Forum Thread

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Setsuna Jun

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"Area 51..." He hiccupped. "Yeah. We'll raid it."

Setsuna wiped those stupid tears away and clasped Sutaraitsu's hand. "Come on. Let's go. We can find somewhere else to have our date... hey?"

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Kubo Atsushi

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All three of them came to a stop by the pit. He couldn't believe Miyako, with all her stuck up-edness would've left Darcy down here. 'Decent person'? Who was she kidding? She was the scum of the earth.

"Hey, Darcy!" he called. "You alive down there?"

He glanced at Lucian. "We might have to climb down, if he doesn't respond."

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🍨Sutaraitsu Unemoto's POV🍀

"Area 51... Yeah. We'll raid it."

He nodded, beaming. "Yeah! And... we'll come back. Probably."

Well... so long as he had me there with him... he'd probably be safe. I think.

"Come on. Let's go. We can find somewhere else to have our date... hey?"

He gave Setsuna's hand a squeeze in return, his face flushing at his boyfriend's touch. "Y-Yeah! Let's."

❄lucian arbred's pov🕊

"Hey, Darcy! You alive down there?"

Lucian saw a halting in Sawyer's posture. A freezing in their expression. As if they were realizing something. It made him wince.

"We might have to climb down, if he doesn't respond."

He sighed and nodded. "...well... shouldn't be that much harder than helping him up. right?"

...if... he's alive, that is.

📚SAWYER LAURENS'S POV🍭

"DARCY? DARCY, YOU THERE?! DARCY!"

Third-Person

There was no response. Maybe he couldn't hear.

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Setsuna Jun

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My Sutaraitsu, he repeated to himself. Mine. He wouldn't hurt me- he couldn't. Never.

But the mantra sounded hollow, even in his head. Just because someone was supposed to love you didn't mean they would. His mother was proof of that.

And me.

With a start, he realised that he and Sutaraitsu... were out in the hallway. A crowd was up ahead. Kubo, Lucian, and a girl he'd never really paid attention to. She stood back now, watching the two as they hollered down into a... a hole? Huh.

That was weird.

"I'll do it," Kubo decided. "We'll tie together the curtains from the Drama Hall. They should form a stable enough rope."

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🍧Sutaraitsu Unemoto's POV🍀

"Hey, uhh... You okay, Setsuna?" he asked, shifting his feet upon the floor. "You seem... Quiet." Was that normal? There was just something... Faintly off about him. Was he okay?

❄️lucian arbred's pov🕊️

"I'll do it. We'll tie together the curtains from the Drama Hall. They should form a stable enough rope... I think."

Lucian's hands and lips started to tremble, and he immediately tightened his grip on Kubo's hand.

"KUBO, NO! YOU'LL DIE!" Then, he attempted to steady himself. He looked the Ultimate Detective firmly in the eyes. "I... I mean..." He paused a moment. "I... Promised I'd protect you. Okay? So please... Don't do anything reckless. We'll find a safer way down."

He stared numbly at the floor, his breathing trembling. "...I don't want to lose you too."

📚SAWYER LAURENS'S POV🍭

"What about... One of those human chain thingies? Or are those... Actually not that stable?" They squinted. Where... Did they know about that from?

Everything was so fuzzy... The screaming was getting louder.

Louder.

Yet it seemed so far away.

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Kubo Atsushi

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That was... a really bad reaction. Okay, Lucian wanted that off the table. So Kubo probably shouldn't bring it up again. But still, his eyes strayed to the endless darkness.

He got the sudden sensation that something was waiting for him down there. Kaoru and Mom and everyone. If he just reached in, their fingertips would brush his. He'd take a step forward and fall into their embraces and... they'd take me.

Kubo squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears. He wasn't sure why he was crying... but just the sudden dizziness. The way everything seemed to overtake him now. The pressing weight of what he was doing, what everything was doing to him. It was stupid but... for a moment he wondered if he checked his wrist, there'd be a pulse.

That was a dumb metaphor. He wasn't really dead but... in a way...

It felt like every thought in his head was colliding in on itself as he stared into that endless void. Everything he'd ever said or done.

And his breath steadied to Kaoru's murmurs and he turned back to Lucian. "Lucian, if Darcy dies down there, it'd be on my head anyway. We don't know who Monokuma would blame for Darcy's death. Me, Shi, Darcy himself-" He shook his head. "We can't afford to make mistakes right now. And besides..."

