Forum Thread

Idris Kallikrates

"Yeah, but-"

He sighed.

"You are never gonna get up those stairs.

Don't want my help? Fine. I'll sit here and watch until you get up. Sound good?" He grinned and perched on the stairs.

He hummed underneath his breath.

"I don't have all day, Mei.

Things to do, y'know?"

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"Geez, not that hard, huh?" Was her snarky reply, a small grin accompanying it.

She had to admit, this walk was painful and annoying, but being seen with Idris like that was probably even more annoying.

"Good!" She shot, finding that plan perfectly fine.

"Does it look like I got all day either? If you're really that concerned with your precious time, that's your own fault..." She grumbled, staring down at him from the stairs.

"I ain't keepin you here, just go alre-" She took one step down, and...

She fell, and she began rolling down like an idiot.

She finally fell to the bottom, laying there like a starfish, staring at the ceiling with an unamused expression. Surprisingly, no bones were broken, but her spirits were.

After a few moments passed, she began chuckling, which led to full-blown laughter.

"Woooo... That was... fun..." She barely got out in between her laughs, her words still not coherent.

---

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Idris Kallikrates

He shook with silent laughter, peering at her with an amused expression behind a curtain of curly hair.

"....the piggy-back offer is still available.

Not that you'd take it, of course.

I'm enjoying seeing you tumble down the stairs."

He grinned.

"Maybe I should call the others to watch~"

Kubo Atsushi's POV

Kubo reflected upon Lucian's offer. He couldn't help but wonder if it was a trap. Lucian could claim he told everyone, then he could head on down to the Nurse's Office...

No. Darcy overheard all of it, so there was at least a chance that wouldn't happen. He wouldn't go without some better confirmation, though.

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy put a finger gun to their chin and raised their eyebrows. "So. You and Kubo are having a little "session", huh? I'll bring the chocolates, and candles!"

Lucian stared right at her, perplexed. "...that's kind of you, but, why would we need those?"

"To make it romantic, of course!"

"...why does a therapy session need to be romantic?"

Oh my god. Do I need to spell it out to him?

"No reason!" Darcy chirped. "I'll go make some chocolates and fetch the candles!"

And with that, Darcy left Lucian looking like this:

Lucian Arbred's POV

What the-

Oh. She just left him alone. And confused.

Lucian blinked, and sighed. Oh, well. He supposed he could go inform others about the session. Alone. Completely alone.

...alone...

He remembered handing the book to Kaoru to defend herself, and he winced.

He never thought she'd...

She'd...

He had to go find the others. Oh, that's right. Mei and Idris were in the Nurse's Office.

Lucian headed into the room. "...hello, Idris. How is Mei doing? I wanted to tell you, Kubo and I will be having a therapy session together later. I'm informing everyone so he doesn't have to worry about... me killing him."

Miyako Hiroto's POV

Sawyer had taken her back to the cafeteria. She was helping herself to more noodles. Sawyer was blabbing about how The Big Bang Theory might actually make a lot of sense.

"BUT HEYYYY, that's just a theory! A GAME THEORY! And I'm agnostic, lmao! I have no idea if it's true or not."

Miyako slurped at the noodles, eyebrows raising. Wow. They actually had something interesting to say.

"You wanna hear about the one time I won at track-and-field?"

Miyako shrugged. Well, she couldn't speak right now anyway.

"I'LL TAKE THAT AS A YEEEEES!! Okay, so, basically, I was running for the finish line, and I was about to win, but then my biggest competior appeared, and they tried to trip me, but I accidentally slid across the finish line when they tripped me!"

Miyako spat out her ramen and burst out laughing.

Sawyer laughed too, a bright smile upon their face. “Yeah, that was kinda how everyone else reacted too! Haha!”

Darcy Harper’s POV

Darcy was headed to the kitchen, and spotted Miyako and Sawyer. Miyako, eating, at the same table. Sawyer talking to her, and laughing away.

A sick knot tied its way into Darcy’s stomach, as they went to the kitchen to bake more chocolate.

