." Setsuna trailed off.

But Kubo wasn't done. "Pay more attention. Our... our lives are at s-stake y'know."

Setsuna swallowed back his tears. Maybe he deserved it, but it still hurt. "Alright.. I guess we should investigate."

"Yes," Kubo said sarcastically. "I guess we should."

"Alright, then," Miyako sighed. "Who was the last person to see Horatia?" she eyed everyone. "I don't suppose that was me... did anyone see her during dinnertime?"

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Title: Shi no shiryo

"If I may." Shi was nearly jumping with excitement over whatever idea she'd had. "I want to mention something about the murder weapon. She was cut in half, and yet there wasn't a lot of blood loss. The first thing that jumps to mind for me is the idea that the wound was cauterized, for whatever reason."

Lucian Arbred's POV

Admiration stirred within Lucian as he watched Setsuna volunteer. He would have of course done the same -- had it not been completely, utterly useless due to the rule about the killer.

"That was very brave of you to offer, Setsuna. I would have done the same. But I'm afraid as awful as it is... We need to find the actual killer."

It wasn't fair. He knew it wasn't fair. Something in him knew it wasn't fair.

Sometimes, out in the world, things were this way. But why? Why should they all have to take the life of...

"I don't think I saw anyone during dinnertime. ...except Kaoru. I didn't attend. I found Setsuna inside his dorm."

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"I think I mighta seen her during dinnertime! Dunno if I remember or not, though!" Sawyer piped up.

They glanced, curiously over at Setsuna. So willing to sacrifice his life.

Of course he was. This was... A dream. All just a dream.

Darcy Harper's POV

"I don't think I was the last person to see her! I... I ate some food, and... Miyako did something to Kubo's face, and I wanted to help clean it off, and..." Darcy burst into tears. "...wh-why... Why did she have to die?"

Sawyer blinked curiously. "I dunno. It just happened."

Darcy made small hiccuping noises as she cried. "...I didn't know her. Not even her name, I don't think. But whoever she was, she didn't deserve this!!"

Sawyer looked as though they almost flinched.

"...what does the Monokuma File say?" Lucian asked hollowly.

Lucian turned in Shi's direction. "Cauterized? For what reason? ...I did notice, the body looked off..."

Darcy picked up the Monokuma File with great reluctance...

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Mei hopped out of the elevator with great joy, seemingly unfazed by being thrown around. Darcy throwing a massive tantrum though... "Hey, mind doin' us a favor and take a chill pill? Ooh! I bet you could make some kind of chocolate with some kind of calming factor! Yeah, that could work, do that next time, will ya?" Mei giggled as she teased the obviously distressed Darcy, finding no harm in her own words.

Sawyer's words on the other hand... Were they... stupid? Nah, couldn't be. She had seen something like this first-hand, desperately trying to be oblivious to everything around, but...

It never worked. Reality would find a way to wake you up somehow, and the longer you tried to ignore it, the worse it gets. Mei knew very well what Saywer was doing. They didn't want to accept the fact that them, and everyone they cared about would soon be dead. She almost felt sorry for them...

If she wasn't excited to see their downfall, of course! Yeah, that's it, why feel bad for someone who was going to go through hell in probably the next week or so? She couldn't wait, honestly, slowly watching a person go insane because of their own denial was beautiful to her in a way. Anyways, she had a trial to attend.

She stared at the courtroom in awe, admiring the beauty of it. Nicely carved wood podiums... The clean, simple black and white tiles... The red curtains and carpet... The blue walls, the lighting all around, the symmetry, everything. She continued to move toward the center of the room, noticing that there were names on each of the podiums. Her gleeful smile turned into a slight frown, but after looking at the nameplate, she walked away and her grin returned.

Names... Mei had plenty of those, each and every one of them being important to her in some way. She had many pseudonyms, and she also had many victims. She had acquaintances, she had a family, she had friends, each of them had a name that was crystal clear in her mind. She didn't doubt that at least one person here had many names too, specifically names that were hidden from the world. That would be interesting, especially given how well known these people were... Too bad she would have survive this first case in order to do anything.

She made her way to her podium, Mei Akamatsu, and leaned forward on the wood while she waited. Her elbow was rested on the stand, which held her head up as she swayed it back and forth. Oh to see that name again, carved in something more permanent than a small slip of paper. She always used aliases that weren't her own, she hated it, but she did what she had to do. She lived a dangerous life after all, just like she wanted it.

The info Monokuma shared confirmed her suspicions, the ones she was hoping would be the case. That bear really had everything planned out, didn't they? They were setting this up from the start, every single detail was thought out in order to perfect the killing game. Interesting...

That made Mei wonder though... Was there someone behind all of this? Monokuma couldn't have just made itself, right? The program he followed as well... It had to be made by someone, right? Was it an administrator of the school? Was it just a random person? Was it the government? Or was it... Could someone in this room be doing something behind the scenes? The idea was incredibly farfetched, but she couldn't throw away the possibility. If someone was sick enough to make the best of the best sit in a school together and kill each other, would they even dare to be in it themselves? That was stupid, but...