He turned back to the pit, gazing into it.

"I think... I'll be okay. Call it intuition, call it God, call it fate- but I feel like I can't die here. Like there's something else I have to do first." Someone I have to take to the Prom tonight. "So it's fine. Don't be dumb, Lucian. I'll be fine. This would be a pretty f*cking stupid way to die."

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Setsuna Jun

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They did backflips all the way to some cute setting where they sat drinking hot chocolate and reading conspiracy theorist pamphlets.

Setsuna jumped at Sutaraitsu's question. "Oh! Yeah! Just reading about something super cute and cool!" He grinned. "You interested in moon men? I've got lotsa stuff!"

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❄️lucian arbred's pov🕊

"Lucian, if Darcy dies down there, it'd be on my head anyway. We don't know who Monokuma would blame for Darcy's death. Me, Shi, Darcy himself- We can't afford to make mistakes right now. And besides..."

"Kubo, I'm sure that you wouldn't-" he cut himself off there. He didn't know that. Their Headmaster would pull... anything.

"I think... I'll be okay. Call it intuition, call it God, call it fate- but I feel like I can't die here. Like there's something else I have to do first."

Lucian was hushed into silence. His mouth remained slightly agape, as though he were about to stay something. But no sound came out. Those words... sounded so unlike Kubo. Trusting in intuition, God, fate... didn't sound like him. He was... real. Realistic.

But Lucian saw the determination in his eyes. He could feel it in the air. In the Ultimate Detective's words, his voice, his... presence.

"So it's fine. Don't be dumb, Lucian. I'll be fine. This would be a pretty f*cking stupid way to die."

He couldn't help but smile at him, despite himself. "...alright. Just-- be careful, okay?"

📚SAWYER LAURENS'S POV🍭

"Can we... go find him, now? Please?" Please no please no please no please no--

No, it was fine. Nothing was wrong... right?

"Okay! It's- it's alright, Sawyer. He'll be fine. Let's just get down there."

He's fine he's fine he's...

...

Who?

...

Why does it feel like...

...

Idon'tknowIdon'tknowIdon'tknow

"Can I come with you? Please? I- need to know he's still here." They looked pleadingly at Blue Pigtails.

But... why? No, it's fine. He's just elsewhere.

...

Why do I feel like... there's something I've forgotten? Something...

...

That day, they... I...

...

It was too unbearable to remember. It must have been gone now...

🍨Sutaraitsu Unemoto's POV🍀

"THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!" Suzume's ghost screamed nonexistently in a way that seemed OOC. "THE HOT CHOCOLATE WAS OUR THING!! COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!!"

"Oh! Yeah! Just reading about something super cute and cool! You interested in moon men? I've got lotsa stuff!"

Sutaraitsu smiled shyly, scuffing the back of his hair with his hand. "Well, umm... y-yeah, actually!! I'd love to read about them!! What have you got, Setsuna?"

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Kubo Atsushi

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Right... right, okay. We've got this.

Running a hand through his hair, Kubo heaved a sigh. He accepted the makeshift rope that idk if they got yet but i'm too tired to read back pretend it teleported and began to wind it around his waist. No point wasting time... they had work to get to.

"Can I come with you?"

His eyes snapped to Sawyer.

Unstable. Dangerous. Violent.

He had a whole section in his notebook for each Ultimate. His writings on Sawyer were numerous, and they raced through his mind, already arguing with the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Sure. Right after me work for you?"

Can't be much more crazy than me, after all. And besides, I don't think Monokuma wants more than a double murder... probably. So if Darcy's dead and they go crazy, I'm safe.

Of course Monokuma wasn't the most dependable of characters, but Kubo seriously doubted the bear wanted him of all people dead. After all, if he was right about the identity of the mastermind... then they'd want him alive until the very end. He could probably stab someone, write a confession note in his own blood, and wake up the next morning with some poor sap like Setsuna or Idris framed.

Hm. He should probably get some sleep before he started going down that line of thought.

"That okay with you, Shi?" he asked dryly. "And before you ask, no, I don't have any weapons on me and I'm also not stupid enough to stab them when you're here as a witness."