Just keep baking, Darcy. Just keep baking…

Setsuna Jun’s POV

Setsuna headed to the cafeteria, to get some food, and sneaked past the people in there. He just had to avoid encountering anybody…

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"Do whatever the f**k you want, I don't give a damn." She laughed, as if she didn't really care. She tilted her head towards Lucian as he approached, her goofy grin fading and her laughter finally simmering down. Now the pain was starting to settle in...

Oh whatever, it couldn't be that bad.

"...Huh."

She looked at him, not even bothering to get off the ground, and raising her eyebrows.

"I'm doing splendid, thank you very much..." She muttered sarcastically, not too impressed with the whole therapy thing.

In fact...

"A 'therapy' session..." She air quoted, trying to hold back a smile.

"Together."

She chortled, immediately covering her mouth as soon as she did so.

"Damn, Snow White, how many apples have you eaten?" She thought her own joke was funny, as always, so she laughed a little.

(That joke was trying to make a comment about the whole "true love's kiss will wake them up" or whatever, since Lucian is getting all the maidens, crappy joke, I know)

"Well... You two have fun~" She giggled as she waved him off.

Mei looked back at Idris and had to stifle a laugh, and her attempt was a poor one.

---

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Lucian Arbred’s POV

Lucian blinked. ”...yes? A therapy session together?”

Okay, Lucian had no idea what she was implying with the Snow White thing.

Wait a minute.

Snow White eats a poisoned apple, and then…

Lucian’s face turned red. ”I-I’M NOT KISSING ANYONE! It’s just- a therapy session. NOT A DATE!” He twisted his hair around his finger nervously. ”I just… think Kubo’s interesting. And cool. And really smart. And I like his gloves. And his hair.” Wait a minute, where did that come from?

Lucian waved his hands around. ”B-BUT NOT LIKE THAT!”

Dammit. What's gotten into me?!

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

Whatever Lucian was saying only made her laugh even more.

In fact, any effort she had made to get back on her feet was made obsolete because of it, she just slid down the wall.

"Uh huh, suuuuuureee," She teased, "Oh stop, you're not foolin' anyone, you said the saaaaaaame thing with that green-haired chick, then she ended up kissin' you!"

Mei giggled even more, thinking back to the whole scene that happened only a few hours ago. There was definitely something going on between them, that was obvious.

A murderer and a therapist... The thought only made her amused expression turn into a malicious grin. Love had no bounds after all, or whatever everyone else said.

Perhaps that is the real surprise of love; it exists, but one may not attribute causes and effects to it. The existence may appear to be a mere fallacy to the minds of some, and by the time they realize what hit them, they would already be down and dead.

totally didn't just find a random quote on google

She read that in a book once and found it incredibly cheesy and stupid, but...

Even when Lucian was struck with the horrifying truth, he still wanted to keep Kaoru with him. She deserved to be punished for what she did, yet Lucian forgot all logic in that moment, still wanting to believe in her.

What an idiot.

And the way he talked about Kubo... He didn't learn his lesson, did he?

How many times must a person be hurt to finally understand?

Now she had something else to look forward to, the moment Lucian's heart finally shattered and he realized it wasn't worth trying.

Or... Maybe it already was? And he was holding on through pure desperation?

Either way, she would keep an eye on Lucian and Sawyer, maybe she'll be the little poke that sent them off the edge, maybe even literally.

"Lucian, if it really wasn't like that, you'd shut the hell up and go on your merry way to the session, riiiiiight?" Mei's tone was a little more childish this time.

---

---

Idris Kallikrates

"Do whatever the f**k you want, I don't give a damn."

"Suit yourself." He muttered.

""Damn, Snow White, how many apples have you eaten?"
He snorted.


He glared at Lucian as he arrived.

"Good luck with getting up the stairs, Mei."

"I should go."

Lucian Arbred's POV

His expression saddened. His voice was so low when he replied, you could have heard a pin drop. "...Kaoru and I were dear friends. I had no idea she was in love with me."
I failed her. It's all my fault. She did it for me.
His fists clenched. But what Mei said next played at a different part of him. His heart thudded, and his face grew even redder.
"I WAS- I WAS GOING TO! We were just having a conversation. Right now. About how I was going to go have the session with him. Mei. Darcy said she was baking chocolates and bringing candles, for some reason?... I guess she wanted it to be more cordial."
He laughed, for some strange reason. "...K-Kubo. Kissing me. Pfft," he said out loud. "What a weird thought. Nobody wants that. Not even my dog wants that. Wait, I don't have a dog! WHAT I MEANT TO SAY IS I DON'T WANT HIM TO KISS ME, AND- I'm going to go see him right away! FOR A THERAPY SESSION. A THING THAT THERAPISTS AND CLIENTS DO!"

