Forum Thread

Third Person POV

Shove.

And then splash.

Niwa was cackling with laughter when Keiki fell into the water in a heap. Amano, floundering at the other side of the pool, looked up and nearly drowned when Suko tackled him.

Hisoka stood at the back of the room, staring at this horrid disaster.

---

Keiki Meyumi.

Keiki's yell was cut short when they splashed into the cold water.

"Ack-!"

Their head bobbed above the water.

"Niwa. You are a mean person. How could you push poor, sweet sweet Keiki into the pool? I wasn't ready! My towel is now wet because of you. You didn't let me take it off on time.." They grumbled, sticking their tongue out at them.

Their towel was indeed soaking wet, still wrapped around them, as Keiki was bobbing in the water.

Niwa Atsushi

Looking at Keiki's pout, the plastered bangs, and that adorable keening noise in the corner of the room, Niwa... burst out laughing.

"Ahahahha- oh my god, ahahahha- I can't believe- oh my god, I actually can't- I didn't think it'd work! You look hilarious!"

Amano bobbed in the water, gripping Suko's limp body and desperately trying to save Kowai who even Niwa could tell was faking. This-

Niwa felt a smile spread over his face. "You're such a dork."

---

Keiki Meyumi.

...

"Meanie."

Keiki muttered, ducking under the water.

Hisoka's POV (Unknown Time, Set in the Future)

Many good memories were made between the Ultimates that day. Vengeful splashes, playful dunkings, and all-around smiles- It was almost a time where they could forget just where they were. A locked safe where they were anything but safe- trapped, enclosed by walls that may very well have been made of steel.

Instead of prisoners, that day, they were just teenagers again, enjoying a day at a pool.

If only it could've lasted. Then the horrors of the following days may not have come to pass at all...

Hisoka, more than anyone, wished for that.

Niwa was the one who suggested they head to the kitchen, then. To go eat something, 'so we won't get a calorie deficit and can become muscled badasses,' he said. Hisoka would have snorted if the thought of those people- Kowai, Amano, Redmonda, Niwa, Megami-

Hadn't hurt so much.

---

Niwa Atsushi

"We need to avoid calorie deficits," Niwa informed them all solemnly. "If we do not, then we will kill calories without the increased muscles. And then we won't be muscled badasses who can bodily throw Monokuma out a window."

Amano cracked a smile. "I don't think that'll be happening any time soon."

"Idiots," Hisoka muttered. But he was eyeing them in a somewhat approving light. Something to do with the idea of fighting Monokuma? Or did he actually have some appreciation for humour? Niwa decided that any sort of positive attitude Hisoka had was either 1. Fabricated. 2. The result of his often overactive imagination.

"Come on, Keikiiii," Niwa whined, tugging on their arm. "I wanna eatttt-!" His belly growled loudly.

---

Keiki Meyumi.


Keiki sniggered. "Muscled badasses? Good luck with that-"

"Why not join me and become a skinny badass? Much easier-"

Keiki suddenly bit their lip. They shouldn't have said that. They shouldn't have brought attention to their unusually stick body- or the fact that they were still wearing the towel, even though they were in the pool.

Third Person POV

Niwa didn't seem to notice. Instead, he grinned, and punched Keiki lightly on the shoulder. "I'll fatten you up just yet. Wait until you have my 'Ultimate Bento Bowl'. No one can resist it, and trust me, I had to deal with a lot of picky little siblings over the years."

Hisoka went on alert. His amber eyes flicked between the three of them. An unpleasant smile graced his lips. "Family... hm?" He glanced at Keiki. "Do you have any? You seem like the middle sibling type... no offense, of course. I am one myself."

"Only child." Amano shrugged, not noticing the tense atmosphere. "So, we going to get food now?"

---

Keiki Meyumi.

"Family- pah. They kicked me out ages ago- haven't seen them since. I don't care."

At the mention of food, Keiki shuddered.

"Bento Bowl, huh. Last time I had one was- ooh- ages ago. Back when-" Keiki shook their head.