Kubo had never really had a read on Shi. Her snarky quips and jokes seemed so unimportant behind Miyako's anger issues. She just always seemed to be in the shadows, supporting the girl. There was something uneasy about her, but he mostly equated that to her overpowering height. He had no doubt she could break his neck if she felt so inclined.

Miyako...

Looking back on it... There was something so hollow to everything she said. Nothing seemed real with her. She said things and blamed people, but she didn't really. It was as if everything was an act, a play put on for someone. But who, though? Shi?

Miyako was a sociopath in training. He knew that for sure. Just one look in her eyes had him on edge. Something held her back, kept her clinging to her fragile 'morals' and more likely than not, it was Shi.

Maybe he should be nice to her. She might be the only thing keeping Miyako's knife from his chest. It was probably owed.

"Look," he said abruptly. "Just take it." He withdrew the false pen from his pocket and placed it in Shi's hand. "There's a knife in it if you click twice. I promise it's my only stabbing implement. There's no murder happening over here, okay?"

Bad call, every bone in his body screamed. They're going to kill you. Both of them are going to kill you, and it'll be with your knife.

He told his bones to shut up. He was done relying on intuition. It was time to have a little bit of trust in someone who actually didn't have reason to kill him.

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Setsuna Jun

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"E-Everything!" Setsuna planted it in his lap. "It's got all the stuff! The fakeness of the moon landing! The aliens who transmitted it down! And all of it's in French, so it's gotta be real. Sexy French agents collecting stuff gotta be genuine."

He laughed a little nervously. "You're also sexy, even though you're not French... just so you know. Not discounting that..."

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Shi no Shitshow

Shi looked at the "pen" for a bit, some sort of half-disguised belief plaguing her face. Eventually, she shrugged and laid it in her pocket. If he wants to give me a knife, so be it.

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Kubo Atsushi

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"Alright." Kubo released a shaky breath. It felt like a whole weight had left his shoulders. He no longer had his knife, his way of defending himself, the power which made him different from the other Ultimates. And it was... nice. Just like anyone else. Maybe it'd be his death, but that feeling of just being the same for once...

He hadn't felt it in so long. It hurt, but in a good way. I can be normal. I don't have to be anyone or anything. There's no longer any need to prove myself.

No longer the Ultimate Detective.

It was a relief.

He could fail and it wouldn't matter. Just seeing his knife, his way of protecting himself, that identity tucked away in Shi's pocket...

He'd given up more than a knife. He'd given up himself, the Kubo he'd tried to be for so long.

Maybe the Killing Game's messed me up more than I thought and I sound absolutely insane right now. But who the hell cares. If I can find normality by being a target for murder then so be it.

"Well, if I die, prepare a good funeral for me," he said abruptly. "Candles and all that sh*t. I want you guys going all out."

Kubo stood over the edge of the pit. It was an endless black void, ready to swallow him up. This could be the moment he died... and all this would be pointless.

Not pointless. Death doesn't make me a good person or a bad person. Who I am when I die is who I am. There'll be no equaliser if I'm a splattered mess of guts on the ground in twenty seconds from now. If I'm going to die, it'll be as someone who deserved Kaoru. Who deserved Mei, Idris, and f*ck, even Miyako. And Lucian.

He looked for Kaoru's eyes one last time, and the amber glow pierced his. She stood at the very edge, hand reached out to take his. Beckoning.

And he leapt for it. And he accepted the blackness into his arms as he plummeted downwards.

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❄️lucian arbred's pov🕊️

What was that change that he saw in Kubo? The way he stood. The look in his eyes. The halting in his breath. Was... Lucian imagining it?

Then, his face flushed in pure embarrassment. He wasn't ACTUALLY keeping track of details that specific regarding Kubo, was he? No, no, no. That was... That was definitely normal. He was always really aware of little things like that. Little things like that... Were important.

"You're not going to die," he insisted. "but... Okay. Of course. Anything."

Thinking about candles made Lucian almost feel a little tearful. It felt like only yesterday that Darcy had prepared a bunch of scented candles. He'd even baked chocolates. He'd cared so much to try to help in something that he wasn't even a part of.

And Lucian found himself crossing his fingers tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as Kubo jumped off. Just hoping, praying, that Darcy was alright. And that Kubo was alright down there. This whole place... Was exactly what he'd always hoped to get away from.