NEVER MIND THAT MADE IT WORSE!!

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy finished baking the chocolates, which were all in the shapes of hearts. Somehow. Yes, they shaped them into hearts without any of those baking shaper thingies, I don't cook much, I don't know what they're called. Why is Dorky intruding on Darcy's POV? Anyway!

Darcy spotted Setsuna, eating in the cafeteria. They wondered if they should talk to him. Setsuna immediately looked away. Oh. I guess... he doesn't want to talk.

Well, Darcy had to head over to the Nurse's Office with these! They supposed they'd tell... Setsuna. And... Miyako, and... Sawyer.

Darcy swallowed, and headed over.

"Heyyy!" Darcy waved at Setsuna, box of chocolates in their other hand.

Setsuna flinched. "OH! A PERSON! Ohmygod. You're- you're not going to force me to ingest those chocolates, are you?! I KNEW IT! Someone IS trying to assassinate me! You plan to force me to ingest poison!"

Darcy blinked, confused. "No, this isn't a repeat of Chapter 2 from last time. I was going to tell you that Lucian and Kubo are doing something in private in the Nurse's Office later!"

"S-Something private? I KNOW! They're conspiring," Setsuna muttered. "They're going to kill everyone! Thanks for telling me, weird chocolate-bearing girl!"

Darcy flinched. Please no. But they nodded. "Haha, you're... welcome. See you around, cutie!"

They winked and walked away.

Setsuna Jun's POV

The girl was an ally. Setsuna had to be sure that he stopped this devious meeting from happening!

-- once he got over his fear of talking to people. Or he'd just sit here, and do nothing. But. He had a warning, to be on guard for those two!

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Aaaa, Dacey-Ace! Where have you been?" Sawyer ran over and hugged them. "I was wondering where you were!"

Darcy's face reddened. "Could- could you not? I- was just going to tell you, Kubo and... Lucian are..."

Sawyer separated from the hug and tilted their head. Why was Darcy's face so red?

"U-Um. They're... having a therapy session in the Nurse's Office room or something."

"Oh! Okay! Good to know!"

"Why are you telling everyone exactly?" Miyako asked.

"To give Kubo reassurance he's not being murdered," Darcy explained. "I'm... Lucian's messenger. Or something."

Sawyer gasped. "ARE THOSE CHOCOLATES FOR ME?!" Their hands went raptor arms.

"U-Um! No. No. I could. Make you some later. But this is for them."

Miyako Hiroto's POV

Why was the annoying hugger girl so... nervous? Why did she seem so... upset about something?

Eh. Whatever.

"Well, good luck with that. Guess you can tell Lucian and Kubo we know, huh?"

"Y-Yeah."

Darcy mysteriously darted off before either Miyako or Sawyer could get in another word.

"You know that girl?" Miyako asked.

"Oh, yeah! Heheh. We were best friends when I was younger," Sawyer explained. "And then... one day, I came and knocked on her door, and she didn't come out. I think she must've not been home, but I coulda sworn I saw her in there. She had this reallyyyyy sad expression on her face. I never found out what bothered her..."

For a moment, Sawyer looked somewhere else. They almost looked... sad. Remorseful.

"Hey, uh-"

"But anyway!" Sawyer chirped, grabbing Miyako's hands. "You wanna tell me some of your stories?"

This... childish person was very touchy.

"Uhhh..." Miyako's eyes flitted away. Do I make something up?

Darcy Harper's POV

Candles. Candles. Got it, look for candles.

They had to assign tasks to themself. Just... ignore Si-Sawyer. It's fine. Everything's fine.

Kubo Atsushi's POV

Kubo tapped his foot. He wondered when he should head out there.

Surely, it would take some time to let everyone know that he and Lucian were going to have a therapy session together.