Geez, she had to applaud whoever did this, not even Mei was crazy enough to do something like this.

Mei quietly listened to all the info being shared, biding her time until she felt like her input would be worthwhile. Saying something now would make her involved, and she didn't want to do that just yet. Being quiet gave her more options, made things interesting. Meanwhile, she just stared at the body-less podium, one that had a board in place of their presence. Horita, the time traveler, was being mocked by having a dumb piece of paper in their place. Not only that, there was a clock drawn on. Oh the irony, the one who had all the time in the world was now dead. The first person dead was the ultimate reminder that no one in this room didn't have much time left.

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Akari walked with Sutaraitsu, ultimately deciding that he was innocent, and made his way to the hellevator.

Ugh... Being thrown around like that was not something Akari wanted to happen today... It was already a sh***y day, why make it even worse...

Well, too bad things could get even worse. The chocolate girl was screaming her damn head off, everyone was talking so much, and now they had to stand in a circle, facing each other and blurting out random words in order to kill someone? Kill the killer or something? This was too much of a headache, way too morbid and terrifying... Akari didn't want to do this, but it looked like he had no choice. He went and found his podium, right next to that crazy purple-haired b***h flyin' purple people eater... He should probably stop worrying about how much worse this day could get.

He kept his head low and his arms crossed, letting his hair cover his face while he closely listened. He didn't say anything either, but he was surprised Mei hadn't said a word. Some psycho like her would probably start screaming the most insane crap just to cause chaos, but apparently not...

She was enjoying this s**t, wasn't she? One quick glance at her crazy smile, her lit up eyes, and the energy her body couldn't even contain was enough to tell Akari that she was. Ah great... This was gonna suck...

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Akora had stayed quiet - not from disgust, but from the despairful prickles of dismay stabbing through her like teeth or claws or quills. It was like when she messed up during an operation. Not that she ever did! Akora was perfect and would never mess up! Not often, atleast- She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. It wasn’t because of disgust, no. She’d seen birth, organs, and lethal yet painless toxin being injected into an animal. She felt no disgust. So what was the cause? Perhaps fear. Even for Akora, this was an unacceptable new level of pain. Painful death. Asphyxiation and drowning and burning and bleeding out slowly. Permanent sleep. A worse effect then a small, permanent mark, concealable under a sleeve. Invisible… Similar to her. Someone boring and unworthy of attention. Akora pushed the thoughts away. She bowed her head, staring at the ground mutely. She wanted to make sure this game could end. The entire purpose of this “game” was for most of them to die. If it was over, nobody would die anymore.

Akora uttered a silent cry of defeat. She knew she couldn’t help if the words wouldn’t come out. She tried to pull herself up and out of the terror she was wading in, but like a murky swamp, it stuck to her legs and dragged her down, and she felt herself slipping out of view as she plunged into the mud - the despair.

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy crossed their arms, glaring in Mei's direction. There was a clear sense of hurt and betrayal in her eyes.
You are such a sick JERK. Why do I even... why do I even...
No, God no. I can't. That's horrific.

...don't think about it. Don't even think about it.

She was disgusting. Showing pain like this... and...

and...

Darcy inhaled. "I'm so sorry... God, forgive me, please."

Where was Shi going with the cauterizing? Why might the killer have done that?...

Was there... something incriminating in the blood?

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian pondered to himself their predicament. Hiding somewhere among them, was the killer. The reason they were all here in this room.

He knew there was something he wasn't getting. The questions of the circumstances of the murder boiled together in his mind, all trying to come together into some kind of answer.

It was almost like... a jigsaw puzzle, one where all the pieces wouldn't quite come together. He tried rotating them, trying to get them to fit. But it looked like he was missing pieces.

So much uncertainty lingered in the air. Was the killer attempting to hide the weapon? The cause of death? The time?...

"Does the Monokuma file have any information on the weapon?" Lucian queried. Something else bothered him.

When was... the time of death? Last night? Shortly before? Perhaps a longer duration beforehand?

But then there was yet another question. Multiple people may have been outside their dorms. Five minutes wasn't a lot of time.

His mind shifted backward in time, to banging on the door, hoping, just hoping, that Sawyer was safe. And it turned out, they were safe. But...

Although he didn't want to consider it, the possibility lingered in his mind.

"...Sawyer. When the dorms were closing, what kept you? Why did you never come back?"

Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer blinked curiously, but their eyes were widening. "Eh? Whatcha mean? I was getting Kaoru's bag! She left it behind in the cafeteria!" they chirped.

Darcy's hands flew up to her mouth. They looked nauseated, as though on the verge of throwing up.

"...L-Lucian... you don't mean..."

"It's a possibility. Why would finding Kaoru's bag take so long? What could they have done in that time frame?"

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Kubo Atsushi

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He eyed the bear for a good few seconds, then patted something tablet shaped. He pulled it out and examined it.

With a click, he turned it on.



Nothing that wasn't already obvious, he supposed. The fact that the time of death was censored, though...

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