They cleared their throat. "Food! Sounds fun-"

Third Person POV

"Yes, let's!" Niwa pumped his fist in the air. Hisoka watched Keiki with disparaging orange eyes. He smiled ominously. And gave a nod.

"I hope you'll pardon me, I'm not clear on the direction from here to that particular room."

"Oh, it's not complicated- Just head straight once you're out the door. Actually kinda sad how close it is." Niwa chuckled. "Okay! Onto bentos, baths, and beyond!"

"I'm not sure Beds, Baths and Beyonds exist in Japan," Amano began. "And this probably won't make sense to many of the roleplayers-"

"Onto our noble quest!" Niwa hooked his arms through Keiki and Amano's and started dragging them both. Hisoka chuckled and followed the group.

---

Keiki Meyumi.

....

Keiki took a deep breath.

"Sounds good-" They managed a smile.

"I'll- uh- just leave my towel here- it's soaking." They shakily took it off and placed on a towel.

Just be calm- it's fine. It's fine.

"So then- let's go?" Keiki whispered, wrapping their arms around their ribs.

Third Person POV

Hisoka was staring at Keiki again, but Niwa nodded briskly. "Yes! Let's go! Make the world ours!" He smirked. "Onto the kitchen~"

Amano whined as Niwa tugged them all along, and even louder once they left the pool area. "Awww- Niwa, I don't want to stop just yet- I was having fuunnn-"

"Have fun later." Niwa turned the knob, and then-

A metal clang. A garbage can rolled across the ground.

Niwa stared at it for a long moment.

"Dear god," Amano breathed.

Amano's eyes slowly raised to see-

Akihiro's still corpse.

"A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! A BODY HAS BEEN DISCOVERED! ALL STUDENTS REPORT TO THE KITCHEN!"

---

Keiki Meyumi.

"Holy crow-!" Keiki yelled.

They balled their fists.

"Oh gosh- oh gosh, oh gosh..." They breathed.

"U-uh...to the c-cafeteria then-" They stammered.

Third Person POV

Niwa's grip on Keiki's wrist tightened. "Nonononoo-" He choked. "Nonononoono- we can't- agckgh.. We can't... not again-"

Hisoka's face had gone green. But a calm smile graced his lips. "Well. This is interesting." He glanced at Keiki. "I suppose we'll be having another Class Trial, then." Then his eyes snapped to Amano. "What's wrong with you?!"

Amano was stumbling backwards, hands on his face. He looked between the three- and then he tore away, slamming the door behind him.

Niwa released a breath.

"Akihiro... She's dead."

---

Keiki Meyumi.

"Oh my gawd- oh frick, oh frick." Keiki was starting to hyperventilate.

Deep breaths Keiki- deep breaths-

"W-what do we do-? What do we do!?"

"S-she's dead! Another one dead- oh gawd- oh gawd-"

Kitchen

The door slammed open. Suko stood, panting on the other side of it. Their eyes snapped to Akihiro. For the first time, Niwa noticed the horrific details that the sight of someone lying dead had negated.

Blue peeking through the folds of skin in her slumped cheeks and crawling through lips lipsticked with blood. Creeping past those endless folds, remember how people's insides could stretch out to the length of a football field I wonder what her insides look like right now- her chin was the only ordinary thing on her face- bony and solid, still looking exactly the same. Niwa could feel himself hyperventilating. Horrible, blooming bruises blossoming on the purples of her throat, just below that clean fragile bone. He tore his eyes away and instantly regretted it. Her empty eyes, no, more like her empty pits, endless holes, the terror which must've left her face twisted in an expression that slipped into limpness, her body pretzelled on the floor, limbs flailing, the beautiful multicoloured hair spilling out of its elaborate setup, so unlike the boisterous girl who'd been so beautiful and alive just a few hours ago, with makeup of a violent murder set on her face and not those horrendous powders and creams she'd plastered over it, just the horrendous end of a human, a mockery of who she'd once been-

Niwa felt sick.

"Didn't use my gun," Suko commented. "That's something. So it wasn't stolen to frame me."