"Then again, should I even go?" he muttered, staring at his hands. Maybe he should. Maybe he shouldn't.

"Not like there's any danger."

But did he even want to come? Eh, well, he was curious. He'd give Lucian that.

---

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She gave a sigh while she raised her eyebrow at Lucian's last remark, giving him the "Uh huh, sure" look. As he ran away, she looked over at Idris, who was also leaving. She was still helplessly seated against the wall, so she couldn't chase after him.

After Lucian was out of earshot, she called out to Idris.

"Idris, wait." Mei said, her voice low and her tone more serious. "I want to talk to you."

She glanced over at Lucian, who was barely visible now. "Without anyone around."

Mei held her hand out and gestured for him to come closer, readjusting herself against the wall.

"You know this is a killing game... right?" Mei's expression became a slight smile.

Assuming Idris said yes in a dumb way, because I don't want to wait for abra, Mei continued.

"Good. Can you do me a favor?"

---

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Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian inhaled. Jeez. What was with that outburst on his part? He was supposed to be calm and collected. He was losing it!

Putting his hands in his pockets, he headed to the bathroom. He hoped he wouldn't run into Kubo right now. He needed to clear his head for a moment...

He repeatedly splashed water onto his face, inhaling and exhaling deeply.

It's... Not my fault she's gone. Right? But she did it because of me...

And, oh god. Did he seriously...

No, he didn't. Of course he didn't have a crush on Kubo because that would be terrible. For both of them. Of course Kubo would never feel that way about him.

AND HE DIDN'T FEEL THAT WAY EITHER.

...did he?

He stared into the mirror.

So what if he was interesting? So what if Lucian liked his hair, and his gloves, and he was really smart and noticed things everybody else didn't and he was really cool and he kinda wanted to see his hands, just to see what they looked like? AND TO MAKE SURE HE WASN'T SELF-HARMING, OF COURSE!! And... That eye, and...

Lucian covered his face with his hands. How would he ever be ready for his own session that he was giving a FRICKING client at this rate?
(I just realized I don't recall mentioning where Kubo was waiting. Whoops.)

Kubo Atsushi's POV

"O-Oh. Hi! D-Did you, you know... Tell people about the session?" Kubo asked.

Wow, this was awkward. Randomly running into Lucian in here. Who appeared to be pacing and having a mental breakdown himself.

"...y-yes. Yes, Kubo! Not everyone knows though, I don't think."

Lucian began fiddling with his hands. Kubo blinked. "O-Oh. Who knows, then?"

"...Mei and Idris know. I don't know about everyone else."

Lucian evaded eye contact.

"He is planning to kill me, isn't he?" he muttered.

"Odds are, he won't. He's too small to have the physical strength. And if I can confirm that he did tell those people..."

Lucian's eyes were flitting all over the place. But he was trying his best not to look at Kubo, apparently. And for some reason that Kubo couldn't fathom, he was red in the face. Was he sick?

"S-So... Are w-we going to have the session together soon?" Kubo asked.

"Y-Yeah! Totally! Why not! Anything you say!"

"Ohh, ummm... Okay."

He's acting weird.

But someone randomly burst into the bathroom, through the power of plot.

Darcy Harper's POV

"Heyyyyy, you two!" Darcy exclaimed. Kubo looked startled, and confused at the statement.

"The Nurse's Office is ready!"

"O-Oh. Um. Does- everyone know yet?" Kubo asked. He kept staring at his gloves. "A-and- what do you mean, ready?"

Darcy winked. "Ehhhh. Five people know! Aaand you'll see!"

Kubo sighed. "I-I... Suppose that's enough."

Lucian looked over nervously at Darcy. But he also looked annoyed. "...what did you do?"

"Why don't you go see for yourself?"

"There better not be a dead body in there," Kubo muttered. But neither Darcy nor Lucian heard.

Lucian headed into the Nurse's Office with Kubo, and...

The air was scented with jasmine. There were heart-shaped boxes of chocolate in the office, and... Lit candles.

Darcy watched them both react to what was going on.

"W-what the hell?" Kubo exclaimed. "I mean... Seems a bit... Extravagant?"

Lucian was twisting his hair with his fingers. "I-I'm sorry. Darcy insisted on... Doing this for the session. We can cancel it if this bothers you."