He'd always hoped when he ran away from home, the bloodshed would stop. Everything would be okay. What a lovely lie that was.

Death followed you everywhere.

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Kubo Atsushi

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He was about to die. For a moment, he cursed his own stupidity as images from his life bounced around his mind. The first time he held Kaoru's hand. The night in the hospital where he watched his mother's heartbeat still on the machine. A storm cellar embedded into the side of a wood church, Amai saying "you're my best friend, Kubo", Kaoru in tears, Lucian smiling, Lucian crying, everyone dying, dying-

Then the rope pulled taut and he gasped, noise strangled out of his throat. For a moment, he just dangled there, struggling to breathe.

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❄️lucian arbred's pov🕊

"Kubo!! Are- are you okay?" he called down, swallowing nervously. He held the makeshift rope as tightly as he could, gritting his teeth. He wasn't about to let go, not anytime soon.

Please... don't get hurt, okay? We'll figure this out together. Everything will be alright.

Lucian felt a slight vibration, and noticed Sawyer too, was tightly clutching the rope. It seemed that they were at least somewhat aware of its importance. "thank you," he whispered. Sawyer either didn't hear him, or simply didn't respond.

There was a strangely blank look upon their face. As though they weren't really processing what happened. As Lucian thought about it... they'd never really had normal reactions to anything here. Of course, there seemed to be something clearly wrong with everyone here, including himself.

But Sawyer... they were a mystery. Usually so hyperactive, cheerful, optimistic, full of energy. Next thing you knew, they were barely speaking. Barely walking. Not even seeming to remember who everyone was, or what everything was.

That way they looked at the knife, with the faint glint of a memory. The way they brought up this being like The Hunger Games with nonchalance, excitement, even. Not even seeming to acknowledge Kaoru's death. Acting like this was all a game, in a way that seemed shockingly innocent, making it all the more disturbing. All part of the game, all part of the dream.

Did they understand it? Partially, in a way? That Kubo might die? That Darcy might be...

Lucian still missed her too. Had it been only a few days since his dear friend had kissed him goodbye? How did... Kubo feel? Did he miss her? Did he loathe her, as he seemed to?

Horatia, Futatabi, Mei, Akora, all gone just like that as well... just how many more would follow?

No more. No one else. We have to get out of here.

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Kubo Atsushi

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Kubo felt around in the dark and his palm landed on a solid, earthy wall. Okay. He could maybe slow his fall. Kicking back experimentally, he felt his foot collide with another wall with a metallic bang.

Okay, that was fine. Probably safer too.

"Drop me again!" he called up. "I think I'm almost at the bottom. Just give it a little slack!"

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❄lucian arbred's pov🕊

"Drop me again! I think I'm almost at the bottom. Just give it a little slack!"

Lucian suppressed a sigh of relief at Kubo's answer. Maybe, just maybe, things would be okay after all... but... he couldn't hope for that quite so easily. Darcy could be dead. He didn't want to think it, but... Lucian bit his lip, trying to shake the thought away.

Just because Miyako was a shifty wildcard of a person, and often to blame for things going wrong, it didn't mean she had anything to do with this. But she and Shi had been the last people to see Darcy alive. That is, assuming he was even dead in the first place. He could worry about this later, what mattered right now was making sure Kubo was okay. And that they could discover if Darcy was dead or not, and... if maybe... he could be helped. He could be saved.

Isn't that so funny, that you think you can save him? Even though humanity has done nothing but disappoint you. Again and again and again. Maybe it's better to just give up. Maybe there's no point in trying.

Lucian nodded at Kubo, although he probably couldn't see it, which made him realize how pointless such a gesture was. He grimaced, reluctant to drop the makeshift rope further, but if Kubo was almost at the bottom, he’d probably be okay. ”Okay! I’m dropping it now!”

How far did Darcy fall? Could it have been fatal? Lucian closed his eyes and attempted to recall all the deaths by falls he had witnessed. The thought made him a little queasy, as he could imagine Darcy dead on the floor all too clearly. A ghostly person materialized within his mind, who wasn't even here. Frosty white hair, ghostly pale skin, sharp milky blue eyes. Miyako...

She’s been acting a little strange this whole time…

But Miyako was shifty. Manipulative. A two-faced liar who never showed what she was truly thinking.

Oh, isn’t she a little like you, then?