"That's something," Hisoka agreed. He crouched beside her corpse and peeled back her limp eyelids, raising his eyebrows at the low tension. "Hm. Probably fairly recent, then."

"What the hell-"

"Puhuhuhuhuuhu~ I suppose the cavalry's arrived then! Just a little too late though, I'm sorry to say!" Monokuma, as per typical, had popped up out of nowhere. Real great time to appear too. "A tragedy! Beloved Akihiro never even got the chance to share her great baking skills with the world. Ah, well- at least a murder happened! Puuhuhuhuuhu! I was almost getting bored!"

"Bored?" Amano was on his feet in seconds. "What do you think gives you the right to-"

"Amano." That was Hisoka's voice, low and dangerous. "Enough."

---

Keiki Meyumi.

Keiki glared at the stupid bear. They bit their lip to stop the river of obscenities that they wanted to spit at Monokuma. Their lips were the dams that prevented all the foul language Keiki had picked up over the years from being hurled at the psychotic creature with a questionable and utterly shameful fashion taste.

"Oh my gawd-" Keiki whispered to themselves. They were struggling to hold themselves together.

"Get a grip Keiki- there's gonna be plenty more friggin' murders soon-" They whispered to themselves.

Suzume Fujimori's POV

Suzume's eyes widened, and her stomach flip-flopped. The announcement struck her like a grenade that had instantly exploded. A sickening feeling in her chest, she ran around and about, searching, searching... who had just died?! What had happened?
Until she came there. To the kitchen.

Inhale. Exhale. Breathe, force yourself to stay calm. Why did her hands shake so hard?...

"Well," she said, trying not to look as shaken as she felt, "I guess... someone else died." She stared at Akihiro's body, transfixed...

Kowai Kurai's POV

Kowai ran right over to the kitchen, still in her swimsuit, and she GASPED IN UTTER HORROR. Not at the fact she hadn't further pretended to drown like she'd wanted to.

Oh, no! Oh nonononono! What an utter tragedy!

"AAAAAA!! Akihiro, NOOO!" she wailed. "Who could've done this!?"

---

Title: 3rd Person

Megami stood next to Suzume, staring at the bloodied body in mortified shock. Buraddo was across the room, staring in morbid curiosity about what had happened.

Niwa Atsushi

Niwa stepped closer to Keiki. They're trembling. He reached out and touched Keiki's arm. No- actually shaking. They're terrified. It was an interesting revelation, if not absolutely terrifying.

It really was the most stubborn people... who were the most fragile.

"Akihiro," he whispered. "Oh no. Akihiro."

And then Hisoka stood up and Niwa's eyes shot wide. "No one leaves this room." Was Niwa imagining that glimmer in his eye? "Anybody who enters now will not be exiting."

---

Hisoka Yamanaku

Hisoka could barely contain the tremors of excitement running through him. He shouldn't be feeling this, but-

This is what we've been waiting for. What we've needed to confirm- what we shook in anticipation of, because its potential determined the roles we should take.

Hisoka liked that. Things fit now. The future was theirs for the taking, so long as the Ultimates found their salvation through their fear.

Ah, proverbs.

Hisoka Yamanaku stood up. "No one leaves this room," he ordered. "Anybody who enters will not be exiting."

---

Amano Tetsuo

No one leaves. Anybody who enters... no exiting...

"Won't leave," Amano rasped. "Won't leave. Swear won't leave." I don't want to drown- A thudding had started in his ears. Oh god, I'm mad- "Won't leave, I promise." He jerked his head from side to side.

"Well, I'm leaving. Gotta find my gun. Obviously." Suko snorted. "Can't stay and play with the kiddins right now, I'm afraid."

"No one leaves."

The words were a buoyant. He was grateful for the thorns they dug into his mind. The painful grip kept him afloat. Afloat above those surging choking waves- "I agree. We... force everyone to stay here."

---

Keiki Meyumi.

"W-wait...don't we- have to go to that strange room-?" Keiki stammered.

Hold it together.

"T-the one- where we went....when the first murder occured-....?"

Keiki frowned.