Kubo sighed. "N-No. I guess we can still have it."

"Why the hell did she do this," he muttered.

Lucian Arbred's POV

"...S-So. How you are- how--" He facepalmed, and then unfacepalmed. "...how are you?"

"F-...fine, I guess. Aside from the f-fact we're all trapped in a Killing Game."

Kubo's arms were crossed.

"...that's good! Okay. Is there... Anything troubling you? Or anything you want to talk about?"

It's just a normal client, Lucian.

It's not the hot emo detective, Lucian.

HE'S NOT HOT, SHUT UP, LUCIAN.

"B-Besides our current situation? No. N-Not really."

Kubo proceeded to say something very quietly, whilst staring at his hands. Lucian couldn't make it out.

"w-well. I... Could protect you. I mean!! I could, always, like... We could... Form a group with somebody, so you can't die..." He trailed off.

Kubo made a "pfft" noise, but Lucian didn't quite hear it.

"Al-Alright. I guess that could work."

Lucian laughed quietly to himself. "Y-Yeah. Ultimate Detective, right? You seem like you're really skilled at it."

Kubo blinked. "Y-Yes," he said reluctantly, turning away. Lucian realized he'd hit a sore spot, and quickly changed the subject.

"I've met a lot of interesting people, in my time... As a therapist. You know! Like-- you do. You probably have." He gripped at his sweater nervously. "...but I don't know if I've met someone quite like you before."

Kubo raised his eyebrows. "N-Never met anyone like me before? Really?"

Wait. Where was he going with what he was saying?

CHANGE OF SUBJECT CHANGE OF SUBJECT

Why was this going disastrously wrong?!

"I'm sorry, I-- umm... It's just. It felt like. You knew what you were doing. It was cool. I'm not usually this bad with words."

Kubo sighed. "I-It's alright. Just... W-wasn't expecting you to say that."

"...we... Should be talking about your issues. So..." Lucian twisted a lock of his hair, looking at Kubo with a curious intensity. "...are you prepared to open up?"

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy wished they had popcorn on them. But, they supposed, they should leave Kubo and Lucian alone.

...

Why am I helping with something like this?

Darcy couldn't help but wonder how Sawyer was doing...

Ugh... Sawyer...

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Well, Miyako?"

Miyako's eyes shifted to the right.
"Ohhh, uhh. There was this time I was out on a deck. At home. And my cat -- died. I guess. That sucked. A lot."

Sawyer's eyes clouded with sympathy. "Ohhh. I'm... Sorry."

Miyako looked surprised. "Yeah, well. It just... Happened out of nowhere, y'know?"

"Yeah. That's how it goes sometimes. Wanna check out the map soon?"

Miyako Hiroto's POV

Miyako nodded. "Oh! Yeah, sure. Sure!"

It would be good to get an idea of the layout of this crazy place...

Setsuna Jun's POV

Strange. Very strange. Were those two with Kubo and Lucian? Were they conspiring to KILL EVERYONE? No, surely not... Hopefully. He slowly side-stepped out of the room, trying to avoid character interactions.

---

Akora's face twisted. Sedatives? Sedatives... She scowled, shaking her head. She withdrew a clipboard, scribbling something anxiously.

She spread out the papers, looking more relaxed. They were... constellations? One like a fox, a wolf, a cat, and a bear. She was a vet. That'd be her excuse. She jotted down writing on each one.

ソラロ。幸田。アコラ。スタリクマ.

Family. She sighed happily. She'd remember them, among this chaos.

Black, fluffy hair was brushed to the side of her face. Tiredly, she was drawing with her mother and sister. She got the usual, weird, sudden course of adrenalin.

"CAT!" Akora yelled triumphantly.

Her sister popped up her head, glitteringly bright hair. "I drew a fox." She said, grinning.

Her mother smiled. "I drew two. A bear, and a wolf."

Akora tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I'm a cat! Mrrow! Slars is a fox! And you're a wolf!" ... "And kuma means bear, right?"

Her mother laughed. "Yep. Miss-smarty."

Akora purrs.

"I know that too!"

And then the two siblings were bickering... again.