It wasn’t my fault!! If I had known, I would have–

You should have known. You should have figured it out. You should know what a killer looks like.

. . .

No… it was my fault. Of course it was. It couldn’t have been anyone else’s. I could have realized, I should have realized. It’s not fair to blame her. It’s always my fault.

Death followed him wherever he went. Now was the opportunity to change that. It was his fault, he could have saved them, he should have saved them…

Is that what Mei would have told you? Didn’t she tell you not to dwell so much on all those things you couldn’t change?

…yes. Maybe that was right. Maybe he could still save everyone here. Maybe they all just needed to be helped. He just had to figure out how, and everyone would be alright…

But he couldn’t ask Miyako how it went down. She wasn't even here. Blameless or not, she was a liar.

A liar, liar, liar… like me. I haven’t told anyone. I’ve never told anyone. What reason would I have to? There’s no reason to think about it, there’s no reason to dwell on it. I… didn’t do anything wrong, right? But if that was the case… why have I never told anyone?

He could deal with that later. It wasn’t something anyone would like to admit to. It changed your whole perspective on someone. And yet… was there really any reason to? All it would do is upset everyone. Maybe it was best for the truth to remain hidden.

. . .

All the same… Shi didn’t seem as two-faced and shifty as Miyako. Maybe it would be better to ask her. Additionally, she was the Ultimate Sprinter. Didn’t it seem more likely she might have answers?

”Shi… you and Miyako were there when it happened. When – Darcy fell, right? Do you have a rough idea of how long he fell for?”

Maybe she didn’t bother to remember. But a sprinter would be most likely to recall that sort of thing. When it came to running, those athletes would often time themselves. The amount of time Darcy fell down for could help determine what level of injuries he might have, and how long he might still be alive. If… he was.

He supposed they’d find out sooner or later anyway…

📚SAWYER LAURENS’S POV🍭

Falling… falling… falling down.

Wasn’t there some kind of rule when it came to falling in fiction? That people usually didn’t die that way? That did apply here, right?

Dying… dying didn’t make sense. It didn’t make any sense. What…

I don’t understand…

Darcy… Darcy… Darcy(?)

The name paced through their head, ran over their fingers, their glass lenses. Sawyer tugged at their hair, and stared into the abyss. Unblinking.

Prom?... A party?...

Death… dying… death… dying(?)

Dying?

It was almost like there was something they had forgotten. Surely it wasn’t anything of any real importance. Surely it couldn’t be –

”I still don’t understand why she’d do it…”

. . .

”It’s fine, though, really!! Maybe… we’ll keep in touch. It must be hard for them without their sister…”

. . .

Outer space was a truly mysterious thing. Drifting, drifting, drifting… you had no idea what to make of anything. The noises, the loud noises, the flashing lights…

The whispers… the loud talk…

All so impossible to understand…

What were they trying to understand?

"I don't remember... what happened that day. It must not be important."

"Sawyer. We need you to remember. Don't you want to get better?"

"I'm not sick! Not as far as I recall, anyway..."

"It's not normal for you to not remember this. If you can't remember... you can't recover. You'll be a danger to those around you. We'll have no choice but to-"

"N-NO! I- I mean... it's fiiine! I'll- I'll remember. I just... need some more time..."

I don't even know what I'm supposed to remember. What does it all mean?

"I'm no danger to anybody! You know that."

"Sawyer... please. We're trying to be patient with you, but... if you can't remember, you can never return to your normal life. Well, if you can even call it that."

Their face froze up. It was almost as though they had turned to stone, if only for a moment.

"What? Never return to... my normal life?"

The woman paused and adjusted her glasses. She tapped her pen against the desk, as though considering something. She let out a heavy sigh, and then spoke again.

"Kid, grief manifests in strange ways. But we've never come across anything as strange as this."

Sawyer opened their mouth, as if they were going to say something. But no sound came out.

"I... don't know what you mean. OH, oh!! I got it!" Their eyes lit up. The woman looked slightly... hopeful? "Is this a Star Trek reference?! You know, that one episode where-"

"...I don't even understand why this institution even tries with you anymore. Just... please, think on it, okay? We need you to understand what happened. We're trying to help you, kiddo, we really are."

Sawyer's eyes shifted around incomprehensibly. They finally settled for staring at their navy blue sneakers. They were grossly untied, again. "...okay."

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