---

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Kubo Atsushi

---

"So much for therapy..." Kubo mumbled. "Honestly, at this point, the only way to save my mental health is to drown these rats in a bucket."

He pondered that for a second. Ahh, dreams.. if only they'd come true.

Kaoru's face flashed back into his mind.

He set his jaw with a grim smile. Oh, she got her drowning all right. Soaked down to the bone.

Kubo shook the thought off. "Yeah, I-I'm ready. Ask your q-questions, please. I'll answer honestly." Bout as honest as I can be, considering you're eyeing me up like you're looking for the best hunk of meat to lop off. Crazy b*stard. Needs therapy more than any of us. "I just- er... rather not t-talk 'bout Kaoru... if that's okay."

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Miyako Hiroto

---

"Yeah, of course! Always happy to spend time with my new pal. You're like a therapiat, you know!" she added helpfully. I hope you die. "Maybe we can look for a few others?"

It wasn't all that bad, being with Sawyer, she had to admit. But it was just kinda awkward. They were so oblivious, and the way they were acting, after just seeing their friend die-

It just didn't sit right with her.

The oblivious act may be genuine. But there was something else beneath that. Something lacking. Like a person had never fully been formed- and Sawyer had been left in their place.

She looked up and she met Sawyer's eyes. She smiled. "Whichever you want is fine."

But whatever you're hiding- each choice you make, I'll use. I'll get so close, you won't even hear me pounce.

Mrrrow. Cat indeed.

---

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Setsuna Jun

---

"Everyone's so crazy," Setsuna sighed. He slumped against a wall, and wiped the sweat off his brow. "I honestly can't believe they're all just- being friends. They must come from sc-aary places!"

Like the Jungle Book. Maybe they were all raised by wolves, and death didn't scare them because they fought bears a lot.

Yeah, maybe...

But death sure scared the hell out of Setsuna. And as he stared at the wall, a plan started brewing in his mind...

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian's face dropped at the mention of Kaoru. "...r-right. I'd rather not talk about her either. I'm sorry."

WAIT, WHY AM I APOLOGIZING

HHHHH

"So... Is there... Anything that's always troubled you? That you just can't seem to move past? Anything you're okay with talking about. If you're not okay, we can skip this question. I want you to feel comfortable."

Okay. Okay. Right. Do the talking thing.

Since WHEN DID I GET SO AWKWARD?

"Do you... Like chocolate?" he asked, slowly picking up one of the boxes of chocolates Darcy brought in. "I mean... It's kinda super fancy she brought this stuff in. But, I just thought I should ask if you want some."

Sawyer Laurens's POV

Sawyer brightened even more somehow, with a giant gasp. "OHMYGOSH. Dear friends? We're dear friends? AAAA, MY DEAR FRIEND!" Sawyer hugged Miyako tightly, the widest grin on their face. "FRIIIEND! Yes, let's go find others! Oh my goodness, AN OTHER!"

Sawyer ran over to Setsuna. "Hiya, fellow human! How do you? Have you ever wondered how Willy Wonka made his different inventions?! LIKE OH MY GOODNESS THEY MUST BE SCIENTIFICALLY IMPOSSIBLE!? But maybe they are possible!! Kinda a shame the books keep most of the recipes a secret." Sawyer let out a disappointed sigh. "What d'ya think? I think I've actually tried to make some of his candies before..." They tapped an index finger to their chin, looking thoughtful.

"ALSO ALSO this is my dear friend, Miyako!" Sawyer pulled her forward and showed her to Setsuna, non-stop smiling. "What if we could like ALL BE SUPER BIG BUDDIES?"

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy peeked into the cafeteria, and paled at what they saw. Immediately, Darcy made a break for their dorm.

no.
No.

NO.

THIS WASN'T HAPPENING!!

It wasn't... Supposed to be happening.

They wanted to go talk to Sawyer but...

"I'm scared," Darcy choked out to themself. "What if they don't understand? And I bet before you know it, that person'll be their girlfriend or something..."

Tears pooled in their eyes, and they crossed the arms, staring at the floor as they walked.

I should know by now, Darcy thought bitterly, as they walked by the Nurse's Office, That nobody in their right mind would love me.

---

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Kubo Atsushi

---

"Troubled me?" he echoed. Oh, yeah- that was a good question. What troubled him...

He pondered it for a good while.

"When I was eight, a truck came out the fence and hit my mom." He slammed his mouth shut. That never bothered him. He barely remembered her. Why did he even bring it up? He opened his mouth to apologize, maybe eat a chocolate, but then he- "it was bad. She died the next day, because my dad would't bring her in to hospital. And the driver paid a fine and got off easy."

He wssn't angry. He wasn't.

"I- I didn't know the driver. But I remembered a little detail- a little cross hanging from the rear view mirror. Funny place for a rosary." He looked down at his feet. "It's nothing, really. N-Nothing b-bothered me. J-Just a little detail."

He was surprised. He didn't think he remembered much about that incident. Most of his childhood had faded to shades of grey. And yet, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the medicine in the cabinet, and remembered how he'd taken out all the painkillers and fed them to her one by one.

Did he kill her?

He guessed only a higher power could know. Kubo or Kaoru. God always picked favourites.

He tugged anxiously on his glove. "So... yeah. Grew up in a s-small town... word gets around. That's all." He stuffed chocolates in his mouth so he'd shut up. "Thismph... is good...mph."

---

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Miyako Hiroto

---

"Oh god." Miyako sighed. Setsuna again? How many times would she see this nervous wreck?

Setsuna opened his mouth, closed it, then made a squeaking noise. He tore down the hall, stumbling and tripping and losing more than a few papers on the way.

"Oh-kay well that happened...." Miyako muttered, then noticed a certain small strip of paper. She hesitated, remembering last time- then shrugged and slipped it into her sleeve. "Maybe we should pick those up for him? Paper's expensive. I dunno if he has too much to waste here."

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

Lucian's heart stirred with empathy. He'd lost his own mother, but he didn't know if he wanted to bring that up. So instead, he kept his mouth shut about that. Lucian folded his hands in his lap.

Lucian took a deep breath, and gave Kubo a sad smile. "I'm so sorry for your loss... Losing a loved one is never easy. Do you... Ever miss her? Do you have anything you like to remember her by?"

Poor Kubo. It seemed like he was trying not to let it bother him, as some people did about this sort of thing. Or maybe he was numbing himself to it...

As he did his best to help him, and to understand, Lucian searched Kubo's eyes and his own mind for answers. (When he wasn't trying to look away, I mean. You're supposed to keep eye contact but it's also rude to stare. And it was hard for him to think as straight as he usually did. He just had to remember this was just a client. Not Kubo. Just a client...)

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Poor guy," Sawyer whimpered. "I didn't mean to startle him so hard! Is he... Usually like that?"they asked, as they took to picking up the paper. They thought they saw their amazing friend pick something up, but they dismissed it.

Maybe she'd dropped a paper clip or something?

Darcy Harper's POV

Darcy hid away in their room, and wept into the pillow, clutching it tightly to their chest

"Sawyer? Can I ask you something?"
"Mm. Sure! Anything!" they chirped.
"Do you..." Darcy hesitated. "Do you think people should be allowed to be whoever they want to be... So long as it doesn't hurt anybody?"
As Darcy looked up at the starry sky that night, it's almost as though they searched it for answers.
Sawyer thought for a moment, and then smiled and nodded. "I definitely think so! Why? Is something troubling you?'
Darcy faltered. "I see... No. Not at all."
Flashes of blood and Darcy's body falling away into pieces. Screaming and pounding and hating hating hating what you see you hate what you see and what you hear and you just want to erase it erase it all-

Nothing at all.

---

---

---

Kubo Atsushi

---

He really is the Ultimate Therapist... indirectly getting answers by asking tbe wrong questions. Guiding his listeners to believe they have control over the situation.

It made him sick. No wonder Kaoru liked this guy. They both had "fake" written all over them.

But still he-

"No," he shook my head. "I don't remember her. Just the rosary. In hindsight I-"

He knew who hit her. He knew and he didn't want to remember.

He focused on stroking his mother's cross. Her indulgent smile as he clasped it in his chubby 6 year old hands and asked her what it was. The prayers she brought him through on each bead, and the way that-

He shook his head. "It's not important," he said quietly. "It made me go to Church, that rosary. And it set my life off down a path I didn't expect."

---

---

Miyako Hiroto

---

"Yeah, I've seen him a few times before," Miyako replied absentmindedly, surveying the room. "Hmm.. how about you get me a Pepsi, Sawyer?"

---

Lucian Arbred's POV

"...I see." Lucian's expression softened. The peculiarity here that stuck out to him was that the rosary was what Kubo deemed relevant. What changed his life forever. Not his mother's death...

Theories brewed in his mind. Abusive, distant, perhaps almost completely absent. All may have been possibilities about Kubo's mother. That, or he was psychologically disturbed in some way or other, causing him to feel a lack of remorse. There may also be other factors at play that he wasn't aware of...

It was impossible to say for sure. However, Lucian figured it was most likely that his mother was distant. Kubo spoke not with particular hatred for her, or particularly strong emotion towards her killer. There might not have been much there to begin with.

The curiosity stirred within him. "The rosary... The Church... How did those things culminate to lead your life down a path you didn't expect? He paused. "...I understand what you might have to say may... Not be pleasant. To say the least. So if you want to leave anything out, or say no to anything I have to ask of you, that's completely fine with me."

The big thing is... I want to help.

And, okay, maybe he was super curious about Kubo too. Maybe he also wanted to know him better too. Like the gloves. He wanted to ask about them. But... That did not contribute to the end goal of helping Kubo. So he resisted the urge. VERY RELUCTANTLY. Though he still found himself accidentally staring at the gloves, a lot.

Sawyer Laurens's POV

"Oh! I see! Makes sense!" Sawyer chirped. "Good idea, dear friend!" They did a military salute for some reason, and then did something that looked like a mix between a skip, a march, and the way a crab walks. "I shall find you a Pepsi or die tryiiiing!" they exclaimed dramatically, waving their arms as they went to look for one.

Let's see. Where were the Pepsis?

Sawyer smiled. Things had been great here. They'd made so many new friends! But then they frowned.

Were they forgetting something? It seemed as though a little gray cloud lurked at the edge of their mind. Along with a lot of other gray clouds.

Sawyer pushed them away. Pushed what away?

There were no gray clouds. There was only HAPPY!

Darcy Harper's POV

"I wish I could, but I can't," Darcy uttered over and over. "I wish I could, but I can't. I wish I could, but I can't."

All they were was just the...

The...
Chocolate...

Ugh.

Darcy wanted to vomit.

...the chocolate girl. That's all they were. Nothing special, easily replaceable.

Just an actor stuck in a role, in a play. The one you didn't want.

Mom told you she was proud but she didn't like your performance, Nono.

And you hated your costume. You wanted to tear it into shreds.

Just stitch a smile on and cry later, okay?

Smile for me kid, okay?

Be a good little perfect...

...perfect...

Girl...

Darcy inhaled. No one loved you if you weren't certain ways. If you didn't cater to their needs.

Because what were you otherwise?

An outcast.

A failure.

A disappointment.

I can't be me... If that's me.

---

Idris Kallikrates

"Wait."

He sighed. "Fine."

"You know this is a killing game... right?"

"No, I thought this was a game full of sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns, Mei.

Of course I know this is a damn killing game." He snapped.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"....I'm not killing anyone, Mei."

...

"Not yet anyways."

I can't turn into her.

I see her in my dreams.

I don't wanna go back home.

---

---

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

Mei gave a small chuckle at Idris's remark, her light-hearted mood still remained even after those harsh words.

"Jumpin' the gun much, aren'tcha?" She smiled, then sighed. For the first time in her life, she felt a bit offended that someone immediately assumed she wanted to kill a person. Weird.

"It... It's not that, I just wanted to say something." Her expression turned more serious, almost sorrowful.

"Don't get too attached, alright?" Mei paused, her gaze now on his face.

"To anyone."

She wanted to say more, but decided to just leave it at that. Everything she wanted to say was just common knowledge for the both of them anyways.

"Now, help me up, will ya?" Her mood changed once again, no sign of her being serious remained. She held her hand out for Idris to grab and drag her up, not really expecting him to do it anyways.

---

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